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Russian Election Disinformation Campaign?; Trump Stokes Unfounded Voter Fraud Fears; Trump Vows to 'Protect' Women 'Whether the Women Like It or Not'; Kamala Harris Responds to Trump Comments on Women. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired October 31, 2024 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:01:30]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: All right. Good morning. You are live in the CNN NEWS CENTRAL. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

With Election Day closing in, Donald Trump tells women voters he will be their protector -- quote -- "whether the women like it or not" -- end quote.

The former president said at a rally that his own advisers had been pleading with them to avoid those kinds of comments. That's in part because Trump has struggled with women voters after placing three justices on the Supreme Court which overturned Roe v. Wade, sending abortion rights back for the states, not to mention Trump has faced decades of allegations of abuse from multiple women.

The remark comes five days before Election Day, as both Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are crisscrossing the country in search of those remaining undecided voters who will determine the winner of the race for the White House.

We are monitoring a live picture that we can tell you about. Vice President Harris may be coming out to the microphones to talk to reporters. We're being told that she may gaggle with reporters. Perhaps she will bring up former President Trump's comments on women last night. We will see what the vice president has to say, but we are monitoring that.

We want to make you aware that we may go to that live when it happens.

But I want to go now to the latest developments out on the campaign trail.

CNN's Eva McKend is in Phoenix for us, the battleground state of Arizona, and CNN's Kristen Holmes is in Washington.

Kristen, what is the Trump campaign saying about the former president's comments? I mean, Trump said at that rally his own advisers have been telling him, please don't say this.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and he's repeatedly said this line. Obviously, he took it a step further this time by adding this part about whether you like it or not.

But Donald Trump has continually said on the campaign trail, I'm going to be your protector, talking to women. He's even acknowledged the fact that there is a huge gender gap. At one point, he said at a rally in Aurora, Colorado, that women just don't like me. They like some of my policies, but they don't like me.

I mean, this is an actual issue for the campaign. In the last three weeks, they have really been trying to pound the pavement to try and secure as many women voters as they possibly can.

But I do want to play you the sound from last night so you can hear it. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (R) AND CURRENT U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: About four weeks ago, I was saying, no, I want to protect the people. I want to protect the women of our country. I want to protect the women. Sir, please don't say that. Why?

They said, we think -- we think it's very inappropriate for you to say, sir. Why? I'm president. I want to protect the women of our country. Well, I'm going to do it whether the women like it or not. I'm going to protect them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: I mean, you can't make this up. Donald Trump, obviously, going out there saying he's going to do it whether the women like it or not at a time when he already doesn't have women's support.

But I will tell you, it really depends on where you stand on the political spectrum how you view comments like this. Last night, the women in the crowd were going wild. At one point, he asked, is there any woman in here who wants to be protected? And women were screaming that they did want to be protected, and by Donald Trump.

If you are not inside of that bubble of Donald Trump supporters, you're likely offended by those kinds of comments. Donald Trump still clearly doesn't have a grip on how to talk to women. They are trying to bridge that gap.

But, obviously, also, you have seen Jim, the comments. Let's just talk about the comments leading up to his Madison Square Garden rally. That was so much machismo, so much sexism, so much vile jokes -- quote, unquote -- "jokes." Bridging the gap and trying to bring in women voters when that's the kind of messaging you're projecting as a campaign, or even though it wasn't him particularly in that case, it's very difficult to do.

And one thing that the campaign has really struggled with this cycle is closing that gender gap.

[11:05:01] ACOSTA: Yes, Kristen, you make an excellent point. There's been so much focus on the comedian who made the garbage remark about Puerto Rico on Sunday night.

But there were other speakers at that rally warming up the crowd for Donald Trump who talked about Vice President Harris being pimped out, talking about Hillary Clinton being a son of a B, using language that is highly offensive to women.

And, yes, there may be women in the audience at Trump rallies who eat all of this up and like him and so on, but I have to think this race is going to come down to persuadable Republican women voters in places like the suburbs of Philadelphia and Detroit and so on. And polls show Kamala Harris has stronger support among women in these swing states.

That has to be something that the Trump campaign is a little nervous about, I would think.

HOLMES: Well, something they're watching very carefully, for sure.

I mean, one of the things that they have really tried to do this cycle is reach out to these low-propensity or mid-propensity voters, people who don't often show up to the polls or never show up to the polls. I mean, one of the things that we have talked extensively about is that, for decades, these voters in the middle of the country were seen as people who potentially leaned left.

Now many of them are seen as people who potentially lean right, people who would vote for Donald Trump if they actually hit the polls, and many of them are men. And that's why you have seen so much specific targeting of men in general, not necessarily women.

And I do think there is some acknowledgement within the Trump campaign that they're just not going to win over that gender gap. They're just not going to win over women, because, as Donald Trump himself has said, women don't seem to like Donald Trump, and not as a whole. Obviously, there is -- there are women who, again, are at these rallies who really love the former president, but he does have an issue with them.

ACOSTA: I'm so sorry to break in. I know it's not good, but I have got to go to Kamala Harris. She's speaking now.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We will be leaving Wisconsin heading west, and I will be obviously in three states again today talking with the American people about the stakes of this election and the opportunity that we, the American people, have to chart a new way forward.

I will comment on the former President Donald Trump's remark about women and whether they like it or not.

And, listen, it's just -- it actually is, I think, very offensive to women in terms of not understanding their agency, their authority, their right and their ability to make decisions about their own lives, including their own bodies.

And this is just the latest on a series of reveals by the former president of how he thinks about women and their agency, whether he has said, as he has, that women should be punished for their choices, whether he has talked about his pride in taking away a fundamental right from women, whether it be how he has actually created a situation in America where now one in three women lives in a Trump abortion ban state and has legal restrictions on the right she rightly should have to make decisions about her own body.

The other point I will refer to in the last many hours is the speaker's comments about the Affordable Care Act.

Look, I have been saying throughout this campaign, be very clear that among the stakes in this election are whether we continue with the Affordable Care Act or not. It has been a part of Donald Trump's agenda for a very long time. He has made dozens of attempts to get rid of the Affordable Care Act.

And now we have further validation of that agenda from his supporter the speaker of the House. And what that would mean for the American people is that pharm -- that insurance companies could go back to a time when they would deny you coverage for health insurance based on preexisting conditions, preexisting conditions such as you being a survivor of breast cancer, asthma, diabetes.

And what I know is that the American people, regardless of who they're voting for, know the importance of the Affordable Care Act, of -- it is also called Obamacare -- in terms of expanding people's coverage to health care, based on a fundamental principle that I hold deeply. Access to health care should be a right and not just a privilege of those who can afford it.

So there's still a lot of work to do. But each day, I think that there are also indications that we are receiving from my opponent that verify, validate, and reinforce the fact that, one, he is not going to be fighting for women's reproductive rights, he does not prioritize the freedom of women and the intelligence of women to make decisions about their own lives and bodies.

And health care for all Americans is on the line in this election as well.

I will take your questions.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tam.

[11:10:00]

QUESTION: Oh, yes.

Since the beginning stages of your campaign, you have described yourself as an underdog. That language is gone from your speech now. Has something changed in how you're feeling?

HARRIS: No, listen, I am putting it all on the field. And it's going to be a very tight race. And I am running like the underdog, because we are.

Donald Trump's been running for the last decade. I have been in this race about 3.5 months. And the stakes are so high. But I have been saying for quite some time, regardless of what the polls say, we are going to win. I do believe that, because I do believe that this is a choice about two very different directions for our country.

And the choice being offered by Donald Trump is about going backward, about a constant emphasis on degrading the American people and our capacity, versus a track that is about bringing the country together, knowing we have more in common than what separates us, and we should have a plan, which I do, to actually get things done, including bringing down the cost of living for people, investing in our small businesses, expanding access to health care, investing in American industries, including the future of American industries, and American workers.

So, there you go.

QUESTION: Well, so you talked about what the former president said being offensive to women.

HARRIS: I think it's offensive to everybody, by the way.

QUESTION: Well, that was my question.

The sort of hypermasculinity that he is talking about, do you -- what do you think about it possibly resonating with men and male voters specifically?

HARRIS: You have been following me, and you will see that, in the tens of thousands of people who attend our rallies, which is an opportunity to talk about the issues, to talk about the future of our country, right, there are men, women, young people, people of every race, every background.

One of the points I think that is a point of pride for everyone who attends, and including myself, is that our campaign really is about bringing people together, people of very different and diverse backgrounds, around a common theme that is about love of country, defending the Constitution of the United States, and investing in our future, and rejecting the notion that we are divided or that that should be acceptable that we would be divided as a nation.

So I'm very proud to have the support of men, women, young people, people of every background.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ebony (ph).

QUESTION: So, we know we have five days until the election. How are you going to continue to draw the contrast with former President Donald Trump, specifically with the undecided voters, as the pool is really shrinking now?

HARRIS: I will continue, as we will do today, as we did yesterday and so on, to talk with people where they live, so, again, here in Wisconsin, heading to Arizona, heading to Nevada, to talk with people about issues like how we're going to deal with price gouging, corporate price gouging, as a way to deal with grocery costs, how we're going to invest in small businesses and expand access to capital, how I will give first-time homeowners a $25,000 down payment assistance if they are a first-time homebuyer to help them get their foot in the door.

These are the issues that the American people want to talk about, because these are the issues that affect them. These are the issues they think about when they're sitting at their kitchen table or when they're trying to go to sleep at night.

And what I know is that they want a president of the United States who, as I say, will walk into the Oval Office with a to-do list, and not an enemies list. And so that's what I will continue to do over the course of these next few days to let folks know that I see them, I hear them, and I'm prepared to address their challenges with a plan that is about getting things done.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

QUESTION: Madam Vice President, can you just talk about Hispanics? Can you please just say something about Hispanic voters going into today?

ACOSTA: All right, that was Vice President Kamala Harris addressing reporters in Madison, Wisconsin.

She was responding to former President Donald Trump's comment last night at his rally that he is going to be the protector of women -- quote -- "whether the women like it or not" -- end quote.

The vice president just a few moments ago pointing out that she thinks that Trump's comments on women are not just offensive to women, but -- quote -- "offensive to everybody."

I want to go back to our campaign reporters who are covering all of this.

Eva McKend is out there in Arizona. Kristen Holmes is with me here in Washington.

Eva, your response to what we just heard from the vice president? I mean, there was -- out on the campaign trail over the last 24 hours, it was sort of this back-and-forth over garbage. It started with what the comedian said at that rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night calling Puerto Rico garbage. And then there was the president's gaffe more than 24 hours ago or so.

And then, when the Trump campaign thought that they had something, they were sort of -- they thought they had the tiger by the tail here with Trump climbing into a garbage truck with his name on it and everything, then he makes this comment about women.

[11:15:02]

And you saw the vice president just seize on it a few moments ago.

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: She did, Jim, because, clearly, she was setting the tone for the day with issues where she feels especially comfortable, so, as it relates to connecting with women on this issue of reproductive rights, and then also talking about health care more broadly, which has become so central to this campaign.

And the hope is that it resonates in states like this one, in battleground Arizona. When President Biden won in this state in 2020, it was just by a little more than 10,000 votes, a remarkable feat for a Democrat, hadn't been done since Bill Clinton in the '90s.

And it was due in part to the winning Biden coalition that include Latino and Native American voters. And so what we see from the Harris campaign is them trying to replicate that strategy, this multiracial coalition, but also running on the strength of this argument of reproductive rights.

Los Tigres del Norte -- excuse my Spanish, the best I could do...

(LAUGHTER)

MCKEND: they're performing tonight here in Phoenix. And then, later on, she's going to be joined by Jennifer Lopez in Las Vegas.

And the way that she's messaging to these Latino voters about her opportunity economy, for instance, it's very much grounded in talking about the family. So, clearly, she's trying to make the cultural connection there.

And I will end with this, Jim. I'm very curious to see how she talks about the issue of immigration in this border state. She often pushes the bipartisan border enforcement bill that doesn't include a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants in it.

But you have immigrant organizers here on the ground that are canvassing for her, working on her behalf, and she will have to speak to those communities as well -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Yes, and the Harris campaign with that out -- that Spanish- language out at this morning targeting those comments about Puerto Rico made at the Madison Square Garden rally.

And, Kristen Holmes, your response to what we just heard from the vice president there? They obviously saw a moment to sort of shift the narrative, didn't they?

HOLMES: Yes, I mean, they saw the same moment that Donald Trump saw, right? And for three days, we talked about the jokes that were told at that Madison Square Garden rally, the vile, racist jokes leading up to it. Then the narrative was flipped because Joe Biden had that gaffe referring to Trump supporters, however you want to break it down, as garbage.

They seized on that. Now you're seeing Kamala Harris take to the press to reiterate the remarks that and repeat the remarks that Donald Trump said last night. And there's a reason that they're all doing this. They want to amplify what the other side is saying.

Kamala Harris wants anyone who wasn't paying attention last night to know exactly what Donald Trump said at that rally. The best way to do that isn't necessarily always just through social media and cutting clips, but also by holding a mini-press conference in order to pay attention, to shine a light on those remarks.

And, as Eva said, a lot of this is reaching out to a place where they feel comfortable. They are still trying to secure as many women voters as they possibly can. Donald Trump has a problem with women. Kamala Harris has a problem with men.

They are trying to get as many of their demographic that already support them out to the polls as quickly as possible and get them revved up, so that they actually show up either for early voting or on November 5. And this is all a part of that.

Donald Trump sitting in a trash truck, that is because he believes that the messaging around "your supporters are garbage" -- I'm putting that in quotes -- is positive for him, that it can get people riled up, it can get people to the polls.

Kamala Harris' team clearly believes that the language that Donald Trump used last night will do the same for her side. We are in a last- minute sprint here, and everybody is grasping for votes because both sides understand that this decision, this race is going to be determined in the margins, Jim.

ACOSTA: Yes, it's very tight.

All right, Eva McKend, Kristen Holmes, thanks so much.

More on the other side of the break. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:23:32]

ACOSTA: With just days left until Election Day, Donald Trump appears to be already laying the groundwork to challenge the results if he loses, including in Pennsylvania, where he is stoking unfounded fears of voter fraud.

CNN chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid joins me now.

Paula, I mean, we knew this was going to happen. It is happening.

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

ACOSTA: But let's dissect these fraud claims. What are officials actually saying? And what can you tell us?

REID: Well, Jim, they're confirming that there are investigations under way in Lancaster and York counties in Pennsylvania. The state secretary of state, Al Schmidt, who's been really out there,

he's a Republican, he's been very forward-leaning and educating the public about what's going on with voting in his state. He has acknowledged these investigations. His office is supporting both counties.

And, last week, officials in Lancaster County said they were investigating -- quote -- "incidents of suspected voter registration fraud." And they said they believe that this stemmed from a -- quote -- "large-scale canvassing operation" where they submitted registrations that has some duplicate handwriting and unverifiable addresses.

So they are looking into that. In York County, officials will not confirm with CNN that they have the same issues that we're seeing in Lancaster County, but they did acknowledge a large delivery containing thousands of election-related materials.

So we will continue to follow these investigations and bring our viewers the facts, but clearly the former president getting out ahead of the investigation by saying there was actually fraud that was found.

ACOSTA: Yes.

And, Paula, and we're showing one of Trump's TRUTH Social posts right there. "Pennsylvania is cheating and getting caught at large-scale levels rarely seen before."

[11:25:06]

I mean, that's just not happening.

REID: That's exactly right.

ACOSTA: Yes.

REID: But this is what we expected.

And the state's governor has said that he believes this is part of Trump's effort to lay the groundwork to sow doubt about the state of Pennsylvania. There's clearly concern about the outcome in that state. And that's part of why we're seeing a flurry of litigation, but not only from Republicans, but we're also even seeing a new lawsuit from Democrats.

ACOSTA: Yes. And it raises a question, if they're so confident about how they're doing in the election, why are they doing this, making these kinds of claims?

And, Paula, Democrats have filed a new suit in Erie County over the delayed delivery of mail-in ballots. And we're also waiting to see if the Supreme Court weighs in on the state's so-called naked ballot issue. I hope I have explained all that correctly. Where do things stand there?

REID: Yes, of course. I will fill it out a little bit.

Look, it's notable that Democrats are filing this lawsuit in Pennsylvania, because most of the litigation that we have seen has involved the RNC or Republican-aligned groups that have been involved with over 130 lawsuits.

But here Democrats have filed a suit over delivery issues and getting mail-in ballots to tens of thousands, roughly 20,000 voters in Pennsylvania. And they're asking the court to make sure that, even though they have had this vendor issue with these mail-in ballots, to make sure that these voters actually get to cast their vote by next week.

Now, on the naked ballot case, this is a Supreme Court case of enormous significance. It is as exciting as it sounds, but maybe not for the reasons that are implied by that descriptive term. In Pennsylvania, your mail-in ballot has an envelope, but it also has a secrecy sleeve.

And you need to put your mail-in ballot in the secrecy sleeve when you mail it in. And there's been a lot of litigation around what happens if you don't put it in that secrecy envelope. Those ballots that don't have the secrecy envelope, they are called naked ballots. And the Supreme Court is expected to possibly weigh in on whether you can cast a provisional ballot if your mail-in ballot is disqualified because it is a so-called naked ballot.

And, look, Jim this is really significant, because I have been talking to sources on both sides of this election, legal sources for months. And months ago, Republicans flagged this as one of the most significant cases that they were watching because of the potential impact it could have on the critical state of Pennsylvania.

ACOSTA: All right, Paula Reid, thank you very much.

With less than a week until Election Day, we're also learning new details about a Russian disinformation campaign working to sway American voters.

CNN chief national security correspondent Alex Marquardt has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): It's from this 23-story building in Russia's St. Petersburg that some of the most effective Russian disinformation of the 2024 U.S. election has been cooked up. One of its occupants in recent years is believed to be the so-called Russian Foundation to Battle Injustice, or RFBI.

DARREN LINVILL, CO-DIRECTOR, CLEMSON MEDIA FORENSICS HUB: That's good, but not perfect.

MARQUARDT: CNN teamed up with researchers at Clemson University to investigate RFBI's long tentacles and its impact. PATRICK WARREN, CO-DIRECTOR, CLEMSON MEDIA FORENSICS HUB: The

connection between Prigozhin and the RFBI is cut and dry.

MARQUARDT: RFBI's origins can be traced back to Yevgeny Prigozhin, longtime ally of Vladimir Putin and the founder of the Wagner mercenary group, who, after launching an audacious revolt on Moscow last year, was killed in a mysterious midair explosion.

But Darren Linvill and Patrick Warren say that the story of RFBI makes it clear that Prigozhin's legacy persists beyond the grave.

LINVILL: They're pretending to be this really positive force of good in Russia. In reality, they're really an arm of the Russian state.

MARQUARDT: One recent viral post baselessly accuses Governor Tim Walz of sexually assaulting a minor.

WARREN: I mean, that thing flew across the Internet in days, millions and millions of views.

MARQUARDT: Senator J.D. Vance and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene even pushed a fake Russian story that Ukrainian officials used American aid dollars to buy yachts. There was one that Kamala Harris carried out a hit-and-run and also that she killed an endangered rhinoceros while on safari, both wildly false, but both pushed with the help of another shady Russian network, which researchers have dubbed Storm-1516, which Linvill and Warren believe works hand in glove with RFBI.

(on camera): When you look at all of the efforts that the Russians are undertaking in this space, where does the RFBI rank?

LINVILL: In terms of disinformation, as opposed to just propaganda, I think that the RFBI and Storm-1516 are probably the single most important actors in Russia right now.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): RFBI is now led by Mira Terada, who spent two years in American prison for money laundering connected to cocaine smuggling.

(on camera): And she kind of took the effort and ran with it?

WARREN: It really kicked off upon her return.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): From there, she has joined forces with foreigners, including American John Mark Dougan, a former Florida sheriff's deputy who fled to Russia following felony charges. Dougan denied to CNN that he's acting on behalf of Russia.

WARREN: His face is there for a reason.

(END VIDEOTAPE)