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Connect the World
Trump to Rally in Battlegrounds North Carolina & Wisconsin; Harris Speaks to Reporters as She Heads on Campaign Trail; Harris Pledges Unity Looks Forward in Closing Argument; Analysis: Russian Disinformation Network Targets U.S. Election; Experts Say Economy Pulls Off "Soft Landing"; Flash Flooding Kills More Than 60 in Southeastern Spain; What Latino Voters Are Saying in Battleground Nevada. Aired 10-11 am 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.
[10:00:37]
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to the second hour of Connect the World. I'm Erica Hill in New York, my colleague Becky Anderson.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump trying to drive their closing messages home in an effort to sway those last few undecided voters in the final days of
the U.S. election.
The U.S. in the, meantime, calling an Israeli strike that killed nearly 100 people in Gaza horrifying.
And dozens are dead in Spain after a year's worth of rain falls in a single day leading to severe flash flooding.
Well, all eyes on some of those battleground states today as the candidates race to the finish line in a deadlocked presidential race. It's just six
days now until the official Election Day.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump both have events scheduled in North Carolina and Wisconsin. Harris will also make her way to Pennsylvania today after
giving what her campaign billed as her closing argument. That speech, that address coming to the American people at the Ellipse, the same site where
the former president had spoken to his supporters before they raided the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021 resulting in that violent insurrection.
Trump holding a rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday where he again made unproven allegations of voter fraud claiming it's happening in two
Pennsylvania counties again without evidence and even as election officials say they are investigating any alleged issues in that state as they pop up
to ensure there is voter integrity.
Steve Contorno is following the Trump campaign and joining us this hour from Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
Look, there's been a lot happening, as we know, over the last few days, but Donald Trump continuing to hammer home this message that if he doesn't win,
he believes there is some sort of a fixed or a rigged election and continuing to offer up claims of issues but without any evidence.
STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: That's right, Erica. Let me walk you through one of those allegations and one of those states that he has seized on. In
Pennsylvania yesterday, he claimed that Lancaster, Pennsylvania is already seeing signs of voter fraud.
Here's what actually happened there. On Friday, authorities said that they had flagged about 2,500 voter registration forms, not ballots, voter
registration forms, urging or suggesting that there was some potentially fraudulent activity with these registration forms.
And when they reviewed them, they said, yeah, there's some issues here. And they said, this was all part of our normal review process, and it showed
our system worked because these were caught ahead of time. And again, not ballots, voter registration forms.
Donald Trump yesterday, though, suggesting that there was something untoward happening in this state and just a sign of how he is already
seizing on the general election processes that take place in trying to sow doubt about the election results.
Now, you'll see the sign behind me says, "Vote Early." So even as he continues to suggest that the voting is having problems, he's also
encouraging his own supporters to take advantage of early voting.
And so far in North Carolina, already 3.2 million people have already voted early, just showing how much this process has moved from an election day
election to weeks of voting. And many, many people are taking advantage of it.
Now, Trump will speak here in North Carolina, a state that he narrowly won four years ago. And then he will move on to Wisconsin, a state he narrowly
lost four years ago, trying to maintain his lead here and hold on and trying to flip a state that will be critical to him and very critical to
Vice President Harris' blue wall in the Midwest.
HILL: A lot of the conversation around the former president this week has centered on comments made at his rally in New York on Sunday night,
specifically the comments from a comedian who called, of course, Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage. There's been a ton of pushback,
including from Republicans. Last night, though, President Biden seemed to be calling Trump supporters garbage. The Trump campaign, not surprisingly,
seizing on that. How much do we expect that to be a part of the message today?
CONTORNO: Well, based off the reaction we have seen from him and his surrogates so far, I would anticipate that will be a big part of Donald
Trump's closing message. And look, it cuts to the -- it cuts into the heart of Harris' argument that she is going to be a uniter as president. And he
is trying to use these comments by President Biden to suggest that she would be otherwise.
[10:05:03]
But mostly it's about ginning up his base. And we are seeing him trying to use this in the same way that we saw Democrats face blowback for Hillary
Clinton eight years ago, calling Trump supporters a, quote, "basket of deplorables." So very similar playbook, using it to drive out and generate
enthusiasm among his supporters. So when he takes the stage here in a few hours, Erica, I guarantee that he will bring that up today.
HILL: All right, Steve Contorno, live for us there in North Carolina. Appreciate it. Thank you.
Harris, of course, is also going to be hoping to drum up some support in North Carolina today, specifically in what's known as the Research
Triangle. That's the area of Raleigh-Durham and Chapel Hill. CNN's Eva McKend is there in Raleigh for us.
So, Eva, as we look at this, you know, just picking up on what we heard there from Steve Contorno and the way these comments from President Biden
are overshadowing in some ways what was supposed to be the vice president's closing argument last night, the Trump camp really trying to say, hey, this
is just -- this is the vice president essentially saying these things. She's not a uniter, like she tells you. She's a divider. The Harris
campaign has a delicate dance here to distance itself from the President. How are they doing that?
EVA MCKEND, CNN U.S. NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: They do, Erica. And listen, they will argue that the Vice President is not about division, that
that the former president is about division.
We're still waiting to hear the Vice President respond to this for herself. But it is frustrating for the campaign because they run a very tight ship,
a very scripted and rehearsed operation where they feel as though they have very little room for error.
You do not hear the Vice President, like the former president does, sort of meandering on stage or riffing 30 minutes on and off the stage, a tight
scripted message. And so now they are having to respond to the inartful language of President Biden.
And Democrats will say, you know, this is sort of emblematic of why Washington Democrats wanted to push him aside, because they felt like the
Vice President could prosecute the case better against the former president.
But Erica, here in Raleigh, the Vice President has been to North Carolina several times. It was actually here in this city that she first rolled out
her economic agenda several months ago. And they believe that they have a real path here, that they don't have to just rely on the blue wall states,
that they can run on the strength of reproductive rights in North Carolina, that there is a weak Republican Senate candidate here, and that they have a
robust infrastructure in place to turn out the voters they need to.
HILL: And in terms of turning out those voters, right, just highlighting again, the last time a Democrat won North Carolina was 2008, Barack Obama.
The fact that they do still see a path in North Carolina six days out, that is interesting in 2024.
MCKEND: It certainly is because Democrats have suffered heartbreak in this state cycle after cycle. But they say that what they're seeing here, it
just makes sense to them. Keep in mind, this is a state with a Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, and he is an effective surrogate for them as well,
that there is this moderate pocket of the state that is willing to vote for Democrats or willing to split their ticket.
Erica?
HILL: We will be looking for all that. And Eva, just real quickly, there is also, of course, the controversy over the Republican lieutenant governor.
Is that also seen as part of an opening?
MCKEND: You know, they don't want to overplay their hand with that. They certainly believe that it is part of the puzzle here. They would -- they
like that Mark Robinson is the Republican candidate for Senate, to be sure, but they know that it's not everything.
Just because a Republican voter doesn't necessarily have the appetite to support Robinson doesn't mean that they're automatically going to support
Harris. But listen, they are very intentionally messaging to those voters. That's why they've invested so heavily in the Republican for Harris
strategy.
Erica?
HILL: Eva McKend, appreciate it as always. Thank you.
Turning now to headlines out of the Middle East. In Lebanon, intense Israeli raids underway in and around the northern city of Baalbek. That's
according to the local government. Israel earlier had sent warnings to tell people to evacuate that city.
We're also learning a little bit more about yesterday's attack in northern Gaza. Palestinian authorities say nearly 100 people were killed in that
attack. An Israeli military source says the IDF may have hit a Hamas gathering and that many of the people reported to have died were known
members of Hamas. The U.S. is among those condemning the strike.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW MILLER, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: We are deeply concerned by the loss of civilian life in this incident. This was a horrifying
incident with a horrifying result. I can't speak to the total death toll, but there are reports of two dozen children killed in this incident. No
doubt a number of them are children who have been fleeing the effects of this war for more than a year now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[10:10:09]
HILL: CNN's Matthew Chance joining us from Jerusalem. Kylie Atwood is at the State Department.
Kylie, picking up on those comments from Matt Miller there, using the word horrifying twice. Is there a sense that there is -- this is the public
statement, obviously -- what the private conversations may be between the U.S. and Israel, specifically when it comes to this strike?
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, as you said, I mean, pretty blunt language from the United States here, calling this a
horrifying incident with horrifying results. And as you know, there are conversations quietly, privately happening between the U.S. and Israel,
particularly about this incident. Matt Miller said that the U.S. has asked Israeli government officials what happened here.
Typically, what we see from the Biden administration officials are sort of, you know, a delicate dance around these strikes that have killed so many
civilians in Gaza, saying that Israel has a right to go after Hamas targets in Gaza. And here, what we saw from Matt Miller was factually him really
leaning into the high civilian death toll, more so than any justification for a strike like this. So we'll watch and see what comes out of those
conversations.
But we should also note that Matt Miller went on to say that this high civilian death toll is one of the reasons that this war in Gaza needs to
come to an end, making it plainly clear that the United States, that the Biden administration feels that the assault on Gaza by Israel has already
achieved what it set out to achieve, obviously greatly dismantling Hamas in Gaza. And they believe that this high civilian death toll of this incident
with dozens of children killed, but also multiple incidents that we have seen recently demonstrate why the war needs to come to an end. And that's
what U.S. officials are really focused in on right now.
HILL: Right. Hammering home that message. Matthew, when it comes to, you know, as Kylie points out, as we heard from Matt Miller, the fact that
we're talking about dozens of children, the Israelis saying there was such a high death toll here because they believed that they were gathering. What
more have they laid out in terms of -- actually, I'm sorry, I'm going to have to cut you both off there. We need to listen into the Vice President.
KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: -- 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 him 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 going to bring us together. And that's the type of leader I intend to be.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you spoken to President Biden since 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 is 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.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you spoken to him about his comments?
HARRIS: He did call me last night, but this didn't come up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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, of 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? The only thing I ask
folks is, are you OK? And that's the kind of president I will be.
[10:15:01]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what do you talk about with the President?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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, 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, the
Donald Trump bill, 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 hard-working 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.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And just to follow up on that --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Madam Vice President, do you sympathize with any voters who do feel offended
HARRIS: Once again?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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'm
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 mean. 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.
(CROSSTALK)
HILL: So you just listened to the Vice President there, who is, as you see, about to board the plane. They're making her way to North Carolina for her
first campaign stop of the day. Important to note here the comments that were coming up.
So she was asked specifically for the first time here on camera, asked about the comments that President Biden made last night. He was at a get
out the vote event on Zoom, specifically to get out the Latino vote. And when addressing the comments made at that rally that Donald Trump had in
New York City on Sunday night, when a comedian referred to Puerto Rico as an island of -- floating island of garbage, President Biden made a comment
that made it sound as if he was calling Trump supporters garbage.
The White House, the President trying to clean up those comments afterwards. The Vice President was asked specifically about the comments.
Here is what she said. She noted that the president clarified his comments and then went on to say, I strongly disagree with any criticism of people
based on who they vote for. She was then asked if she had spoken with the president at all since that comment was made. She said he called her last
night, but that this did not come up. A reporter followed up asking them what did they speak about? She didn't answer that question.
She was also asked whether she was concerned about the impact of this comment from President Biden on her support among voters. She said at that
point, we all have more in common than what divides us. Really trying to hammer home this point that she was also making Tuesday night at that
speech there, her closing remarks on the ellipse saying she wants to be a president for all Americans, whether they vote for her or not, and then was
asked a final question of whether she has any sympathy for those who have been offended by these garbage comments.
She did not answer that question directly. Instead, pivoting to an answer where she talked about why she believes her economic plan will lift up all
Americans, but again, did not address that question directly.
My colleague Eva McKend is joining me now, who of course has been covering the Harris campaign. She is there in North Carolina, the Vice President
making her way there.
Pretty clear, right, as she tried to distance herself, Eva, in that first answer, saying she strongly disagrees with any criticism of people based on
who they vote for. But interesting in that second question about whether she understands why people are offended by those garbage comments, she was
not touching that one, Eva.
MCKEND: She wasn't, Erica. And listen, this comes at a time when Democrats surrounding the Harris campaign are really exasperated and frustrated with
this, as our colleague MJ Lee is learning.
[10:20:05]
Because this is not how the Vice President's teams -- team runs their operation. Everything is scripted. It is rehearsed. She is on and off stage
within a half hour. It is intentional. She knows that she cannot get up on stage like the former president and meander and riff for several hours,
that she would be judged differently. And so that is why they run such a disciplined operation. But now she's in the position where she has to
respond to President Biden's gaffe.
I will say, though, it is uncharacteristic of President Biden. You know, it was several weeks ago when Biden put on that MAGA hat as a way to have a
connection with a Trump supporter.
He is not in the habit of demeaning or degrading the American people. And certainly the argument could be made that the former president, Donald
Trump, does on a routine basis.
But still, this is sort of an unnecessary hiccup, I would argue, for Vice President Harris as she is trying to hone in on her closing message. And
that is that she wants to create an opportunity economy. She knows that the moment calls for bringing down the costs and also that the former president
poses an urgent threat to democracy.
Erica?
HILL: And Eva -- listen, you bring up a really important point. We know that -- we know that men and women are often judged differently. I feel
very comfortable saying that, especially speaking to another woman, certainly women of color are judged differently as well.
But in this case, the fact that, yes, she is now batting cleanup for these comments, it is important to point out that the former president himself
referred to the entire country as being a garbage can. And interesting how certain comments land and pick up traction and others do not.
Eva, appreciate it. It's always, my friend. Thanks for coming back up for us there from North Carolina.
Still ahead here, CNN uncovers a new Russian disinformation network targeting the U.S. election. More on the false claims being peddled by this
group next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: We want to begin with some breaking news out of Lebanon where intense Israeli raids are underway in and around the northern city of Baalbek,
according to the local government. Israel had earlier sent out warnings to tell people in the area to get out of the city.
CNN's Matthew Chance back with us now from Jerusalem. Matthew, thanks. So bring us up to speed. What more do we know about this activity in Lebanon
at this hour?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica, we know that Israel has been pounding Hezbollah targets or what it says
Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and in the east of the country for -- for some weeks now that has intensified. And in the latest round of Israeli
strikes, and remember, there's been missiles coming in the other direction as well from Hezbollah positions into northern Israel and elsewhere.
[10:25:02]
But in the latest round of Israeli military action, Israel has, I think, for the first time demanded that an entire city in the north of the country
or the northeast of the country that's Baalbek be evacuated, issuing evacuation orders in the past few days, forcing people away from their
homes ahead of the strikes. It's been carried out against what it says are Hezbollah positions.
Again, it's the first time an Israeli evacuation order has been sort of imposed in that part of the neighboring country. So that's a significant
precedent.
But it's also important because Baalbek is a city of cultural significance. It's a UNESCO World Heritage site. There are very ancient Roman ruins
there, early Islamic ruins and archaeological sites as well. And it's actually an 11,000-year-old city.
You know, and so there's a great deal of cultural concern or concern about the impact on the culture that these sort of very ferocious Israeli strikes
may have.
Now, of course, Israel says it's targeting Hezbollah positions in that part of the country. But again, this underlines just how urgent the situation
has become, not just for the humanitarian cost, but also for the potential cultural cost of this ongoing sort of regional conflict that's unfolding,
Erica.
HILL: Absolutely. And important to highlight that as well and to really do as we can and as you are so helpful with doing for us, Matthew, a fuller
picture of what is playing out there. Thank you again.
There is new analysis by CNN and media researchers uncovering a spin-off of the Russian troll factory, of course, infamous for its efforts to undermine
the 2016 presidential election. What we're learning is that this group actually appears to be at the heart of a disinformation campaign now, which
is trying to sway audiences in this year's presidential election.
Here's my colleague Alex Marquardt.
(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. 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: 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.
MARQUARDT (on camera): He's a useful idiot?
LINVILL: He's a useful idiot without question.
MARQUARDT: How much of a win is it for the Russians to be able to get an American like this to essentially launder their narratives?
LINVILL: I think that it's incredibly important, and you see the importance in how hard they've worked to recruit Americans like him.
MARQUARDT (voice-over): And what they're seeing this year is a much bigger impact on the social media conversation than in the past.
[10:30:00]
LINVILL: We know they work for the Russian state, but, you know, they're still allowed to spread these messages, these completely false narratives
with -- without, you know, any mitigation whatsoever.
MARQUARDT (on camera): How well do you think we're doing in this war against Russian disinformation more broadly?
LINVILL: Extremely poorly.
MARQUARDT: Do you see that changing anytime soon?
LINVILL: Yeah.
MARQUARDT: Just moments after our interview, the Clemson researchers identified yet another piece of disinformation coming from these same
Russian channels. A video claiming to show mail-in ballots for Trump being destroyed in critical Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Darren Linvill said it was immediately shared tens of thousands of times. And as he says, it's going to be a rough few weeks.
Neither Senator Vance nor Congresswoman Greene responded about their roles in spreading that story about Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the Harris campaign tells CNN that Putin wants Trump to win this election and condemned the Russian interference efforts.
Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: And we do have much more ahead here on Connect the World. Taking a short break here at half past the hour. We'll be back on the other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: Welcome back to Connect the World, I'm Erica Hill, in for my colleague Becky Anderson.
As voters here in the U.S. prepare to head to the polls, those who haven't done so already because there are a whole lot who voted early, a number of
economists now tell CNN they believe the economy has finally pulled off that rare achievement known as a soft landing, taming inflation without
triggering a recession.
And you can see in some of the latest data coming out just this morning, the latest GDP data showing a slower growth in the third quarter. And there
is a real focus on how this could impact votes in these final days of the election.
CNN's Matt Egan is with me now. So, Matt, we know that the economy has consistently pulled as one of the top issues for voters across the board.
There is a lot of positive economic data to point to this morning, whether it's, you know, growth, gas prices, even jobs that were added in the month
of October. Walk us through the picture that this shows for us.
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Erica, this economy, it just keeps cruising along. Nothing's slowing it down, right? Not high inflation, not high
interest rates, not this crazy election cycle. These new numbers out just this morning measure GDP. That's the broadest measure of the economy. It's
kind of like a quarterly report card for the economy. And it shows that, yes, the economy grew at a solid pace of 2.8% during the third quarter.
That is just shy of the 3% pace during the prior quarter. And this is happening because people keep spending money, right?
[10:35:01]
Government spending was up, business spending up as well. And most importantly, consumer spending continues to increase.
Now, we've heard so much about pressure on consumers and some concern that maybe they'll slow down their shopping. But that's just not happening,
right? This report showed that consumer spending climbed almost 4%. That's really important because that's the biggest driver of growth.
And this is all happening at a time when a lot of economists had been worried about a year or two ago about a potential recession in the U.S.
because of the Fed's war on inflation. But in reality, we're not seeing anything close to a recession. And, yes, a growing number of economists are
saying that maybe the Federal Reserve has been able to pull off what once looked elusive, right, that soft landing, taming inflation without killing
the jobs market.
Former St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, he told my colleague Bryan Mena, he said, we should declare a soft landing now.
Now, none of this, of course, is to say that this economy is perfect. It's definitely not, right? I mean, there are real affordability challenges. The
prices for -- everything from, you know, groceries to car insurance to rent, daycare, it's all too high still. But the good news, Erica, is that
the economy keeps growing and the jobs market keeps growing. And so that means that wages are up and paychecks are consistently going up at a faster
pace than prices. And that is really important because it should allow more and more people to kind of catch up.
Erica?
HILL: Absolutely. There's also there's we always focus a lot on gas prices in the U.S. because of not just what it shows and what that means for your
disposable income, but also there's a real psychological component to it for a number of Americans. The fact that in many places in this country,
gas is now below $3 a gallon. We're seeing levels or approaching levels, I should say, that are close to prices we haven't seen in a couple of years.
EGAN: Yeah, Erica, that's huge because, listen, a lot of people, they look at gas prices as kind of a real time barometer for the cost of living. I
mean, they're so in your face and you really can't avoid it unless you have an electric vehicle. And so the fact that we've seen gas prices move lower
is really encouraging.
The national average is at a nearly nine month low. And a number of analysts have told me that they think the national average will go below $3
a gallon in the coming week or so. And that's something that we have not seen in three and a half years.
And it's being driven by the fact that oil prices have calmed down. Some of those concerns about the Middle East have eased a bit. And supply of oil
has been really strong in part because the United States is producing more oil than any country in world history.
So you put it all together and it is good news for consumers because it means they're paying less at the pump than they were a year ago and two
years ago as well.
Erica?
HILL: Yeah, no one's going to say no to paying less at the pump in this country, that's for sure.
Matt, appreciate it. Thank you.
EGAN: Thanks, Erica.
HILL: Just a few moments ago we heard for the first time from Vice President Kamala Harris addressing the comments that President Biden made
last night. It was in this moment you're watching. It was a get out the vote event for the Latino vote when President Biden seemed to refer to
Donald Trump supporters as garbage in a campaign call.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: 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 is about representing all the
people whether they support me or not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Joining me now for more, former George W. Bush White House Spokesperson Pete Seat, also Karen Finney, Hillary Clinton's former Senior
Advisor and Spokesperson for the 2016 presidential campaign.
It's good to see both of you. So, Karen, this was just, I mean, not even 20 minutes ago the Vice President as she was getting ready to board the plane
there making her way to a campaign event in North Carolina was asked about those comments.
KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.
HILL: Said, she had spoken to the president. He called last night. But interestingly, this didn't come up. Did she do what she needed to do in
terms of cleanup?
FINNEY: Oh, my gosh. Of course. I mean, my goodness. Let's keep this in context. We're going to compare statements from cranky old men. If we're
going to go Joe Biden to Donald Trump, there is no comparison whatsoever.
Notwithstanding the comedian who was talking at Madison Square Garden about, you know, calling Puerto Rico garbage, which then Donald Trump later
has referred to America as garbage. So, no, look, she did exactly what she needed to do. She is on point. Her speech last night was excellent. She
laid out both her agenda as well as talking about her values and the values that have guided her life and her career.
[10:40:11]
And I think the conversation that you were just having with Matt Egan about the economy is going to matter far more to voters than what President Biden
aid or didn't say.
HILL: Pete, understandably, the Trump campaign jumping on this, the former president himself almost seemed to have some sympathy for the president in
his remarks last night when he was talking about it, perhaps in a facetious way.
But, look, any campaign would have jumped on this if they were in the other place. But the fact that the Trump campaign is also really looking, Pete,
to tie the comment from President Biden, which he then did try to clarify directly to the Vice President as if she said -- as if she said it. She is
really trying to distance herself. Who is doing a better job in that?
PETE SEAT, FORMER GEORGE W. BUSH WHITE HOUSE SPOKESPERSON: Well, I'll start by saying that Kamala Harris cannot catch a break when it comes to Joe
Biden. First off, she is running on the record, running for a second term, effectively, of an unpopular administration. And you have yet again a
situation where President Biden is stepping on one of her big speeches.
A few weeks back, he went to the briefing room to talk to reporters while she was giving a speech. And here you had just a couple hundred yards
behind her when she was speaking on the Ellipse, Joe Biden making a comment that is distracting from her message.
And I know the Biden campaign and Democrats are saying, well, there was an apostrophe there. The apostrophe gate now. It doesn't matter whether he was
calling an individual garbage or a group of people garbage.
This is a president of the United States using that language. And when liberals lecture conservatives about rhetoric, you just need to point to
this. You can't use this kind of language and then sit on the moral high ground and act like you aren't doing it as well.
HILL: Go ahead, Karen.
FINNEY: I mean, we're really -- I'm just going to say, we were really -- Pete, you're not really going to compare the numerous things that Donald
Trump has said over and over and over again. I mean, in that same event last night where he was talking about the Vice President, derogatory,
racist, misogynist language versus Joe Biden, who has been a gaffe machine throughout his whole career.
And again, apostrophe or no apostrophe, I don't see how you can take the moral high ground when you have a nominee who is a convicted felon,
essentially, not to mention can't seem to get through one speech without attacking our vice president, our sitting vice president's intelligence,
intentionally mispronouncing her name, attacking, you know, everything about her. I mean, I just -- I think this is a very asymmetrical
conversation here.
HILL: I am going to move us on, although I know this will come up again. But I'm curious about -- and Pete, I want to get your take on this. We saw
-- and perhaps not surprisingly, Barbara Bush coming out in support of Kamala Harris.
What is interesting to me, especially, of course, given your former role working for the former president, Dick Cheney has done the same. Former
President Bush is very quiet in this moment. Do you expect that will change?
SEAT: I don't expect it will change. And I have no inside knowledge on this. But if you watch George W. Bush in his post presidency, he has been
very deliberate in staying out of the political fray. He remains in Texas and takes up painting and gives speeches from time to time. But he's not
weighed in politically outside of doing some fundraisers on behalf of U.S. Senate candidates around the country.
But specifically on Barbara Pierce Bush, you know, both Bush twins have charted their own path. They've been very independent. Jenna, of course,
much more public in her path as a co-host of "The Today Show." But Barbara has been quiet and behind the scenes over the years in her advocacy.
But as you said, not entirely surprising. She came out in support of same- sex marriage, legalizing it in the state of New York in 2011. In 2017, shortly after Donald Trump took office, she keynoted a Planned Parenthood
fundraiser. So she has embraced where she stands.
And if you know anything about the Bush family, having been around that family for 20 years now, they encourage one another to be true to
themselves. And that is what Barbara Pierce Bush is doing.
HILL: It would be interesting to see, though, if we did see a comment just based on what we have seen from Republicans across the board. And certainly
-- and as I noted when I said to you, not surprising that Barbara Bush would come out in support of Kamala Harris. Dick Cheney throwing people for
a little bit of a loop when that happened.
[10:45:00]
Karen, when we look at where things stand today, there is a real effort, as we are seeing by both campaigns, to really speak to their base, because
they want to make sure that they get those voters out, knowing that there aren't that many undecided voters left.
Given how many people in this country have already voted, more than 50, about 50.5 million people across 47 states and D.C., do you think that --
and I would say across the board, right? Just give me a quick look at both campaigns. Are they doing that effectively in this moment?
FINNEY: Well, I think each campaign has different challenges. So the former president is very focused on doubling and tripling down on male voters,
particularly white men. And we've seen that in terms of the podcasts he's been doing, again, some of the language that he's been using, the
conversation.
I mean, you had even Nikki Haley saying, hey, if you're trying to appeal to women, this isn't quite the way to do it. Whereas Vice President Harris, I
think she is doing it effectively in that she has kind of more voters potentially that she can reach out to who could potentially vote for her.
We're talking about low information, infrequent African American and Latino voters. We're talking also about those Nikki Haley voters and sort of
Republicans who are feeling like they can't vote for Trump, but they aren't sure if they want to vote for her.
So both sides are trying very hard to, you know, kind of, this is where it's a game of inches to quote one of my favorite movies about football,
you know, where each side is trying to just find every last vote, because we know every single vote is really going to count.
HILL: A lot is going to happen in these next six days. Karen Finney, Pete Seat, good to see you both this morning. Thank you.
Just ahead here, we are following developments out of Spain, where floodwaters have ravaged the country's southeast with deadly consequences
and a lot of damage left behind. We've got the very latest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: Flash flooding in Spain, responsible for claiming more than 60 lives. Parts of southeast Spain inundated with up to a foot, about 30 centimeters,
of rain in just a few hours. You can see the rainwater cascading here through this neighborhood in Valencia.
The aftermath of those floods, just a massive, massive cleanup effort left behind. Mud everywhere. Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joining me now with
more on that situation in Spain.
There's a lot of concern that this happened so quickly, this flash flood. There really was not time for residents to get out safely.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And that's why it's called flash flooding, right? It occurs without a moment's notice. We may have seen the
general setup, but we don't exactly know where the heaviest of rain will fall from the sky. And it just happened to be within the Valencia province
across southeastern portions of Spain.
But analyzing this video a little closer, I mean, look how fast this torrent of water is speeding through these narrow streets within this town.
I mean, just absolutely incredible, so much so that it's piling up on some of the buildings there. There's a lot of pressure associated with it and a
lot of debris within this pile of water.
[10:50:12]
So any of those become projectiles as they approach a building, for instance. So what type of debris will we find? Typically trees. In this
particular instance, we've also seen cars. They're just tossed around like toys with that amount of water pressure moving through these narrow
roadways.
So how much water fell from the sky? Well, this is incredible. 491 millimeters of rain in an eight-hour period. That surpasses Chiva, which is
located in the Valencia province. That surpasses their yearly average of rain in just eight hours of time.
There are no cities in the world, really, that could handle that amount of precipitation in such a short amount of time. So that's why we're seeing
the flooding.
And this stalled-out low-pressure system, you can see it with a swirl of clouds, is cut off from the main flow of the jet stream. The jet stream,
remember, is what pushes our weather patterns from west to east, namely these low pressures that you see on the map here. But because it's removed
from that weather pattern, it stalls out. It continues to rain over the same location.
And guess what, Erica? The threat of flooding is not quite done. This time focused a little further to the north of Valencia, who got hit hardest
yesterday.
HILL: All right, Derek, appreciate it. Thank you.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: Well, the campaigning is at full speed right now for Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. They'll both be making their way to Nevada in the coming
days as they try to wrangle up any of those remaining votes still up for grabs. And, of course, also get their supporters out to the poll.
A new CNN poll shows 48% of likely voters there back Donald Trump. 47% support Harris. So, again, basically a tie.
CNN's John King went to Nevada to speak specifically with Latino voters and get their take.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dawn in battleground Nevada. The Vegas morning rush. One week to election day.
ANTONIO MUNOZ, NEVADA RESIDENT: So it's very, very tense. You know, it's nerve wracking because you just don't know what's going to happen.
KING: Antonio Munoz owns the 911 taco bar. He's a veteran and a retired Las Vegas police officer. Undecided and unhappy with his choices when we first
visited 11 months ago.
Meeting Kamala Harris when we returned six weeks ago. Now definitely Harris. Trump's weekend rally in New York removed any doubt.
MUNOZ: That was very, very upsetting, you know. They spoke about Mexicans and having kids like nothing. It's like, where do you come up with this
stuff? Why would you say something like that in an atmosphere like that? And that's very troubling.
KING: Munoz is betting on a narrow Harris win here, but says the Latino community is more evenly split than in past campaigns because of housing
and grocery costs.
MUNOZ: Inflation, it's affected a lot of people here in our community and they don't see their dollar going the way it used to go, you know. I think
they really think Trump's going to make it better, which, you know, one person can't come in and just inflation's going down. It's a process.
KING: Early voting here runs through Friday, and more than 7 in 10 Nevada voters live here in Clark County. That's Las Vegas and its fast-growing
suburbs.
[10:55:00]
One big difference this cycle is the Republican embrace of early voting. Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton on hand in Vegas for a Veterans for Trump event
to kick off the final week.
One in five Nevada voters is Latino, and a big election-year focus at Fiesta 98.1 is urging listeners to flex their political muscle.
Rafael Cerros Jr. is one of the owners. Six weeks ago, he told us he was undecided, and that Trump was running strong among Latinos here.
(On camera): Anything different from the last time we were here?
RAFAEL CERROS JR., NEVADA RESIDENT: A lot. A lot.
KING (voice-over): Cerros is now voting Harris, and he says the racist insults at the weekend Trump event exploded on social media, triggered
listener calls, texts, emails.
CERROS JR.: That alone flutes a lot of people that were going to go for Trump now saying, hey, maybe I'm not too sure, and maybe I'm going, you
know, with Harris. You know, the rhetoric, whether directly from, you know, the candidate or not, it's kind of scary, especially, you know, for Latinos
here in Vegas, specifically, you know, my Mexican people.
KING (on camera): He says, oh, he doesn't know who allowed those speakers to speak at his rally.
CERROS JR.: Oh, that's B.S.
KING: That's B.S.
CERROS JR.: That's B.S.
KING: John King, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Thanks so much for joining me on Connect the World. Stay with CNN. Newsroom is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
