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The Situation Room

Soon, Harris Star-Studded Event in Georgia With Obama, Springsteen; Trump Rallying Voters in Arizona and Nevada With 12 Days to Go; Former Swimsuit Model Talks to CNN About Alleged Groping by Trump. Bruce Springsteen Performs At Harris-Obama Rally. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 24, 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 is about to hold a star-studded campaign event in Georgia, the first one featuring her on stage, with former President Barack Obama. Bruce Springsteen will also be there as superstar Beyonce hits the trail with the vice president tomorrow.

Also breaking, with just 12 days to go, Donald Trump is rallying voters in Arizona and Nevada. This as a former swimsuit model is now talking to CNN about her claim of being groped by Trump back in the 90s in an alleged attempt to show off for Jeffrey Epstein, who was later convicted of sex crimes.

Plus, breaking news in a sensational murder case, the Los Angeles District attorney is now recommending that the Menendez brothers be re-sentenced, opening the door to their possible, possible parole nearly 30 years after they were convicted and imprisoned for killing their parents.

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

We're awaiting a major Kamala Harris event -- campaign event, I should say, in the pivotal swing state of Georgia. The vice president is set to appear with some of her most famous supporters, including Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen, with only a dozen days left to win over voters.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is at the Harris event. CNN's Kristen Holmes is also standing by with the latest on the Trump campaign. First to you, Priscilla. This is the first time in this campaign that we'll see Harris and Obama together.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Wolf, and it comes at a critical juncture, the vice president going to be joined by former President Barack Obama for the first time on the campaign trail, the vice president saying earlier today that she was grateful for his support.

Now, this event is also going to be headlined by Bruce Springsteen, who has made frequent appearances in the waning days of elections for Democratic candidates.

But, look, I've spoken with senior campaign officials who say the events from here on out are about mobilization. As one senior campaign official put it, they want to keep their foot on the gas when it comes to early voting. Here in Georgia, early voting is well underway. And in DeKalb County, where this rally is taking place, almost one-third of active voters have already cast their ballot.

So, the intention behind rallies like this is going to be to mobilize and energize those voters. But it also gives us a glimpse into what the closing arguments are going to be for the vice president, with that senior campaign official also telling me that the vice president is expected to talk about former President Donald Trump's, quote, enemies list versus her to-do list.

She deputed this last night at CNN's town hall. She repeated it today and it's going to continue to feature prominently on the campaign trail combined with the issues that they think will galvanize voters to the polls. And that includes reproductive freedom, you mentioned there, that vice president will be joined by Beyonce in Houston, Texas, tomorrow to, again, amplify the message on reproductive freedoms. Sources telling me that they chose that location because they see it as the epicenter of what the vice president calls the Trump abortion bans.

So, certainly, a combination of those issues, as well as the drawing that stark contrast from former President Donald Trump and, again, what the vice president has called his focus on his, quote, enemies list. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Priscilla, I want you to stand by as we bring in CNN's Kristen Holmes. She has the latest On the Trump campaign for us. Kristen, as the former president campaigns out West today, he's continuing to go after his perceived enemies. What can you tell us about that?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, his perceived enemies list, as Priscilla said, is very long. We know that it's something that he plans to continue doing, particularly if he wins the presidency. But one of the things that he talked about was how he would go after Special Counsel Jack Smith. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're either going to have to pardon yourself or you're going to have to fire Jack Smith. Which one will you do?

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: It's so easy. I would fire him within two seconds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Here's why this is important. We have long reported that Donald Trump's plans, if he has to win the presidency, would be to try and clear these cases against him, particularly the cases that have gone through the Department of Justice. Now, it's not actually clear whether or not Donald Trump could fire Jack Smith. He's a special counsel who was appointed to this role by Merrick Garland, so he's not technically part of the Justice Department.

[18:05:03]

What he could do is hire his own attorney general, which, of course, he would and then try to get rid of the cases against him, particularly the ones that were brought by the Department of Justice.

One of the reasons why this is so critical is because it shows you how he would use the power of the presidency. Remember, one of the things that he and his team have talked about doing if he does win is to accelerate the powers of the judicial branch of the -- excuse me, of the executive branch that would include the Department of Justice.

Now, of course, it's not just Jack Smith that he's going after. He is also lashing out at John Kelly after his remarks yesterday. He posted this on Truth Social saying, Kelly made up a story out of pure Trump derangement syndrome hatred. John Kelly is a low life and a bad general. This coming after John Kelly said that he did believe that Donald Trump was a fascist and told stories about Donald Trump saying apparently Hitler did do some good things.

BLITZER: All right. Kristen Holmes and Priscilla Alvarez, the both of you, thank you very, very much.

I want to bring in our panel of political experts, and I'll start with David Chalian, our political director. A lot of star power out there on the Harris campaign tonight and tomorrow for that matter. How do you think this helps her?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, I think you're in the closing days of the campaign and you're in a race every day to sort of garner attention but also inject enthusiasm. So, obviously, the Harris campaign will utilize these events to make sure they are tracking people to early vote, get their bank, you know, organize around the event itself, so it's not just the event, Wolf.

But, quite frankly, one of the folks in the Harris campaign was saying one of their missions for this closing 12-day period is to try and bring some of the joy vibe back from when she first took over the ticket that they knew they weren't going to be able to sustain for 108 days in a row, but that that has gotten away from the little bit and part of what they're trying to do is inject some of that into the closing as well.

BLITZER: Alencia Johnson is with us as well. Alencia, these major events, should Kamala Harris focus more in on what she plans on doing if she's elected president as opposed to going after her critics right now?

ALENCIA JOHNSON, SENIOR ADVISER, HARRIS CAMPAIGN: Listen, I mean I think she's doing quite a bit of both, right? To this point you were making, these rallies are about galvanizing and mobilizing these voters. Last night here on this network, she had a great town hall where she talked directly to people who have questions and critics, but she also laid out her vision and plan for the country.

And so as we have 12 days left, there are a lot of different conversations that have to be had. And she's figuring out, the campaign is figuring out the places to have those unique conversations, whether it's at a rally or hard-hitting news or some of the podcasts that she's about to do.

There are different things that folks want to hear from her, and she's able to make the case and go after Donald Trump, but also be very clear about this vision of progress that she has for America.

BLITZER: It's interesting. Bryan Lanza is with us, Trump's senior adviser for the Trump campaign. Bryan, as you heard, and you just heard it now, if you didn't hear it before, you heard Trump say he'd immediately, immediately, within two seconds, fire the Special Counsel, Jack Smith. Doesn't that feed into Harris' message that Trump has an enemy's list that he's going to be going after?

BRYAN LANZA, SENIOR ADVISER, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: No. What it feeds into his presidential priorities and presidential perspective. He knows that the Jack Smith prosecution has been sort of this fake attack. They've moved the lines with respect to the laws. They've moved the lines to normal judicial procedure, and he's going to clear the deck. Actually, Biden should clear the deck. He should clear the deck without and with Hunter Biden as he leaves.

But, you know, the reality is we know that the Justice Department has brought lawfare into the system. They've done it at the state level. They've done it at the federal level. And the only way to start the process and cleaning it is by getting rid of Jack Smith and Donald Trump will fire him, my guess, is within a second, not two seconds.

BLITZER: You know, it's interesting, David, our political contributor, Van Jones, a man all of us know well, he had a pretty striking comment last night about the scrutiny that Harris and Trump each face. Listen to this and then we'll discuss.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are not taking the same exam. And I think it bothers people. They're not taking the same exam. He gets to be lawless. She has to be flawless.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: How much are the candidates being held to different standards?

CHALIAN: Well, I think there's no doubt that there are different standards being applied. I think that's been a struggle throughout the nine years of Donald Trump being this sort of unique figure in American politics on the stage as everyone sort of tries to figure it out around him. You know, and I think it is -- I think Van raises something that is worth including in the way we discuss these things. You know, you mentioned she came, she did a town hall with CNN on our stage. She put herself in that environment to take voters' questions from undecided voters, be challenged by Anderson in questions.

You know, we invited former President Trump to debate last night on that stage. We invited him to participate in a similar town hall. Every candidate gets to choose what they do and what they don't do. But it does mean that as we assess her and how she answered those questions, you have to make note he chose not to show up to do that.

[18:10:04]

JOHNSON: Well, and also to this point, she not only came here to CNN, she went to Fox News. I don't think Donald Trump is actually going to go to a station that he feels may be against him.

LANZA: He did a town hall with CNN.

JOHNSON: He did with CNN, but he hasn't gone to an MSNBC. That would be the opposite equivalent.

But let me finish my point. I do agree with this, that she is held to a different standard. You have someone who started her career going into law to make sure she's prosecuting people who are doing harmful things to women and children. On the other hand, you have someone who has been found liable for sexual assault, who has people like Tucker Carlson talking about daddy's going to spank these little girls. And I'm sorry, we can't normalize what is happening on the Trump side. And so it's a false equivalent.

LANZA: Look, I think the biggest question that Kamala has and the question that everybody's looking for is, what's she going to do better to improve American's lives, because she hasn't done that in the last three years. I mean, she's basically broke the economic system for the middle class. She broke the border, she broke the international relationships that we had with people.

JOHNSON: Well, Trump benefitted Obama's --

LANZA: So the only person who at this point that voters are looking somebody for fix it, and I think Donald Trump can fix it, because they look at what he did during his presidency compared to what Harris has done during --

JOHNSON: Well top economists say that he would actually --

LANZA: You have to have a message at the end. Economists also said there was going to be a recession during his first term and that never took place. So, the economists actually don't have a tremendous amount of credibility with that respect.

But you also have to remember, she has yet to answer the basic question. How am I going to make your life better than it's been in the last three and a half years, and we're two weeks out and she still can't answer it. That's why it's not an unfair criticism. She can't answer the basic question of what makes American lives better.

BLITZER: It was a very bizarre moment when Tucker Carlson compared Trump's potential return to the White House to a dad returning home. Let me play the clip. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUCKER CARLSON, HOST, TUCKER CARLSON NETWORK: There has to be a point at which dad comes home and he's pissed.

Dad is pissed. And when dad gets home, you know what he says? You've been a bad girl. You've been a bad little girl and you're getting a vigorous spanking right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: What's going on with that? What's your reaction?

JOHNSON: How do you normalize that? How do you defend that? I am a survivor of sexual assault. I know a lot of women who feel that they are in the shadows and that this kind of rhetoric has not only been normalized since Donald Trump has become part of our national or our international political discourse, it has been embraced.

And so I challenge people who support Donald Trump and his movement, is that the America that we have envisioned for our future daughters and for women in this country? And then you have this candidate who embraces Tucker Carlson, who says, I'm going to protect women. That is not language that will protect women, in addition to overturning all of the freedoms that women have fought for.

BLITZER: Let me get your reaction, Bryan.

LANZA: Listen, I mean, Tucker's a sensationalist provocateur, he does these things. Ann Coulter did these things, you know, in the 90s and the 2000s. You know, you have Howard Stern, you have Rachel Maddow, who's a sensationalist.

JOHNSON: But she doesn't say that.

LANZA: These people exist.

JOHNSON: That is dangerous language about molesting a child almost.

LANZA: These people exist. It doesn't mean that these people are sort of leading the MAGA movement. Trump has very clearly said that IVF is a priority of the Republican Party. He very clearly said he's going to force insurance companies to backfill it or the federal government's going to pay for it. Those are the issues that are going to appeal to the American women. It's not going to be Tucker's comments.

BLITZER: All right, everybody stand by. We have more to discuss and assess.

Just ahead, we'll also hear from a former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model who's now coming forward with an allegation about being groped by Donald Trump. She spoke to CNN just a short while ago.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:00]

BLITZER: There's more breaking news this hour. CNN has a new interview, a new interview, with a former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model who alleges Donald Trump groped her in the 1990s. CNN's Sunlen Serfaty spoke with Stacey Williams. Sunlen, what did she tell you about her encounter with Trump?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this is the first time that she's talking extensively about this. Stacey Williams claims that in 1993, she was out on a walk with Jeffrey Epstein, who she was dating briefly at the time.

Now, they were walking down Fifth Avenue, she says, and Epstein suggested that they drop in and see Donald Trump in Trump Tower. What happened quickly next, she says, made her struggle with shame and embarrassment for the next 30 years.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STACEY WILLIAMS, ACCUSES TRUMP OF GROPING HER IN 1993: The second he was in front of me, he pulled me into him and his hands were just on me and didn't come off.

SERFATY (voice over): Former Sports Illustrated model Stacy Williams says that Donald Trump groped her more than 30 years ago in Trump Tower with the later convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein watching and smiling in the room as it happened.

WILLIAMS: Then the hands started moving and they were, you know, on the side of my breasts, on my hips back down to my butt, back up sort of them -- you know, they were just on me the whole time. And I -- sorry. I froze.

SERFATY: Williams has not spoken out about the incident extensively until now. And in her first on camera interview, she tells CNN the most detailed accounting of the incident yet, alleging that in 1993, Epstein, who she was briefly dating at the time, brought her into Trump Tower.

WILLIAMS: This context made no sense, because the hands were on me and then he and Jeffrey just kept talking and like looking at each other and smiling.

SERFATY: After leaving Trump Tower, Williams said that Epstein berated her for allowing Trump to touch her.

WILLIAMS: I just had this really like sickening feeling that it was coordinated, that somehow the whole thing was -- I was rolled in there like a piece of meat for some kind of weird, twisted game.

[18:20:02] SERFATY: Soon after the encounter, she severed ties with Epstein and said she was unaware of the kind of predatory behavior that would come to light in later years. She also says she received this undated postcard from Trump delivered to her modeling agency by courier shortly after the incident.

Stacey, you're home away from home. Love, Donald.

WILLIAMS: I felt sick to my stomach.

SERFATY: Williams says she did not tell anyone about the incident for over 10 years.

WILLIAMS: I felt a wave of shame and I just couldn't think about it, face it, talk about it for a very long time. I put it in a little box inside of me. Turned the key, locked it.

SERFATY: CNN has spoken to three friends of Williams to corroborate her story, who each said that she told them about the incident with Trump and Epstein in 2006, 2015, and '16.

The Trump campaign has denied Williams allegations, calling it a fake story contrived by Kamala Harris campaign. Williams' account only adding to the lengthy list of women who have alleged that Trump groped, kissed, or assaulted them. Trump has also denied those allegations.

Trump, who was close friends with Epstein, once calling him a terrific guy, has long sought to publicly distance himself from Epstein since he first faced charges related to inappropriate sexual conduct with underage girls in the mid-2000s.

TRUMP: I was not a fan of Jeffrey Epstein.

SERFATY: Williams has been engaged as a Democratic volunteer for decades and shared her story on a Zoom call on Monday at a Survivors for Kamala event, supporting the vice president's run, although the group is not affiliated with the campaign.

WILLIAMS: I felt like that was some sort of sick bet or game between the two of them.

SERFATY: With the election less than two weeks away, Williams arguing that her decision to speak out now was not driven by the presidential campaign but with the release this week of a documentary about Sports Illustrated, one she participated in two years ago, during which she briefly alluded to the incident.

What do you say to those critics that say this is politically motivated?

WILLIAMS: I can't control when that documentary comes out. I can't control the fact that it's premiering two weeks before the election.

SERFATY: And she says she could not stay silent any longer. WILLIAMS: It takes a lot of guts and you have to really prepare yourself to be ready for that onslaught and I'm ready now. Just bring it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SERFATY (on camera): And despite her saying that the timing so close to the election and choosing to speak out is coincidental, in our interview, she does make her support for Harris very clear, in addition to not wanting to see Trump retake the White House. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Sunlen Serfaty reporting for us, thank you very much, Sunlen, for that report.

Trump Campaign Senior Adviser Bryan Lanza is back with us, along with Harris Campaign Senior Adviser Alencia Johnson.

And, Bryan, the Trump campaign, as we heard in that report, is denying this. Will Trump himself publicly address these newest allegations?

LANZA: No, he doesn't need to. I mean, listen, we're two weeks within the election. You get a lot of these fake things coming out. You know, we've addressed this. You're going to have something come out in the next couple days, I suspect, and then something coming out next week. This is a long playbook that the Democratic Party has done and they try to come up somebody at the last minute to try to distract from the fact that they have yet to make their case of why Kamala Harris would have to actually be president.

So, no, we're not going to address it. We're going to, we're going to move on. We're going to talk about the issues that matter to the American people, which is immigration and the economy.

BLITZER: Alencia, what do you see as the impact of this latest allegation against Trump?

JOHNSON: Well, I think it continues to remind the coalition that we are building of what Vice President Harris is for and who Donald Trump is, as Stacey was so brave enough to share her story and the nuances that are there for survivors.

You know, it really puts -- it crystallizes this question that I had in the last segment of how are you okay with a man who actually has been found liable for all of this? If there are lists and numbers of women that continue to come out and talk about how they have been assaulted by this man, how are you going to actually justify voting for someone like that?

You know, she mentioned being part of this coalition of Survivors for Harris. It's a coalition of over 200 women that signed an ad that went into The New York Times with organizations like the National Women's Law Center and Care in Action, and these are women who have said enough is enough. And I think this also gives permission to independent and Republican women that are actually tired of this dangerous culture that Donald Trump has ushered in to our American (INAUDIBLE). LANZA: Let's talk about the dangerous culture. The dangerous culture is anytime we get close to the election, the Democratic Party is going to find an activist, the super activist we found out to come out with an allegation.

JOHNSON: You're dismissing her experience.

LANZA: We saw it take place during, during the confirmation hearings of the Supreme Court justices now for 30 years. We're now seeing this sort of bleed into politics. Like this is a dangerous thread that somebody with no evidence, no nuance, sorry, you say nuance, there's no nuance, there's no date, there's nothing related to this that comes out to make this allegation. And CNN, which is a major news organization for over 40 years, decides to talk about this, it just seems silly to me.

[18:25:03]

BLITZER: But you know Trump has a history of these kinds of allegations against him. Last year, he was found liable for sexual abuse.

LANZA: Yes, but he but we also know that there's a history of women making these things up. We saw this in 2016 that a lot of women came forward and none of the evidence came forward.

JOHNSON: How dare you?

LANZA: So, we've seen the tremendous amount of evidence over the years of women coming forward and not saying the truth with respect to Donald Trump.

JOHNSON: How dare you trivialize women's experiences and say that we do not -- we make these stories up, because that is not true.

LANZA: We saw it in 2016 and the voters saw right through it and they're going to see right through it today.

JOHNSON: So you don't believe women and I don't understand how you could sit up here as a man and say that you don't believe this woman's stories or the hundreds of women who continue to come out and brave enough to talk about the predatory behavior that has led them into these types of situations.

LANZA: Two weeks before an election, you're right. I don't believe somebody two weeks before an election. You're right.

JOHNSON: No, it has happened the entire time Donald Trump has been in the public office.

LANZA: And this woman came out two weeks before an election with no nuance, no dates of when --

JOHNSON: But no man in the Republican Party can sit here and atone for this type of atmosphere that you all are welcoming? That is so scary and that is so sad. And shame on you, the Republican Party and Donald Trump.

LANZA: Because this is what's going to drive it every election cycle.

JOHNSON: Yes, that's why women get fired up and continue to vote on these issues and try to drive you all out of office.

LANZA: In 2016 the women voted for Donald Trump, and in 2024, they'll do the same thing.

JOHNSON: And that's very sad that they are internalizing this misogyny and I actually hope that they get freed themselves so that they can see the predatory for who they -- the predator for who he is.

BLITZER: All right. Guys, stand by. Thank you very much to both of you, Bryan Lanza and Alencia Johnson.

Coming up, as we await the Harris campaign event in Georgia, we're about to get some new reaction to the newest polling from that battleground state. A senior adviser to the vice president's political team joins us next. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

BLITZER: We're following that star-studded Kamala Harris rally in Georgia featuring former President Barack Obama and multiple celebrities, including Bruce Springsteen.

Our Brian Todd is taking a closer look at what's going on. Brian, the Democrats are amping up the star power right now with Beyonce set to appear with the vice president tomorrow.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. You know, Kamala Harris campaign not only has Beyonce and Bruce Springsteen on its side, but also the significant endorsement of Taylor Swift. What's not clear is whether all these high wattage celebrity endorsements will actually move voters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice over): Grammy-nominated ballad Freedom is already a staple of Kamala Harris' rallies. But on Friday, pop superstar Beyonce will up the ante, appearing on stage with the vice president at a rally in Houston.

LEIGH ANN CALDWELL, ANCHOR, WASHINGTON POST LIVE: This is a huge, huge get for Kamala Harris. It generates excitement. It generates buzz. And that's what Kamala Harris team wants in these final days.

TODD: The celebrity buzz for Harris also ramps up tonight with an appearance by rock star Bruce Springsteen, who will take the stage with the vice president and former President Barack Obama at a get out the vote rally in Atlanta. Harris said she's honored by it.

HARRIS: I think it just shows the breadth and depth of the support that we have and also the enthusiasm.

TODD: The sheer star power that's been brought to the 2024 race is palpable.

Harris has also scored the endorsement of musical icon Taylor Swift, who brings more than 280 million Instagram followers and a proven record of being able to inspire young people to register to vote.

BRYAN WEST, TAYLOR SWIFT REPORTER, USA TODAY: With Taylor, it's not just about her influence, it's her power, it's her ability to speak to a massive fandom.

TODD: Harris has won endorsements from musician Lizzo, pop and R&B star Usher, actor George Clooney, Oprah Winfrey, who spoke at the Democratic National Convention,

OPRAH WINFREY, T.V. HOST: Values and character. Matter most of all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm with the future president of the United States.

TODD: And from rapper Megan thee Stallion, who also appeared with the vice president at a rally.

Donald Trump has scored a high-profile endorsement from X owner Elon Musk, who's also contributed tens of millions of dollars to boost Trump's campaign.

ELON MUSK, OWNER OF X, TESLA AND SPACEX: Donald Trump has to win this election. It really does.

TODD: Trump's also won the endorsement of country rock star Kid Rock, who performed at the Republican National Convention.

An endorsement from actor Dennis Quaid, who's campaigned for Trump and from icons of combat sports, like UFC head Dana White and pro wrestler Hulk Hogan.

MICHAEL WARREN, SENIOR EDITOR, THE DISPATCH: These may not be the most popular with Gen Z college girls, but men, this is a big part of Donald Trump's coalition. And that's who he's trying to tap into with those celebrities. He does need those celebrities to validate him.

TODD: On Harris' side, the suspense now lies with one tantalizing possibility.

CALDWELL: I'm sure that they would love for Taylor Swift to appear alongside Kamala Harris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): Now, a Harris campaign official declined to answer a question on whether Taylor Swift would appear with the vice president on the campaign trail, only saying, quote, wouldn't that be great? When Swift endorsed Harris in September, Donald Trump said at the time that she would probably pay a price for that in the marketplace. And a Trump campaign spokeswoman said it was more evidence that the Democrats had become the party of the wealthy elite. Wolf?

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

Just ahead, my interview with a top Kamala Harris adviser as we await the vice president's first campaign appearance together with the former president, Barack Obama.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:35:00]

BLITZER: Tonight, former President Barack Obama is taking his campaigning for Kamala Harris to another level as he's about to take part in his first joint event with the vice president.

As we await their appearance in Georgia, we're joined now by Harris Campaign Senior Adviser Ian Sams. Ian, thanks very much for joining us.

In our new CNN poll of polls from the Peach State, Georgia, Harris trails Trump there 50 percent to 48 percent. So, how is she going to close the gap in this critical battleground state?

IAN SAMS, SENIOR ADVISER, HARRIS CAMPAIGN: Well, thanks for having me. And, look, the polls are tight. These are really, really close contests. We're going to have margin of error races in all the battleground states. And it's why it's so important that she's out there campaigning on the trail in those states. For example, tonight, I'd right before I came on air, I got a text from a colleague who's there at the arena. There's 20, 000 people in the arena waiting for her and President Obama and Bruce Springsteen to appear tonight.

[18:40:00]

We're harnessing the enthusiasm that we see on the ground from Democrats. We're continuing to reach out to undecided voters and independents and even conservative Republicans who want to hear about her vision to bring the country together. It's why she was traveling to the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin on Monday with former Congresswoman Liz Cheney.

She's building a big tent to bring more and more people into the fold because people know that we're ready to turn the page on Donald Trump and chart a new way forward with her and her plans that actually focus on real people and their needs. And so you're going to hear more of that from her tonight and you're going to hear more of that over the next 12 days until Election Day.

BLITZER: As I'm sure, you know a former model is now accusing Trump of groping her back in the 1990s when she was brought to Trump tower in New York by Jeffrey Epstein. The Trump team accuses the Harris campaign of contriving the story to distract from the election. How do you respond to that? SAMS: Well, yes, I saw the reporting and obviously she's sharing her story and she's not part of the campaign. I think I saw her tell journalists that she was doing this independently of her own, so she's entitled to her story.

And I think it's emblematic, though, of something bigger, which is that right now Donald Trump is struggling with women voters across this country by historic margins. I think it really goes back to the root cause, which was his appointment of three Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade.

And we're going to be in Texas tomorrow. The vice president is going to Texas tomorrow, which is really ground zero of the consequences of some of the extreme abortion bans that we've seen across this country thanks to former President Trump and thanks to conservatives like him who are really wreaking havoc on women and families across this country with people unable to get healthcare they need when they're going through a severe medical emergency at what is the worst time of their life, unable to get care. People are getting sepsis and bad infections. And some women unfortunately have even passed away because they're unable to get the care that they need.

This is one of the most important issues in this election. It's something that we see over and over again voters across the board, not just women, but men who were concerned about the ramifications that this would have on their loved ones, friends and family.

And so she's going right down to Texas tomorrow to speak about this, to talk about her plans to pass legislation that codifies Roe v. Wade, and for us to really fight to protect reproductive freedom and not go back to Trump and allow him to appoint more Supreme Court justices who would continue to do damage on this important issue.

So, when it comes to women in this election, I think that the choice is very clear. It's why you're seeing her beating him by historic margins in some of the polls. And we think that the election is going to turn out such that women make their voices heard and reject Donald Trump.

BLITZER: In recent days, Kamala Harris has stepped up her attacks on Trump big time. I want to play something we heard from one of last night's participants in CNN's town hall. Listen and watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TANEISHA SPALL, TOWN HALL AUDIENCE MEMBER: For a very long time, she didn't stoop to his level. And as of late last couple of weeks, I've really started to see, like you said, this schoolyard bullying. And I think that's beneath her. She doesn't need to do that. She can run on her policy. She can run on her position. You don't need to stoop to his level.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Ian, what do you say to a voter like that? SAMS: Well, I'd say to voters out there who are trying to listen to what these two candidates are having to say, you know, you don't see Vice President Harris calling her fellow Americans the enemy of the people. Right before I came on your air, Wolf, tonight, Donald Trump's having a rally in Arizona and he said that journalists whose coverage he doesn't like are the enemy of the people. That's the kind of rhetoric that you hear Donald Trump's own former aides.

The people who know him best are speaking out, his former chief of staff, who's a decorated military general, John Kelly, coming out and saying this just this week. You see General Mark Milley, his former top general on as the Joint Chiefs of Staff, his former secretary of defense, his former national security advisers, all warning of the risks that Donald Trump poses if he returns to power.

And so I think when voters are trying to sift through the noise and try to understand what's happening in this election, listen to the candidates, and they will tell you who they are. And with Donald Trump -- you know, I think about how she's doing an event with Bruce Springsteen tonight, one of my favorite song is Badlands. He says, poor man want to be rich, rich man want to be king and a king ain't satisfied until he rules everything.

Donald Trump is seeking unchecked power because he wants it all. He wants to be able to control our lives and the freedoms that people hold dear. And that's what's at stake in the election. The election is about, are we going to go back to that? Are we going to let Donald Trump who's increasingly unstable, have this unchecked power over our lives and in this country, enacting his Project 2025 agenda, or are we going to turn the page on all that and actually look to the future with a candidate who's actually focused on people and their needs?

And so that is the fundamental choice in this election that voters are going to have.

[18:45:01]

BLITZER: Ian, you just mentioned that rally that Trump just wrapped up in Arizona. I want to get your reaction to what he said there specifically about Vice President Harris. Listen and watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Kamala Harris stated once again that she opposes any plan to send her illegal aliens back. She opposes any plan to send her illegal aliens back home. She opposes deport -- I don't think she knew what the hell she was saying, if you want to know. I actually saw it.

I said I think she must have misunderstood -- she was like, I didn't understand the question. She does -- she's got -- she's a low IQ individual, I'm telling you. I'm good at this stuff. She's a low IQ person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, what's your reaction to that?

SAMS: Are we tired of this? I think that people hear this over and over again, and it's the same old stuff. I mean, ten years on now. And all he does is insult, divide and demean people --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: All right. Ian, hold on for a moment. I think Bruce Springsteen is performing at this rally for kamala Harris, I -- I want to listen in.

(BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN PERFORMS AT HARRIS-OBAMA RALLY)

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, MUSICIAN: Thank you. Thank you.

I'm Bruce Springsteen and I am here today to support Kamala Harris and Tim Walz for president and vice president of the United States.

[18:50:06]

And to oppose -- to oppose Donald Trump and J.D. Vance. Now, here's why I want a president who reveres the Constitution, who does not threaten but wants to protect and guide our great democracy. Who believes in the rule of law and the peaceful transfer of power. Who will fight for a woman's right to choose. And who wants to create a middle-class economy that will serve all our citizens.

There is only one candidate in this election who holds those principles dear, Kamala Harris. Kamala Harris.

She's running to be the 47th president of the United States. Donald Trump is running to be an American tyrant. He does not understand this country, its history or what it means to be deeply American.

And that's why November 5th, I'm casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. I urge all of you who believe in the American way to join me. Thank you. This is land of hope and dreams.

(BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN PERFORMS AT HARRIS-OBAMA RALLY)

[18:55:07]

SPRINGSTEEN: All right. That was time for some entertainment. Here we go.

(BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN PERFORMS AT HARRIS-OBAMA RALLY)

SPRINGSTEEN: Thank you, Atlanta.

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz for president and vice president. Get out there and vote.

BLITZER: All right. So, there you have Bruce Springsteen, The Boss. It's a very special moment for me. I love the boss, went to see him a few weeks ago here in Washington at Washington Nationals Park. Very, very special entertainer. He's there campaigning for Kamala Harris out in Clarkston, Georgia,

right now, and you heard very strong statements from him endorsing the vice president for the presidency right there.

And it's not -- it's not every day we get to hear Bruce Springsteen live here in THE SITUATION ROOM. So it was just a powerful moment for me. Sure. For many of you as well. All of us who are big Bruce Springsteen fans.

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

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.