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Erin Burnett Outfront
Trump, Harris In The Final Sprint As Election Day Polls Open In 30 Hours; Polls In Battleground States Show An Extremely Tight Race; Trump Allies Warn His Remarks And Actions Could Cost Him The Race; Interview With Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI); Chaotic Election Almost Over: "My Garbage Truck," "Weird." Aired 7-8p ET
Aired November 03, 2024 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:00]
ELISA RAFFA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That if you have about an inch of snow, it can drop that voter turnout by half a percent. One inch of rain will drop it by 1 percent, so something to watch closely -- Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: We'll be watching with you, Elisa. Thank you very, very much.
And to our viewers, thanks very much for watching. I'll be back tomorrow in THE SITUATION ROOM, 6:00 p.m. Eastern. Our countdown to election day, our special coverage continues right now with a special "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT."
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next, the breaking news, the fight to the finish, Harris and Trump speaking tonight as polls show signs of momentum for Harris in these final hours. Plus more breaking news, new reporting on Trump's inner circle issuing a stark warning about Trump himself. And do Democrats have a real chance of flipping the House? We've got some new numbers in tonight. Some crucial new races to watch.
All that, coming up.
And good Sunday evening. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news, the final countdown. We are here on a Sunday. The nation watching on this Sunday because the first election day votes will be cast just 30 hours from now. 30 hours from now election day begins.
Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Trump are right now making their final pitch to voters in crucial swing states. Harris just wrapping up a rally in East Lansing, Michigan. The vice president telling supporters that she just mailed in her ballot. She spent today crisscrossing this pivotal battleground state.
Meantime, Trump tonight focusing his attention on Georgia. You are looking at live pictures of his rally in Macon. The former president expected to take the stage there shortly after spending much of today veering off script as a number of new polls came out that did show bright spots for Harris. According to the latest and final "New York Times" poll before the election, Harris is now showing momentum in North Carolina and Georgia.
There are also signs that undecided voters are breaking for Harris in these final days, 55 percent of those who've just decided across seven battleground states say they are backing Harris. And then, the "Des Moines Register" poll. If you didn't see it, of course it kind of makes your job go to the floor. This pollster, who's an incredibly solid track record and an entire career of excellence, has found Trump now losing in Iowa to Harris by three points.
Neither campaign has spent a dollar advertising in Iowa. It is not a swing state. Harris was never supposed to be competitive there. It was just a few weeks ago that Trump led Harris by four percentage points there.
Now news of these polls has Trump veering off-script. As I said he's angry about that, today insisting he never should have left office despite losing in 2020, making some wild claims about the election, telling his supporters that he wouldn't mind if someone was shooting at him and choose to shoot through the reporters at his rallies first.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But I have this piece of glass here. But all we have really over here is the fake news, right?
(LAUGHTER AND CHEERS)
TRUMP: And to get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news. And I don't mind that so much. They are fighting so hard to steal this damn thing. We had the safest border in the history of our country the day that I left. I shouldn't have left.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: "I shouldn't have left." It's comments like those that Trump's campaign is now spending these final crucial moments cleaning up after, right?
Kristen Holmes is at Trump's rally in Macon, Georgia. I want to begin, though, with Jeff Zeleny in Michigan in these final hours.
So you're OUTFRONT, Jeff, of course in East Lansing, as I said, where the vice president is. Kamala Harris just finishing speaking where you are. Now she actually did not mention Donald Trump's name once. So what is her message in these final hours?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Erin, in the final hours, Vice President Harris's message is certainly one of optimism. It's much more upbeat, even than it has been in the last several days, drawing, you know, fewer contrast with the former president than talking about just getting out to vote.
And now this field house behind me here is emptying out. But just a short time ago, it was filled with thousands of supporters, thousands more outside. Today was the final day of early voting in Michigan. That of course is why she was on campus here at Michigan State University. More than 2.6 million voters have already cast early ballots in Michigan. She asked for a show of hands who has already voted, nearly this entire fieldhouse raised their hands.
But the challenge for the Harris campaign is finding those who have not voted. So that's what this was about. But in these final hours here, she had this sort of upbeat, optimistic message for her supporters.
[19:05:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have momentum, it is on our side. Can you feel it? We have the momentum because our campaign is tapping into the ambitions, the aspirations, and the dreams of the American people.
The race is not yet over. And we need to finish strong. So for the next two days, we still have a lot of work to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: And that is a message that Vice President Harris and certainly her campaign is trying to convey. The race is not over, there is work to do, and that is an understatement. There is no doubt that Michigan is at the center of the most likely path for Harris to win the presidency if she does. Of course Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin.
Erin, we talk about this blue wall so much, but it truly is the best way to sort of seal the paths. We know that Donald Trump carried these states in 2016, Joe Biden did in 2020. The question, what happens on Tuesday here in 2024? Again there are some signs of challenges as well throughout the vice president's speech here tonight as happens in most every city she travels in. There were some Gaza protesters as well.
That will be one central question on Tuesday. How many -- people simply do not support her because of the unrest in the Middle East? It's a worry for her campaign, and that's why they're trying to drive out the vote among all of her other supporters -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Jeff Zeleny, thank you very much. And of course, amazing, in each state it could be a very specific group frankly that has opposing views, the same group in another state that could decide this election.
Let's go to John King. He's at the magic wall.
You know, and John, you know, it's those individual groups, whether you're talking about Arab-Americans in Michigan, or Jewish voters or Puerto Rican voters in Pennsylvania, you know, everyone is talking about such specific groups because we keep hearing about how this is one of the tightest races in history. We'll see if that's really the case. How do you see it two days out?
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The data tell us it is the closest race in the 10 -- this is my 10th presidential election, and there's never been one this close according to the numbers. But they do sometimes break late. So you should prepare yourself for any possibly of outcomes. A split, back and forth between the states, or you can prepare yourself that one candidate does have light momentum and runs up most of the battleground states. Either one of those scenarios, sort of a split decision, a boxing match, or somebody sweeping most of them is possible.
So let's go through some of the numbers on why do I say that. Let's start in the blue wall states. Right? Look at these. Forgive me for turning my back, just want to stretch this out a little bit so people can see it more clearly at home.
This is the CNN Poll of Polls. You're right. These are some new "New York Times" data out today. There are some hints of maybe a little bit of Harris momentum in there. The Sunday before the election I always lapse back into caution mode, right? Let's be careful. Let's let people vote, let's be respectful of the process. And let's look at the average of the polls. That's the safest way to do it. 49-46 in Wisconsin.
So you could say Harris has the lead, that's still close. It's, you know, that's a statistical tie. But 48-46 in Michigan, 48-48, an actual tie in of course battleground Pennsylvania. So let me just shrink this down and take it off to the side a little bit and put it down here. And then we'll do this one. So that's the blue wall states. What about the sunbelt states. right? So forgive me again, just want to stretch it out.
North Carolina, Trump with a one-point edge, that's a statistical tie. No clear leader. Georgia, same thing, Trump 49, Harris 47 so the Trump campaign say, we're ahead a little bit. I would say then that means who turns out is going to affect that in Arizona again. Trump consistently has had a tiny lead in Arizona, small in Arizona, 49-47, again certainly advantage Trump by the numbers, but within reach for the vice president. It's that close.
BURNETT: So, you know, when you look at all this and you talk about how it could, you know, late break either way or something very close, is very close in every state, but sort of all ends up being very close going towards one candidate. I mean, how does all of this play out, John, when you look at the path to 270?
KING: So let's take this literally. As in let's assume it played out exactly like our averages say on the Sunday before, right? So you have Harris gets Wisconsin, Harris gets Michigan, Pennsylvania is an actual tie. Right? Donald Trump would get North Carolina in that scenario, there we go, make it red. Donald Trump will get Georgia in that scenario, make it red. Donald Trump gets Arizona in that scenario, make it red.
Where does that leave you? Look at this. We don't have any recent poll, we don't have enough to have a poll of polls in Nevada. So we're leaving that one as a toss-up. But under that scenario, just giving them as we have them in our battleground poll of polls right now, 262 for Trump, 251 for Harris. It doesn't matter really who would win Nevada in that case. It would get Harris to 257, it would get Trump to 268.
So let's for the sake of this argument leave it yellow as a toss-up because the point is it all comes down to battleground Pennsylvania in this scenario. If everything plays out exactly the way it averages out right now, whoever wins Pennsylvania wins 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and gets to be president of the United States. So that is why the campaigns have spent more in Pennsylvania, Erin, than any other state, and by a huge margin. It's not really even close because they understand, it's the biggest prize, 19 electoral votes. And whoever wins Pennsylvania is likely to win the White House.
I will say this, Harris does have an advantage here. She does have an advantage here.
[19:10:04]
That's the third blue wall states, those three states have voted together since 1992. So if that pattern were to continue, that would be for Harris, but as you know, rules are sometimes made to be broken. And those are the three states that made Donald Trump president. That was the big surprise in 2016, remember, when he crashed the blue wall, and won all three of them. That is equally conceivable. The numbers are that close.
BURNETT: I mean, it is incredible how really any option and then you would be able to look back historically and find a poll that would have supported that outcome that actually happens.
KING: Of course.
BURNETT: So now cam we talk about -- I know there's been a lot of discussion out there about hurting, and whether a lot of the polls are sort of showing it razor thin, some people are worried about being wrong, and then all of a sudden in walks the "Des Moines Register" poll. Harris ahead in Iowa, the Selzer poll, Ann Selzer.
What stands out to you in that poll? I mean, you know, certainly when I first saw it on Twitter, and I didn't see who did it. I said oh, is this one of those ones that, you know, people are just sort of putting out there and making up? And then I said, no, this is a gold standard poll. Wow. This isn't expected. What do you see in there?
KING: So Ann is one of the best in the business, right?
BURNETT: Yes.
KING: Does that mean Kamala Harris is going to win Iowa? No, it doesn't mean that, and Ann would say that in a heartbeat. There's a margin of error, sometimes you're polling at a snapshot of time. So what was going on in the news when you're polling. Ann would be the last one to say it means Harris is going to win. But she'd be the first one to say her data, which is good data, says this is suddenly a very competitive race in battleground Iowa, which was not competitive.
That's, what, eight points back in 2020. I think you have a graph here. You could show me the biggest thing to me was the shift in independent women, right, we have no clear leader in the state. You also have independent women swinging to Harris. So has Donald Trump hurt himself? Has Donald -- there it is right there. 57 percent of independent women say they are for Harris to 29 percent for Donald Trump.
So that's a big swing among women. Remember, this is the first presidential election post the Dobbs decision. This is the first presidential election after the last Iowa poll, which you mentioned was pretty close. You know, Trump was ahead in the last Iowa poll, but that was narrow, too. Since just before that poll, the Iowa six-week abortion ban kicked in. So it has now been the law of the land if you will in the state for months. Right?
Is that having an impact in this race? Or something Trump has said in the last few days? I can tell you I've been to Iowa three times this year. First, mostly around the caucuses, then I went back and visited our Trump voters right before the Democratic convention to see what they thought of Harris. Our focus then was on Trump voters. But while we were in the state, we ran into a lot of Democrats who said do not forget us. We are energized by the vice president's pick, and this is going to be a lot closer than you think. Maybe they were right.
BURNETT: Maybe. I mean, you know, it's anybody's guess. And of course, you know, if she ends up being right, then that is sure a capstone.
KING: It just puts another -- it just tells you how close this environment is that states you didn't think were going to be in play just might be. That's why Tuesday is going to be interesting.
BURNETT: All right. John King. All right. Everyone is here with me now.
So, Kate, let me start with you. That poll, I don't know if you have the same reaction I did, but first I'm like, what is this? And then I went, whoa, Ann Selzer, OK, let me look at this. John is highlighting independent women. Harris beating Trump by 28 percentage points.
KATE BEDDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.
BURNETT: In that Iowa poll. Does that shock you? I know that's the way that you would, you know, generally seen it going, but that's sort of a margin.
BEDDINGFIELD: It is a huge margin. I think it suggests that the Harris campaign's theory of the case about this race broadly that independent women, moderate women, suburban women are ultimately going to be the driver here, and don't see Donald Trump as a viable option to send back to the White House. May be true. I think one thing that's interesting, if you look at that poll, her methodology is different than many others. She doesn't wait for education, she doesn't wait for 2020 votes.
So what I think is really interesting, you know, I'm certainly in the camp that I have serious doubts that Kamala Harris is going to outright win Iowa. But because of the way she does her methodology it's interesting to think about whether she's picking up support from independent women that may suggest that the model across the country for this race is dramatically undercounting how, you know, how intense turnout is going to be for women. So it's a good sign for Kamala Harris.
BURNETT: I mean, it is interesting when you said it, because the methodology on the poll, Shermichael, as everyone in this country knows, right, there have been -- they undercounted Trump voters twice. And so maybe there's something to be said for, hey, just maybe, maybe if you look, walk around the statue and look at it from a different angle, you see something different.
SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think maybe it's a Picasso, Erin. When I saw that, I laughed, I honestly laughed. I mean, to Kate's point, I think the current data that we have showcases that the vice president is far more competitive than President Biden, specifically with women. I'm not undercounting that. All of the numerical data and analysis suggest that that is to be true. But the idea that the vice president is going to win Iowa all of a sudden is laughable to me.
You look at the sampling size, the methodology I question. Did she attempt to over correct because of the failures of many pollsters across the country from 2020? I think that's certainly possible and plausible, looking at what I saw. I don't buy it. This is a competitive race for a reason. The Harris campaign I believe understands that they potentially are going to try to over excite their base with women, particularly with younger women, because they recognize they may lose some men.
[19:15:10]
Is there an argument to make that if she loses 4 percent, 5 percent of men, can she make that up with younger women? I certainly can see the math there. But win Iowa, I mean, oh, my God, come on. I haven't even drunk yet. It's Sunday, come on.
BURNETT: Well, you both share the skepticism.
All right, Jonah, can we just put Iowa aside? Because if Iowa comes out early that way, it's over. OK. But let's just --
JONAH GOLDBERG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: All Iowa has -- Ann Selzer has to be is directionally correct. Right?
BURNETT: Right.
GOLDBERG: Can still lose Iowa. But if it's a four-point margin, that's really bad news for Trump.
BURNETT: Which, by the way, other polls had shown a four-point margin for Trump. So I'm going to say once people aren't having their jaw on the floor but had actually shown that for Trump. But this I guess leads to how you think that regardless of who wins, we may know the outcome very quickly, which is exactly what we've been telling people, hey, you know, you might not know it for days. But it might not be that way. GOLDBERG: Yes, I mean, look, I mean, the American public who pays attention to politics is sort of like, you know, that guy in clockwork orange with his eyes kept open, right? We have been badly brutalized to expect wacky late-night Japanese game show weirdness in our politics, right? But the thing is a probabilistic tie, which is what we have, it does not mean a tie in the results. The vaguest line on some football game could be a coin flip, it could be 50-50. That doesn't mean the final score is going to be a tie.
If -- our colleague Harry Enten pointed out that like the average polling error going back decades is about 3.5 percent. We don't know which way that would go, but let's just say, if you gave that 3.5 percent to Harris, she wins an electoral near landslide. If you gave that 3.5 percent to Trump, he wins an electoral landslide. So if the states go together, it may be that Harris still only wins or Trump only wins by one percentage point in those places. But a 1 percentage point margin --
BURNETT: Or wins everywhere, and 1 percent is just wide enough but you're not waiting days.
GOLDBERG: It's very hard reverse with the recount.
BURNETT: Yes. Right. Right. It isn't like an absentee situation. 1 percent is actually quite long.
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I mean, what's really interesting to me is we're all talking about Iowa, I am from Miami. And I've been looking at Miami-Dade County, not competitive, normally. Actually always goes to Democrats, has for the past 30 years. And what we're seeing there is a massive over-performing of Republicans in that county.
BURNETT: In early votes.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: In early vote, in early vote, which they normally don't do, but Democrats normally early vote and they don't go out on election day, and you have there in Florida people saying, well, the Democrats are going to come out on election day, which really hasn't been what has historically happened. So what I'm saying about this is that -- so you can look at any place and find something that is going to help your narrative.
BURNETT: Right.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And that might say to you, oh, my goodness, Republicans are energized, this is going to be a landslide for Donald Trump if you looked at Miami-Dade County, and if you looked at Iowa, you might say the opposite. And so, you know.
SINGLETON: What's the narrative there, Lulu? What is the narrative out of Iowa? Please tell me.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Do you know what the narrative is? The narrative is that whatever the result is going to be, you are going to be able to look back and say, you know what? The polls said it all along. And one of them was right. (CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: I mean, Shermichael, there's also that, and I know the Harris campaign would say, because we all can see who's voting. I mean, that's public information. I can see everybody who's already voted, therefore I can know, you know, I can look up and see your registration and what you voted for. It doesn't mean I know how you voted this time.
SINGLETON: Yes.
BURNETT: But, you know, they will say they see a lot of Republicans who are voting are Republicans who always vote. So that it is -- if they are voting for Trump, he's cannibalizing from his election day.
SINGLETON: I have heard that argument.
BURNETT: Right.
SINGLETON: So that begs the question, Erin, to the Trump's argument that they are attempting to turn out these low propensity voters. So their argument will be no, we're not cannibalizing because we have the infrastructure in place via outside groups. Not the campaign. I see Lulu giving me that look.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I'm like, I'm like, they do not have the infrastructure in place.
(CROSSTALK)
SINGLETON: Outside group. Outside group.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: They do not.
SINGLETON: To do that micro-targeting to turn out folks who typically don't vote.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: The Amish.
SINGLETON: But the issue with that is it takes like seven, eight times to penetrate them to get them to vote.
BURNETT: All right. Everyone stays. We are not going anywhere. Where else would you want to be on a Sunday night?
(LAUGHTER)
BURNETT: Next, the breaking news, Trump allies issuing a blunt warning tonight as the candidate appears to be, well, things he's saying on the campaign trail are crazier than other times. New reporting coming into OUTFRONT.
Plus, she knows Michigan better than anyone. Is Congresswoman Debbie Dingell ready to predict who will win her state? She is my guest next.
And an election unlike any other is about to come to an end. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They're eating the dogs, the people that came in. They're eating the cats. They're eating -- they're eating the pets of the people that live there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[19:24:16]
BURNETT: Breaking news, a stark new warning from Trump's inner circle about the candidate. It comes as Trump today tells ABC News that he expects a winner to be declared on election night. Asked if there's any way that he could lose, Trump said, quote, "I think I have a pretty substantial lead, but you could say, yes, yes, you could lose. Bad things could happen."
Kristen Holmes is OUTFRONT in Macon, Georgia, where Trump is about to take the stage at a rally.
And Kristen, you know, interesting there, I mean, it sounds like something anybody would say, like maybe I'm going to win, maybe I'm going to lose. Of course the context is that it's Trump who were earlier today, you know, went on extensively about how he didn't win the last election, shouldn't have actually left the White House, and that he didn't mind if someone had to shoot through the media if they were trying to shoot at him at a rally. And his campaign has had to spend time cleaning all these things up.
[19:25:02]
So you've been speaking to insiders at the top of his campaign. You know, what are they telling you?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erin, I spoke to a number of allies who are clearly exasperated after that Pennsylvania rally. We cannot talk about how critical Pennsylvania is as a state. There are many people inside of Trump's inner circle who believe that Pennsylvania is going to decide the election. And Donald Trump got up there just to repeat the laundry list of things that he said.
He said that he shouldn't have left the White House, again this is somebody who did not participate in a peaceful transfer of power. He complained bitterly for 20 minutes about several different polls that he said were inaccurate. These were all polls that showed him trailing behind Kamala Harris.
He also spent another 20 minutes trying to essentially claim fraud in the 2024 election, he was sowing seeds of doubt ahead of the election, and then there were those comments about the press and shooting through the press. One of these allies telling me how hard is it to go up there and just say Kamala broke it and I'm going to fix it.
Another one telling me that they have spent an enormous amount of time talking to campaign advisers, trying to get Donald Trump to focus on the economy, to focus on inflation, they believe these are the matters that voters actually care about, and I will tell you, from listening to the rally, listening to the crowd, when Donald Trump was up on stage, it certainly didn't sound as though they were that receptive to these rants, to these rambles of him up on stage.
Now apparently that message got through to him because when he was up on the stage in North Carolina, right before he came here, he seemed to be more on message. Now it's Donald Trump, he's never really on message, but he did seem to try and talk about the economy, try to stick to his traditional stump speech. But again, these allies are incredibly frustrated about the language that he is using on the campaign trail, the darkness of the rhetoric, at least how they see it. They believe that he can win this election, but he's going to have to actually change how he is talking.
BURNETT: All right. Kristen, thank you very much. And we're going to see what he says where you are in Macon in that final rally of the night as he's going to be there momentarily.
So, Jonah, interesting that he says all these things that he said today, shooting through the news media, something that, you know, many in the crowd would have laughed at. I did hear some laughing, to be honest. But that he never should have left the White House. So people close to him, as Kristen is reporting, are saying this could cost him the election. They're really worried in these final moments.
What does that say to you about this and the fact that he then was a little bit more on message after the rally where he said all those things?
GOLDBERG: Look, I think the problem with Donald Trump is, as a candidate, is he can stay on message, but he feels like he is eating his spinach, right? He's eating his vegetables. And now I get to be me, because that's what these people are really here for anyway. And he unloads with craziness, and that's what gets covered, and so him being on message for 90 percent of his speech doesn't matter at all, because that's not what breaks through. It's the craziness that breaks through.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And can I just say this isn't normal? This is not normal, and I just think that we need to acknowledge that it is not normal, that this man is going out and saying this stuff over and over again. I covered conflicts. I had friends of mine, journalists who were killed. Saying those kinds of things about reporters that are covering his campaign is not normal. And it's not right.
BURNETT: And so, Lulu, the chaos here, Tim Alberta has a final piece in "The Atlantic" coming out obviously. He has done incredible reporting on this campaign. At one he reportedly asked friends, he said, Trump did, what's discipline got to do with winning campaigns?
Now I guess if you look at it from Trump's perspective, for him discipline has not had anything to do with winning campaigns. He won without it. So he says why not again this time?
GARCIA-NAVARRO: He won once. He won once, in 2016. And he lost in 2020, and 2022 did not go the Republicans' ways. And so it remains to be seen what the referendum is on 2024, but everything that he has done has sabotaged his campaign. I don't know of a single person, even people who like Donald Trump, even people who support Donald Trump who think that this is a winning message. But to go into the campaign like this, I don't know anyone who thinks that this is the thing that's going to take it home for him.
SINGLETON: I want to touch on that. I called a bunch of folks that I know who are ardent Trump supporters, some just regular people, some who are doing grassroots stuff in some critical states. And every last one of them said what in the hell is the president doing? These are people who love Donald Trump. They respect Donald Trump. They are voting for him, bringing people to the polls to vote for him.
And Erin, I'm hearing them say, it's almost as if he doesn't want to win. They recognize it's not just them that he will need to win the election.
BURNETT: Can I play a moment? So he was mad on Friday night that there were technical issues. The mics weren't working. There were a variety of technical issues. So he was on stage, he had a stick mic, and I'll just play this moment because I think this is one of the moments you're talking about.
[19:30:10]
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Do we have it? Terrific.
BURNETT: It's a Sunday night, here we go. I will lay it out.
SINGLETON: Send your kids at their room.
BURNETT: Yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R) FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Do you want to see me knock the hell out of people backstage, do you want to see me --
It's a pretty stupid situation, but that's okay. I get so angry I'm up here seething. I'm seething, I'm working my ass off with this stupid mic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Oh wait, did we cut it out right before the moment, I'm sorry. You didn't get what you wanted --
KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You saved our --
BURNETT: Okay, all right yes. It's what appeared to be X-rated emotions, okay. I'm still finding the words for that but that's what your friends are talking about.
SINGLETON: I mean, it's frustrating a lot of people that I've spoken with. The Times-Siena poll 25 percent of voters in the battleground state said the economy was the number one issue. The third issue was 15 percent in immigration, 40 percent combined, those are two issues where the former president leads by a sizable margin against the vice president.
Strategically speaking, Kate, you know this so well, why wouldn't you make the end of your campaign about the issues that people are concerned about?
GARCIA-NAVARRO: If he loses this election it will be his fault, it would be nobody else's fault, his campaign is a good campaign by all accounts.
SINGLETON: Experienced people.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: There are experienced people, they've been on massage. If he loses this election, he has no one to blame but himself.
BEDINGFIELD: I think he believes he's losing, I mean, we watch him and you kind of see him revert to kind of the most core Donald Trump elements and having him stand up there and make those gestures to the microphone, while he's like -- anger is seething out of his voice.
I mean, I think he believes he's losing and his response to that isn't, oh wait a minute, I've got to go back to a traditional campaign playbook. His response is wait, I won in 2016 when I was doing what I wanted to do and being me. So, I'm just going to embrace that.
But, the thing here is he's putting on display for the country why he is not fit to sit in the Oval office, why he does not have the temperament. If you are an undecided voter or somebody who is debating between not voting and voting and you watch that, and you say, I don't think that's the guy who should be making life and death decisions behind the resolute desk.
BURNETT: So if you say, Lulu, that if he loses it's himself -- that he has himself to blame.
Kamala Harris in that scenario would win and she's acting like she thinks she's going to win. She is talking about her momentum. Maybe she's looking at the polls, I don't know what their internals are but she, instead of being in a swing state last night she went to New York and do "Saturday Night Live" maybe a very smart use of time, right but acting like someone who's got the wind at their back, okay, right, I mean isn't that --
BEDINGFIELD: Yes, I think that is definitely, I would say that was a confidence, that was a body language moment. That was not a persuasion moment.
GOLDBERG: Much like Trump going to Madison Square Garden, which is -- he wasn't campaigning in New York, it's a national media pulpit.
BEDINGFIELD: In a way, with fewer Nazi adjacent, you know --
GOLDBERG: Yes, agree. BEDINGFIELD: With less Nazi adjacent rhetoric. But definitely -- it signaling a sense of confidence, not, I would argue, not overconfidence like, oh we have this campaign in the bag, but signaling to your supporters, signaling to voters for making a decision over the course of this weekend: I'm comfortable, I'm confident, we are moving forward --
SINGLETON: Certainly only her supporters, I don't know a lot of center-right lady people who are watching "SNL." I get your point about Madison Square Garden, but I'm, I guess I'm traditional in the way I like to do campaigns, go to the places where it matters.
BURNETT: All right, well thank you all very much.
Next, Kamala Harris is in Michigan on the campaign trail, saying she has the momentum. Is she right?
Plus, could Democrats really flip the House? New numbers show why they are feeling, right now much better, they are feeling good about the House, we will tell you why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:37:32]
BURNETT: Breaking news, Vice President Harris just wrapping a major rally in Michigan, her final scheduled stop in the key battleground state before Election Day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS (D) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I pledge to listen to people who disagree with me.
I don't believe people who disagree with me are the enemy.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
In fact, I will give them a seat at the table, because that's what strong leaders do.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Nearly three million ballots have already been cast as Michigan holds a final day of in-person early voting today. More than half of these votes have come from women in the state.
Up front now, Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell of Michigan. Congresswoman, it's good to speak to you again and I know that you have obviously spent a lot of time. You've been all over the state campaigning for Harris, and speaking to voters. Is she going to win your state?
REP. DEBBIE DINGELL (D-MI): So, Erin is I have always been someone that tells you accurately what I think and I'm going to tell you, Michigan is tight, it is very, very tight. I learned a new phrase this morning and also learned later in the day with Houston sports and I'm nauseously optimistic. Anything right now change. I'm not old, but I'm seasoned. I have lived through many races and I have never seen a campaign cycle like this one, how ugly it has been. How hard it has been, how difficult for one that is as close as we are watching in Michigan right now.
BURNETT: Nauseously optimistic and you've got a sober look on your face so I understand, it's that close as you see it. I mean, the final poll, and I know, you know, who knows about the polls this time Congresswoman right, who knows and everyone has rightful skepticism because of prior years, but here we are, it's the best we've got.
The New York Times/ Siena, one of the gold standard poll show us Michigan tied 45-45, which is in line with the sentiments you just expressed. They say eight percent of voters that they polled said that they made up their mind in the last few weeks or just even days. And that right now, only two percent are undecided. Does that match what you're seeing and what do you think that means for Harris?
DINGELL: So, it most decidedly does and I still think people are changing their mind. I was listening to the discussion with your panel before this, and you know, I got in trouble this week because I made a joke, one that really wasn't a joke that someone might have to --
I was talking about Donald Trump's comments about his political enemies and the enemy within in this country. And I think people do get disturbed by his language at times and it makes people take a pause and think about it.
[19:40:33]
And I have seen that impact people that I talked to a month ago, and I just -- the doors are better now than they were a month ago. There were four areas I was worried about in Michigan. Three of them are decided we're moving our way. I mean look, we're not going to get all the union workers but it's not like it was with Hillary Clinton in 2016.
By the way, you all tell me I was -- not you per se, but the media and everybody else, when I said Donald Trump was going to win Michigan because in the polls, all showed significantly -- yes, my God, which is what I'm talking about right now. I knew that Donald Trump was going to win in 2016. Union workers -- she decidedly has more union workers than I saw in 2016; young African-American men are decidedly coming back her way, young people, Mideast is still a complicated issue.
BURNETT: So, let me ask you about the Mideast because, obviously, it's crucial in your state. And KFile here, his reporting found that the Harris campaign is targeting voters very differently in Michigan than in other states on this issue. And I know that that may be common in politics, obviously, Congresswoman, right, you take a group, you target what you want to say. In this case though, it comes off as saying, the opposite about an issue that for many people -- you can't do that. So here's an ad they are playing in Michigan and followed by another one targeting Jewish voters in Pennsylvania.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering and I will not be silent.
I will always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And Congresswoman, in that second clip, which is the one obviously airing in Pennsylvania, they actually cut out -- they put two parts of her speech together. They cut out the part in the middle, where she specifically said Palestinians have to be able to "realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination."
Do you think this was a mistake? Is it problematic that she did these very different messages when it comes to Michigan voters?
DINGELL: First of all, I want to say something to you, and this has been reported, but if I had my purse right here next to me I would pull out and show you hard evidence of mail. The Trump campaign, the Republican campaign, and Elon Musk have done in Michigan, multiple pieces. And he has sent antisemitic, he has Donald Trump -- Donald Trump and the Republicans, antisemitic messages to Arab-American -- to Jewish households that are antisemitic and to Muslim Arab-American households, they have sent pictures of pro-Israel, talking about her husband being Jewish, and Republican campaigns, and Trump campaigns have been doing that for almost two months.
Did they cut it for time on an ad? I don't know. But you can say both of those, the things that the Trump campaign has been doing to these two. And look, people are hurting on both sides. I've lived this, I feel like I live in hell some days. But for people to say this, why aren't you looking at the mail they have been doing for months. And I have sent them to reporters, reporters have them, it has been actually reported on in many reliable publications.
BURNETT: All right, well, Congresswoman, I appreciate your time, thank you very much, it's good to talk to you again. I will leave it with you, you were nauseously optimistic, we'll see how this goes. First voting starts in just about 29 hours up in New Hampshire. Thank you.
DINGELL: Thank you.
BURNETT: Next, could Democrats regain control of the House? It could all come down to four races in New York. Plus, an election like no other.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. TIM WALZ (D) VICE PRESIDENT NOMINEE: You know it, you feel it. These guys are creepy and yes, just weird as hell.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: But is anybody sad to see it come to an end?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:49:09]
BURNETT: Tonight, new House race projections moving Democrats' favor in these final hours before Election Day. Now, Democrats need four seats, they will then win back control of the House.
Harry Enten is OUT FRONT. So, Harry you have been zeroing in the battle of the House.
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yes.
BURNETT: Which is so crucial to determine whether whoever wins the White House actually has full governing power, what are the odds?
ENTEN: I mean, at this particular point, I would say the Democrats are actually slight favorites to take back the House, you know, you would say that there are about a 55 percent chance they take control of the House compared to 45 percent for the Republicans.
They actually have a better chance of taking back the House than they do of winning the presidency, which at this point is 50-50, and of course, we'll note that this would be the first time, if Republicans do in fact win control of the Senate, that the Houses flip in opposite directions if Democrats are able to take back the House of Representatives.
BURNETT: So, a lot of history would be made in this case.
ENTEN: Yes.
BURNETT: All right, we've had this conversation that it could come down to New York. Ironically New York and California are very relevant here. We always know how they are going presidentially. But on the House, four GOP-held seats decided by less than five points last time around, as you could literally have the entire House flipped, just because of the state of New York.
[19:50:13]
ENTEN: Yes, exactly right. You know there are four battleground seats that Republicans hold right now. They won by less than five points last time around. Look, Democrats are actually favored in the three of them, the in which they are not favored at this particular point is in upstate district Mike Lawler the Republican current House member, slightly favored over Mondaire Jones. But even that seat is very much within grasp. Do not be surprised if Democrats win three out of four of these seats, that they do in fact take back the House if they sweep all four which is quite possible, I think they are going to have a very, very good night.
BURNETT: Well, and then also, I mean, obviously it is New York State, and again, that's not a swing state.
ENTEN: No.
BURNETT: But it does raise questions, nationally, which are also are raised by that Iowa poll. We started the show talking about it, so as we're reaching the end, let's talk about it again.
Ann Selzer, very respected longtime pollster, she has an incredible record, showing Harris ahead of Trump in Iowa. Nobody spent a dollar advertising in Iowa, because it's not a swing state.
ENTEN: No, it is not.
BURNETT: So, if Ann's analysis is correct and Harris wins, what does that say?
ENTEN: It says the bottom line, is if Kamala Harris wins in the great state of Iowa, she has a very, very good chance north than 90 percent to win the presidency. If Donald Trump wins there, look is favored to win the presidency but Kamala Harris would still have a very good shot at winning.
BURNETT: All right, Harry, thank you.
ENTEN: Thank you.
BURNETT: Twenty-nine hours away from New Hampshire, starting the voting off on Election Day.
Next, how the 2024 presidential race went from deja vu to a matchup that will go down in history.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:55:20]
BURNETT: Well, it's been an election like no other. The Democratic candidate dropped out of the presidential race, the vice president takes his place, 16 days later, an assassination attempt grazes the ear of the Republican candidate who happens to be a convicted felon.
It's all real life, we've all lived it and Jason Carroll is out front with a race that is truly unprecedented.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It was just a few days ago when former President Donald Trump got into the cab of a garbage truck bearing his name while campaigning in Wisconsin. TRUMP: How do you like my garbage truck? This truck is in honor of Kamala and Joe Biden.
CARROLL (voice over): The latest eyebrow raising photo-op in a campaign that's been full of unexpected moments and raised altering developments. JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: ... over the jury in the Donald Trump hush money cover-up case has reached a verdict.
CARROLL (voice over): May 30th, 2024, the day Donald Trump made history, after becoming the first former president to be convicted of a felony.
TRUMP: The real verdict is going to be November 5th, by the people.
CARROLL (voice over): As stunning as the day was, then came this night in June, the first 2024 debate between President Joe Biden and his Republican rival.
JOE BIDEN (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: With the COVID, excuse me, with dealing with everything we have to with --
CARROLL (voice over): Questions raise about whether the 81-year-old had the fitness to serve a second term.
KING: There is a deep, a wide, and a very aggressive panic in the Democratic Party.
CARROLL (voice over): Amid all the uncertainty, a near tragedy during a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The former president had just survived an assassination attempt, a bullet grazed his ear.
Days later, the GOP nominee would receive a hero's welcome at the Republican National Convention.
Meanwhile, the calls for Biden to step aside reached a fever pitch.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So, I've decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation.
BURNETT: Breaking news and it is historic, President Joe Biden, dropping out of the 2024 presidential race.
CARROLL (voice over): Biden endorsed his Vice President, Kamala Harris who quickly gathered the support of the party and make history as the first woman of color to become a major party nominee.
HARRIS: I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America.
CARROLL (voice over): This new presidential race continued to see contentious moments, like this one where Harris railed against Trumps rhetoric.
HARRIS: He's talked about locking people up because they disagree with him. This is a democracy.
CARROLL (voice over): And the unusual would continue, even by this campaign cycle's standards.
WALZ: You know it, you feel it, these guys are creepy, and yes, just weird as hell. CARROLL (voice over): Take the repeated racist lies about Haitian immigrants in Ohio.
TRUMP: They're eating the dogs, the people that came in, they're eating the cats.
CARROLL (voice over): Democrats trying to energize voters with star power saw former President Barack Obama rapping to Eminem's "Lose Yourself" during a rally for Harris.
BARACK OBAMA (D) FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm nervous, but on the surface, I look calm and ready.
CARROLL (voice over): Some heads scratching over this musical moment when Donald Trump stopped questions at his townhall outside Philadelphia.
TRUMP: Let's not do any more questions. Let's just listen to music.
CARROLL (voice over): Instead Trump stood and swayed to a playlist for some 30 minutes.
TRUMP: So play "YMCA" go ahead, let's go, nice and loud.
CARROLL (voice over): In the final stretch, this Trump rally at Manhattan's Madison Square Garden marked by vulgar and more racist rhetoric.
TONY HINCHCLIFFE, COMEDIAN: ... like I don't know if you guys know this, but there's literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now, I think it's called Puerto Rico.
CARROLL (voice over): Trump said he didn't know the comedian and made no apologies for what was said.
TRUMP: Nobody gets along better with Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rican people than me.
CARROLL (voice over): In the final days of the campaign, Harris pledged to try to put an end to the divisiveness.
HARRIS: We have been consumed with too much division, chaos, and mutual distrust, and it can be easy then to forget a simple truth, it doesn't have to be this way.
CARROLL (voice over): Election day now less than 48 hours away, for an anxious electorate weary of a presidential campaign cycle unlike any other, it cannot come soon enough.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (on camera): There were so many pre-election moments. I think that's why when we were out there speaking to voters and listening to what they have to say, why there is a real concern for what is going to happen post-Election Day and why so many voters now at this point say they just wanted all to be over. BURNETT: Right, people just want it to be over.
CARROLL: Yes.
BURNETT: Whatever it's going to be, they want it over. All right, Jason, thank you very much.
And, thanks so much to all of you for being with us on this Sunday, 29 hours away from those first votes cast on election day in New Hampshire, we will be here with you, thanks for joining us, AC360 starts now.
[20:00:23]
