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Interview with Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE): Trump Vows to Protect Women Whether they Like It or Not; Oscar Nominated Short Film Focuses on Abortion Issue; More Anti-Trump Statues Popping Up Across U.S. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired October 31, 2024 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: In an election that's been historically close, there is one distinct difference, the gender gap. We can't forget that this is the first presidential election since Roe vs. Wade was overturned, making abortion rights a motivating issue for many voters, specifically women, which former President Trump at times has struggled to appeal to.

And now he's promising to protect women, whether they like it or not. That's despite some advisers warning against it. Joining us now is Republican Representative Don Bacon from Nebraska.

Congressman, thank you so much for being with us. I have to start asking you -

REP. DON BACON (R-NE): Thank you, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Of course. I have to start asking you about those comments from the former president, in part because to let our viewers know, you were locked in a tough re-election battle in a district in Nebraska that's centered around Omaha. It's a district that President Biden won.

And so the presidential election, in large part, will affect turnout for your race. I wonder what you think of former President Trump saying that he would protect the women of our country, whether they like it or not.

BACON: I'm not too sure what he means by that, Boris, I'll have to ask him. I would say abortion in Omaha is about the fourth highest issue and priority. The economy is by far the number one issue. Then it's border. Then it's crime.

And I would say also in Omaha, we have a very large Evangelical and Catholic population. So it's not totally one-sided. It maybe leans a little more there.

But I just try to share with people, at least when it comes to the federal level, when you have a filibuster, you're never going to get an abortion law passed anyway. It's all going to be at the state level. And I don't think it's, in reality, a very high level issue at the federal level because it will never be voted on. SANCHEZ: So essentially, would you say that you support a federal abortion ban, as you apparently told a Nebraska newspaper, I think earlier this year or last year, but you just don't think it's actually feasible to accomplish?

BACON: Well, the last part is definitely true because you have to have 60 votes in the Senate. Though we should point out that the Democrats are saying if they're in charge of the House, the Senate and the president, they want to get rid of the filibuster. I think that would be a mistake.

Now, I did say I would support a late-term federal abortion ban. I think it's a shame if you've got a healthy mom and a healthy baby to have abortions at the seventh, eighth and ninth month. But by the way, most Americans agree with me on that, too.

I mean, I think it's only like one out of five adults support a late- term abortion ban for a healthy baby and a healthy mom. And so I think the majority of Americans would agree with me on that.

SANCHEZ: You did co-sponsor what is effectively a messaging bill, codifying the view that life begins at conception three separate times. I don't think you did it on the latest time it came up. You also deleted parts of your website kind of outlining, as you described it, a pro-life stance and that showed that you had perfect ratings from groups that support a national abortion ban.

I just wonder, it's got to be difficult for someone in your position to talk about this issue realizing that Republicans have had a hard time at the ballot box connecting with voters on this, right?

BACON: Well, it was a bit of a hit piece on it, eliminating stuff from my website. What we were doing is we were taking off the 2022 endorsements. And so we could insert the 2024 ones whenever we got them.

We didn't have them yet. So we were eliminating the old endorsements for 2022.

[15:35:00]

And then when we got endorsements from Susan B. Anthony, for example, or National Right to Life, we added them in. And so I thought, you know, the person who wrote that story didn't take our input. It wasn't like we were trying to hide from anything. We were just preparing for the new cycle.

And on the conception or the Life Starts at Conception Act, it was a messaging bill. I know the guy from West Virginia doing it. I, as a Christian, I believe as most Protestants and Catholics that the unborn child is a human being. And it was more of a statement of principle.

By the way, it never mentions the word abortion in that legislation. And it actually says nobody could be prosecuted for the death of the child. So it was strictly more of a principle statement. But then I saw it was demagogued in the last election. And I asked the author of the bill to revise it, make changes to make it clear that this is a statement of principle, that we don't want to affect IVF. We don't want to affect, you know, for health of the mother, rape and incest. The state's still going to get a chance to legislate. And he didn't want to do it. So I decided not to put my name on it.

SANCHEZ: Congressman, health care, obviously a concern, not just for women in that regard, but many Americans that are currently enrolled in Obamacare. Speaker Johnson recently denied to our Manu Raju that if your party takes Congress, you would overhaul health care, including ending Obamacare. Would you support ending the Affordable Care Act?

BACON: No, I wouldn't. And no one's talking about getting rid of the entire act. I mean, they want to we want to probably make some modifications, try to make it better.

What I have found is if you're a low income earner, ACA is great. You get subsidies and you're getting it at a lower cost. You got pre- existing condition coverage -- that I've always voted for, by the way.

But what's hard is if you're earning about $90,000 between you and your spouse or individually, you lose all those subsidies. And what we have found is people are paying triple in many cases of what they paid prior to ACA. And so some people are hurt by it. Some people are helped by it. And my position would be and I believe the speaker's position as well. Let's keep making it better.

Let's keep making it more affordable. There are some great programs out there that we should look at. I'll give you an example.

In Omaha, there's an insurance company that when you walk out of the hospital, they pay your entire bill right up front, right as you're walking out. And the hospitals will charge you half when you pay that back quickly. And so therefore, that insurance company is able to have, you know, charged its customers half the premium.

So my point is there may be some ways that we can modernize and find ways to cut costs. We should do so.

SANCHEZ: Congressman Don Bacon, we appreciate you coming on to share your point of view. I want to let you and our viewers know that we have invited your opponent, state legislator Tony Garza to come -- Vargas, I should say, to come on and share his own. So we look forward to that conversation.

Thank you so much, Congressman.

BACON: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Still ahead, a conversation with actress Brittany Snow about her short film detailing the difficulties faced by women and girls who need to obtain an abortion but cannot. Stay with CNN. We're back in just a few minutes.

[15:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: It's one of the most critical issues in this election, and a short film nominated for an Oscar this past awards season looks at the difficulties faced by women and girls that need the procedure but live in states where it's no longer available. Actress Brittany Snow stars in Red, White, and Blue and has joined other celebrities, activists, faith leaders, and students showcasing the 23-minute film around the country leading up to the election. It's currently streaming for free on YouTube until next Tuesday.

Here's a clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, I need an abortion like yesterday. Do you have an appointment? I tried calling, but I couldn't get through. I've come all the way from Arkansas.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, you and everybody from that state and all the other ones too.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please, I'm desperate. I don't have time. I really need to get back to my son. All I can do is take your name, honey, and put you on the waiting list. But I got to warn you, it's pretty long.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And Brittany Snow is with us now. Brittany, thank you so much for being with us. It is quite the impactful film. What kind of reaction have you gotten from folks who are watching this?

BRITTANY SNOW, ACTRESS: Thankfully, I've gotten such polarizing reactions, but mostly a lot of people who have changed their hearts and minds, shifted their perspectives, or if anything, they've really had a response to it, emotional response, more than anything I've ever done before. I've gotten so many more responses from this. I think because it's such an important topic and one that people really feel and take into their lives.

KEILAR: There is a twist in the film. It'll knock the air out of you on the first watch. I do not want to give it away.

And the story in the film is fictional, but it does resemble some that we've seen in the news after the Dobbs decision. What did you think about this when you were first reading the script?

SNOW: This twist that I won't say is the reason that I did the film. I never had such a visceral reaction to reading something. My whole body went ice cold, and I immediately started crying.

[15:45:00]

I think because like anyone reading something, you're putting yourself into this character and you're going through the actions thinking that it's one way, and then when the twist happens, you're really surprised and you are faced with what it's like to be human in this sort of decision.

KEILAR: You play a mom of two kids. You do it very well, I will say. But this is a controversial topic, and you chose to do a film about a really touchy subject. You're an actress who has enjoyed so much commercial success and projects with broad appeal. Why was this, a short film, under a half hour, a project that for you is worth taking a risk on?

SNOW: I didn't really necessarily see it as a risk, because it was something that I believed in. And I, you know, granted, I know that I'm an actress and a performer and not a politician or should be well- versed in talking about these things. But I know from what I believe in and what I felt when I read this, it was important for me to do.

I know that a lot of my films, I play a lot of likable characters. And I think that this character, it was really necessary that she was someone that you saw yourself in. She was an every woman, a mom.

And I think that that was really important to me, to be able to embody a character that so many women could relate to. And I really felt like I was doing a service, hopefully, to women putting themselves in this story.

KEILAR: What do you want people to take away from this film?

SNOW: I would love to open up conversations. I realize this is a topic that is dividing us completely. And if anything, I would love for people to sit and talk to each other about it.

I know that I had a conversation -- I'm in Florida right now visiting my parents. And last night, I had a conversation with my mom about this short and how it shifted her perspective.

And I think that that was, if anything, the best thing that could happen from this, is someone just taking the short film and putting it in a new and thinking about it in a new way. That's what art and I think movies and short films are supposed to do is really challenge your perspectives.

KEILAR: I've seen the short once. I'm thinking maybe I should see it again because it is a little different after you get to the end of it.

SNOW: Definitely. I think the first time you see it, you're in a perspective of thinking you know what happens and you understand what type of short film you're watching. But I think that that's exactly what Nasrin Chowdhury did with the short film is wanting you to think that you're watching a certain thing and then flipping it on its head.

So the second time upon re-watch, you realize that there's so many symbolic little things that she puts in there. And also, you realize that the unity that all the women share is really clear. There's only women who speak in the short film, except one little boy who is innocent. And little things like that, that you would need to see again upon re-watch.

KEILAR: Well, it's a really interesting film. I think so often in the debate about abortion, the humanity of these decisions are kind of lost. And this is certainly one that spurs a conversation about it.

Brittany Snow, thank you so much for being with us. We really appreciate your time.

SNOW: Thanks for having me.

KEILAR: And again, Red, White & Blue is available to stream for free on YouTube through Election Week. We'll be right back.

[15:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: More anti-Trump statues are popping up across the country. We told you yesterday about this bronze replica that let it off. This is a former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's desk and it was on the National Mall in Washington, topped with a basketball-sized, you can tell what that is.

The anonymous artist attached to the project says there could be more. CNN's Gabe Cohen joins us now. Gabe, we also talked about a tiki torch that was at Freedom Plaza and now I hear you've spoken to the artist?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it was an interesting call that I got this morning out of the blue from a man saying he is the mind behind this, the creator of this anti-Trump art project. He said he's working with a small group. He would not tell me who he is. He wanted to remain anonymous.

But he had enough information and photographs that would seem to indicate he is part of this. He also explained their reasoning. He said this is really about what he put as resistance fatigue, essentially saying that so many voters, so many Americans have become desensitized to what he and others see as the former president's worst qualities.

And so we wanted a week away from the election for this to be front and center in people's faces in states like Philadelphia, which is the statue that you're looking at right there. That one popped up in Philadelphia yesterday, in states like Pennsylvania, I should say. That appeared in Philadelphia yesterday.

It is Trump, an eight-foot statue replica of him strategically positioned right behind a sculpture of a naked woman there. And on the plaque right below the statue is Trump's quote from that infamous Access Hollywood tape where he boasted about kissing and grabbing women. The city of Philadelphia hauled the statue away yesterday because they didn't have a permit for it.

But I can tell you an identical statue to that one popped up in Portland, Oregon over the weekend. That one was vandalized. It was beheaded. It was destroyed by people and it vanished into Monday morning.

But we now know that four of these statues in three locations, Portland, Philadelphia and here in D.C., have popped up in recent days. The replica desk you mentioned, as well as the tiki torch in Freedom Plaza by the White House, which we have learned was destroyed yesterday by somebody who was arrested by Park Police.

So clearly a lot of people do not like these statues. And the man that I spoke with, he said, we're five days away from Election Day. There could be more art, but we'll see.

SANCHEZ: Seems like it keeps growing. Gabe Cohen, thanks so much for that.

[15:55:00]

So our favorite Australian breakdancer Raygun says, show her what you got. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Happy Halloween, everyone. Who doesn't remember Raygun, the much-criticized Australian break dancer or breaker, B-girl if you're savvy, who failed to score even a single point at the Olympics?

SANCHEZ: Well, she's heard your hate. Turn that negative to positive. She's playing the game, not letting the game play her. She says, dale. She wants to see you get on the floor and break.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAYGUN, AUSTRALIAN BREAK DANCER: I've heard some of you think you can do better than me. Really?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Raygun, you lost at the Olympics, but you won our hearts. And she won Halloween with one of the most popular costumes around.

And you know who wasn't at the Olympics, but is still just beloved by the masses?

SANCHEZ: Mr. Worldwide 305. I can't believe we have 30 more seconds that we have to fill before we toss to "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper. I wasn't aware we were going to have as much time, but Raygun, I respect the game.

KEILAR: You respect my game?

SANCHEZ: And the say rumba, Yes.

[16:00:00]

KEILAR: OK. Well, you know what? We have a little bit of time so we can dance.

SANCHEZ: You got to do it. Let's see it. There it goes.

KEILAR: And then I think doesn't - it's like a --

SANCHEZ: Like a rumba. Hey, one, two, three. Una, dos, tres, cuatro

I feel Jake Tapper shaking his head and rolling his eyes at us right now. Don't go anywhere. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts in just about five seconds. Thanks for joining us this afternoon.

END