Shownotes Transcript
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for every life-saving treatment, for every next step, for every care in the world. Cleveland Clinic. It's Thursday, September 19th, right now on CNN This Morning. This was a surprise. It's automatic. They endorse the Democrats. Breaking with tradition, the Teamsters decide not to endorse a candidate. Donald Trump talks like he's got the vote locked up. And this. We're not serving any politician, any political position.
figure, any cause, any issue, nothing. It's just — A long-awaited cut, the first interest rate slash since 2020 puts the Fed right in the middle of a neck-and-neck presidential race. And — The women's reproductive rights issue, I think, is really important. Foreign policy, border, southern border, that's probably the biggest thing to me. Battleground Wisconsin will talk to the state's former lieutenant governor about the keys to victory in the pivotal Badger State.
And vowing a visit, Trump promises a trip to Springfield, Ohio after those debunked pet eating claims.
All right, 6 a.m. in Washington, a live look at Capitol Hill on this Thursday morning. Good morning, everyone. I'm Casey Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us. There are just 47 days until November 5th, Election Day. In person, early voting begins tomorrow in Virginia, South Dakota, and Minnesota. A new Quinnipiac poll finding that Kamala Harris now leads Donald Trump by five points among likely voters in both Michigan and Pennsylvania.
There is no clear leader shown in their poll in Wisconsin, where Harris is ahead by just one point.
That poll comes on the same day that the influential Teamsters union announced they won't endorse a candidate in this election. Internal polling that was shared by the Teamsters ahead of that announcement showed Trump with almost double Harris' support among the union's rank and file. In a statement, the union president saying this, quote, unfortunately, neither major candidate was able to make serious commitments to our union to ensure the interests of working people are always put before big business, end quote.
Still, Donald Trump calling it a win. I was honored to receive the endorsement of the rank and file membership of the Teamsters. I love the Teamsters. This was a surprise. It's automatic. They endorse the Democrats. Automatic for many, many decades. But you know what? They said they looked at her. They said, we're not going there. I'm sorry.
So inside that new Quinnipiac polling, a potential red flag for the Trump campaign on the former president's signature issue, immigration and the border. Likely voters in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin now almost evenly split on whether Harris or Trump would do a better job handling immigration. Both candidates yesterday addressing this issue at separate events in Washington and New York. They have pledged to carry out the largest deportation, a mass deportation in American history.
Imagine what that would look like and what that would be. How's that going to happen? Massive raids? Massive detention camps? What are they talking about? We're getting them out of our country. They came in illegally. They're destroying our country. We're getting them out. They're going to be brought back to the country from which they came.
All right, our panel's here. Jeff Mason, White House correspondent for Reuters. Sabrina Rodriguez, national political reporter for The Washington Post. Kendra Barkow, former press secretary to Joe Biden. And Mike Dubke, former Trump White House communications director. Welcome to all of you. Thank you all for being here. Mike, I want to start with you just, and Kendra, weigh in as well on this polling that we have from Quinnipiac. First, it shows Wisconsin tighter than Pennsylvania. I haven't talked to very many people who think that's actually true.
true but I'm interested to know what you think and what the latest is that you're hearing and similar on these immigration numbers if you buy them. I am spot on with you about the Wisconsin numbers and actually I think that the Trump campaign should be really pleased with the Wisconsin numbers. I would have thought that Wisconsin
had been pulling away, not just because there's a competitive Senate race, which we do also have in Michigan and Pennsylvania, but that these states seem to have been traveling together. I was prepared to sit down here today and say that there was really no appreciable debate bump for the vice president. This is the first poll that we've seen that has shown any type of movement
in a large way in any of the battleground states. - Right, well, and to that point, so Kristen Soltis Anderson, who is a friend here at CNN, wrote this in the Times, Kendra, she said, "The reality is the debate may have done more to fire up or reassure Ms. Harris's existing supporters than to add new voters to her ranks in large numbers." While the ABC episodes poll found Ms. Harris's supporters back her more strongly than Mr. Trump's supporters back him, it still found nearly half, 47% of respondents,
think miss harris is too liberal supports better dot have more your side more energizing your opponent but an enthusiastic vote doesn't count any more than a begrudging one so long as they both turn out and that christians basically arguing she hasn't seen a change since the debate in the polling and what they have said all along that it's going to be a tight race the harris campaign has said it's going to be up to the wire it's going to be tight we are not we are not going to win this but i think the trend is going in the direction that they want right you have seen it in these
polls in the state by state polls and you're seeing it on the on a more national level that the trend is going there but look she's talking about the issues that people in Wisconsin are talking about abortion the economy she's getting out there she's talking about her plans and she's talking about things that the American people want to hear
Yeah, Jeff, here's what the Q poll analyst wrote about these issues, the issue polling on the economy and immigration. The three crucial string states wave a red flag at the Trump campaign. The GOP's most go-to attack strategies against Democrats on immigration and the economy may be losing momentum. I will say this contradicts what I hear from some sources on the ground who say immigration in particular is still a really potent issue for Republicans. But I'm curious what you think.
Well, I think that I've been spending a lot of time with the vice president on the trail, and she's talking a lot about the middle class, to Kendra's point. She's talking a lot about bringing prices down. She is doing what they think or addressing the issues that they think is really important to voters and that it's resonating with voters. I don't think you're wrong. I mean, I think immigration is still a vulnerability for the vice president's campaign. And it was something that was surprising looking back on the debate that the
the former president of the United States didn't push that harder instead of taking the bait on some of the questions that she drew him in on. - Instead we're talking about pets. - Exactly. So I don't think that issue has gone away, but I think they feel like her emphasis on the middle class and some of her economic policies as un-fleshed out as some of them are is resonating.
I think people are just starting to learn more about what Trump wants to do on immigration. I think there's been this perception of the chaos at the border, of the numbers of people crossing the border, this being such a potent issue and such a vulnerability for Democrats. But now they're seeing, you know, Harris a little more on the campaign trail.
people might not necessarily know exactly what's happening on the hill but she's really bringing home this point that there was this bipartisan bill that she wanted to see get through Congress and that Trump helped kill that and then you have on the other side you have Trump talking about cat-eating to Haitian immigrants in in Ohio so that is sort of making people question a little bit like is this too extreme but I will say something to here is
The reality is that Trump has shifted the politics of immigration to the right. I mean, we're not hearing Harris on the campaign trail talking about a fair and humane immigration system and undoing the policies of Donald Trump. She's talking about endorsing a bill that has been endorsed by the Border Patrol Union, that has been widely criticized by immigration and human rights groups.
And it just shows that that the politics of immigration have changed in the year since Donald Trump came into power or decriminalizing the border which he has called she has called for in the in the past I look polls are snapshots in time. So I'm not surprised You know that polls will go up and down if this is going to be an incredibly tight race all the way through I would love to see
the Trump campaign focus on the Biden-Harris agenda one more time on inflation, on international crises, on immigration. She was the border czar. And we can argue whether or not that's a term that we should be used. It was used in 2021 on this network.
she was in charge of the border for a long period of time, they should hold her accountable because it is one of the top issues that we have going. Well, it seems to me, Mike, too, that this polling might actually be evidence of what you and other Republicans often sit at this table and say to your nominee,
like hey let's focus on the issue that's when you don't you're starting to lose ground absolutely on the issues you otherwise run for about the issues I mean we are we have had record inflation over the last three and a half years in the Biden Harris administration we can talk about the rate cuts later and whether or not those are going to be successful in bringing down pricing but
But you know, Americans are hurting outside of the coast. And we're talking about races in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, where families have been hurt by rising prices. - Very briefly, we're kind of running out of time, but I really want to play this sound bite from Trump yesterday because he was in New York, which is not one of these swing states, and I'm curious as to why. Here's what he had to say to voters in New York. - Patriotic New Yorkers must get your out to vote. Gotta get out, get a gallon.
Harry, get up, Harry. Harry, get your fat a** out of the couch. You're going to vote for Trump today, Harry. Get up, Harry. Come on, let's go. Let's go, Harry.
Kendra I don't even know what to do with that I mean it is it is crazy to me first of all the swearing is so inappropriate on something like that but why are you pushing New Yorkers that is a that is a blue state so it is I'm just sort of mind boggled by the entirety of it altogether I mean he's normalized swearing already in our politics Mike but but but insulting the voters on the couch in the way that they may or may not look I don't know who Harry is
I don't know who Harry is. I thought that was the question I was going to get. Who's Harry? But it is, I mean, look, we've had a normalization of swearing on the campaign trail. President Biden was swearing left and right in the final days before he dropped out of the race. It is beyond me. I agree with you. Let's get back to, you know...
Shut the front door instead of using profanity on the thing. I just think the rhetoric as a whole, we just need to tamp it down across the board because it's just not appropriate to be calling somebody a childless cat woman or talking about people eating cats or any of those things. Altogether, I think the rhetoric needs to be tamped down. I want to find Harry.
I'm interested to know. I'm interested to meet Harry myself. All right, coming up here on CNN this morning. Will the Teamsters union decision impact blue wall states? We're going to talk to former Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes about how the break with tradition might play out in his state. Plus, debunked claims and a mayor's call for candidates to stay away from his city leaves Donald Trump undeterred. He's now promising to visit Springfield, Ohio. And
The impact of the Fed's relief for borrowers in a heated election cycle's final weeks. I guess it shows the economy is very bad to cut it by that much. Assuming they're not just playing politics.
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The U.S. economy is in a good place, and our decision today is designed to keep it there. We're not serving any politician, any political figure, any cause, any issue, nothing.
The Fed slashing interest rates for the first time in four years, this time by an aggressive half a percentage point, paving the way for lower borrowing costs. Fed Chair Jerome Powell insisting politics has nothing to do with the decision. That didn't stop Donald Trump for insinuating that the timing of the cut was suspicious with the election less than two months away.
I guess it shows the economy is very bad to cut it by that much. Assuming they're not just playing politics, the economy would be very bad, or they're playing politics, one or the other. But it was a big cut. So Jeff Mason, how does this actually potentially impact the election?
Well, a couple of different things. You can see some Democrats coming out and saying, look, this is validation of what we've been saying, which is that inflation has come down, which it has. And that's the reason that the Fed made this cut. On the other hand, it was interesting to see Vice President Harris's immediate reaction in an email statement yesterday, which was,
"Happy to see this, but prices are still too high. I'm going to continue to focus on bringing down the prices of groceries, the prices of housing, et cetera." So it's not a victory lap for her, even though no doubt there are some Democrats who are very pleased to see this happening just
a handful of weeks before the election. - All right, ahead here on CNN this morning, a heart-stopping emergency on the road. A deputy jumps into a moving vehicle to help a driver in need. It's one of the five things you have to see this morning. Plus, it's a tie. Donald Trump, Kamala Harris locked in a dead heat in Wisconsin as absentee voting in that state begins.
All right, 22 minutes past the hour. Five things you have to see this morning. A quick thinking deputy climbs into a moving truck to save a man experiencing a medical emergency. The driver couldn't respond to officers and stop the car on his own. Wow, that's incredible. He was taken to the hospital after the rescue.
A police chase involving a limo in Wisconsin ends in a drug bust. The limo driver sped off from police, crashed into a ditch, and then ran off into the woods. When police caught up with him, the driver punched and bit the officer. Meth was found in the vehicle. One of the most active volcanoes in the world, Hawaii's Kailua'a, putting on a show this week. Lava shooting as high as 30 feet in a remote area of Hawaii National Park. No homes were threatened.
The first video footage of the Titan submersible on the ocean floor released by the Coast Guard as investigators conduct a hearing into the implosion that killed five explorers on board last June. And new dashcam video shows the exact moment a pipeline fire ignited in Texas. The crash seen in the reflection of a window. You can see a car ram into the pipeline and it bursting into flames on Monday. Evacuation orders for dozens of nearby homes have now been lifted.
All right, time now for weather. Some warmer temperatures bringing a bigger threat for hail, damaging winds, possibly even tornadoes across the Midwest. Let's get straight to our meteorologist, the weatherman, Derek Van Dam. Derek, good morning. Good morning, Casey. Okay, so you need three things in order for severe storms to develop. The heat, which you mentioned, it's there. Instability in the form of relative humidity. And then you need some sort of trigger mechanism like a cold front to initiate the thunderstorm. So look at the warmth building across the central U.S.,
Focusing in on Minneapolis southward towards Omaha and Kansas City. There's the cold front moving in from the west, and that's going to be the trigger mechanism for these thunderstorms to develop later this afternoon. Already a few showers and thunderstorms, lightning strikes being detected on our radar. But it's really later this afternoon, just in time for that home return from work. Damaging winds and large hail are possible. Can't rule out a tornado across this region as well. So the upper Midwest to the central Midwest,
This is the timing right around 4 to 5 p.m. near Minneapolis. So just keep an eye to the sky. Be weather aware because some of these storms could become strong rather quickly as that cold front advances eastward. And if you thought your false fall was nice across the eastern U.S., you can welcome back the summer-like temperatures. We're going to reach the...
upper 80s and lower 90s if you're located in Atlanta and place it to the south. I want to give you an early heads up. We are monitoring the southwestern sections of the Caribbean Sea that could bring the potential for some tropical development. This is for next week, so it's not a concern this week, but certainly something we're monitoring across the Gulf Coast states again for next week. Casey? All right. Keep an eye on that. Derek Van Dam for us this morning. Derek, thank you very much.
All right, still ahead here on CNN this morning, Donald Trump now talking about a trip to Springfield, Ohio, after spreading baseless claims about the Haitian migrants who live there. Now the city's mayor, how the city's mayor feels about the potential visit, plus what the cadets at the U.S. Military Academy can teach all of us during a close election season. Ryan Reynolds here from Intmobile. With the price of just about everything going up during inflation, we thought we'd bring our prices down.
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All right, welcome back to CNN This Morning. New polling out this morning from The New York Times. Finding Donald Trump and Kamala Harris tied nationally among likely voters. In must-win Pennsylvania, the state perhaps most likely to decide the election, Harris leading Trump by four points. That is just outside the margin of error. And it does include the third-party candidates that will be on the ballot there. Those polls were conducted in part after the apparent second assassination attempt against Donald Trump and the rash of bomb threats yesterday.
in Ohio. And of course, with all of those events, we're reminded how divisive our politics have become. Still, there are a few places rising above for a higher cause. The United States Service Academies. Our next guest recently spoke with a group of West Point cadets about how and why they're able to put aside political differences in service of our nation.
West Point teaches you how to disagree with the people you have to work with because you're here for a greater purpose. And so you have to put aside your personal differences and find a solution. How does this place develop character and the kind of character that this country needs to fight successfully?
in the wars of the future. So we all talked about growths, but it's not just personal growth, it's growing together. And through the four years here, we all grow together, we all learn together, we rely on each other. So in taking that, she's a military then in a broader aspect,
It's not just sacrifice for ourselves, it's sacrifice for the people to our left and right. So we have to be willing to say, for you, Battle Buddy, I'm willing to sacrifice whatever it requires for us to get the mission done. There's also a hope for the future between all of us. So there's the understanding that if we sacrifice for each other, we are enabling each other to create a brighter future for our country tomorrow.
All right, joining me now is pollster and communications strategist Frank Luntz, who you saw there conducting this group. Frank, I'm so grateful to have you, especially on this topic. And this is the most nervous I have been this entire year because this matters to me more than anything I've done, possibly in my entire career. These young men and women are absolutely exceptional, and the institution at West Point is extraordinary. They teach sacrifice and service, but even more importantly, they teach leadership with character.
A West Point cadet cannot lie, cheat or steal. And here's the important part. They will not tolerate anyone who does. Now imagine if America was filled with people like this, with those values. The institution, you learn this, it becomes who you are. And I see it articulated and I see it in everyday life. They help people. They always have your back.
And it makes me not just proud for my country, but it makes me feel safe and secure knowing that they've got our backs. - I will say in an age when our politics seems so deeply selfish a lot of the time, I think one of the things that I see in these clips that we're watching of these kids
something that we can all aspire to, which is to think more about the people around us. And these kids are obviously actually doing that. Their actions are bearing it out. You mentioned the institution of West Point, what it means to them. Let's watch a little bit more about what they had to say when you asked them that question. Take a look. Can several of you tell me what West Point means to you personally?
Not describe the institution, but its impact on you. Well, the first thing that goes through my mind is the classic question of, if not me, then who? How can I expect there to be a military if I wouldn't want to sign up for it? We're lucky to have a volunteer force. That's something that a lot of Americans don't think about, that we as a nation can have an all-volunteer force that's not present in most of the world.
For me, it's a calling. It's a sense of duty, something that isn't tasked upon me, but something that I feel as if I need to do for my family, for my fellow Americans, and most importantly, for my friends here. I wake up every morning being proud to serve and to be at this institution because I'm doing it for the people around me. So, Frank, in an age where
We see some of the way that some of our leaders act, conduct themselves in public, and you contrast it with these kids and what they're able to say and do. I mean, can we get them to watch some of this and maybe help everybody get to a point that's closer to this? Over the last two days, they met with seven senators, ten members of Congress, an even number of Democrats and Republicans. They asked challenging questions because the institution teaches them how to do so.
So you can say, wait, I don't think this is right, or I don't think this is fair, but you can do so civilly and decently, and you can do so without a shred of partisanship. It never comes up. I watched the debate with them. I'll see the debate coming up October 1st. And they look each other straight in the eye, and they sit up straight.
And their entire behavior is one they were trying to teach the US. Just as they modeled their behavior off of what's right and what's decent and what's fair, I wish America could learn more from them and do exactly the same.
So, of course, you conducted this focus group in May. This was before these kids were about to graduate, which means that they are headed for training for a real world that many others their age are nowhere near heading to. You asked them about what their goals are. Let's take a look at how they answered that question. What is the impact that you wish to have on the world, on the country, on your family?
based on you being here at West Point? I'd say being a role model. That's the main impact that I want to be. There's different divides and divisions all across the country. But I think one thing, at least at the Academy, we can come together is understanding what being a role model looks like, what it looks like ethically, being a leader, and being resilient, you know, physically and mentally. And I think that's what I would want to give the country is that there is hope and there is leadership out there.
It was President Lincoln that said, "If the United States ever falls, it'll be our undoing and not in other countries." And I think West Point facilitates humility and it facilitates a purpose and a love for others besides yourself. And I think it's the antithesis of that which is pride, which is currently causing most, if not all of our problems. So I think the way that you inspire that shift in values is to do yourself, lead by example.
So Frank, pride and patriotism have been a part of this presidential campaign sometimes in very negative ways, but one of the kids, one of the young men that we heard from there, his personal story is one of great, remarkable patriotism. Tell us about it. He wasn't born here. He was born in Iraq. His father was a translator, and now he's a Rhodes Scholar. And that's what West Point does. It takes...
decent young people and turns them into leaders of character and courage. And then the second gentleman talked about humility. When do you see young people actually sacrifice for others and respect others above themselves? And that's what makes West Point unique and exceptional with extraordinary cadets. But it's all a part of living. It's all a part of, the air is different there.
And I'm heading up there now, and I can't wait, because when you're around them, you feel better about the country. You feel safe and secure. And you know that there's no reason for us to treat each other with disrespect.
that this country is better than that. They defend the Constitution, not a president, not a political party, not a government, the Constitution. And they all appreciate it because they're taught what that means. Yeah. So how does knowing what you know about them, being able to work with them like this, how does it make you view when Donald Trump says things about how America is a declining country? He sometimes says things that
make it sound, maybe it's not worth fighting for. What do you make of that language? Well, here's what West Point taught me. I'm actually going to not answer that question because there's not a shred, not an ounce of partisanship in them.
And they will defend whoever's the president. They will defend the Constitution. Whatever they're asked to do, they do. And they're prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice. I want to emphasize. Sure, but are our leaders serving them when they talk about our country that way? They are prepared to put up with anything. These are young people who walk with backpacks of 90 pounds or 100 pounds, mile after mile after mile, carrying incredible weaponry, carrying each other.
up and down hills and it's so heartwarming to know that there is still, I wish there were more than 4,400 of them. I wish that other universities could do what they do because it would change the direction of our country. America is a great country because we have great young people and we have great young people because of institutions that bring out the best in them, the best professors, the most amazing people who serve
And it's impacted my life. Well, thanks for giving us an opportunity to hear from them, Frank. I really appreciate it. Thanks for being here today. Thank you for CNN for bringing them to the American people. For sure. All right. Ahead here on CNN this morning, absentee ballots in the mail in Battleground, Wisconsin. We're going to look at the latest polling. Get the state of the race from Wisconsin's former lieutenant governor, Mandela Barnes. Plus, welcome or not, Donald Trump says he is planning to pay a visit to Springfield, Ohio.
They almost doubled their population in a period of a few weeks. Can you believe it? And you know what? They've got to get much tougher. I'm going to go there in the next two weeks. I'm going to Springfield. My home state of Wisconsin. How do you cast your vote?
Whether it was the RNC or the DNC, Wisconsinites stay true to their brand. Nothing says Wisconsin more than jumping around with a cheese head. Today in our battleground beat, the Badger State, still one of the few states that holds the keys to the White House. New polling shows it's going to be incredibly tight. Kamala Harris just one percentage point ahead of Donald Trump there in this poll out this morning. Absentee ballots are being sent out across the state today, meaning both tickets have limited time to make their pitch to Wisconsin voters.
We all know he will sign a national abortion ban to outlaw abortion in every state, even in Wisconsin. We will ultimately eliminate the federal Department of Education and send education back to Wisconsin and back to the states. She did exactly what she promised, and now Wisconsin and every other state is dealing with the consequences. Let's not forget our history, America.
The labor movement starts in Wisconsin. It's Wisconsin that does it. All right, joining us now, former Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes. He was also the Democratic Senate nominee in the Badger State in 2022. Sir, good morning. Thank you so much for being here. Good morning. Thanks so much for having me. So I've got to tell you, these new polls, we've got one from Quinnipiac, one from the New York Times out this morning, show the Wisconsin race incredibly tight.
I have to say the sources that I talked to on the Democratic side seem to feel better about Wisconsin than they do about Pennsylvania, for example. So I was interested to see these numbers. Now, that said, you lost your race to Senator Johnson by just about 26,000 votes. Biden won Wisconsin by just about 20,000 votes. It is going to be very close. What do you think Harris in particular, because you have a sense of what a Democrat needs to do to win there, what would she need to do to pull this out?
Well, I'll tell you, these polls are all over the place and they continue to show a tight and tightening race that grows in intensity and grows in importance with each passing day. So I want to tell folks to not pay attention to the polls. Just focus on the work that needs to get done. Always act as if we're one point down. I think that brings the best in us as organizers. I think it brings out the best in people as candidates. And you see these trips.
multiple trips over and over again from Vice President Harris and Governor Walz to Wisconsin because they realized how important things are. And what's going on, what's important is the fact that they are talking about abortion access, they are talking about freedom, they are talking about fundamental rights,
but also talking about economic opportunity through the opportunity agenda. And I don't think it gets enough press that Kamala Harris talks about a path forward to improve quality of life for Americans, not just in the state of Wisconsin, but what is good for Wisconsin. It's good for folks all across the country. And people need to think about, you know,
how much they're paying for groceries, how much they're paying for gas, all these things that are happening. And a lot of this is not necessarily consequential of the role of president. However, a president that truly understands what people are going through and wants to work to hold corporations accountable, to hold drug companies accountable, as she has done as a prosecutor. Yes.
No, no, I don't want to interrupt you, but I do want to kind of drill down on one thing because one of the reasons why Wisconsin is a little different from Michigan and Pennsylvania is that it does have a lower share of minority voters than those other two states. That's clearly a place Democrats have done well in the past, but it also underscores that...
Harris doing well with those voters in Wisconsin is even more critically important for her. And there has been some some slippage among particularly black men for Democrats. Some of them have gone toward Donald Trump. Why is that? And is Harris doing enough to address it?
Well, I can tell you there's been a lot of disinformation out there and it didn't just start with this campaign. This has been a pervasive issue for campaign cycle after campaign cycle. And unfortunately, a lot of campaigns and a lot of parties across the country haven't paid enough attention to it because there's been this assumption that black people are just going to show up and vote for Democrats. And we learned a tough lesson in 2016. And we have learned lesson over lesson with these incredible
increasingly close elections in Milwaukee. And I do think that Kamala Harris's campaign, her particularly as an individual has been making a strident effort to appeal to black male voters. I think that she's been talking about the right things. I think that she's been employing the right surrogates. And I think that she is making the conversation and making the case as best as anyone possibly can. - What do those voters see in Donald Trump in your view?
Well, Donald Trump had a very different profile before he decided to run for president. He was a person that some people, you know, sort of glamorized. He was a subject of many rap lyrics. And, you know, when you think about how Donald Trump sold himself, it was attractive to a lot of
people, not just black males, a lot of people across the entire country. People saw him as some shining star of achievement. But as we know, it was all a farce. It was all based on half-truths and mostly lies. But as the wool becomes lifted over people's eyes, we need to make sure that folks in every community across this country know this scam artist for who he truly is. People need to know that he is a person who is not some self-made billionaire. He's a
person who's had a handout that most people in this country will never have access to. He has nothing in common with the people that he has made some sort of appeal with, whether it's white working class voters or a very small sliver of black male voters. All right. The former lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, Mandela Barnes. Sir, very grateful to have you on the show this morning. Thanks for being here. Thanks. Happy to be here. Look forward to coming back.
Thank you. All right, 51 minutes past the hour. Here's your morning roundup. The disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein pleading not guilty to a new sex crime charge. The alleged incident happened in New York in 2006. Weinstein remains behind bars on a 2022 sex assault conviction and is awaiting a November retrial in his 2020 sex assault conviction after that one was overturned. And this. Oh, my land, y'all.
The search for the man who opened fire on a Kentucky interstate now appears to be over. A couple found a body in the forest where authorities have been searching for the past week. Officials say they're very confident that this ends the manhunt, which started nearly two weeks ago after five people were shot on I-75 with an AR-15. Investigators waiting on a DNA test to confirm the identity.
The Trump campaign targeted by Iranian hackers. Those hackers sending stolen information to people associated with the Biden campaign. Law enforcement officials say there's no indication those people ever responded. And the Harris campaign says the material was never used.
Students, now back in school in Springfield, Ohio, after bomb threats forced local officials to cancel classes there. The threats coming in the aftermath of Donald Trump's claims on the presidential debate stage, claiming that Haitian migrants were eating people's pets in the city. Local officials have debunked those claims, and they are also asking national candidates to stay away from their city, with resources now stretched because of all of the negative attention.
If either one of the candidates wanted to come to Springfield, it would be very, very difficult to have them here. It would be an extreme strain on our resources. So it would be fine with me if they decided not to make that stop right now. The former president seems unmoved by that request. I'm going to go there in the next two weeks. I'm going to Springfield and I'm going to Aurora. You may never see me again, but that's OK. Got to do what I got to do. Whatever happened to Trump? Well, he never got out of Springfield.
Trump there seeming to imply that the town is so unsafe that he won't make it back. Ohio's director of public safety defending the migrant population. The number one issue we have in the public safety space with the Haitians, it's not crime, it's not violence, it's the driving. That's the public safety issue. So what we want to do is we want to get driver's education to that population.
Okay, our panel is back. Mike Dubke, this one's for you. No, but seriously, why would he do this? I mean, Ohio is not a swing state. The most valuable resource with 47 days left for any campaign is a candidate's time. He is showing up or says he's going to show up in a place that is telling him not to come because literally their students are being kept out of school because of the threats.
Well, I think it's in the president's DNA, President Trump's DNA to quadruple, quintuple down on things. I think if they said, please come to Springfield, he would then go to Wisconsin or Pennsylvania or Michigan, where I think the campaign would be better served, frankly.
This reminds me of 2016 when you had Hillary Clinton at the end when she thought she was going to win the election. She didn't go to Wisconsin. You just had the former lieutenant governor on talking about the fact that she lost the vote in Milwaukee, and Trump won that and won the White House. So campaigns, it is valuable to have their time there. He shouldn't be going to Ohio, but I think it's in his DNA to answer the question. Kendra?
I mean, look, this is what he does, as Mike says. He doubles down, he triples down, but we know what the larger problem here, right? I mean, he did it with Bertha and Obama. He finds something and he sticks with it and he goes over and over again. I just, I feel bad for the kids and for the people who live in this city. The city is telling him not to come, but as long as they're going to tell him not to come, he's going to continue to go there. Sabrina,
There's a headline on the front page of the Wall Street Journal today. It reads as follows. Told pet eating was untrue. Trump team spread it anyway. Springfield, Ohio officials informed Vance's staff that rumors were baseless, it didn't matter, and now the town is in chaos. The byline of Springfield, Ohio says that the city manager, Brian Heck, fielded an unusual question at City Hall on the morning of September 9th from a staff member of Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance,
The staffer called to ask if there was any truth to bizarre rumors about Haitian immigrants and pets in Springfield. He asked point blank, "Are the rumors true of pets being taken and eaten?" recalled Heck. I told him, "No, there was no verifiable evidence or reports to show that this was true." I told them that the claim was baseless.
But of course, by then, Vance had already posted the rumors. Now this Wall Street Journal reporter, Chris Marr, went to the home of a woman where apparently this rumor may have started. She had filed a police report about a missing cat. She had referenced Haitian migrants. The reporter found that the woman had actually located the cat in her basement.
This is how we got here. What is Trump doing here? And what does it say about where the campaign is? And I would add, I mean, this woman, I recommend everyone reads the story, but this woman later says she apologized to her Haitian neighbors when she realized that she found her cat.
And I think it just shows the power of disinformation and misinformation that we're seeing in this election cycle. I think to the point that we've brought home here today is sort of, this is Trump. I mean, Trump is not the person that's gonna say, my bad, it was a debunked claim and I shouldn't have said it. And you're not gonna hear that from JD Vance as well.
But I just got back from being on the road in Pennsylvania and Arizona, and this is something that is coming up talking to voters. On the Democratic side, you're hearing base voters kind of joke at it or show outrage about it, or a combination of the two, and saying, well, at least we're not saying that we're eating cats and dogs.
But what I have heard is talking to Republican base voters that are saying this is true, that are saying, oh yeah, I've seen the videos. Oh yes, this is 100% true. It's just now the media saying that it's not true. So this really just feeds into that relationship that Donald Trump has created with the media of saying that we're lying, that these are baseless claims.
claims and and people sort of feeding into oh no that it is true I'm and really fueling the base which is what we've seen him do so much at this cycle just the irony of the former president calling out Democrats for their rhetoric and his view that that in
had an impact on the assassination attempts, but not changing his own rhetoric on a town that is now really suffering as a result of elevating these discredited claims. - Well, I have to say, Mike, I mean, these are JD Vance's constituents. - They are. It's a fact.
Look, I come back to this. If I had to put my campaign hat on and look at why the Trump campaign is doing this, to your point about voters in different areas of the country, if your goal is to turn out low propensity Trump voters,
and create an atmosphere where you can have something to talk about. Because now we're what? How many days into the story we are? 10 days into the story? This is a perfect, this is made for TV, made for social media story that goes back and forth. If that is your goal, rather than to convince undecided voters to come to your side, you want to turn out low propensity base voters? Yeah.
that makes sense I understand what they're trying to do here don't happen to agree with it because I think they've got a target rich environment with in the seven states that we care about talking about the economy talking about immigration talking about international crises but all what you said is coming at the expense
of the people and I was just gonna say to you that you see with Kamala Harris she is out there talking about the issues she's talking about abortion she's talking about housing she's talking about child care and she's talking about the issues that do matter to voters at the end of the day and so I you know I think as long as she keeps going out there and talking about this
she will expand the electorate and she will get more voters, we hope, on her side because she's talking about the issues that matter. Yeah, well, and some of the issue polling that's out this morning is, I think, some of the most interesting because it may show that she's winning this kind of push-pull with Republicans. All right, thank you guys for being with us this morning. I really appreciate your time. Thanks to all of you for joining us as well. I'm Casey Hunt. Don't go anywhere. CNN News Central starts right now.
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