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Hala Gorani Tonight
All-Out Battleground Blitz in Final Seven Days; Trump Gaining Ground on Clinton in National Polls; Clinton Campaign Slams FBI's Double Standard; MI-5 Chief: U.K. Faces Growing Threat From Russia; Iraqi Forces Close In On Mosul; Tough Choice For Evangelical Voters in U.S. South; CNN Never Gave Brazile Access To Any Questions; Behind The Scenes With Women Covering The Election; Going Green In Hong Kong.. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired November 01, 2016 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:22] HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, one week from the presidential election, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are trying secure
the top job by dragging each other down. We have all the latest accusations and poll numbers coming up.
Then a start warning from U.K. intelligence pointing the finger at Russia.
Also this hour, almost at the gates of Mosul. We're on the ground as the Iraqi army battles ISIS through this thick sand storm.
Hello, everyone. I'm Hala Gorani. We are live at CNN London. Thanks for being with us this hour. This is THE WORLD RIGHT NOW.
We begin this hour with an all-out battleground blitz. This is it. It is the final week of one of the most contentious presidential campaigns in
American history. It is all-hands on deck for Hillary Clinton. She is focusing squarely on Florida today. But as you can see, she has heavy
hitters on the trail across the country including President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.
Donald Trump teamed up earlier with his running mate, Mike Pence, for a rally in Pennsylvania then headed to Wisconsin.
Clinton is trying to hang on to her narrowing lead in the polls and prevent a new FBI e-mail investigation from throwing her off course. She just took
the stage minutes ago in Dade City, Florida.
Clinton got a special introduction from former Miss Universe Alicia Machado. You may remember, Machado became part of the second presidential
debate when Clinton brought up Trump's alleged mistreatment of her. Machado says Trump called her Miss Piggy and Miss Housekeeping, among other
offensive names, calling it very painful. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALICIA MACHADO, FORMER MISS UNIVERSE: It's clear. It's really clear here that he does not respect women.
(APPLAUSE)
MACHADO: He just judges us on our looks. He thinks he can do whatever he wants and get away with it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: That was Alicia Machado. As we mentioned there, she was brought up in the second campaign. Hillary Clinton hoping again to capitalize on
her story.
Donald Trump is hoping to make inroads in two Democratic leaning states today, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. At a rally in the suburbs of
Philadelphia, Trump slammed Obamacare, the signature health care program of President Obama. He seized on a recent report that says premiums will soar
next year, trying to capitalize on the sticker shock there. Listen to Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When we win on November 8th --
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: -- and elect a Republican Congress, we will be able to immediately repeal and replace Obamacare. We have to do it.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: I will ask Congress to convene a special session, so we can repeal and replace. And it will be such an honor for me, for you, and for
everybody in this country because Obamacare has to be replaced.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, since the e-mail controversy came back into the headlines, Trump has continued to gain ground on Hillary Clinton in national polls.
But he is running out of time to close the gap.
This is CNN's new poll of polls showing him four points behind. This average of five national surveys includes the latest ABC News/Washington
Post tracking poll that actually has Trump one point ahead. Take a look at that one. Let's put that one up, the tracking poll. There we go, Trump at
46, Hillary Clinton at 45, three and two for the other remaining candidates.
Let's talk about all of this with CNN Political Commentator Michael Smerconish. He's host of "SMERCONISH" on CNN. We're also joined by CNN
Senior Political Analyst Ron Brownstein. He's a senior editor at "The Atlantic."
Michael Smerconish, I want to start with you. Today, Trump, in his appearance, did not bring up the e-mail controversy. He focused on
Obamacare. What's he doing? What is the strategy there?
MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: What I find most interesting is not so much what he said but where he appeared, Hala. He
appeared literally in my backyard in the suburbs of Philadelphia. You need to win these suburbs to win the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. If you're
Donald Trump, I think you need to win the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to win the White House.
And I draw attention to where he is appearing because there is so much spin in the final few weeks of these campaigns, and I like to typically follow
the money. Where are they advertising and where are they appearing?
[16:05:08] And, frankly, I've been confused by Donald Trump, in the last 48, 72 hours, going to New Mexico, Michigan, Colorado, and New Hampshire,
states that I don't think are in play for him. Today is a wiser move because Pennsylvania is a state that, conceivably, he could compete in.
And the final point that I would make is, that there are really two stories out there. One, the popular vote, and we all find that interesting. But,
of course, in the U.S., we elect by the Electoral College. And while the national surveys show a narrowing of the race, I think that in the
Electoral College where it matters, she continues to be a very strong favorite.
GORANI: And, Ron Brownstein, you have made that point, the very point that Michael is making there several times. But this resurgence of the e-mail
controversy, the fact that the narrowing of the gap is taking place without any doubt nationally -- even though in swing states, of course, we're still
seeing that ahead -- has that forced you to reconsider at all some of --
RON BROWNSTEIN, SENIOR EDITOR, THE ATLANTIC: Yes, well --
GORANI: -- for some of the Electoral College math that you've been doing over the last several weeks?
BROWNSTEIN: Battleground states are part of the nation, right? And if the nation is tightening up, the battleground states are going to tighten up as
well.
And I think Michael's point, though, is important. Donald Trump's travel schedule is a corrective to kind of the views of the national polls because
what it basically tells you, the fact that he is going to Colorado, New Mexico, Michigan, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania -- all states
that, today, leans with Hillary Clinton -- means that, in their internal polling, they still have trouble getting over that last hump to 270
Electoral College votes.
On the other hand, there's another point that's worth making here, which is that Hillary Clinton has spent almost all of October focusing on states
that are somewhat reach states for her, whether it's North Carolina or Florida or Ohio or Nevada, states that she can win without. She has spent
very little time in the states that I just mentioned.
And we are now seeing some money from her campaign and from Priorities USA, the PAC, going into places like Colorado and Michigan which she hasn't
visited all fall. So you do wonder if they are now kind of wondering whether they have focused too much on the second tier of states and perhaps
not enough on building that castle keep on the inner core states that will take them to 270.
GORANI: And I want to show our viewers a new Hillary Clinton ad. Certainly, the campaign, Michael Smerconish, wants to take the focus away
from this e-mail controversy and on to Donald Trump once again. Let's take a look at some of this ad that is in support of Hillary Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TEXT: He really believes this:
TRUMP: Putting a wife to work is a very dangerous thing.
TEXT: And this:
TRUMP: When I come home and dinner is not ready, I go through the roof.
TEXT: He really said this:
TRUMP: Grab them by the (bleep). And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.
TEXT: And did this:
LESTER HOLT, NBC NEWS ANCHOR: More accusers coming forward to say they were actually assaulted by Donald Trump.
TRUMP: I'll go backstage before a show, and everyone's getting dressed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump walked into the dressing room while contestants, some as young as 15, were changing.
TRUMP: They're standing there with no clothes.
TEXT: "Standing there with no clothes"
TRUMP: You see this incredible looking women.
TEXT: This is Donald Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: So, Michael, with seven days to go, is this type of ad effective? Can it change minds among undecideds?
SMERCONISH: Well, it's pretty clear the intended audience for that commercial. Every four years, the Democratic base, people of color, the
younger voters, and women, come out in a way they don't in those off-year elections. That is a commercial that is designed obviously to draw female
support for Secretary Clinton to the polls.
I would just say, relative to this whole Comey letter and the e-mail controversy, I think, thus far, both sides are playing it to energize their
respective bases. From the Trump perspective, it's confirmation, or so he says, that she's crooked. And to her point of view, it is the sign that
Jim Comey has the fix-in for Secretary Clinton.
I would be surprised if it moves the needle one way or the other.
GORANI: All right. And --
BROWNSTEIN: Hala, can I add --
GORANI: Go ahead, Ron.
BROWNSTEIN: Just quick --
GORANI: Go ahead.
BROWNSTEIN: On that ad, it's important to kind of differentiate among women because Hillary Clinton is doing extremely well among minority women,
women of color. And she's heading for a record victory in among college- educated White women. She will beat Donald Trump among White women with a college degree by twice or three times the biggest margin ever for a
Republican.
But among those blue collar White women, they are one of the critical swing blocks in this election, and they are one of the reasons Trump is gaining.
In the ABC/Washington Post tracking poll that you put up, he is leading among those non-college White women, what sometimes they call the waitress
moms, in the U.S. by a larger margin than Ronald Reagan did in 1984 against Walter Mondale.
And clearly, narrowing that gap, she doesn't have to win them, but if he is able to maintain that kind of advantage, that's what puts him within reach
in some of this mid-western battleground states.
GORANI: All right. And, Michael, I want to ask you about Florida because we're seeing such a huge emphasis on Florida. And in the latest poll, it's
not as fresh as some of the others that we've been airing today, but Donald Trump does have a lead there.
[16:10:11] SMERCONISH: Eighteen states plus the District of Columbia have gone for the Democratic presidential candidate since 1992. If she keeps
what we refer to as the big blue wall intact, all she needs to do is win Florida, and it takes her to 271. So Florida can be her linchpin.
Look, I don't know what Ron would say. I think this thing is positioned either for a very significant Clinton win or a very, very narrow Trump
victory.
GORANI: All right. Well, you know what Trump supporters would say, Ron.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Yes.
GORANI: I've interviewed a few of them over the last several days. And if you show them a poll that doesn't go their way, usually, it's that the
polls are not an indication of the final vote --
BROWNSTEIN: Right. Well, look --
GORANI: -- quote, "Look at Brexit."
BROWNSTEIN: And as --
GORANI: But in this case, you seem to disagree.
BROWNSTEIN: No. Yes, of course, as the author of the blue wall, I just remind Michael I get a nickel every time somebody one mentions it, so.
SMERCONISH: Hah. And you deserve it.
BROWNSTEIN: But, look, I think that he is basically right. I mean, Donald Trump is looking at a very narrow path to 270 that will require, as his
travel schedule underscores, tipping a state that now leans toward the Democrats.
But Hillary Clinton has also made a calculated gamble by spending almost all of October in places like Florida, Ohio, Iowa, Nevada, that she doesn't
have to win and basically believing that she has Colorado, Virginia, Michigan, and Wisconsin essentially in the bag. You know, we'll see in a
week whether that was the right gamble.
GORANI: Can you believe we're a week away?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
GORANI: It's hard to believe we can see the finish line. Thanks very much, gentleman, as always. Michael Smerconish, host of "SMERCONISH" on
CNN, Ron Brownstein as well, thanks to both of you. Really appreciate it.
BROWNSTEIN: Welcome.
GORANI: Clinton's campaign manager is accusing the FBI of a mind boggling double standard. Robby Mook spoke to CNN today about news that the FBI has
been conducting multiple investigations of alleged connections between Russia and the Trump campaign. So far, there is no evidence of wrong
doing, but Mook says the FBI shouldn't stay silent on some investigations and not on others. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBBY MOOK, CAMPAIGN MANAGER, HILLARY FOR AMERICA: Director Comey felt it was incumbent upon him to announce that the FBI had some information he'd
never even looked at it, but they won't reveal connections to Russia.
We know that the Russians, based on what 17 agencies have all agreed on, that the Russians stole e-mails from the DNC, they stole e-mails from our
campaign, and it was James Comey at the FBI who was trying to block that information from getting released.
So we just want all this information out there on both candidates.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right. Robby Mook there of the Clinton campaign saying there seems to be some sort of double standard with the information that the FBI
decides to release in the final days of the campaign.
We're joined now by CNN commentator and Hillary Clinton supporter, Bakari Sellers, and the former state representative from South Carolina. Bakari,
thanks for being with us.
I want to ask you first there, these e-mails that have surfaced that the FBI says they're going to take a look at. Huma Abedin, this is the fourth
day that the very close Hillary Clinton aide has not accompanied her in her campaigning. Does it seem as though, now, the campaign is trying to
distance itself here from herself?
BAKARI SELLERS, CNN COMMENTATOR: No. In fact, Huma Abedin is actually in Brooklyn, working from the campaign headquarters today. And I believe that
the reason that she is not with Hillary Clinton is pretty simple, that Director Comey threw a bomb out there and if Hillary -- I'm conflating
their names now. It's only seven days out.
If Huma Abedin is actually with Hillary Clinton, it will be more of a distraction instead of being able to get the message out and turn the
tables on Donald Trump, as you've seen Hillary Clinton do right now in Florida where she's campaigning.
GORANI: But this e-mail controversy, the campaign is just not able to shake it. I mean, the strategy clearly with this new ad out today is to
focus on Donald Trump, is try to get women energized to vote for Hillary Clinton by revisiting some of his statements on women, et cetera. Is it
going to work?
SELLERS: Well, I think it's going to work. And I think the campaign jumped on this really quickly. But I have to make sure that your viewers
understand that what Director Comey did is a clear violation of policy and decades and decades of precedent.
If you look at the Attorney General, Alberto Gonzalez, under the Bush administration, he's even criticized his decision. We've had justice
officials as far back as the Ronald Reagan administration come in on the right and left and say that his decision to actually come forward and make
public what may or may not be anything at all is a clear violation and has put the campaign in an awkward position.
But, now, we're in a full sprint for the next seven days. And the Clinton campaign does have an advantage in many of the states, and they have an
advantage with White college-educated women and minority groups, so she still has the coalition together. And now they're in the get out to vote
realm of politics. And so --
GORANI: But you can see from the --
SELLERS: -- I expect next week is going to be resounding.
GORANI: Sorry to jump in. You can see from the polls -- and as a Hillary Clinton supporter, I don't know if you're concerned by the numbers, you can
see from the polls that since these revelations came out on the e-mails or that letter by Comey was sent to Congress, that the polls have narrowed.
The gap has narrowed.
SELLERS: Yes.
[16:15:08] GORANI: And not in favor of Hillary Clinton.
SELLERS: Yes. And the gap is going to narrow. And a lot of the reason that the gap is narrowing is because, if you turn actually turn the page on
the polls, you'll see that many Republicans are coming back to Donald Trump. Donald Trump, at one point, was only getting about 80 percent of
Republicans, 83 percent of Republicans. He's now above 90 where he normally will be. And so, yes, I mean, those numbers will get closer.
But, also, at this point, people have been voting now for two, sometimes three, weeks. National polls don't really matter anymore. I hate to throw
cold water on that, but the polls that matter are the state polls who control these electoral votes. You know, you got to pay attention at
what's happening in Colorado, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Florida, and Ohio.
GORANI: Yes.
SELLERS: And that is where Hillary Clinton is doing yeoman's work and doing very well.
GORANI: And Ron Brownstein was saying earlier -- he was just on our air -- that, you know, he doesn't quite understand why Hillary Clinton spent so
much time in states she does not have to win in order to get to 270, like Florida, and then perhaps not spending any time at all in October, for
instance, in Wisconsin or Colorado, in states where she felt, perhaps, that her victory was secure. And now, some of her surrogates are out there. Do
you think that might have been a mistake?
SELLERS: Well, her surrogates have been out there and Democrats have a deeper bench with Michelle Obama, with Bill Clinton, with Barack Obama.
Chelsea Clinton's in Colorado today. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, the list goes on and on and on of where the surrogates are. And so I don't
know it was a mistake.
Me and Ron were actually just talking about that briefly in the green room here. Because, you know, the other side of that is if Hillary Clinton wins
any of these states where Ron is saying that she's been campaigning so often, which is North Carolina or Florida, then that's game over. You can
bring the fat lady on out to have a good song.
And so, you know, it's the chicken or the egg conundrum. I think that Hillary Clinton's going to do extremely well. She'll probably lose Ohio
and Iowa. She'll win all the states that were in question, and do very well in North Carolina and Florida. And I think, to kind of pattern off
what Michael Smerconish said, I think it's going to be a decent Electoral College victory on Tuesday night.
GORANI: All right. We shall see. We're very close there, as we were discussing there with Michael and Ron, to the finish line. Bakari Sellers,
thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate it.
SELLERS: Thank you for having me. Thank you.
GORANI: All right. Still to come this evening, a warning from the head of MI-5 who says Britain faces a growing threat of cyber-attacks from Russia.
Hear what Russia has to say in response. We're live in Moscow.
And Iraqi forces are within striking distance of Mosul. The latest from the front line is coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Well, he is a voice you don't hear from very often. The head of Britain's counterintelligence agency, MI-5 has given an extremely rare
interview and has warned of covert threats from Russia.
Andrew Parker spoke to "The Guardian," and he said that Russia was pushing its foreign policy in increasingly aggressive ways. That involves
propaganda, espionage, subversion, and cyber-attacks. He said Moscow, quote, "increasingly seems to define itself by opposition to the West."
[16:20:09] Let's get more on this were. Clare Sebastian is in Moscow for us. Samuel Burke joins me here in the studio.
Before I get to Clare who is joining us from Moscow, Samuel, first, what did he say exactly, Mr. Parker, about the threat that he believes Russia
poses here?
SAMUEL BURKE, CNNMONEY BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: It's absolutely incredible because he actually put this up on the list along
with attacks from ISIS here in the U.K. So here you have him comparing that threat along with the threat of cyber-attacks from Russia, really, in
the same place. Along with that, we also had the Finance Minister of the U.K. coming in, too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILIP HAMMOND, BRITISH CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER: If we do not have the ability to respond in cyber space to an attack which takes down our power
networks, leaving us in darkness, or hits our air traffic control system grounding our planes, we would be left with the impossible choice of
turning the other cheek and ignoring the devastating consequences or resulting to a military response.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURKE: Just think about what he said there, either we arm up when it comes to our cyber arms or we face a physical war. Luckily, he also offered up
peace as an option.
GORANI: All right. Well, that's always reassuring. Clare Sebastian in Moscow, what has been the reaction from the Kremlin?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, the Kremlin are not giving this any credibility at all. We heard today from the
Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, who said the accusations are not true. He said there is no proof and until Russia sees proof, they will not
consider this anything other than baseless accusations.
Now, interestingly, this is very much along the lines of what we have seen from Russia given all the accusations of cyber-attacks coming out of the
United States.
All along, the rhetoric has been, there is no proof, you can't prove it, they haven't given it any credibility. They've almost tried to laugh or
kind of shrug it off at times. And they've even accused the U.S. of blaming Russia for hacking as a way of distracting from the key domestic
issues around the election.
But here in the case of the U.K., obviously, it comes at a time of fairly strained relations. You know, we've seen warships coming through the
English Tunnel, a Russian battle group heading to the Mediterranean, clashes between British U.N. officials and Russian officials over Syria.
So this cyber area may just be another area where these two powers are seeming to be clashing. Hala.
GORANI: Yes, Clare, indeed. And, Samuel, they are being very open about this. And as we mentioned there in our lead into this segment, this is
quite unusual. Philip Hammond there mentioning, for instance, grounding airplanes by attacking air traffic control systems and the rest of it.
So what solution are they proposing? Because we know what problem they think the U.K. has. What's the best defense?
BURKE: It's interesting because they're not alleging that somehow the Russian government is getting involved in elections here in the U.K. the
way the United States is. I think the type of solution that they're really thinking about has to do with long-term, not the big, exciting stories
that's we know Sony being hacked and Angelina Jolie's e-mails leaked.
I think they're talking about companies, corporations, like the ones that we work for, making sure that they're the first line of defense, investing
in engineers who know how to make sure that a company is safe.
I think the biggest threat here is actually corporations being hacked and somehow stock prices falling. So sometimes it can come down to one
employee in a company making sure that they're doing something correctly, not clicking on a link that's a fishing link that's really from a prince in
some county that we don't know about.
GORANI: Or maybe for all the young people watching us, wondering, where are the jobs going to be in the future?
BURKE: Right.
GORANI: What industry would be hiring? I think I.T.'s, cyber security.
BURKE: And just to --
GORANI: That's really where it's all going to --
BURKE: And just to that point, Hala, Clare and I worked on a series together about hacking.
GORANI: Right.
BURKE: And so many times, it drew us back to Russia where they have incredible ability but they don't have the Silicon Valley style jobs so
they end up hacking. She and I heard that over and over again from hackers in Russia.
GORANI: Yes. Thanks very much, Clare Sebastian in Moscow and Samuel Burke right here in London.
Let's turn our attention to Iraq forces. They are now the closest they have been to Mosul since ISIS took over this key city two years ago. Take
a look at some of the latest footage.
Well, the commander of Special Forces says they've taken over the village of Gogjali on the eastern outskirts of Mosul. The road leading to that
city is just a few hundred meters long but is also riddled with obstructions, explosive devices, and snipers.
CNN's Arwa Damon was on the outskirts of Mosul earlier today. She is now in Erbil in northern Iraq, but she sent is this report from the front line.
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, as you can see, the weather isn't really doing anyone any favors at this stage. We
were with the counter terrorism unit as they were pushing through Gogjali. They came across what are now the fairly common ISIS tactics, these suicide
bombers, suicide car bombs, roads inlaid with IEDs, booby trapped home.
[16:25:13] But there, they also had to push through very slowly and very methodically because, according to the commander, there were still about
25,000 civilians inside the town, which meant that they couldn't rely on air strikes or rocket and mortar fire.
What we also saw was ISIS fighters lying in wait and then circling around attempting to target the Iraqis' more fixed positions. In this particular
instance, three ISIS fighters were spotted wearing, according to the commander, uniforms similar to those of the troops themselves. But then
they noticed that the guns they were carrying, AK-47, is not something that this particular unit of Iraqis does carry and then the fire fight broke
out. Fairly intense. The position that the ISIS fighters were holed up and eventually taken out by a rocket.
And then the afternoon, this sandstorm began blowing in, significantly reducing visibility, adding yet another challenging layer to what is
already a very complex battlefield, also meaning that it will be much more difficult for that key air support to be called in. But the commander says
that they have secured most of Gogjali. They're just going through trying to clear out pockets.
And then, of course, they need to go through and screen the entire civilian population of any sort of ISIS sympathizers, ISIS fighters, possible ISIS
sleeper cells. But now that they have largely secured Gogjali, Mosul is less than a kilometer away. Hala.
GORANI: Thank you very much, Arwa Damon. We'll have much more from Iraq later in the show, including a look at Iraqis near Mosul now able to do
very simple things, shave their beards, smoke in public, as they celebrate liberation from ISIS.
And we'll look at the impact of the October - November surprises on the U.S. presidential race with only a week to go. Look for the vote. Stay
with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Let's look our top stories. We are truly in the final stretch of the U.S. Presidential election, now with just one week until November 8th.
That means there will a final blitz of advertising, focused, of course, on key battleground states like Florida.
Also, Iraqi forces battling ISIS are trying to clear a village next to Mosul for explosives. The military says they took control of the village
in just a few hours ago, along with a state television station. Now, open the path to enter Mosul from the east
[16:30:00] Also among our top stories -- the head of Britain's security agency, MI5, says the country faces a growing threat from Russia. He's
saying this publicly which is rare. Andrew Parker, seen here on the far left, told "The Guardian" newspaper that Russia was pushing its foreign
policy in increasingly aggressive ways and including cyber-attacks. Russia said Mr. Parker's claims are not true.
The -- let's return now to U.S. politics and get this perspective of one specific group of voters. "Evangelical Christians" in the Southern U.S.,
facing a pretty tough choice. Donald Trump's behavior towards women has turned many of them off. The latest CNN "Poll of Polls" in North Carolina
shows Clinton leading Trump by four points, 46 to 42 percent.
Jessica Schneider reports on the evangelical vote from Raleigh, North Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Inside North Carolina evangelical churches, the mood, joyous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At a season in our country where we're so divided -
SCHNEIDER: Leaders acknowledging though, the faithful are struggling.
PASTOR CHAD HARVEY, RALEIGH FREE ASSEMBLY CHURCH: I'm seeing stresses here like I have never seen before.
SCHNEIDER: Pastor Chad Harvey leads the "Raleigh Free Assembly Church."
HARVEY: And now we're in Genesis Chapter 12 -
SCHNEIDER: Most of his members are rallying for Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it wasn't easy at all. It was a very difficult decision, because if just look at Donald Trump as a man, there is no way
that I would even consider voting for him. But, I have to look at the much bigger picture.
SCHNEIDER: From (INAUDIBLE) pace, it comes down to his own antiabortion stance and the future of the Supreme Court. But with Trump's three
marriages and the release of that Access Hollywood tape .
DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You can do anything.
BILLY BUSH, THE BILLY BUSH SHOW HOST: Whatever you want.
TRUMP: Grab them by the pussy.
SCHNEIDER: Some are now asking is the Republican ticket, the pious pick. White evangelicals propelled Mitt Romney to a narrow victory in the state
in 2012; they made up about a third of all voters.
JESUS MORALES, EVANGELICAL VOTER: His lifestyle hasn't been one that is representative of values I hold. I don't believe he's honest when he takes
his -- says his pro-life.
SCHNEIDER: Jesus Morales is Never Trump. He and his wife plans to vote for Evan Mcmullin, the republican running as an independent. He's on the
ballot in 11 states, but not North Carolina, so they'll have to write him in as their vote.
JENNIE MORALES, EVANGELICAL VOTER: I can't vote for someone who has been so ignorant in his behavior towards women and towards handicap people,
especially.
SCHNEIDER: And you are handicap?
MORALES: Yes, I'm legally blind, and it's insulting to me that he can make fun of the handicap community and no one has called him out on it.
RACHEL MILLER, EVANGELICAL VOTER: I personally planned to vote reluctantly and - like for Trump, and not that I in any way, like, would want to, like,
endorse him as a person, and --
SCHNEIDER: So it's been a hard decision for you?
MILLER: Oh, absolutely.
SCHNEIDER: Rachel Miller is 22 years old, a millennial, and a prime target for the "Not Who We Are Pack." A super PAC devoted to defeating Donald
Trump releasing this music video ad featuring popular Christian musician, William Matthews.
WILLIAM MATTHEWS, CHRISTIAN MUSICIAN: Donald Trump is dangerous.
SCHNEIDER: Radio host Steve Noble voted early for Trump, it's a pick he struggled with.
STEVE NOBLE, EVANGELICAL RADIO HOST: I got to do what I can to stop Hillary. So, I'm not endorsing Donald Trump, I'm not a big Donald Trump
fan. I'm a pragmatist who is also a Christian.
SCHNEIDER: Jessica Schneider, CNN, Raleigh, North Carolina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, the campaign has certainly seen more than its share of ups and downs, and twists and turns. But the October in to November surprises
have been beyond the wildest imaginations that even the most hardcore political junkies and fantasist, even.
Now, there is the sudden revival of Hillary Clinton's email server is a major issue. But in early October, the bomb shell was a tape of Donald
Trump making lewd comments. Remember that? Many Republicans distanced themselves from their nominee and the Clinton campaign is referencing that
tape in a new ad trying to shift to the narrative back to all of that.
Let's take a closer look at the October-November surprises and their impact on the race. CNN money senior media correspondent, Brian Stelter joins us
from New York for that. It's been quite a month we didn't have one October surprise, we had several, and there's still seven days to go, Brian.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN MONEY SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Forget about the October surprises, now it's time for November surprises. And the
reason I say that is that anything can happen in these last few days of the race. You look at history, look to the year 2000, it was four days before
the Bush-Gore election that it was revealed George W. Bush had a DWI up in May in the 1970s.
That rocked the race and Carl Rove looked back and said he thought that Bush may have lost a couple states as a result of it. Now, Bush still won
the election. That's an example of how even up until the very end of an election, there can be surprises, and certainly in this election, you've
got to expect that in the next few days.
GORANI: But typically - I mean, with seven days to go, how much does that shift the race? Because these are - it's such a polarized landscape, you
wonder if anyone is still undecided at this stage.
STELTER: Yes, I think you're right, I think at this point, there is a tornado of news, there's so, sort of, so many different stories, and such a
- such a story of saturation of news that it's unlikely to sway individual voter's decisions. What you can't factor - what you can't really predict
those, what people decide when they actually enter the polling place.
They can tell pollsters they're leaning one way or the other. They can tell their family they're leaning one way or the other, but what happens
when they actually go and cast a ballot, that of course, is up to each individual. And so, you've got to wonder if a late - kind of last minute
stories can sway people when they actually enter the polling booth.
GORANI: Yes, you certainly do, though so many people have voted already, lots of early voting. Let me ask you a little bit about one of the - one
DNC operative Donna Brazile whose contract was severed with CNN following an e-mail leak. One of those e-mails from the DNC leak. Talk to us about
that and why that happened.
STELTER: There has been a leak in October via WikiLeaks - well, first of all, all of these came from Wikileaks, that stolen trove of e-mails from
John Podesta, in some cases, copied in other people. So earlier in October, we saw an e-mail from Brazile seeming to give the Clinton campaign
one of the questions that would be asked at a CNN/TV One Town Hall.
Now, CNN indicated that it was the TV One moderator Roland Martin who was providing the question in that case. Then on Monday, another e-mail from
the Podesta's stolen e-mails. This e-mail showed Brazile providing a question ahead of time to the Clinton campaign before a CNN debate in
Flint, Michigan.
What this indicated was that on multiple occasions, Brazile was getting early access to questions somehow from somebody and then provided them to
the Clinton campaign.
Now, she was working at the time for CNN as well as the DNC. And so, it turns out she had already resigned before this most recent e-mail about
Flint came out. But it raised questions about how in the world she had access. It's indefensible for anybody, even if you're just a CNN
commentator not a journalist, to be giving help to a campaign.
And so - well, the fact that she resigned made this a nonissue. But if she had not resigned, there would have been action because clearly it would
have been inappropriate.
GORANI: All right. Brian Stelter, thanks very much. It's one of the many, many developments in this campaign. And we will see you on your
program this weekend.
STELTER: Thanks.
GORANI: Well, gender has played a major role in this election. We've seen Democrat Hillary Clinton dealing with sexism on the trail, her opponent
Donald Trump suggested she lacked the stamina for the presidency. He called her, of course, a nasty woman during the final debate.
President Barack Obama told the comedienne Samantha Bee in an interview that Clinton will encounter sexism, he believes, if she wins the election
and becomes president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMANTHA BEE, TBS HOST: If and when Hillary is president, what do you think will be the female equivalent of, "You weren't born in this country"?
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That's an interesting question.
BEE: Thank you. I have a lot of them.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think the equivalent will be -- she's tired. She's moody. She's being emotional.
BEE: It's just something about her?
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's something about her. When men are ambitious, it's just taken for granted. Well, of course, they
should be ambitious. When women are ambitious? Why? That theme, I think will continue throughout her presidency, and it's contributed to this
notion that somehow she is hiding something.
BEE: What a nasty woman.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right, Samantha Bee. I suggest you watch the whole five- minute interview, by the way, it has some very funny moments.
GORANI: Back in 1972, journalist Timothy Crouse wrote the book "The Boys on the Bus" about the mostly male journalists covering the race between
incumbent Richard Nixon and challenger George McGovern. More than four decades later, the faces of the journalist covering the campaign have
changed a lot.
Meet the "Girls on the Bus" featured now on CNN.com. A play, of course, on "The Boys on the Bus." The series opens a window into what it is like to
be a woman reporting on this campaign. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIANNA KELLAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hillary Clinton has been largely out of sight here for days now. She spent --
I thought the hardest thing that I would deal with in 2016 which I think was a reasonable assumption, was going to be covering this election. But I
- we were on the tarmac at DCA, and my dad calls me, and he tells me that my mom is in the hospital. Right as the primaries were wrapping up, my mom
died.
She hadn't been sick, so we got to Kentucky, and it was a Monday, as we were waiting to head to the Hillary Clinton event, my dad called me and he
told me that my mom had leukemia. And I thought, "All right. Well, we have like a big cancer battle ahead of us." She was diagnosed with
leukemia on a Monday afternoon and she died less than 24 hours later.
My mom was the rock of our family. She was 61 when she died. She loved traveling, she'd actually - she'd actually came to Las Vegas shortly before
she died, and gone to the Grand Canyon with my sister and her grand kids.
My mom would watch every big primary night. For 2016, her reality show was the election, and it was on CNN, so I know she was linked very much to the
coverage and just what I did.
She was so much a part of our lives that she's -- I feel her all of the time, you know? She is still -- it's like she's just there with me.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm on the road a lot, but nothing compared to what I would be if I didn't have a son at home. In
2008, I was on the road for more than 300 days during that whole year. And it's just not something I want to do right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Always working.
BASH: Always working.
A lot of times when I'm on my phone, I am trying to multitask doing source texting, e-mails -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that how you do your make up now?
BASH: Yes. But also, making sure that the play date that I set up for my son was good to go. All of those things are kind of woven into the
everyday life of every working mom. It's just the way it is.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, Dana Bash there talking multitasking and taking multitasking to a whole new level. Dana, our chief U.S. political correspondent joins
me now live from Washington with more on this fascinating series. It wasn't really a dry eye in the studio when we heard Brianna there talk
about losing her mother on the trail. And also, you having to deal with being a mom, having a small child at home, and doing this incredibly
demanding job. I mean, all working mothers have to deal with it, but you're away so often.
BASH: It's true. And I would just say that Brianna and I happened to be officemates and good friends for as many years. So -- I lived this with
her, but to watch her open up like that in public, I got to think was pretty brave. And I think that all of this -- this series, what it does,
it shows that, you know, for all of the Twitter haters out here, we have news for you, we're actually human beings.
We're real people, we're not just robots who cover the news and try to do it objectively, all of us. And it doesn't make us -- it makes us the same
as everybody out there doing whatever job that they're doing. It - obviously being on TV is very public, covering a campaign is very tolling,
but there is different levels of that, and I think that that -- this is just a way to show people that reality.
GORANI: Yes, absolutely. I mean, I spent only two short weeks covering this campaign at the conventions, and I came back shattered. And we go to
the Middle East, I mean, we could -
(CROSSTALK)
BASH: I was just going to say, "OK. Hala, you're being very - you're being - you're being very gracious, but you actually -- you go to war
zones, so I know that you know what covering the news is really like.
GORANI: This was more -
(CROSSTALK)
BASH: And it's not in a cushy - right, not in a cushy scenario like a campaign. But go ahead.
GORANI: That's true, but there was something more exhausting about it, I'll be honest with you. Certainly, I think the hours.
BASH: Wow. That's interesting.
GORANI: I mean, the early mornings, and throughout the day, the demands of digital, and then you also have to Twitter, Snapchat, or whatever you
choose to do on a social media platform. I mean, that is all consuming.
I want to ask you a question about the Twitter haters, because you brought them up. I have my fair share. I do wonder if as female reporters we get
more of that Twitter hate?
BASH: I think we do. I'm sure. I mean, it - look, I don't know. I actually do watch some of our male colleagues and they definitely get a
fair amount. I think it's a different kind of hate. I think that their hate is focused on the substance of what they say, and that's true for some
of the mean tweets that I get, but a lot of it is also on what's up with your hair and that's a terrible outfit and other things that I just can't
and wouldn't repeat ever, not even on television. I'm sure you get the same, although it's just the way it is.
I think it's -- social media is such a great thing in so many ways, but it is also not so great and that people feel that they can get -- come at you
anonymously and forget that you're a person, and you're a human being, and, you know, they say things that are not nice that they would not say to
their worst enemy if they were face to face with them.
GORANI: Yeah, I want to ask you a question about female voters. Because there's been so much said about how females - college-educated females, for
instance, are more likely to support Hillary Clinton, but then sort of the blue collar female vote is more likely to lean toward Donald Trump. But
still, there's been some - I mean, Hillary Clinton has not gotten the amount of the female vote that you would expect being the first female
nominee for a major party in the United States. What do you think is at play here?
BASH: It's so true. It's so fascinating because, you know, many times covering this campaign we're so caught up in the larger narrative of what
the character is of each of these candidates, and then we never mind the experience, the woman thing isn't as front and center as you would have
thought, given the fact that the United States is on the precipice of potentially electing the first woman president ever. And so, I think the
answer to your question about why it's not more of an issue at least with voters, female voters, the ones who you see in that piece there, I was at a
republican event at the - in the suburbs of Philadelphia, they call the collar counties of the inner city that really determine whether or not a
state, particularly Pennsylvania, will go republican or democrat. And these were women who, you know, are sort of educated women, they are well-
to-do women, a lot of them, not all, but some of them, and they just feel like they know Hillary Clinton separate from her gender, and they don't
like her. And so, the fact that she's a woman, in fact, to a person, Hala, the women there that I talked to, when I said, "Well, what about the idea
of electing the first woman, does that gave you a little bit of a pull?" the answer was "No, we think that the feminist thing to do is to vote for
the person we think is most qualified. Never mind their gender." Now, the good news for the Clinton campaign is that's not the overwhelming feeling
among the female electorate internationally, and particularly in this Battleground States, but it's enough that makes you, you know, stop and
remember that Hillary Clinton is so unique in not only in that she's a woman, but because she has been around so long, not - yeah as first lady,
as Secretary of State, at - before that senator, and a part of the "Washington Establishment" no matter her agenda -- her gender rather, and
that's why some people who wanted change don't care that she would be the first woman president.
GORANI: All right. Dana Bash, thanks very much. And we can catch "Girls on the Bus" online, and thanks for all the work you've been doing.
BASH: You too, Hala.
GORANI: You and all of the journalists that's been really just incredibly back-breaking hard work and great work, and we appreciate it. Thank you.
BASH: Thanks.
GORANI: All right. Coming up after the break, take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just asked him how he felt compared to a week ago and you saw his face, I mean, you don't even really need to translate it, happy
man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: How some Iraqis mark being set free from ISIS control? Everyday activities will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Amid all the misery in the fight against ISIS, there are rare, special moments like this one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: There's an Iraqi soldier that sees his family for the first time in two years. He's part of a squad fighting to take back Mosul from ISIS,
his family escaped from the city with a group of other people, and a CNN producer witnessed the reunion.
As the Iraqi-led forces close in on Mosul, they've been liberating village after village. Our Michael Holmes visited one where people are enjoying
some of life's simple pleasures now that ISIS is gone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Peshmerga frontline, 12 kilometers from Mosul, and with an eyesight, the ISIS-held
town of (INAUDIBLE). And at the end of a dusty track, five kilometers in the other direction, Al Fazliya, four days ago under the iron fist of ISIS
rule. Today, free.
"We're so glad this nightmare is over." Baba Ahmed abu Usama tells us. "These past days we live in celebration." Today, Ahmed is the busiest man
in town, more than 50 customers a day, old and young, since ISIS left. Across the street with another barber, Shihab, savoring his first shave
since ISIS came more than two years ago. "Under ISIS we could do nothing without their permission," he says, "From the first hour after they left,
we felt normal again."
One of the most visual aspects of life under ISIS, with the men were not allowed to shave. Barber shops have virtually no business, and check this
out, even the faces of the people on the signs outside, were taped over so that you couldn't see their faces, their haircuts, their beards, the tape
has now come off, and business is booming.
A few shops down, bad habits renewed. Smoking, a crime under ISIS, but today a breath of freedom for olive farmer Mahmoud, who told us it's like a
black cloud has lifted.
I just asked him how he felt compared to a week ago and you saw his face, I mean, you don't really need to translate it, happy man.
Down the street, joy at liberation, anguish, though, too, for (INAUDIBLE) Khorshed. So, this lady is telling us that when ISIS came into Mosul two
years ago, her son who was a major in the Pershmerga, was arrested and taken away. This is his wife, these are his children, he has four kids,
they have not seen him since, and obviously, they fear the worst.
The story of Al Fazliya is repeated across the battlefield. Town's freed, people relieved, happy, but scarred as well, much damage is being done to
bricks and mortar, but also to societies and psyches, neighbors and friends. For today, though, here, now, the relief is palpable. Michael
Holmes, Al Fazliya near Mosul, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, you're watching THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. We'll have a lot more ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Hong Kong, a city crowded with skyscrapers around a harbor clogged with freighters, not the most likely place for conservation, but that's
where our next installment of "GOING GREEN" takes us.
LAM LAI-SHAN, GREEN MAMA OF HONG KONG: My name is Lam Lai-Shan and I'm living in Hong Kong. People call me "Green Mama". I came up an idea of
doing a green map because I know there's a freight international green map system. What I want to do is I want people, green citizens to come up
together to contribute to a map. So this place actually is one of the spots of green map. This is a demonstration point we can share food, space,
resources, knowledge, people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can share, can enjoy and can actually make use of the space together as citizens.
LAI-SHAN: If more people know such idea then I think Hong Kong will be a green Hong Kong most people are green citizens. Rubbish becomes not really
rubbish, it's treasure to me. I ran a workshop which is teaching people how to make paper, how to make soap. Here is the soap I make by myself.
And I used to collect some used cooking oil from my neighbors. When they deep fry something, they won't reuse it again, so they will give me. I try
to influence family if every family is green and whole Hong Kong becomes green.
GORANI: Don't forget you can get the latest news, interviews and announces from the show on our Facebook page, facebook.com/halagoranicnn. This has
been THE WORLD RIGHT NOW, I'm Hala Gorani. Thanks for watching. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is going to be coming up next after a quick break. Don't
go anywhere, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
