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Soon, Harris Closing Pitch to Voters One Week Before Election Day; Soon, Trump Rally In Pennsylvania After He Calls Divisive New York City Event A Love Fest; CNN Polls Show Harris And Trump Virtually Tied In Battlegrounds Nevada And Arizona; Bezos Defends Washington Post As Subscribers Flee; Harris & Trump Preparing For Historic Post- Election Legal Fights. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 29, 2024 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news, Vice President Kamala Harris is about to deliver her closing argument to voters one week before Election Day. We have excerpts from her speech revealing how she will make the case against Donald Trump at the same spot where he told supporters to fight like hell, his words, back on January 6th.

Also tonight, former President Trump is getting ready to rally voters in a Pennsylvania city with a very large Latino population, this just hours after he defended his Madison Square Garden rally filled with racist and hateful rhetoric, calling it, and I'm quoting him now, a love fest.

Plus, CNN's exclusive new polling shows Harris and Trump are virtually tied in the crucial swing states of Nevada and Arizona. CNN's John King will join us live from Nevada as he hits five battleground states in five days.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in The Situation Room.

The final one week dash to Election Day is now underway and there's breaking news coming out of both presidential campaigns. We have information about what Kamala Harris will say when she delivers a major speech here in Washington, D.C., tonight. We're also standing by for Donald Trump's rally in battleground Pennsylvania.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is awaiting Trump's remarks in Allentown. But first, let's go to CNN's Priscilla Alvarez. She's over at The Ellipse up on the Washington Mall, the site of tonight's Harris D.C. event.

Priscilla, we now have excerpts, I take it, from the vice president's closing argument to voters.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf, a Harris adviser telling me that the vice president spent their day making final edits and revisions to these remarks. We're now getting some of those excerpts. Let me read one of them to you. It says, Donald Trump intends to use the United States military against American citizens who simply disagree with him, people he calls enemy from within. It goes on to say, this is not a candidate for president who is thinking about how to make your life better.

Now, of course, in some ways, this is an extension of what she has been saying on the campaign trail, that she is focused on the American people, where the former president is consumed by plotting revenge. But the venue is notable. She's doing it here at The Ellipse. Harris advisers say they wanted to convey the gravity of the moment, of course, at a place where former president Donald Trump delivered that fiery speech on January 6, 2021 when his supporters went on to storm the U.S. Capitol.

But she is also doing it in front of the White House, only 500 yards from the Oval Office. So, she's also trying to have voters visualize the candidate that they want for office. And to that end, advisers tell me that she is going to present her vision on policies and proposals, be it the economy, immigration, health care, reproductive rights, and try to capitalize on that forward-looking optimism that her campaign has tried to project from the very beginning.

And the intention, Wolf, according to advisers I've spoken with, is to reach those undecided voters, to reach those disaffected Republicans or voters who are simply voters on the fence. This may be her last major opportunity to speak to those here at the Capitol, but also tuning in. They realized that they want to reach those voters that they think could still support her. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Priscilla, I want you to stand by as we go to see CNN's Kristen Holmes. She's in Allentown, Pennsylvania, for us. That's where Donald Trump will be speaking very soon as well.

Kristen, Trump's campaign is doing a lot of damage control after his Madison Square Garden rally, but is Trump himself on board?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He really hasn't done that much damage control so far, Wolf. Earlier today, an ABC reporter asked about his comments or asked about the comments that Madison Square Garden, the joke, he said he didn't know the guy, but he didn't condemn the remarks in any way.

Now, just moments ago, he was at a round table here in Pennsylvania. He was talked to by a supporter who said that she was a Puerto Rican voter, that she and the Puerto Rican community stood behind her, and Trump responded by praising himself and his actions with Puerto Rico. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We helped you through a lot of bad storms, I'll tell you. We had some really bad ones.

No president has done more for Puerto Rico than I have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[18:05:00] HOLMES: Clearly, they're not addressing that joke that, again, just to remind everyone, was that Puerto Rico is a floating island of garbage. It was told before he took the stage at Madison Square Garden by a comedian that was the opening act. Now, those comments come after earlier today in Palm Beach, he gave a press conference and addressed the Madison Square Garden and praised the event. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I don't think anybody has ever seen anything like what happened the other night at Madison Square Garden.

It was like a love fest, an absolute love fest. They started to say, well, in 1939, the Nazis used Madison Square Garden.

How terrible to say, right? Because, you know, they've used Madison Square Garden many times. Many people have used it, but nobody's ever had a crowd like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: So, two things to note here. One is that that pre-program, that joke was not the only offensive thing that was said. Throughout the entire pre-program, there were racist, sexist, and vile remarks by a variety of those speakers before Donald Trump took the stage.

But when it comes to Puerto Rico, again, Donald Trump himself has not addressed it, but they are facing an enormous amount of backlash. We have heard from Puerto Rican community leaders who say they want to hear from Donald Trump, whether it's an apology, whether it's a condemnation of those remarks, anything. So, this would be the opportunity for him to do so.

Now, the campaign is clearly trying to project confidence on the ground here tonight. They are passing out signs that say Barriques (ph) for Donald Trump. That is somebody of Puerto Rican descent. They're giving those out to the crowd here in Allentown, a reminder that there are about 35,000-plus Puerto Rican voters just in this area alone. Pennsylvania as a whole has more than 400,000 Puerto Rican voters, so this is a very critical voting bloc for Donald Trump.

BLITZER: It certainly is. Kristen Holmes, thank you very much. Priscilla Alvarez, thanks to you as well.

I want to break all of this down with our political experts right now. And, Lulu Garcia-Navarro, I want to read one more excerpt from Kamala Harris's speech that was just released, and let me put it up on the screen. Unlike Donald Trump, I don't believe people who disagree with me are the enemy. He wants to put them in jail. I'll give them a seat at the table. So, what do you think the contrast between her and Donald Trump? How effective do you think this speech that's upcoming very soon will be?

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think this is the speech that she's been wanting to make. It is her appeal to people to come out and vote for her. I don't know that there's many undecided people yet, persuadable people, but it is about getting people to come out and actually cast a ballot. It has only been helped by the last 48 hours since Donald Trump's rather catastrophic event in New York City that he describes as a love fest, which everybody else saw as incredibly damaging.

And so I think at this point, the visuals are going to be very strong. She wants to remind people what happened on January 6th without having to explicitly say it. And everything that has happened over the last 48 hours again has really reminded people that Donald Trump brings a lot of chaos with him.

BLITZER: I want to bring in Jamal Simmons, who's also with us. Jamal, voters, of course, are well aware of Trump's conduct. Should Kamala Harris focus more of her speech on her own policies and vision for the country?

JAMAL SIMMONS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I'm going to push back a little bit, Wolf. I'm not sure voters really remember Donald Trump's conduct as much as we all remember it because we live it every day, we talk about it. And one of the things I think is a theory that's taking place right now among this campaign is that in the last week or two, you really have a chance for voters to pay a lot of attention. And in those moments, that's when you can really convey some of the negatives that we've been talking about, about Donald Trump. And right now, he's living the negatives.

It's not just about the words that are coming out of his mouth, it's about what's actually happening, right? So, it's chaos, it's coarse, it's invective, it's cruelty toward people. Do you really want to go back to that or do you want to turn the page where Kamala Harris is talking about what she wants to do for people in homeownership and entrepreneurship, but she's also having these big rallies where people are sort of having fun. It looks like America. It's diverse. A lot of people are coming together, Republicans and Democrats and young and old. It's about living that.

So, I'm an old comms guy. We focus on pictures. Those pictures with the sound off look very different when you see Donald Trump versus when you see Kamala Harris. She looks new, different and the future.

BLITZER: All right. Let's get Scott Jennings' perspective as well. Scott, you heard Trump call the rally at Madison Square Garden, in his word, a love fest, after he recently told an undecided voter that January 6th was a day of love at a Univision town hall. Let's watch that moment. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You had hundreds of thousands of people come to Washington. They didn't come because of me. They came because of the election. They thought the election was a rigged election.

But that was a day of love from the standpoint of the millions. It's like hundreds of thousands. It could have been the largest group I've ever spoken before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, you saw that voter's face when Trump said that.

[18:10:00]

How much does Trump's revisionist history turn off undecided and disaffected voters.

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Oh, I think the people who are most focused on and angry about January the 6th have long ago decided what they're going to do in this election, which is why I think Trump's comments probably don't make a huge amount of difference. And it's also why I'm not sure Kamala Harris' speech, to the extent she talks about it today, is going to make that much difference. So, I think people for whom that is the number one issue have made up their minds long ago.

I agree with Jamal. I'm a comms guy too. And I'm looking at that picture and I'm wondering, are we going to be able to zoom in and see Joe Biden staring out the window of the White House back there? I don't think we're going to see him on the stage. And one thing I'm looking for is whether she references the president of the United States and the work they've done together, or is she finally going to get any meaningful separation from him. That's the one thing about that White House over her shoulder, Joe Biden is in it right now and it's the one reason why I think she's struggling to close the deal on the campaign.

BLITZER: Lulu, you heard Trump claim no president has done more for Puerto Rico than he has, but the fallout is only growing as Puerto Rican icon Bad Bunny is now posting a tribute video to the island. How big of an impact do you see all of this having on the race?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: This is broken through. I mean, really, it has in a way that I think even surprised Latinos like me. And it's not just Puerto Ricans, it's Cubans, it's Mexicans. This really has affected people in a fundamental way. And you have Bad Bunny, you have the Catholic bishop of San Juan in Puerto Rico also denouncing this, asking for an apology, you have political leaders, this has united everyone in their condemnation. And this is not what you want seven days before an election.

I mean, leaving aside that that's not what you want at any time, this isn't the kind of disrespect that you would want to launch at any moment, but seven days before an election at a time when you need the Latino vote, when Republicans had made inroads with Latinos. This has really sent the wrong message. People are upset. They're furious. And, quite frankly, many of the people I've heard from have said that while they might've been thinking about voting for Trump, they might not do it now.

BLITZER: It's interesting. And, you know, Scott, let me get your thoughts on this. So, the mayor of Allentown, Pennsylvania, the majority Latino town with about 40,000 Puerto Ricans, where Trump is getting ready to speak very soon, told CNN the community is turning its outrage into voting against Trump. I want you to listen to this. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MATT TUERK (D-ALLENTOWN, PA): I think they're moved by this. They're irritated. It was a hateful thing to say and they're mad. I know that our community, like when we get knocked down, we get up. We're resilient, both Puerto Ricans and Allentonians. We get up and we respond in kind. And the response in this case is to go out and vote.

So, I was just talking to a couple, or four people actually, outside of city hall as I was walking up here, who were looking for the elections office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, Scott, are Trump's comments now only going to make matters worse for him?

JENNINGS: Well, look, I think that Trump's campaign put out a statement before he ever even took the stage separating him from these comments. They obviously didn't agree with it. And if I were in the Trump campaign's shoes, I would just simply say, look, are you going to worry about what an insult comic says or are you going to worry about the quality of your life, the cost of living, and whether you feel the economic anxiety today versus what you could have under me, which you know you had before.

I mean, there's a message here, which is to say, don't be distracted by some comedian. Focus on your own future and what's in your own best interest. If I were in the Trump campaign's shoes, that's what I would say.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: But, Scott, the fact that Trump has not said a single word about this --

JENNINGS: His campaign put out a statement saying that it didn't reflect his views.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: His campaign, but he did not say anything.

JENNINGS: I know it doesn't satisfy you, but he did put out a statement saying it didn't represent his views.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: It has to do with the Puerto Rican people who have been asking for this --

JENNINGS: I know. They put out a statement saying it doesn't represent his views.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: They asked him personally to do it. And any -- listen, you know this, you always ask the principal to come out and give a response. And so the very fact that he has not only not given a response, but tried to deflect and also say that it was a love fest, also say that, you know, it was a beautiful event filled with happy people when, frankly, people can see their own eyes, they can see their own screens, and they know what happened there. And so I don't think that that is doing him any favors.

BLITZER: All right. Guys, we need to take --

SIMMONS: Wolf, let me say this one --

BLITZER: Very quickly.

SIMMONS: This is a change election. I think the Harris campaign is making it as a change from Donald Trump going forward to Kamala Harris. And, lastly, I'm not a Nazi is not a great closing message. Donald Trump's got to figure out what he's going to do.

BLITZER: I will see what he says. That's coming up. We'll see what Kamala Harris has to say. That's coming up as well.

And just ahead, new reaction coming in to the breaking news in the presidential race from Republican Senate Candidate and former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and Democratic Senator Cory Booker. They're both standing by live.

[18:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Kamala Harris will seize on Donald Trump's enemy from within attacks on his political opponents when she delivers a closing argument to voters here in Washington, D.C. very soon, that according to newly released excerpts of her speech.

Joining us now here in The Situation Room, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate from Maryland, the state's former governor, Larry Hogan. Governor, thank you so much for joining us.

LARRY HOGAN (R), MARYLAND SENATE CANDIDATE: Thank you.

BLITZER: You heard Trump repeatedly call his political opponents, and I'm quoting him now, the enemy from within. Why aren't we seeing more congressional Republicans, whom you hope to join if you're elected to the Senate, condemning these comments?

HOGAN: Well, that's a great question, Wolf. I mean, I think you know that I've been probably one of the most outspoken critics over the past eight years, and it always concerns me when other people don't speak up. But, look, this is nothing really new for us, and I think it's just that there's a lot of divisiveness and kind of angry rhetoric here in the closing week of the campaign.

[18:20:06]

And I think, like most Americans, I'm just kind of sick and tired and fed up with the angry, divisive politics. And I think, like most people, I'm ready for this election to be over with.

BLITZER: Yes, you want it to be over with. But you blame mostly Trump for the divisive rhetoric? HOGAN: Well, look, I think the rhetoric has been -- Trump's rhetoric is something I've criticized for a long time, and I think he's his own worst enemy, and I don't think he's helping himself in the election with swing voters. But we're not really hearing an honest discussion of the issues from either side, and we're hearing some kind of divisiveness from both camps.

BLITZER: The House speaker, Mike Johnson, told a crowd that there will be, in his word, massive health care changes in America if Donald Trump wins the election, saying, and I'm quoting him now, no Obamacare when asked by someone in the crowd. Would you vote for massive changes to the current health care laws?

HOGAN: Look, I was one of the few governors, Republican governors in America, to stand up to fight to protect the Affordable Care Act. John McCain called me right before he walked out on the Senate floor to give it the big thumbs down. And I made sure that we protected hundreds of thousands of additional Marylanders. But I also work with my Democratic legislature to lower the cost of health insurance by 30 percent per year. And I think what we need is some bipartisan solutions and not just divisive rhetoric.

BLITZER: I know you work hard for bipartisanship. We'll see how that unfolds.

Your campaign, though, is explicitly targeting Kamala Harris voters in a new ad. And I want to play part of that. Watch and listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like Hogan. He works with both parties. He finds common sense solutions. Alsobrooks would support her party 100 percent of the time, even their most extreme positions. This isn't complicated. I'm splitting my ticket, Harris and Hogan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Because you've said you won't vote for Trump, right?

HOGAN: Yes, that's correct.

BLITZER: But in that ad, you seem to be promoting Kamala Harris as well. No. Actually, this is a woman who was a former chairman of the Democratic Women's Club in Montgomery County, and she's splitting her ticket. I think this is a big part of my coalition. In Maryland, I've got to win most of the Republicans, most of the independents, where were winning by 20 points, and about a third of the Democrats. And that's how I was elected governor twice and became only the second Republican in 248 years to be reelected.

HOGAN: But you're not going to vote for Trump. Are you going to vote for Kamala Harris? You know, I've decided that neither one of them has earned my vote. And I've never voted for anybody I didn't really believe in.

BLITZER: So, you're just not going to vote for the presidential candidate, you're going to leave that blank when you go to the polling booth.

What do you think the argument that she's making is if you're elected, a Republican Senator from the state of Maryland, you will help if there's a close vote, the majority Republicans be the leadership in the U.S. Senate?

HOGAN: Yes. I think that's the main part of their campaign is just try to scare voters who have voted for me twice already and who have a favorable opinion of me that I'm going to be somehow the one that flips the vote. But I don't believe that's true. There's a lot of other states that are more likely to do that. But I know that I will be the loudest voice and the one who stands up, and I've never been afraid to stand up to the former president or to the Republican Party or the Democratic Party when I think they're wrong. And I think my kind of bipartisan, you know, common sense leadership is what's desperately lacking in Washington.

BLITZER: As you know, abortion rights for women is a key issue, the overturn of Roe v. Wade, as we all know. But you've said you won't necessarily apply a litmus test to judges. Does that mean you would be willing to confirm anti-abortion justices to the highest court?

HOGAN: Well, look, I've said I've said that I was going to co-sponsor a bill to codify Roe. And my opponent's entire campaign has been lying about my record on abortion, where I ran for governor promising to protect access, and I delivered on that promise for eight years.

I also have more experience at judges than anyone in the Senate. I appointed 190 judges, six out of the seven members of our Supreme Court, and every single one of them received unanimous confirmation from every Republican and every Democrat in our Senate.

And I think both sides trying to game the system is not what we need. We need to get back to qualified judges that we can find bipartisan buy-in, and I said I won't vote for any appointee from either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump unless there's some bipartisan buy-in.

BLITZER: So, you support abortion rights for women. Would you vote to bring back Roe v. Wade?

HOGAN: Yes, I'm going to co sponsor the bill to protect Roe v. Wade so that no one, no one can come between a woman and her doctor.

BLITZER: Now, if you're elected to the U.S. Senate, are you ready to commit to remaining a Republican or is there a possibility you could do what some others have done, become an independent?

HOGAN: Well, look, I'm committed to being -- I'm a lifelong Republican and my goal has been to try to get our party back on track to the principles that I think it used to stand for. And I think I've proven that I'm willing to stand up to the kind of the other part of my party.

BLITZER: Governor, thanks very much for coming in.

HOGAN: Thank you, Wolf. BLITZER: I appreciate it very much, the former Governor Larry Hogan running for the U.S. Senate from Maryland.

We've invited the Democratic Senate candidate from Maryland, Angela Alsobrooks, to join us as well. We hope to have her here in The Situation Room with us soon as well.

And coming up, CNN's John King joins us live from Nevada as he swings through five battleground states in five days.

[18:25:06]

Also ahead, Democratic Senator Cory Booker, he joins us here in The Situation Room.

We'll be right back after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A pair of new CNN polls shows two southwestern battleground states in a virtual dead heat. In our final survey of Arizona and Nevada, neither Kamala Harris nor Donald Trump holds a clear lead with just one week until Election Day.

CNN's John King is joining us now with a closer look at the race for the White House. John, yesterday you were in Arizona, today you're in Nevada, talking to Latino voters.

[18:30:02]

What are the voters out there telling you?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Donald Trump's weekend event with the racist taunts, the insensitive taunts about Latinos, Puerto Ricans, and Mexicans may have been at Madison Square Garden in New York, but we live in the social media age. And here in Nevada, we are told that it had reverberated instantly, blew up on social media.

I just want to show you something. Look first at the Latino population in the United States of America. We'll bring it up on the map for you here. You see, the deeper the shading, the higher the population of Latinos in those communities.

So, where am I today? I'm in Nevada. Specifically, I'm in Las Vegas, which is Clark County, Nevada, down here. This is our third trip here in the last 11 months to meet with voters to talk about the election. I want you to listen here. First voter is Antonio Munoz. He's a veteran, a retired police officer, who now has a taco bar and a catering business. And then Rafael Cerros, Jr., he runs a Spanish language radio station here in Nevada. Both say the weekend event has changed the climate. They believe in a way that will help Harris.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO MUNOZ, NEVADA VOTER: This weekend, you know, there's a lot of situations that opened up my eyes a little bit more. And, you know, I have no doubt that we'll be voting for Kamala this time.

RAFAEL CERROS JR., NEVADA VOTER: Yes, it definitely has changed the race. I mean, we're very --you know, us as Latinos and even, you know, specifically I also speak to Mexicans, we mind our business, but, you, know, don't make us -- not angry, but don't nudge us. Why? You know, I mean, if it was funny, we laugh with you, you know? But, I mean, I think those comments were made or the punch lines were made with something else in mind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Now, Wolf, on our last trip here, Antonio Munoz told us he was leaning Harris. He says the Trump event over the weekend removed any doubt about how he would vote. Rafael Cerros, the last time we were here, said he was undecided with saying how strong Trump was in the Latino community, he said he was going to vote for Harris and he felt he needed to speak out as a Mexican-American, as a father, and as a parent.

And, again, just a reminder, I'm here in Vegas, in Clark County. 75 percent of the population lives here in Las Vegas, the statewide population. And one in five voters in Nevada in 2020 was Latino. So, it is a group that has a big political punch.

BLITZER: The influential culinary union in Nevada, as you know, John, is an example of a built-in infrastructure in Nevada for Democrats. But is it as influential as it used to be?

KING: I think that is a defining question in this final week of the campaign and in what we've seen so far in early voting, where in this state, it appears that Trump is running even, if not a little ahead even in the early voting so far.

But look over my shoulder, right? You see all these casinos behind me, all the hospitality industry behind me. The culinary union represents most of the workers in those buildings.

And so they have a built-in infrastructure. Remember the late Senator Harry Reid was a partner with the culinary union in a remarkable Democratic infrastructure here.

We have a new Republican governor, though, here in this state who won in the midterm elections. He's relatively popular. Some take that as a sign the Democrats aren't as strong as they used to be in turning out the votes. A week from tonight, Wolf, we're going to count them and we're going to know the answer to that question.

BLITZER: We're going to find out. John King in Nevada for us, thank you very much.

Right now I want to bring in Democratic Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey. Senator, thanks for joining us.

Kamala Harris, as you know, is planning to target Trump in her remarks tonight. They're coming up soon. Many of these comments we've heard from her before. Is it the right move, do you think, for her to spend these final days talking about Trump rather than what she will do as president?

SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): Well, first of all, I'm excited that she's going to be able to put forward, and I've had a preview of the speech, really what her vision is, and talk to voters directly about how she is going to do what I think is exciting to me as a senator, bring forth an abundance economy that's going to help families thrive and help American prosperity. But you can't help but making a contrast with your opponent.

She's going to do it at The Ellipse, which is the site from which Donald Trump incited rioters to storm the Capitol through that attack. As a result of it, five police officers died. Multiple senators on both sides of the aisle, we had a bipartisan vote to convict him from his impeachment. This is a reminder of voters of what kind of chaos and conflict he brought.

And then when it comes to what he did in Madison Square Garden, just 12 miles from where I sit here in New Jersey, people have to remember that those speakers weren't an accident. They chose those speakers. They vetted those speakers. You look at the social media accounts of some of them, there are plainly racist and bigoted and misogynistic comments in their Twitter feeds. This is what they want to bring to our country again. This is the kind of conflict, demeaning and degrading that they want to do.

It's a time that I think Kamala Harris is making the point that we have a president that heals, that brings people together and that moves our country forward, and very much so.

[18:35:04]

We don't want to go back to that kind of chaos, conflict, demeaning and degrading of Americans.

BLITZER: You know, in response to those ugly comments about Puerto Rico at that Madison Square Garden rally, Trump today claimed, and I'm quoting him now, no president's done more for Puerto Rico than he has. What do you make of that?

BOOKER: I mean, I know the facts. I know the receipts. That's just a lie. So, first of all, when they were on their knees from a hurricane, talked to the people that helped leave Puerto Rico. He came and did a demeaning and degrading stunt and fell short of a lot of the promises that he made. But more than that, if you just look at working class Latinos who were looking, again, to make their families succeed, he passed a tax plan that everybody from The Wall Street Journal to The New York Times who's done an analysis of Trump's major signature bills, he shifted money away from working families towards the wealthy.

Well, Kamala Harris clearly has a plan with the expansion of the child tax credit, the expansion of the earned income tax credit, with helping new businesses and entrepreneurs with a 10x times the kind of tax expenses that they'll be able to write off. There are so many things that will help working families, Latinos, entrepreneurs, and others. So, to me, this is a plain contrast. But there's nothing worse. I just never thought I would see in my life as an American, a president of the United States, and I've seen from George Bush and Reagan to Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, none of them would have ever brought to the White House this kind of hate and bigotry towards other Americans and their countries of origin.

Remember, Donald Trump talked about, excuse my language, shithole countries. Donald Trump has demeaned and degraded women. And Donald Trump in that rally in Madison Square Garden with people that his campaign selected brought folks who stood up there and talked down to other Americans, in this case, Puerto Ricans, who use racial slurs against African-Americans and who were so painfully misogynistic towards women.

This really is unbecoming of any of our presidents of the last 50 years and something we should not -- all of us as Americans should not tolerate in our elected leaders and most certainly not in the leader of our nation.

BLITZER: Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, thanks as usual for joining us.

BOOKER: Thank you for having me.

BLITZER: And just ahead, another one of Donald Trump's closest allies is now out of prison. How the return today of Steve Bannon could impact the final week of the presidential campaign.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BLITZER: Tonight, the former Trump strategist and far right firebrand, Steve Bannon, is out of prison just in time for Election Day.

Our Brian Todd has more on Bannon's release and his next moves on behalf of MAGA.

Brian, Steve Bannon is making it very clear he's ready to fight.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There was never really any doubt of that, Wolf. CNN was told that even when he was incarcerated, Bannon was maneuvering so that he could make a difference in the run up to the election and beyond. And now, he has his chance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice over): He says four months in prison didn't break him. It empowered him. Tonight, just days before Election Day, Steve Bannon is out from behind bars and ready to fire up Donald Trump's MAGA base.

STEVE BANNON, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE ADVISER: The 2020 election was stolen, okay? I will never back off that.

TODD: One of the most influential agitators for Trump and a key mobilizer for Republicans, the 70-year-old Bannon is poised to try to light a fire with potential Trump voters in the final stretch before November 5th.

PROF. LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: He might be able to energize some of the younger white males that are infrequent voters who are pro-Trump, but rarely show up. They seem to listen to him and he has some special message for them, I'm sure.

TODD: One of the levers Bannon will use for that is his provocative podcast, War Room, which Bannon wasted no time returning to today.

BANNON: So number one on November 5th, we have to crush them at the ballot box.

TODD: Sources tell CNN that while in prison, Bannon kept in touch with loyalists, some of whom filled in for him on the podcast while he was incarcerated. But while he was in jail, the podcast suffered. The rotating cast of guest hosts not able to attract as many listeners as Bannon could.

Now that he's out, analysts say, Bannon could revive the fortunes of War Room, and use the podcast as he did so effectively before, encouraging volunteers to head to polling places, challenge procedures and potentially challenge results.

BANNON: We need to get people in the counting rooms. We need to get people around the tables to do ballot curing.

TODD: Today, Bannon already sowed doubt about the election results on the podcast.

BANNON: If they can't take it away from Trump, if they can't nullify it right there, they can't nullify it right there, they want to at least to delegitimize his victory.

TODD: Bannon was convicted of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the committee investigating the January 6th attack on the Capitol. He'd been one of the most prominent voices in the Stop the Steal movement.

JOSHUA GREEN, AUTHOR, DEVIL'S BARGAIN, STEVE BANNON, DONALD TRUMP AND THE NATIONALIST UPRISING: From the moment the polls closed, Bannon was busy trying to stir up chaos, trying to cast doubt on the legitimacy of Joe Biden's election, and trying to do everything he could to get Trump supporters agitated.

TODD: Including one ominous remark on his podcast the day before the January 6th attack.

BANNON: All hell is going to break loose tomorrow. Just understand this. All hell is going to break loose tomorrow.

TODD: Still, there's no evidence that Bannon was involved in planning any aspect of the attack on the capital or that he knew it would happen. (END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): While Bannon's podcast is mainly viewed as an engine for Trump's base, there is a chance that now that he's back behind the microphone, he could make a difference in the election.

[18:45:05]

Data from one prominent firm that researches podcasts found that about a third of Bannon's listeners were independent voters -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brian Todd reporting for us -- Brian, thanks very much.

Coming up, the billionaire owner of "The Washington Post", Jeff Bezos defending his very controversial decision to end presidential endorsements as another major newspaper is now following suit.

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BLITZER: Tonight, "Washington Post" owner Jeff Bezos is defending the newspaper after deciding the editorial board would not make a presidential endorsement for the first time in decades. Bezos writes in "The Washington Post" and I'm quoting him now: Presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales of an election.

What presidential endorsements actually do is create a perception of bias, a perception of non-independence, ending them is a principled decision and it's the right one, close quote.

Let's bring in our chief media analyst, Brian Stelter.

Brian, what's been the reaction to what Bezos has just written?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Disbelief and disappointment, Wolf. Subscribers at "The Washington Post" have continued to cancel their subscriptions today, NPR reports that more than a quarter million Washington Post customers have canceled as a result of this controversy.

"The Washington Post" is not confirming that figure, but my sources at the post believed this has been a serious blow to the bottom line of the paper, underscoring just how badly the business has been damaged.

It's all for one simple reason. Many "Post" readers believed that Bezos is trying to curry favor with Donald Trump, trying to get on Trump's goods side ahead of the election, no matter what happens with the election outcome.

Now, Bezos is suggesting otherwise, and you just read his words aloud. That op-ed for "The Post" says it all. Bezos is saying that it's important to restore trust in media and ending the endorsement practice is a way to do so.

But timing is everything and Bezos admits that he had poor timing here by announcing this decision right on the eve of the presidential election. It was just about a month ago that "The Post" made an endorsement in the Senate race in Maryland against Larry Hogan as a matter of fact. So, 'The Post" has been doing this for years. Bezos is calling it off for the presidential race all of a sudden, and that's why so many "Post" readers as well as "Post" editors and reporters are concerned.

BLITZER: As you mentioned, Brian, some "Washington Post" readers say Bezos is, quote, giving into the bully and that I'm quoting, now, this is a way for Bezos to avoid blowback from Trump if he wins the election, its cowardice at best, and naked greed at worst.

Is there truth to that?

STELTER: Yeah, these are some of the comments compiled by Dan Frumkin (ph) looking at all the comments on "The Washington Post" website, so many readers have been weighing in on this. They are concerned because they signed up for a publication known for its slogan "democracy dies in darkness," a publication standing up to then President Trump, four, five, six years ago. And now they feel maybe the opposite is happening.

That's the concern inside the newsroom as well. There was a tense meeting today between "Post" editor in chief Matt Murray and the newsroom staff. Matt Murray would not confirm the subscriber cancelation number, and he did seem to dodge some of the reporter questions.

The broader context here is about how CEOs, business leaders, and other institutional leaders are handling this election. It's a great new story on CNN.com that sums it up really well, Wolf, the headline is American CEOs don't have the stomach for Trump's promised revenge tour. And what we're seeing right now are a lot of different people making calculations, thinking that Trump might win and trying to proceed accordingly. Of course, we don't know what's going to happen next week.

And as for Bezos, he says he's making a principled move trying to take "The Post" out of this kind of business. We'll see ultimately if he can regain some of those lost subscribers in the months and years to come, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Brian Stelter, excellent analysis, thank you very, very much.

Coming up new, CNN reporting on how both campaigns are preparing for a slew of post-election day legal challenges with hundreds of lawyers already working through hypothetical scenarios.

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[18:57:43]

BLITZER: We're standing by for Kamala Harris to deliver her closing argument here in Washington. We'll bring that to you soon.

We're also awaiting a response from the U.S. Supreme Court on Republican challenges to voting procedures in the key states of Virginia and Pennsylvania. Right now, both the Harris and Trump campaigns are preparing an army of attorneys for potentially historic post-election legal battles.

Our chief legal affairs correspondent, Paula Reid, is here with me in THE SITUATION ROOM.

So, Paula, what are you learning?

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: So we've learned that both teams have assembled lawyers who have been working for years to prepare for potential legal challenges around the 2024 presidential race.

Now, in speaking with the Republicans, they've told me they know they can't repeat the mistakes of the 2020 race where they lost 61 out of 62 lawsuits that they filed. So they've been focused on hiring really top-notch lawyers and also trying to resolve some of these questions before the election, which is why we've seen them intervene and over 130 different lawsuits, including some of the ones that are pending before the Supreme Court.

Now, both sides have really put in place these really experienced lawyers, but they're working also with a network of lawyers at the state level. So if there is an issue in a state, they'll have this network to tap, folks with local jurisdictional expertise who can help them do whatever they need to do. They've also worked through sort of war games, different prince scenarios.

For example, Republicans war-gamed natural disasters and how those could potentially impact voting. So when they saw what happened in Florida and North Carolina, they said, wow, we practiced this. Then, the Democrats, they've actually drafted thousands of pages of pleading, so they're going to be ready to just scoot off to the courthouse and file those if they need to.

Now, in terms of the teams the Democrats, their team is led by former White House counsel, Dana Remus. They also have Marc Elias. He's, of course, a renowned election expert, real expertise in recounts.

Now on the Trump side, they're working with a couple of veterans GOP lawyers included David Warrington, who represented Trump around January 6, and the House investigation.

But it's interesting. If you look at our most recent poll, only 30 percent of Americans think if Trump loses, he will accept the results. So the reason this legal war gaming is so important is that if he does not want to accept the results, this lays the groundwork for him to challenge those results and even if he's not successful, these kinds of legal challenges also helped to sow doubt and confusion about the outcome.

BLITZER: And I assume there will be even more legal battles irrespective of who wins after the election.

REID: I think that's a really safe bet. You can expect that these legal challenges will continue for weeks, potentially even months, because, of course, it's not just about the presidential race. It's about down-ballot as well.

BLITZER: All right. Paula Reid, thank you very much.

And to our viewers, thanks for watching.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.