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The Source with Kaitlan Collins
Speakers At Trump's MSG Rally Lobbed Racist Barbs, Misogynistic Attacks; Trump Lashes Out At Michelle Obama: "She Was Nasty"; More Than 43 Million Early Ballots Cast With Eight Days To Go. Aired 9-10p ET
Aired October 28, 2024 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[21:00:00]
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: --endorse Harris, as it is to condemn Donald Trump. They believe Trump is a threat to the American free press, and that he will impose draconian restrictions. And those fears are palpable in other newsrooms as well. I think that's why this story has resonated so wide and so far.
But Bezos, he's saying he's trying to do the right thing, trying to restore trust in the media.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: Brian Stelter, thanks so much.
STELTER: Thanks.
COOPER: That's it for us.
You can check out my podcast on grief, called All There Is, at CNN.com/allthereisonline, or wherever you get your podcast.
The news continues. "THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS" starts now.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN HOST, THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS: Straight from THE SOURCE tonight.
Trump's closing message at a rally like none other. Crude, racist and ugly attacks. I was at Madison Square Garden, reporting on that rally. My reporting from inside the arena and the fallout on the campaign trail tonight.
Also, with just weeks to go, Republican Senate candidate, and top Trump ally, Kari Lake is here live, to talk about the final days of her race in Arizona.
And a ballot drop box set on fire, damaging ballots in one of the country's most competitive districts. What happens to those ballots, those people's votes, and what happens if it happens in your district? The Democrat in that race is my source tonight.
I'm Kaitlan Collins. And this is THE SOURCE.
With eight days to go in a presidential race that is so close, it feels like a sneeze could tip the outcome one way or the other, the Trump campaign is doing damage control, tonight, which we almost never see from a candidate who prides himself on almost never apologizing.
But the racist and inflammatory remarks, at that six-hour long rally, at Madison Square Garden, went far enough that some of Trump's allies are worried about the fallout, affecting crucial votes, with just days left to go in this race.
Take it from someone, who has reported from dozens of Trump rallies, over the last eight years. I was there, covering Trump's packed event, last night, and I'm not sure I've ever witnessed anything like it. I spoke to multiple sources, today, who agreed with me.
A bunch of Trump's staunchest allies are even saying as much publicly, with people like Peter Navarro, calling this comment, tone-deaf, not funny and stupid.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY HINCHCLIFFE, AMERICAN 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's called Puerto Rico.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: You've probably heard by now that that was apparently supposed to be a joke, by a comedian.
But upon realizing how damaging that remark could land, in places like Pennsylvania, critical to winning back the White House, and which has a Puerto Rican population, somewhere around half a million people? The Trump campaign put out this 13-word statement, last night, saying, quote, "This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign."
Now, to even get that, is saying something. This is coming from a campaign that doesn't distance itself from almost anything, certainly not at one of its own rallies. It says a lot tonight, even if it's saying very little.
They were likely trying to hope to ward off headlines like the one that came out in "Politico" today. Puerto Rico Fallout 'Spreading Like Wildfire' In Pennsylvania.
But I should note, not everyone inside Trump's campaign seems to be worried about causing damage with persuadable voters. Listen to what Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), 2024 VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I haven't seen the joke. I, you know, maybe -- maybe it's a stupid, racist joke, as you said. Maybe it's not. I haven't seen it. I'm not going to comment on the specifics of the joke. But I think that we have to stop getting so offended at every little thing in the United States of America.
(CHEERING)
VANCE: I'm just, I'm so over it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Vance says he's over it, but also that he hasn't heard it. Maybe it was racist, but maybe it wasn't, or maybe we're all too sensitive.
I should note that the vice presidential candidate did arrive at Madison Square Garden, shortly before that comedian got on stage, to start the program off. And that joke has been playing on loop basically ever since.
But that was far from the only offensive thing, the comedian said, last night. And there has been no distancing from his other remarks on stage like these.
Now, I'm not going to bleep them or summarize them. I want you to be able to listen to what myself and that entire arena heard last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HINCHCLIFFE: And these Latinos, they love making babies too. Just know that. They do. They do. There's no pulling out.
(LAUGHTER)
HINCHCLIFFE: They don't do that. They come inside, just like they did to our country.
(LAUGHTER)
HINCHCLIFFE: Heck, yes. This cool, Black guy with the thing on his head? What the hell is that, a lampshade?
I'm just kidding. That's one of my buddies. He had a Halloween party last night. We had fun. We carved watermelons together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Now, I've heard from people, on comments like those, people in Trump's orbit, who said, Oh, it was just a comedian. Stop emphasizing one thing that comedian had to say.
OK, if that's your thought, we'll take that as what it is.
[21:05:00]
But here's what other people, who were also given prized speaking slots, on that stage, had to say, last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID REM, DONALD TRUMP'S CHILDHOOD FRIEND (ph): She is the devil, whoever screamed that out. She is the antichrist.
GRANT CARDONE, AMERICAN ENTREPRENEUR: Her and her pimp handlers will destroy our country.
STEPHEN MILLER, FORMER SENIOR ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: America is for Americans and Americans only.
(CHEERING)
SID ROSENBERG, AMERICAN RADIO PERSONALITY: What a sick son of a bitch. The whole (bleep) party, a bunch of degenerates, low lives, Jew haters and low lives. Every one of them.
(CHEERING)
ROSENBERG: Every one of them.
TUCKER CARLSON, AMERICAN COMMENTATOR AND WRITER: Kamala Harris, she's just, she got 85 million votes because she's just so impressive.
(CHEERING)
CARLSON: As the first Samoan-Malaysian, low-I.Q., former California prosecutor, ever to be elected president. It was just a groundswell of popular support.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Now, keep in mind, there were a lot of speakers, on stage, last night. You just heard from those. And this is the rally that Trump had been seeking for months. He wanted to come back to his hometown. Those were the people he wanted up there speaking, the people who preceded him getting on stage, the former first lady, his children, Elon Musk.
I talked to a few people in Trump's world today, who were essentially banking on the idea that everything you just heard is kind of baked in at this point, and it won't actually matter when those undecided voters go and cast their ballots.
Though, again, as someone who has reported from many Trump events, few have amplified the outright racism and misogyny that this one did.
My political sources are here with me tonight.
And Alyssa Farah Griffin, I want to start with you, because you were Trump's communications director.
It's not even just the comments from the comedian, which, we keep hearing this today saying, Well, it's just a comedian. Everyone's being so sensitive.
I mean, those people who were just speaking that you heard there are certainly not comedians.
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Well, listen, a lot of Florida Republicans were quick to come out and denounce the remarks by this comedian.
But just last week, Donald Trump himself said that America is a garbage can. He literally equated our country to a garbage can. Those were his words. So, I think it's hard to be offended by the words of those around him, and not by him -- himself.
Now, I think there is something to the fact that, yes, a lot of this is baked in. There are very few Americans, who don't know who Donald Trump is, at this point. But to the very slim minority of people, who are still undecided, in this race? To have this closing message, at this state, is disastrous.
I couldn't have hand-crafted, as someone who wants Donald Trump to lose, a worse closing pitch that you could give to undecided voters, considering there's half a million Puerto Ricans in Pennsylvania alone. What are you going to say to them, when you're in Allentown, tomorrow? I'd love to know.
COLLINS: Well, and as that was happening, I mean, the irony of it was that Harris was visiting a Puerto Rican restaurant, basically in the same time period, S.E.
S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Let me say, as someone who's been a long-time movement conservative, since I'm 18, 19, and who did not follow Trump down the dark path of fascism and bigotry? This is heartbreaking.
Because this isn't just Trump. This is the Republican Party. This is my former party. These are people he picked to be, up on that stage, eight days before the election. It's Trump. It's his running mate. It's the people he's installed around him. It's the Republicans that have come up after him, and won their elections with his imprimatur. This is the Republican Party.
This is so beneath anything we should be doing, in our political discourse. And it's not happening on the ground. It's not happening in the basement. It's happening at the presidential level.
The guy, who is the nominee, for the Republican Party, has designed this event, eight days before the election, because he thinks this, this is who he is, and this is who our country is.
COLLINS: I mean, Lee Zeldin, as a Republican, you were there last night, right?
LEE ZELDIN, (R) FORMER NEW YORK CONGRESSMAN: I had Reserve Duty, this weekend.
COLLINS: OK. So you were on Reserve Duty. You were at the Long Island rally.
ZELDIN: I was.
COLLINS: I mean, that, the Long Island rally that just happened was not like the rally that you just saw, what was happening on stage there. I mean, what do you make of it?
ZELDIN: I mean, this was a much longer program than what we had in Nassau. There was 25 or so other speakers on top of the people you're playing clips from. And obviously, there's plenty of conversation here today, on the network, of these clips.
But just to give you another perspective of what somebody like me is seeing, when Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton are comparing President Trump to Hitler, and saying this is a Nazi rally, and comparing it to some Nazi rally from the 1930s.
And you have an event where you have Holocaust survivors in the arena. You have yamakas, people rapping to fill in Israeli flags, multiple Jews speaking on stage. There is outrage of people who are on the other side, who have a different perspective.
And what's really interesting? We see things with our own eyes and ears. There's different echo chambers that are out there.
And I'll tell you a close -- the closing message that I see is President Trump talking about, Kamala broke it, I'll fix it.
[21:10:00]
And Kamala Harris, as we saw with the CNN town hall, last week, the panel before she started, was really begging her to talk about the economy and the border, and she was talking about Hitler and January 6th. Now, Kamala--
COLLINS: she didn't talk about Hitler. But can I ask you -- can I ask you, Lee--
ZELDIN: Well at the town hall, she did.
COLLINS: Can I put it in an alternative universe? That rally happens yesterday, and it's Kamala Harris' rally. And someone makes jokes like that, would you be OK with that?
ZELDIN: Well, I have seen plenty of comedians, on the left, joke around about killing Donald Trump.
COLLINS: Sid Rosenberg's not a comedian. Rudy Giuliani is not a comedian.
CUPP: Tucker Carlson.
COLLINS: David Rem is not a comedian. All those are the people that we just showed there, talking.
(CROSSTALK)
ZELDIN: Yes.
FARAH GRIFFIN: There's also a distinction here, by the way. Kamala Harris has referred to remarks that allegedly came, reportedly came from John Kelly, a four-star general and Donald Trump's former Chief of Staff, when he referred to him praising Hitler. J.D. Vance compared Donald Trump to Hitler before he did his 180.
Kamala Harris is not calling him Hitler. I think that's a very important distinction.
ZELDIN: Respectfully, I would say that today, for example, when Kamala Harris was answering questions, outside of Air Force Two, she was asked a question about the rally, talking about going down this line of Nazi rally, Hitler, fascism. And she--
FARAH GRIFFIN: He went after Jews, Palestinians, Black people, Latinos.
ZELDIN: She doesn't push back on it at all. She went with it. Well--
FARAH GRIFFIN: I mean, he targeted -- every race was targeted--
(CROSSTALK)
CUPP: But why is this Kamala Harris' problem?
FARAH GRIFFIN: Yes.
CUPP: This is not Kamala Harris' problem.
ZELDIN: I'm talking about the--
CUPP: This is the Republican Party's problem.
ZELDIN: But not when you're--
CUPP: You're a good conservative, Lee. I know you.
ZELDIN: But not when you--
CUPP: Can't you say that that was garbage?
ZELDIN: Would you say that that was a Nazi rally? Would you say Trump is Hitler?
CUPP: I didn't say that. I didn't say that.
ZELDIN: No. But you wouldn't. You didn't. But the problem is, is that Hillary Clinton did.
CUPP: But we're not talking about Hillary Clinton.
ZELDIN: Kamala Harris--
CUPP: I'm asking you. You're a good conservative. Can't you just say--
ZELDIN: Kamala Harris just went with that narrative today.
CUPP: Can't you just say that that was garbage?
ZELDIN: Kamala Harris went with that narrative today.
COLLINS: But--
CUPP: You won't say it?
COLLINS: But let's ask, I'm going to ask Jamal, who worked for Kamala Harris about that in a moment.
JAMAL SIMMONS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR TO VP HARRIS, CO-HOST, "TRAILBLAZE" PODCAST: Yes.
COLLINS: But can we -- but on the Republican, as the Republican at the table?
ZELDIN: Sure.
COLLINS: Do you endorse what you just heard in the closing days of a campaign, or at end of the campaign (ph)?
ZELDIN: I think the President's campaign was correct to distance itself from that comment.
SIMMONS: They can kick rocks.
COLLINS: Just the one?
SIMMONS: They can kick rocks. They're distancing themselves from something--
ZELDIN: And it was an insult comic.
SIMMONS: But wait a minute. They picked this guy. That speech got loaded into the teleprompter. They cut out pieces of that speech. According to Marc Caputo's reporting from The Bulwark, they saw the speech and cut out some pretty offensive language, they didn't want to have in it, and kept in it what was there.
It took them hours before they actually began to rebut or push back or whatever it is they did, to say something about what was in the speech, because they waited to see how everybody else was going to react. This isn't a party that's showing leadership on this.
(CROSSTALK)
ZELDIN: Well--
SIMMONS: Here's what's happening. Hold on a second. Donald Trump is betting on bigotry. And the sad part about it is, in American politics, sometimes that's not a bad bet in our history.
Now, the difference is, usually it says something we wink at, right? It's, a criminal gets let out of jail, and we talk about that, or welfare queens, and we talk about that. This isn't that. This is hard core, just straight-up bigotry.
And I'll tell you, I've done a lot of politics, particularly in the south. And one of the things that I learned working in the south is there are a lot of really good people, who live in the suburbs, a lot of really good White people who live in the suburbs. And they may not be the most racially progressive, but they also don't want to be known as bigots, and don't want to be racists.
COLLINS: Well--
SIMMONS: And when they start to lay this kind of thing out? I'll tell you, it's playing into Kamala Harris' hands, because now she can go to some of these same women that she's been talking to, with these Republicans who are coming out for her, and say, Do you want to be a part of this? Or do you want to turn the page and do something different, where you can watch the news with your children at the table, and not worry about the coarseness that's happening in this Republican Party?
COLLINS: And to the audience's credit, when that comedian was up there, I mean, almost all of it was falling flat. I mean, everyone was just kind of looking around at each other, like, Is this really happening?
But Lee, it's not just the comedian.
SIMMONS: It's not just the comedian.
COLLINS: Because I keep -- I talked to a lot of people in Trump's world today, and I kept hearing that.
But those other people that we just showed at the end are not comedians. These are the people that were given prized speaking slots--
ZELDIN: OK. So you take--
COLLINS: --nine days out from the election.
ZELDIN: You take Stephen -- you have played a clip of Stephen Miller saying, America is for Americans only. And what the attack is on him, a Jew, Stephen Miller, is that this is something that Adolf Hitler said, that German -- that Germany was for Germans only. People just freely comparing Stephen Miller to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.
FARAH GRIFFIN: Well what does Trump--
ZELDIN: That was the clip that we played.
FARAH GRIFFIN: What does Trump mean, though, when he says America is a garbage can? Like, I'm biracial.
ZELDIN: Can--
FARAH GRIFFIN: Most of our country is going to be in within the next decade. What does he mean? If you come from a different country, or your grandparents did, you're garbage? Or you -- like, what is -- it's so un-American and it doesn't speak for our values.
ZELDIN: I watched President Trump's speech yesterday.
FARAH GRIFFIN: That wasn't yesterday.
ZELDIN: And--
FARAH GRIFFIN: It was last week in Austin (ph) yes.
ZELDIN: Right. Right. I'm -- but I'm -- but I'm saying that President Trump, when he was talking about his vision for the future, if he gets elected, it was a positive, uplifting vision, for what he wants to do on the economy, the border, foreign policy, energy policy and more.
Now, CNN didn't do this. But MSNBC's chyron, while they're playing it, was talking about this being a Hitler, Nazi rally.
COLLINS: OK. But we can't control what another network does.
FARAH GRIFFIN: Yes.
ZELDIN: Yes, but that's a problem, so.
COLLINS: So, OK, but -- but this is not about chyrons.
ZELDIN: But that wasn't just MSNBC. It was Kamala Harris--
COLLINS: But Lee, yesterday--
ZELDIN: --as recently as today.
COLLINS: What about--
[21:15:00]
SIMMONS: She's quoting a four-star general--
ZELDIN: Hillary Clinton--
COLLINS: Well hold on.
ZELDIN: Not today.
SIMMONS: --who was his Chief of Staff.
COLLINS: Hold on a second. Hold on a second.
ZELDIN: Not today.
COLLINS: Because Lee--
SIMMONS: Who calls him a fascist.
COLLINS: To his point--
FARAH GRIFFIN: Do immigrants poison our blood, I guess, is the question.
COLLINS: To the point about what Trump is trying to argue and when people are saying, Well, look at what he was saying in his speech. They talked about a tax credit for home health care givers. There's not one headline out there about that today, because the people that they chose to stack in the speaking slot.
I mean, I'm not a shrinking violet. I've been to a lot of Trump events. I know what to expect from them. This one was not like the others.
ZELDIN: Well there are -- listen, I'm not going to get into different networks' different decisions of what to cover, and what not to cover. I would just say this--
COLLINS: No, I want to talk about the Trump campaign's decisions with you.
ZELDIN: Right. But I'm saying there are other networks who are -- that are talking about no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security.
CUPP: No one's going to vote for MSNBC. They're not on the ballot. Why don't think just talk about your candidate, your principle?
ZELDIN: Actually I am.
CUPP: And it does not take -- it doesn't take a lot of courage to say--
ZELDIN: Were you listening to what I just said, S.E.?
CUPP: --it doesn't take a lot of courage to say, On the policies, I'm with him--
ZELDIN: But did you hear what I said?
CUPP: --but this is garbage?
ZELDIN: OK. You didn't hear what I just said. I said there are other networks talking about President Trump's speech with regards to his policies, like he's talking about--
CUPP: It's not on the networks. Why don't we talk about what they're saying--
ZELDIN: That's not true.
CUPP: --at the rally?
ZELDIN: It might not be on this network.
FARAH GRIFFIN: Other candidate.
ZELDIN: But that doesn't mean it's not on other network.
COLLINS: But is it our job to whitewash a Trump rally or to sanitize it?
CUPP: What does that matter? ZELDIN: But you're not -- but you're covering clips from five different speakers.
FARAH GRIFFIN: Because--
COLLINS: And what about all the other speakers--
FARAH GRIFFIN: Well understandably, a lot of people may like an extended child tax credit.
ZELDIN: --that are talking substantively, about the issues that people care about the most.
FARAH GRIFFIN: But they don't want racists.
ZELDIN: I would say--
FARAH GRIFFIN: Those things do exist.
ZELDIN: --if you're an undecided voter, what issues you care about the most? They're talking about -- their breaking point, right now, they're talking about the economy in this country, being able to afford milk and eggs and gas and energy costs.
CUPP: That's right.
ZELDIN: They want a border secure. They want safe streets. They want -- they want--
CUPP: That's right.
ZELDIN: They wanted--
CUPP: You know what they don't care about?
ZELDIN: They don't want foreign wars.
CUPP: Migrants eating garbage.
ZELDIN: They want a president--
CUPP: They don't care about that. That's garbage.
ZELDIN: They want a president who ends foreign wars--
CUPP: And Trump did that for three weeks.
SIMMONS: Kaitlan.
ZELDIN: --instead of starting them.
SIMMONS: Kaitlan.
ZELDIN: There wouldn't be a war in Gaza.
SIMMONS: Kaitlan. ZELDIN: There wouldn't be a war in Ukraine.
SIMMONS: What else do they care about?
FARAH GRIFFIN: And that's what--
(CROSSTALK)
ZELDIN: That's what they care about.
CUPP: I know what they care about.
FARAH GRIFFIN: But sure. That's just fundamentally--
(CROSSTALK)
CUPP: I talk to undecided voters all day long.
COLLINS: Go ahead. Jamal. Go ahead.
SIMMONS: What else they care about is people care about the future of this country. We are two years away from the 250th anniversary of the United States. The person we elect, in November, is going to be the person that stands in front of the country, and in front of the world, and it's who we exhibit, not just about who we were in the past, but about who we want to be going forward over the next 250 years.
I think parents really are worried about this. I'm worried about this as a parent. How having a country where this kind of coarseness is regular, where kids learn this, they see the President do it, and they think that it's OK.
At some point, we have to decide, Donald Trump aside, that this isn't the kind of politics that we want. We want politics, where we can argue and go back and forth at each other. But at the end of the day, like we're all Americans and we're going to find a way forward. We can't do that if someone says that America is garbage.
COLLINS: On that note, everyone stick around. We have a lot more to talk about, trust me, from the campaign trail today, because you heard Donald Trump's closing message. Harris is going to deliver one of her own tomorrow. We'll talk about that.
Also, the latest reaction to what former first lady Michelle Obama and former President Barack Obama are saying tonight.
Plus, Kari Lake is here to talk about her race in the Arizona Senate.
[21:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Vice President Harris, and Michelle Obama, with this closing message to men in America.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S., (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Don't think you're in Donald Trump's club. You're not right.
SHANNON SHARPE, HOST, CLUB SHAY SHAY PODCAST: Right.
HARRIS: He's not going to be thinking about you. You think he is having you over for dinner? You think that when he is going, when he is with his buddies, his billionaire buddies, he is thinking about what we need to do to deal with addressing, for example, my work around what I am doing to address disparities in Black men's health.
MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Your daughter could be the one, too terrified to call the doctor if she's bleeding during an unexpected pregnancy. Your niece could be the one miscarrying in her bathtub, after the hospital turned her away. And this will not just affect women. It will affect you and your sons.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: My political sources are back here with me.
Jamal, obviously, this comes as the Harris campaign has been working to shore up support with Black men, especially, but also all men that she's been struggling with in certain demographics.
What did you make of the comments that she's been saying? Is that enough to help?
SIMMONS: Oh, I think it is enough. Michelle Obama made an incredibly powerful argument.
And what was powerful about it wasn't -- it was the example she did. But she gave honor to these men, to say like, You have a reason to not trust the system. You have a reason to be angry. But don't let your anger and your fury impact all the women in your lives. Don't make us the collateral damage for the argument that you're having.
That's a very different argument, because it's not one that belittles these men for feeling like maybe the country is leaving them behind. Maybe they're not getting ahead. They're not having the economic success that they want. They're not seeing politicians take on their issues in a big way.
And I think the men, particularly the African American men, in the country, should take a victory lap. They held out and said, We want to see real specifics, a real plan.
Kamala Harris gave them a real plan, gave them specifics, talked about what she wants to do to help African American men in the world -- in this country. And now, it's time to reward that with support.
COLLINS: Donald Trump is weighing in on what Michelle Obama had to say, Alyssa. Listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: You know who is nasty to me? Michelle Obama.
(BOOING)
TRUMP: I always tried to be so nice and respectful. She opened up a little bit of a -- a little bit of a box. She opened up a little bit of something. She was nasty.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: Shouldn't be that way. That was a big mistake that she made.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: I know, I'm not sure the Obamas would agree that Trump has always tried to be respectful to them.
But what did you hear in that comment from Trump?
FARAH GRIFFIN: Well, yes, just for the history books. I mean, he ran the birther conspiracy theory against her husband, and by extension, her. And she actually largely held off from ever publicly criticizing Trump. It was a major step that she did at the DNC and came forward as forcefully as she did.
[21:25:00]
Listen, the gender gap is the entire race. It's going to come down to, are there more women that turn out, or more men just? And at this point, Kamala Harris has a 12- to 15-point advantage with women, and Donald Trump has about a nine-point advantage with men. So, it makes sense that Kamala's surrogates are out there trying to turn out more men, bring more people.
But it still astounds me, as a Republican woman, who's always voted for Republicans, Donald Trump didn't even try to win my vote this cycle. In the past, there were like these little entrees, to try to get women on their side.
Didn't get a female running mate. Botched talking about abortion, and reproductive rights in any serious way. And it's kind of just said, We're doubling down on trying to turn out, like, low-propensity White male voters, so you guys can pound sand. And that could decide the race.
COLLINS: Yes, and it might work. We don't know yet.
FARAH GRIFFIN: Yes.
COLLINS: And S.E., tomorrow, Vice President Harris is going to go down to The Ellipse, where Donald Trump obviously spoke on January 6th, and gave that speech--
CUPP: Yes.
COLLINS: --to deliver what the campaign is billing as a closing message. What do you -- what are you going to be listening to, or listening
for, in that speech.
CUPP: I mean, that's a powerful setting, and it's a powerful message for people who care about the future of democracy. These are not undecided voters in swing states, unfortunately. And these margins are so, so tight. It's an important overarching message.
But to Lee's point, the undecided voters in swing states I talk to every day are worried about the economy, immigration, crime. Period. And they don't -- a number of them believe that Democrats are acknowledging those as serious problems. And then on the other side, some of them think Trump is leaning too hard into them, and making them scarier than they actually are. He's -- they're worried about that too.
The democracy message is a very important one. But you have to have the privilege to care about democracy, and not rationing your money for gas. You have to have -- you have to be sitting in a pretty nice place, to be worried about democracy, when you go to the polls.
COLLINS: Lee, what do you make of that?
ZELDIN: Yes. I mean, I think S.E. is absolutely right.
And whichever presidential campaign you're running, or you're the candidate, if there's a voter who hasn't made their mind up, you ask them, What is the most important issue to decide your vote? And right now, economy is by far the number one issue. And it's important to talk about the economy, and people care about the border and crime, and some of these other policies we talking about today.
But you played the clip with reaching out to the Black community. For example, a lot of these voters, they care about school choice. They care about upward economic mobility. They want safe streets.
And instead of telling any voter that you just have to vote this way, or you have to vote that way. The best thing is to get right to the heart of that undecided voter. What moves them substantively on these issues that we're -- that we're discussing right here, just now.
And if there's a way, in the last eight days for anyone, to win over an undecided voter? Almost 10 times out of 10, it's going to be on these issues we just mentioned, especially the economy.
SIMMONS: I will -- I will say, there is polling that says that if people care a lot about the economy, it's incredibly important. But also, there are 22 percent of voters who say the number one issue that will move them, they only picked one, would be abortion.
COLLINS: Yes.
SIMMONS: So I think you can't take that off the table.
COLLINS: But democracy is also actually, surprisingly been up there in the CNN polls as well. It's registering higher than people might expect.
Everyone, thank you.
And stick around, for those watching, because up next, we're going to speak with Trump ally, and Republican Senate candidate in Arizona, Kari Lake. She'll join me live, with what's at stake in her home state.
[21:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The State of Arizona will be looming large, in next week's election, as the last CNN Poll of Polls, it's a combination of all the numbers, right now shows no clear leader in the race, when it comes to the White House.
And in the Senate race there, between Republican Kari Lake, and the Democrat Ruben Gallego, it could be the one that decides which party is controlling the upper house of Congress.
With more than a million ballots already cast in the state, voters there are also going to be deciding on a constitutional amendment to enshrine abortion access in the state's constitution.
I want to get straight to THE SOURCE, tonight, with Republican Senate candidate, Kari Lake.
And Kari Lake, thank you for being here.
I know that you've already voted. How did you vote on that Arizona abortion measure?
KARI LAKE, (R) ARIZONA SENATE CANDIDATE: I voted for the law that we have. The current law is 15 weeks, and it provides abortion up to 15 weeks.
But the beauty of this is that the people of Arizona get to decide. We get the choice in this. And my opponent wants to take that choice away from us, drag it back to some backroom with Chuck Schumer, and decide what the law is, here in Arizona.
And the people of Arizona get to decide. They'll either decide to keep the current law or go with this proposition.
And the one thing I will tell the folks, in Arizona, that are watching tonight, is that when I am in the U.S. Senate, I will not vote for a federal abortion ban. I believe it should fall into the people of the state to decide. Nor will I vote for federal dollars to go toward abortion.
But I will, Kaitlan, do everything in my power to make sure that we are pushing laws that help women. We want to make sure we have women's health care. We want to make sure that women, if they want to keep their babies, know that there's help and options. I heard of a statistic that broke my heart the other day, that 60 percent of women, who have an abortion, would have not had that abortion if they would have known there was a little bit of financial or emotional help. And if that's the case, we're failing. I'm really proud of the--
COLLINS: OK.
LAKE: I'm really proud of the Republicans in our state, Kaitlan, because what we're trying to do is prevent women from ever having to make that choice.
And we are the ones, Republicans in Arizona, who passed a law to push for over-the-counter birth control pills and birth control, so that women never have to be without that, and they can actually get that birth control in a much easier form, much cheaper--
COLLINS: Yes. So you--
LAKE: --so they don't have to make that choice.
COLLINS: So just to be clear, for everyone watching. You voted no. This is something that would essentially allow abortions to about around 24 weeks in your state. Right now, the law is at 15 weeks.
It doesn't have any exceptions for rape or incest. Would you like to see that be different in Arizona?
[21:35:00]
LAKE: I do believe in exceptions for rape and incest and the life of a mother.
Unfortunately, the other -- the other proposition, really, I believe, goes too far, really, takes it right up until nine months, in some circumstances. But again, the people of Arizona are going to decide, and I'm going to live with whatever they decide.
It's not going to be up to the U.S. senator in this state. And my opponent, has spent $40 million trying to lie to the people, and saying that it is up to the U.S. Senate, and it's not. It's up to we, the people.
COLLINS: Well and it's--
LAKE: So, whatever people decide in Arizona, I will respect.
COLLINS: As you know, of course, abortions over 21 weeks are very uncommon. It's about 1 percent of all abortions in the U.S.
But I ask, given your stance on this has been so fascinating, it's shifted quite a bit. You first praised the 1864 law that banned nearly all abortions in Arizona. It was ultimately repealed, by the state legislature there. But you then had denounced that law.
I just wonder what you would say to voters in Arizona, who see your changes on an issue, from that severe of a position, to someone as saying, that's someone maybe who's willing to say anything just to get elected on this issue?
LAKE: Well, no, it's just that I know what office I'm running for. I'm running for a federal office. This has been sent back to the state.
And while I appreciate that, your concern about this, I know many women are concerned about. I'm a woman. I have a daughter. I came from a family of eight girls. So, I understand the issue of women. I want to make sure that women have options and affordable health care. And women do care about this.
But they also care about being able to afford groceries. They care about the fact that not too far from here, just a few hours south of where I'm sitting, right now, we have a wide open border, and people are coming in.
Women care about the concern of World War III starting up.
I was just at the border a couple of days ago, and it breaks my heart. Because this little shoe, right here, I picked up, it was probably the shoe that a little 2- or 3-year-old boy wore. And it's just sitting there at the border. And I thought to myself, there's 325,000 children that have been sex -- or trafficked across to our border, many of them sex trafficked that have been lost.
COLLINS: But can I stop you there? Because the question was, of course, about abortion--
LAKE: Just a minute. Let me -- let me -- but let me--
COLLINS: --on this issue, and why your position has changed so much? Because it is quite a big reversal, to go from saying a law that bans basically--
LAKE: It's just--
COLLINS: --all abortions in your state, was a great law, that you praised, to then saying that you believed it was out of step. And voters are going to be wondering why you--
LAKE: Well--
COLLINS: --changed your position so much?
LAKE: I did -- I did just explain that. I've put out a lot, I've talked a lot about this, and I just explained that I'm running for federal office. So, I explained how I voted. I'm running for federal office. I'm worried--
COLLINS: So which office you're running for determines what your position on abortion laws is?
LAKE: Yes, because in the federal -- in the federal office, we're not going to decide that, Kaitlan. But I'm really concerned more about -- I'm concerned just as much about the children that are going missing, the women that are being raped, and I wish the media cared about them.
I haven't asked -- heard a lot of questions being asked of my opponent, or Kamala Harris, about the 325,000 children who have gone missing. I haven't heard a lot of questions coming from the mainstream media, about the women that are being killed at the hands of people here who are murderers and rapists.
I was in New York City. I believe--
COLLINS: Well your opponent, of course, voted for the Laken Riley Act. But on the change in your positions--
LAKE: Really quickly though, Kaitlan--
COLLINS: --I question you on that because--
LAKE: Kaitlan, I was just -- Kaitlan, I was just in New York City. I believe that's where you are broadcasting live from tonight. The streets aren't safe anymore. The subways aren't safe anymore. I care about--
COLLINS: OK. I take the subway all the time. It is safe.
But I want to get back to focusing on you.
LAKE: --the border. And we're going to make sure we -- we're going to make sure we secure the border.
COLLINS: Because on the question here, and the question that we're talking about, when it comes to you and your positions, I just wonder. Because you have changed your positions on many issues. When it comes to that 1864 abortion law. When it comes to early voting, you used to oppose early voting. You voted early in this election.
LAKE: Not really (ph).
COLLINS: When it comes to courting McCain Republicans in your state, you once told them, to leave an event of yours. To get the hell out, was the phrase you used. You later said you were joking.
I mean, some people may look at that and say, Well, this is a candidate who has changed her position on a lot of things that we're looking at.
LAKE: I want to secure the border. I want a strong economy. I want schools that are teaching our kids lessons that actually help them get ahead.
My opponent has done an extreme makeover. He's voted for open borders. He's voted against the border wall. He called Trump supporters, dumb, and he called Trump supporters and Republicans, the worst people in the world. And he's also voted--
COLLINS: But I'm asking about your positions, with all due respect.
LAKE: I know. But I'm telling you -- I'm about to explain this. He's also voted for defunding the police. He's done an extreme makeover. He came on your show, and you never interrupted him once.
And I'm here to tell you, we have a lot of issues, as women, we care about.
I care deeply about the little boy, who was possibly wearing this shoe when he crossed our border, who is now missing. I worry about where he is right now.
[21:40:00]
I worry about the people, who are sex trafficked into our country and across our border.
And most importantly, one of the most important issues I worry about is the weapon of mass destruction, pouring across our border. It's called fentanyl, and it's killing about a 100,000 young people about your age every year.
I'm worried about your generation. I have kids that are probably about your age, and they've told me, My son just came home from college the other day and he said, Mom, I don't think that we'll ever be able to afford a home in our generation, because the housing prices have soared. Especially in the past four years, they've gone up--
COLLINS: Yes, and a lot of people are worried about housing prices.
LAKE: --35 percent in Arizona.
COLLINS: A lot of people are worried about fentanyl.
LAKE: They are raising. And it doesn't--
COLLINS: And I should note, most of it comes through legal ports of entry.
LAKE: And Kaitlan, it doesn't help that we had 21 million people--
COLLINS: But Kari Lake, on your race--
LAKE: --here that are--
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: And in on your race, in and of itself. One, I was talking about your positions on those key issues that also matter. Obviously, you know abortion is also going to be a big one, in addition to the economy and immigration, in your state. On your race itself, have you changed your position on whether you lost the 2022 election for governor?
LAKE: First of all, I want to go back to a question you just answered. I have not changed my position on early voting. We have to vote for the entire citizen.
COLLINS: Well you voted early, after you've criticized--
LAKE: I did vote early.
COLLINS: --it previously.
LAKE: I did vote early. And I plan to -- my husband plans to vote early. My daughter voted early. My son will be voting on Election Day.
I've never changed my position. I've always said, Vote however you're comfortable. I do wish we had Election Day. But we don't. So, we have to vote in that way. And we're going to make sure that we get everybody out to vote.
And if you look at the stats? I don't know if you've covered this yet, because it doesn't go in the Democrats' direction. But we are seeing a huge turnout, right now, in Republicans voting early. It's incredible what we're seeing here on the ground.
COLLINS: Yes, but I'm asking you about the turnout in 2022.
LAKE: And at this rate.
COLLINS: Did you lose the 2022 election for governor?
LAKE: Why are we looking backward? I'm looking forward, Kaitlan. I already know what you have--
COLLINS: Because you've yet to concede that race.
LAKE: Kaitlan, I'm looking forward to what is coming up. I'm looking forward to November 5th, and this huge election.
And the people of our state are caring about what's coming up, what's going forward? How are we going to make sure we secure the border? What can we, as Republicans, do to make sure we bring back that thriving economy, where we had record low unemployment? We have record--
COLLINS: So you're not going to say whether or not you lost the 2022 race. Is that what I'm hearing?
LAKE: You know what, Kaitlan? You've seen thousands of interviews from me. I've answered that a million times. I'm looking forward. You--
COLLINS: You've actually yet to answer the question, directly, on whether you believe that you did lose the election.
LAKE: Well, I want to make sure our elections are run properly. And I'm still in litigation, so I don't want to speak to that. But I do want to look forward.
And it's so funny that the media -- Kaitlan, hold up. Hold up. The media can't get over it. You say, I can't get over it, and it looks like you can't. I want a topic-- COLLINS: I don't think I said that.
LAKE: No, listen, I want to--
COLLINS: I just said you haven't conceded the race. And I know, you mentioned your litigation.
LAKE: Kaitlan, hold up. Hold up.
COLLINS: You filed multiple lawsuits.
LAKE: Hold up.
COLLINS: Have any of those lawsuits been successful?
LAKE: Hold up, Kaitlan. We've had 10 questions, probably, and you've had all of them being about elections or abortion. And while those are big issues and--
COLLINS: Those are two pretty big issues.
LAKE: --I care about them. You've asked zero questions about inflation, and the cost of living. In Arizona, we can't afford to live anymore. We have the fastest growing rent prices in the country, in three of our cities. You have to--
COLLINS: So, you're not going to answer the question about whether or not you lost the election?
LAKE: I'm actually thinking you meant to ask me about the issues that people cared about. And people care about our wide open border. They care that 21 million people have poured in to your city, to my city, all across this country.
COLLINS: So, you think people care if--
LAKE: I think you -- I think you forgot--
COLLINS: --you're willing to accept the results of an election that was free and fair, and that you filed multiple lawsuits that have not gone anywhere.
And I should note, a defamation lawsuit that was filed against you, you did not contest it, from a top Arizona election official that says you lied about him repeatedly.
LAKE: Well, I think what you meant to ask is, Kari, things are really tough right now.
COLLINS: These are the questions I meant to ask, with all due respect.
LAKE: And I know that people that are watching tonight--
COLLINS: I'm conducting this interview. But you're not answering those questions. And if that's your answer, that's fine.
LAKE: I've answered them before.
COLLINS: I just wanted to follow-up on that.
LAKE: I think what you meant to ask is, how can we get through this difficult time, where people are pouring across our border, and people can't afford to live right now. I know that you're probably doing OK. You probably have a pretty good salary. I once sat in the chair like you did. But people are really struggling right now.
I've talked to so many parents, dozens of parents, who've lost somebody about your age or younger, a child from fentanyl. They're no longer willing to have our border be wide open.
I'm glad you asked about the election. I'm looking forward to November 5th. We're seeing a huge turnout in voters, here in Arizona, Democrats, Independents, and Republicans--
COLLINS: Can I ask you, in that race, when you look at the numbers, in your state?
LAKE: --who care.
COLLINS: Donald Trump is running ahead of Vice President Harris in that state. You're running behind Ruben Gallego by a few points, according to the numbers. We'll see if they bear out. Of course, it's polling.
LAKE: Yes.
COLLINS: But why do you think that is? Why do you think there are supporters, who say that -- voters that say they want to support Donald Trump, but also Ruben Gallego over you?
[21:45:00]
LAKE: I don't really think those voters exist. I actually look at the good polling, our internal polling, which shows I'm ahead a little bit, and this is a tied-up race.
So, I'm actually looking forward to the election. It's going to be a voter turnout election. And right now, we're seeing a great turnout, with Republicans, much higher than Democrats, right now. And then we're going to see people show up on Election Day as well.
COLLINS: Kari Lake.
LAKE: But what I really want to do--
COLLINS: Thank you, for your time tonight.
LAKE: --is get to securing our border, bringing back a strong economy, making our streets safe, in New York, in Phoenix, and Scottsdale, and Flagstaff.
Thank you, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Thank you for -- thank you for your time.
LAKE: Appreciate you having me on.
COLLINS: Up next. Federal investigators, tonight, are searching for a suspect, after a ballot drop box in Washington was set on fire. Hundreds of them damaged in one of the country's most competitive districts.
The Democratic candidate in that race will join me after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[21:50:00]
COLLINS: Tonight, federal investigators are racing to figure out who started fires at two ballot boxes, near Portland, Oregon.
One of them is in Washington's 3rd Congressional District, where, right now, one of the most competitive House races, in the country, is playing out. Hundreds of ballots were damaged in that instance.
My source tonight, is the incumbent Democrat in that race. Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez.
And it's great to have you here.
Because I know on this, you've asked for police to patrol all of the drop boxes, until Election Day, 24/7. How worried are you, tonight, about how this could impact a race like yours?
REP. MARIE GLUESENKAMP PEREZ (D-WA): Well, I mean, I don't think anyone's more pissed about this than I am. But I'm not pissed about it because I'm thinking about it from a partisan perspective. I'm mad, because I'm an American, who sees the corrosive and toxic environment that we've seen, across the country, come home, in a really -- in a really damaging and just ugly way.
COLLINS: Is that what you think this is, a moment where we've seen -- you know, we just were talking to someone, who doesn't accept the election results, even though she's running now for another office.
But when you see that, when you see the way people talk about elections, generally, even not elected officials. Do you think that's why we're seeing this play out? And are you worried we're going to see more of it, before next Tuesday?
GLUESENKAMP PEREZ: Well, that's one of the reasons that we've called for law enforcement.
And right now, I can't go back and fix that. What I can do is look forward and make sure that we are communicating to voters about the urgency.
If you voted, this weekend, at the Fisher's Landing Transit Center, in Vancouver, you need to reach out to the Clark County Auditor, and make sure that your ballot has been received and counted. COLLINS: It seems tough to reach every single voter, who cast their ballot there, who may not be watching or may not have seen this. When it comes to this point, if you are someone, who doesn't know, is your best advice just to call, to find out, to try to vote again? I mean, what does that look like?
GLUESENKAMP PEREZ: Yes. I mean, the county doesn't (ph) have limited resources. So, it's not really productive, if you're doing it from everywhere.
But if you're in Clark County, and particularly if you think you might have dropped off your ballot off at 164, at the Transit Center, you should call, you should check first online, and then you should call.
But you're right. Like, this is what really bothers me about it. Like, I have a 3-year-old. And thinking about how much energy it takes to, like, get there and get your ballot there, and have all your stuff together, you know? Like, it's a real problem that this is impacting the people that have the most difficulty, making the time to engage in the democratic process.
COLLINS: Yes. It's incredibly frustrating for someone, who fulfilled their civic duty, and now is going to have to go through these hoops to do it again.
We're almost one week out. I mentioned. I mean, it's important, regardless of whether a race is tough or not, that people's ballots can get counted. Obviously, this is an issue now.
Your race is a very tough one, tonight, though. And you're a Democrat, who flipped a red seat. When you look at this, and you look at the presidential race, you have not yet said who you voted for in this race. Did you vote for Vice President Harris?
GLUESENKAMP PEREZ: Yes, I have not turned in my ballot yet. I know -- I know who I'm not voting for.
But the thing is, is, like the national influence on our politics, here at home, replacing and inserting itself into our values, like that's part of the problem. It's got to be born in from a place of loyalty to place, loyalty to community, loyalty to our land, not driven by a national agenda. Certainly not -- I mean, people aren't going to change the votes because of what I say, and I don't think they should. It should be motivated by their loyalty to their community.
COLLINS: Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, we're hoping everything gets sorted out that investigators find who did this. Thank you for joining tonight.
GLUESENKAMP PEREZ: Thank you.
COLLINS: Up ahead. As we get closer to next Tuesday, we are going inside the numbers, tonight. There is an insane amount of money and campaigns that have been spending on voters in battleground states per voter. We'll take you inside the numbers with Harry Enten, right after this.
[21:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: We are just eight days away from the election. I'm probably the only person who is excited about that.
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL DATA REPORTER: Whoo.
COLLINS: Harry Enten is as well.
Tonight, more than 43 million people have already cast their ballots in the election. That means 43 million people can at least try to tune out the political ads that they are seeing every five seconds on their TVs. Both parties have been shelling out big bucks in the battlegrounds in this final stretch.
CNN's data guru, a very excited Harry Enten, is here with me.
Harry, you've been looking at the numbers. And this is, I mean, poor people in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, who are just bombarded with this. But you're looking at what these ads are -- what these campaigns are spending per voter on these ads.
ENTEN: Boy, pity these poor voters. If you look across the seven key battleground states, plus Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, since October 1, the campaigns, PACs, et cetera, spending $18 per voter, $18 per voter in these swing states. That's a ridiculous amount given, of course, that there are about 44 million voters spread out across the seven swing states, and, of course, the 2nd Congressional District in Nebraska.
COLLINS: OK. So, you're spending $18 per voter. Obviously, in different states and different voters, they're sending different messages. But what are we seeing? What are the ads that are resonating or breaking through the most in these last few days?
ENTEN: Yes, at least when it comes to the anti-Trump, pro-Harris stuff, it's about the fact that Donald Trump wants to give tax breaks to his rich buddies, right? Which I think very much lines up with the fact that Kamala Harris wants to make this campaign that she is somebody that cares about people like you, while Donald Trump doesn't.
It plays very well into a campaign issue for her, deflecting away from the economy. It was something Obama won on back in 2012. She's hoping it's working for her.
On the Trump side, what we're essentially looking at, the number one ad, that's the pro-Trump anti-Harris, is the fact that Kamala Harris is soft on crime.
And you may be saying to yourself, Crime, that hasn't really been much of an issue in this campaign. But in fact, according to a CBS News / YouGov poll out yesterday, it was, in fact, the third highest on the list of major factors in your vote. And I think it also ties in with immigration as well, with the fact that Harris is just soft on a bunch of these different issues.
[22:00:00]
COLLINS: I mean, these ads can really resonate with people who are maybe just now tuning in.
ENTEN: There are very few of them. But those few undecideds will make all the difference, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Harry Enten, no one is undecided about you.
ENTEN: Oh.
COLLINS: Thank you. We'll tell you what we think, later.
Thank you so much, Harry.
Thank you all so much for joining us.
"CNN NEWSNIGHT WITH ABBY PHILLIP" starts now.
