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The Lead with Jake Tapper
Trump Delivers Prebuttal To Harris Address; Trump: Madison Square Garden Rally Was "An Absolute Lovefest"; Trump Repeats Lie That FEMA Did Not Show Up In North Carolina; Soon: Harris' Major Speech At Site Of Trump's Jan. 6 Rally; Walz On Criticism Campaign Is Too Focused On Attacking Trump; Republicans Look To Flip Pennsylvania Senate Seat; Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), Is Interviewed About Trump Praises "The Love In The Room" At NYC Rally; Latino Voters In Nevada Share Their Concerns. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired October 29, 2024 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[17:00:16]
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to the Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. And we're just one week away from Election Day. And with the clock ticking down, so are my opportunities to do this. Maestro, please.
Yes. The sweet, sweet symphony of CNN's election jam. So on the trail today, former President Donald Trump just wrapped up a campaign event in the crucial battleground Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, holding a community roundtable outside Philadelphia in a town called Drexel Hill, which is in Delaware County, AKA Delco. And now crowds are gathering on the National Mall here in Washington, D.C. for Vice President Kamala Harris' speech later this evening. The event is going to be held at pretty much the same spot as Donald Trump's rally on January 6, 2020, one, in the minutes before his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.
Let's go right to Priscilla Alvarez who covers the Harris campaign for us. She's at the Ellipse in D.C.
Priscilla, what is Harris' message going to be this evening?
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, the vice president intends to cast the former president as consumed by revenge and crafting what she calls his enemies list while she, the vice president, is focused on her, quote, "to do list" for the American people. Now, a Harris advisor tells me that she has been making final edits and revisions over the course of today. And now we are getting some of the excerpts from her address. Let me read you one of those which really captures what the remarks are going to be about today. It says, quote, "Unlike Donald Trump, I don't believe people who disagree with me are the enemy are the enemy.
He wants to put them in jail. I'll give them a seat at my table." Of course, the vice president and her team have been trying to cast her campaign as one that has a broad tent that includes both Democrats, Independents and Republicans. And that's a push she's going to make today. But as you mentioned, the venue here is also significant.
Her campaign wanted to illustrate a degree of gravity, but also draw that stark contrast with the White House behind her, the Oval Office, the office she's seeking, only 500 yards away. So the vice president here will be describing her broader vision that includes policy proposals on the economy, on reproductive rights, on immigration, and laying that out, while also contrasting each of those priorities with that of former President Donald Trump.
Now advisors to the vice president that they want to reach the undecided voters, perhaps those disaffected Republicans who are tired of former President Donald Trump or those voters who are simply on the fence between the two candidates, that this is likely the last major opportunity that she's going to have to talk to the American people, be it here in the crowd, but also tuning in. So certainly they are trying to pull more people to their side to peel off those votes of former President Donald Trump. Seeing this, of course, as one of the last tentpole moments going into Election Day, Jake.
TAPPER: All right, Priscilla Alvarez in Washington, D.C. for us, thanks so much.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins joins me now here in studio. What a treat to have you here. So, Kaitlan --
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Back to Washington.
TAPPER: Welcome back to D.C. It's good to have you. The Trump campaign has tried to kind of like brush off and pretend it's not happening, all this blowback, from everything that happened at Madison Square Garden Sunday night. There were a lot of jokes that a lot of people -- and remarks that people found offensive, most particularly, I think, most controversially, that joke about Puerto Rico being a floating island of garbage. We ran Jon Stewart kind of defending the comedian earlier in the show. You were there in Madison Square Garden. Tell us about that and also tell us about what you're hearing from the Trump team about this.
COLLINS: Well, two things on that. You know, one, I've been to a million Trump rallies, maybe like a little caveat there, but I have been to a lot of them and so have a lot of the reporters who were there watching it. And when you're a reporter, you know what to expect going into the Trump rally. There's often speakers beforehand. Usually they're local elected Republican officials or surrogates of his that come out and speak.
This felt more like the Republican convention to me being there minus, you know, the other speakers who were at the convention, you know, the everyday Americans that they had featured at that. It was basically everyone Trump wanted to be speaking in front of him before he got on stage eventually that night. But the tone was different. I mean, you could tell from the comedian who kicked things off at about 2:30, 2:45 in the afternoon, speaker after speaker as you've now seen the montage of all the comments that they made, it was just incredibly dark. And I think what the Trump campaign has been doing and Trump's allies ever since then is minimizing it or downplaying it. That's not surprising because they don't feel like, you know, typical controversies really affect them. Trump has survived so much that when something is a headline, it's not always, you know, earth shattering to them internally. But Donald Trump was asked about this today. He was asked to defend that rally. And this is what he told reporters down in Palm Beach.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENITIAL NOMINEE: I don't think anybody has ever seen anything like what happened the other night at Madison Square Garden. It was like a lovefest, an absolute lovefest.
[17:05:08]
They started to say, well, in 1939, the Nazis used Madison Square Garden. How terrible to say, right? Because, you know, they've used Madison Square Garden many times. Many people have used it, but nobody has ever had a crowd like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: And basically, anytime you've talked to someone about what the other speaker said, which was they were not comedians, and the hateful language that they used, they talked about what Hillary Clinton and other Democrats have said, drawing that parallel between the rally that was held by Nazis in 1939 at Madison Square Garden.
I will note the other thing Trump did today is something that he often does when he's accused of something, which is accusing the other person of doing it. He said Harris is the one running a campaign full of hate and division. Obviously, in reaction to 48 hours ago what we saw on display at Madison Square Garden.
TAPPER: In general, how confident is the Trump campaign in this closing week versus how much are they just trying to project confidence?
COLLINS: I think every campaign, obviously, as you know, Jake, wants to project confidence. But I've talked to a lot of people, a lot of those in Trump's orbit, some of them are new, obviously, Susie Wiles, Chris LaCivita that are running this campaign, but a lot of them were around in 2020 and 2016. In 2016, obviously all completely shocked by his --
TAPPER: Right.
COLLINS: -- that night, including the candidate himself. In 2020, though, they felt really good going into election night. And then obviously we saw what happened there. So, I think those who have been around are a little hesitant and cautious to be too giddy. They don't have a lot of confidence that the Harris campaign is competitive for them in terms of the issues and where it matters and what we're seeing and hearing from voters. But, but they also know that, you know, you can't really make that projection and be completely sure. Trump has been telling people he's confident there's moves for a transition happening behind the scenes. A lot of people are jostling for key roles. Secretary of State, AG, White House counsel, those top positions that will be inside the West Wing as well. So, they're certainly acting more like they are on their way to victory. Obviously, none of us have any idea.
TAPPER: All right. Yes, no, anything could happen. Anything can happen. You want to make a bet? Do you have any idea what's going to happen?
COLLINS: I don't bet on politics or Alabama football. Two things I'm financially dependent on and emotionally dependent on, my job, my welfare.
TAPPER: All right. That's fair. That's fair. Kaitlan Collins, always great to see you. And of course, don't forget to look out for Kaitlan in just a few hours on her great show, "The Source." That's tonight and every weeknight at 9:00 p.m Eastern only here on CNN.
Let's talk about the state of the race with Democratic Governor Roy Cooper from Battleground North Carolina.
Governor, you cast your ballot for Vice President Harris today. Do you think Kamala Harris should keep talking about Trump, drawing a contrast in her closing message, or would you rather she focus exclusively on policy issues such as the economy, abortion rights, et cetera?
GOV. ROY COOPER, (D-NC): This race is too important for her not to draw the contrast between her and Trump. And I'd rather have a president who wakes up every morning thinking about the American people rather than a president who wakes up every morning thinking about himself. And I think that's what she's going to do tonight when she's talking about his enemies list and her to do list for the American people.
There are some people out there who are still trying to make up their mind. And I think that there are things that they don't like about both candidates and they're trying to decide whether they're going to go and vote for one or the other or not vote at all. It's too important right now for her not to draw this contrast. And I think when you have the people who were so close, ultra conservative people such as his chief of staff, his generals, his attorney general, his vice president, saying that this man should not be anywhere near the White House again, that's something that people have to think about because Donald Trump is not going to make the same mistake this time. He's going to put in people who are completely loyal to him and who will do anything he tells them to do. That message has to be out there right now as people are making up their mind what to do.
TAPPER: Former President Trump has lied repeatedly about the response of FEMA or the Federal Emergency Management Agency in your state of North Carolina after Hurricane Helene so tragically struck. He did it again on Sunday and then he did it again today. Let's roll that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They haven't shown up. They're not in north -- they're not in North Carolina. The people of North Carolina have suffered incredibly and there's just nobody to help them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Obviously, the people in North Carolina have suffered incredibly, but FEMA is there. What's your response when you hear that?
COOPER: Well, this was the most devastating and deadliest storm that North Carolina has ever faced. And when you have workers who are out there doing their best every single day, this hurts their morale. It scares people into thinking that either the federal government is going to try to do something to them or not going to help them at all, so they may not apply. This is just a complete lie. There are 1,600 FEMA workers on the ground right now.
[17:10:30]
We've gotten $100 million already from the U.S. Department of Transportation. We have the SBA there helping us. We have the EPA helping us with water systems right now. So, we are working in lockstep with people in the federal government to get help to western North Carolina right now. People deserve help, and they also deserve the truth.
People need to stop this disinformation and misinformation and concentrate on coming together to help the people of western North Carolina. This is a tragedy. They will rebuild stronger than ever, I'm confident of that. We're working on the blueprints of that now, but we need to come together to get it done.
TAPPER: There is also obviously concern about the people of western North Carolina that were so devastated by the storm being able to vote. The chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, Maryland Republican Congressman Andy Harris, said he agreed with the notion that North Carolina should just allocate its electoral votes to Trump now before votes are counted because of the potential voting difficulties due to the hurricane. He now says that his comments were taken out of context, although they were on tape.
How are you ensuring North Carolinians Tar Heels that their votes are safe? And even if there was devastation by the storm, they will get to exercise the right to vote?
COOPER: Well, first, North Carolina's electoral votes will be reflected by the votes from the ballot box from the people of North Carolina alone. We came together and signed, I signed bipartisan legislation that a Republican majority general assembly passed to increase the flexibility for counties affected by Helene to give plenty of opportunities for people to vote. It's going well. Early voting is happening. We want to make sure that everybody, everybody has an opportunity to have their voice heard, and we're doing that in a bipartisan way in North Carolina. TAPPER: All right, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, thank you so much. Good to see you, sir.
Coming up next, what Democratic vice presidential nominee Governor Tim Walz said today when he was asked to respond to criticism that the Harris-Walz campaign has focused too much on attacking Trump. Plus, I'm going to be joined by a Republican senator for his take on the state of the race with just seven days to go and how confident he is that Republicans will also control the House and Senate once all the votes are counted.
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TAPPER: In our 2024 lead, Vice President Kamala Harris is just hours away from making her closing argument to undecided voters. She's going to be doing so from The Ellipse outside the White House. The location is symbolic not only because the backdrop is the White House, which she hopes to occupy after the election. It's also basically the same spot where former President Trump encouraged his supporters to march to the Capitol, January 6, 2021. I think you all know how that turned out.
Back with me is our panel. So, today, in an interview that aired on "The Breakfast Club," Vice President Harris laid out what she hopes to accomplish this evening. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I would ask people to imagine the Oval Office, and people have seen it on T.V., you know what it looks like. It's either going to be Donald Trump sitting behind that desk writing out his enemies list of who he's going to seek revenge and retribution on, or it's going to be me working on behalf of the American people, as I always have done, working on my to do list.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: So that's basically since the CNN town hall, which I think was not even a week ago. Believe it or not, that's been her thing, the enemies list versus the to do list. What do you think about that as a closing argument?
SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: So I think that argument is to target potentially some of those moderate Republicans, I think that's smart. Maria and I have had a lot of back and forth on this. I still think the vice president has to make that case about the fundamentals, the economy, immigration. There's still a differentiator between her and the former president there. She has certainly closed the gap.
I think even recent polling as of a couple of days ago have shown she's increased the numbers a bit more. If I'm on the Harris camp, I'm thinking, all right, we're going to make this case our moderate R's. We still need to make this case on some of the issues that most people are still concerned about to showcase a differentiator between us and our opponent.
TAPPER: Do you disagree with that? Because, you know, I was sitting in CNN and I was listening to ads, the only place I ever hear ads is here at CNN because at home I turn them off. So, sorry, advertisers. So anyway, and I heard a Super PAC for Kamala, not her. For Kamala Harris, not her, talking about how she's going to give 100 million Americans a tax cut. And I thought, I've never heard of that before. I'm sure there's a way to. I'm sure there's a way to -- I'm sure that's part of something.
MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Yes, she has said it.
TAPPER: Like, you know, I pay attention to this business.
CARDONA: She has said it several times.
TAPPER: Not enough for it. Not enough for it to get into my thick skull.
CARDONA: I guarantee you she will say it tonight.
TAPPER: Hundred million Americans get a tax cut?
CARDONA: Yes. And what --
TAPPER: I've never heard it.
CARDONA: She has said it before several times.
TAPPER: OK.
CARDONA: She is --
TAPPER: Joe's never heard it and he's with Republicans for Harris right here.
CARDONA: Yes.
TAPPER: I'm sure you're telling the truth.
CARDONA: She has said it several times.
TAPPER: But you take the point.
CARDONA: Yes. And so, to that point, she will tonight talk about what that to do list is. And that will be included in that to do list. Because, look, it doesn't surprise me that people haven't heard it. This has been such a constricted campaign, and she has talked about several kinds of policies. But what kind of --
TAPPER: Michael's giggling.
CARDONA: What kind of --
TAPPER: Go ahead.
CARDONA: -- like, drives me a little nuts is when people say, oh, well, she's got to do that, she can't do this. It reminds me of when people say, you know, Maria, women are worried about the economy, they're not worried about reproductive rights. Well, guess what, everyone, women can do more than one thing at one time.
[17:20:11]
JOE WALSH, (R) FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Agreed.
CARDONA: And so tonight she is going to talk about all of her policies, her economic policy, what she wants to do with healthcare.
TAPPER: Yes.
CARDONA: What she wants to do with reproductive rights, giving 100 million Americans a tax cut. And she's going to make the contrast with --
TAPPER: I thought you were about to break into the speech from the Barbie movie about how women are asked to do everything.
WALSH: I want to hear, here are the to do lists. But my God, she's running against somebody who tried to overthrow an American election almost four years ago.
TAPPER: Well, that's why you're with Republicans for Harris.
WALSH: Yes. This -- he's not --
TAPPER: Otherwise you wouldn't be supporting her.
WALSH: I wouldn't be sitting at this table.
TAPPER: Yes.
WALSH: He's not --
TAPPER: Well, you might be, but you'd be supporting the Republican candidate.
WALSH: He's not a normal candidate. I'm not a strategist, I'm not a consultant, but she has to make --
SINGLETON: But you've won races.
WALSH: Yes.
SINGLETON: You have won races.
WALSH: She has to make this election about him.
CARDONA: Right.
ASHLEY ALLISON, FORMER NATIONAL COALITIONS DIRECTOR FOR BIDEN-HARRIS 2020: OK, I want to get really practical. We are now five days out. This is about who is going --
TAPPER: Not five, seven days out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seven days.
ALLISON: OK. Sorry.
WALSH: Come on, she's got two more --
TAPPER: All right. It's Tuesday.
ALLISON: I don't even know what day it is.
TAPPER: Like that I identify with, we're seven days out.
ALLISON: OK. Right.
CARDONA: Literally a week from today.
ALLISON: So a week from today. And I will say this is why turnout game is so important.
TAPPER: Yes.
ALLISON: I think the door -- so people are paying attention. This is why she went on "The Breakfast Club" again, because she --
TAPPER: Sure.
ALLISON: -- has to meet people where they are.
TAPPER: Yes.
ALLISON: But the Harris campaign has to make sure that their canvassers on the door are equipped to say the top three things that she is going to do for them when they are saying go vote is a complete practical thing, it is actually something very different than normally in a GOTV operation. Normally at this point, it's like, where are you voting, what day you're voting, what time you're voting, do you need a ride? No. It is all those questions, but the first four points is she's going to do this, she's going to do that, she's going to do this, which is different.
TAPPER: Yes.
CARDONA: It's double duty.
SINGLETON: Jake, look, Ashley is 100 percent right. I hope they're calling her every single day because again, as I'm looking at this from the other side, a different perspective, I am seeing that as a vulnerability that people don't know the one, two or three top things. Ashley's point, you have to have your canvassers giving people a motivating factor to go to the polls. If you're not doing that that's a vulnerability.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're doing that. They're doing that right now. TAPPER: So, today, former President Trump accused Harris of running a campaign of hate. We know he does the deflection quite often. Minnesota Governor, Harris' running mate, Tim Walz was asked to respond to criticism that Harris has focused too much on attacking Trump instead of what we're all talking about right now, presenting her own ideas and policies, here's what Governor Walz had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TIM WALZ, (D-MN) VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I think that is a fair thing to say. I think you have to underline, you know, what the other choices are. And in the case of Donald Trump, you know, he's told us who he is, believe him on that. But we've given a new way forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: What's your reaction to that?
SINGLETON: They have given a new way forward in terms of how they would govern in terms of stability. I would agree with the framing of the argument. I think it's been pretty decent. But it's the policy point that I think they continue to fail on. I mean, again, a lot of people say they like the vice president, they think she's smart, they understand the potential to make history.
But again, on these fronts, am I going to make more money? What does my taxes look like? What about cost of living? I don't think I've heard enough. Not Shermichael's opinion, just the data.
TAPPER: Yes.
WALSH: I think the American people are capable enough of caring about their own personal economic situation and the continuance of our democracy.
ALLISON: You know, I understand people are like, you can't go -- you shouldn't go too negative. I guess the thing is like, it's just that Donald Trump does something more outrageous every day that can't go unfair.
WALSH: He tried to overthrow an (inaudible) election.
ALLISON: Yes. But then even after that, more and more and more, even the rally on Sunday. So, I think it's a yes, and I've continued to say --
CARDONA: Exactly.
ALLISON: -- you have to hold him accountable. You cannot normalize this language. But then you have to tell people what you're going to do for them.
CARDONA: And you can do both, which is why the backdrop of what she's doing tonight is so important. She's not going to talk about January 6th, she's not going to give a play by play because she doesn't need to. She is where it all happened. She is at ground zero for that. And she can be able to make the contrast.
Do you want me in this hallowed place or do you want that guy?
TAPPER: Shermichael, I know you're a Trump supporter and you have --
ALLISON: Are you? Oh my --
SINGLETON: Will that mean, Jake, (inaudible).
TAPPER: You're a Republican. OK.
SINGLETON: Thank you, Jake.
TAPPER: You're a Republican. You're a Republican. I'm just saying you're Republican. So let me just ask you this, do you think that it's still anybody's game that either candidate could win?
SINGLETON: I do. And I'll tell you why very, very quickly. I'm looking at the counties that President Biden was able to flip in 2020 from Trump, and I think the vice president hasn't done enough looking at how those individuals have voted, in the 2022 elections, how they voted in local and statewide races. And I'm seeing some advantages that still remain for Republicans there. I'm not looking at the entire states, I'm looking at counties that --
TAPPER: Yes.
SINGLETON: -- you need to flip to get to 270.
TAPPER: Well, you're a data guy, and that's where these campaigns are won.
SINGLETON: That's how they're won.
TAPPER: Shermichael. All right. Thanks to all of you.
ALLISON: Thank you.
TAPPER: Appreciate it.
The new president will have to get his or her agenda through Congress. Which party will be in control of that? We're going to take a closer look at some of those key races, including one in my home Commonwealth battleground Pennsylvania. Stay with us.
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[17:29:28]
TAPPER: We're back with our 2024 lead. And one relatively undertold story in this election cycle is also one of the most important, we're focused so much on the presidency. There's also the issue which party is going to control the United States Senate? Right now, with the four independents on their side, Democrats hold a one seat majority. But that could change given that there are races in several states where Republicans have a good chance to flip seats. CNN's Manu Raju is following the highly contested Senate race in battleground Pennsylvania, Democratic incumbent Bob Casey versus Republican challenger Dave McCormick. And how are Casey McCormick closing out their campaigns?
MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR, "INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY WITH MANU RAJU": They're really pounding each other on the airwaves, Jake. This has been one of the most expensive Senate races in the country. Just between April and through Election Day, $166 million on air for Casey and Democratic allies. And on the Republican side $162 million for the same -- the same period. But in the final two weeks of the campaign, Republicans have really outspent Democrats on the airways on that state, $30 million to $24 million. This actually been consistent in some other battleground states, too.
[17:30:29]
You've seen Republicans spending more of their money late than they did earlier in the campaign. And the themes are this, they're arguing McCormick is about incumbency, trying to go after Casey's time in office. Saying he needs to be kicked out of office and abortion playing prominently in the campaign ads. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE MCCORMICK (R), SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Bob Casey's had 18 years and he's never made a difference. He's too weak. I'll go hard every day. When I screw up, I'll own it. Duty, honor, country, that's my commitment.
I believe in the very rare instances there should be exceptions for -- for life of the mother.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: An abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest. That's Dave McCormick on abortion. That's extreme.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: And that comment from Dave McCormick is actually from the 2022 primary that he ran and he ultimately lost in that race. And that debate in 2022, he was asked about abortion. He only highlighted the one exception for life of the mother. He does -- I asked him about that. Why he only said that. He said he actually supports all three exceptions for life of the mother, for rape, for incest and the like. But nevertheless, it's interesting, Jake, as you well know, Bob Casey too has evolved on the issue of abortion. He, like his father before him, the former governor, used to be pretty core -- hardcore anti- abortion.
But now he is very firmly in the pro-abortion rights camp. He told me he would vote to codify Roe v. Wade. McCormick would oppose codifying Roe v. Wade. But clearly Democrats believe a heavy abortion message attacking him on this issue could change the dynamic in a very close race.
TAPPER: All right. Manu Raju, thanks so much. Joining us now to discuss Republican Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota. Senator, thanks so much for joining us. Donald Trump spoke at his Mar-a-Lago resort earlier today. And he had this to say about the Madison Square Garden event.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I don't think anybody has ever seen anything like what happened the other night at Madison Square Garden, the love -- the love -- the love in that room.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: We heard some really rough and offensive things from some of the speakers, including of course, the comedian who called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage. There are a number of Republicans who criticize that comedian and the event, including your colleague Senator Rick Scott of Florida. Do you think it would be better if Trump just acknowledge and apologized for those comments as opposed to saying it was just a love fest? Or -- or what's your take on it?
SEN. MIKE ROUNDS (R-SD): I think there's two parts to it. First of all, I know the campaign, through Mr. Alvarez indicated that Mr. Trump was not aware of it beforehand. And that they did not agree with those comments. I -- I do think that having that particular comedian on there at that time and what he did, even though I don't think those jokes were cleared by the campaign. It was an unforced error.
And when you have that, you have to identify the fact that it is not the way that you believe about a particular group of people or for that matter, Puerto Rico. Look, Puerto Rico has been through some terrible -- terrible weather and those folks need all the help they can get. They don't need to have anybody taking a second shot at them.
TAPPER: So Megyn Kelly, had -- had some criticisms about the event and the overall tone when it came to women. Well, let -- let's role the tape and get your reaction.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
MEGYN KELLY, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It was too bro-tastic, OK? It was. You're trying to win an election in which you're hemorrhaging female voters. Maybe when you present in front of hundreds -- thousands at least at Madison Square Garden, you clean up the bro talk just a little. So you don't alienate women in the middle of America who are already on the fence about Republicans. We're trying to get him elected. We don't need to rally the base or guys any more.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
TAPPER: Doesn't she have a point for these last seven days? Wouldn't it be better to -- like you got the men, they're -- they're voting for you. Doesn't she have a point about the tone in these last seven days?
ROUNDS: Look, I -- I -- I think both campaigns have to change the tone and -- and by that, I mean let's get down and talk about the facts. Let's talk about the issues that real Americans are concerned with. The rhetoric going both ways right now, the back and forth, I mean, I think it started when the guys were talking about their golf games rather than talking about substance in the first debate.
TAPPER: Right.
ROUNDS: So what I'd like to see is both of these two camps actually focus on things that Americans are concerned about. They're concerned about inflation. They're concerned about the cost of groceries. They're really concerned about the border and about what we're going to do to stop. We had 101,000 additional individuals illegally cross that border here in September.
[17:35:07]
I want to think -- at least I would think that those are winning issues for Republicans. Every time we talk about something besides the important core issues to really good Americans on both sides of the aisle who are looking for the right kind of leadership --
TAPPER: Yes.
ROUNDS: -- they want to talk about substance. They want to talk about the issues that are in front of them. And look, there's multiple issues out there that we're going to have to face. We got a huge deficit out there right now.
TAPPER: Yes.
ROUNDS: We've got to make sure that we take care of social security. And those are items of substance that people are listening to. You go back in and you sit down at a coffee shop and people really don't care whether or not they're calling each other names. What they want to hear is -- and they know that under President Trump beforehand the inflation was under control, the border was under control.
And they really felt as though on a national or an international level, things were under -- under control. Let's get this back. Both sides have got to focus on the issues. And I -- I think those folks that are undecided, I think it's because they're going to hear the right things from our candidates in the closing time period on the issues that they really care about.
TAPPER: Quickly before you go. Do you expect Republicans to take control of the Senate and if so, how many -- by how many seats?
ROUNDS: Yes. Look, I -- I -- I do think so. I -- I think West Virginia is one that we're all counting on right now. I don't think there are a number of other states right now that we've got really good candidates in. And, you know, you could see them. Everybody's seen the polls on them, the ones that are out there right now. But clearly Montana is moving in the right direction.
Ohio is moving in the right direction. I think Michigan is a sleeper. I -- I think Mike Rogers is one of those guys who -- who can really contribute to our national security. He's got great experience in it. I think Wisconsin is going to be a surprise to a lot of folks out there. And naturally, Pennsylvania, where you've got a real knockdown drag out and a huge amount of money being spent, I think that's another really strong possibility for -- for Republicans.
TAPPER: Republican Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota, thank you, sir. Good to see you again.
Five battleground states in five days, that's the mission for CNN's John King as part of his all over the map series. King is going to join us live next to break down what he's hearing and seeing in one of those key battlegrounds. Stay with us.
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[17:41:08]
TAPPER: We're back with our 2024 Lead with one week left until Election Day. New CNN poll show the presidential race is a dead heat in both Arizona and Nevada. Vice President Harris is hoping to win over Nevada voters by placing this new ad on this sphere in Las Vegas. CNN's John King is traveling to five battleground states in five days as part of his great all over the map series. Look at that live shot. John, yesterday you were in Arizona. Today John's in -- in Vegas, somehow convinced CNN to send him to Last Vegas. You've been speaking to Latino voters there. What are their concerns?
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Got in late last night, leaving this evening, Jake. It's not a paradise trip.
TAPPER: I know. I know.
KING: Look, in the old days. When I started doing this, it took a few days -- in the old days it took a few days for news made in one city to make its way to another city. Not anymore in the social media age. Trump had that big event at Madison Square Garden this weekend. There were racist things said, there were insults said about Puerto Ricans, about Mexicans. And guess what? It is having an impact already right out here in battleground Nevada.
You mentioned our new poll taken before that event shows it's high here. A dead heat. I spoke to two voters we've been in touch with for months here in Vegas. One of them, Antonio Munoz runs a restaurant and he says he's definitely voting for Harris now. He was leaning that way. He says I'm definitely voting for Harris now. He's a veteran, a former police officer. He says the rhetoric was just simply insulting.
Another gentleman we talked to is Rafael Cerros Jr. He's the part owner of a Spanish language radio station here, 98.1 Fiesta in Vegas. And he says the feedback and the blowback was instant. That it -- that Trump event exploded on social media. He was undecided when we were here just six weeks ago. He says as a Mexican-American, as a father and as a husband, he needs to vote for Kamala Harris. And he says it's buzzing around the community. So we'll see if it matters.
I'm just going to bring up the mini magic wall as you get here. You see Joe Biden just barely, it was close, 50 percent for Biden here in Nevada. I'm here, Clark County, Vegas. Three quarters of the population lives here in Vegas. So this is where the biggest vote turnout will be. And one in five voters here, Jake, of the state of Nevada is Latino. So there is huge political muscle here.
And I have no doubt being here and with our previous reporting over the last year coming here, this is going to impact Trump at least within the margins. And in a close race, margins can matter.
TAPPER: Absolutely. And -- and, John, you're hitting so many battlegrounds this week. Where are you headed next and what are you going to look at?
KING: Right. So we're off to Wisconsin next. We started Arizona yesterday, Nevada here. The one common theme that all the states we're visiting is the cost of living is by far the biggest issue. It simply is. Immigration comes up, democracy comes up, a cost of living dominates. And in this state, Nevada, remember during COVID the unemployment rate was 30 percent, more than twice the national average. So they're still kind of reeling from that body blow, even though the numbers have recovered.
We're off to Wisconsin tomorrow where obviously black turnout in the inner city is critical and a defining question in the Midwest battlegrounds, but also in these battlegrounds. Can Donald Trump improve his standing at least a little bit in the suburbs? He -- he -- his -- the collapse in 2018, in the midterms, then in the 2020 presidential in the suburbs has hurt Republicans.
If Trump can get his numbers back up, he can win those states. If he can't, well then we'll count them on to -- a week from tonight, we count them, Jake. And we'll see how that plays out.
TAPPER: All right, John King, thanks so much. Amazing as always.
[17:44:18]
With all the headlines about the E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald's and groceries being recalled over listeria concerns, CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here next with what you need to know about foodborne illnesses. Stay with us.
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TAPPER: In our Law and Justice Lead, a Chicago alderman says that a shooting that occurred Saturday should be charged as a hate crime. She says the victim, a Jewish man who survived the attack was targeted as he -- as he walked to his synagogue. The alleged shooter then fired on first responders before he was shot by police. CNN's Whitney Wild is in Chicago for us. Whitney, is there reason to believe that this was anti-Semitic attack? We do not have Whitney Wild.
So, our last leads start right now with our Law and Justice Lead, a Pennsylvania judge rejected a Republican led effort to change the vetting process for overseas ballots. The court said the lawsuit came too late and that it's too close to the election. This is just the latest loss in court for Republicans after similar lawsuits regarding overseas ballots were rejected in both Michigan and North Carolina.
The crowds are growing restless here in Washington, D.C. in anticipation of Vice President Kamala Harris about to give her speech this evening in which she gives a closing argument. But now we have Whitney Wild back with us. And Whitney, is there reason to believe that the shooting of the Jewish individual on his way to synagogue was a hate crime?
WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Debra Silverstein, she's the 50th Ward alderman for this area. She makes very clear that she certainly thinks that there is evidence to support that. And when she was asked during a press conference yesterday, which she did with the Chicago Police Department, the evidence that she laid out was that this man was visibly Jewish. He was wearing a kippah. That is a visible sign of the faith. And it happened, again, as you said, as he was walking to synagogue Saturday morning.
[17:50:07]
This all unfolded around 9:30 Saturday morning when 22-year-old Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi shot a 39-year-old man, again, as he was walking to synagogue. Then he subsequently got into a shooting with police. He is now in custody. He is in the hospital. He had a -- a hearing today, Jake. But he didn't appear in person because he remains in the hospital.
Silverstein is very upset. And what she points out is that the community, which is always on heightened alert, is particularly on edge about this case. And she's very disappointed that there aren't hate crime charges filed here, saying in a statement, notably and despite evidence that seems to suggest anti-Semitic motive for the shooting, authorities did not file hate crime charges. She said, I am very disappointed by this turn of events and strongly encouraged the Cook County State's Attorney's Office to prosecute the offender to the full extent of the law.
But police have assured me that they are continuing to gather evidence and additional charges, including hate crime charges can still be added. And in that press conference, Jake, what the Chicago Police Department made very clear is that they are hyper concerned about moving forward with a charge that they cannot support with evidence. So they say they are methodically going through this case. It's only been a -- a couple of days since this incident happened.
And at this point they don't yet have information to support a motive. But they did not rule anything out, Jake. And as she pointed out, and police say more charges can be filed. Jake?
TAPPER: All right. Whitney Wild in Chicago, thank you so much. We'll be right back.
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[17:56:19]
TAPPER: In our Health Lead, the fallout from an E. coli outbreak has some customers staying away altogether from the fast food chain McDonald's. According to an industry tracker the fast food giant has seen customer visits dropped 10 percent nationwide in the days following the announcement. And a drop of 33 percent in Colorado, where many of the initial illnesses were reported.
McDonalds' announced it will resume selling their quarter pounders in all locations this week after health officials say the beef patties are safe, citing the source of the E. coli came from onions. CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is on call for us today. Sanjay, does it surprise you that the Department of Agriculture says the evidence does not point to the ground beef as the possible source of the E. coli outbreak?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Now it -- it -- it really doesn't surprise me. I think when we first heard about this, just considering we're talking about meat at fast food restaurants, the likelihood of it being E. coli from the -- the patties themselves was pretty low. And -- and there's one major reason why. Most these fast food restaurants do cook their -- their burger patties at a pretty high temperature.
So we -- we have a good idea of the temperature needed to basically inactivate or kill E. coli, 160 degrees or so. McDonald's, for example, cooks -- cooks around 175 degrees. So right away, unless there were all these restaurants, Jake, that were sort of at the same time undercooking the -- the beef patties, it was unlikely. So that was then, no surprise that it was actually probably due to these slivered onions here, which you can see, Jake. I got a quarter pounder with cheese.
And I don't know if you even know what slivered onions are, but there they are. And it turns out that that is likely the source of the outbreak. There is one major supplier supplying a lot of those restaurants. Some 900 of them are not going to have slivered onions for a period of time. But that is the most likely source of the outbreak.
TAPPER: You don't know if I know what slivered onions are. You don't think I have ever had a Big Mac? Is that what you are suggesting?
GUPTA: Well, I just like the chopped versus the slivered versus the thinly sliced, that you know -- there's a lot.
TAPPER: OK. The -- the concerns over foodborne illnesses obviously does not end with McDonald's and the Big Mac, frozen waffles, eggs, deli meats, all recalled this year. It -- it seems like it's happening more and more. Is that actually true? And if it is true, why would that be?
GUPTA: Well, there's -- there's a lot of foodborne illness out there. I mean, you may not realize the number of people that get sick from this every year in the United States, you know, 10 percent of the population a little less than that getting sick every year. Lots of people hospitalized as well, 128,000 hospitalized, 3,000 deaths. So those -- those are pretty high numbers. And the vast majority of people will not -- will not seek medical care, they'll just recover at home.
I think a couple things have happened. One is that we're much better at sort of tracking these things down, using genetics, for example. That's how they really trace the source of these outbreaks. The other thing is, a lot of these outbreaks are occurring outside the home as well, Jake, restaurants, delis, buffets, things like that. So that's been a -- a big source, a big area where people have targeted trying to figure out the source of these as well.
TAPPER: And I assume most of these foodborne illnesses kind of take care of themselves, just work their way out of the system pretty quickly.
GUPTA: Yes. The -- the -- 48 million people get sick, 100,000 hospitalized. So the vast majority are people who recover just fine at home.
TAPPER: All right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks. Finally, sad news in our Pop Culture Lead, actress, Teri Garr, died today after a long battle with multiple sclerosis. She was 79 years old. She was Gene Wilder's rowdy assistant in the great film, "Young Frankenstein."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TERI GARR, ACTRESS: Would you like to have a roll in ze hay?
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TAPPER: She was also Dustin Hoffman's sometime girlfriend in "Tootsie."
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DUSTIN HOFFMAN, ACTOR: What's wrong?
GARR: Nothings wrong.
HOFFMAN: What? What?
[18:00:02]
GARR: Nothing. All right, nothing. I just -- I'm perfectly fine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: It's a role for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. But under Garr's sometimes wacky wit, there was serious talent. She will be missed. May her memory be a blessing.
The news continues on CNN with one Mr. Wolf Blitzer in The Situation Room. I will see you tomorrow. Only six days until Election Day tomorrow. I'll see you then.
