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Poll: Harris Slightly Leads Trump In Pennsylvania; Death Toll From Hurricane Milton Rises To 15; Biden Administration Lashes Out Against Storm Misinformation. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired October 11, 2024 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:30:00]
MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR: And just devastating.
All right, now turning to our battleground beat. With just 25 to go -- days to go until Election Day the must-win state of Pennsylvania is still as close as ever. A new Quinnipiac poll released earlier this week shows Kamala Harris with a slight edge over Donald Trump in the Keystone State among likely voters there. Harris is at 49 percent while Trump is at 46 percent, and that is just barely outside the margin of error.
Now, CNN reporting, "...the commonwealth is being flooded with advertising money -- more than $250 million just between July 22 and September 30. Now, Democrats have outspent Republicans in the Keystone State by about $144 million to $105 million over that stretch, and both sides have spent more there than any other battleground state."
Now, it's also been the backdrop of some notable campaign moments. Of course, the first Trump assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania where Trump returned just last week alongside Elon Musk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELON MUSK, BUSINESSMAN AND INVESTOR: Hi, everyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: And former President Barack Obama kicked off his campaign blitz for Harris in Pittsburgh there yesterday.
It's also where Harris first introduced her running mate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Oh, it is good to be back in Pennsylvania.
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We love Pennsylvania. That's (INAUDIBLE). Come here. Take over Elon. Just take over.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What I cannot understand is why anybody would think that Donald Trump will shake things up in a way that is good for you, Pennsylvania. TRUMP: If we win Pennsylvania we will win the whole thing. The whole thing will be won.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: All right. Joining me now, capitol reporter for Spotlight PA, Stephen Caruso. Stephen, thank you so much for joining me this morning and sharing your expertise.
Let's talk a little bit about what's happening on the ground. Just to remind viewers about just how close this race was in 2020 between Biden and Trump, Biden barely winning the state there. He got 50 percent to Trump's nearly 49 percent. That's about 81,000 votes he won the state by.
If you're Kamala Harris, do you -- is -- you know, how do you see her biggest challenges right now to essentially surpass or meet what Joe Biden did in 2020?
STEPHEN CARUSO, CAPITOL REPORTER, SPOTLIGHT PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (via Webex by Cisco): Well, I think her biggest challenge is just like she kind of does have a different coalition than Joe Biden.
Joe Biden was Scranton, Joe. He spent his time in Delaware, but he was famously born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. This is a part of the state that's ancestrally Democratic, I think is how folks like to put it. A place that backed Democrats since FDR, but it's gone a little more Republican in recent years under Donald Trump.
So I think that her goal is what does her coalition look like. She's spent a lot of time, and her surrogates, in western Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh -- Allegheny County. She's also put a lot of resources into south central Pennsylvania. This is the area around the state capital -- Harrisburg, Lancaster, Carlisle, York. This is an area that Democrats are increasingly competing in. It's a lot of suburbs. It's small cities. It's growing increasingly diverse. This is a (INAUDIBLE) area.
And, of course, also you've got to drive a turnout in Philadelphia and its suburbs. This has been Democrats' bedrock of winning statewide elections, and they've won a lot of statewide elections basically since Trump won in 2016.
So I think if you're Harris, you're thinking what does my coalition look like and how might it differ from Biden a little bit.
RAJU: And a lot of it is about the gender divide. We've talked a lot about it, but it is so pronounced, including in Pennsylvania. You look at men versus women in that Quinnipiac poll. Harris winning by 15 points at the moment, according to the poll, over Trump with women. But she is down 11 points with men.
So on the Trump side of it could he win this state, Stephen, losing women vote -- women voters by 15 points? Is that a -- can he do that and make up that margin with male voters? CARUSO: You know, I think that's his hope. And I know a big part of that for Trump would be, in particular, making inroads with voters of color -- men of color -- Black men, Latino men. You know, that's I think a big part of Trump's argument.
You know, I was watching television a couple of weeks ago and there was ad that was all about how Democrats want to try and regulate Zyn and other vaping products. You know, I feel like that's something very much directed at young men.
I think that that's definitely a goal and we're seeing it in advertising. We're seeing it in how his campaign plays out.
And Trump has a lot of strength. I mean, he won the state in 2016. He came really close in 2020. He's been doing increasingly well in rural areas. That's already his bread and butter.
[05:35:00]
And I think it's also he will need to win back some of those voters. I think we've seen that in how he's tried to talk about IVF and abortion. He's trying to soften his image to female voters but -- and that's particularly important for independent women.
Pennsylvania has a very, like -- it's there -- independent swing voters who I think take pride in, like, splitting their ballot. And that I think is something that is up for grabs in the last couple of weeks despite this torrent of money coming in. Once you get to the $250-$500 million range of advertising people kind of check out.
RAJU: Yeah.
CARUSO: But I think both campaigns are doing everything they can.
RAJU: And that's a lot of money. And, of course, this is central to the battle for the United States Senate as well. Bob Casey, the Democratic incumbent senator against David McCormick, the Republican challenger.
I want you to listen to what Donald Trump said on the campaign trail about the Senate race.
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TRUMP: Pennsylvania also needs to defeat your disastrous radical Democrat Sen. Bob Casey, and we want to elect the next senator from Pennsylvania, Dave. You know, David McCormick is right here. David, I know you just spoke. Just come here and say, like, for two seconds because nobody wants to hear you right now. Just come up. But we've got to get this guy in office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Nobody wants to hear you, but we've got to get this guy in office.
You know, Bob Casey was with Barack Obama last night, really just showing you how they are tying themselves to the top of the ticket.
Do you see that essentially whatever happens -- whoever wins the -- Pennsylvania, whether it's Harris or Trump, the winner will be the same party? It will be Casey if Harris wins and McCormick if Trump wins, or is there a possibility of split-ticket voting in your state? CARUSO: I absolutely think there's a possibility of split-ticket voting. Pennsylvania loves splitting their ticket. I really can't emphasize that enough. Like, down from statehouse to our row offices, up to presidency and the U.S. Senate and Congress. Like, I think I've encountered more people who proudly state I've never voted for all the candidates of one party in my life than when I go out knocking doors with candidates in Pennsylvania.
So I think that Casey also has a brand that's been established. He has a famous last name. His dad was a very popular governor of this state -- one of the last real rural Democrats -- and that gives him an edge potentially with some Trump voters. And that's something that I think Spotlight PA is trying to explore in the next couple of weeks as well.
RAJU: All right, Stephen Caruso. So much to explore in this pivotal state of Pennsylvania. Thank you so much for your expertise and your reporting this morning. I really appreciate it.
CARUSO: Thanks, Manu.
RAJU: And ahead on CNN THIS MORNING fighting the storm of disinformation. FEMA once again on the ground in Florida assisting in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton. A warning from the White House as the agency works to defend itself from falsehoods.
And a nail-biter in the WNBA finals. The matchup between the Minnesota Lynx and the New York Liberty goes into overtime. The big upset ahead in the Bleacher Report.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:42:25]
RAJU: This morning the death toll from Hurricane Milton is rising. At least 15 deaths have been reported with some Florida residents still unaccounted for. Officials in the city of DeLand wading through shoulder-high floodwaters to reach trapped residents. Fourteen people were rescued. And near Fort Pierce, some schools remain -- will remain closed today after tornadoes ravaged neighborhoods.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSAN CARLOS, FORT PIERCE RESIDENT: I have lived in Florida since 1989.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
CARLOS: Never have I experienced --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
CARLOS: -- damage or the amount of tornadoes that came to this area.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
CARLOS: And it was the most frightening thing I've ever lived through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: All right, let's get to meteorologist Derek Van Dam. Derek, it is those tornadoes that really caught so many Florida residents by surprise.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, Manu. It's almost as if those tornadoes were supercharged and often, they can be, but they aren't necessarily that powerful. In fact, there was a confirmed EF-3 tornado.
But if we look at the evolution of the hurricane, which began last Saturday, it went through two different rapid intensification processes that brought it to Category 5 status, slightly weakening before reaching the western coastline of Florida. The third landfalling hurricane in this season for the state of Florida; the fifth across the Gulf of Mexico.
And it really was a game of miles -- a narrow miss for Tampa Bay because of its landfall just south of Tampa Bay, reaching Siesta Key at 8:30 in the evening on -- earlier this week -- Thursday night. This is the storm that brought the reverse surge to Tampa Bay, but you can see you how close it was.
But it ended up being the tornadoes that really were the most consequential outside of the flooding. This is just incredible to see the power behind the tornadoes that spun up setting records for the amount of tornado-warned storms that were formed across the central parts of Florida.
In fact, before the arrival of the storm, remember, a lot of the destruction from the tornadoes were on the state when so much attention was focused on the west side where the landfall was going to take place -- rightfully so because of the dangers of storm surge.
But still, over 2 1/2 million customers without power and a large swath of rain that is going to take several days to recede from the rivers. In fact, we anticipate the potential for some cresting through the course of this weekend and into early next week. And there's also a rip current threat across the east coast still from Milton.
[05:45:00]
RAJU: Oh, it's going to take so much time -- years to rebuild. Just absolutely devastating.
Meteorologist Derek Van Dam, thank you so much for that.
And with those two devastating hurricanes slamming in the Southeast just in a matter of weeks, FEMA once again on the ground responding to the disaster while fighting back against disinformation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEANNE CRISWELL, FEMA ADMINISTRATOR: We could have just great support from governors, and congressional members, local leaders really helping to push back on that disinformation. I have not had any reports yet of an increase in misinformation as a result from Milton. But I do have a team that watches this closely and if we find that we need to get out there and be proactive in our messaging to help dispel these rumors we'll certainly do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Now, in the wake of Hurricane Helene and before Hurricane Milton even made landfall, Trump and his allies had been pushing unverified claims about FEMA aid.
And while addressing reporters at the White House, President Biden pushed back on the claims and criticism echoed by former President Obama on the campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: The idea of intentionally trying to deceit people in their most desperate and vulnerable moments. And my question is when did that become OK?
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Mr. President Trump -- former President Trump, get a life, man. Help these people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: And the pushback from the White House and Harris campaign doing little to stop the criticism from Donald Trump and his running mate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hopefully, in the next few days, where we've gotten everybody -- saved everybody that we can save, then it's time to focus on the disastrous federal response to this incredible crisis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: All right, joining me now to talk about this is Margaret Talev, senior contributor to Axios. Margaret, great to see you.
The Trump campaign really wants this to have the impact that Hurricane Katrina had on George W. Bush. The difference is that now we're 25 days from an election. That was not 25 days from an election.
What impact is this going to have -- can this have on states like North Carolina and Georgia that are still recovering from Hurricane Helene.
MARGARET TALEV, SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR, AXIOS, DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRACY, JOURNALISM AND CITIZENSHIP, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY: And you mentioned two really important states because those are both among the battleground states this time around.
So I think another -- there are a couple of reasons why you're not seeing Katrina-like effects, and one is that these storms, while really damaging and bad, were not Hurricane Katrina, and the response was not Hurricane Katrina.
So you've got FEMA on the ground, you've got what appears to be a pretty well-coordinated response by the federal government, and you've got the former president politicizing this. And the amount of information coming out is so bad that Republican officials at the state and local level in a lot of these affected battleground state areas are really struggling.
The Washington Post had a great story on this actually breaking this out with how to reset information so that people know what's actually true without actually naming former President Trump in terms of talking about the place where the misinformation is coming from.
So --
RAJU: Speaking of that, just to remind viewers about what Donald Trump himself has said about the response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They're dying and we're -- they're getting no help from our federal government because they have no money because their money has been spent on people that should not be in our country.
It's been a terrible response from the White House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Getting no help from our federal government.
TALEV: Right. So that's not true, and a lot of the other claims aren't true, and money is not being taken out of FEMA pots and delivered to undocumented people. Like, none of those things is true.
And it's -- yes, of course, politicians always politicize things. They always look for an angle. But this does sort of cross the threshold. You're in an active storm situation. People getting deliberate mistruths while they're trying to navigate the system is sort of beyond the pale of let's say traditional politics or the way democracy is supposed to work.
And so the White House and the surrogates now for Vice President Harris on the campaign trail are faced with this very unusual situation where they're trying to combat a misinformation campaign without looking like they are the ones who are being political.
RAJU: Um-hum.
TALEV: It's really sort of upside-down world. And we're seeing something play out in a way that it really hasn't before when you think about Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and past times when politicians would come together and say we're in a political fight for our lives --
RAJU: Yeah.
TALEV: -- but we're going to do everything we can to make sure that you're safe. And that's really not what you're seeing here.
And so I think watching that response has been really interesting, but it just goes to the climate that already exists where people are so confused about what they can trust and what they can believe that many of them have already disengaged from the political process.
And when you're looking at time when it may be difficult for some of the people in some of these affected states to get their ballots, vote, go to the polls -- prioritize going to the polls -- this layer of not being sure what's really true is laying on top of all of that.
[05:50:00]
RAJU: And you write about this in Axios, saying, "The big picture: 54 percent of respondents in the survey agreed with the statement, 'I've disengaged from politics because I can't tell what's true.'"
That's pretty remarkable.
TALEV: It's really remarkable. We did this poll recently with the Harris poll. This was before this most recent storm. That's one of the findings.
One of the other findings in that survey was that when Americans were asked what type of misinformation they're most concerned about right now in this snapshot in time, it was not Russian interference in elections, it wasn't AI muddying the water. It was politicians deliberately spreading misinformation in order to manipulate their supporters.
And that was a concern on both sides of the aisle. It wasn't just Democrats saying that or just Republicans saying that. Voters across the board are concerned that politicians are misinforming them to try to jack up their votes. And they are so confused that they don't know whether what's on the news is real. They don't know whether what's on social media is real.
It has blurred into the distrust in everything, and that is really dangerous for the system.
RAJU: All right, Margaret Talev. Thank you so much for coming in.
TALEV: Thanks, Manu.
RAJU: I always appreciate your expertise, and a great story. Thanks so much.
TALEV: Thank you. RAJU: All right, time now for sports. The New York Yankees are now just four wins away from their first World Series appearance since 2009, but it will not be easy.
Carolyn Manno has this morning's Bleacher Report. Carolyn, things got a little tense last night in that --
CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: They did.
RAJU: -- decisive game.
MANNO: Good morning, Manu.
You know, New Yorkers are dreaming of this subway series, and if you are one of those New Yorkers you are one step closer to that becoming a reality. A day after the Mets beat the Phillies, the Yankees securing a place in the American League Championship Series with a win in Kansas City.
Yankees' slugger Juan Soto getting the scoring started in the first inning with an RBI single to right. The Bombers would add runs in the fifth and the sixth. And right-hander Gerrit Cole throwing an absolute gem for New York, holding the Royals to just one run on six hits with four strikeouts across seven innings.
So the Yankees moving on after the 3-1 win in game four. The team popping some champagne in the clubhouse to celebrate their fourth ALCS berth in the past eight years. A great scene there. New York facing either Cleveland or Detroit.
Now, the Guardians forcing a winner-take-all game five in that series all thanks to an unlikely hero. This one was a back-and-forth affair into the seventh when David Fry came off the bench and hit a go-ahead pinch hit two-run home run. And amazingly, his night was not over yet. Fry then squeezing the winning run home on a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth.
The final score, Cleveland five, Detroit four.
Here's Fry on the storybook ending.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID FRY, PINCH HITTER, CLEVELAND GUARDIANS: You dream about it as a kid and think about it all the time. And in the off season when you're working on stuff and then it happens, and it goes by real quick. I remember looking at the dugout and high-fiving Sandy, and then just blackout and then you're in the dugout cheering with the boys. Yeah, it was a lot of fun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANNO: We have one more decisive game five coming up tonight. Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers hosting their bitter division rivals the Padres. That's just after 8:00 Eastern. The winner gets the Mets starting on Sunday. A thriller in game one of the WNBA Finals between the Minnesota Lynx and the New York Liberty. Minnesota down by 18 at one point in this game. They clawed all the way back led by Napheesa Collier's 21 points. The MVP runner-up coming up big in overtime. The contested fadeaway jumper with less than nine seconds left as Minnesota gets the win 95-93 tying the largest comeback win in WNBA Finals history set by the '99 Liberty team. So that's two wins in three days for the Lynx.
Game two of the best of five series on Sunday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NAPHEESA COLLIER, FORWARD, MINNESOTA LYNX: You can't think about it. This is the finals. No one cares if you're tired. It's not a (INAUDIBLE) that we had a loss because we just played. So we've just got to find a way to push through and not think about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANNO: And we'll finish up with some "THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL" here. The Niners holding off the Seahawks for their first division win of the season. Nothing has come easy for San Francisco so far this year, but Brock Purdy had a great night. The quarterback with 255 yards and three scores, including one to Deebo Samuel who broke away for 76 yards in the second quarter.
A 97-yard kick-off return for a touchdown from Seattle helping to spark a second-half comeback attempt for them. But ultimately it would not be enough to overcome a night of mistakes.
George Kittle ended the night with two touchdowns from Purdy as the 3- 3 Niners give them a 36-24 win.
They now technically sit at the top of the NFC West, Manu, as they get ready to take on Kansas City in week seven. That's going to be a big one and a little bit of a mini bite here to get ready for that.
Back to you.
RAJU: October is such a great season for sports -- month for sports. You've got college football. You've got the baseball playoffs. The NFL heating up. So many good things to break down.
Carolyn Manno, thank you for the Bleacher Report. I really appreciate it.
[05:55:00]
And up next on CNN THIS MORNING the gender divide shaping the 2024 election. Plus, Pennsylvania Democratic Congressman Chris Deluzio about how Kamala Harris can close the gap with male voters in the commonwealth.
Plus, Donald Trump with some harsh words for the Motor City while campaigning in said city.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Well, we're a developing nation, too. Just take a look at Detroit. Detroit's a developing -- Detroit's a developing area a hell of a lot more than most places in China.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RAJU: Today is Friday, October 11. Right now on CNN THIS MORNING --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Do not just sit back and hope for the best. Get off your couch and vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: The final sprint. Kamala Harris bringing out the big dogs.
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