Israel in Lebanon, VP Debate Tonight, Recovering From Helene
48:55 Share

From all over the world, people turn to Cleveland Clinic for our expertise and our compassionate care. As leaders in heart, neurology, and cancer, the future of specialty care is happening right now at Cleveland Clinic. For every life-saving treatment, for every next step, for every care in the world, Cleveland Clinic.

With an hour before boarding, there's only one place to go. The Chase Sapphire Lounge by the club. There, you can recharge before the big adventure. Or enjoy a locally inspired dish. You can recline in a comfy chair to catch up on your favorite show. Or order a craft cocktail at the bar.

Whatever you're in the mood for, find the detail that moves you with curated touches at the Chase Sapphire Lounge by the club. Chase, make more of what's yours. Learn more at chase.com slash sapphire reserve. Cards issued by JPMorgan Chase Bank and a member FDIC. Subject to credit approval. It's Tuesday, October 1st, right now on CNN This Morning.

The war's next phase, Israel moves troops into Lebanon despite calls from the White House for diplomatic resolution. Plus, a running mate showdown. Tim Walz and J.D. Vance's first and only debate tonight in what may be the last time the campaigns face off on stage. And... If you think too much about the beautiful Chimney Rock Village that I remember from last week, it's hard to handle.

Grappling with Helene, hundreds reported missing and recovery operations underway as devastated communities are trying to rebuild. Plus, a milestone birthday. Jimmy Carter becomes the first U.S. president to reach the century mark. We're going to take a look back at his time on the public stage.

All right, 6 a.m. here on the East Coast, a live look at Capitol Hill on this Tuesday morning. Good morning, everyone. I'm Casey Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us. Breaking overnight, Israel launches an incursion into southern Lebanon. The Israeli military undertaking what it calls a limited ground operation targeting Hezbollah in and around villages along the border.

Lebanese state media reporting that Israeli attacks have caused, quote, severe damage in the south. As far north as Beirut, several explosions this morning in the southern suburbs considered a Hezbollah stronghold. And Hezbollah's responding, firing artillery and rockets into northern and central Israel. At least two people reported injured in those areas. The Israeli government characterizing this moment as the next phase in their war against the militant group.

This latest escalation coming despite an intense effort by the Biden administration in recent weeks to reach a ceasefire deal. Here's President Biden just a few hours before Israel announced its operation. Israel may be now launching a limited operation into Lebanon. Are you aware of that? Are you comfortable with their plan? I'm more aware than you might know and I'm comfortable with them stopping. We should have a ceasefire now.

THIS OFFENSIVE IS JUST THE LATEST INSTANCE OF ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU PUBLICLY DEFYING PRESIDENT BIDEN. ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS, THE ISRAELI LEADER HAS CHOSEN NOT TO INFORM THE UNITED STATES BEFORE TAKING ACTIONS THAT WERE CERTAIN TO AFFECT

American efforts at diplomacy in the region. That was the case in April when Israel struck an Iranian diplomatic compound in Damascus. And again last week when Israel used American bunker buster bombs to kill Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. All of this further straining the relationship between Biden and Netanyahu.

These are two guys who have known each other for 40 years, Jake, and they have never, and I suspect they will never agree on every single aspect of foreign policy and what we're trying to get done in the Middle East. But they do agree on the big thing. And the big thing is the safety and security of the state of Israel. And, you know, trying to avoid an all-out war that would put the people of Israel at even greater risk. They agree on that.

All right, our panel's here to discuss Isaac Dover, CNN senior reporter, Elliott Williams, CNN legal analyst, former federal prosecutor, Doug Jones is the former Democratic senator from Alabama, and Mike Dubke, former Trump White House communications director. Welcome to all of you. Thank you all for being here. Thank you. Senator, I want to start with you just because you have a personal relationship with President Biden. You heard what he said there, his tone a little bit sharp,

honestly, in a way that he hasn't always been as this war has unfolded. What did you make of what he said here? And what kind of position is the president in as Israel moves forward here? Well, I think it's a tough position, obviously. He does not want to see this conflict escalate the way it seems to be escalating right now. I think he's done a lot to try to

to tone that down and try to get a ceasefire. We've had, you know, we've had our diplomats over there all of the time trying to negotiate ceasefires, and it is a difficult situation. So he's in a really difficult spot. He does sincerely want to protect the state of Israel, but I also think he's got some serious disagreements with the way Netanyahu has handled this war over the last year.

but particularly now as they step it up, because what you've got to keep an eye on is Iran looking over the shoulder of Hezbollah right now. And that's what everybody, I think, is concerned about. So speaking of Iran, I also want to show everyone, this was what the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had to say in the last day or so, looking at Iran, talking to the

people of Iran in a somewhat certainly eyebrow-raising way. Let's watch. Iran's tyrants don't care about your future, but you do. When Iran is finally free, and that moment will come a lot sooner than people think, everything will be different. Our two ancient peoples, the Jewish people and the Persian people, will finally be at peace.

Senator, I mean, he says that the moment when Iran's going to be free might come a lot sooner than people think. Is he talking about regime change? What do you hear there? You know, you hear a lot. You can read into that a lot of different things right now. You know, look, Iran has been unstable. There's a lot of opposition to the government in Iran. It has been going on for a long time. I think what we're seeing now is Israel trying to step that

up to create that, clearly that was a message to people to say, help yourself a little bit. Whether that means something greater militarily, I don't know. But it is certainly something that folks have got to keep an eye on.

Let's talk a little bit about the politics of all of this, because it's obviously an issue that has dominated a lot of the domestic political conversation here. It's been obviously much more focused on the war in Gaza. But I think you can see that political influence and how President Biden was talking just there. And obviously, Kamala Harris is trying to figure out how to thread this needle herself. I mean,

it's it seems hard to argue that the death of Hassan Nasrallah who is a terrorist who has met much much blood on his so much blood on his hands is a bad thing I but at the same time there does seem to be some uncertainty among democrats on this

Look, think about where we've been over the last year. We're six days short of the anniversary of October 7th. A year ago right now, Joe Biden and people in his administration thought we were headed toward a possible multilateral peace deal with Saudi Arabia and

Towards a two-state solution. This is a war that has gone on longer than any war Israel has ever been involved in it has torn the Democratic Party apart and then it seems like there's been some mending of that from where things were in the spring Kamala Harris has clearly Tried to put herself forward as someone who has a slightly different view of this than Joe Biden while also saying she actually has the same view as Joe Biden, right and

And it's a matter of tone. So it's not what you say, it's how you say it? Is that what we're saying? In talking to people who are part of the uncommitted movement in Michigan, what they have said is they feel better about Kamala Harris than they did about Joe Biden. Anybody that's married will say tone matters even if the content remains

But I have said to them, substantively, she has not been in a different place. And they feel nonetheless, like she's taking a fresh view of this, that if she were president, that it would be fresh. Now, I do think it's also just, it's not just about the Democratic Party. You talk about Nasrallah, we are,

three days now since he was killed. We have heard from Joe Biden and Kamala Harris about it. We still have not heard from Donald Trump even a mark of this was a good thing, which is what the Biden and Harris statements were. So this is not just an internal Democratic Party thing. Look, I mean, I don't know this qualifies as an October surprise because this has been going on. But we have strife politics, we have storm politics, and we have strike politics. What we're not talking about here is it's not just Lebanon. Now Israel's in a three-front war. Yeah.

They fired missiles into Yemen. So you've got this international crisis that Biden is trying to handle, but Harris has to answer for. And that's where we're at right now. All right. We've got a ton more to talk about today. So coming up next on CNN This Morning, a polarizing abortion ban in a critical southern battleground state is struck down, putting the spotlight back on reproductive rights. How will the ruling impact voters at the ballot box in November? Plus...

It's debate night in America. J.D. Vance and Tim Walls meet on the stage for their first and only time facing off. We're going to take a look at how each has been preparing. And more than 100 dead and hundreds more missing, we bring you the latest on recovery efforts across the Southeast United States. You know, it makes no difference who you are. If you need help, we are going to provide it.

And if there is ever a time where we all need to come together and put politics aside, it is now. From all over the world, people turn to Cleveland Clinic for our expertise and our compassionate care. As leaders in heart, neurology, and cancer, the future of specialty care is happening right now at Cleveland Clinic. For every life-saving treatment,

For every next step. For every care in the world. Cleveland Clinic.

Whatever you're in the mood for, find the detail that moves you with curated touches at the Chase Sapphire Lounge by the club. Chase, make more of what's yours. Learn more at chase.com slash sapphire reserve. Cards issued by JPMorgan Chase Bank and a member FDIC. Subject to credit approval. Admiral Stockdale, your opening statement, please, sir. Who am I? Why am I here? Laughter

Can we give Admiral Stockdale a chance to jump in here if he wants to or if he dares to? I would like to get in. I feel like I'm an observer at a ping pong game. All right, that was a look at a vice presidential debate passed. And tonight, Governor Tim Walz and Senator J.D. Vance will each get their own chance to create such a memorable moment in a vice presidential debate. Walz has been hunkered down in Michigan for the past several days. Just anywhere in Michigan, Petoskey, Michigan. It's a fabulous place. I highly recommend it.

for several days with top aides and advisors preparing for tonight. Although some of those advisors tell our Isaac DuVere that the Minnesota governor may be feeling some nerves in the lead up to tonight's showdown. I think this is expectation setting. Governor, what do you want voters to learn about you tomorrow? Just doing our best, folks.

Walsh's opponent in the debate now in New York, he, J.D. Vance, arrived on Monday. He hasn't talked publicly about tonight's showdown much in recent appearances, but his running mate has certainly shared plenty of thoughts. I think J.D. is going to do great. He's a very smart guy. He's done a great job. People like him a lot. He's going up against a moron, a total moron. How she picked him is unbelievable. And I think it's a big factor. There's something wrong with that guy. He's sick.

So Isaac, Trump has apparently not gotten the memo from his campaign official that he's supposed to say that he's, the expectations are supposed to be, well, you know, his spokesman is out there saying, Tim Walz is really great at debating. Obviously the Harris people are telling you that, well, he's nervous. Remember he told us he was bad at this when we picked him. I mean, that was, he said it in the interview with Kamala Harris, the running mate interview in August. He said, look, just so you know, I'm a bad debater. Now,

You may look at that and say this is a guy who's been governor for six years, who's in the House for 12 years before that, his teacher. He's a professional politician at this point. But he is really, it's not just expectation settings from what I have reported here. He has really caught up in making sure that he makes this case. He makes it for Kamala Harris. He doesn't want to let Kamala Harris down. He's thinking about what does my resting face look like when I'm not answering? How do I fit it into two minutes? I've got to tell you.

I think about how I smile at the intros of all these shows. Think about it on national televised debate, right? It's the first thing anyone ever told me when I started getting ITP. You've got to fix that. You've got to fix that phase. But it's also the answers, right? And he also very much feels like Donald Trump should not be president again. He has to make sure to make that not happen.

happen but he said in a at a fundraiser in New York last week he was asked how's debate prep going and someone in the room told me that he said listen you know when you're a teacher we're trained to answer the question we train our students to answer the question that's not what this is no in fact the advice is do the opposite then he then he actually has learned that lesson because in every interview that I've seen he's never answered the question oh wow and that's what Vance needs to make him do I hope Vance follows up when Waltz is is going down some lane

opposite of what he was asked the question that's for me that's what vance's job is and then the second thing is vance can't overreach he has a tendency to maybe go a little too far he's got to pull it back be a little bit more restrained and then i think we'll see some success does he have work to do on like the childless cat lady situation yeah oh absolutely i mean no actually at some point don't bring it up anymore they keep talking about it you're going to play that clip

You know, but to the broader question of expectations setting around Tim Walz, if you remember right at the time he rolled out, the narrative was, oh, he can't speak off a teleprompter. He can't do it. He doesn't know. And he actually did quite well when doing so. It's all about lowering the expectations. You know, it's funny. These debates are largely about just managing not having that viral moment. We saw Admiral James Stockdale there, and we all laughed about it. SNL, which we were talking about at the break, scoffed.

skewered him. You forget that Admiral James Stockdale was a war hero and a decorated Navy vet who'd been a prisoner of war. But the one thing people remember is that one line. And the goal for both of these candidates tonight is just avoid that happening. Last word. Well, it's not a debate. Let's just be candid. None of these are debates in the traditional sense of the word. They're just a series of answers. And you're going to answer what you want to do. You know, look, I think Tim Walz needs to be Tim Walz.

I agree, he's gonna say what he wants to say. I think JD Vance is the one that may go down these rabbit holes with things that he said. He said some crazy stuff, but you know-- - He gave us the Springfield, Ohio rabbit hole. - But Tim Walz needs to talk about

where he is in this race, what they're doing. I'd stay away from the chalice cat ladies. I'd stay away from Springfield. Those are going to come out anyway. Talk about what they're going to do for America and the hope and the joy that Tim Walz brings. I talk about my old football team that walked out on that stage at the DNC. That was a moment, folks. I got to tell you, that moment spoke to a lot of people across this country.

All right, you can watch Tim Walz and J.D. Bantz's first face-off in their VP debate hosted by CBS News tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN. And I'll be heading to New York to do some of our pre-debate coverage, so don't miss it. Straight ahead here on CNN This Morning, we continue to bring you the latest on the devastation across the Southeast and the destruction left behind by Hurricane Helene. Plus, new this morning, tens of thousands of dock workers go on strike

a potentially massive disruption to the economy just weeks before election day. We will no longer allow the decisions to be made about our bodies without our input. So today, this is a step in a further fight, but we are not going to take this as just a huge success.

A judge in Georgia ruling that the state's six-week abortion ban is unconstitutional. The move paves the way for expanded access to abortion services in that state. But it might be temporary, as the state has already said it plans to appeal the decision. The ruling puts the spotlight back on the fight over abortion access in a battleground state just 35 days before Election Day. This was Kamala Harris campaigning on the issue just last month in Atlanta.

This is a healthcare crisis and Donald Trump is the architect of this crisis. If he is elected again as president, Donald Trump will go further. Donald Trump has tried to downplay the importance of abortion access on the trail. I think that abortion has become much less of an issue. It's a very small, I think it's actually going to be a very small issue. I think the abortion issue has been taken down many notches. I don't think it's a big factor anymore, really.

Likely hoping that's the case. Former Democratic Senator Doug Jones of Alabama is still with us. Senator, you heard both of them there and Trump obviously trying to say this isn't going to be a big deal. But of course, we also learned about the deaths, preventable deaths of two women in Georgia who were struggling to get the care that they needed and were affected by this law. What is how is how does this is this going to matter? Well, I think you you nailed it. You said it is going to put the spotlight.

back on the issue. We tend to ebb and flow with the issues in a presidential campaign. This is the one true that's been through out this. But again, the spotlight has been dim, it's been bright. It's gonna be bright again. And remember, you've got referendums on the ballot in Nevada, in Florida.

Those are going to drive turnout. And I think in Georgia, this is going to certainly drive turnout. It reminds people what is at stake. It reminds women across the country, not just in Georgia, but it reminds women across the country what's at stake. It reminds men who have daughters and wives and families what's at stake in this election. So I think that's a very, very big decision at just the right time for Kamala Harris.

There was a Senate candidate in Ohio, Bernie Moreno, who said that it was crazy, quote unquote, for women to vote on the single issue. And then he wondered why women over 50, who he seemed to be suggesting, well, you can't have children. Why do you care about

about this issue. What impact do comments like that have? - You know, I think you go back in history and I think comments like that show an insensitivity. It shows that they're out of touch with the electorate. They're out of touch with how people view themselves as individuals. It didn't matter. You know, my mom passed away. She was 92 years old last December. She would have been so offended at that. Now she had long, long, long since passed.

She was well over 50. But you know what? She had a daughter. She's got a daughter-in-law. She's got granddaughters, you know, or had granddaughters. And so I

I just think it's so offensive to people that if you're not personally affected, then you just don't have a reason to care. That's not true. That's not really who we are in America. We should care about everyone, not just our own self. And I think that's a real problem that a lot of these Republican candidates have these days.

We were talking earlier in the show with Ron Brownstein, who is looking at how Donald Trump is trying to appeal to some women. And what Trump has been doing on the trail is by saying that he will protect women. Let me just show you that clip where he says he'll be people's protector. I always thought women liked me. I never thought I had a problem.

But the fake news keeps saying women don't like me. I don't believe it. I am your protector. I want to be your protector. As president, I have to be your protector. I hope you don't make too much of it. I hope the fake news doesn't go, oh, he wants to be their protector. Well, I am. As president, I have to be your protector.

I mean, obviously we're playing what he said on a rally here on this show, but what do you make of that message? You know, look, it's the kind of thing that got him in trouble. I think that there is, you know, hundreds of millions of dollars of judgments against him based on that kind of "I am your protector. I am the person. Women like me. Women love me. I can do anything I want to because I'm a star."

And I think you've seen that. J.D. Vance has adopted that same kind of paternalistic attitude. And, you know, look, there are probably, I'm sure, folks in this country that can relate to that, who see that, both men and women. But I don't think in today's world that that is something that you're looking for in a president that is that paternalistic, that is basically, I think,

I think demeaning the abilities of so many women across this country, both in their personal and professional lives. Those are the kind of things I think that people are going to really pay attention to, and it's going to affect races down the ballot.

Very interesting. All right, Senator Doug Jones, you'll be back with our panel. Okay, sounds good. Still ahead here on CNN This Morning, the death toll from Hurricane Helene sadly continues to rise. Ahead, how state governments are responding and how the disaster is impacting the race for the White House. Plus, we're just hours away from what is potentially the last biggest debate in this campaign. Trump campaign senior advisor Jason Miller joins us with his thoughts on what we'll see tonight.

Susan, this is important. And I want to add, Mr. Vice President, I'm speaking. I have to weigh in. I'm speaking. Peel the Trump tax cuts. Mr. Vice President, I'm speaking. Wait. I'm speaking. If you don't mind letting me finish, we can then have a conversation. Okay? Please. Okay. Fever. Cough. Congestion. When the symptoms keep coming, but you've got to keep going, you can rely on Mucinex Fast Max All-in-One.

Just one dose of Mucinex Fast Max All-in-One relieves up to nine cold and flu symptoms, helping you get on with your day. Need cold and flu relief? Get Mucinex Fast Max All-in-One and Dunn Relief. It's comeback season. Use as directed.

Oh, it's such a clutch off-season pickup, Dave. I was worried we'd bring back the same team. I meant those blackout motorized shades. Blinds.com made it crazy affordable to replace our old blinds. Hard to install? No, it's easy. I installed these and then got some from my mom. She talked to a design consultant for free and scheduled a professional measure and install. Hall of Fame's son? They're the number one online retailer of custom window coverings in the world. Blinds.com is the GOAT!

Shop blinds.com right now and get up to 45% off select styles. Rules and restrictions may apply. All right, at least 130 people are dead across six states, and officials fear that number could rise after Hurricane Helene made landfall late last week, devastating parts of the southeastern United States. Several hundreds more are still unaccounted for. Approximately 600 people were still missing yesterday afternoon just in

In Asheville, North Carolina, the community is reeling after the powerful storm washed out large parts of the city's infrastructure, making it even more difficult for crews to reach residents with vital supplies. Mules are now helping to deliver food, water, and diapers to those remote mountainous areas.

As we watch these rivers recede, we are seeing just piles of people's houses that were destroyed, buildings that were destroyed, cars overturned, trash and debris. I mean, it reminds me of Katrina where they had to go door to door and look in each vehicle and mark whether or not anyone was in it.

All right, let's get to our meteorologist, Derek Van Dam. Derek, the devastation, just unimaginable. And of course, so many questions about preparation and what these communities are going to do now.

Yeah, and I think this also reminded the public that these hurricanes that we often forecast days in advance are not just a coastal storm. Look at the impacts over 500 miles away directly related to a hurricane. Now, how do you even compartmentalize coming back to a scene like this? I mean, this is Chimney Rock, North Carolina.

And it's also a reminder to people that in our new warmer world, we're experiencing these more frequent heavy rain events. For every two degrees Fahrenheit of warming that our world goes through and undertakes, we have 8% more water vapor in the atmosphere. That means that we have the ability to hold more moisture, the ability to create these more frequent and more extreme heavy rain events, just like we saw. Now, there is still some tropical moisture residual

residual moisture from Helene that is still in the atmosphere and the rivers there are still flooding and cresting across downstream South Carolina as that water makes its way towards the East Coast. You can almost follow the track of destruction with one and a half million customers without power left in Helene's wake. Now we need to focus on the Gulf of Mexico again. This is troubling news

But the latest computer models have simmered down on the potential development. But I do want to talk about this area here. Potentially over the next seven days, there is a 40% chance of development once again in the same area. Casey? I'm sure not welcome news for folks who are having such a hard time, of course, recovering from what they've already seen. Derek Van Dam for us this morning. Derek, thank you.

And as disaster recovery efforts continue to unfold across the Southeast, Hurricane Helene's aftermath is also, of course, playing out on the presidential campaign trail. Monday afternoon, Donald Trump visited Valdosta, Georgia, where storm cleanup is underway. While there, he seemed to suggest President Biden isn't responding to the storm.

The President: The governor is doing a very good job. He's having a hard time getting the President on the phone. I guess they're not being responsive. The federal government is not being responsive. But they're having a very hard time getting the President on the phone. He won't get on. And, of course, the Vice President, she's out someplace campaigning, looking for money.

So that's Monday, right? Those claims appear to be false because Georgia's Republican governor, Brian Kemp, says he has spoken with the president about federal aid. The president just called me yesterday afternoon. I missed him and called him right back. And he just said, hey, what do you need? And I told him, you know, we got what we need. We'll work through the federal process. He offered that if there's other things we need just to call him directly, which I appreciate that.

So, of course, again, Trump's in Georgia on Monday saying the governor can't get the president on the phone. The governor on Monday says he got a call from the president the previous day. He missed the call, but then he called him right back. President Biden was asked about Trump's claims during a press briefing in the Oval Office. He's lying. And the governor told him he was lying. The governor told me he was lying. I've spoken to the governor, spent time with him, and he told me he's lying. I don't know why he does this.

And the reason I get so angry about it, I don't care about what he says about me. I care what he communicates to the people that are in need. He implies that we're not doing everything possible. We are.

All right, our panel is back here. Mike Dubke, I mean, this is a situation where the focus needs to be on the people who are recovering from this horrible storm, from us as reporters who are looking at it, from everyone else. President Trump seemed to make it about himself here and his criticisms of President Biden. Why is he doing it, and what impact does this have? Well, I mean, we've seen storm politics affect presidential races. There always seems to be a big hurricane just before a presidential election.

over the last several years. It is hurricane season. It is hurricane season. And we've seen different styles of politics here where it's helped the incumbent president and where it's hurt the incumbent president. We can talk about Sandy. We can talk about Katrina and all of that. I think, you know,

You know, look, Trump was on the ground. I fully expect that Harris was on the ground in Georgia. And I fully expect that with two battleground states of Georgia and North Carolina, that Vice President Harris will be there. It's going to be a bit of a struggle figuring out, do they send Harris? Do they send Biden? Because of these storm politics. So I appreciate the question, but I think both political parties and both candidates

are going to look to say, "I could do a better job with response." And that's ultimately what you saw from former President Trump. - And it puts them all in a, like to pick up on your point, a difficult situation. We're all baseball fans at this table. And often when they take a pitcher out of a game, the sportscaster will say, "He can't win it, but he can lose it." And the scenario here is one in which a candidate,

can maybe get the brownie points of showing competence in a time of stress, but also really can lose an election by appearing all the things you're saying, Mike, whether it's not caring and sensitive to political, not political enough, not empathetic enough. It's a world of things. Very unpredictable environment. But it is, like Donald Trump was in Georgia, he did what he did. If Biden or Harris goes, this is all the sort of theater of it. What matters is what they're doing and what the response is. And it is...

I think this week all the things we've been talking about, it's a reminder of what this job that Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are running for actually is. It's managing a war in the Middle East, potentially. Certainly what is a war so far that could get bigger. It's dealing with flood responses. It's dealing with the port strike. It's that kind of stuff. And then we can let ourselves be distracted sometimes by the theater of it.

It really, I don't think it mattered at all for Trump to be there for the actual response to the storm. It won't really matter at all if Biden or Harris goes for what it will do to the storm. It's just, do they look like they're caring? Do they look like they're in charge?

And we should focus on... Well, and that's why the heck of a job Brownie Comet was such a problem was because the words did not match the action. Right, and we should focus on the actions. That was the other part. He didn't go during Katrina. And he got dinged for that as well. It's a couple things. Like his approval was starting to go down at that point and people weren't sort of done with him. And this is 2005. It's 2005. You know, look, there's a couple things. First of all, you don't need the president. You don't need the vice president. You don't need people coming into a disaster area right now. It is disruptive.

I have lived through those things, and it is incredibly disruptive. And they know that. The other thing I would say is that I know Joe Biden. Joe Biden is going to do the best job he can for the people regardless. These are all red states generally. I know Georgia's in play. North Carolina may be in play. I think it is. But the fact of the matter is he is representing all people, and he is going to do his best. But if there is anybody...

Mike, that has played politics with weather, it is Donald Trump. You can only remember Sharpie Gate when he kind of redid the hurricane map. And I think it's just wrong. And I think while people like to see their leaders doing some things, they want to see action. They want to see things that are happening. It is difficult in this particular situation. You've got destruction for, as I said, 500 miles. This is not like just farmers. This is

really, really very difficult to try to get disaster across the board. - But speed matters. - Speed matters. - Speed matters in this case. And this is where there could be a hit on the Biden-Harris administration if they don't get relief aid, not them, but relief aid to these devastated areas fast enough. And we've, you know, we're sending it in by mule at the moment. - Because we have to. - Because we have to. - It's an astonishing situation. All right, coming up next here on CNN This Morning, nearly 50,000 port workers go on strike

how this walkout could send shockwaves through the economy right ahead of the election. Plus, Jason Miller will be here. We're going to ask the Trump campaign's senior advisor what to expect at tonight's vice presidential debate. Let me help you with the difference, Ms. Ferraro, between Iran and the embassy in Lebanon. Let me just say, first of all, that I almost resent Vice President Bush, your patronizing attitude that you have to teach me about foreign policy.

I've been a member of Congress for six years. But I read that a poll found that one quarter of Americans have never even heard of J.D. Vance or Tim Walz.

Yeah, a lot of people don't know these candidates, which might explain this debate promo. Check this out.

All right, tonight's vice presidential debate is a key opportunity for Tim Walz and J.D. Vance to reintroduce themselves to millions of viewers, despite Fallon's take there, who may not know very much about these two Midwesterners chosen by Kamala Harris and Donald Trump to be their respective running mates. While Walz is reportedly a bit nervous heading into tonight's showdown, the Trump campaign made clear during a press call yesterday that they are not underestimating Walz's debate ability.

Walls is very good in debates. I want to repeat that. Tim Walls is very good in debates. Really good. He's been a politician for nearly 20 years. He'll be very well prepared for tomorrow night. He's not going to be the wildly gesticulating effeminate caricature we see at rallies pointing to Kamala Harris and dancing about on the stage.

All right, joining us now is the man that you just heard there, Trump campaign senior advisor Jason Miller. Jason, good morning. I'm glad to have you on the program. Good morning. So that was your evaluation of Tim Walz's skills on the debate stage. It differs remarkably from that of your boss, Donald Trump, who had this to say about Tim Walz. Watch. We're looking for the soundbite of Donald Trump on Fox Nation on Monday where he's talking about Tim Walz. Sorry, Jason, we're having a bit of a technical glitch. Watch.

He's going up against a moron, a total moron. How she picked him is unbelievable. And I think it's a big factor. There's something wrong with that guy. He's sick. He went into the Michigan game the other day. He got booed out. I went into the Alabama game. The 120,000 people went crazy. So, Jason, is Tim Walz a moron?

Well, two things can be true at the same time here. Again, the Tim Walz that we see on the campaign trail as he's bouncing around and dancing and pointing to Kamala Harris and looking kind of goofy is not the Tim Walz that shows up in debates. And Casey, I will tell you, I've watched more debate footage of Tim Walz than anyone should ever be forced to do. But here's the thing. He's been in office for two decades. J.D. Vance has been in official office for two years.

But Tim Walz has been in office for two decades. He's good. He was in Congress. He's in his second term as governor of the state of Minnesota. When he shows up and hits that stage, he's disciplined, he's on point, and he lies through his teeth. And that's the thing that most people who are tuning in tonight, or many of the people, I should say, will not have watched Tim Walz bouncing around on the campaign stage.

What they will see is tonight they'll see Tim Walz for the first time. And he will come across with very much an aw shucks Minnesota persona. But where he's going to have an issue is how does he defend his record? How does he defend Kamala Harris's record? And to be honest, he has to defend Joe Biden's record as well. Well, do you think that someone who is a moron can be good on a debate stage? I guess I guess that's the part I'm tripping on.

Well, no, it's and again, two things can be true here, because Tim Walz, when you see the the issue is that facts are his kryptonite. When he starts getting pressed on the actual issues, how does he go and defend the inflation record of Kamala Harris? How does he defend Kamala Harris allowing 20 million illegals into the country? That's where I see I think you'll start to see it come unraveling a little bit for Tim Walz. But

On the debate stage, it's almost like a muscle memory. It's like getting back in the gym if you haven't been in in a while. He knows exactly what to do on that stage. He's well programmed because this has been his life for the past two decades. And so with all due respect to my boss, trust me, when he gets to the debate stage, Tim Walz is going to be good. And J.D. Vance, I think, is going to do very well also. But do not underestimate Tim Walz. It can be much better than people think.

Well, I'll just say that we're engaging in some good old-fashioned expectation setting, which is a classic campaign tactic, Jason. But let's move on. You've been in debate prep with J.D. Vance. You've been the main sort of Trump team member that's been involved in that. You mentioned facts. You said they would be Tim Walz's kryptonite. The facts around what's been going on in Springfield, Ohio, and the things that J.D. Vance have had to say about that sure to come up.

on the debate stage tonight. The facts have been that the officials in Springfield have repeatedly told Vance that the things that he's been saying are not true. What are we going to hear from Vance tonight on that issue on the stage?

Well, I think Senator Vance is going to use this as an opportunity to talk about the migrant crisis that's impacting America and the fact that under Kamala Harris, every single community around the country has been turned into a border community. Springfield, Ohio, is a small town. I believe there are approximately, or at least before the influx of migrants, both legal and illegal, there are about 60,000. Now there are about 80,000 people or so in the town.

And what's happened is that many of these folks who have come were illegal. They were granted TPS, temporary protected status, by Biden and Kamala Harris. And that's created this overwhelming surge on whether it be schools, whether it be hospitals. We see from the hospital there are things, outbreaks such as tuberculosis, even an HIV increase.

A lot of things are really taxing the services. Law enforcement, migrant crime is out of control. But it's not just Springfield, Ohio, Casey. You look at Charleroi, Pennsylvania. You look at Prairie du Chien in Wisconsin. These communities that are thousands of miles away from the southern border are now themselves

border communities. And that's something that has to change. And again, it's not just legal migrants coming in. It's mainly illegal migrants. And also what Kamala Harris has done with TPS, I think, has to be reversed. Well, let's just be clear that that program was not initially created under the Biden-Harris administration. That's simply not the case. But specific to what's happening with Haiti and with Haitians, that was something that Kamala Harris did.

Jason, before I let you go, I do want to follow up on something we heard from you on that press call where you referred to Tim Walz as effeminate. That stuck out to me. Why did you use that term? You look at the way that Tim Walz dances around on the stage. That's just the way that it struck me. And so that was my characterization. And that's Tim Walz. That's why I said he's kind of goofy, bounces around. He doesn't look like a goofy and bouncing or not. I mean, the effeminate is has a lot of specific connotations to it.

Well, goofy and bouncing around. It's not someone who comes across as this alpha male, someone who's a killer that's going to come out there and be sharp on the debate stage. But that's what we're going to see tonight with Tim Walz. Again, not to say that J.D. Vance isn't going to show up and do very well, but Tim Walz will be an absolute killer. He's not going to be this goofy caricature of himself as we normally see when he's on stage and doing the weird pointing thing to Kamala Harris.

Tim Walz is good. I would say the advantage definitely goes to him since he's been doing this for so long. Let me tell you where J.D. Vance, though, is going to excel. Where he's going to excel is when he's talking about his humble upbringings as well as his military service. Also, nobody defends President Trump's record on building a great economy and securing our border better than J.D. Vance. That's where I think the matchup is going to be.

J.D. Vance did say at a recent appearance that he didn't think that Kamala Harris's background had any bearing on whether she could fight inflation. Why will he say his background matters here?

Well, J.D. Vance, I think, is someone who has been impacted by a tough economy, someone who grew up in very humble circumstances. He tells a story about knowing what it's like to have to grow up and not sure if you can have the heat turned on that evening, raised largely by his grandmother. Also, someone who spent time in the private sector, in business. So he understands the economy. He understands what we have to do.

And also their thing, too, is I don't think you have to be a Ph.D. to know what Kamala Harris did with those two votes to increase spending at radical levels launched inflation. I mean, that's what it was. It was cutting off the energy with their executive orders. And then also with those votes in favor of record spending. That's what did it.

I still, I mean, if she's going to talk about her middle class upbringing as relevant and he's going to talk about his lower class, working class upbringing as relevant, I fail to see why they don't both matter in the construct that you've given us. But we're out of time. Jason Miller, thank you very much for coming on today. I really appreciate it. Thanks, Casey.

All right, 57 minutes past the hour. Here's your morning roundup. New overnight, nearly 50,000 dock workers from Maine to Texas are now on strike. Workers hit the picket line shortly after midnight. The strike could cause serious disruption to the flow of goods at almost all ports from Maine to Texas.

Major League Baseball's all-time hit king has died. Pete Rose, best known for his grit and his hustle in his 24-season career, 18 of those years spent with the Cincinnati Reds. But of course, a gambling scandal and his refusal to own up to it cost him a spot in the Hall of Fame. Charlie Hustle was 83 years old.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul weighing in on the federal charges surrounding Mayor Eric Adams. She said in a private phone call he needs to clean house. However, she's not asked Adams to resign. Instead, she makes clear that Adams needs to work on regaining the trust of New York residents. And now I will leave you with this. Today, President Jimmy Carter turns 100. Hi, Governor Carter from Georgia. I'm running for president. I want to ask you to help me next year.

He's the first president to reach triple digits. Carter was sworn in as the 39th president of the United States in 1977. During his first and only term, he created the Departments of Energy and Education, as well as FEMA. Maybe most notably, he oversaw the Camp David Accords, a historic peace agreement between Egypt and Israel. We are privileged to witness tonight a significant achievement in the cause of peace

After leaving office, Carter dedicated the rest of his life to helping others. Since 1984, Carter and his wife Rosalyn donated a week of his time each year to Habitat for Humanity. Hardworking, unpredictable, adventurous, challenging, but always gratifying. We've never had, never have been on a Habitat project that we didn't get more out of it than we put into it. But when asked what he considered his biggest accomplishment, he said this.

Well, the best thing I ever did was marrying Rosalyn. That's the pinnacle of my life. So happy 100th birthday, Mr. President. Senator Jones, 100 years. I mean, what a legacy he has. He's been in hospice for a year. Yeah, no, it's really remarkable. And I think, you know, people today forget a lot about Jimmy Carter from the 1960s and the 1970s when he

really was one of the first southern governors to really talk about race relations and ending discrimination. People forget about his views on the environment and climate. FEMA, right now we're seeing what happened. FEMA was started because Jimmy Carter saw what the federal government could do to help people.

He was a remarkable individual. Remarkable. He still is a remarkable man. Still is a remarkable individual. Happy birthday, Mr. President. Thanks to our panel. Thank you guys for joining us as well. I'm Casey Hunt. Don't go anywhere. Santa News Central starts right now. From all over the world, people turn to Cleveland Clinic for our expertise and our compassionate care. As leaders in heart, neurology, and cancer, the future of specialty care is happening right now at Cleveland Clinic.

For every life-saving treatment. For every next step. For every care in the world. Cleveland Clinic. Don't let CNN's John King have all the fun. Experience the CNN Magic Wall on your mobile device. Get live results, expert insights, and an immersive election experience. Find it at cnn.com slash magic wall or the CNN app today.