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The Lead with Jake Tapper

What Are Harris' Top Domestic Policy Plans?; 12 Days Out: Harris In Georgia, Trump In Arizona And Nevada; Sen. McConnell: Trump Has Done "A Lot Of Damage" To GOP's Image; Poll: Democrat Leads Former GOP Gov. Hogan In M.D. Senate Race; Trump's Ex-Chief Of Staff: Trump Said He Wanted Generals Like Hitler's. Aired 5-6:00p ET

Aired October 24, 2024 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:00:14]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper.

This hour, three acts of violence against one synagogue within 12 hours, police are investigating incidents of arson and vandalism and attempted burglary, and now they're asking for the public's help in figuring out who's responsible in a historic synagogue. Plus, we're spotlighting one of the biggest Senate races of this election. Republicans hope they could flip a seat by running the state's popular former Governor Larry Hogan, but with just 12 days to go, what are his chances? I'll ask former Governor Hogan live in minutes.

And leading this hour, two huge campaign events are about to get underway. Former President Donald Trump set to take the stage in moments for a rally in the crucial battleground of Arizona. And Vice President Kamala Harris is gearing up for an event in another key battleground, Georgia, where she will be joined by former President Barack Obama. Joining us now to discuss Susan Rice, former director of the U.S. Domestic Policy Council under President Biden, a former ambassador.

Madam Ambassador, good to see you. So tonight, we're going to see President Obama with Vice President Harris, also the boss, Bruce Springsteen in Georgia. Tomorrow in Houston, we're going to see Beyonce, Willie Nelson joining Vice President Harris. We saw this in 2016, two stars coming out for Hillary Clinton, I wonder if you have any concern about the celebrities joining, because I just want to play this from one of the undecided Pennsylvania voters in last night's town hall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAM THISTIE, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: I am very big on details. I'm big on numbers. I am a widow with 100 percent responsibility for my family, for my kids, for their tuitions, for my bills, and so I do my own taxes. I'm very much on top of every dollar. And so that is where -- and I'm not really getting it from either candidate, to be honest. So I -- that's where I just want to see what lines up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So Pam, who was in that clip, she doesn't want Beyonce. She wants some detailed answers on what Kamala Harris will do. What's your take?

SUSAN RICE, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N., OBAMA ADMIN.: Well, first of all, she didn't say she didn't want Beyonce. She said she wanted policy specifics. Let me give you my take, Jake, I thought that was a very interesting post-debate segment you did with five -- not you, but CNN --

TAPPER: John King, yes.

RICE: -- John King did with five of the people who asked questions during the debate about what their thoughts were going in versus coming out of the debate or not debate the town hall, which should have been a debate, but Donald Trump chickened out of. So, it was interesting. Three of the five had -- all of the five had come in undecided. Three of the five said afterwards that they had decided, as a result of the town hall to support Kamala Harris. Two, including Pam said they hadn't decided, but neither of the two said they were more inclined to vote for Donald Trump after the town hall.

So, I think what the vice president will do and should do is more than one thing at once. It's possible to generate enthusiasm, bring out the vote, energize supporters with things like Beyonce and Bruce Springsteen and Barack Obama, and at the same time, do as she has been doing and did last night, which is to lay out her specific plans to benefit average American people who are dealing with high costs and a number of other particular challenges. So she has to outline, as she did, her plan to reduce grocery prices by putting in place a federal ban on price gouging. Her plan to lower housing costs by building 3 million more new affordable homes by giving tax incentives to do that to builders, while at the same time enabling first time homebuyers to access $25,000 in new down payment assistance to give them a foot in the door, quite literally. She will reduce healthcare costs and ensure that the price of insulin at $35 a month, which is now the case for seniors, and $2,000 cap per year on all your prescription drug prices which seniors will have starting next year will apply to all Americans who need assistance.

So these are very concrete, specific plans like strengthening Social Security and Medicare and making Medicare apply for -- to caring for your elderly loved ones at home that will benefit people that voters need to continue to hear. While at the same time, and I hope we have a chance to talk about this, you know, making the contrast with Donald Trump, who's all about revenge and retribution, rather than getting things done for the American people.

[17:05:01]

TAPPER: So, with 12 days left, it's time for closing arguments. A senior Trump campaign aide told Fox that the Trump closing argument is, quote, "Harris broke it, Trump will fix it." What's Harris's closing argument? RICE: Harris's closing argument is I have a list of concrete plans, and I will get them done. It's my to do list. Whereas Donald Trump has a hit list of people he wants to go after. That's his agenda. It's all about him. It's all about retribution.

It's all about turning the military against the so called enemy within, which is all of those of us who may differ with his policies and approaches, rather than concrete plans to benefit the American people, and to the extent that he's outlined any plan related to the economy, it's all about tariffs. And the analysis could not be starker. You saw, you know, scores of Nobel laureates come out today and say that they support Kamala Harris over Donald Trump because her policies will benefit the economy as opposed to his. For tariffs, he is proposing to up to 20 percent tariff on all imported goods from all countries, which will cost the average American family an additional $4,000 a year, increased cost. That's his plan.

Will also tank the economy and take what is in macroeconomic terms, the strongest economy in the world today and in decades and turn it into a mess.

TAPPER: Ambassador Susan Rice, thank you so much. Appreciate your time.

Let's bring in our panel of political experts and reporters to weigh in. And Jonah, you just heard Susan Rice give her reaction to Trump's closing message, and also her repetition of Kamala Harris' closing message. The, you know, I have a to do list, he has a revenge list or a hit list. Is that effective?

JONAH GOLDBERG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Maybe. I don't think -- I don't think Harris has given a lot of people a very strong closing message. You know, the town hall last night she was asked again and again, you know, the same question she keeps getting about, what would you do differently than Biden? And it's pretty atmospheric, you know, I'm younger, I'm a woman, I'm different, I'll be different. But it's not really a traditional kind of closing argument.

I think, you know, one of the things she could have said, given what Susan Rice was just talking about, is that she might disagree with Joe Biden on terrorists, because Joe Biden basically kept all of Donald Trump's terrorist --

TAPPER: Right.

GOLDBERG: -- in place. And she could say, hey, look, this is -- there was -- and you can finesse it, you can nuance it. You say there was a time for that, but, you know, we passed on it. The economy is good right now, and we could really just target China. But I think their real closing message is, this is a referendum on Donald Trump who likes German generals, and you should vote against Trump more than vote for me.

TAPPER: What do you think?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, being with her out on the campaign trail, I can tell you that she is talking about policy quite a bit. I was with her at the Economic Club in Pittsburgh when she made the case and then handed out 80 page booklets afterwards. But it just seems like she is being held to a higher standard than the former president, and that, for some reason, it's not resonating in all corners. So, Susan Rice just outlined a whole host of policies, lowering housing costs, help for first time home buyers, Medicare expansion to keep seniors in their homes. And yet and still, there's this argument that she's running a policy thin campaign, it's just not the case.

TAPPER: What do you think?

JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR, "FIRST MOVE": I think that the message was right from the Harris campaign there will dismiss price gouging attempts, because I think that's utter nonsense. I think the challenge that they've got is that they are coming up with policies. What's weird about Trump is he's trying to say he's going to help everybody but his policy spy on the face of that.

And I agree with what we were saying. I mean, I've just been at the International Monetary Fund meetings, and policy makers, their heads are exploding over the tariff plan. They think it will be bad for America, it will be bad for the world, it will mean higher prices in the United States. They like the economy now. They're very fearful, quietly over the two directions as it goes in.

And I have to say, though, the messages, as far as Harris policy is concerned, they think it will be a continuation of Biden. So she's not making that connection, I think, that this will be change. But for most of those guys, they think Trump, not all, but most of his policies are head explosive, bad for Americans.

TAPPER: Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has endorsed Trump, but in a new book out this month called "The Price of Power," McConnell is quoted saying that, quote, the former president -- I'm sorry, the former president has, quote, "Done a lot of damage to our party's image and our ability to compete. Trump is appealing to people who haven't been as successful as other people, and providing an excuse for that that these more successful people have somehow cheated and you don't deserve to think of yourself as less success. Stressful because things haven't been fair," unquote. Is that part of the concern among these IMF officials and such?

[17:10:09]

CHATTERLEY: I think it's the right message. Talk to the Americans that feel like they've been left behind, that they haven't had opportunities, that wages haven't caught up, the message to the middle class in particular is correct. Again, the problem is, when you're talking about tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, why they don't need it when you're talking about a tariff plan that he's talking about, which is sort of great depression equating tariffs that are going to hurt American consumers, raise prices, lower growth, the message is right. The policy pronouncements are entirely wrong, and that's what they're saying here today. They're fearful. I'll be honest, they're fearful about what he means. MCKEND: McConnell's comments don't surprise me. He always saw the former president as a vehicle to be useful, whether it was on taxes or expanding the federal bench to include or making -- remaking the federal bench to include more conservatives. But yes, Democrats have work to do because their coalition is so diverse. You know, the vast majority of white people in this country identify as Republicans. Democrats have a much more racially and ideologically diverse coalition, and so it's just harder, right?

When I see the vice president out on the campaign trail, campaigning with Liz Cheney, but also, you know, doing this event with Charlamagne --

TAPPER: Right.

MCKEND: -- it is so -- it's -- she's trying to appeal to so many different constituencies.

TAPPER: Right. It's a patchwork. Yes.

MCKEND: And it's a lot of work.

TAPPER: What's your final thought?

GOLDBERG: I think that historians are going to look back on all this and say that both, like the tea parties and Occupy Wall Street, were two sides of the same coin. The financial crisis has put us in a long tail of populism, and that's basically what McConnell's point is, is that the message that the system is rigged can take on a cultural aspect, but also an economic aspect, and that's what McConnell is talking about.

TAPPER: And it's what Kamala Harris is trying to deal with right now. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Republicans hoping to flip a Senate seat in Maryland with just 12 days left to go. Where does that race stand? I'm going to ask the Republican vying for the job former Governor Larry Hogan next. Plus, police arresting a man they say attacked a Democratic National Committee office three times in September and October. Hear what they found when they searched the suspect's house that raised even more concerns, that's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:16:11]

TAPPER: In our 2024 lead, today is the first day where ballots can be cast in one of the biggest Senate races in the United States. And a new Washington Post poll shows that in Maryland, the Democratic candidate Angela Alsobrooks, says a comfortable 52 percent to 40 percent lead over former governor of Maryland Republican Larry Hogan. That has not stopped Democrats from beefing up their defense. The Chuck Schumer back Senate Majority PAC just injected about $2 million into the race. Former Governor Hogan joins us now.

Governor, do your internal poll numbers show similar numbers? And if so, how do you plan on closing this gap?

LARRY HOGAN, (R) MARYLAND SENATE CANDIDATE: Yes, no, actually, our internal poll numbers show it as a neck and neck toss up race. But you know, obviously they would not be spending $50 million in attacking me and pulling money out of other states to come in here if they thought they had a comfortable lead. But it's -- look, I've always been an underdog. It's a one of the bluest states in America. But I believe, just like I did in '14 and '18, we're going to surprise a lot of people.

I think in '14 they had me down 12 points, and I won by five. So, we're -- I'm a late closer, and we're out there making the argument with Republicans, Democrats and Independents all across the state.

TAPPER: As you probably heard this week, Trump's former chief of staff, John Kelly, confirmed to the Atlantic magazine and "The New York Times" that Trump said that he wished his generals would show him the same deference that Adolf Hitler's Nazi generals showed the German dictator during World War II. What was your reaction when you read that?

HOGAN: Well, it was shocking and outrageous, but really not that surprising beginning. As you know, Jake, I've been probably the leading voice in my party for eight years that raised a lot of these concerns, and more and more every day you start to hear other things. But you know, we're in the last 12 days of a campaign and, you know, it's outrageous, but it's not that surprising.

TAPPER: Your campaign has a new T.V. ad out. Let's listen to part of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REBECCA ROCKVILLE, DEMOCRATIC MARYLAND VOTER: As a Democrat for president, I know who I'm voting for, that's easy. But Senate, Alsobrooks or Hogan? Look, they're both pro-choice, but Hogan cut taxes, tolls and fees in Maryland, this isn't complicated. I'm splitting my ticket Harris and Hogan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So we played that ad in the last hour for your successor, the current Maryland Governor, Democrat Wes Moore, and he said, you can't have it both ways. He said a number of things, but one of them was, how can you be anti-Trump if you're not voting for Kamala Harris?

HOGAN: Well, look, part of my coalition has always been Democrats. I left office last year with 79 percent of the Democrats in Maryland approving of me, and we're making -- you know, we have seven different commercials on right now with Democrats, Republicans and Independents all saying why they're going to vote for me. And, you know, we're doing well with each of those groups, but they're an awful lot of Harris Hogan ticket splitters. Almost 25 percent of all the Harris voters are currently, according to polling, voting for me.

TAPPER: He also said that you are unclear on the issue of abortion rights, which obviously, according to polls, is something that Maryland voters support.

HOGAN: Well, he's absolutely wrong. And, you know, sadly, this is my opponents run an entire campaign based on lies, Jake. I mean, I have made it very clear for a long time I'm going to codify roe. It's the first -- I'll sponsor a bill to codify roe and to protect IVF. I ran for governor promising to protect access to abortion, and I kept that promise for eight years.

And the voters of Maryland know me, and they trust me, regardless of what kind of falsehoods they might try to spread in the closing weeks of a campaign.

TAPPER: Former Governor Larry Hogan, thanks so much good to see you, sir.

HOGAN: Thank you, Jake.

TAPPER: With this 12 days to go, election workers in some battleground states are preparing for potential violence. Next, CNN goes one on one with the top election official for an inside look at new safety precautions that have been put into place.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:24:10]

TAPPER: And we're back with our 2024 lead in a spotlight on Maricopa County, Arizona. That's where Phoenix is. It's also where election officials are bracing for potential violence with good reason. The Justice Department election threats Task Force has already announced new cases involving violent threats towards election workers. One of the most recent incidents, harassment of Maricopa County employees.

This all goes back to 2020, when Maricopa County was ground zero for election controversy, with recounts and audits and unfounded allegations of fraud pushed by Trump and his MAGA supporters, all fueling protests and threats against election officials. All this despite multiple investigations and no evidence of fraud ever found, even by the Ninja Warriors. CNN's Audie Cornish takes us to Maricopa County now to see how election workers there are using what they've learned to prepare for this already turbulent election cycle.

[17:25:02]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN HOST, THE ASSIGNMENT WITH AUDIE CORNISH PODCAST (voice-over): Today, I'm taking The Assignment table to a voter tabulation center in Phoenix, Arizona, arguably, no county face a level of recounts, hand counts, armed protesters, audits and cyber ninjas as Maricopa County. Bill Gates of the county's Board of Supervisors certified the 2020 count despite pressure from Trump allies. Now, after years of death threats and harassment, Gates is retiring from public office. So what keeps him up at night this election year? I'm Audie Cornish, and this is The Assignment on the road. CORNISH: This is no joke --

BILL GATES, MARICOPA COUNTY SUPERVISOR: Yes. Yes.

CORNISH: -- like the security I've actually been to a prison that looks like this, which is not an insult, but just like the bars, the buzzers.

GATES: Yes, it is intense. It's really sad that that's, you know, how we have to do things today.

CORNISH: Was it always like this?

GATES: Oh, no, not at all. So I'd come down here. It was in and out easily, and really, until 2020, that's when things really changed. And we owe it to our people who work in this building to make it safe, to have the metal detectors, to have all of the bars and the badges. But it really is a sad statement on where we're at right now.

CORNISH: Is that your experience that 2020 ever came to an end?

GATES: No, no, we are still living through 2020 almost on a daily basis. Every day on social media and other places, people still raising questions about it. There's an industry now, there are people who make their living from spreading misinformation about elections. This is something unlike we've ever seen before.

And here's the part that's heartbreaking to me, is the good people, my fellow Republicans, who have been fed this misinformation and they believe it. They're not bad people. They really haven't done anything wrong, but they've been fed this misinformation from people who they respect, people who they believe in.

CORNISH: Do you have a sense of how long it could take to count the votes here?

GATES: We're not done counting votes on election night. It takes 10 to 13 days to count all the votes here in Maricopa County. We anticipate we'll have maybe about 95 percent of the votes counted and reported by Friday of election week. We're looking at transparency, we're looking at accuracy, and then after those then speed is way down on the list to me. We want to be as quick as we can, because we know that as the days go on, people start --

CORNISH: Get anxious.

GATES: -- hatch more conspiracy to get anxious.

CORNISH: And the vacuum is where misinformation comes in.

GATES: Absolutely. But we will have all of the votes counted so that we can canvas this election and send it up for certification at the state level with plenty of time.

CORNISH (voice-over): If you want to hear more of this conversation on The Assignment podcast, we're taking the show on the road to meet the people shaping the election in the weeks ahead. Find us online or wherever you get your podcasts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: One of the greats. Audie Cornish, thanks so much.

Here's evidence of how those threats in Maricopa County could have become another deadly day in America. Police in Tempe, which is also in Maricopa County, have arrested a man who allegedly attacked the Democratic National Committee office three times over the last six weeks, shooting at the building, leaving political signs with bags of white powder attached. The suspect, 60-year-old, Michael Jeffrey -- Michael Kelly, seen here during his first court appearance. Police say they found more than 120 guns and 250,000 rounds of ammunition at his home, raising fears of a mash -- mass casualty event. Investigators say they believe he may have been on his way to commit another crime since he did not have his cell phone with him during the attacks, suggesting he was trying to avoid being tracked.

That's according to a prosecutor from the Maricopa attorney's office. He's being held on a fifth $500,000 cash bond and faces multiple felony counts.

Next we're going to go from Arizona to Pennsylvania when investigators are revealing after historic synagogue was targeted three times in 12 hours. The alarming surveillance video, that's next. Plus, a decision in the case of the Menendez brothers, it's breaking right now. We're going to go live to Los Angeles where the district attorney is making his announcement. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: We have breaking news in our Law and Justice Lead, a decision just in from the Los Angeles District Attorney in the Menendez Brothers case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE GASCON, LOS ANGELES COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We're going to recommend to the court that the life without the possibility of parole be removed and that they will be sentenced for murder.

Which, because there are two murders involved, there will be 50 years to life. However, because of their age, under the law, since they were under 26 years of age, at the time that these crimes occurred, they will be eligible for parole immediately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Let's bring in CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister. Elizabeth, what does this decision mean?

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: This decision means that the District Attorney, he is recommending sentencing. He says that he is going to officially make that recommendation to the court tomorrow, which effectively means that the Menendez Brothers could be released very soon, within a matter of months, potentially, before the end of the year is possible. Again, this is a recommendation.

He is not the one who can ultimately make the decision. That will have to be determined by the judge. But this is obviously the most movement that we have seen in this case, more than 35 years after these murders and after this really captured the attention of the entire country.

You know, as you know, Jake, this was one of the first major televised court cases. And more than three decades later, it continues to fascinate the public.

TAPPER: And you reported in a recent documentary, a member of the boy band, Menudo, said that he was raped by Jose Menendez, the father that Erik and Lyle killed. How much weight do you think the District Attorney gave that?

[17:35:02]

WAGMEISTER: That is a hugely significant piece of evidence, Jake. So there were two pieces of evidence that were submitted and considered here. One, was a letter that the DA's office said was written by Erik Menendez a year before he and his brother Lyle killed their parents. In that letter, he wrote to his cousin that he was suffering from this alleged sexual abuse from his father.

So his attorneys had argued that this proves that he was suffering from this. And then the other piece, Jake, as you mentioned, is this former member of Menudo coming forward saying that he, too, was raped by Jose Menendez.

TAPPER: Fascinating and horrible, both. Elizabeth Wagmeister, thanks so much. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Former President Trump is holding a rally in the suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona. Let's dip in and hear what he's saying.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: My message today is very simple. Kamala's migrant invasion given to us through gross incompetence disqualifies her from even thinking about being president. We can't let that happen.

[17:40:02]

No person who is responsible for so much bloodshed and death on our soil can ever be allowed to become the president of the United States. What she's done and he's done. Crooked Joe and Kamala, what a combination. Worst combination in the history of our country. And they've weaponized your government. They're a disgrace to our country.

Four years ago, we had the strongest, safest and most secure border in U.S. history with the lowest level of illegal immigration ever achieved. Four years ago. Put up the chart. Go ahead. Put it up. My favorite chart.

(CHEERING) (APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: That was the lowest, that was the day I left office. We -- we did great in 2016. We got millions more votes in 2020. But that's the way it goes. But this is a big -- this is bigger than anything. This is going to be the biggest and most important election ever. It's going to be the biggest political event, I believe, in our country's history. We have to win. And we don't need it for the big political event. We need it to save our country.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: When Kamala came in, she deliberately dismantled our border and threw open the gates. She threw them open. The gates to an invasion of criminal migrants from prisons and jails, from insane asylums and mental institutions from all over the world, from Venezuela to the Congo in Africa. A lot of people coming out of the Congo, not just South America.

They're coming from 181 countries as of yesterday, right? And we're a dumping ground. We're like a -- we're like a garbage can for the world. That's what's happened. That's what's happened to our -- we're like a garbage can. You know, it's the first time I've ever said that. And every time I come up and talk about what they've done to a country, I get angrier and angrier.

First time I've ever said garbage can. But you know what? It's a very accurate description. Meanwhile, she cruelly forced our border agents to help facilitate her wicked betrayal of America. And by the way, the Border Patrol last week gave us their complete and total endorsement. And they said she is the worst.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: I want to thank them. And they at the same time, they said she is so bad. She's the worst. You can't have her. And they don't want to do that. It's probably not easy for them to do that. But you know what they said? She's horrible.

She was the border czar and she never made one phone call. Not only didn't she come to the border, she never made a phone call. And now a few months ago, when she was getting killed, both of them, him and her, they were getting killed.

They made it a little bit tougher, but they forgot to stop the airplanes going overhead. We said, how come those planes are still flying? Hundreds of thousands of people flown into our country, landing in our beautiful Midwest and other places. And they're devastated.

You know what's happening to Springfield, Ohio and Aurora and Colorado. What they're doing to our country. We're joined today by the former senior Border Patrol chief of the San Diego sector, Aaron Heitke, an eyewitness to one of the most horrific scandals in American history carried out by Kamala.

Well, she was appointed by this guy because he has to go to sleep every night at 4 o'clock. And she was appointed by him. And therefore, she was the border czar. But she doesn't want to be called. So who cares what she is. She was appointed to take care of our border. We had the worst border. And now, and by the way, she also destroyed San Francisco, one of the greatest cities in the world, 15, 16 years ago.

And California, when she was attorney general, a disaster between her and Gavin Newsom, he is the worst. But it's deadly. What they've done is deadly. The open border policy is a disaster. Aaron, please come up and say a few words, Border Patrol.

[17:45:04]

AARON HEITKE, BORDER PATROL CHIEF: I've never seen anything worse in the last four years that I've seen under the current administration. I had the pleasure of working for President Trump. And as things were never better, I had the misfortune of spending the last four years watching our border be overrun. It's been nonstop.

The agent's morale has been destroyed. It's been -- it's been very difficult to watch. I testified in front of the Senate recently to get the word out. The public doesn't know. This administration has continued to say there's no threat at the border. We have a continuous threat, a serious threat at the border that needs to be addressed, and it needs to be addressed now. Thank you, sir.

TRUMP: Thank you, Aaron. And that's heartfelt, too. That's heartfelt. He just wants it to be straightened out, along with one of the incredible people. Getting their endorsement was my great honor.

But it says something. And we had unanimous, thousands of people, unanimous. Who could ever get that? Because she's so bad. She's so bad. She's -- I watched last night. I don't watch CNN often. It's fake news. But I watched last night. Oh, there they -- oops, their camera just went off.

I watched last night. She did a town hall. Honestly, it was pathetic. It was pathetic. There's never been anything like that. We can't let it happen. We can't. That's why you have to get everyone saying how well we're doing. You still get out the people that haven't voted. Get out and vote.

We can't take a chance. We can't take a chance on this disaster continuing because we won't have a country left if it does. The four year-long nightmare that Kamala Harris has forced your men to endure your men, your women, your children. It's a -- it's a nightmare for the whole planet. You want to know the truth? Because we represent so much. We represent the American dream.

The whole world is watching us. And they see these people that -- that don't deserve to be in any position of authority. Remember, he got whether you like him or not. I'm not a fan of his. Did you see last night? He blew it. He said, lock him up. He would -- he said, lock him up last night. He's not allowed to say that.

He's such a stupid guy. Such a stupid fool. He's such a guy. What a -- but they actually -- remember this. This was the -- they took it away from me. They did something that's never happened. You know, you can use different words, but they just took away the presidency of the United States. And they wanted to be politically correct. They gave it to her.

And she was last. She was the first one out. And she came in out of the top 13 contenders. She came in last. And they gave her the -- she had no votes. He got 14 million, whether you like this guy or not. And not too many people are thrilled. And, you know, if you remember, we had a debate and debate. He didn't do great in the debate.

But you know what? That's what happens. And he went down and he was not doing great. But you got to let him ride it out, right? Instead, they took him out. They said, you're coming out. We're not going to let you -- they tell this to the President. This is crazy, Nancy. She's crazy as a bed bug, that one.

And she's a nut job. It was crooked as hell. Listen, she started over with nothing. Two weeks ago, a company that was going to be investigated the following day. She had a lot of stock in the company. She sold the stock the day before they announced the investigation of the company. That's crazy, Nancy.

(BOOING)

TRUMP: No, I think she's immune from investigation. Can you -- can you believe it. I think she's immune. But not a good person. So when I win on November 5th, the migrate -- and remember this, we're going to win. I think we're going to win maybe bigger than anyone understands. I want you to go out and vote.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: And when I win on November 5th and it's not me, we win. We're going to win. When we win on November 5th, the migrant invasion ends and the restoration of our country begins. We're going to restore our country.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

[17:50:01]

TRUMP: One of the deadliest and most vicious migrant gangs that Kamala has imported into our country. Essentially, she opened borders, when you say open borders. And then they said, we're going to give you healthcare, education. We're going to give -- they're forced to come up, right? Sheriff, you look good, handsome guy. But they -- they come in. It's like a magnet. They come in. They promised everything. They -- in New York, they get hotel rooms, luxury hotel rooms. And our veterans are forced to sleep on the streets. Think of it.

But as a savage Venezuela prison gang formed in the prison, Tren de Aragua, that is taking over apartment complexes and unleashing a violent terror spree. This is in -- in that case in Colorado. And the governor, who is a radical left Democrat, is petrified of the situation.

He doesn't know what to do. He doesn't know what to do. Replace him. I think we replace him. I think -- I hope Colorado, you know, Colorado with the governor, this weak guy, Colorado was the one that tried to get Trump.

I'm leading every candidate, including the Democrats on the ballot. And they put in a petition to have me removed from the ballot. And then they say, think of it. They didn't get very far. But this guy tried that. So and then they say, I'm a threat to democracy. I'm a threat. No, they're a threat

But they even are taking over parts of Times Square. They're all over the place now. And they have weapons like very few people have. So let's take a look.

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[17:53:04]

TAPPER: While this is playing, we're going to squeeze in a quick break. We will right back.

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TAPPER: And we're back with the 2024 Lead. CNN will be airing Kamala Harris's rally this evening outside Atlanta with Bruce Springsteen and former President Obama. And we have been listening to Donald Trump at a rally in Tempe, Arizona just a few minutes ago. CNN's Tom Foreman's fact-checking Mr. Trump's comments. Tom?

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Jake, we invited President Trump to come on to be a part of another debate like the ones we've hosted before. We asked him to come on for a town hall. He declined all of that. So here we are simply looking from afar and listening to what he has to say. One of the things he said today is a very frequent claim.

Four years ago, we had the strongest, safest -- safest border with the lowest level of immigration ever. That was the day I left office. That's the chart that he often talks about on the day that the first assassination attempt. He said he turned his head to look at that chart and he loves that chart accordingly.

Unfortunately, that's not what this chart actually shows. What it points to is April of 2020, when he still had eight months left in his term, that was when global migration had slowed to a trickle, but that was also because COVID-19 was really setting in to make that happen. It wasn't Trump policies. They may have had some effect, but the COVID pandemic is really what drove it home. That was after hitting roughly a three-year low, three-year low, which was not an all-time low in April of 2020.

And during the -- the last few months of Trump's term, immigration was actually going up during all of those times. So that was one of his claims that he made here. He -- he went on to say many other things about immigration, saying Kamala Harris was the border czar. She was not. She had a role. She wasn't.

She dismantled it. She wants an open border. Not true. Cities overrun with criminals taken over from jails, mental institutions, all simply not true. Jake?

TAPPER: Yes. One of the things that's -- that's odd about President Trump when he talks about the border is I'm not sure that he knows the difference between people seeking asylum, which is, you know, refugees fleeing a place of violence, criminal activities, gangs, whatever, and seeking asylum, and an asylum for people who are mentally ill. I -- I -- I think that he actually confuses the two and conflates it.

FOREMAN: Whether -- whether he confuses it or purposely confuses it, there is very much an effort by he and JD Vance to sort of equate a lot of people, even legal immigrants, with, well, maybe they shouldn't be here. In many cases, case in point, Springfield, Ohio, where they are here legally, and yet they often refer to them as illegal and suggest they have no right to be here.

TAPPER: Right. Temporary protected status, which is what the individuals from Haiti who fleeing the violence in Haiti have been given. That's a policy that was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush in 1990. Tom Foreman with just a smattering of fact-checking there from --

[18:00:06]

FOREMAN: Yes. Including -- including him saying he looked at the CNN cameras and we turned him off while we were watching him on CNN cameras. So Jake, there you go.

TAPPER: Right. Exactly. All right. Tom, thanks so much.

If you ever miss an episode of The Lead, you can listen to the show once you get your podcast. This news continues on CNN with Wolf Blitzer in the Situation Room. See you tomorrow.

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