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Harris, Trump On Media Blitz in Final Stretch To Election Day; Trump Declares Himself "The Father of IVF"; Today: Harris Hits The Trail As Trump Sits For New Town Hall; Sources: U.S. Expects Israel To Attack Iran Before U.S. Election Day; U.S.: Israel Has Made Progress In Getting More Aid Into Gaza. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired October 16, 2024 - 15:00   ET

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

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[15:01:17]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Two candidates, same channel, very different goals: Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris both on Fox News today, Trump trying to win over women in a friendly town hall, as Harris tries to persuade conservatives to back her campaign.

Plus, ready, willing and able: Israel has a plan to respond to the attack by Iran earlier this month. U.S. officials believe that strike could happen before Election Day.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And one hour from now, lawyers for the Menendez brothers speaking to the press. Their message in light of new evidence, quote, "The brothers have served more than 30 years in prison. That is enough." We are following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SANCHEZ: We begin this hour with a major media blitz. Both presidential candidates taking their messages to Fox News, though they've got two very different missions. This evening, we're going to see Kamala Harris sitting down for her first ever interview with the network as she attempts to win over more conservatives. Earlier today, Trump appeared on Fox for a town hall, telling an exclusively female audience that he is the father of IVF,

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Oh, I want to talk about IVF. I'm the father of IVF.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) ...

TRUMP: I'm the father of IVF. We really are the party for IVF. We want fertilization, and it's all the way, and the Democrats tried to attack us on it, and we're out there on IVF, even more than them. So we're totally in favor of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Harris is now reeling against Trump for those comments. Here's how she responded a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Donald Trump - I found him to be quite bizarre actually, called himself the father of IVF. And if what he meant is taking responsibility, well, then yes, he should take responsibility for the fact that one in three women in America lives in a Trump abortion ban state. What he should take responsibility for is that couples who are praying, and hoping and working toward - growing a family have been so disappointed and harmed by the fact that IVF treatments have now been put at risk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Let's begin our coverage now with CNN, Alayna Treene.

And Alayna Trump had a lot to say during that town hall. Walk us through the highlights.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Right. Well, I think that IVF comment was clearly one of the highlights. It was a pretty odd comment. When I talked to Donald Trump senior advisers about this, look, they didn't have a direct response to the father of IVF quote. But what they said - where they said that was coming from was essentially that Donald Trump thinks that he is a leader on that particular issue, especially when you look back at some of the IVF rulings or Supreme Court rulings like in Alabama in February that did impact access to IVF, and Donald Trump had quickly come out and said, I support this, and other Republican officials followed suit.

It is something I know that he brags about often in private conversations, and he thinks it's one issue where he can really help narrow that gender gap and try to make inroads with female voters. But I do want to turn your attention to another very notable moment from that town hall, which was when he tried to clarify his comments, when he said that the greatest threat to United States is the enemy of the people. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... or the enemy from within.

TRUMP: It is the enemy from within, and they're very dangerous. We have China, we have Russia, we have all these countries. If you have a smart president, they can all be handled. The more difficult are - you know, the Pelosis, these people, they're so sick and they're so evil.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:05:07]

TREENE: Okay. So, and excuse me, I meant to say the enemy from within. I think the big thing here is that a lot of Republican allies, people in the Trump campaign, were trying to defend these remarks from the former president and say that he was referring to protesters, to rioters. He talked about sending the military in to deal with the enemy from within.

And then he said, no, actually, he was talking about his political opponents. He was talking about Democrats. He mentioned directly the Pelosis. And so I think it's very clear what he was trying to say.

The other part of this, of course, is that Republicans continue to argue that Democrats are using very dangerous rhetoric. They continue to blame we just saw Nancy Mace do this with you moments ago, blame Democrats for the assassination attempts on the former president. But it is, you know, Donald Trump is using very dangerous language too.

SANCHEZ: Alayna, he also was just speaking to a group of folks, a town hall on Univision, and he reiterated debunked claims about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio. Tell us more about that.

TREENE: That's right. So - and just to be clear, this was - he just participated in this town hall in Miami. It's not going to air until later, so we don't have the clips of that. But yes, he was asked about this. A Republican voter said that, you know, I've seen these comments. The officials on the ground, Republican officials on the ground, have debunked these claims. You said that you would revoke their temporary protected status, the Haitian migrants who are living in Ohio, are you about that, do you take any of that back.

And Donald Trump, he kind of tried to dodge it. He said that he was just looking at reports. He said, quote, "I was just saying what was reported." He went on, though, to add that they were eating other things too, that they were not supposed to be."

I mean, he is not running away from this. I think it's very clear that, you know, these officials on the ground, again, Republican officials, the Republican mayor of the town, the Republican governor of Ohio, have been saying that these are just not true. And it goes beyond that as well. We know that these communities have been deeply impacted. We've seen the stories of these Haitian migrants saying they are scared now in that community, we've seen the bomb threats and the closures of schools because of this rhetoric and it's something that Donald Trump and JD Vance and a lot of Republicans are not running away from.

I think it was very interesting that a Republican voter asked him that question directly and tried to see if he would walk away from it. And Donald Trump said, this is something I read. But again, even if he had read that and it is later not true, these are comments that have been - he's been consistently told are not true and is continuing to pedal.

KEILAR: He clearly likes that. It's illuminated the topic, even though it's untrue, that's just ...

TREENE: Exactly. Well, that's what Republicans always say that ...

KEILAR: Yes.

TREENE: ... at least they're bringing light to this issue of immigration.

KEILAR: At what cost? Alayna Treene, thank you so much.

Let's turn now to CNN, Danny Freeman, who is traveling with the Harris campaign in battleground Pennsylvania.

And Danny, the Vice President is set to speak there this hour alongside more than 100 Republicans who support her before her Fox interview airs. Tell us about this.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Brianna. Well, nearly 250 years after President George Washington crossed the Delaware River behind me. Now today, Vice President Kamala Harris is hoping to reach across the aisle to convince some Republicans to support her instead of former President Donald Trump. That's what this event entirely is about.

You already noted over 100 Republicans here expected to back her and support Vice President Kamala Harris, that who's in attendance predominantly for this event right here. Also we're going to hear from former representative, Adam Kinzinger. We also just recently heard from the Georgia lieutenant governor, Geoff - former lieutenant governor, Geoff Duncan, all speaking about the themes of patriotism, uniting the nation and, particularly, putting country over party.

And the Harris campaign says that Harris, when she speaks within this hour, is going to lean into topics like January 6, like former President Trump's unwillingness to accept the results of the 2020 election and much more. That's really what this entire campaign event is about today here in Bucks County to present this image of a bipartisan campaign. That's at least what they hope to bring across.

But like I said, Brianna, we're in Bucks County. It's a county that we talk about all the time. It's one of those purple counties the suburbs of Philadelphia. It usually has gone blue over the past several elections, at least on the presidential scale, but interestingly, it's always by a very, very tight margin. And also this year, Republicans now have a voter advantage. It's slight, but it is a voter advantage over Democrats in this particular county.

A senior Harris aide for the campaign here in Pennsylvania noted recently that you just don't win Bucks County unless you are able to win some Republican voters. That's what this event is all about today. And then you mentioned, Brianna, this media blitz continuing. She, obviously, did Charlamagne tha God, targeting, hopefully, black voters from the campaign's perspective, yesterday, today, later on going in to Fox News to do an interview with Bret Baier.

[15:10:00]

We're told that that interview will take place after this event and then air later this evening. Brianna?

SANCHEZ: We're going to monitor the Vice President's remarks from Pennsylvania. We'll, of course, bring you the latest on the ground. Danny Freeman, thank you so much.

Plenty of headlines to discuss with former Fox News host Geraldo Rivera, who now works for NewsNation.

GERALDO RIVERA, NEWSNATION: Hey, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Geraldo, great to have you on.

You just endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. You're obviously a veteran of Fox News, what do you think she needs to accomplish in the sit down with Bret Baier?

RIVERA: Well, I think that when she was with Charlamagne tha God, Boris, that was her most coherent that I had heard her, where she finally drifted away from the rote, memorized talking points and really answer the question. Listen to the question and answer the question. I think that's what she has to do.

She has to show that she is a competent person who has easy access in her mind to the facts, at least in a general way, that she has spontaneous thought that she can be original, that she has to portray a kind of competence that, you know, going back to memorized campaign slogans, does not project. But I think that she's maybe relaxing for the first time she understands she's in the 11th hour that she may be trailing. It's so darn close, you don't know.

So I think that we will see now the real Kamala Harris, and I'm optimistic that that she will represent in a way that that is profoundly appealing to the voters, contrasting - I think of Donald Trump is also with these town halls, Boris, I also think that he portrays or projects himself in the best possible light. Of course, he says dumb ass things like Haitians are eating things they're not supposed to. And, you know, going off on some of these crazy rants like you and I and people that look like us are poisoning the blood of the nation. But I think that it's going to be a fascinating 20 days, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Yes. To that point you just made about - specifically immigrants and his rhetoric, his bellicose rhetoric about immigrants. There was a recent poll that came out from The New York Times and Siena College that asked Latino voters specifically whether they thought some of that rhetoric was directed at them. If Donald Trump was talking about them when he says things as you noted, that are just off color to say the least, and 51 percent - this is overall Latino voters - but 51 percent of Latino voters who were born outside the country, who were not even born in the United States, do not think that Donald Trump is talking about them when he says those things about immigrants. I'm wondering why you think that is, Geraldo?

RIVERA: I think there's a divide and conquer strategy Boris, where he's appealing to - you know, my dad, who came from Puerto Rico, one of 17 children, the first to speak English, the first to emigrate to the mainland from Puerto Rico, he - all he wanted to do is fit - fit in. All he wanted to do is be an American.

You know, he tried his best. That's why the family became Republicans. We wanted to be, you know, just like every other citizen and there's a - there is an appeal, I think, that is effectively being made by the Trump campaign now to divide and conquer, make it a class kind of thing.

You know, we're not the horde coming across the border in our many 10s of thousands. We're the ones who are opening businesses and becoming anchors on CNN and NewsNation and this and that. But the fact of the matter is that there is a racist appeal here.

You know, I've known this guy forever, and I don't believe when I knew him in years past and decades past, that he had any racism in him. I could tell by the people he hired, the people around him, he had, you know, everybody, he's very integrated. He was not race conscious. But now I believe that he has made a decision, a pragmatic - a ruthlessly pragmatic decision, to make a racial appeal that the other is coming to take over, that this brown horde is coming to rape your children and steal your jobs. You know, there is a - you know, the anarchy and so forth and so on.

And I think it is - when you say poisoning the blood of the nation or even worse than that, when he said, I think it's in their genes ...

SANCHEZ: Yes.

RIVERA: ... that they're murderers and they all have a lot of bad genes, that is a direct insult that every - I can't imagine why Latino men, particularly in this climate, are allowing that kind of crap to be spoken and still suggest that there is something appealing about Donald Trump's candidacy for president, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Geraldo, you mentioned that you have been friends with him. You have been close with him for some time.

[15:15:00]

And I know you publicly had spoken about the falling out that you had following January 6. And in her appeal to right-leaning voters, we've seen Vice President Harris emphasize the ramifications of that day. What is led to January 6 and everything that has come since, she's also been joined on stage by these January 6 committee members, Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, former Republican congress people. Is that - do you think - the most compelling message to draw in disaffected Republicans?

RIVERA: I think that the message should be, remember how you felt when you were watching television on January 6, remember the pit in your stomach that you had when you saw the capital of the United States, the center, the soul of our democracy, being assailed by a mob. And to watch that - and how did you feel? Remember how you felt.

I mean, I won't mention any names, but I mean it's people that I am so - still so close to, people who you know I worked with for over 20 years at Fox News, I say to them, and have said on the air, remember how you felt on January 7th, remember how you felt when you assessed what he had unleashed, what he had incited and what he unleashed. And remember that he even went after the Vice President of United States, Pence - Mike Pence and tried to get him to distort his constitutional role in certifying the electors to disavow or discredit or disallow the election results. Remember how you felt that that man was impeached for a good reason. He was acquitted, but he was a peach, impeached for a good reason. He used anti-democratic tactics to try and thwart the will of the American people. The sentence I would like Vice President Harris to say is remember how you felt on January 6 when you were watching TV.

Now, you - he has made a liar, Boris, he has made a liar out of the Republican Party. He has made 10s of millions of Americans liars because they know, we all know that the election was not stolen and that he's talking a bunch of crap about it, and we understand that that's politics, but it is despicable and that's the reason I'm not going to vote for him. Boris.

SANCHEZ: Geraldo Rivera, very much appreciate the time and the perspective. Thanks for joining us.

RIVERA: Nice seeing you. Nice seeing you. Boris, thank you. (INAUDIBLE) ...

SANCHEZ: Thank you so much.

Still ahead, sources tell CNN that Israel's attack plan against Iran is ready. Ahead, when U S, officials believe it could be launched.

KEILAR: Plus, we're looking at voting concerns across the country. How officials are fighting over conspiracy theories about ballot drop boxes in Wisconsin.

And the new evidence in the Menendez brothers murder case, the handwritten letter that could lead prosecutors to reconsider their sentence after three decades.

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[15:22:27]

SANCHEZ: We want to focus now on Israel's looming counter strike against Iran. Sources are revealing that American officials expect Israel to retaliate before Election Day in the United States, which is now about 20 days away.

KEILAR: Sources also say that while the timing of the election is not directly tied to the decision of when and how Israel will attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is highly sensitive to the political consequences of Israel's actions. The counterstrike is in response to Iran's launch of nearly 200 ballistic missiles on Israel earlier this month. It was Tehran's largest ever attack against its longtime adversary. CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in Jerusalem with the latest.

And Jeremy, you're learning that Israel's plans for the counterstrike are ready.

DIAMOND: Yes, that's right. A source familiar with the matter telling us that the Israeli government has plans ready to go for a strike against Iran and retaliation for that barrage of some 200 ballistic missiles. The question is, when exactly will the Israeli Prime Minister give the green light to the military to carry out that attack. And the timing is still quite unclear at this stage, it's already been a couple of weeks, of course, since that barrage by Iran.

But U.S. officials are telling us that they do expect that Israel will carry out this attack before the November election. And, of course, that raises the possibility of injecting yet another Middle East crisis, as the expectation is that Iran likely will also retaliate for Israel's retaliation for this ballistic missile barrage. And that, of course, could play heavily into voters' considerations as the November election approaches.

SANCHEZ: Jeremy, focusing on Gaza, the U.S. has been pressuring Israel to get in more humanitarian aid or risk some kind of restriction of U.S. military aid. The State Department recently said that there was progress made. Tell us about that.

DIAMOND: Yes, that's right. The State Department is indeed saying that they are seeing some steps that the Israelis are already taking in the wake of this letter that was delivered to top Israeli officials earlier this week demanding that Israel take steps within the next 30 days to dramatically improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza. And that letter, of course, as we know, also came with a warning that if Israel does not comply with dramatically increasing aid to Gaza, that it could stop receiving certain weapons from the United States is kind of the bottom line here.

The State Department is saying that Israel has taken some steps, including reopening the Erez crossing, which would go into Northern Gaza.

[15:24:59]

And, of course, we know that Northern Gaza is where the situation is at its worst right now, as the Israeli military carries out a major ground operation there. The fourth time they have gone in after they say that Hamas has re established itself in that area. And at the same time, they are directing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in that area to evacuate.

And those who remain, some of whom because they know that even if they flee, they may not find themselves in a safer situation in the humanitarian zone that has also been struck by the Israeli military, others who are trapped in their homes and those who are still in northern Gaza are finding very little aid actually getting in hospitals, only three of them actually remaining at minimal capacity. And we - I'll also note that those who have died are now being subjected to degrading conditions as well.

The head of emergency services in Northern Gaza saying that some bodies have been recovered from the streets with signs that they have been scavenged by animals in the area, so the situation is seriously deteriorating. And, of course, the U.S. now bringing some heavy pressure to bear. We'll see if it results in action.

KEILAR: All right. Jeremy Diamond live for us from Jerusalem. Thank you. Still ahead, battleground counties still fighting over ballot drop boxes. What we're learning about a federal investigation after a mayor in Wisconsin was caught wheeling away one of those drop boxes.