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Quest Means Business

Trump Under Fire After New York Rally; Puerto Rican Leaders Condemn Remarks at Trump's New York Rally; Israel Bans Main UN Agency Delivering Aid to Palestinians; Israel Bans Main U.N. Agency Delivering Aid To Palestinians; Georgian President: Election Rigged With Kremlin Blessing; General Works Council: Volkswagen To Close Three German Factories, Lay Off Thousands. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired October 28, 2024 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:18]

ISA SOARES, CNN HOST: US markets as you can see beginning a new trading week in the green as investors brace for Big Tech earnings, up more than

half of a percent. Those are the markets and these are the main events for you.

Donald trump is back on the campaign trail as his campaign tries to distance itself from controversial comments made at his Madison Square

Garden event last night.

Aid organizations say a new law just passed by Israeli lawmakers will make it even harder to get help into Gaza.

And Volkswagen is reportedly preparing to close factories and lay off thousands of German employees.

Live from London, it is Monday, October 28th. I am Isa Soares, in for Richard Quest and I too mean business.

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are making their final cases to voters with just over a week to go until the US presidential election. Both candidates

are focusing on crucial swing states with CNN's latest polling suggesting the pair are pretty much neck and neck.

Right now, Donald Trump is in Georgia attending a Faith Summit and it follows a hugely controversial Trump rally over the weekend in which one

speaker made offensive and racist remarks about migrants, as well as Latinos. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY HINCHCLIFFE, COMEDIAN: 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. Yes, I think it is called Puerto Rico.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, let's get more on all of that. Let's look at what we can expect over the next eight days.

Steve Contorno is in St. Petersburg in Florida, he joins me now.

Steve, would you just give us a sense of what you're hearing from Trump's campaign about what we heard last night. Are any of them taking any of

those sound -- those clips, those words, and that rhetoric, that dark rhetoric at that?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Well, Isa, media concern about those specific remarks about Puerto Rico because Donald Trump's campaign acknowledges and

knows that there are a sizable number of Puerto Rican voters in the key swing state of Pennsylvania, it has the third largest diaspora population

in the country, and so that is why you are seeing Republicans vehemently push back against those remarks in the past 24 hours, and as well as the

campaign distancing itself from this comedian, saying that that does reflect the views of Donald Trump.

But I will say Trump himself has said many disparaging things about Puerto Rico in the past, you might recall after Hurricane Maria, he accused the

island of inflating the death toll to make him look bad. There are those famous images of him tossing paper towels at needy hurricane victims in

Puerto Rico as well.

And yet, it didn't necessarily create any blowback for Donald Trump in his 2020 election. You look at Florida state with the largest Puerto Rican

population in the mainland, and he did quite well in Florida, including in counties that have a large number of Puerto Rican voters.

But the concern is that it is in a race that could ultimately be determined by just tens of thousands of voters in some of these swing states with

people like the Latin popstar, Puerto Rican popstar, Bad Bunny now weighing in, voicing his support for Harris, that this was an unforced error at a

critical moment that could potentially prove decisive.

SOARES: Yes, and the irony, is Steve, is that today, he is in Georgia and he is set to meet with faith leaders. I mean, the tone of what we heard

yesterday from campaign of those speaking doesn't match really some of the messaging today.

Just give us a sense of what we could -- what we are likely to see today and expect to hear from him?

CONTORNO: You know, in some ways, it does match some of the rhetoric we heard yesterday because there is a lot of religious undertones to some of

the comments that we heard. There were references to calling Vice President Harris the anti-Christ, and that is something we see more and more from

Trump rallies.

And at the same time, Trump remains deeply concerned that the Christian population in this country, one is now overwhelming voting on his side. He

believes that if you are a Catholic or a Christian voter, evangelical, that you should 100 percent be behind him because what he did on Roe v. Wade.

And you also see him often voice displeasure at the fact that there is a sizable number of people who identify themselves as evangelical or

Christian, who choose not to vote at all.

And so this is an opportunity for Donald Trump in a key swing state to try to convince those voters that they cannot afford to remain on the

sidelines, that their concerns of the Christian community on issues like abortion and issues like transgender health care will be pushed aside if

Vice President Harris is elected.

[16:05:17]

So I think that is what you will see him attempt to focus on in these remarks he is delivering in Georgia to faith leaders later today.

SOARES: And Steve, I wonder what you are hearing from the Trump campaign because they have been focusing a lot on men, also on Latino men. I mean,

does any of this kind dark rhetoric and misogynistic commentary that we heard, does that resonate with some of the voting bloc they are trying to

attract?

I mean, what does is their sense? What are you hearing from them?

CONTORNO: Look, they gave up long ago on the idea that they might be able to win back the middle of this country or win back those people who said,

you know what, I am Trump curious in 2016, I don't like Hillary Clinton, so I am going to give him a chance, but then in 2020 pivoted back to voting

for Democrats and they know that the people who made that decision because they didn't like Donald Trump and found him offensive or racist or sexist,

those people are not going to be won back in this moment.

So those are already baked into the cake and therefore, they are instead focused on a different kind of voter, the hardcore, conservative voter, who

maybe isn't as motivated to vote this time around for whatever reason, as well as those who have been trending away from voting in recent years, or

were moving away from the Democratic Party, people like certain Black men, Latino men, in certain parts -- rural parts of the country where people

just feel left out of the process, trying to get those individuals engaged has been a top priority of the campaign this time around.

And so you are seeing Donald Trump lean into this rhetoric that they believe resonates with those kind of voters, people who are sick of

political correctness or sick of feeling like the Democrats and Republicans are both lined up against the common man and that is why you are seeing --

that is who Donald Trump is trying to engage with in these final moments of the election.

SOARES: Steve Contorno, appreciate you fleshing those all out for us.

Thanks, Steve.

And Puerto Rican leaders and other officials have been condemning the racist and vulgar remarks made at Donald Trump's New York rally. You heard

that in the last two hours of on my show.

Earlier, I spoke with Ricardo Rossello, the US congressional delegate for Puerto Rico. He told me that the comments could have a very real impact, he

said, when it comes to Latino voters. Have a listen to what he told let me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICARDO ROSSELLO, US CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATE FOR PUERTO RICO, I think, look, we know President Trump is very skilled at using his social media

platforms, instead of having a tertiary or a secondary campaign staffer say that they reject the statements, he needs to be full throttle out there.

My recommendation to him is to recognize that this is unacceptable, that he rejects those comments as everybody should, that he loves the people of

Puerto Rico, have him be authentic, and then let the people of Puerto Rico decide.

The truth of the matter is that there are people decided and we know this on one side or the other of the aisle, but there are a lot of people that

were still making their minds, some people that were leaning towards Trump that now are stepping back that vote and some people that might have not

considered going out the vote for the vice president, coming out now to vote just because of these statements.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Very telling indeed.

Joining me now is CNN senior political commentator, Ana Navarro. She is one of the many Republicans supporting Kamala Harris.

Ana, good to see you.

Look, I think it is fair to say and I mentioned this when I spoke to Ricardo Rossello is that, what we heard at the rally was truly dark,

vulgar, kind of racist rhetoric and I wonder your take in terms of how you think it will impact -- Ricardo was saying, it will. The damage has been

done. How much do you think it will impact the Latino vote here?

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, there has already been some early vote, but I think -- I think last night was a stark reminder for

Latinos and Americans who have Trump amnesia and have forgotten what a racist human being he is, and how he governed of who he is, and the fact

that he has not changed.

Let's be clear about something. The reason that comedian handpicked, chosen by the Trump campaign, vetted by the Trump campaign, they knew exactly who

he was when they chose him. The reason that comedian thought it was okay to say those jokes is because Donald Trump has allowed racism, emboldened it,

made it permissible.

It was Donald Trump who just a few days ago began saying as part of his stump speech that immigrants have turned America into the trash can of the

world. These are his words, Donald Trump's words, and I heard Ricardo Rossello say that Donald Trump should condemn the comments by the comedian,

the reason he doesn't is because that would mean antagonizing the racists who follow him and support him, who think that this was an okay joke.

[16:10:21]

Look, Donald Trump had four-and-a-half hours between him speaking and the comedian speaking. The comedian spoke 30 minutes into the rally, Donald

Trump spoke four hours and 50 minutes into the rally. By then, this has become a nuclear bomb, a five-alarm fire in the Latino and Puerto Rican

community.

He could have used the opportunity to go on that podium and condemn these remarks, but he didn't, he didn't.

SOARES: And like you said, he had ample opportunity and time, Ana, to correct that or clarify that message or distance himself from that message

and like you said, he didn't.

What we also heard when he did go on stage, Ana, was some very ugly anti- immigrant. And again, Trump threatening mass deportation, right, as soon as he takes office. The reality of what we heard.

I want to play a small snippet of it and we can chat afterwards. Have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I will launch the largest deportation program in American history so we get the criminals

out.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail.

We are going to kick them the hell out of our country as fast as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: So we heard that and we've also heard his VP, basically even suggesting that the DREAMers could be among those forced to leave the

country. I wonder if you could frame and broaden this out for us and for our viewers around the world, Ana, how menacing is this rhetoric in terms

of how -- what are you hearing from the Latino community? Give us a sense of the calls you're getting, the messages you're getting because it is

clear from Bad Bunny to J.Lo, to now Marc Anthony in the last hour, they're all speaking out very, very, very clearly on this.

NAVARRO: I will tell you this, Marc Anthony actually recorded that ad and it came out about two weeks ago. He just reposted it on from his account,

but Marc Anthony was hearkening back to the things that he, Marc, will not forget that Trump has done, the way he treated Puerto Rico, the way he

threw paper towels at people in need after Hurricane Maria.

Listen, I actually haven't heard much from Latinos regarding immigration. That's not the number one priority for Latinos, but racism -- racism is

different, you see. And you know, immigration is something that Trump used very ably in 2016, to instill fear in the hearts of Americans and drive

them to the polls out of anger and fear and angst and outrage and distress. That's what he is trying to do again.

He believes it helped him come president in 2016, and he believes he can use that same hymnal, from the same hymnal, use the same page when now in

2024.

The difference is that today, people know him. In 2016, there were a lot of people who gave him a chance thinking, okay the office of the presidency is

going to change him. The gravitas of the position is going to change him, but it didn't.

Donald Trump is Donald Trump. He is not going to change. He is a racist. The reason that these comments are made in a Trump campaign, and let me

tell you this, it wasn't just the Puerto Rico comments, there were vile comments against Latinos, against the immigrants, against Blacks.

They called Kamala Harris the anti-Christ and the devil. There was a joke about how this was a Nazi rally. They played a racist song that's related,

that is connected to the Confederacy before they introduced a Black congressman who supports Trump.

I mean, I could spend the rest of this program telling you all that horrible things that happened in that rally from hell last night that

should serve as a reminder to America of what we have to choose from and what the binary choice is, the binary choice is between a racist and a

woman who has faced racism. It is between a criminal and a woman who has prosecuted criminals, between a man who wants to drive people to the polls

out of fear and a woman who wants to drive people to the polls out of optimism and hope. That is the clear alternative that America faces on

November 5th. How are they going to vote? I don't know, but it could not be more clear.

SOARES: And as you were talking, Ana, we are seeing live images of the former president in Powder Springs, Georgia, where we are expecting to hear

from him. But I wonder just finally as we speak to the clear choices available to Americans, right this moment, polling -- the latest polls has

Harris leading trump by 17 points, and that is among Latino voters.

[16:15:19]

We have seen the trump campaign kind of dedicating, Ana, a lot of the effort to reach Latino voters, particularly men and this is a conversation

that I had just last week with Paola Ramos.

You know, how do you explain, Ana, and this is something I've been thinking about for the last week or so, the Latino -- some Latino men moving to the

right, how do you make sense of that? Of course, the majority of the votes still goes Democrat, but we are seeing a slight shift.

What is the attraction, Ana, as we hear this sort of rhetoric?

NAVARRO: Well, a few things I would tell you. One is that Trump and the Republican Party have invested enormously in attracting and appealing to

Latino men. I think a lot of those numbers that you cite are coming from where I live, Miami, Florida.

I think Donald Trump is going to get close to 70 percent or over of the Cuban American vote in Florida, in Miami, which is a significant amount. I

think they see him as tough. Again, I think there has been Trump amnesia and they have forgotten the things he did and said, I guess, the Latino

community.

I think some Latinos think that when he says these things, it doesn't apply to them. I don't know. Maybe they think he is talking about the Finnish

people, maybe he is talking about the Dutch or the Norwegians. I don't know.

Maybe they don't have mirrors.

SOARES: Ana, my goodness, it is not a laughing matter, but you know, it is so clear, right -- the choice is so clear that it makes my eyes roll on

this side of the pond.

Ana Navarro, appreciate it. Thanks very much.

NAVARRO: Thank you.

SOARES: Thank you.

Well, in the past couple of hours, the US vice president has been out in Michigan, part of her pitch to invest in US manufacturing jobs. Kamala

Harris toured the semiconductor facility, as you can see there, and met workers. She told them the choice in November 5th is clear.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is a choice that the American public, a very serious choice, presented in the next

eight days and as much as anything, it is a question about what is the direction of the future that we want for our country, and I will refer to

what you all are doing here to tell you that you are a source of my optimism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, Eva McKend was listening to that and she joins me now from Michigan.

Eva, just give us a sense of what she said, what else she said there because this is a final pitch, isn't it, this week for voters?

EVAN MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, she spent the afternoon applauding these workers visiting an assembly line, speaking to

the workers about the CHIPS and Science Act, that is, of course, legislation that passed under the Biden-Harris administration that the

administration argued fortifies these type of manufacturing union jobs.

She also talked about how her own policy vision for America includes policies that would support these workers, like strengthening

apprenticeship programs, like giving tax credits to American manufacturers. She later on will go to a labor union training facility.

And this entire push comes at a time when Democrats, in some corners, very much want this to be the message from Vice President Harris focusing on a

future vision for the country, making an affirmative case for herself why she wants to be president and not so much focusing on the former president

because at this point, so many voters' views of him are essentially baked in. They are not surprised by the comments that he makes, it is not

surprising that former Republican officials in his administration described him as having some admiration for Hitler and toting on the line of fascism

--

All of these things are things that American voters have heard before, and so that is why Vice President Harris is really in the closing days of this

campaign, focusing more on her policy and on her positive outlook for America.

SOARES: Eva McKend there for us. Thank you very much, Eva. We will stay across obviously, any of the new lines that come from the campaign trail

for you.

I want to turn to the Middle East, because Israel' Parliament has voted to bar the main aid agency that has been operating in Gaza. What that vote

means for more than a million Palestinians trapped there, that is just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:22:20]

SOARES: Well, Israel's Parliament has approved a pair of laws that bar the main UN agency aiding Palestinians in Gaza from operating in Israel. The

bills prevent the UN Relief and Works Agency from conducting any activity inside the country, a move which will have serious consequences for the

organization's efforts, of course, to get aid into Gaza.

Jim Sciutto is in Jerusalem for the very latest.

And Jim, I think it is important to note that for many, of course, Palestinians, both in Gaza and in the West Bank, UNRWA has been a lifeline,

right? So, just gives a sense of what this will mean in daily operations, day-to-day operations for so many people?

JIM SCIUTTO CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Listen, it means added suffering for the people of Gaza as the US State Department

spokesman, Matt Miller put it, there is nobody that can replace them, UNRWA, right now. And as you're well aware, there is already a humanitarian

crisis in there because aid is already having a hard time getting heading in, in large part because of restrictions that Israel has put on that aid

coming in, and that criticism not coming from me, it is coming from straight up to the top of the US government, the US president has leveled

that criticism against Israel.

So now, here is one more hurdle, UNRWA cannot operate from Israeli territory, so it means less opportunities, less ways to get that aid in

there, and that is why we are seeing criticism, not just from the US, but from a number of European countries, the foreign ministers of Canada,

Australia, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom, all urging Israel to reconsider saying that UNRWA provides essential and life-saving

humanitarian aid.

So it is not just that UNRWA is so essential to getting aid in, but this wall will be put up, in effect, at a time when aid is already having

problems getting in and you've seen shortages of food, shortages of medical care, and also the outbreak of disease in Gaza.

SOARES: Yes, and we've also seen a statement by the high representative of the EU also calling, expressing similar concerns, grave concerns ahead of

this vote.

The other concern from the Israeli side, and I wonder if you can flesh this out for us, Jim, is this idea from the Israelis believe that UNRWA has been

funding or aiding or abetting terrorists. Any evidence to suggest this?

SCIUTTO: So there was evidence following the October 7th attacks of some UNRWA workers who may have participated, their cell phones were tracked

inside Israeli territory during that day. Now what UNRWA will say, as well as US and other European diplomats is that this is a very small number of

many thousands of UNRWA workers who do necessary work in Gaza at a time when there is already a humanitarian crisis, right?

[16:25:12]

So the argument is, there is no one to replace them now, you can make changes over time, but if you take UNRWA's capabilities away right now,

you're going to further the suffering that is already underway there.

So, that's the source of the criticism from the Israeli side, but that's the response you hear, not just from UNRWA itself, but from others,

including the US.

SOARES: Yes, very, very concerning indeed, given what I heard in the last two hours or so from UNICEF, who had just come from the north of Gaza where

you, as you stated, the situation is incredibly dire.

Jim Sciutto, appreciate it. Thank you, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Thank you.

SOARES: Well, let's get more now, there is an aid group with teams still operating inside Gaza. It's president and CEO, Sean Carroll joins me now.

Sean, really appreciate you being with us. Just give us a sense, your reaction to what we are hearing. I mean, I just said to my colleague as

we've heard for years, right, UNRWA has been a lifeline for so many Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. I mean, what will this mean going

forward besides what Jim said, which is more suffering?

SEAN CARROLL, PRESIDENT AND CEO, ANERA: That will be a lot more death and suffering, it would be catastrophic. I mean, what this means is that

hundreds of thousands of children will have their education disrupted, millions of patients will be left without health care and the most

vulnerable will be left without any kind of support.

I mean, there is no replacement for UNRWA for the services of UNRWA. They're just -- it is too large, it is too critical. It is health, it is

education, it is livelihoods services, and at a time of humanitarian emergency and catastrophe in Gaza and also in the West Bank, people are not

recognizing the difficulty of access of getting to schools and cutting off services to Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem will leave

them suffering as well.

And suffering of innocent people at the end of the day doesn't serve the cause of safety and security for anyone. So it may feel good to be passing

this legislation now, but I think Israel is acting against almost uniform global opposition and a lot of that opposition comes from friends of

Israel, 123 nations have spoken out against this, almost the entire G7 nations have, even the secretary of State, the Foreign minister, and

secretary of Defense of Israel's greatest ally, the United States has said this would devastate the Gaza humanitarian response and it would deny vital

education and social services to tens of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

SOARES: Yes, and we heard that from the Foreign ministers of seven countries. There were warning about this before. They said, without its

work, the provision of such assistance and services, including education, health care, and fuel distribution in Gaza and the West Bank would be

severely hampered, if not impossible, with devastating consequences of an already critical and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation,

particularly in Northern Gaza, which is something that I was speaking to someone I was speaking to Awad Hamesh (ph) with UNICEF, talking about the

situation, the dire, dire situation in Northern Gaza.

I wonder Sean, in terms of your NGO, operates I am guessing with UNRWA has been sort of operation workings with UNRWA. How does that affect how you

get aid in?

CARROLL: Well, we worked quite closely with UNRWA at the start of the war in Gaza after October 7th, last year. We are now as a US organization

prevented from working with UNRWA because of legislation in the US, that should also be reversed.

The humanity is served, the cause of humanitarian assistance is served better when we can work together. We and other organizations have had to

pick up some of the slack, but frankly the amount of aid that is getting into Gaza is only about 20 percent of what is needed.

So if any of us, and particularly if the largest among us, UNRWA is hampered, is prevented from doing its work, then that means there is no way

to come close to meeting that gap and that continuing gap in providing humanitarian aid again, is obviously devastating to Palestinians in Gaza,

but it is devastating to any hope for long-term peace and stability when you deny children food, when you deny them health and education, it can't

mean that there is a brighter future for that child, for that family, for that society, and for the region that they live in.

SOARES: And we have seen a comment just now from Philippe Lazzarini of UN and who said this evening, and said that the vote by the Israeli Parliament

is unprecedented. He said, and sets a dangerous precedent. It goes on to say, it opposes the UN Charter and violates the state of Israel's

obligations under international law.

He then went on to say, it will deprive of the 650,000 girls and boys there from education putting at risk an entire generation of children. We've also

heard, Sean, and I think it's important to the point that you were just making.

Prime Minister of Israel Netanyahu said UNRWA workers involved in terrorist activities against Israel must be held accountable. Since avoiding hearing

humanitarian crisis is also essential. Sustained humanitarian aid must remain available in Gaza now and in the future. I mean, the aid, not much

is going in, from what I heard in the last two hours. I mean, what correspondence said it just almost like a siege in the northern Gaza.

So, I mean, speak to that, how much aid is going in right now if the Prime Minister of Israel saying it must -- aid must remain available. Is aid

available at this -- at this juncture?

SEAN CARROLL, PRESIDENT AND CEO, ANERA: Well, there, there is a siege in the north and the amount of aid that has come in to the North has been

almost nothing for the past month. And only about 45 truckloads of aid have been coming in a day over the past month. And there's a need for five or

600 truckloads a day. So, if we're getting five percent of the need, and then you're also hampering aid organizations from delivering then,

obviously that's not going in the right direction.

And it's just simply not compatible to say we need to increase aid, but we're going to -- we're going to shackle or outright ban the largest aid

organization providing health care and services to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

SOARES: Yes. And I'm just going to end the conversation with this comment from Philippe Lazzarini, who says these bills increase the suffering of the

Palestinians and are nothing less than collective punishment. This should be a concern to all.

Sean Carroll, really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. Thank you, Sean.

CARROLL: Thank you so much.

SOARES: Thank you. Now the president of Georgia is urging citizens to protest the results of a parliamentary election. We'll tell you why she

claims it was rigged with the blessing of the Kremlin. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:35:20]

SOARES: The President of Georgia is urging citizens to protest the results of the parliamentary election. She says was rigged with the blessing of the

Kremlin. Tens of thousands gathered outside the parliament building in Tbilisi earlier today, demanding the results of Saturday's vote be

invalidated. Salome Zourabichvili said the election was fixed by pro- Russian interest in an effort to derail Georgia from its move toward Europe.

Fred Pleitgen joins me with more on this. And Fred, good to see you. I heard the President speaking to our Christiane Amanpour earlier and she

said that the votes, even earlier than that, said the votes, in her opinion, were a complete falsification. I wonder if you could flesh this

out for us. I mean, did she provide any evidence of the meddling that that she said came from Russia?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, she certainly laid out of some of the reasons why she thought that the results

were essentially rigged by pro-Russian forces within Georgia. And she also went so far as to use the term a Russian special operation in order to try

and rig and steal the election. As she put it, she didn't offer any direct evidence of all that but she sort of laid out what she said the scheme was.

And some of it also has been not corroborated, but also mentioned by international election observers as well. And it really goes into two

directions, Isa. One of them is before the vote took place, setting the scene for the vote, making sure, as they put it, that there was not a level

playing field. One of the things that the President was talking about, and some opposition groups were talking about as well, was, for instance, what

they call the misappropriation of public funds to try and help some of the candidates and help the Georgia Dream party, which is, of course, Moscow

friendly.

Then also voter intimidation, especially of people who work in government entities. But also, then people who rely on welfare payments, for instance,

as well. One of the things that the President also laid out, Isa, to our own Christian Amanpour, which says she thought that electronic voting was

one of the sources where she felt that the vote had been meddled with. Here's what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SALOME ZOURABICHVILI, PRESIDENT OF GEORGIA: The evidence is the fact that 70 percent of the Georgian population, in all opinion polls, is supporting

the European way and the European integration. And suddenly it's turned around in one election, when people have been coming out steadily to

support this European past. Everything has been used in this election, all the different frauds and rigging of election, all the instruments, and

especially a new one, electronic voting, which has been proven that they have been using I.D.s that were taken from citizens and have been used

seven times, 10 times, 17 times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: So, they're saying that I.D.s had been used several times, but essentially, she's saying what she calls all the instruments were being

used. Certainly, we call when that vote was happening during that election, there were some videos that, of course, emerged that appeared to show

blatant ballot stuffing. Also, some election workers being pressured as well, certainly the opposition also, apparently being pressured as well, by

some of those people for -- or working for the pro-Russian dream, the Georgian dream party.

It's quite interesting also, Isa. One of the things that we've also been looking at is obviously the reaction from the president but then also the

reaction from the United States as well. They also say that there were severe irregularities, Isa.

SOARES: Fred Pleitgen there for us. Thanks very much, Fred. We did see protests earlier today in Tbilisi. We'll stay -- we'll keep a close eye on

those in the days ahead. Thanks, Fred.

Now Volkswagen's employers group says the automaker wants to close at least three plants in Germany and cut thousands of jobs. It is a first for the

automaker, which has never closed the domestic factory in its 87-year history. The move is sparking outrage, as you can imagine, from union

employees, and sets the stage for potential strikes which could start as early as December the 1st.

Volkswagen business has been struggling under lower demand and competition from China, as you can see there, potential strikes could drag the

automaker down even more.

Hannah Ziady is in London for more. And this speaks, Hannah, to the concerns what was something that we have been discussed but discussing

previous discussing previously on the show that right across the board, in terms of the challenges for automakers. But this is a big deal for Germany.

So, give us a sense of how big this could be and the impact this could have, realistically.

HANNAH ZIADY, CNN WRITER: very serious situation. And you know, Volkswagen hasn't confirmed these plant closures, these specific plant closures I

might add. We've got -- we've got earnings from the company on Wednesday, so we may get confirmation then, but they did say last month, it is a risk.

We may have to close plants. We do need to cut costs. We have a year or two to turn things around.

[16:40:01]

They're selling half a million fewer cars in Europe than they were before the pandemic, half a million fewer cars a year. That's about two car

plants. To put this in perspective, you know, Volkswagen is Germany's biggest manufacturer and car making is Germany's biggest sector. So --

SOARES: Bread and butter, isn't it?

ZIADY: It absolutely is. It accounts for fiver percent of GDP. It employs close to 800,000 people in the country and many more industries and

businesses hang off of that automotive supply chain. So, this really is causing, you know, huge ructions in Germany, and it does speak to the sort

of wider malaise gripping that economy. We hear words like crisis and deindustrialization being thrown around. So, it is serious.

(CROSSTALK)

SOARES: -- thirty or so. But in terms of the Malays, there's this point. And I know we are going to get GDP figures. I think it was Wednesday,

right? Does this point to more concerns over the health of the German economy?

ZIADY: Absolutely does. We could get a confirmation of a recession. On Wednesday we'll get Q3 GDP figures. The second quarter, there was a

marginal contraction. Germany's economy shrank outright last year. So, the forecasts for this year are kind of a stagnation, maybe another

contraction, another stagnation next year. Analysts telling me that we may have to wait until 2026 to see any kind of green shoots or any sort of

turnaround for Germany's economy.

And part of this relates to some of the challenges that we're seeing in the ruling coalition. There's lots of tensions. There's lots of division over

kind of how to move the economy forward. Germany has relied for decades on cheap energy, cheap Russian gas, and a growing market for its goods, open

trade. All of that is under threat. Germany's business model is under threat. China, which was a huge market for Germany and for German carmakers

is now making a lot of the products that it used to buy from Germany.

And we've seen, we know, protectionism is on the rise around the world. So, a lot of huge challenges facing Germany and that captured in this news from

Volkswagen.

SOARES: Hannah Ziady, I'll stay across this for us. Thank you very much. Hannah, appreciate it. And that is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I am Isa Soares in

London. Up next, Richard Quest's World or Wonder.

END