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Harris Says, Trump is Unstable, Obsessed With Revenge; Trump Leans into Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric in Closing Message; Biden Tries to Clean Up Garbage Remark About Trump Supporters. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired October 30, 2024 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Six days until Election Day and the presidential candidates are hammering home their closing messages. Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at the site of Donald Trump's infamous January 6th rally site and sharpened her attacks on the former president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Trump has spent a decade trying to keep the American people divided and afraid of each other. That is who he is. But, America, I am here tonight to say that is not who we are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, Trump is already stoking voter fraud fears about the election and is again leading into his anti- immigrant rhetoric.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We will not be invaded. We will not be occupied. We will not be overrun. We will not be conquered. We will be a free and proud nation once again. Everyone will prosper.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: President Biden is not on the campaign trail, but his comment about Trump's Madison Square Garden rally is reverberating across both campaigns.

Good morning. You are live in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

But let's begin our hour in Raleigh, North Carolina, one of those three battleground stops for Kamala Harris today. CNN's Eva McKend is there for us.

Eva, what is she focusing on in these closing days of the campaign? I imagine she'll be repeating some of the lines she was using last night on The Ellipse.

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, it was right here in Raleigh, North Carolina, several months ago, where the vice president rolled out her very first economic plan. And when you speak to the campaign, they will tell you that they're not only relying on the blue wall states, that they see North Carolina as part of a possible path to victory as well.

And the vice president will talk about the former president, talk about how, in her view, he poses an urgent threat to this country. But she's also laying out her policy vision, which includes expanding Medicare. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: If you need home care and you don't have some money to hire someone, you and your family need to deplete your savings to qualify for help. That's just not right. So, we're going to change the approach and allow Medicare to cover the cost of home care so seniors can get the help and care they need in their own homes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: And, Jim, they believe that they have the right ingredients in a state like this one, a weak Senate Republican candidate, they believe, that they can run on the strength of the argument over reproductive rights and a robust ground game here in this state. Jim?

ACOSTA: All right. Eva McKend, it's going to be a busy day for you. Thanks so much. I really appreciate it.

Today, the Harris campaign is distancing itself from President Biden's comments about Trump supporters. CNN's Arlette Saenz is at the White House for us. Arlette, walk us through what's happening. We understand that the president is trying to walk back some of his comments or at least clarify what he said. What can you tell us?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim. The White House moved quickly to try to clean up President Biden's comments, which appeared to refer to Trump supporters as garbage, a comment that has really created an opening for Republicans and a political headache for Vice President Kamala Harris in these closing days of the election.

Now, Biden was speaking in a virtual organizing call with Voto Latino, meant to mobilize Latino voters to the polls next week. And I want to play for you exactly what President Biden said in this moment as he was talking about that comedian at the Trump rally who had made those vile comments about Puerto Rico in his remarks.

[10:05:01]

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: And just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage. Well, let me tell you something. I don't know the Puerto Rican that I know or Puerto Rico where I'm in my home state of Delaware. They're good, decent, honorable people. The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His demonization of Latinos are unconscionable and it's un-American. It's totally contrary to everything we've done, everything we've been.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now that word, supporters, really set off a political firestorm. The White House very quickly tried to argue that when he used the word, supporters, he wasn't talking about Trump supporters writ large, but that there was an apostrophe in there. That is what is included in the official transcript. They tried to argue that he was specifically referencing the comments from that comedian at the Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday.

Then President Biden went even further and took to social media to try to clarify his remarks a little bit more, saying that he had referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump's supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage, which is the only word I can think of to describe it. He added, that's all I meant to say.

But Republicans are still trying to capitalize off of this moment. The Trump campaign sent out a fundraising email to it, supporters with a subject line saying you are not garbage. I love you. I'm really trying to argue that what Biden said is also tried to Vice President Kamala Harris.

Now, so far, the Harris campaign, we haven't heard from the vice president herself, but Governor Tim Walz this morning did say that the president clarified his remarks, but added that he and Harris are here to present a plan for all Americans. He went on to say that he believed the president was talking about some of the divisive rhetoric that Trump and his campaign have espoused campaign. But certainly in these closing days of the election, this is a time when every word, every statement is being very carefully dissected. And this does serve as a bit of a distraction for the Harris campaign at this time.

Now, Vice President Harris is expected to depart any moment now for North Carolina. So, we will see if she decides to comment on the president's remarks as well.

ACOSTA: Yes. I spoke with a Harris staffer earlier this morning who said this was clearly a gaffe. That's what they're calling it.

Arlette Saenz, thank you very much.

Latino voters in the all important swing state of Pennsylvania are expected to play a major role in this presidential election. So, Donald Trump's visit to Allentown last night carried some very big stakes.

Victor Martinez is the president and CEO of V.P. Broadcasting, a Spanish language radio station based in Allentown. Victor, I understand you host a show that has 200,000 listeners across Pennsylvania, including in Philadelphia. And, and you have said that Allentown is the epicenter of the Latino vote in Pennsylvania. The mayor was asked about this. Let's play a little bit of that and talk about it on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MATT TUERK (D-ALLENTOWN, PA): I think they're, they're moved by this. They're irritated. It was a hateful thing to say and they're mad.

I know that our community, like when we get knocked down, we get up. We're resilient, both Puerto Ricans and Allentownians, we get up and we respond in kind. And the response in this case is to go out and vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Yes. Victor, what are you hearing from your listeners?

VICTOR MARTINEZ, PRESIDENT AND CEO, V.P. BROADCASTING: Listen, we have five radio stations across Pennsylvania. Our morning show is simulcast through 05. And for the last three days, we have only gotten calls from people who are just mad, pissed off, that here we are, day three, and we haven't heard Donald Trump distant himself, apologize to the Puerto Rican community in any way. He did an interview yesterday and he say he didn't know the comedian and he played with words, but at no point he took advantage of the opportunity to say, you know what, it was a mistake, it shouldn't have happened, we don't believe that Puerto Rico is trash or garbage. That's not what we are all about. And that's why people still today, three days later, are upset.

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, Victor, I do want to ask you because Trump yesterday, he was having a news conference or he was making remarks -- I guess it wasn't really a news conference -- making remarks down at Mar-a-Lago, he called it, he called his rally at Madison Square Garden a love fest.

MARTINEZ: We spoke about it this morning. I asked my audience and we play the audio. And, again, the audience just can't believe that he will refer to this event as a love fest, as a beautiful thing when, obviously, people were offended, not just Puerto Ricans, Latinos, African-American, Jewish women, and this is what he consider a love fest.

People, at least here in Pennsylvania, the Latino, Puerto Rican community doesn't think it was a love fest and it's not happy about it.

ACOSTA: And, Victor, I mean, do you think this could change votes that this could make a difference in this race?

[10:10:00]

MARTINEZ: Absolutely. We've been getting calls with people saying that some of them were not interested, they didn't care, were not even thinking about voting, and now they are. We had a caller yesterday who is a Republican and said I already voted for Trump in mailing ballots and I regret it, and I'm upset that I already voted for him.

And I asked him, I said, okay, now what? And he said, well, the only thing I can do to make up for my vote is now ask my friends and my family members not to vote for him. And that's just an example of some of the calls that we're getting from people who are now deciding to vote, who are now thinking of switching their vote, and are talking to their families and friends to get them to vote for Kamala Harris and not for Donald Trump, so, absolutely.

And remember, we have about 300,000 Puerto Rican voters in the state of Pennsylvania. If only one, two percent of those 300,000 decide now to vote, change their vote, that could really make a difference in the state of Pennsylvania.

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, I was going to ask you that. It's called the Latino belt in Pennsylvania. I don't think a lot of people know about it, realize that it's there, but it's growing.

MARTINEZ: Listen, we have about a million Latinos in Pennsylvania, about 600,000 are eligible voters. We have about 500,000 Puerto Ricans, and, again, about 300,000 of them are voters. So, absolutely, Pennsylvania is Latino state. Latinos could really make a difference. I mean, the city of Allentown, where I'm at, it's 55 percent Latino. The city of Reading, Pennsylvania is 69 percent Latino, Philadelphia, 15 percent. And even though you may think 15 percent is not much, when you look at a city with 9, 10 million people, 15 percent, it's a lot of people. So, we can definitely make a difference in this election.

ACOSTA: All right. Victor Martinez, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it.

MARTINEZ: Thank you.

ACOSTA: All right. For more on the fallout from the former president's Madison Square Garden rally, let's bring in the director of strategic communications for the Trump 2020 campaign, Marc Lotter. Marc is still serving as a Trump surrogate. Thanks for being here.

I mean, Trump, you know, I'm just curious when he says that Puerto Rico -- when you have this comedian saying that Puerto Rico is garbage by this comedian the other night -- hang on just a second, Marc. I'm getting a notification in my ear. We're going to go to Kamala Harris. She's commenting on what the president had to say last night. We'll listen to it.

HARRIS: -- a hundred thousand people to talk about what's at stake in this election and to point out that the American people have a real choice and a very important decision to make in six days. And it is about who will not only lead the country but occupy the White House where critical decisions are made that include how we think about who we are as a nation and whether we are going to be a nation of people who attempt to unify and break through this era of divisiveness, or are we going to be a nation of people who has a president suing in the Oval Office over his enemies list.

And I think that the turnout last night and the kind of feedback that we are receiving is a strong indication that the American people actually want a leader who is bring us together. And that's the type of leader I intend to be.

REPORTER: President Biden said his comment last night about garbage.

HARRIS: Listen, I think that, first of all, he clarified his comments. But let me be clear. I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for. You heard my speech last night and continuously throughout my career. I believe that the work that I do, it's about representing all the people, whether they support me or not. And as president of the United States, I will be a president for all Americans whether you vote for me or not. That is my responsibility and that's the kind of work that I've done my entire career. And I take it very seriously.

REPORTER: Have you spoken to him about the comments and his intentions (ph)?

HARRIS: He did call me last night, but this didn't come up.

REPORTER: Are you concerned about what impact this may have on voters on the divisiveness of the election and whether or not it's going to dissuade some people from supporting you because of your affiliation with the president and this administration?

HARRIS: I've been very clear with the American public. I respect the challenges that people face. I respect the fact that we all have so much more in common than what separates us. And that most people want a president that understands that, that gets that, and approaches their role of leadership that way.

I've been very clear from my earliest years as a prosecutor, I never asked anyone, are they a Democrat or Republican.

[10:15:00]

The only thing I asked folks is, are you okay? And that's the kind of president I will be.

REPORTER: Madam Vice President, on a separate subject, last night, you mentioned removing people in the country who are here illegally. What do you mean? Is that -- that's an immigration statement obviously. Were you referring to people who have come here before illegally, or can you expand on what you meant by that comment?

HARRIS: What I intend to do on the issue of immigration, as I said last night and have said continuously, is we need to fix our broken immigration system in a number of ways. We need to strengthen the border and put more resources at the border, which is why I support the bipartisan bill that Donald Trump killed that would have otherwise put 1,500 more border agents at the border, put more resources into prosecuting transnational crime, and would very importantly put more resources into stemming the flow of fentanyl, which is killing people around the country. And when I am elected president, I will bring that bill back and I will sign it into law.

I also have done the work and have in my policy going forward will strengthen what we need to do to deal with, for example, illegal entries between ports of entry. That is something that we need to tighten up. I will do the work also about ensuring that we have comprehensive immigration reform in a way that we allow hardworking people who have earned citizenship a path to actually be able to gain citizenship because they have earned it, and that includes everyone from our farm workers to DREAMERs.

REPORTER: And just to follow up on that, do you sympathize with any voters who do feel offended --

HARRIS: Once again?

REPORTER: Do you sympathize with any voters who do feel offended by or insulted by the garbage comments?

HARRIS: I am running for president of the United States. I will be traveling to three states today to do what I have been doing throughout, which is talking with the American people about the fact that, first of all, I get it in terms of the concerns they have about challenges like the price of groceries. Second, my highest priority is to address that, and to lift them up around their ambitions, their aspirations, and their dreams, which is why I have a very specific and detailed plan about strengthening our economy. Leading economists have reviewed my plan and indicated it will strengthen the economy and that Donald Trump's plan will weaken the economy. So, I am going to be spending full time, as I've been, talking with the American people, whoever they voted for last time.

And as I have said and will repeat over and over again, I am sincere in what I say. When elected President of the United States, I will represent all Americans, including those who don't vote for me, and address their needs and their desires.

ACOSTA: All right. That was Vice President Kamala Harris addressing reporters just a few moments ago. She was obviously asked about President Biden's gaffe last night when he talked about Trump supporters and said that he thought that there were some Trump supporters who are, quote, garbage. That, of course, was clarified by the White House, as the president only saying he meant that one individual comedian at Trump's Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday night.

Kamala Harris saying there just a few moments ago, I strongly disagree with any criticism of anybody based on who they vote for. She's going to be out on the campaign trail later today. We'll, of course, have all of that coming up on the other side of the break. Be right back.

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[10:20:00]

ACOSTA: All right. Thanks for staying with us. We're following the breaking news. Vice President Kamala Harris just a few moments ago distancing herself from President Biden who had a gaffe last night when he talked about Trump supporters as being garbage. The White House and the president then later clarified to say that he meant to address the comedian at Donald Trump's Madison Square Garden on Sunday night. She said just a few moments ago, I strongly disagree with any criticism of anybody based on who they vote for.

For more on all of this, I want to bring in Marc Lotter. He was just there a few moments ago. He worked on the 2020 campaign and still a Trump surrogate. Marc, your response to what the vice president just had to say there a few moments ago. I didn't mean to cut you off earlier, but she was about to start talking. But your response to that.

MARC LOTTER, FORMER DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, TRUMP 2020 CAMPAIGN: Yes, I totally understand breaking news, Jim. Look, I mean, she basically said that Joe Biden clarified himself. But I'm just not sure that that goes far enough. I mean, we've now had three days of breathless coverage based on a vile joke made by an insult comic on Sunday and yet now we're immediately walking back and clarifying and kind of giving a free pass to the actual words of the president of the United States of America.

And so, you know, I think there's a lot of people out there, especially in conservative circles, who remember being called a basket of deplorables, called fascists, called Nazis, now we're garbage. And it all adds up over time. I'm not sure putting an apostrophe in there is going to change much.

ACOSTA: And I do want to point out, Marc, it wasn't just one comic at that rally on Sunday night. You had Tucker Carlson mocking Kamala Harris' ethnicity. You had another speaker describing Hillary Clinton as a son of a B and so on. So, I don't want to say that it was just that, but Donald Trump yesterday, when he was addressing all of this described the rally on Sunday night as a love fest. Was it a love fest?

LOTTER: Well, I was there, you know, for nearly eight hours getting in there very early and staying through the speech. And there was, I mean, 20,000 people in the arena, thousands outside the arena. They were chanting, they were cheering, they were chanting USA. It was a very happy place for those of us.

[10:25:02]

And many of us who've been doing this for a long time, it was like a giant family reunion.

So, I've --

ACOSTA: Yes. But calling Puerto Rico garbage, I mean, that's not a love fest.

LOTTER: That was a comment of one insult. That was one insult comedian who spoke hours before the president took the stage. The campaign quickly clarified it and said it did not represent the views of the president or the campaign. This had a convention feeling.

ACOSTA: But why didn't he say, why didn't he say they don't reflect his views? Why didn't you condemn it?

LOTTER: The campaign put out that statement that night. They actually had people out the next morning as well saying the exact same thing. It was a joke made by a comedian. That was not approved by the campaign and that they didn't support and it doesn't reflect the views of the president. And so, you know, that's -- they put that statement out.

I know President Trump said something yesterday. I think it was the ABC's Rachel Scott. He doesn't know this comedian. He's not familiar with that comedian's jokes. I mean, but, again, we are putting so much more emphasis on these comments from three days ago than we actually are the sitting president of the United States in what he said last night.

ACOSTA: Well, Marc, I do -- I get that you take exception to calling people garbage, I mean, you shouldn't call people garbage. But let's listen to what Donald Trump has had to say in recent days about the United States of America. Let's play that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're like a garbage can for the world.

The United States of America and dumped, like we're a garbage can, like we're a garbage can for their people.

That's it. We're the garbage can for the world. We're a garbage can. We're like a garbage can and they dump.

The press gave me a hard time on this one. They said it was very -- no, I don't think it's (INAUDIBLE). It's like we're a giant garbage can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So, Marc, I mean, I get it, you shouldn't call Trump supporters garbage, but you also should not call America a garbage can, right?

LOTTER: Well, in context, the president's talking about the illegal immigration problem, and what we're seeing in the millions upon millions of illegal immigrants that are coming across our border, including hundreds thousands of people with convictions for felonies is that they are treating our country as a place to send the people they do not want in their own country. And so I think that's what he's referring to.

ACOSTA: But America is not a garbage can. But America is not a garbage can. We talked about this the other day. It's not a garbage can. And the president, I mean, he puts out a statement clarifying what he said. Donald Trump does not put out a statement clarifying what he has to say about the United States being a garbage can. LOTTER: Well, the president is referring to how other countries are treating us as their garbage can. And I think that's very clear when you look at the context of these remarks and not just those two specific words. He's talking about illegal immigration and how many of these other countries are treating us as a garbage can for the people they do not want in their country.

ACOSTA: All right. Marc Lotter, thanks very much. I think either way we shouldn't, we shouldn't call America garbage, but all right, thanks very much.

Breaking news now, the Supreme Court is allowing Virginia to purge suspected noncitizen voter registration. This is a big decision from the Supreme Court, just came in moments ago.

I want to go straight to CNN's Paula Reid. Paula, what can you tell us?

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Jim, this is incredibly significant because this is one of the court's first significant decisions ahead of next week's election. Here, they are allowing the state of Virginia to continue with a program that will purge suspected noncitizens from its voter registration rolls.

Now, this is a bit of a surprise, because the trial court is still in session and the appellate court sided with the Biden administration that objected to this purge, saying that the state cannot, under federal law, remove large groups of people from the voter rolls within 90 days of an election, that there is nothing stopping them from investigating individual voters and removing them from the voter rolls.

Now, former President Trump has seized on this issue in Virginia, as have other Republicans, as a way that they should be able to remove suspected noncitizens, calling it sort of a common sense move. And here, a divided court, a court divided across partisan lines, siding with Republicans.

Now, Governor Youngkin, who is implementing or attempting to implement this program, he has issued a statement saying, quote, this is a victory for common sense and election fairness.

ACOSTA: And, Paula, the former president is already stoking fears of voter fraud in Pennsylvania, but what are officials actually saying? Because we hear it to Campaign trail said that there's already voter fraud happening in Pennsylvania, but what can you tell us?

REID: That's exactly right. Well, here are the facts, Jim. Last week in Lancaster County, law enforcement officials announced they had identified what they described as incidents of suspected voter registration fraud. And this was according to a bipartisan board of elections and the county's district attorney. They said that this likely stemmed from large scale canvassing operations that submitted registration applications with duplicate handwriting and inaccurate or unverifiable addresses.

Now, officials said, likely about 2,500 voter registration forms had been sort of put aside and segregated to be reviewed and investigated.

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