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Puerto Rican Community Responds to Trump Rally Comments; Trump Campaign Grapples With Fallout From Inflammatory Rally; Kamala Harris to Deliver Speech at Ellipse. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired October 29, 2024 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:35]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Former President Donald Trump on his way to battleground in Pennsylvania with just seven days until the election, but not before he attacked Vice President Kamala Harris on everything from the economy to foreign policy, as new poll numbers in two swing states show a race that seems like it could not be closer.

Meantime, dire warnings of what a second Trump term could mean mixed with messages of joy and optimism, new details on what to expect from the vice president's speech on the Ellipse tonight, as Harris heads to the site of Trump's infamous January 6 speech in an attempt to sway undecided voters.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And as Election Day nears, a new survey shows that Americans' economic mood seems to be perking up a bit. We will take a closer look at what is driving the optimism.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SANCHEZ: The countdown clock is at one week. One more week, that's it.

And, today, the presidential candidates are focused on laying out their closing arguments, as new polling shows a race that could hardly be closer. Right now, Vice President Kamala Harris is preparing to deliver a major speech at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., the very spot former President Donald Trump spoke on January 6 before a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol.

KEILAR: Now, earlier, we heard Trump speak from Mar-a-Lago, where he unleashed a series of familiar attacks against his Democratic opponent.

Right now, the Trump campaign continues to grapple with the fallout from his vulgar racist and misogynistic rally in New York on Sunday, with concerns growing that the inflammatory rhetoric from the rally speakers could actually hurt them in key battleground states like Pennsylvania, where Trump is visiting later today.

SANCHEZ: Our coverage begins with CNN's Alayna Treene, who's covering the Trump campaign for us in Palm Beach, Florida. Alayna, you were at this press conference or what was billed as a

press conference where Trump wrapped up his remarks just moments ago. What was his message?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, his message was -- you know, he said a lot of different things, Boris and Brianna.

And, first of all, I will tell you that this was actually billed as, like you said, a press conference, but also really I was told when I talked to Donald Trump senior adviser that this was supposed to be the prebuttal to Harris' speech on the Ellipse this evening, that he really wanted to hold an event to mark one week out from Election Day.

But one of the key things that a lot of people were wondering was whether or not he would address -- at a minimum really address, but also apologize for and condemn some of that sexist and racist rhetoric we had heard from the other speakers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

And the answer is no. We did not hear him bring that up. He did talk about Madison Square Garden actually, but instead he labeled the rally as a lovefest. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (R) AND CURRENT U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's never been an event so beautiful. It was like a lovefest, an absolute lovefest. And it was my honor to be involved.

And, hopefully -- they started to say, well, in 1939, the Nazis used Madison Square Garden.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: So we're going to fight like hell for the next seven days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Boris and Brianna, he actually did bring up there at one point what Walz and some other critics had said of Donald Trump and holding that rally where they had compared it to the American Nazi Party holding a rally at Madison Square Garden in 1939, but all to say he called it a lovefest, but did not address some of those comments, particularly the ones we had heard from that comedian who had essentially referred to Puerto Rico as a floating island of garbage.

And the reason that point is so important is because later today Donald Trump is going to have a pair of events in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is home to more than half-a-million Puerto Ricans. And Allentown, Pennsylvania, where he's having that rally this evening, that is -- that has a large population of Puerto Ricans as well.

We're told that Puerto Rican state senator is going to be -- or -- excuse me -- a former state senator is going to be speaking at that rally with Donald Trump tonight. We will see if that comes up, but all to say so far we have not heard him address this so far. We have only heard the campaign do so.

And that comes even as people like the archbishop of San Juan and other Republican leaders are saying that not just the campaign should be addressing this, but Donald Trump needs to be doing it directly as well -- Boris, Brianna.

[13:05:06]

KEILAR: All right, Alayna Treene live for us from Mar-a-Lago, thank you.

And let's go now to CNN's Eva McKend.

So, Eva, Vice President Harris is preparing to deliver a big speech tonight, this key speech from the Ellipse. What are we expecting to hear?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: She is.

The campaign says that this is by design. Choosing the Ellipse is not an accident. They are aiming to show contrast. They say that there are some folks in this country with Trumpnesia. They don't remember those years well enough.

And so part of this is trying to remind voters of the chaos they argue came to define that period. But also this is about crystallizing her final argument here. She has been actively making the case for why she wants to be president. And much of that argument is centered in the opportunity economy, working to bring down costs for everyday Americans, and then also working to restore reproductive rights.

I'm told that it's going to be hopeful and optimistic when she touches on those points. Now, Boris and Brianna, you well know a key part of the Democratic coalition are black voters. And there has been this frustrating narrative for Democrats about black men. They don't think that there is the level of erosion among that core group as much as is being talked about.

She was asked about this morning on "The Breakfast Club." Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The brothers aren't saying that. I mean, I was just at the barbershop in Philly talking with very incredible and distinguished men who are leaders in their community in small business and education.

And these men, these black men, were talking about not only their support for me, but, most importantly, their support for my perspective on what we can do that lifts up the community and taps into the ambitions and the aspirations.

(END AUDIO CLIP) MCKEND: Now, in some corners, in the Democratic Party, they argue that this is very much what the vice president needs to be talking about, not so much about the former president, that criticisms of him are well-known at this point.

I will tell you, I was with her at the rally last night in Ann Arbor. And it was very much focused on a future vision for this country, getting people to vote early and really uplifting the voices of young voters.

SANCHEZ: And, Eva, we got an update from Joe Rogan. We know that the campaign had these ongoing talks to hold a similar conversation like the one he had with former President Donald Trump. What's the status of that?

MCKEND: So, the campaign itself, they're not commenting, but we are hearing from Rogan. And he says that he's still open to doing this interview. He very much wants to do it, but he's not going to do it on some of the terms that the campaign proposed to him.

According to him, they asked for a different location, for him to travel to her and for it to only be an hour. And he said that he wanted her to travel to Texas.

SANCHEZ: The clock is ticking.

MCKEND: It sure is.

SANCHEZ: We will see if it actually happens.

Eva McKend, thank you so much.

Let's open up the discussion now with CNN's senior political analyst Gloria Borger and Larry Sabato, director for the Center of Politics at the University of Virginia.

Gloria, first, I want to start with you.

This press conference, so-called...

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: So-called.

SANCHEZ: ... at Mar-a-Lago, what did you think? Did Trump do enough there to shift the narrative from the Madison Square Garden lovefest, as he called it?

BORGER: Well, he called it -- he's never seen an event that's been so beautiful. There was love in the room.

And there might have been love in the room for Donald Trump, but there wasn't love in the room for much of anybody else. And I think their strategy now is to just turn the page, as we say, and not pay any attention to it anymore. He certainly didn't apologize.

What he did today was call Harris' campaign a campaign of hate. So he wanted to kind of flip the script on her and talked a lot about immigration, crime, the usual. But it was not -- he didn't get up on that podium to say really anything about what occurred at that event, other than the fact that there was love in the room for him.

KEILAR: And, Larry, your Crystal Ball out today is so interesting and a little infuriating, because you say -- the key points from the article: "We find ourselves having a couple of gut feelings about what's going on in the race. Unfortunately, for predictive purposes, the two gut feelings are incompatible with one another."

Tell us about this.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA CENTER FOR POLITICS: Yes, I guess our guts are too large.

(LAUGHTER)

SABATO: If I could just add one thing to what Gloria said, remember the other event that Donald Trump described as being full of love?

It was January 6, so much love, except for the dozens of officers who were hurt in one fashion or another, or even their deaths resulted from it. So, it's kind of interesting the way that reoccurred. And Donald Trump never apologizes for anything. So I don't know why we would ever wait for something like that.

[13:10:06]

But, look, here's why we said what we did. If you are looking at this in a balanced way and you're trying to figure out who's going to win, you realize that the data is so divided evenly, even more so than in 2000 with that very close Bush-Gore race.

The preelection data really wasn't as close as this is. So we keep going back and forth. I do think there's some possibility that Sunday, not just because of the alleged comedian, but also because of the other things that were said and done and things that weren't said and done, that could be an October surprise. It really could be.

It's having an effect.

SANCHEZ: The alleged comedian, Larry says.

Larry, I want to ask you about something that Eva brought up, and that is this concept of Trumpnesia. The Harris campaign thinks that folks forgot about some of the chaos from Donald Trump's four years in office. I wonder, have you been able to quantify that? Do you see it in the data? And how effective would that be a message coming from the vice president?

SABATO: Well, I think she has to a lot of things, some negative, some positive, which I'm sure she will do tonight.

But, look, it is difficult for people to remember so many years ago. So much has happened. And we always have a glossier view of the past than we do of the present or even our idea of the future. So I understand why people are saying this, but part of a campaign's job is educational.

It's to help people remember, like a review for students for an end- of-the-semester exam. And they always complain, you have gone back to the very beginning of the class. We can't remember all that stuff. Well, you have to in order to take the exam.

KEILAR: What are you looking for in her speech on the Ellipse, Gloria?

BORGER: Well, I think she's going to try and do a few things, the most important of which is really to talk to those voters out there, the 4 percent who may be undecided. They're conflicted. They're completely conflicted.

They don't like Donald Trump very much. They're repulsed sometimes by what occurs in his campaign and by him and what he says. But they're not sure that Kamala Harris is the person to run the country, that she's not competent enough to run the country, that they don't know enough about her.

Remember, this has been a really, really short campaign. So she's going to draw the contrast. Talking to her advisers, she's going to draw the contrast between Donald Trump's character, which she believes is unacceptable and completely disqualifying, and her qualities and qualifications to run the country.

And she's going to talk about substance. She's going to talk about her proposals for the middle class. She's going to talk about the economy and what she's going to do to improve it. She's going to talk about prescription drugs, for example, the cost of prescription drugs, and how the administration lowered them.

So she's got to walk this fine line, but it's almost as if she's taking an admissions exam. And Donald Trump's character is very well- known to the American public. So she could talk about that a little bit. But she's got to pass this test with these conflicted voters about her qualities and her qualifications to run the country.

SANCHEZ: On the other side, Gloria, Trump headed to Pennsylvania tonight, Allentown. He's expected to have a slew of Puerto Rican speakers...

BORGER: Yes.

SANCHEZ: ... trying to again counter the message from Sunday.

But, notably, there is one apparently influential voice in Pennsylvania that we haven't seen on the trail with Trump, even though she's apparently offered to go out there. And that is former Governor Nikki Haley.

BORGER: Yes.

SANCHEZ: She won a ton of support even after she had dropped out of the race in Pennsylvania. Why isn't the Trump campaign tapping her? Is it personal? BORGER: Well, if you have heard Donald Trump talk about her -- and he

has a little because he was asked about it once -- he said, yes, I guess we will get her out there. He didn't seem, let's just say, enthusiastic. He's not enthusiastic.

He's got a long memory. He doesn't forget what she said about him in the campaign. She said he was too old. She said he was becoming demented in a way. She didn't spare her words about him and he didn't forget that.

And I think that they'd like to have her out there, but I think he's been pushing it off. And she'd like to go out there, but the word, the public word is they haven't arranged it yet. Well, we will see if it actually happens, because she is the one person who, if she becomes a character witness for him, she could help him with those conflicted voters.

She could help him. And she hasn't done it yet because obviously they can't arrange it.

[13:15:02]

KEILAR: And it's very clear, Larry, by looking at the president's appearance today, who he's targeting. He's targeting women. He's targeting suburban women of approximately Nikki Haley's age.

How much of a difference does it make that he is not capitalizing on using her?

SABATO: Well, it makes some difference. I'm not sure that she would be the silver bullet, particularly right at the end.

Also, the fact that he hasn't used her until now guarantees that the nasty series of video clips of her tearing into Donald Trump, not just his character, but his policies, will be run, if not simultaneously, then side by side for at least a couple of days.

So it's a negative message about Trump, not just a positive message.

KEILAR: It's a very good point. There would be a contrast there, for sure.

Gloria Borger, Larry Sabato, thank you so much to both of you.

BORGER: Sure.

KEILAR: And our guts are big, I guess. That is also the takeaway here.

(LAUGHTER)

KEILAR: Still to come: Former President Trump claims he doesn't even know the comedian who spewed racist so-called jokes at Puerto Ricans.

That's a longtime thing that he has done. He just claims he doesn't know someone, oftentimes when he does. But will this impact that critical voting bloc? We will have much more on that just ahead.

SANCHEZ: Plus, new airstrikes targeting Lebanon, as the Israeli defense minister warns, Hezbollah's new leader won't be for long. We're live in Jerusalem.

You're watching CNN NEWS CENTRAL. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:20:58]

KEILAR: The impact of that joke that we were talking about before the break is really resonating still on the campaign trail.

Tonight, in Allentown, Puerto Rico, Shadow Senator Zoraida Buxo is expected to speak before Trump does. And in the joke that was told this weekend, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico -- quote -- "an island of floating garbage."

Speaking to ABC News today, Trump didn't denounce those comments. Instead, he addressed the comedian, saying -- quote -- "I don't know him. Someone put him up there. I don't know who he is."

SANCHEZ: Trump also claims he didn't actually hear the remarks which many Puerto Ricans have found deeply offensive.

CNN's Danny Freeman spoke with Puerto Ricans in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, one where every vote will matter this election.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Vice President Harris' campaign wasted little time Monday morning.

EDDIE MORAN (D), MAYOR OF READING, PENNSYLVANIA: They did us a favor. They woke up. They woke up. They woke us up. They woke us up.

FREEMAN: Assembling a host of Puerto Rican surrogates in Philadelphia.

QUETCY LOZADA (D), PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, COUNCILMEMBER: I hope that people are as angry and they turn that anger into votes.

FREEMAN: Pennsylvania has more than 480,000 residents of Puerto Rican descent, according to 2022 data from the U.S. Census Bureau. That's the most out of any of the battleground states. And the Philadelphia metro area is among the top regions with Puerto Ricans outside of New York and Florida.

Philadelphia City Councilmember and Harris supporter Quetcy Lozada knew she had to speak up.

LOZADA: I think that what folks don't realize is that Puerto Rican -- when Puerto Ricans get angry, we turn into action mode very quickly.

FREEMAN: Around Philly's largely Puerto Rican Fairhill neighborhood, voters we spoke with had heard the comments.

(on camera): "He doesn't know what he's talking about. Puerto Rico is a beautiful island."

(voice-over): Thirty-two-year-old Christian Hernandez is voting for the first time this year for Vice President Harris. The Trump rally remarks only solidified his vote.

(on camera): You think Puerto Ricans heard those words from last night?

CHRISTIAN HERNANDEZ, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: Yes, for sure. A lot of Puerto Ricans, they're mad and disappointed.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Marcos Pagan didn't like the comments at all.

(on camera): When you hear stuff like Puerto Rico is a floating island of garbage, what goes to your mind?

MARCOS PAGAN, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: To be honest, I feel disrespected, because he doesn't know what we go through. We have been through a lot.

FREEMAN (voice-over): But Marcos still is not sure who he's voting for.

(on camera): When you hear comments like that, does that change your perspective about who you might vote for?

PAGAN: No.

FREEMAN: That's not enough.

PAGAN: I'd rather see you to believe it. Everybody -- action is louder than words.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Fernando Santiago already cast his vote for former President Donald Trump, but now he and his whole family are mad.

(on camera): What did you think about him calling Puerto Rico a floating island of trash?

FERNANDO SANTIAGO, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: That's messed up, because that's my island. I don't want people talking like that. This is not right.

FREEMAN: You think he's not going to go far because of this lack of respect towards Puerto Ricans?

Now, we did reach out to the Trump campaign here in Pennsylvania for comment for this story. They just pointed us to the statement they released back on Sunday evening, saying: "This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign."

I will note, though, former President Trump is expected to be in the city of Allentown on Tuesday. Allentown has an enormous Latino population specifically an enormous Puerto Rican population, so we will see if the former president addresses this controversy then.

Danny Freeman, CNN, Philadelphia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Our thanks to Danny Freeman for that report.

We want to discuss the impact these comments are having on a key battleground state with Victor Martinez. He's a radio host for La Mega in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Victor, thank you so much for being with us.

You have said that for Puertorriquenos, these jokes were an October surprise. I wonder what you're hearing from your listeners.

[13:25:09]

VICTOR MARTINEZ, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I will tell you a bit more.

I have described this as a gift from the gods. I mean, what are the chances that Kamala Harris is at a Puerto Rican restaurant in Philadelphia at the same time that this is happening in the Trump campaign rally in New York?

This has definitely gotten to the Puerto Rican community in the entire state. I mean, we have about 500,000 Puerto Ricans here in the state of Pennsylvania. Allentown, where I'm at right now, where Trump is going to be tonight, Allentown is about 55 percent Latino.

And out of that 55 percent Latino, about 45, 50 percent, it's Puerto Rican. And then you move to Reading, Pennsylvania, a city with a 69 percent Latino population, where, about 70 percent, it's Puerto Rican. This definitely is going to have an impact.

SANCHEZ: What did you think of Trump saying that he didn't hear the comments and doesn't know the comedian? What did you make of the response?

MARTINEZ: Definitely a missed opportunity.

One of the things that I heard the most this morning from my audience -- and we broadcast our morning show through five radio stations in the state. So we have about 250,000 Latinos that listen to us in the state of Pennsylvania.

I specifically asked the audience, OK, what about if Trump today all of a sudden decides to apologize, all of a sudden decides to distance himself from the comedian? Would that be OK? Would you take that in consideration?

Overwhelmingly, everybody was like, nope, too late. The train has left the station. He could have done it Sunday night, Monday, even this morning. And for him now to say, I don't know the comedian, I didn't even hear the joke, I'm pretty sure by now he heard the joke. I'm pretty sure by now he could have personally said something to the Puerto Rican community.

One of the things that have impacted more my audience is the fact that he's from New York. He's a New Yorker. So a lot of people here in the Lehigh Valley are from New York. And what I heard from my audience was, wait a minute, he's from New York. He knows us. The Puerto Rican parade goes right in front of his building every year.

Why would he allow somebody in New York City, a place with such a rich Puerto Rican history, with over a million Puerto Ricans, why would he allow someone in New York City to say something like that about Puerto Ricans?

SANCHEZ: I'm wondering, Victor. His campaign is going to feature Zoraida Buxo, the shadow senator from Puerto Rico. We have heard reports that other prominent Puerto Ricans are going to be joining him.

What do you think about that? What do you know about who else might be going there?

MARTINEZ: I haven't heard of anyone else being there, but I will tell you this. None of those people matter.

It's all about number one. Until Donald Trump doesn't himself acknowledge the fact that this was wrong, that this is unacceptable, that we will not tolerate this, I don't think none of that will matter. He can bring anybody he wants from Puerto Rico, and I have heard it from my audience. It's too late now.

He needed to say something right away that night or the day before or the day after, and he hasn't done it. By now, he can bring anybody he wants from Puerto Rico, and it's not going to make a difference.

SANCHEZ: I wanted to get your response, Victor, to something that I have heard from several Latinos in politics since this story broke, one of them with ties with family in Puerto Rico, suggesting that this incident likely won't have an impact on the presidential race, because Latinos broadly aren't easily offended or repulsed by this kind of commentary, this kind of joking.

I'm wondering what you make of that, because there's polling out there from reputable outlets that indicate that most Latinos, even those that are born outside the United States, do not believe that Trump's rhetoric when it comes to immigration applies to them.

What do you think?

MARTINEZ: Listen, I don't know who that person is, but I tell you right now. I'm talking to my audience for the last two days, and Puerto Ricans are a very proud people.

And once you offend our island, our beautiful island in the Caribbean, you are messing with us as a whole, I am telling you. I will give you one example. I specifically talked to a Puerto Rican Republican who already voted for Trump.

He called the radio show and said: "I already voted for Trump on mailing a ballot. I regret it. I am so sorry that I already voted for him. But you know what I'm doing to make up for it? I'm calling my families and friends to tell them not to vote for Trump."

This is an audience member from -- right here from Allentown who's telling me that he already voted for Trump. He's regretting it after what happened Sunday, and he's trying to make up by trying to influence other people not to vote for him. They hurt our pride.