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18 Days to Go, Harris, Trump Crisscrossing Battleground Michigan; Trump Lashes Out After Harris Seizes On Report He's Exhausted; Soon, Obama Rallies Voters For Harris In Battleground Arizona; New Video, Details Of Killing Of Hamas Leader By Israeli Forces; New Evidence In Federal January 6 Case Against Trump Unsealed. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 18, 2024 - 18:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[18:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are holding dueling events in the pivotal battleground state of Michigan tonight. Trump is now lashing out at Harris as she seizes on a report that he's exhausted by the campaign.

Also tonight, sources say the Trump team is in talks with Nikki Haley for her to appear with the former president. Trump publicly sounding frustrated that he may have to deploy his once bitter GOP rival to try to boost the support among women.

Plus, new video of the Israeli attack on a building where the leader of Hamas was found dead, this as we're learning, the Israelis may use the Yahya Sinwar body as a bargaining chip to try to persuade Hamas to release its remaining hostages.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in The Situation Room.

And let's get right to the breaking news, the fight for Michigan with 18 days to go in the razor-close and very combative presidential race. Our correspondents on the ground as both candidates make their pitches to battleground state voters.

First, let's go to Priscilla Alvarez in Waterford Township in Michigan, where Kamala Harris has a campaign event coming up very soon.

Priscilla, how is Kamala Harris sharpening her attacks now on Trump?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, she is certainly ramping up those attacks against her Republican rival, Donald Trump, while also trying to fortify her own coalition. The vice president here in battleground Michigan, where she is going to three counties, two of which has already been to, one of which voted for Donald Trump in 2016, but that Biden won in 2020, and in two of the other counties that Biden won by a wider margin, so the vice president trying to emulate that and build upon that to win this state and fortify the blue wall states. Now, over the course of the day, she has criticized former President Donald Trump going after his fitness for office, an extension of an argument we have been hearing from her that he is, quote, unstable and unhinged. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: It should be a concern if he can't handle the rigors of the campaign trail. Is he fit to do the job? I think it's a legitimate question.

Now, he is ducking debates and canceling interviews.

If you are exhausted on the campaign trail, it raises real questions about whether you are fit for the toughest job in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, we expect to hear more of that from the vice president when she arrives here for her rally, but I've also spoken to campaign officials who say that part of the strategy in this state is to also try to make inroads with the suburbs, with the white college educated voters, as they try to lock down their own coalition, also trying to peel off some support for former President Donald Trump.

And they're trying to do all this by also capitalizing on early voting. Of course, here in Michigan, early voting in-person for the first time in a presidential, and that tomorrow will be marked by the vice president alongside Lizzo in a Get Out the Vote event. So, certainly, this is going to be a focus over the next 24 hours for the vice president.

And, Wolf, I'll leave you with this. Next week, I am being told by a source that the vice president may also do joint events with Liz Cheney. So, clearly, a continued push there to also appeal to Republican voters. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Priscilla, thank you very much. I want you to stand by.

I want to go to CNN's Alayna Treene Tree right now. She's in Detroit, where Trump has a rally later tonight.

Alayna, Trump was asked about Harris' recent attacks on him, citing reports he's canceling events because he's supposedly exhausted. What's the latest?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: That's right. He was asked directly about this by reporters, and he completely denied it. He said that he isn't canceling any events, and then he tried to flip the script and argue that it's Kamala Harris who doesn't have energy, and argued that he is actually feeling exhilarated. I want you to take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I haven't canceled. She doesn't go to any events. She's a loser. She doesn't go to any events.

I've gone 48 days now without a rest, and I've got that loser who doesn't have the energy of a rabbit. I'm not even tired. I'm really exhilarated. You know why? We're killing her in the polls, because the American people don't want her.

[18:05:01]

She didn't pass her bar exam. She's not a smart person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Okay. So, a bunch of falsities in there, but one thing I do want to make clear is that he has canceled events. We know that next week he was actually supposed to talk to the NRA at an event in Savannah, Georgia. That was recently canceled. The Trump campaign told me it was due to a scheduling conflict because they are adding more events, but didn't really offer a specific reason to what events would be replacing that.

He also, I'd remind you, that pulled out of two recent interviews. One was CNBC, another with NBC news. And then earlier this month, he also pulled out of an interview with 60 Minutes with CBS. And so he definitely has canceled events.

But, look, I do want to talk about what he is trying to do here in Michigan, because, obviously, this state is incredibly crucial to the Trump campaign, not only because it has 15 electoral votes, Wolf, but because when I talk to the Trump campaign, they tell me that out of the three blue wall states, they're actually the most confident about Michigan.

So, he is going to be here aggressively. He already has been here about at least once a week this past month. And so we'll see what he says tonight and if he tries to continue to shore up some of that support here. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, we shall see you. Alayna Treene, thank you very much, Priscilla Alvarez, thanks to you as well.

I want to get some more with our political experts who are joining us right now here in The Situation Room. And, Gloria Borger, I'll start with you.

Harris seems to be taking a page out of Trump's old playbook against Biden, as you know, saying that Trump is now exhausted and unfit.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think she now is talking about what a risk Donald Trump would be. You know, at the beginning of the campaign, she had to introduce herself to the American people, reintroduce herself. She had to reassure them that she had the competency to become president of the United States. And I think that part of the campaign is kind of over. I think she's not talking about her biography anymore. What she is talking about is Donald Trump's biography and talking about how he is unstable as she calls it unhinged, et cetera, et cetera, and his health -- refusing to release his health records. And she is making the case that the American people should be alarmed at the prospect of four years of Donald Trump as president of the United States. The campaign believes that that has a lot of resonance with voters, and that's where they should be going right now.

BLITZER: She's clearly a lot younger than he is.

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I mean, you are seeing it, and it bits into the message of turn the page. I mean, Donald Trump is the oldest person to ever run for president of the United States in the history of this country. And not only that, but you talk about the medical records, you talk about CNBC, you talk about NBC, 60 Minutes, The Shade Room, where this actual -- this story actually emerged from of him being too exhausted.

I mean, and, you know, the American public see this with their own eyes. I mean, he rambles, he oftentimes goes off on tangents when he's talking about different things. I think he's come up with a name for it, calling it the weave, I believe that's what he calls it. He refuses to give out his medical records. He's incoherent, he's babbling. And I think that he moves a lot slower than he did in 2016.

The fact of the matter is, this person who's running for president at 78 years old, and I'm not trying to be ageist, this is just a fact, is not the same person who ran for office in 2016. You mix that with the chaos, and Kamala Harris has a good message that will land with voters about whether or not he's fit to run for office.

BLITZER: Lance Trover?

LANCE TROVER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Look, I, at this juncture of a, of a campaign, I look at the outward body language of campaigns. And, look, Donald Trump has the best team he's ever had in, in all of his campaigns.

SELLERS: That's true.

TROVER: He is as on message for Donald Trump as he ever has been in all of his campaigns.

And so I would argue when I see, you know, to me, it's a level of confidence coming out of this campaign because at this point, you're saying I don't need to go out there and make mistakes. And I think canceling interviews is not uncommon when you feel confident and comfortable where you are in a race, there's no need to go out and take on some of those.

BORGER: I'm going to take issue with you about the notion that he's on message, because I don't think he's on message. I think he's off message. I think he goes off message every single day when he goes off on these wild tangents. And when he criticizes Kamala Harris, personally calling her dumb and stupid, I think that turns off women voters. And the people I talked to in his campaign want him to talk about the issues. They want him to talk about the Biden economy and all the rest of it. And he keeps on talking about other things. And I don't think that's a message.

SELLERS: To your point, to your point and where he is tonight, what we've heard from the former president of the United States multiple times, even in Detroit, Michigan, is castigating the people of Detroit.

BORGER: Right.

SELLERS: I mean, it's kind of like when you have one of those very, very tired celebrity rock stars and they're in Philadelphia and they say, and hello -- you know, hello Detroit, right? And they're in the wrong city. They don't know where they are. But he continues to lambast the people of Detroit, and you're starting to see that resonate.

And so this all ties in because what, what you know, and what Gloria and everybody else knows is that these candidates are about to move into their final message. They're about to move into, what, in the last 10 to 14 days, they're moving into that closing message.

[18:10:02]

And as you continue to lay out the barbs, this message that this man may not be fit for office, it's not just the chaos, it's like, look at him. I mean, don't lie -- look at what you're lying out.

BORGER: Look at the 39 minutes of dance music at the town hall instead of answering questions.

TROVER: Well, again, I go to the outward body language. I think the Trump campaign is projecting confidence. And I would argue that the Harris campaign has less confidence over the course of the last week. If you look at last week, they sent Barack Obama out to admonish black men for not voting for Kamala Harris. You've seen this week her rushing to do interviews with any podcast and anybody who will talk to her. 60 days of that, she thought she didn't have to do because she thought she had it wrapped up. They're still trying to bait him on debates two weeks out. That's not the sign, to me, of a confident campaign.

And if you look at the Rust Belt -- let me just add, if you look at the Rust Belt, Elissa Slotkin, in Michigan, running for Senate, is sitting there waving the red flag, saying she has problems, Bob Casey and Tammy Baldwin in Pennsylvania, sitting Democratic U.S. senators, are using Donald Trump's in their political advertising right now. So, to me, that's not a sign that Democrats feel like they have this wrapped up.

SELLERS: Democrats are never confident. Let me just explain that.

TROVER: I've heard this a million times.

SELLERS: We are proverbial bedwetters who clutch our pearls every night at the --

TROVER: I'm saying look at the body language. But look at the body language --

SELLERS: But I think that you have a very confident Kamala Harris right now. She's hitting her stride. She's attacking him. She's doing the work. She was in three cities yesterday, three cities today. I mean, she's literally outworking Donald Trump.

What we do know, though, is this is a jump ball. So, I think people better --

TROVER: You only run two ways.

SELLERS: No question (INAUDIBLE) in American politics. You either run unopposed or you run scared. And so a lot of Democrats are running scared.

BLITZER: Smart candidates always run as if they're way behind in the polls. That's the only way to do it.

Bakari, I want you to listen to another striking moment from Trump's Fox News interview, where Trump was asked why the Civil War, our Civil War, wasn't settled. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Lincoln was probably a great president, although I've always said, why wasn't that settled? You know, I'm a guy that, it doesn't make sense we had a civil war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, half the country left before he got there.

TRUMP: Yes. But you'd almost say like, why wasn't that? As an example, Ukraine would have never happened and Russia if I were president. Israel would have never happened. October 7th would have never happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Go ahead. What's your reaction?

SELLERS: Well, first, I'm trying to translate because he meandered a great deal. It also shows a lack of sensitivity and a lack of grasp of American history. And I kind of tie that into when he referred to January 6th as kind of like a day of joy or exuberance, a day of love.

And, you know, what I remember about January 6th, Wolf, is there are a lot of different things people remember, but I remember these people carrying the Confederate flag through the United States Capitol. I mean that tore a piece of my heart out. You know, coming from South Carolina, we know what the Confederate flag stood for. We know why the war was fought. This is not the war of northern aggression that some of my friends want to call it. This was because black folk were in bondage and we built this country. If you tie that into the Department of Education answer where he said, if you teach about slavery, we're going to defund your schools, I mean, that should strike a chord with the American public. Not only is he unstable but it's scary.

BORGER: Well, but this is Donald Trump saying that he is a better president than Abraham Lincoln was. And that --

BLITZER: Because Abraham Lincoln didn't settle the Civil War.

SELLERS: He said probably a great president.

BORGER: Probably a great president. He didn't say he was a great president, right?

BLITZER: By settling the Civil War, does that mean he would have had, the north would have had to accept at least some slavery?

SELLERS: I mean, I --

BORGER: It's like Ukraine would happen.

TROVER: I'm certainly not a Trump campaign spokesperson. I'm not sure what was said. Look, this leans into it. He says a lot of things. And then I would just say and point to the continual polling that is out there, people know that he says things. People, they go to his rallies because they're fun and he's boisterous and does these things. But if you look at the polling, they are -- voters are very clear-eyed about who Donald Trump is out there right now. He is on the verge of winning. I would almost argue he's almost in the driver's seat at this point in the election. Voters are clear-eyed about who he is, and that's what this next couple weeks are going to be about.

BORGER: But you can go either way on being clear-eyed about who he is.

SELLERS: But you are correct, because Kamala Harris is an underdog. And so that underdog mentality is going to ride through November 5th.

BLITZER: Let's see what happens. All right, guys, thank you very, very much.

Just ahead tonight, CNN learning more about the campaign plans for Barack and Michelle Obama, including when and where the former president will join Kamala Harris out there on the campaign trail.

Plus, a Fox news anchor now admitting to a, quote, mistake in his interview this week with the vice president.

Stay with us. You're in The Situation Room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:00]

BLITZER: Michigan voters are standing by for Kamala Harris to make her third campaign stop today in that crucial battleground state. The senior U.S. senator from Michigan, Democrat Debbie Stabenow, is joining us now from Waterford Township in Oakland County, where Vice President Harris has an event later tonight. Senator, thank you so much for joining us.

As you know, Democratic Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, who's seeking to replace you in the Senate, you're not running, is warning that Harris is underwater, her word, underwater in Michigan. Do you share that concern?

SEN. DEBBIE STABENOW (D-MI): Well, I think what is clear is that Kamala is going to make sure she earns every single vote. And while we know that pretty much it's been tied in the polling, what I'm hearing and seeing now is a real burst of energy and volunteering. We have more people early voting than the Trump side. We have more people engaging. And so it's going to be -- Michigan's never easy. That's for sure. But I feel confident she's going to win. It's just going to continue to take a lot of work.

[18:20:00]

BLITZER: You know, it's interesting that nearly 1 million Michiganders have already voted, Senator. What do you think should Kamala Harris, her closing message, what should it be in order to win your critical battleground state?

STABENOW: Well, Wolf, let me tell you, first of all, it's not by accident that a million people have already voted. And we have one of the best Democratic organizations on the ground in the country. We have absentee ballots, where anyone can absentee ballot vote. We have early voting, because citizens in Michigan put that on the ballot a couple of years ago. And we feel very, very good, first of all, about that $1 million dollar -- or 1 million vote number.

And then what she's got to do is close it out with how she's going to turn the page and move us forward, and move us forward on jobs, and lowering costs, and middle class tax cuts, and also that we can do better than, frankly, a scary, deranged 78-year-old man who has no business being president of the United States.

And I think every day now, he's showing us that he does not have the mental fitness. And when he says he wants to lock everybody up who doesn't agree with him, guess what, nobody here agrees with him. So, does that mean he locks up every woman who wants reproductive freedom, every person who wants to live their own life and love who they love, every worker who wants to be in a union, every senior that wants their Social Security and Medicare protected? I mean, this is really, really the ultimate decision for people in Michigan and our country. We've got to take it seriously and understand what's at stake. And I think Kamala Harris is earning votes of people in Michigan every day.

BLITZER: And lots at stake. There's no doubt about that.

A GOP group, Senator, with links to Elon Musk is now spending a lot of money on very divisive, contradictory ads targeting Arab-American and Jewish American voters, including in Michigan. Listen to this example. Listen to this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kamala Harris stands unequivocally with Israel. She always has. And as president, she always will.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two-faced Kamala Harris is secretly campaigning for Palestine and trying to get away with it.

HARRIS: I will not be silent about the scale of human suffering in Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, Senator, how does the Harris campaign go about combating these kinds of ads?

STABENOW: Well, first of all, let me just say the huge amounts of money coming in now should worry all of us. And everything is being done on dirty tricks and A.I. that's creating ads and so on. And so it's complicated. But they're doing the right thing by first focusing on who she is, what she believes in, how she cares for people, and then what the record really is. She's reaching out to all the groups in Michigan. We're in a very challenging, tough time and there's no question that what's happening in the Middle East and the loss of lives and the violence and so on is a heart-wrenching issue.

And she's listening. She's somebody that will move forward in a way that I believe respects and understands and wants to protect human life on all sides. But, you know, we're in a battle here. We're in a battle where folks are going to put any amount of money, say anything, anything. And we have to be able to move forward and show fact from fiction.

And that's why what we're doing on the ground is so important, talking to people, phone calls, having personal relationships and communicating. That's how we'll win.

BLITZER: All right. Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, thanks so much for joining us.

And take a look at this, a live look in Arizona right now, former President Barack Obama about to hold a rally there as we get new details on how the former president and his wife will be spending the final weeks of this campaign.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:25:00]

BLITZER: We're following the fallout after a legendary New York charity dinner steeped in political history. Donald Trump is getting heat for letting the insults fly at the event, while Kamala Harris is getting some criticism for being an in-person no-show.

Brian Todd is taking a closer look at this for us. Brian, how did Trump's remarks play in the room, first of all, last night? BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the reactions ranged from laughter to nervousness to outright discomfort. But in reality, neither candidate's performances are really drawing rave reviews.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice over): At a dinner once known for good natured ribbing, Donald Trump brought the insults.

TRUMP: Now we have someone in the White House who can barely talk, barely put together two coherent sentences.

But enough about Kamala Harris.

TODD: At New York's annual White Tie Al Smith Dinner, the former president leveled barbs, ranging from cringe worthy --

TRUMP: The only piece of advice I would have for her in the event that she wins would be not to let her husband, Doug, anywhere near the nannies.

TODD: -- to crude --

TRUMP: I used to think that Democrats were crazy for saying that men have periods, but then I met Tim Walz.

TODD: -- to outright nasty and profane against former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, sitting just a few feet away.

TRUMP: He was a terrible mayor, I don't give a shit if this is comedy or not. He was a terrible mayor. He did a horrible -- he did a horrible job.

[18:30:01]

TODD: Vice President Kamala Harris wasn't at the dinner, but recorded a video for the event, with actress Molly Shannon playing her old Saturday Night Live character, the excitable Catholic schoolgirl, Mary Catherine Gallagher.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sometimes when I get nervous, I stick my fingers under my arms and I smell them like that. That's gross.

TODD: Harris asks the character her advice for the evening.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe don't say anything negative about Catholics.

HARRIS: I would never do that, no matter where I was. That would be like criticizing Detroit in Detroit.

TODD: Which Trump recently did. Reports from the scene say Harris' video fell a bit flat in the room.

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: But I think that she blew it by not being there. She should have been there. Humor can be such an effective political tool.

TODD: An annual gathering since 1945, the Al Smith Dinner is held at Manhattan's Waldorf Astoria Hotel and benefits Catholic charities. But it's better known as an event where presidential candidates can joke about each other. But the barbs in recent years have been stinging, like these in 2016 between Trump and Hillary Clinton.

TRUMP: This is the first time ever, ever, that Hillary is sitting down and speaking to major corporate leaders and not getting paid for it.

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I have now stood next to Donald Trump longer than any of his campaign managers.

TODD: What's the cost of bombing at the dinner?

MARGARET TALEV, SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR, AXIOS: You never want a bad joke or a sort of a self-inflicted disaster to become a dominant part of the conversation when you're trying to get momentum and win the race.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): Donald Trump said that staffers at Fox News helped him write his speech for the Al Smith Dinner, saying they wrote some jokes and, quote, for the most part, I didn't like any of them. Fox News denies that, issuing a statement saying that no employee or freelancer of theirs wrote those jokes. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Brian Todd, thank you very, very much.

Let's get back to the campaign trail right now, where former President Barack Obama will soon hold his second campaign event to rally support for Kamala Harris. We're standing by for that rally in Arizona right now. We're also learning more about how the Harris campaign is leveraging the star power of both Barack and Michelle Obama.

Joining us now from Arizona, CNN Senior Political Commentator David Axelrod, he's a former Obama senior adviser. David, thanks so much for joining us.

So, Barack and Michelle Obama are two of the most popular figures, as we all know, in the Democratic Party. But voting in many places has already begun. Has the Harris campaign, in your opinion, waited too long to put them out there on the campaign trail?

DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No, I don't think so. This is when there's a great deal of focus. And, look, they're using them in the way that I think they should be used. This is a get out the vote time in this campaign. And they are trying to -- you know, there is a persuasion element to what they're doing out there.

But there is an excitement element to what they're doing out there. They attract big crowds. They draw attention to the campaign. And that is an organizational tool for a campaign that's trying to get voters engaged in voters to come out. And, obviously, they speak to broad constituencies, but also specific constituencies within the party, some of whom younger voters of color and so on have been lagging a bit from the numbers from 2020. They can be helpful there. They could be helpful with suburban voters.

Michelle Obama, you know, has a an image that sort of transcends politics and speaks very much to women who are going to be an extraordinarily important element of the Harris mix if she's going to win this election.

So, I think the timing is right and, you know, now they need to be out there intensively because this is go time.

BLITZER: It certainly is. As you know, President Obama faced some criticism for his comments, recent comments, about some black men not supporting Kamala Harris. Former Harris Staffer Ashley Etienne told me yesterday that President Obama generated, and I'm quoting her now, way too much negative news with his criticism. Do you think there is something to that? Will President Obama address that again? What do you think?

AXELROD: Look, one thing I know about him, because I've spent a lot of time with him over the years, Wolf, is he's a very fast learner. He takes in people's responses and reaction. I'm sure he did some reflection on how he approached that particular conversation. I haven't talked to him about it, but I'm sure that he did. And, you know, he said other things in that conversation that didn't get covered that were very motivational. And my guess is that he'll lead with that the next time.

BLITZER: We're taking a closer look at some of the polling that seems to be narrowing in some of the battleground states.

[18:35:03]

The election, as we all know, still 18 days away. But if it were being held today, who do you think would win?

AXELROD: You know, Wolf, I'd be a fool to answer that question because you're talking about margins we have never seen before in polling. You know, you've got seven battleground states. I think the largest margin on the average is like two points. And most of them are under one point when you look at polling averages. And that's just way too close to call. I don't know. And it involves questions of organization, for example, who has the strongest organizations in these battleground states, and, you know, that's an open question.

I think that may be an edge for Democrats in those blue wall states, because they've been organizing for a long time, first for Biden and now for Harris, but with an infusion of new volunteers for Harris, but I wouldn't hazard a guess. And this is close enough so that any number of things may influence the outcome in the next 18 days.

BLITZER: Yes, those polls in those battleground states, you correctly point out right now, show the race is too close to call within the so- called margin of error. So, we'll watch what happens over these next 18 days. David Axelrod, thanks very much for joining us.

AXELROD: You bet, Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you.

Just ahead, fallout over at Fox with Anchor Bret Baier addressing one of the more contentious moments of his interview with Kamala Harris and admitting he made a mistake.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BLITZER: Kamala Harris appears to be getting under Donald Trump's skin once again tonight as she's pouncing on reports that he's canceled some media appearances because he's exhausted, a claim Trump is angrily disputing.

Let's bring in CNN's Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter. Brian, we're seeing two very different media strategies from Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Break this down for us.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes. Trump is mostly playing to his base, Wolf, promoting himself on Fox and right wing podcasts, while Harris is taking more chances and trying to reach different types of audiences, including anti-Trump Republicans. Perhaps she is, as she says, the underdog, and thus taking more risks.

Now, Trump did face pointed questions from voters at a Univision town hall earlier this week, but for the most part, he's playing it safe, and recently he's backed out of several planned interviews. Yesterday, I reported that he canceled an interview that was scheduled with NBC about the economy. Tonight, NBC is confirming that report and saying the interview has not been rescheduled yet.

Also today, CNN said that Trump has not accepted this network's invitation to have a town hall event in Pennsylvania next week. So, CNN's moving forward and only having a town hall with Harris that's happening next Wednesday.

Now, Trump is hitting the podcast circuit, appearing on shows that appeal to young men. And today, he visited the Fox News morning show one day after attacking the network's CEO for allowing Democrats on Fox's air. Clearly, Trump is watching Fox and getting angry about what he's seen. Listen to this comment that he made today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'm going to see Rupert Murdoch. That's a big event. I don't know if he's thrilled that I say it. And I'm going to tell him something very simple because I can't talk to anybody else about it. Don't put on negative commercials for 21 days. Don't put them and don't put on their horrible people that come and lie. I'm going to say, Rupert, please do it this way. And then we're going to have a victory because I think everyone wants that. (END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: Trump is clearly concerned that attack ads are working, that negative ads against him are really bothering him. And he's saying he's going to complain about it to the patriarch of Fox, Rupert Murdoch.

Now, today, a Fox spokesman declined to tell me if the two men actually did meet today, but here's the interesting thing. Trump asking Fox to ban anti-Trump ads is arguably against the law. Fox operates local T.V. stations across the country that are subject to FCC oversight. The FCC has rules in place that require stations to be fair about airing political ads. For example, you can't just run a Republican's ads and not run a Democrat's ads.

Now the FCC doesn't have the same oversight of cable, but cable outlets like Fox still follow the spirit of the rules. And the bottom line, Wolf, is that Rupert Murdoch is never going to turn down anyone's advertising money.

BLITZER: As you know, Brian, Fox Anchor Bret Baier made a surprising comment about his interview the other day with Kamala Harris. Tell us about that.

STELTER: That's right. He acknowledged a mistake in the production of the interview playing the wrong sound bite. Kamala Harris called him out for not showing Trump referring to enemies from within and saying that's the biggest threat to the U.S.

So, I think Baier deserves credit for acknowledging that was a mistake in the interview. More importantly though, Trump continues to repeat this very sinister reference to enemies from within. He said it again today on a podcast with Fox Host Tyrus, saying enemies from within are worse than on the outside, Wolf.

BLITZER: Ye. He keeps saying that. All right, Brian Stelter, thank you very, very much.

Coming up, we're getting new details right now on the Israeli military operation that killed the leader of Hamas, including how Yahya Sinwar was hunted down and what the autopsy reveals about his death.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:48:26]

BLITZER: Tonight, we're learning more about the killing of the Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as Israel releases new video and new details are emerging.

CNN's Matthew Chance has an update from the Middle East.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Latest images of the Israel patrol that killed Yahya Sinwar the Hamas leader, troops apparently stumbled upon in the ruins of southern Gaza. This is the tank fire, the Israeli military says was part of the attack that ultimately killed the man who orchestrated the October 7 attacks, shortly after he was caught in this remarkable drone video resting on a chair and lashing out with a stick, a last gesture of defiance as Israeli forces close in.

OK. Well, this is what's left of the neighborhood of Tel Sultan in the southern Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military says it's the same area they took me to a press trip last month was in the rubble of the same buildings Israel's most reviled enemy briefly emerged and was killed.

Now, the remains of Sinwar are being held at secret location in Israel, according to local media reports. Israeli sources tell CNN they could eventually be used as a bargaining chip, an exchange for the release of Israeli hostages, as Israel weighs how to create pressure quickly on Hamas in the aftermath of the Sinwar killing.

[18:50:08]

But Friday prayers in Gaza, the Hamas leader was mourned in his battered hometown of Khan Younis.

Israeli sources tell CNN this concern, returning Sinwar's body would rally supporters and risk his gravesite becoming a shrine.

But across Israeli, families of Israeli hostages are stepping up pressure for any deal to bring their loved ones home. If that means swapping Sinwar's remains, says one Israeli source, then fine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE (on camera): Well, Wolf, tonight, more details are emerging about the final moments of the Hamas leader with the pathologists, the carry that the autopsy of Sinwar telling CNN that he died of a gunshot wound. That's contradicting, Wolf, the Israeli military earlier said. They said he was killed in tank fire.

It's also emerged that Israeli soldiers on the ground in the Gaza strip, who didn't know who they killed actually cut off one of the fingers of Sinwar and sent it to a lab to help identify ultimately the Hamas leader.

Back to you, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Matthew Chance in Tel Aviv, thank you very much, Matthew.

Well, lets get some more right now in the uncertainty and potentially the opportunity in the Middle East right now, after Yahya Sinwar's death.

CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins is on the ground for us in Tel Aviv tonight.

Kaitlan, how much influence does the U.S. have, first of all, on Israel's next steps?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Wolf, obviously, the White House is hoping to have a lot of influence here, but judging on the relationship that we've seen between the United States and Israel over the last several months, specifically between President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu, it's not clear that he is going to take the win as U.S. officials might hope he does here with this monumental death of Yahya Sinwar and use this moment as you've heard from President Biden and Vice President Harris to talk about what the day after this war looks like in Gaza.

There was a very different message that is being delivered by the U.S. than what we are hearing from the Israeli prime minister. And just to show you how carefully they are navigating the politics so this, listen to what Vice President Harris had to say today, and also President Biden about what this moment could mean and how they could use the leverage of Sinwar's death here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have got to end this war. And I think that what has happened now with the killing of Sinwar creates an opportunity for us to end this sworn bring the hostages home.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We can probably deal with Israel and Iran in a way that is end the conflict for a while.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Now, Wolf, that is message that we are hearing from prime minister Netanyahu, who is saying this is not the end of the war, but this could be the beginning of the end. There are major questions about what Israel does next here when it comes to the push for a ceasefire, for a hostage release, but also looking to what that retaliation from Israel towards Iran is going to be after that major missile attack something that officials here frankly were far more focused on, given as you just heard, Matthew laid out there how happenstance actually the death of Yahya Sinwar happened to be just a routine patrol rolling when they came across him during that firefight.

And Wolf, the other part of this, its complicating it is the election happening back at home or just two-and-a-half weeks away from when U.S. voters will go to the polls and certainly this is something that Netanyahu is taking into consideration as well because he was talking to former President Donald Trump. He placed a phone call to him earlier today and this is what Trump said about his view of what Netanyahu should do next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's called me. I have not spoken. I'm going to speak to him probably now.

REPORTER: What are you going to tell him?

TRUMP: Look, he's doing a good job. Biden is trying to hold him back, just so you understand, Biden is far superior to the vice -- to the VP. He's tried to hold him back and they probably he should be doing the opposite.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: That is Donald Trump there saying he believes that the Israeli prime minister should do the opposite of what the White House is urging here. Wolf, it just shows you how carefully all of this is being navigated as the White House is hoping to use the leverage here.

It's a major question though, of the influence, if any, they have on this matter. Secretary of State Blinken is being sent here, I should note, to Israel in the coming days.

BLITZER: All right. Kaitlan Collins in Tel Aviv for us. Thank you very much.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:59:02]

BLITZER: CNN has been studying just released evidence in the January 6 case against Donald Trump.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz is here with me in THE SITUATION ROOM.

So what are we learning, Katelyn?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, what much of this looks like is this, blank, sealed, redacted filings in court.

This is the evidence that the Justice Department is showing to Judge Tanya Chutkan under seal, but there are some things that we can see now because Judge Chutkan will look at this to determine can Donald Trump go to trial? Is he immune? How was he behaving after the 2020 election?

One of the things that is in the public record here are snippets of transcripts from the House January 6 committee as they're interviewing people, what they saw Trump doing even on January 6. One of those is a transcript from a White House employee who spoke to the House committee in June of 2022, and that White House employee unnamed, says that they're rioting down there at the capitol and he Trump was like, oh, really, and then I was like, well, lets go see, I'm taking off his outer coat that he's wearing right now. I get the TV ready for him and hand him over the remote and he starts watching it.

And I stepped out to get him Diet Coke. Come back in and that's pretty much it for me as he's watching it, seeing it for himself.

Trump there in the White House. That's sort of witness evidence that the Justice Department has.

BLITZER: A lot of details in these new documents.

All right. Katelyn, thank you very, very much.

And to our viewers, thanks for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.