Return to Transcripts main page
CNN This Morning
Trump Says "He Shouldn't have Left" the White House As He Closes Campaign; Kamala Harris Says America is Ready for a New Way Forward As She Makes Final Pitch to Voters; Control of Congress Up for Grabs in Remarkably Close 2024 Election Cycle. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired November 04, 2024 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00]
KASIE HUNT, ANCHOR, CNN THIS MORNING: It's Monday, November 4th, right now on this special edition of CNN THIS MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The day that I left, I shouldn't have left. I mean, honestly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: The grievances the former President still focused on four years ago on the eve of a new election. And this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES & DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: America is ready for a fresh start. Ready for a new way forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: A fresh start. The Vice President trying to strike a more optimistic tone in the closing hours of the campaign where all the polling seems to show a dead heat. A bellwether battle. We dive into what will be one of the most watched congressional races in the country on election night.
All right, 5:00 a.m. here on the east coast, a live look at the nation's Capitol with one day left before election day. Both campaigns are going to be sending all of their surrogates across the country. Good morning everyone, I'm Kasie Hunt, it's wonderful to have you with us.
In just a little over 24 hours from now, polls open on the east coast, we are on the brink of election day 2024 in the race through the finish, VP Kamala Harris promising a fresh start, Donald Trump delivering a dark closing message. The former President casting down on an election where the results haven't even been tallied yet. He's already priming supporters with claims the election is being stolen from him, zeroing in on the process in Pennsylvania. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Can you imagine they spend all this money, all this money on machines, and they're going to say we may take an extra 12 days to determine --
(BOOING)
TRUMP: And what do you think happens during that 12 days? What do you think happens? These elections have to be -- they have to be decided by 9 O'clock, 10 O'clock, 11 O'clock on Tuesday night.
(CHEERS)
TRUMP: Bunch of crooked people. These are crooked people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: So, to be clear, the election law in Pennsylvania mandates that no mail-in ballots can even be processed before the polls close on election day. This led to several days of counting in 2020 which eventually revealed Joe Biden's victory in that state, and of course, in the presidential election overall.
Trump left office after losing dozens of lawsuits challenging the results, and the violence of January 6th that disrupted the counting of the electoral votes. But now, Trump is saying maybe he should have never left.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We had the safest border in the history of our country the day that I left. I shouldn't have left. I mean, honestly, because we did so -- we did so well. We had such a great -- so, now, I mean every polling booth has hundreds of lawyers standing there. It's all about the lawyers. Everybody is standing -- lawyers -- nobody should have that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Vice President Harris now striking a more optimistic tone in her final rallies after calling herself the underdog since she entered the race back in July. Now, she's saying this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: We have momentum. It is on our side. Can you feel it?
(CHEERS)
HARRIS: And we have the momentum because our campaign is tapping into the ambitions, the aspirations and the dreams of the American people. Because we are optimistic and excited about what we can do together!
(END VIDEO CLIP) HUNT: Of course, momentum, it's the trickiest thing to judge here in
the final days. Many of the major battleground and national polls have been showing a dead-heat in virtually every state for weeks now. Which is why this poll out of Iowa shocked so many people this weekend. The "Des Moines Register" poll shows Harris up 3 points among likely voters, a 7-point swing towards the Vice President in that ruby red state from September.
[05:05:00]
The new margin delivering what sources tell CNN is a gut-punch to members of Trump's team. Publicly, here's what Donald Trump has to say about the poll.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You know, the polls, I'm telling you, you can make those suckers sing. You get the right pollster you can do -- and you do -- you really do inflict damage. You know, when you do -- like this person from Iowa, it's called suppression, they suppress. And it's actually -- should be illegal because it's -- in many ways it's worse than the wreaked board which these guys do quite well actually.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: That same Iowa poll correctly predicted Trump's victories in the state in the past two elections within 2.5 points to the final margin of victory. Joining us now to discuss all of this, Jackie Kucinich; she's Washington Bureau chief for "The Boston Globe". Jackie, good morning.
JACKIE KUCINICH, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE BOSTON GLOBE: Good morning!
HUNT: Wonderful to see you --
KUCINICH: My goodness --
HUNT: Election day is tomorrow.
KUCINICH: Who could believe it, truly?
HUNT: So, let's talk about where this race stands here --
KUCINICH: Yes --
HUNT: In the final stretch. I mean, you can see there, Trump already running the strategy trying to cast doubt on the results. The Harris team feeling -- you know, and when I talked to my Democratic sources, they are feeling cautiously optimistic --
KUCINICH: Yes --
HUNT: About where the momentum is. There had been this period where it felt like the race was swinging back towards Trump's direction. I think the big question, is it coming back toward Harris here in the final days?
KUCINICH: Well, and you have the "New York Times" poll this morning that says, yes, that those late-breaking voters of which there are very few are breaking -- they're seeing them break for Harris. Now, will it be enough? And that is the open question. But even listening to those messages, it's really interesting.
It's hard to see who the insurgent candidate is at this point, who is the incumbent? Who is the challenger? Because it really does sound flipped right now, particularly how the former President is talking. Listen, he's been sowing discontent about this election for a couple of months now. And look at the front pages of the papers.
Everything is about trying to safeguard the vote because these election officials are really concerned about this. We reported it, you have it in the "Post" and "USA Today", I'm sure the "Times" has done it as well --
HUNT: Yes --
KUCINICH: And what you're hearing is comments about having to have the vote counted on election night. That's just -- I mean, election officials have been out for months saying that's not going to happen and not because anything bad is happening. It's because good things are happening. It's because in these margins -- in these states where the margins are so thin, every vote has to be counted and that's going to take time.
HUNT: Right, and then I mean, I think that's one of the things we've been trying to be very clear with our viewers here --
KUCINICH: Yes --
HUNT: In fact, when they turn on the TV on election night, it's entirely possible we will not know who the president of the United States will be when they finally get tired of watching overnight and have to get a couple of hours of sleep. And then as you point out, there is nothing, absolutely nothing suspicious or sinister about that. Now, does that not mean that there could be a scenario where we know early sure --
KUCINICH: Sure --
HUNT: But the polls would have to be, you know, kind of dramatically off, and the only way we would get there is if it's not as close as we think it's going to be, no?
KUCINICH: No, you're absolutely right. Because you know, the states that you were able to call early in the night, that's because it's not even close. Like one in Columbia fairly soon. But in these other states, I mean, it really -- particularly somewhere like Arizona, like Georgia, like Pennsylvania, it really does -- and in North Carolina, it really does take a lot of time to make sure every single vote is counted.
But you mentioned that Iowa poll, I mean, this is probably an indictment about who my friends are. But my great text chains lit up.
(LAUGHTER)
HUNT: Mine too.
KUCINICH: The other night when that -- when that came through, and one of the most interesting things when you dig a little deeper is how many women that is making a difference. And you have to wonder if that is going to be a trend, I mean, something I'm going to be watching election night.
HUNT: Right, no, I mean the gender gap has really been the story of this election, and just how -- it's really dueling gender gaps, right? Both among men --
KUCINICH: Total --
HUNT: And among women. But that question of, if women -- if that gap for Harris in Harris' favor really is as big as Ann Selzer is looking at, it's going to potentially have a seismic effect --
KUCINICH: Absolutely --
HUNT: Across the map. Jackie Kucinich, thank you for kicking us off --
KUCINICH: Have a great day --
HUNT: On this Monday, great to see you. All right, coming up next here on CNN THIS MORNING, Trump returning to old rhetoric. His campaign now clarifying comments the former President made about the media getting shot. Plus, how the Trump campaign appears to be laying the ground work for legal challenges ahead of tomorrow's election.
And a poller-coaster? I don't know about that point, guys. New data shows Iowa could be back in play this election season.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, when former President Trump says we interviewed more Democrats, well, that's what came out of our data. We did nothing to make that happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:10:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're having this piece of glass here --
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: But all we have really over here is the fake news, right? And to get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news --
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: And I don't mind that so much because -- I don't mind. I don't mind that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: So, we've seen a version of this before. Donald Trump criticizing what he calls the fake news media on the eve of an election. But obviously, you heard what he had to say, he was talking about people being shot. His campaign is now attempting to clean that up. The statement is this, quote, "the President's statement about protective glass placement has nothing to do with the media being harmed or anything else.
It was about threats against him that were spurred on by dangerous rhetoric from Democrats. In fact, President Trump was stating that the media was in danger, and that they were protecting him and therefore were in great danger themselves and should have had a glass protective shield also. There can be no other interpretation of what was said. He was actually looking out for their welfare far more than his own."
[05:15:00]
Of course, this kind of rhetoric isn't new from Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It's only bad because of fake news, because the news is really fake. That's the one we really have to straighten. We have to straighten out our press because we have a corrupt press.
It's election interference fraud, and "60 Minutes" should be taken off the air. They should.
(CHEERS)
TRUMP: And "CBS" should lose its license.
They're so nasty, they're so evil, they are actually the enemy of the people. They really are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: All right, joining us now, CNN's chief media analyst Brian Stelter. Brian, good morning. I think it's important to --
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Good morning --
HUNT: Underscore. We have heard anti-media rhetoric from Trump as a, you know, feature of his time on stage. The entire way along -- yesterday's remarks about the bullet-proof glass and the kind of imagery around shooting not so common. A last minute kind of escalation in a way of the way he talks about this --
STELTER: Yes --
HUNT: What's your reaction?
STELTER: Trump's remarks rattled some of the reporters who were traveling with him, because it did feel like an escalation, and you know, it kind of ties together two of the themes that we've seen from the Trump era. This reference to violence and this attempt to bash media and use that to rally his supporters.
Something just hit me, Kasie, as I was about to talk with you. This is a historic day because it's the final day Donald Trump will ever campaign for President in his life. He says he will never run again. He's 78 years old, if he doesn't win, he's facing possible jail time, if he does win, the prosecutions go away.
And he says he'll only stay in for one term. This is a historic day. He'll never be running for President again after today. He's going to try to leave it all on the field today. So, whether people love Donald Trump or want to see him removed from the public field and never running for President again, this is the day.
But as we think about all this, you know, his bashing of the media and his appeals to violence in some ways, they are the two most memorable aspects of his runs for office. It is what helps bring together his crowds. It's his appeal that the media can't be trusted, only trust Trump. That's been his approach from day one.
And here are the final stretch, we've seen this for three cycles now, he seems to bash the media the most intensely in the final days before an election. Maybe that's because he's superstitious, he's watching -- the coverage is getting frustrated. But you know, just in the past week, he has sued "CBS", he's filed an FEC grievance against "The Washington Post", and then this comment about shooting through the fake news yesterday.
HUNT: Well, Brian, isn't that also -- I mean, you say yes, it's his final day of campaigning, and I do take your point, that is -- I feel like I have spent a lot of my professional career covering Donald Trump running for president after, you know, three rounds basically of this.
STELTER: Right --
HUNT: But at the end of the day, you know, 2020 election day was not the end for him, right? It culminated and these two things colliding, right? Mistrust of the media, belief in Donald --
STELTER: Right --
HUNT: Trump and inclinations to violence in that rally on January 6th. How do you look at this rhetoric in the context of what could be a very tumultuous period in the wake of Tuesday?
STELTER: Right, that's right. In 2020, I don't remember the same level of fear and anxiety in the country that I do this year. Yes, we were in the middle of a pandemic. Yes, buildings were boarded up, yes, people were staying home. But this year, what we see in the polling, and I think what all of us reporters experienced anecdotally is a much more palpable sense of fear and unease within the country.
And yes, I've been talking to local reporters, local editors, Kasie, in some of these swing states working on a feature for cnn.com, and sometimes more locally, there's less of that fear than there is on national scale. Less than you maybe see in the polling. So, I don't really know what to make of that.
You know, maybe it's -- the closer you get to the ground, the more trust there is. The more people, you know, have to live together as neighbors after all of this ends tomorrow or as you said in the weeks or months to come.
HUNT: Yes, I mean, look, I think the bottom line is that when you react -- when you interact with people in your own communities, you see them face-to-face --
STELTER: Yes --
HUNT: Your humanity becomes the defining feature. That is not true when you are interacting with people on the internet. People behave --
STELTER: Yes --
HUNT: They are not the people that they really are oftentimes or that they are capable of being when there's a screen in-between you. So --
STELTER: Yes --
HUNT: Again, a defining feature --
STELTER: We need to remember that --
HUNT: Of our politics these days, yes, we do --
STELTER: Yet --
HUNT: Yes, absolutely --
STELTER: We need to remember that in the days and weeks ahead, you know, and maybe it's best -- and by the way, I'm going to try take my own advice here, Kasie, maybe it's best to log off the internet for a little while in the next few days --
HUNT: Just remember, these people are your neighbors, they could be your friends. We are very much in a difficult period. But Brian, very grateful to have you this morning. Thanks very much for being here --
STELTER: Good to see you.
HUNT: All right, coming up here on CNN THIS MORNING, House Speaker Johnson visiting a key Virginia swing district today, we're going to sit down with the man who is running to try to keep that seat in the hands of Democrats.
[05:20:00]
Plus, tornadoes and flooding ripping through Oklahoma this weekend. The severe weather threat isn't over yet. We'll bring you that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HUNT: All right, 24 minutes past the hour, here's your morning round- up. Donald Trump telling "NBC News" that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s plan to remove fluoride from the water supply quote, "sounds OK", adding quote, "it's possible". Trump has said Kennedy would take on a role handling healthcare if he's elected again.
[05:25:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT FRANCIS KENNEDY JR., FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are exploring a bunch of different structures that Trump administration and the Trump team has been very accommodating to give me what I want.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: RFK said Trump promised to give him control of several public health agencies including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. And this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MAYHEM)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Yikes, the king of Spain pelted with eggs in the Valencia region. More than 200 people died there after a devastating flash floods last week. Protesters calling the king a murderer. They are angry with the government's response to the disaster. The people of Oklahoma face another round of severe weather today.
Yesterday, 11 people were injured when tornadoes and flooding ripped through the state. Similar conditions expected throughout the day today. And that does bring us to weather. That severe storm threat also stretching across other parts of the central plains today, tomorrow could be a wet election day in some parts of the country.
Let's get to our meteorologist, the weatherman Derek Van Dam. Derek, good morning.
DEREK VAN DAM, METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Kasie, there were over 40 structures completely destroyed. I mean, look at this video. You can see people picking up the pieces from the inside of their homes. Absolutely terrifying. There were actually two confirmed EF-2 or EF-3 tornadoes, that's winds of over 136 miles per hour.
No wonder we're seeing this damage. And many of the tornadoes actually struck in the middle of the night. So, that obviously makes it that much more difficult to warn individuals. Here they are, seven tornado reports in total, unfortunately, a few of them causing the injuries and the destruction you saw in the video just a few moments ago.
And no rest for the weary, another round of severe weather possible today. You can see the greatest risk where we have the shading of orange that includes Oklahoma city once again, tornadoes, some of which could be strong, that means EF-2 or stronger. We've highlighted the areas where we believe the greatest chance of tornadic activity exists, and that is across central and eastern portions of Oklahoma.
Right now, satellite radar very busy, lots of lightning, but the tornado threat really ramps up later this afternoon and evening as our cold front advances further eastward, Kasie.
HUNT: All right, good to know, Derek Van Dam for us this morning, Derek, thank you very much. All right, still ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, is Iowa in play? A new final poll that's predicted the state's winner for years shows momentum swinging away from the former President. Plus, the legal battle over the election already brewing. How vote-counting procedures in some states could lead to days of waiting for results.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
