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0:30

This week with George Stephanopoulos

0:32

starts right now. One

0:35

month ago. This is going to be

0:37

a very tight race until the very end. Donald

0:39

Trump and Kamala Harris storm the swing states.

0:42

Trump returns to the site of his first

0:44

assassination attempt. A cold-blooded

0:46

assassin aimed to silence

0:48

me and to silence the greatest

0:50

movement. This morning, Rachel

0:53

Scott reports from Butler, Pennsylvania. Speaker

0:55

of the House, Mike Johnson joins us live. Steve

0:58

Oceinsani kicks off our series protecting your

1:00

vote. Plus our powerhouse roundtable.

1:04

Southeast strong. One

1:08

week after the deadliest U.S. hurricane since Katrina,

1:11

communities struggle to recover. Amid

1:13

basis claims over the emergency response. The

1:16

misinformation is damaging. Geo Benitez is

1:18

on the ground in North Carolina.

1:21

Plus the latest with FEMA administrator DeAnn

1:23

Criswell. Mideast

1:25

tensions. The Israelis have every

1:27

right to respond. Israel intensifies

1:29

its operations in Lebanon, weighs a

1:32

counter-strike against Iran. Ian

1:35

Pan was live in Beirut. And one

1:37

year after the October 7th attacks, Martha

1:40

Raddatz speaks with the brother of two Israeli

1:42

hostages still held in Gaza. From

1:47

ABC News, it's this week.

1:49

Here now, George Stephanopoulos.

1:53

Good morning and welcome to this week. 30

1:56

days until the final votes. This presidential race is

1:58

as tight as can be. be across

2:00

the country and in that handful of

2:02

states where both campaigns are focusing their time

2:04

and money. What will determine

2:07

the outcome? Impossible to know right now. Will

2:09

there be an October surprise or the surprise

2:11

of no surprise? Which side

2:14

will do a better job of mobilizing their

2:16

most loyal supporters? What new

2:18

information, if any, will sway that sliver

2:20

of undecided voters who could tip the

2:22

election either way? This

2:24

weekend Kamala Harris was with Storm victims in North

2:26

Carolina. Donald Trump returned to the

2:29

scene of his first assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.

2:31

Rachel Scott was there, she starts us off. Good

2:33

morning, Rachel. George,

2:36

good morning to you. Donald Trump making

2:39

his return to Butler, Pennsylvania using the

2:41

attempt on his life as a rallying

2:43

cry for his supporters, even going so

2:45

far as to suggest his political rivals

2:47

are responsible, something the FBI has found

2:49

no evidence of. Donald

2:52

Trump and Kamala Harris entering the final

2:54

30-day sprint to the November election with

2:56

the race virtually tied. Fight,

2:59

fight, fight. As both candidates worked

3:01

to win over voters in the

3:03

seven battleground states, Trump returned to

3:06

Butler, Pennsylvania, in the exact rally

3:08

location where he narrowly dodged a

3:10

would-be assassin's bullet. We love

3:12

Pennsylvania and as I was

3:15

saying... Oh,

3:22

I love that. I love that

3:24

chart. I love that graph. The

3:26

former president and his son Eric,

3:28

with no evidence, both suggesting his

3:30

political opponents were behind the July

3:32

assassination attempt. Over the past eight

3:34

years, those who want to stop

3:37

us from achieving this future have

3:39

slandered me, impeached me, indicted me,

3:41

tried to throw me off the

3:43

ballot, and who knows,

3:45

maybe even tried to kill me. They

3:47

tried to kill him. And

3:50

it's because the Democratic Party, they

3:52

can't do anything right. They can't

3:54

do anything right. Authorities have found no

3:57

political motivation connected to the gunman since

3:59

the attempt on his life, the race

4:01

has transformed. President Biden dropping out, Harris

4:03

closing in. After courting union workers in

4:06

battleground Michigan Friday, hoping to seize momentum

4:08

from a better than expected jobs report

4:10

at the end of the pork worker

4:12

strike. Donald Trump's track

4:15

record is a disaster for

4:17

working people. And

4:20

if he wins again, it will be

4:22

more of the same. Trump still leads

4:24

on the economy, brushing off her gains.

4:26

Jobs are up, the stock market hit

4:28

that all time high. Do you acknowledge

4:30

that the economy is improving? No, it's

4:32

not. It's inflation is devastated.

4:35

Our economy. It's one of the big

4:37

problems we have. Both candidates trying to

4:39

show command this week, visiting communities gutted

4:41

by Hurricane Helene, Harrison, North

4:44

Carolina and Trump in Georgia side by side

4:46

with Governor Brian Kemp for the first time

4:48

in four years. The Republican who he repeatedly

4:50

bashed for refusing to help him overturn the

4:52

results of the 2020 election. It

4:55

all comes as special counsel Jack Smith

4:57

laid out new evidence against Trump. The

5:00

filing noting allegations that as an aid, Russia

5:02

tell Trump that Vice President Mike Pence was

5:04

moved to a secure location on January 6th.

5:07

Trump responded, so what? Trump denies all

5:09

wrongdoing. Hey folks, President Biden now with

5:11

a blunt warning about the next transfer

5:14

of power. Do you have confidence that

5:16

it will be a free and fair

5:18

election and that it will be peaceful?

5:21

I'm confident it'll be free and fair.

5:25

I don't know whether it will be peaceful. The

5:27

things that Trump has said and

5:30

the things that he said last time out when

5:32

he didn't like the outcome of the election were

5:35

very dangerous. Donald

5:37

Trump was asked directly about President Biden's comments.

5:39

He said he could only hope that this

5:41

election would be free and fair. He would

5:43

not answer George if he believes it will

5:45

be a peaceful one. George. Rachel

5:47

Scott, thanks very much. Let's bring in the Speaker of

5:49

the House, Mike Johnson, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for joining

5:51

us this morning. In

5:54

the wake of the assassination attempts on Donald Trump,

5:56

you urged all sides to tone down the rhetoric.

5:58

So is it right for the President to do that?

6:01

and his family to suggest that Democrats are behind the

6:03

effort to assassinate him? I

6:06

just saw the clip. I was at an event in

6:09

Texas last night, so I didn't watch all the remarks

6:11

from Pennsylvania. I will tell you

6:13

I talked to President Trump right

6:15

after it, and he was pleased. They had a

6:17

massive crowd there and a lot of enthusiasm and

6:19

energy. But I didn't hear all the comments. I

6:21

don't know the context. The

6:23

clip that I just heard that you just played there, George, I

6:25

don't think they're saying that the Democratic

6:27

Party tried an assassination attempt. I think

6:30

what they're alluding to is what we've

6:32

all been saying. They have got to

6:34

turn the rhetoric down for years now.

6:37

The leading Democrats in this country, the

6:39

highest elected officials and the current nominee

6:42

for president have gone out and said

6:44

that Donald Trump is a threat to

6:46

democracy, that, you know, the Republican end,

6:48

if he's reelected, it's absolute nonsense. And

6:50

they have incited dangerous people to do

6:52

dangerous things. The rhetoric has. I think

6:54

that is a fact that's objective that

6:56

everybody can agree to. We do need

6:58

to turn the volume down. We

7:01

have to have vigorous debates about policy,

7:03

but not take it to that level. No one

7:05

involved in this is a threat to the Republic.

7:08

But Mr. Speaker, you just said Democrats

7:10

are. You said their rhetoric is inciting.

7:13

We all just saw what both President

7:15

Trump, former President Trump and his son

7:17

Eric said. Eric actually did

7:19

specifically reference Democrats. He said they tried to

7:21

kill him. They tried to kill him. And

7:23

it's because the Democratic Party, they can't do

7:26

anything right. Do you support those comments or

7:28

not? I

7:30

don't know what Eric was saying, because I only

7:32

heard just a snippet there. I don't know the

7:35

context. You just saw it, sir. It's very level

7:37

headed and a very intelligent person. I saw your

7:39

clip of it, George. I didn't see the full

7:41

speech. We need to all look at these things

7:43

in full context. What they're referring

7:45

to, though, is the absolute open attacks

7:48

that have been engaged by

7:50

Democrats against President Trump since the day he

7:52

came down that golden escalator in 2016. OK,

7:55

the law fair is unprecedented. They have

7:58

attacked him in every single way. We

8:00

try to malign his character every single day. And

8:03

the people have had enough of it. That's

8:05

why you have these massive turnouts at the

8:07

rallies. People have had enough of this. We

8:09

need everybody on all sides to turn the

8:11

rhetoric down, and let's have a debate about

8:13

the records of these candidates, not the rhetoric.

8:15

Let's talk about the policies, not the personalities.

8:17

That's what the American people demand and deserve.

8:19

These are serious issues the country's facing. We

8:21

need to be talking about the ideas and

8:23

the answers and the solutions to get out

8:25

of them, and not all this other stuff.

8:28

So you're actually repeating the charge. And

8:30

I don't know what more context you need. Here's

8:32

exactly what Eric Trump said. They

8:35

tried to smear us. They came after us. They impeached

8:37

him twice. And then, guys, they tried

8:39

to kill him. They tried to kill him. And

8:41

it's because the Democratic Party, they can't do anything

8:44

right. What more context do you need? Do you

8:46

support that statement or not? George,

8:49

George, I'm not going to parse the

8:51

language of what people say at rallies.

8:53

I could give you pages and pages

8:55

of crazy comments by the leading Democrats

8:57

in this country. That's not

9:00

what this is about. We have to talk

9:02

about the greatest collection of challenges that this

9:04

country's facing probably since World War II, maybe

9:06

the Civil War. Let's put all

9:08

this political nonsense behind us and talk about how we

9:10

get out of this mess. And I believe the way

9:12

we do, and I believe a large

9:14

number of the majority of the American people understand,

9:16

you have to put steady hands at the wheel.

9:18

You've got to put President Donald J. Trump back

9:20

in the White House because he will bring stability

9:23

back. He will get the economy going again. He

9:25

will restore our stature on the

9:27

world stage. At a time where we're facing

9:30

almost on the verge of World War III, you have got

9:32

to get his leadership back in the

9:34

White House. That's why the massive crowds are drawn to

9:36

these rallies, and that's why I believe we're going to

9:38

win in November. Isn't that rhetoric

9:40

the kind of political nonsense you're talking about? Look,

9:45

we're in an election cycle. This

9:47

is a silly season, as they say. We're

9:49

in the 30 days out from the most

9:51

fateful election of our lifetime. Let's talk about

9:53

the economy. Let's talk about our stability on

9:55

the world stage. Let's talk about the rising

9:57

crime rates and the wide open border. That's

9:59

what. the American people are concerned about. Not

10:01

all this other stuff. I mean, I've been traveling

10:03

the country nonstop, George. I've done campaign events in

10:06

200 and I think almost 15 cities across 39

10:08

states. I'll be in

10:10

65 plus cities this month alone. Everywhere

10:12

I go, George, large crowds are gathered

10:14

and they have questions. They have really

10:17

important questions about how these crises

10:19

are going to be solved for their families.

10:21

How we're going to fix the economy, how

10:23

we're going to get our energy policy going

10:25

again. The Republican Party, President Trump, the House

10:27

Republicans, the Senate Republicans, have answers to those

10:29

things. We're delivering them with great credibility and

10:32

it is resonating with the people. And I

10:34

think that's why we're going to have a

10:36

very good November. So it's very

10:38

clear you're not going to condemn the base of suggestion

10:40

the Democrats are behind the assassination attempt on Donald

10:42

Trump. I want to ask you another question. George, there

10:44

are so many... Please, anything you

10:46

can just talk about some real... Well, you have the opportunity to

10:48

condemn it if you want. You have

10:50

that opportunity, but we can move on now. I do

10:53

want to ask you a question that Senator Vance did

10:55

not answer at this week's debate.

10:57

Can you say unequivocally that Joe Biden won

10:59

the 2020 election and Donald Trump lost? See,

11:03

this is the game that is always

11:06

played by mainstream media with leading Republicans.

11:08

It's a gotcha game. You

11:10

want us to litigate things that happened four years ago

11:12

when we're talking about the future. We're not going to

11:14

talk about what happened in 2020. We're

11:16

going to talk about 2024 and how we're going to solve

11:19

the problems for the American people. I

11:21

think this thing, this game that's played all the

11:23

time, I'm not going to engage in it. We're

11:25

not talking about that. Joe Biden has been the

11:27

president for almost four years. Everybody needs to get

11:29

over this and move forward. That's what we need

11:32

to talk about. What happens on November 5 and

11:34

the days after that? So like... That's

11:36

what the American people demand for us to talk about. So

11:38

like Senator Vance, you cannot say unequivocally that

11:41

Joe Biden won the 2020 election and Donald

11:43

Trump lost? George,

11:46

I'm the Speaker of the House. I work with the

11:48

president of the United States all the

11:50

time. Joe Biden has been the president

11:52

for four years. There's not a question about this, okay?

11:54

It's already been done and decided, and this is a

11:56

gotcha game that's played, and I'm not playing it. I

11:58

want to talk about the future. Let's talk about policies.

12:00

Ask me anything you want on any challenging issue. Let's

12:02

put that out there for the American people That's what

12:05

they need to hear Well, it's

12:07

president Trump who every single day former president Trump

12:09

But just about every rally is saying that the

12:11

election was rigged that he won and that Joe

12:13

Biden lost I'm just saying if you accept that

12:16

or not George

12:19

I'm not gonna play the game ask me any

12:21

question on any issue that's facing the country There's

12:23

some of the biggest issues that we faced.

12:25

How about another hurricane headed toward the country? How

12:28

about Israel being fired upon by Iran? How

12:30

about the rising crime rates that have everybody

12:32

alarmed around this country and the cost of

12:35

living because hard-working families can't afford

12:37

to do it we have I've talked to

12:39

moms and dads around the country taking second

12:41

and third jobs to put food on the

12:43

Table because Biden omics has destroyed their family

12:45

finances. They're they're trying to go fund me

12:47

the website Said there's a

12:49

40% increase this year over last of people

12:51

who are starting go fund me pages to

12:54

prevent their cars from being Repossessed repossessed and

12:56

being evicted from their homes That's what the

12:58

Biden-Harris policies have done to the country and

13:00

that's what the American people want you and

13:02

me to engage on and talk about We

13:05

have answers for all that and I'm delighted to talk

13:07

about it. Let's do that mr. Speaker The reason it's

13:09

relevant is because of what former president Trump says at

13:12

every rally He's also laying the groundwork to challenge

13:14

the results this year if he loses. Let's look

13:16

at this If

13:19

I lose I'll tell you what's possible because

13:21

they cheat That's the only way we're gonna lose

13:24

because they cheat they cheat like hell Is

13:27

that what you believe the only way that Donald

13:29

Trump loses is if the Democrats cheat? Donald

13:34

Trump's gonna win I'll tell you that election

13:36

security is a major concern of the American

13:38

people all these cities I've been in hundreds

13:40

of places doing campaign rallies over the last

13:43

several months the first or second question almost

13:45

without Exception and every audience and

13:47

crowd is about election security I think the

13:49

latest poll says 60% of

13:51

Americans and both parties are worried about

13:54

that They're worried about election interference by

13:56

foreign nationals like Iran who's trying to

13:58

meddle in our elections They're worried about

14:00

election interference worried about of course the

14:02

illegal voting non-citizens voting that is against

14:04

federal law uh... kamala harris

14:06

and joe biden have not made clear to

14:08

people reminding them it is against federal law

14:10

and we know that the handful of states

14:12

that have done audits on their voter rolls

14:14

have shown that you have non-citizens currently registered

14:17

to vote that's a concern that's a problem

14:19

uh... by people and uh... it's not being

14:21

adequately addressed by uh... by the biden harris

14:23

administration uh... as a mother's we have free

14:25

and fair election but i certainly have so

14:29

uh... and that that that gets to my final

14:31

question for you as well uh... what would you

14:33

do next january six if you are indeed speaker

14:35

if every state completes the certification process successfully will

14:38

you accept the results even if kamala harris is

14:40

the winner george

14:43

i'm gonna follow the constitution article two of the

14:45

constitution is very clear congress has a very specific

14:48

role in the and uh... we must uh... we

14:50

must fulfill it i've made it uh... a career

14:52

defending the constitution i always have and i've demonstrated

14:54

over and over that we are going to do

14:56

the right and lawful thing uh... so you can

14:59

count on that what we're going to do our

15:01

job mister figure thanks for

15:03

your time this morning picture

15:06

coming up around the ground is rescue workers respond to

15:08

the devastation of hurricane holly and the head of the

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16:11

You're on with Xfinity, how can we help? Hi,

16:13

can my phone keep up when I travel for

16:15

work? Yep, with Xfinity Mobile you get Wi-Fi speeds

16:17

up to a gig on the go. So

16:19

I can, um, work on my phone by

16:21

the beach? Your secret's safe with me. Switch

16:24

and save with Xfinity Mobile. Now through January

16:26

10th, Xfinity internet customers can buy one unlimited

16:28

line and get one free for a year.

16:30

Visit xfinitymobile.com to learn more. Xfinity, bring on

16:32

the good stuff. Restriction supply, Xfinity internet and

16:34

two new unlimited lines required. Reduce speeds after

16:36

30 gigabytes of usage per line. Data thresholds

16:38

may vary. Actual Wi-Fi speeds vary, not guaranteed.

16:41

The devastation for from Hurricane Helene has been

16:43

so widespread the storm now the deadliest hurricane

16:45

in the mainland US since Katrina and

16:47

in Heart-hit North Carolina They are still working to

16:49

survey the damage and reach survivors as

16:51

a wave of misinformation from the former president and

16:54

his allies hampers the recovery effort Gio

16:56

Benitez reports from North Carolina This

16:59

morning the death toll from Hurricane Helene

17:01

rising above 225

17:04

as the painstaking search for survivors goes on

17:07

There are still people that we are

17:09

trying to find and get to but

17:11

across the devastated region Certain remote areas

17:14

remain hard to reach. There's so many

17:16

places where the roads completely gone Yesterday

17:19

we followed food trucks into one of them

17:21

and we are in bat cave right now

17:23

This is a town here in North Carolina

17:25

east of Asheville This is quite literally where

17:27

the water just rushed through look at these

17:30

homes over here It seems

17:32

like walls were just torn off by

17:34

that rushing water There

17:36

is so much that was just destroyed

17:38

in this area Josh Thomas is a

17:40

deacon at bat cave Baptist Church now

17:43

carrying supplies across the river on his

17:45

ATV There's no way to

17:47

prepare for landslides. You know, there's no way

17:49

to prepare You know,

17:51

everybody says well why didn't they

17:53

evacuate? Why didn't they prepare? It's like telling

17:57

people in Florida prepare for a

17:59

blizzard other residents begging for more

18:01

assistance. Where's the help?

18:04

This is not politics. This

18:06

is human beings needing help. Vice

18:09

President Kamala Harris in North Carolina

18:11

Saturday meeting with local officials and

18:14

residents. I think that

18:16

these moments of crisis bring

18:19

out some of the best of

18:21

who we can be and who

18:23

we are. But misinformation has become

18:25

rampant amid the relief efforts. At

18:27

a rally on Thursday, Donald Trump

18:29

falsely accused Harris and the Biden

18:31

administration of spending a billion dollars

18:33

in FEMA relief money on housing

18:35

for undocumented immigrants. The White

18:38

House firing back in a memo

18:40

stating, no disaster relief funding at

18:42

all was used to support migrants'

18:44

housing and services, none at all.

18:47

This week, Trump also baselessly

18:49

accused the federal government and

18:51

North Carolina's Democratic governor of

18:53

intentionally not helping people in

18:55

Republican areas. I don't

18:57

know why he does this. He implies

18:59

that we're not doing everything possible. We

19:01

are. In the wake of Trump's various

19:04

claims, FEMA launching an anti-rumor tool this

19:06

week to combat those messages with local

19:08

officials calling on people to ignore online

19:10

falsehoods. I would encourage the good

19:13

residents of Western North Carolina to

19:15

turn that garbage off. But

19:17

a source tells ABC News

19:20

that law enforcement is monitoring

19:22

threats towards public officials prompted

19:24

by disinformation and conspiracy theories,

19:26

including specific individuals linked to

19:28

FEMA and other recovery agencies.

19:33

And George, there's a real concern this

19:35

morning that this misinformation could actually prevent

19:37

people from getting the critical help that

19:39

they need and that's why that FEMA

19:41

tool is so important. By the way,

19:43

we should also tell you here that

19:45

FEMA says that the money used for

19:47

migrants actually came from a separate fund,

19:49

not the fund used for disaster relief.

19:51

George. Okay, Gio, thanks. Let's bring

19:53

in the FEMA administrator, Diane Criswell. She

19:56

joins us this morning. Thank you for joining us. Let's start out with the

19:58

recovery. rescue effort. Where do things stand

20:01

right now? Good

20:04

morning, George. We are still

20:06

actively supporting the governor in this

20:08

search for individuals, but at the

20:10

same time we continue to move

20:12

in critical commodities into the places

20:16

that have been hard to reach. And our

20:18

plan and what we're doing with them is

20:20

to make sure that we can sustain that

20:22

for as long as needed, as we know

20:24

it's going to take time to repair the

20:26

infrastructure and get access to all of the

20:28

roads in the communities that either have limited

20:30

access or no access at all. We've got

20:32

thousands of responders on the ground right

20:34

now, along with thousands of volunteers

20:36

and the private sector working alongside

20:38

our state partners, the national guard,

20:40

the first responders in the community,

20:43

meeting the needs of the people

20:45

on the ground. Do you have

20:47

all the resources you need? Absolutely,

20:51

George. We, again, we moved

20:53

resources in before this storm

20:55

happened. We embedded our

20:57

staff in the state to work

21:00

side by side so we could

21:02

quickly employ those resources to where

21:04

they were needed. And as

21:06

we continue to see how long we're

21:08

going to have to provide this level

21:10

of sustained support, we will continue to

21:12

do that. Let's,

21:15

let's talk about some of the information

21:17

misinformation that is out there, including these

21:19

claims and former president Trump that FEMA

21:22

is about a billion dollar short because

21:24

money has been going to undocumented immigrants

21:26

also that the areas of the Republican

21:28

areas of the state are being intentionally

21:31

ignored in some fashion. You

21:35

know, it's frankly ridiculous and

21:37

just plain false. This

21:39

kind of rhetoric is not helpful

21:41

to people. You know, it's really

21:43

a shame that we're putting politics

21:46

ahead of helping people. And that's

21:48

what we're here to do. We've

21:50

had the complete support of the

21:52

state. We've had the local officials

21:54

helping to push back on this

21:56

dangerous, truly dangerous narrative that is

21:58

creating this. fear of trying

22:01

to reach out and help us or to register

22:03

for help. You know, people need resources and

22:05

we need them to get into the system.

22:08

And it's just, you know, a shame

22:11

that people are sitting home on their

22:13

comfortable couches. Well, we have

22:15

thousands of people here on the ground

22:17

that have left their own families to

22:19

be able to help those in need.

22:22

So much is going viral online as well.

22:24

One user suggested yesterday that a militia should

22:26

go against FEMA. It got more than half

22:28

a million views. What kind of

22:31

impact has this had on the recovery

22:33

effort? It

22:36

has a tremendous impact on the comfort

22:38

level of our own employees to be

22:40

able to go out there. But it's

22:42

also demoralizing to all of the first

22:45

responders that have been out

22:47

there in their communities helping people. FEMA

22:50

staff, volunteers, the private sector that

22:52

are working side by side with

22:54

local officials to go out and

22:56

help people. I need to

22:58

make sure I can get the resources to

23:00

where they needed. And when you have this

23:02

dangerous rhetoric like you're hearing, it creates fear

23:04

in our own employees. We need to make

23:06

sure we're getting help to the people who

23:08

need it. There are

23:11

reports that another storm may be heading to the region.

23:13

Are you ready for that? What advice do you

23:15

have for people who are living there right now? We

23:20

are absolutely ready. We have started planning

23:22

for this days ago, even before it

23:24

formed. We know that it's headed straight

23:26

towards Florida. I reached

23:28

out to Governor DeSantis this morning, and I

23:31

believe I'm having a call with him shortly

23:33

after this interview. We will move

23:35

more resources in there to support their needs. But

23:37

we have a lot of people in Florida already

23:40

helping to support the response and the

23:42

recovery from Hurricane Helene, but also previous

23:44

storms in Florida. So we're working with

23:46

the state EOC to understand what their

23:48

requirements are going to be so we

23:50

can have those in place before it

23:52

makes landfall. DeAnn Criswell,

23:54

thanks as always for your time. We're

23:57

going to continue our reporting on Southeast Strong

23:59

all this week on GMA. And coming up,

24:01

CIVO's Insomnia reports from George on the election

24:03

workers protecting your vote in November. We'll be

24:05

right back. At

24:08

the end of the day, you're gonna know who the winner is, who

24:10

the loser is. And I'm

24:12

not saying you're gonna be happy about it. I understand

24:14

how polarized you are. You know, there's gonna be a lot

24:17

of people dancing in the street. The other half will

24:19

not be dancing in the street. My job,

24:21

though, is to make sure it's fair. That

24:24

was Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaking

24:26

to ABC News about concerns about election security

24:28

in the 2024 race. This

24:31

morning, we're launching a month-long series introducing

24:33

you to people across the country who

24:35

are dedicated to ensuring the integrity of

24:37

the voting process. We start

24:39

with senior national correspondent, Steve Oesensamis look at

24:41

election officials protecting your vote in the battleground

24:43

state of Georgia. I

24:47

am a U.S. citizen. I demand that I

24:49

vote. It's come to this in Georgia. Now!

24:53

I'm gonna need to call my husband. Would

24:56

you like to make sure? For the first

24:58

time ever, county workers who run elections here

25:00

are role-playing a month before November 5th. And

25:04

they've trained for the worst, screaming

25:06

voters, deadly packages, and active shooters.

25:08

Most important thing is to get

25:10

those voters out and get them

25:12

to safety and fight for your

25:14

life if you have to. And I

25:16

never thought I'd ever have to say those words. I'm

25:21

sorry. Nothing to be

25:23

sorry for. Deidre

25:25

Holden, with the voice full of sweet

25:27

Georgia tea, has directed

25:29

elections in Paulding County, Georgia, a suburb northwest

25:31

of Atlanta, for the last 17 years. Good

25:35

morning! Even though

25:38

this is still a county where the red team

25:40

always wins, she says some people

25:42

here started threatening her life and

25:44

scaring her staff with frightening emails

25:46

after Joe Biden won the statewide

25:48

vote in 2020. If

25:50

you can read me some of this. One

25:53

of the things that always stands out

25:55

to me in this email is when

25:57

you get to the part here that

26:00

says, we'll make the Boston

26:02

bombings look like child's play at the

26:04

poll sites in this county. You

26:07

just effing wait. They

26:10

had to put up new cameras and keep

26:12

a bag of Narcan near the mailbox for

26:14

absentee ballots in case someone tries to hurt

26:16

her people with an envelope of deadly drugs.

26:18

Do you have a panic button in this

26:20

office? I do, I'm looking at it right

26:22

now. Wow. Yeah. They all feel

26:25

for what happened to two Georgia election workers

26:27

in the city who were terrorized by a

26:29

fire of lies, wrongly

26:31

accused of stuffing ballots on

26:33

camera. I've always told my girls

26:37

in this office, I call my girls, it's

26:39

my job to protect them.

26:42

And I'm on a fight with everything I

26:44

have. It's a tough

26:46

time to work elections across America.

26:48

In September, and for the second

26:50

time this year, someone mailed mysterious

26:52

powders to election officials in 22

26:54

states. One of those

26:57

packages was mailed to this man, arguably

26:59

the most famous state election official

27:01

in America. Georgia Secretary of State

27:03

Brad Raffensperger says the threats haven't

27:05

stopped since he refused demands from

27:07

the former president to break the

27:09

law and change election results when

27:11

Trump lost the state. I

27:14

want voters to understand Georgia, that

27:16

we're gonna have an accurate election. I

27:18

also understand that half the people aren't gonna like

27:20

the results. In the

27:22

suburbs, Deidre Holden says she's praying

27:24

that her staff and her voters

27:26

stay safe. Early voting starts

27:28

in less than two weeks. And

27:30

she says she's ready. And I promise you,

27:33

there is no thought that

27:37

ever goes through my mind of not counting a

27:39

vote or cheating. I wouldn't know how to throw

27:41

an election if you paid me to. Our

27:45

thanks to Steve for that. And to the election officials

27:47

keeping the votes safe and secure, ABC

27:49

News will continue our look at efforts protecting your vote

27:51

for the next four weeks ahead of election day. Round

27:54

tables up next, we'll be right back. Hey

27:58

podcast listeners, tired of ads barging. into

28:00

your favorite news podcasts? Good news.

28:02

With Amazon Music, you have access

28:05

to the largest catalog of ad-free

28:07

top podcasts included with your Prime

28:09

membership. Stay up to date on

28:12

everything newsworthy by downloading the Amazon

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Music app for free or go

28:16

to amazon.com/ad-free news. That's amazon.com/ad-free news

28:19

to catch up on the latest

28:21

episodes without the ads. It's

28:24

rich to say that Donald Trump is a

28:27

threat to democracy when he peacefully gave

28:29

over power. We said no fact checking.

28:31

And willingly, and

28:33

willingly, don't check that, got on his plane

28:35

without incident, don't, right after saving Obamacare, don't

28:37

check that. Well,

28:39

if we're allowed to stand

28:41

up here and lie, then I would like to

28:44

say I actually was in Tiananmen Square. Saturday

28:48

live on the Vice President debate last night. Let's

28:52

go to the round table now, joined by former DNC

28:54

Chair Donna Brazile. Former RNC Chair,

28:56

former Trump White House Chief of Staff, Reince

28:59

Priebus. Associated Press Executive Editor,

29:01

Julie Pace. And New York Times National

29:03

Reporter, Adam Negurni, author of the times,

29:05

how the newspaper records survived scandal, scorn

29:08

and the transformation of journalism. Journalism now

29:10

out in paperback, terrific book. Let's

29:13

talk about the state of the race right now, Donna

29:15

Brazile. Hard for me to

29:18

remember another race this far along,

29:20

this close where nothing seems to

29:22

move. George, it baffles the imagination,

29:24

especially with the almost billion

29:27

dollars in spending on digital ads, on political ads,

29:29

but you know, it's gonna come down to the

29:31

ground game. It's gonna come down to those probably

29:34

17, 18 counties across

29:36

seven states that will determine the election. At

29:38

this point in the game, they can put

29:40

all the money on air. Of

29:43

course, I'm biased, I like the ground game.

29:45

You're laughing at them, but you know what I mean.

29:48

Three to five points on the ground. You have to

29:50

actually go where the people are. You can no longer

29:52

just dial it in. You gotta meet them where

29:54

they are, whether it's at the supermarket, the

29:56

grocery store, at the workplace, or where they

29:59

go and pray. I still believe

30:01

the advantage is to Kamala Harris because she

30:03

has a significant ground game. She has the

30:05

resources. And while Donald Trump and J.D. Vance

30:07

are basically operating on blue smoking mirrors when

30:09

it comes to the ground, they've been on

30:12

the ground long enough to understand that they

30:14

can also win in the margin. Is that

30:16

a concern for Republicans, though, that they're being

30:18

outspent on those field operations? Well, you know,

30:20

money is always a problem. In the field

30:23

operation, as you know, the Trump campaign has

30:25

farmed out a lot of that, the third

30:27

party, huge super PACs funded by people like

30:29

Mary Madelson, Elon Musk, and others. So I

30:31

think the money's going to be there. That's

30:34

not the issue. But what should worry

30:36

Kamala Harris is the fact that in

30:38

2016, Trump was supposed

30:40

to lose by four. He lost by two nationally.

30:43

He was supposed to lose by eight and a

30:45

half in 2020. He lost

30:47

nationally by three or four. And right now

30:49

he's only down by two and a half.

30:51

That's just nationally. So the problem

30:53

that Kamala Harris has is that when Trump

30:56

was president, unemployment was low, gas was cheap,

30:58

groceries were cheap. We didn't have wars. We

31:00

had a secure border. So all of these

31:02

scare tactics, Trump's a threat to democracy. It

31:05

hasn't worked because the truth is people don't

31:07

like where they're at in America. They don't

31:09

like the state of the economy. She had

31:11

three and a half years to do it

31:13

and she didn't. Right, so her message is

31:16

falling flat. You talk about scare tactics. So

31:18

let me ask you the question. I

31:20

asked Mike Johnson, is it appropriate for

31:22

the president and his son to be suggesting

31:24

that Democrats are behind the assassin's front? Look,

31:27

I don't like suggesting any of those things,

31:29

but the fact of the matter is if

31:31

Donald Trump's head was one

31:33

tiny twist the other direction, he would

31:35

be dead right now. And what would

31:37

be happening in America right now? So

31:39

yeah, when your dad almost gets killed

31:42

and when he gets shot again. Like

31:45

I'm not suggesting the Democrats are

31:47

doing it, but the rhetoric that

31:50

Donald Trump is a threat to

31:52

democracy was a Democrat talking point.

31:54

And the other talking point now

31:56

is that he wants to monitor

31:58

women's pregnancies that.