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Connect the World

CNN International: Trump Says RFK Jr., Can "Do Anything He Wants" With Vaccines; Deadly Floods in Spain; U.S.: North Korean Troops Gearing up to Fight Ukraine; "Stop the Steal" Movement is Preparing to Challenge Vote Results if Trump Loses; Inside the Efforts to Undermine the Election if Trump Loses. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired November 01, 2024 - 09:00:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: This is the scene in Beirut, Israel, renewing attacks on the city's southern suburbs. It is 03:00 p.m.

there, 09:00 a.m. here in New York City. Erica Hill, thanks for joining me on "Connect the World". I'm in for Becky Anderson today. Just ahead over

the next two hours, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in Wisconsin today.

Both campaigns, of course, hoping to shore up last minute votes and get their supporters out to the polls in that key state. Also, new jobs report

just out minutes ago is the final key economic indicator prior to Election Day. What could it mean for the candidates. And the death toll now rising

in Valencia, after those flash floods in Spain brought a year's worth of rain to the region in just a day.

Well, the stock market here in New York about 30 minutes from its open. Of course, we just got these latest jobs report. As you can see, little bit of

green. Never hurts to start your Friday when we're looking at futures there. So, we'll keep an eye on those markets for you throughout the

morning.

Meantime, the focus here in the United States obviously squarely on Election Day, four days away now. And the fight for female voters really in

the spotlight today. Women, as we know, could make or break this race for either candidate in key battle ground states. Important to note too, women

typically outperform men in U.S. elections, and there are more female registered voters in this country than male.

Well, Trump does remain ahead overall. When it does look at male fame, male voters, more women are leaning toward Harris, and recent polling shows

women outpacing men, not just in those registrations, but also when it comes to early voting in those key swing states. Could that be good news

for the Harris camp? We don't know.

All we know is the women were there. We cannot tell you exactly how they voted. On the trail, Harris zeroing in, though, on Trump's comments earlier

this week about how he would protect women. Here's some of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: About four weeks ago, I was saying, no, I want to protect the people. I

want to protect the women of our country. I want to protect the women, sir, please don't say that. Why they said we think it's very inappropriate for

you to say so why. I'm president. I want to protect the women of our country. Well, I'm going to do it whether the women like it or not.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S., (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He said that he will do what he wants. Now I'm about to quote whether the

women like it or not. We know the man simply does not respect the freedom of women or the intelligence of women to be able to make decisions about

their own lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Well, Trump, meantime, blasting one of the most outspoken female opponents of his campaign, saying that Former Republican Congresswoman Liz

Cheney should be sent into battle, straight into the line of fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: She's a radical war hawk. Let's put her with a rifle standing there with nine-barrel shooting at her. OK, let's see how she feels about it. You

know when the guns are trained on her face?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Cheney responding a short time ago on X writing, quote, this is how dictators destroy free nations. They threaten those who speak against them

with death. We cannot entrust our country and our freedom to a petty, vindictive, cruel, unstable man. Daniel Strauss is joining me now with

more. Daniel, good to see you this morning.

DANIEL STRAUSS, CNN REPORTER: Good morning.

HILL: So, look, there's a lot here. Yes, those were comments too. He's saying Liz Cheney is a war hawk. We should send her out there to see how it

is. I found it fascinating in her response, she also used the hashtag, believe it was women will not be silenced. These final days really are

about women and motivating women.

STRAUSS: Yeah, and both campaigns know that this is going to be a crucial voting bloc. Now listen, I want to caution because the people who are

smarter than me have been saying you shouldn't extrapolate too much out of early voting, but we are seeing large numbers of women voters voting early.

And this is a sign that they will be an influential voting bloc in this election. So, the fact that Donald Trump is going after Liz Cheney and

using remarks that are very much out of bounds compared to any election, I've covered suggests that that voting bloc could sway a certain way in the

final days of this election.

HILL: It's fascinating too, because it's not just those comments from Donald Trump about protecting women, right? And I've heard them explained

away as well. He's really trying to protect everybody, but let's be honest, the language he used was women talking as well about last night, saying

that RFK was going to be in charge of women's health care.

This constant push of, men need to make decisions for women. Men need to protect women. We are in a space and in a place in this country where most

women really will push back on that.

[09:05:00]

STRAUSS: Yeah. I mean, look, it's the thing about the former president is that his language is often charitably described as hyperbolic, and you

never really know what he's going to say. But again, this is going to be a voting bloc that is going -- that has been decisive in 2022 and 2020 and

really 2016 and looks likely to be influential again in American politics, and this election in particular.

HILL: As we look at this final push right, over this final weekend, the last couple of days, both candidates making very similar stocks. We saw

that yesterday. They were both in Nevada. They were both in Wisconsin, a couple days ago. They're both going to be back in Wisconsin today. What do

you expect in terms of closing messages?

STRAUSS: I mean, for Harris, it's clearly a mixture of national security, stability and to a lesser extent, but still there the economy and

democracy. So, it's a bit of a complex cocktail. For Trump, the argument that his advisers and campaign really want to stress is on immigration and

protecting the border and the economy.

But in both cases, we're not seeing philosophy from either campaign that it's the economy stupid. Instead, it's a mixture of messages that will

rally the base and base voters in the final few days, as well as the economy and broader language shape to this particular match up.

HILL: It is fascinating, as you point out, how perhaps, or perhaps the lack of focus on the economy when it is the economy stupid, as we know from poll

after poll after poll with voters about what matters. And also fascinating when we look at the fairly strong economic picture based on the data, just

the most recent data that we got this week, we'll see if it comes into play or not. Daniel, good to see you. Thanks.

STRAUSS: Thanks.

HILL: Well, as we noted, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris both set to campaign in Wisconsin, today. It is one of those battle ground states we

are so keenly focused on, because it could ultimately decide the winner of this presidential race. The polls at the moment show Harris with a slight

edge over Trump in the battle ground state.

But as we know, neither candidate their campaign certainly not taking anything for granted. As for the vice president, she got three stops in

Wisconsin today, including a "Get Out the Vote" event in Milwaukee. CNN's Jeff Zeleny is in Wisconsin and has been talking to voters over the past

year and checks in with them one more time about sentiment, which is four days to go now until the election.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVE FLANNERY, WISCONSIN VOTER FOR HARRIS: I am ready for it to be over.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dave Flannery is exhausted by the election.

FLANNERY: It is getting more and more difficult to listen to all the vitriol and that sort of thing.

ZELENY (voice-over): From his apple orchard in battle ground, Wisconsin, he's at a front row seat to the caustic campaign. When we met earlier this

year, Flannery was fed up with the political division and dysfunction.

ZELENY: What else can you think about it?

FLANNERY: It's a mess.

ZELENY: How does it get fixed?

FLANNERY: I wish I knew.

ZELENY (voice-over): With the election, days away, we paid another visit. He said he's voting for Kamala Harris.

ZELENY: Is it a vote for Vice President Harris or against Donald Trump?

FLANNERY: For Harris. No, let me rephrase that, both.

ZELENY: It's a vote against Trump and for Harris?

FLANNERY: Yes.

ZELENY (voice-over): The fight is on for Wisconsin.

HARRIS: Are we ready to win?

ZELENY (voice-over): With Harris and Trump set to make dueling visits Friday.

TRUMP: We're winning. We're winning.

ZELENY (voice-over): For the second time in three days.

CAROLINE QUINLAN, WISCONSIN VOTER FOR TRUMP: I don't want to make any predictions, because I think it's that close.

ZELENY (voice-over): Caroline Quinlan does not see a perfect option on either ticket when we spoke this summer, her frustrations were clear.

QUINLAN: Both parties have their extreme side, and no one is in the middle.

ZELENY (voice-over): From her vantage point in the critical suburbs of Milwaukee, no longer dominated by Republicans alone, she said issues are

driving her decision.

QUINLAN: I'm going to vote for Trump. You know, when he talks in the big arena, sometimes I'm like, I wish he would tone down his rhetoric and

everything. But at the end of the day, I want a person that's going to fix the economy, border and then national security.

ZELENY (voice-over): A year-long, conversation with voters, paints a more nuanced picture of the electorate. For one, the gender gap is hardly

absolute.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: January 6th, which was a direct threat against our democracy, trying to overthrow a legal election. That was it for me.

ZELENY (voice-over): To win the Harris coalition depends upon people like Bruce Kneed (ph) raised in a Republican family whose front yard makes his

disdain for the former president clear. And Tiffany Koehler, a Republican who is casting a rare vote for the Democratic Presidential Candidate.

TIFFANY KOEHLER, WISCONSIN REPUBLICAN VOTER FOR HARRIS: We used to be the party of limited government. We used to be the party of fiscal

responsibility. I know there's a lot of Republicans voting for the vice president, because we really want to close this chapter in history.

[09:10:00]

ZELENY (voice-over): For Trump the path to victory not only depends on strength in deep red rural areas, but whether he diminishes Democratic

margins in the suburbs outside Madison. Brandon Maly leads the Republican Party in fast growing Dane County.

BRANDON MALY, CHAIR, DANE COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY: People think of Madison as such a traditional liberal Bastion, but you get outside of Madison, Dane

County is the second most populated county. If he does not get at least 23 percent of the vote in Dane County, he will not win Wisconsin. If he gets

25 percent or above, he wins guaranteed.

ZELENY (voice-over): The campaign draws to a close with many wild cards, including third party candidates like Robert F Kennedy Jr., whose name

remains on the ballot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want your vote. I want you to vote for Donald Trump.

ZELENY (voice-over): Back at the Apple Holler Orchard, Flannery sees a hopeful light at the end of a dark campaign.

FLANNERY: It's more than about politics. Future of the country is more important than whether you're Republican or Democrat.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: Jeff, when we look at this, you know, I think about sentiment that we heard from the voter in your piece, just can't wait for it all to be over,

which I think a lot of folks in let's see Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, they may be feeling the same way being inundated this final push,

though.

The fact that both candidates will be in Wisconsin today really does, once again, underscore how important the state is? How much wiggle room is

there? Or is this simply about getting supporters to the polls at this point,

ZELENY (on camera): Erica, there is no wiggle room for either side or very little, we should say. The candidates have basically been chasing one

another. They were out west yesterday, in Arizona and Nevada. They will be here in Wisconsin today, following a similar path. What that tells us is

that neither side sees a clear leader.

Neither side is overly confident that they are, at this moment, in the position to win. They are still in the early voting period, so both of the

rallies that Vice President Harris is making three stops today in Wisconsin. Former President Donald Trump only making one. They're trying to

get their supporters out, yes, but also trying to get their message out.

But in terms of the strategy for winning 270 electoral votes, that, of course, is the name of the game here, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania. We

say it a lot, but that so called blue wall, if you will, is likely to determine who wins the presidency. Donald Trump won the three states in 16.

He went to the White House.

He lost the three states in 2020, and he was defeated. So that is how sort of close this is. And all our indications and polling suggest, it is a

margin of error knife edge race here. So that is why the comments at the end of the campaign the former president has made about Liz Cheney and

other things could impact the race, or perhaps things are already baked in.

But the exhaustion that Dave Flannery, the owner of that orchard, talked about, boy, that is something felt by both sides of voters.

HILL: Yeah, it certainly is. And far beyond Wisconsin. As you mentioned those final comments from the former president about Liz Cheney.

ZELENY: Right.

HILL: These final comments in these final days, you make such a great point, because the fact that 61 million people have already cast their

ballots also changes how candidates look at these final days.

ZELENY: It sure does. I mean if, for -- if you have voted, you are not likely to get knocked on your door or called or text messages. But for

other people in battle ground states, the campaigns are literally going door to door, reaching out voter to voter, trying to get them to

participate.

The strategies in the final days you know are going to be reflective of the ground game is something the Harris campaign and Democrats have been

building for a long time. The Trump campaign has largely outsourced this grass roots ground game. Perhaps it will be as strong as ever.

It's un-clustered and unclear, but again, in the final days here, every single vote that does matter. It's obvious, of course. But what we don't

know, Erica, for all of the polling of things we don't know, the makeup of the electorate. Will there be record setting turnout this year, in the

first presidential year since the Supreme Court overturned Roe Versus Wade.

Will there be diminished turnout for Democrats because of the Gaza war, all these wild cards hanging over the campaign here will affect how people vote

and how many people vote, and that, of course, will also help determine the outcome, Erica.

HILL: It will and for all those people who thought that once the election was decided, we wouldn't have anything left to talk about. We're going to

have so much data to go through. It's going to keep us going for a long time my friend.

ZELENY: Right.

HILL: Jeff, thank you. Still to come this hour, Spain left reeling after its worst flooding in decades, as the death toll there continues to rise,

we are live in the worst hit region with the very latest on those recovery efforts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:15:00]

HILL: Israeli war planes pounding Beirut southern suburbs for the first time in nearly a week. The IDF says it hit Hezbollah militia targets.

Lebanon, state run media says dozens of buildings were destroyed in those strikes. And it's also reporting that Lebanon's Prime Minister sees the

strikes as a sign Israel is rejecting cease fire efforts.

Meantime, U.S. envoys making the rounds again on Thursday in a new push to stop the fighting in both Lebanon and Gaza. CNN's Jeremy Diamond joining me

now live from Tel Aviv. So, Jeremy a senior U.S. official, telling CNN that Israel does appear to be nearing the end of its military operations in

Lebanon.

Then we have those comments, of course, from Lebanese officials. Is there a sense, or are you hearing from your sources that Israel is close to

accomplishing its goals in that fight.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: There is certainly a sense of that from Israeli officials, that they believe that they have accomplished

a series of military successes in Lebanon over the course of the last couple of months, dealing blow after blow to Hezbollah, including killing

Hezbollah's Leader, Long-time Leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

That doesn't mean, though, that they are going to stop until there is a cease fire agreement. It does mean that they believe that now is indeed the

right time to pursue that agreement, given the series of military accomplishments that they believe they have reached.

But as one Israeli official told me, they are only going to negotiate, quote under fire, meaning that they are going to continue to ramp up the

military pressure through the air strikes that we have seen over the course of the last week. Some very significant ones, not only in southern Lebanon,

but also in the northeastern City of Baalbek earlier this week, and then overnight in the southern suburbs of Beirut, once again, a series of very

intense air strikes.

And so, the military pressure is very much -- and parcel of Israel's negotiating strategy. And there is a sense that it has worked to a certain

extent, at least. And that is because Hezbollah previously had said, we're only going to agree to a cease fire if Israel stops its war in Gaza.

And now Hezbollah seems to be engaging in good faith in cease fire negotiations that have nothing to do with Israel's war in Gaza. And so now

the question is, can Israel get all of the enforcement measures for resolution 1701, which would see Hezbollah withdraw some 30 kilometers

north of the Israel-Lebanon border in order for it to be able to agree to a deal, is that something that Hezbollah will ultimately accept, as well as

the Lebanese government.

HILL: And as we look at that, there are also some rumblings that Iran could be preparing to respond -- to Israel's latest attack in response. Do we

have any sense of timing there?

DIAMOND: Well, a high-level Iranian source told our colleague Fred Pleitgen earlier this week that Iran is considering a very serious response to

Israel's retaliation last weekend, and that it could come before Election Day.

[09:20:00]

Now we don't yet know for sure whether that is indeed the final decision of the Iranian government. But certainly, the Israeli military is at a very

high level of readiness. There have been a series of discussions inside the Israeli government today and yesterday over the potential for an Iranian

attack, but officials are still trying to understand the Iranian decision- making process.

So certainly, the Israeli military prepared for that scenario. The question is, how severe will that Iranian attack be? What form will it take? Will it

be carried out by Iran from its territory, like last time, with those ballistic missiles? Will it be something carried out from one of its

proxies in the region?

All of that, will factor into whether or not Israel then feels compelled to respond after that. Of course, a serious Iranian response the Israeli

government has made clear, will indeed result in another devastating Israeli attack in Iran, Erica.

HILL: Jeremy Diamond live in Tel Aviv, appreciate it. Thank you. Looking now at what is happening in Spain, more than 200 people, those deaths now

being attributed to Spain's worst flooding in decades. A year's worth of rainfall came in just a matter of hours this week, impacting the country's

southern and eastern regions.

Emergency workers since then have been working to desperately to rescue trapped survivors, and also to recover the dead. CNN's Pau Mosquera is

joining us now from Valencia, which, of course, has been hardest hit. These pictures are just devastating that we've seen. He brings up to speed on

those rescue operations, and also, of course, the cleanup efforts, which I know have been hampered by the damage.

PAU MOSQUERA, CNN SPAIN CORRESPONDENT: It is commonly said, Erica, that a picture is worth 1000 words. So let me show you, just straight away, how

all these tasks are undergoing right now. We are four kilometers away from Chiva, one of the most affected areas by these devastating floodings.

And here we can see -- and civil defense personnel are cleaning up the motorway to let the access of the emergency services to the cities to bring

the water, the food that all the citizens are needing. This cleaning up, Erica, is one of the main priorities of the regional government and the

Spanish government, because it's the only way that all the eight, all the help that is needed by these towns can get inside, can get to all the

people, all the affected right now.

You can see also here some cranes that are removing all the mud, the water, the debris that the flood waters dragged in Tuesday afternoon. So most

surely, in a matter of minutes, this motorway will be open to the traffic to let, then the military personnel, the different emergency services get

to Chiva and many other towns that need all this aid, Erica.

HILL: And that will be, obviously an important development, as you point out, just to get that road open, appreciate it. Pau Mosquera in Valencia

for us. Thank you. Let's hit you up to speed on some of the other stories on our radar at this hour, striking Boeing workers on the U.S. West Coast

set to vote on an improved contract offer Monday.

Their union says the deal includes a 38 percent pay raise over four years and also a larger signing bonus. More than 30,000 factory workers have been

on strike since September. Donald Trump says he would give Robert F. Kennedy Jr., work on health, including women's health, and he wants him to

look at vaccines if he is re-elected as president.

Trump's remarks coming during stops on the campaign trail Thursday, just the latest sign that Kennedy, who has repeatedly pushed debunked vaccine

conspiracy theories over the years could play a large role in a potential Trump Administration. North Korean troops are headed for the fight against

Ukraine, possibly in just a matter of days.

That is the latest from U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, who spoke alongside U.S. and South Korean officials on Thursday. And as Oren

Liebermann reports, the U.S. says it is seeing clear signs. North Koreans are, in fact, gearing up for battle.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: In a meeting between the U.S. Secretaries of State and Defense and their South Korean counterparts. The

U.S. went further than it's ever gone before in talking about North Korean troops and their involvement, not only with Russia, but in the war in

Ukraine.

In a matter of days here, the U.S. went from saying there were 3000 North Korean troops training in Russia to saying there are 10,000 including 8000

of those of whom are near or in the Kursk region of Russia, where the Ukrainians have conducted a successful offensive and seized some Russian

territory there.

Now Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, saying it is only a matter of days, quote, in the coming days that we expect to see North Korean troops

involved in the fighting and the war in Ukraine. He also went further than that to talk about the type of training they have received. And then makes

it very clear, they are becoming part of Russia's war machine.

[09:25:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Russia has been training DPRK soldiers in artillery, UAVs, basic infantry operations, including trench

clearing, indicating that they fully intend to use these forces in front line operations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: With the South Korean Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs here, North Korea, making their displeasure obvious with the launch of an

intercontinental ballistic missile. The longest flight time we have seen nearly 90 minutes from North Korea here. It's about a year since they last

tested and fired off an ICBM here.

So, it appears they may be showing one of their more advanced missiles and advanced missile launchers here. The U.S. and South Korea, watching this

very closely and making it clear there will be some form of response and deep intelligence sharing and cooperation on that front, as well.

The U.S. and South Korea carrying out a large-scale aerial exercise. Following that launch more than 100 advanced fighter jets from the U.S.

from South Korea. So, making it clear there will be military cooperation and North Korea carries out these sorts of tests with South Korean

officials here.

Both the U.S. and South Korea here said they'd like to see more engagement from the Chinese on trying to get the North Koreans to step back. But so

far, all South Korea is saying is that China is waiting and watching. Oren Liebermann CNN in the Pentagon.

HILL: Just ahead on "Connect the World". U.S. jobs taking a hit, thanks to extreme weather and labor strikes in the U.S. We'll take a closer look

after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: The final economic report here before Election Day on Tuesday, shows just 12,000 new jobs were created in October, far less than expected.

Important to note, though, it's not the whole story, and economists were talking about that before the numbers even dropped.

Let's bring in CNN's Julia Chatterley now so we can go beyond the headlines here. So, Julia, ahead of this report, we were told, hey, we're going to

have to factor in extreme weather, thanks to Helene and Milton and also those strikes that we have been seeing in the U.S. How much of an impact

did those two events play here?

JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN ANCHOR, FIRST MOVE: Well, you're absolutely right. Strikes and storms, we were forewarned, and we were told to expect the

unexpected. This is a jarring jobs report. And to answer your question directly, even the Bureau of Labor Statistics is saying, look, there were

severe impacts as a result of the storms, and that they can't quantify how bad that was.

So, bear that context in mind. What we did see in October, as you pointed out, just 12,000 jobs added. And I'll be honest, it's a lot less than we

were expecting of around 120,000 jobs. So, it is jarring.

[09:30:00]

Most analysts said, look, we think around 60 to 100,000 jobs net may have been lost as a result of the storms and strikes, if you sort of add that

back, it still looks like a relatively weak number. What you have to hold on to here is the unemployment rate, which is at 4.1 percent, it's exactly

where we were last month.

So, I think what we have to wait and see is what happens next month, and see some of this noise move out and hold on to the fact that, that simply

didn't budge. But let me walk you through some of the sectors as well, because I do think it's important to help tell the story.

Manufacturing lost 46,000 jobs net. We saw temporary help and services also losing jobs. Around 49,000 jobs lost there, government that was clearly

hiring to help with cleanup operations that gained 40,000. The health care sector continues to show strength around 52,000 jobs.

So, it's a messy report. What I will leave you with as a takeaway on this is it's just 34 days until the next report Erica, where I hope I have more

clarity to provide to you. It's a messy report. It's a jarring report we have to wait for next month.

HILL: Right. Messy, jarring, but also not unexpected, given the warning we had ahead of time.

CHATTERLEY: Yeah.

HILL: We are, of course, four days from election. This is the last economic report. Based on what else we have seen though this week, you mentioned

highlighting that steady 4.1 percent unemployment. We also got pretty strong GDP numbers today, this week, I should say, inflation really

pointing towards this soft landing that may have already happened.

CHATTERLEY: Yeah.

HILL: So, the overall economic picture, how would you categorize that?

CHATTERLEY: Solid. This is a solid economy. I was just at the International Monetary Fund talking to leaders and experts last week, and they were all

saying, look, America is the envy. Their economy is the envy of the G7. Yes, it's slowing. We've just been through the fastest rate hike cycle in

four decades, but they were throwing around this phrase, soft landing.

We've managed to avoid recession. And I'll give you one stat just to give you a sense of when this report gets politicized as being horribly weak.

And I think we can expect that from the Trump campaign potentially over the next few hours or so, this economy, before this report, was adding, on

average this year, 172,000 jobs per month.

That's exactly the same amount as the Trump economy was adding per month in the three years prior to the COVID pandemic. So tough to draw a distinction

between the two of them on jobs that added, quite frankly. This is a solid economy. I believe it will be politicized. Ignore, is my advice.

HILL: Yes.

CHATTERLEY: Ignore and wait for next month.

HILL: As it often is in politics, sometimes.

CHATTERLEY: Yes.

HILL: On both sides, they don't let the facts get in the way of a good story -- focus, of course, though my friend on the facts appreciated Julia

--

CHATTERLEY: Yeah, and very quickly, silver lining here, the Fed will cut by a quarter of a percentage point. Politics and election result

notwithstanding a quarter of a percentage point cut, which is good news for bars.

HILL: Yeah. That's good little early Christmas for you --

CHATTERLEY: Yeah.

HILL: Julia, thanks. So, with all of that, how are the markets responding just a couple of minutes into the trading day here in the U.S., as you can

see. Holding on, sort of similar to what we saw in futures, right just about half an hour ago, when we checked those numbers.

So little bit of green there. We will take it. How about a little update on the world of sport with my colleague, Amanda Davies, that is just ahead.

Also, a closer look at what could be coming out of this election? How some Trump supporters have been laying the groundwork to challenge the results

of the 2024 presidential race? CNN's Donie O'Sullivan with that story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:35:00]

HILL: As we count down to Tuesday, Election Day, four days away here in the United States, Donald Trump is escalating his violent rhetoric, suggesting

one of his most prominent critics should be shot. It happened at a rally in Arizona on Thursday. Trump, when talking about Liz Cheney as a war hawk,

said that she should be fired upon, saying, let's put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her.

OK, let's see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face. At a rally in New Mexico, he repeated false claims about

election fraud.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We almost won it twice. And let me tell you, I believe we won it twice. OK, you want to know the truth. And if you can watch your vote

counter, if we could bring God down from heaven, he could be the vote counter, we would win this. We'd win California. We'd win a lot of states.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Important to note, Trump also claiming falsely at that rally in New Mexico that he had won the state twice. He did not, and has been laying the

groundwork, frankly, for a number of years now, since 2020 to say that if he does not win this election, he believes that will be because it is

rigged.

Meantime, Vice President Kamala Harris campaigning out west, as you see, bringing in some star power there. J. Lo with her, the vice president

criticizing Trump's language as well on the trail for his comments about protecting women, whether they quote like it or not.

Some of Donald Trump supporters have really been keying in on that message that he has sent about the election, about the fact that the election would

somehow be fraudulent if he doesn't lie. A number of them promoting lies about a rigged election with zero evidence. CNN's Donie O'Sullivan spoke to

some of these activists about their plans to contest the election.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like, how much theft can they get away with in order to prevent Trump from winning?

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Do you think he's going to win?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we have a fair election, yes.

O'SULLIVAN: There's no way he can lose fairly?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fairly, there's no way.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): MAGA world is preparing its followers for a stolen election.

GREG STENSTROM, AUTHOR: We're just going to announce Harris is the winner. We're going to go we win again, and now try to stop us again. And what's

different this time as we're going to be able to stop them.

MARK BURNS, PASTOR: Is there anybody here in North Carolina ready to take this nation back by any means necessary? Say, yeah, yeah, yeah.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): They're laying out, step by step plans to overturn a potential Harris victory. These are not random Trump supporters. These

are influential figures in the MAGA movement.

IVAN RAIKLIN, MAGA ACTIVIST: It's all going to depend on what they end up doing. I have a plan and strategy for every single component of it, and

then January 6 is going to be pretty fun.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Many of them, like Ivan Raiklin and Michael Flynn, have huge audiences online. And are involved in election denying groups

that have spent millions of dollars furthering election conspiracy theories,

MICHAEL FLYNN, FORMER U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: And we should know by Tuesday night, by about 9 or 10 o'clock at night, that one party won.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Election officials across the country have explained that we likely won't know the full results on election night to

conspiracy theorists. However, that is a sign of fraud.

FLYNN: In this case, I strongly believe that Donald Trump, if this thing is a fair election, he'll win all 50 states.

RAIKLIN: Now, if it's legit, we don't have to worry, right? Well, who thinks it's going to be legit? You think they're just going to give it to

you? No, there's going to be a fight.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Raiklin has encouraged people to pressure their state representatives not to certify election results if they suspect

fraud.

RAIKLIN: We try to play it fair. They steal it. Our state legislatures are our final stop to guarantee a checkmate. Be prepared on January 1 to apply

the maximum motivation to your state reps, state centers --

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): In North Carolina, he and another right-wing activist are going as far to say there should be no election because of the

destruction after Hurricane Helene. They say the Republican control state legislature should decide which presidential candidates gets their

electoral college votes.

NOEL FRITSCH, NATIONAL FILE: We don't have to do this popular vote in the state stuff for this federal election. We don't have to do it.

[09:40:00]

RAIKLIN: You got 120 House Reps. How many of those are Republican, the majority? How about a significant majority? So then, how is the House body

going to likely vote with your motivation for the Republican nominee. What about the Senate majority?

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): The idea is fringe and it is extreme, but a Republican Congressman endorsed the idea at an event with Raiklin.

REP. ANDY HARRIS (R-MD): Over -- hey, look, you got disenfranchised 25 counties. You know what that vote probably would have been, which would be

if I were in the legislature not to go, Yeah, we got to be the legislature, we can --

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Before eventually walking it back. The idea that the only way Harris can win is if the election is stolen is being pushed

across hundreds of MAGA media outlets and from the former president himself.

TRUMP: Because they cheat, that's the only way we're going to lose because they cheat.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): And it's convincing his base.

O'SULLIVAN: What if the results show that Harris won? Do you think Trump will accept that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think anybody will accept that, because we know it's going to be a lie. But if that's what it is, it's what it is,

we'll go from there. We'll see what happens.

O'SULLIVAN: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, I just don't think that Trump's going to lose.

O'SULLIVAN: You think he won last time?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, definitely.

O'SULLIVAN: What happens if he loses?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If he loses --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're all going down January 6.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: All right, thanks again to Donie O'Sullivan for that report. Will Apples's latest earnings are out as iPhone sales modestly beat analysts'

expectations with the promise of those new AI features, including these numbers include sales for the new iPhone 16. The tech giant CEO Tim Cook

said artificial intelligence updates would quote super charge the new device when it was unveiled last month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM COOK, CEO OF APPLE: Earlier this week, we made the first set of Apple intelligence features available in U.S. English, for iPhone, iPad and Mac

users with system wide writing tools that help you refine your writing a more natural and conversational Siri, a more intelligent photos app,

including the ability to create movies simply by typing a description.

And new ways to prioritize and stay in the moment with notification summaries and priority messages. And we look forward to additional

intelligence features in December with even more powerful writing tools, a new visual intelligence experience that builds on Apple intelligence and

ChatGPT integration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: iPhone sales stopped $46 billion that's at more than 5.5 percent from the same time last year, according to Apple's earnings report after the

market closed. That's going to do it for this hour of "Connect the World". But stay tuned. "World Sport" is up next with Amanda Davies. And I'll see

you back here at the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END