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Trump Denies Sex Assault Accusations Against Him; WikiLeaks Post Apparent Clinton Wall Street Speeches; New Poll: Clinton Leads Trump By 4 Percent; Battle to Retake Mosul Looms in Iraq; SNL Mocks Second Trump-Clinton Debate. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired October 16, 2016 - 07:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The election is being rigged by corrupt media pushing completely false allegations and outright lies in an effort to elect her president.

[07:00:09] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: House Speaker Paul Ryan is rejecting that assertion that the race is fixed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no evidence that the electoral process is rigged against anybody.

TRUMP: I think we should take a drug test prior to the debate. Because I don't know what's going on with her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This just in, WikiLeaks releasing what it says are more hacked e-mails from the Clinton campaign.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, the Clinton camp is not saying whether or not the e-mails released by WikiLeaks are authentic.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These drops of these e-mails frankly almost every day in these final weeks of the election.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Seven o'clock on the dot on this Sunday morning. And we're always grateful to have your company. I'm Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good morning.

A new "Washington Post"/ABC News poll has Hillary Clinton just four points ahead of Donald Trump. Now, this is coming as another woman now says that Donald Trump kissed her without consent nearly 20 years ago. Her name is Cathy Heller. She is the ninth Trump accuser.

But the Trump campaign says there is no way, that's a quote, no way her account is true.

PAUL: In the meantime, Donald Trump not backing down from his claims that this election is being rigged. Despite Paul Ryan expressing confidence in the system, Trump says Clinton was, quote, "getting pumped up" before the last debate, and he had this suggestion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We should take a drug test prior -- because I don't know what's going on with her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Now, Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, seems to be haunted still by WikiLeaks. After more hacked e-mails have been released, including what appears to be transcripts of three paid speeches to Goldman Sachs. Now, CNN has not independently verified the authenticity of the e-mails.

CNN's Phil Mattingly, though, is following this and has some more -- Phil.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Victor and Christi.

For Donald Trump, there's no question about it. His campaign at this point is Donald Trump trying to play defense, more or less. But in a very Trumpian type fashion. And that means going on offense, believe it or not.

Even though as many as nine women have now made allegations of sexual misconduct related to Donald Trump, Donald Trump is not pulling back. He's not trying to put it behind him. He's not even focused on some of the issues that his advisers have told him are necessary to win swing states like Ohio or Colorado or Virginia.

He is attacking -- attacking the women, attacking their stories, even attacking their appearances. Take a listen.

TRUMP: We're going to stop it. We're not going to back down. And remember this, it's a rigged election because you have phony people coming up with phony allegations, with no witnesses whatsoever, ending up from 20 years ago, 30 years ago.

How about this crazy woman on the airplane? OK? I mean, can anybody believe that one? How about this? After 15 minutes -- we don't know each other. After 15 minutes she said, well, that was too much. I decided -- 15 minutes? With the ladies in this place it would be one second and it would be smack.

MATTINGLY: And guys, it's worth noting that Donald Trump isn't just focused on the women who have made these allegations, he's also really focused rally after rally on the last couple days on something else. This idea that the election, that the vote on November 8th will be rigged.

Now, the idea of rigged is something that Donald Trump as we all know has talked about pretty repeatedly over the course of his 16-month campaign. But he has really come into focus on this idea that the electoral process itself is rigged against him, that the combination of the media, Hillary Clinton, even the Republican Party leaders who have gone against him over the course of the last couple weeks, it's all part of a grand conspiracy to ensure that he doesn't win on November 8th.

Now, it's worth noting there is no evidence that the electoral process is rigged against anybody right now. But it is also worth noting that when you talk to Donald Trump supporters, we talked to a number of them here in Maine, they believe everything he's saying. And I can tell you that that is an unsettling prospect not just for Hillary Clinton's campaign or for Democrats but also for Republicans.

Paul Ryan's spokesperson putting out a statement saying that he has every faith and confidence that the election will go according to plan and more or less, to paraphrase, is not rigged.

But that is not what Donald Trump has been pushing. It's something raising a lot of questions and concerns. Three weeks left in the campaign, Donald Trump has clearly settled on this issue as one he wants to push going forward. It's something to keep a very close eye on, guys, as we all watch what happens over the course of these days and weeks -- Victor and Christi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: All righty. Phil, thank you so much.

CNN politics senior reporter Stephen Collinson with us now.

Steven, good morning to you. So, we know that Donald Trump, as he said, talking constantly, pretty constantly about this election being rigged, even saying it in the primaries about the primary decisions that were being made.

[07:05:01] Paul Ryan, though, says no, he does not believe so. I want to read you his exact verbiage here. Paul Ryan saying, "Our democracy relies on confidence in election results, and the speaker is fully confident the states will carry out this election with integrity."

Here's the thing. Is there a sense Donald Trump is saying this because if he loses this is his excuse for the loss? Or is this more of Donald Trump trying to highlight what a lot of his supporters think is a broken Washington?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: I think it's a bit of both, Christi. Donald Trump has used the idea that he and his supporters have been persecuted by the political establishment as a rallying call for his base throughout this campaign, as you rightly said, in the primaries as well. But I think there's also something more personal going on, as you suggest. If you think about it, Donald Trump's entire political rationale, his business brand even is built around the idea that he's the ultimate winner.

So, the prospect that he could face defeat on the biggest stage which he's ever ascended must be a very difficult one for him to rationalize.

So, I think there could be some sort of face saving going on. I think it's a very explosive way of, you know, doing politics. There are a lot of people I think in Washington who are becoming increasingly concerned about what would happen if we have a close election if, for instance, Hillary Clinton won narrowly by a few electoral college votes, and Donald Trump had gone into the election saying it was rigged from the outset.

And I think that's something that's worrying and I think Paul Ryan's comments from his spokesman reflect that. And we've heard the president talk about it as well.

PAUL: OK. Let's look at some of these numbers from the Washington poll -- Post. "Washington Post" poll that's out today.

It was interesting, 68 percent of people polled say -- or women -- 68 percent of women polled say they do think Donald Trump made unwanted sexual advances. This is according to this "Washington Post"/ABC News poll. But 64 percent of all people polled say that the tape that they saw of what he said on that bus with "Access Hollywood" makes no difference in how they're going to vote.

What do you make of that?

COLLINSON: Yes, it's very interesting. I think there is also significant evidence in other polls that the exact voters that Donald Trump needs to win the election -- suburban, college-educated women in places like Philadelphia and Colorado, do not look upon Donald Trump's alleged offenses very kindly, and it could hurt him in the states he needs to win. So, it's definitely the case.

But I think if you look at Donald Trump's supporters particularly, it doesn't carry much water with them. If you talk to them, it's clear they do believe already the media is totally biased against Donald Trump, that the establishment is trying to bring him down, that the media is in league with Hillary Clinton. So, what he says at his rallies is already on fertile ground.

And you have to say that Donald Trump has made a very intimate connection with these voters, perhaps more than any presidential candidate in several decades on the Republican side. Their issues, immigration, for example, terrorism, the messages that Donald Trump is putting across get right to the core of exactly what they believe. So, personal allegations for that core of voters I think are much less powerful than they would for more moderate and perhaps undecided voters.

PAUL: All right. Stephen Collinson, appreciate your insight this morning. Thank you.

COLLINSON: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: All right. Next, a closer look at these new numbers after this spate of October surprise. And what's behind Donald Trump's claim that Hillary Clinton could be on drugs? And later, political satire courtesy of "SNL."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE MCKINNON AS HILLARY CLINTON: I strive to be a positive role model for all children. Children like my daughter Chelsea and my granddaughter Chelsea Jr.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Trump, same question. Do you feel you're modeling appropriate and positive behavior for today's youth?

ALEC BALDWIN AS DONALD TRUMP: No. Next.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:12:04] BLACKWELL: The sexual assault scandal surrounding Donald Trump is getting worse. A ninth woman now has come forward, accusing the Republican candidate of grabbing, then kissing her without her permission. She says the incident happened nearly 20 years ago at his Mar-A-Lago estate in Florida.

CNN has not been able to independently confirm Heller's claims, but Trump has responded, releasing this statement through his campaign spokesman. Here it is, "The media has gone too far in making this false accusation. There is no way that something like this would have happened in a public place on Mother's Day at Mr. Trump's resort. It would have been the talk of Palm Beach for the past two decades. The reality is this: For the media to wheel out a politically motivated Democratic activist with a legal dispute against this same resort owned by Mr. Trump does a disservice to the public and anyone covering this story should be embarrassed for elevating this bogus claim."

Now, despite the accusations there is this new "Washington Post"/ABC News poll that shows Trump four points behind Hillary Clinton. Look at the numbers. Same level of support he saw in July before the conventions.

Let's discuss now with Kasim Reed, mayor of Atlanta and Hillary Clinton supporter. Also Betsy McCaughey, former lieutenant governor of New York and a Donald Trump supporter.

Mr. Mayor, Madam Lieutenant Governor, good morning to you.

MAYOR KASIM REED (D), ATLANTA: Good morning, Victor.

BETSY MCCAUGHEY, FORMER NY LT. GOVERNOR: Nice to see you, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Good to be with you. Nice to see you.

I want to start, though, with what we heard from Donald Trump, Lieutenant Governor, as it relates to potential drug use. Let's play it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: We should take a drug test prior -- because I don't know what's going on with her. But at the beginning of her last debate, she was all pumped up at the beginning. And at the end, it was like oh, take me down. She could barely reach her car. So, I think we should take a drug test. Anyway, I'm willing to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: All right. I hear you laughing there.

MCCAUGHEY: I am laughing, Victor, because this is Donald Trump's classic New York humor. I laughed the first time I heard it, and I still laugh when I hear it. But I want to tell you in the same vein that Mrs. Clinton does have a serious health problem. She has a special form of Alzheimer's. Whenever she's asked to tell the truth, she can't remember.

BLACKWELL: OK. So, when you're standing in Portsmouth and a state that has such a challenge with a drug problem and you call it his New York humor --

MCCAUGHEY: It was New York humor. I think you're slanting it to make it sound like it's disrespectful of the people of Portsmouth. But in fact --

BLACKWELL: You don't find anything wrong with a presidential candidate claiming that his opponent was high during the debate?

MCCAUGHEY: It was a joke. And he was talking to the half of the nation, the deplorables. And they thought it was very funny.

[07:15:00] BLACKWELL: Mr. Mayor?

REED: I mean, my response is simple. This is a Frankenstein candidacy and Donald Trump is Frankenstein's creation and what we're doing is watching a person come apart.

And fortunately, we have less than 25 or 26 days left to go and we're going to put this Frankenstein to bed. So, Donald Trump should do all of the talking that he wants to do because the bottom line is the only folks he's really speaking to is his base. He's losing women. He's losing independents. And he's losing the election.

So, that's what we're seeing. We're seeing someone absolutely come apart. He's a national embarrassment. And what we know about Donald Trump is he prides himself on being a winner. Well, he's going to lose on the biggest stage in the world because of his behavior towards women and because of his behavior in the debates.

BLACKWELL: Let's bring these numbers in. You say he's going to lose. And we put them up earlier. This new ABC News/"Washington Post" poll has him just four points behind Hillary Clinton but the margin of error there is four points. So, it's statistically tied.

Now, we know FOX has Clinton seven ahead. NBC/"Wall Street Journal" has her nine points ahead. So, we'll see if this is an outlier or a trend. But it shows here that the numbers are the same as they were before the convention.

And I'll ask you, Mr. Mayor, first and then to you, Lieutenant Governor, if you say he's going lose, where's the evidence of that at least in this poll in the national numbers?

REED: Sure.

BLACKWELL: Let's put up what has happened since July as you give your answer there.

REED: OK. Well, first of all, national polls, this election won't be determined by the national polls. I happen to believe that she's up by more than that. But if you go state by state and go to the Electoral College, there is no serious person who would rather be Donald Trump than be Secretary Clinton.

The fact of the matter is she's significantly up in Pennsylvania. She's up nine. She's up in Florida. She's up in North Carolina. She's up in Colorado.

So, the point is, we have to get to the Electoral College. And everybody who's looking at this knows that right now Donald Trump sits at around 107 to 190 electoral votes and secretary Clinton sits at about 260 to 263.

BLACKWELL: All right.

REED: So, anybody who's saying that Donald Trump has a path, please show it to me.

BLACKWELL: Lieutenant Governor, we have reported extensively here on how this path has gotten narrower. Mr. Trump needs a collection of states. Secretary Clinton, as it appears now, needs to pick off one or another here or there of the swing states.

Your response to what the mayor said?

MCCAUGHEY: Well, there's no question that at this point Donald Trump is the underdog. But as more information comes out, especially from the most recent WikiLeaks, voters are going to be listening carefully. I'll give you one example, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

MCCAUGHEY: In the batch of WikiLeaks this week, Mrs. Clinton is shown supporting behind closed doors totally open borders and unlimited immigration. She said that in a speech to a Brazilian bank. I'm looking -- just a minute --

BLACKWELL: I have to jump in here --

MCCAUGHEY: No.

BLACKWELL: -- because we have you here for another segment to talk about WikiLeaks. We're going to have both of you here to talk with Christi about WikiLeaks. MCCAUGHEY: I'm talking about the polls, Victor.

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: Hold on. Lieutenant governor --

MCCAUGHEY: I'm talking about the polls.

BLACKWELL: We will get to WikiLeaks in a moment. I want to get the response to something else. And I promise you'll have that opportunity to talk about that.

But I want to put up this tweet that came out from David Axelrod who once worked as you know for President Obama and now is with CNN. He says this, "Drug testing? You have to wonder if Hillary Clinton will or should reconsider the next debate given the depth to which this has sunk."

Quickly, we don't have much time. But, Mr. Mayor, what do you think about that potential that Hillary Clinton will or should reconsider the third debate?

REED: Well, that's why people in America believe that Donald Trump is unfit to be president of the United States, and that's why he is losing this election. He's down in Michigan. He's down in Florida.

BLACKWELL: But should she reconsider the third debate?

REED: No. She needs to go forward with it. He'll be easy work for her just as he's been in the first two debates. The American people, CNN's results show that she's now won both debates overwhelmingly. And she will win the third.

BLACKWELL: Lieutenant Governor --

(CROSSTALK)

MCCAUGHEY: I think it would be a very smart move for her not to show up for the third debate because she's got a lot of answering to do about what came out in the WikiLeaks this week.

REED: And Donald Trump has to answer to nine women who have accused him of sexual --

MCCAUGHEY: Believe me the evidence is already out that those allegations --

BLACKWELL: We've got to wrap it here. We'll have you both back to talk about the WikiLeaks and the hacking of John Podesta's e-mails. Mayor Reed, Lieutenant Governor McCaughey, thank you both.

REED: Thank you, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Clinton versus Trump this Wednesday, final presidential debate showdown, live coverage begins at 4:00 right here on CNN. And as we've discussed, WikiLeaks is living up to its promise to hack

the Clinton campaign. Ahead, we're going to talk about those e-mails that have been released including what appears to be transcripts of those three paid speeches to Goldman Sachs.

[07:20:04] PAUL: And another story that we're following very closely this morning. At any moment, the battle for Mosul will begin. Why Iraq's largest city is a crucial target in this war on ISIS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Twenty-three minutes after the hour now.

Turkish-backed Syrian rebels have beaten ISIS out of the town of Dabiq. That's in northern Syria.

PAUL: The recapture of the city is being called a major symbolic victory in the war on ISIS. According to a statement in Turkish media, troops are now trying to clear the area of mines and booby traps and IEDs. The last group of ISIS fighters reportedly withdrew from Dabiq overnight.

Now, the town there is featured in Islamic prophecies and ISIS used its name for one of its propaganda publications.

So, let's shift here to the fight against ISIS in Iraq. In a moment, Iraqi forces are going to start moving into the city of Mosul. Now the Iraqi air force has dropped leaflets warning civilians of the coming fight and some ISIS fighters we understand already on the run.

CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman has covered this extensively. He joins us live from Iraq.

Ben, help us understand how strong a grasp do the Iraqi military believe they have on Mosul once they get in there in terms of the ISIS militants who may still be lingering there?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's going to quite a challenge, Christi, because Mosul is a city that under normal circumstances had a population of about 2 million. Now, it's somewhere between 700,000 and 1 million.

[07:25:03] But it is a large city. It's Iraq's second largest. And it's one in which ISIS has, we understand from sources inside the city, prepared some significant defenses.

Yesterday, we learned that ISIS had released many of the prisoners in its jails. People who were jailed for things like smoking cigarettes, shaving, and wearing the wrong clothing, they have been put into the job of digging trenches and tunnels around the city in anticipation for this coming offensive, which we do believe could be happening any moment now.

Now, we understand that the nerves of some of the ISIS fighters are starting to fray, that some of them have left the city. We understand that many of the foreign fighters have left, probably making their way to Syria, perhaps to ISIS's de facto capital of Raqqah.

What remains apparently is a small number of Chechen and Pakistani fighters, and most of the ISIS fighters are from Mosul itself. So, they know the terrain well, and we understand that the city has been booby trapped by ISIS in anticipation of this offensive. So, it could be messy, it could be bloody, and it could take quite some time.

PAUL: And you do think about all of the people who are still trapped, the civilians who are still trapped in that city as well and what they're going to be enduring.

Ben Wedeman, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

BLACKWELL: Is there now new trouble for Hillary Clinton? WikiLeaks released a hacked e-mail showing transcripts of her three -- three of I should say her paid speeches to Goldman Sachs. What's the impact? We'll examine that in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:17] PAUL: Good to see you. 7:30 in the morning here. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell.

PAUL: Talking about a new poll out this morning showing Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in a statistical tie here. Brand new "Washington Post"/ABC News poll has Clinton ahead of Trump by just four points. But that is within the margin of error.

BLACKWELL: Now, the poll was released as another woman comes forward to say Donald Trump kissed her without consent. This was almost 20 years ago, she alleges. It's Cathy Heller. She is the ninth Trump accuser. But the Trump campaign says there is no way her account is true.

Meanwhile, Trump is not backing down from these claims that the election is being rigged. He's also suggesting now that Hillary Clinton during the second debate used performance-enhancing drugs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We should take a drug test prior -- because I don't know what's going on with her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Hillary Clinton's campaign may have some new questions to answer regarding her e-mail scandal. WikiLeaks released more of her campaign hacked e-mails including what appears to be transcripts of three paid speeches to Goldman Sachs.

Now, it's important to note here, CNN has not independently verified t authenticity of these e-mails but let's bring back Kasim Reed, mayor of Atlanta and Clinton supporter, and Betsy McCaughey, former lieutenant governor of New York and Trump supporter. Thank you both for sticking around for us. We appreciate it.

REED: Happy to be with you, Christi.

PAUL: Thank you.

I want to get right into what we're hearing from WikiLeaks this morning. One particular part of a speech from October 2013 that reads, "There was also a need to do something because for political reasons if you were an elected member of Congress and people in your constituency were losing jobs and shutting businesses and everybody in the press is saying it's all the fault of Wall Street, you can't sit idly by and do nothing."

So, is the implication here that something has to be done not because Wall Street's doing anything wrong but for political gain? Mayor Reed?

REED: My sense is that it's not appropriate to really be commenting on these items because we don't know if they've been manufactured by the Russians. What I think is Americans are more troubled by the fact the Russian government is trying to help put Donald Trump in office.

And because we haven't seen his tax returns, we have no idea what his financial relationships are with Russia or with China. What we do know is that the FBI has said that it is highly likely that Russians have been involved in this hack. So, we really don't know what documents are false or what documents are true.

And I think more disturbing is the fact that the Russian government is trying to assist Donald Trump to become president of the United States so that he can break long-standing global agreements with countries that make up the NATO alliance, the most important alliance that emerged after World War II.

The biggest break we have seen with Donald Trump and his running mate was over Russia. I think everybody remembers the debate when the commentator was reflecting on Mike Pence's comments about being aggressive and engaging Russia in an aggressive fashion and Donald Trump said we hadn't talked to him at all and if so, he disagreed with him.

PAUL: You're right about that.

REED: And that's disturbing.

PAUL: We have had these conversations --

REED: Yes.

PAUL: -- many times about the authenticity of these. You just heard us say we can't verify it. The Clinton campaign is saying that they cannot verify it either. But there's no doubt about it that this speaks directly to the Bernie Sanders supporters that she's trying to court right now. So, the question is, is this going to be a big problem for her? MCCAUGHEY: I'd like to address that.

REED: You know what, Christi --

(CROSSTALK)

PAUL: Let's let Mayor Reed finish and then we'll turn to you, Lieutenant Governor.

REED: I think that the fact of the matter is what's going to be impactful for Bernie Sanders supporters is what Senator Sanders says. And Senator Sanders is standing shoulder to shoulder with Secretary Clinton and has said in no uncertain terms that this election is too important to America and to the world to allow Donald Trump to become president of the United States. The most compelling argument is going to be when Senator Sanders and Secretary Clinton are campaigning all over America together.

PAUL: All right. Lieutenant Governor, go ahead.

MCCAUGHEY: Yes, I'd like to address that. First of all, although that particular passage suggests, as many others do, is Mrs. Clinton says one thing in private and another thing in public, the far more damning portions of these speeches are where she commits herself to open borders and unlimited immigration. And the reason that that is so damning is that if you look at just the last year, jobs held by foreign workers increased 5 percent in this country whereas jobs held by American-born workers increased only 1 percent.

[07:35:14] Newcomers to this country, immigrants legal and illegal, are displacing American workers. And that is going to be very important in battleground states like Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina where people in service jobs and lower-paying jobs are losing those jobs to newcomers to this country and is some cases are being forced to train the people who are taking over their jobs.

PAUL: OK. I want to get to one more thing that's in "The Times" actually this morning, "The New York Times."

There is so much to talk about, as you have already talked about this morning, regarding Donald Trump and the women conversation -- the women that are coming out accusing him of sexual assault. The things that he has been caught saying on tape and speeches, frankly.

But "The Times" has this to say about Hillary Clinton a how she can or cannot, rather, combat that. "Though Hillary Clinton," it says, "has stood at the center of feminist debates for more than two decades, she has at times been an imperfect messenger for the cause. That has never been more apparent than now as her old missteps and her husband's history have effectively paralyzed her during a moment of widespread outrage."

In other words, Mayor, it sounds as though they're saying because of her past, it's very difficult for her to make a case against Donald Trump right now when it comes to the treatment of women. You say what? REED: Christi, I say that that's not what the numbers show. What the

numbers in your polling data show is that women are coming to the side of Hillary Clinton. And what I'm absolutely stunned by is to hear a Trump supporter talking about what someone said in private versus public. If we're talking about what someone says in private, the comments that Donald Trump made were absolutely deplorable. And as opposed to going out and simply apologizing and moving on, he has gone out and attacked the women who have come forward.

You have an individual who's running for president that's calling people in the United States to change the name of Tic Tacs to Donald Trump. So, I'm surprised we're talking about private comments because if we're talking about private comments, I don't think that's a healthy conversation for Donald Trump to have.

PAUL: Lieutenant Governor?

MCCAUGHEY: Yes, I'd like to respond. As many of these allegations have come forward, there is just as much evidence proving that they're all politically motivated.

REED: That's not true.

MCCAUGHEY: Let me give you an example. Just please don't interrupt me, Mr. Mayor.

When Gloria Allred, a Clinton delegate and professional man-shamer, trotted out Miss Anderson, I have very big sympathies for any woman who has to do this. But she trotted her out like a pony on a rope at a press conference and had her charge Donald Trump with sexual misconduct many years ago. No one in the media covered the fact that Ms. Allred is, in fact, a Clinton delegate, a bigwig Democrat.

All of these are the same. When "The New York Times" published that totally unsubstantiated charge by Mrs. Leeds, the elderly woman. No fact checking was done. Was she on a plane with Donald Trump? Did they try to get the witness?

She said that the man across the aisle from her was horrified by the groping. He has since come forward and said that everything Mrs. Leeds said is untrue.

Isn't it a shame that a newspaper would plaster that kind of story on the front page and twist an election, really have an enormous impact on an American election with no prior responsibility to corroborate that story? That is really terrible. It's shameful.

PAUL: Lieutenant Governor --

REED: What's shameful is the shaming of women that have come forward --

MCCAUGHEY: Shameful that a distinguished newspaper --

REED: -- with their own stories, telling their stories --

PAUL: I'm sorry --

MCCAUGHEY: That's what Donald Trump mp means when he says it's rigged. It's not the electoral system. It's the media that are unfair to him.

REED: It's only rigged because don Trump is losing. It wasn't rigged when he was winning. It wasn't rigged when he was out with his polls.

(CROSSTALK)

PAUL: Unfortunately, we've run out of time. I apologize here. It's been good to have this conversation with both of you. Mayor Reed and Lieutenant Governor McCaughey, thank you so much.

REED: Thank you for having me.

PAUL: Sure.

All righty. Clinton versus Trump this Wednesday, the final presidential debate showdown. Live coverage beginning at 4:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

BLACKWELL: All right. Clinton and Trump are getting ready for that debate. Two of the most vocal supporters are live on CNN today talking debate prep, recent allegations, and the final stretch of the race. You will find out who they are, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:43:12] BLACKWELL: A ninth woman has come forward accusing Donald Trump of sexual assault, but Trump is fighting back calling those allegations false and bogus.

PAUL: Yes. A new poll shows these allegations really aren't making much of a difference for Trump supporters.

BLACKWELL: All right. Let's bring in Jake Tapper, host of CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION."

Jake, good morning to you.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR, STATE OF THE UNION: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: So, let's talk about this new "Washington Post"/ABC News poll. Trump in this poll is just at the margin of error. He's four points behind Hillary Clinton. The margin of error there is four points. But we've seen other polls that have a larger gap.

What do you make of the numbers you're seeing?

TAPPER: Well, "The Washington Post"/ABC News poll generally speaking has been one that seems to believe the Trump campaign argument that he is going to bring a lot more new voters to the polls than have shown up in previous Republican elections and that Hillary Clinton still has an enthusiasm problem. So, it's a more conservative model, a more -- I'm hesitant to use the term -- but a more pro-Trump model. And it's -- and that's the model they use. And even with that model, it still shows Hillary Clinton up. But a much tighter race than we've seen in other polls as you point out.

Really at this point the question is -- obviously, it's a cliche in elections to say it all comes down to turnout. But that's one of the reasons why you see differences in the polls. Some people are saying that the enthusiasm gap has disappeared. Other pollsters suggesting that Trump's voters are still more enthusiastic, still more likely to go to the polls and that's one of the reasons why there are these differences.

BLACKWELL: Yes, when you mention turnout, we should remember that people are turning out now as early voting has begun in many states.

Jake, I understand you have some big guests today. Who do you have?

TAPPER: Well, representing the pro-Clinton argument, we have the House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, from California. She'll talk about Hillary Clinton and answer some questions about her race.

[07:45:05] And then representing the Trump campaign for an encore third week in a row, unprecedented appearance, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will be visiting "STATE OF THE UNION."

BLACKWELL: All right. Looking forward to both. Jake Tapper, thanks so much.

TAPPER: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: And be sure to watch "STATE OF THE UNION" with Jake Tapper this morning, 9:00 a.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

PAUL: Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton preparing for their third debate. With so many memorable moments, who could forget the second one? "Saturday Night Live" takes it on. We've got the highlights for you and some new Trump tweets this morning.

BLACKWELL: Hmm.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Well, the candidates are getting ready for the third presidential debate, but "Saturday Night Live" is not ready to let go of the second one.

PAUL: Well, the cast of SNL have plenty of material. I think we would all agree, starting with the moment that the candidates took the stage. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(APPLAUSE)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP) PAUL: Kate McKinnon almost for a second looked like she was going to laugh.

[07:50:00] Just for a second.

BLACKWELL: It's hard to hold it sometimes --

PAUL: So good, so good.

CNN senior media correspondent and host of "RELIABLE SOURCES", Brian Stelter, with us here.

We're going to get to that, but I know just a couple of minutes ago, Donald Trump reacted to last night's "SNL" episode.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. You know, SNL is influential because it's the highest rated show of the day on Saturdays and we know at least one person is watching. We know the man himself Donald Trump was tuned in. He's reviewing the episode.

But, first, let's look at one clip from the debate sketch. This is a recreation of the final question of the actual debate last Sunday. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello. Question is do you feel that you're models appropriate and positive behavior for today's youth?

KATE MCKINNON AS HILLARY CLINTON: Hi, Patrice. Let me start by walking over to you just as I practiced. Right, left, right, left, right, left. Now, Patrice, you're a teacher?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

MCKINNON: You have kids?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

MCKINNON: You like kids?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

MCKINNON: You've seen kids.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

MCKINNON: Okay. Great. We're bonding already. Oh my friend, Patrice.

Patrice, I strive to be a positive role model for all children, children like my daughter Chelsea and my granddaughter Chelsea Jr.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Trump, same question. Do you feel you're modeling appropriate and positive behavior for today's youth?

ALEC BALDWIN AS DONALD TRUMP: No, next.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: I'm laughing at both of them. But Donald Trump is not. Our TV critic in chief weighed in on Twitter. And here's his review of last night's episode. He says, "I watched the SNL hit job on me. It's time to retire the boring and unfunny show. The Alec Baldwin portrayal stinks. The media is rigging the election."

Victor, Christi, what's so strange about that is that Donald Trump had a great time hosting SNL, almost this time last year. Victor, you just pointed out, he tweeted last year, "Amazing evening at SNL, I'm at the studio, there's electricity all over the place."

Trump did have a good time hosting SNL and he's also heaped praise on the show's creator, Lorne Michaels, many time in the past. But now, a year later, he's saying SNL is part of the problem. SNL is part of the conspiracy.

BLACKWELL: Yes, he doesn't like it when the sketch pokes fun at him.

PAUL: At him, at him, yes.

BLACKWELL: Which we've seen several times before. We know the cast spoofed Melania Trump.

STELTER: And I think this actually might have been what frustrated Trump the most. If we can queue up this one, this is a video short going pretty aggressively at Trump's family. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here lies my last nerve, Donald. I stood by your side this whole campaign, your beautiful, dutiful Melania. I can't take it any more. I am your wife.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your daughter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your mouthpiece.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your one black friend.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your other daughter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALEs: And you're breaking us. Taking for granted that we'll always be there.

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: Now, that Beyonce spoof probably cut pretty close to the bone for Trump, suggesting his wife could leave him after the election. It's on YouTube, though, and it's already gotten a lot of traffic. So, a lot of people enjoying that video this morning.

BLACKWELL: All right. Looking forward to next week.

PAUL: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Brian, thanks so much.

PAUL: Thanks, Brian.

STELTER: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: And, of course, catch Brian Stelter on "RELIABLE SOURCES", 11:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

If you haven't heard about it there's this domestic terror plot stopped in Kansas. We'll tell you why investigators say three men loaded trucks full of explosives and who they potentially according to investigators were targeting?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:57:30] BLACKWELL: Well, investigators say they plan to pack four vehicles full of explosives and then park them at four corners of an apartment complex in Garden City, Kansas and now three members of a militia group who call themselves the Crusaders are in jail, charged with domestic terrorism. Investigators say they were targeting 120 Somalia immigrants living in that apartment complex. One of the units in the building is used as a mosque. Well, the Department of Justice said the men had very detailed plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM BEALL, ACTING U.S. SECRETARY: It's alleged the defendants conducted surveillance to size up potential targets, they stockpile firearms, ammunition and explosive components. They even prepared a manifesto describing their beliefs to be published after the bombing. One of them said the bombing would, quote, "wake people up".

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: The investigation took eight months.

Well, now, if convicted, Curtis Allen, Gavin Wright and Patrick Smith are facing life in prison.

PAUL: Well, thousands of people do not have power this morning after a fierce storm hit the Pacific Northwest. This was a storm that was made up of remnants of a typhoon brought rain and winds at 80 miles per hour along the coast there. At least two people were hurt by falling tree branches. The storm hit just one day, though, after two tornadoes hit the Oregon coast. At least two dozen homes were damaged there.

BLACKWELL: Let me take to you Nevada where more than 1,000 firefighters are battling a growing wildfire. It's the Little Valley Fire, that's what it's called, near Lake Tahoe. It's already destroyed 22 homes. Firefighters say strong winds are making it really difficult to contain this fire. Right now, though, it's about 20 percent contained. We know at least four people were treated for smoke inhalation and the governor has declared a state of emergency for that area.

PAUL: So, if you're going to go swimming with sharks, and more power to you --

BLACKWELL: Why would you ever do that?

PAUL: We're not.

But at least you can be safe inside a steel cage, would you think.

BLACKWELL: Nope.

PAUL: Maybe not. Look at this video here. Did you see the size of that great white shark when it surfaced? Well, watch this.

According to the man who posted the video, it's going after a rope with tuna on it. The shark is not attacking the cage it's struggling against it.

Look at this thing. They can't swim backwards either. So, that's what happened.

Here's the good news. The diving instructor in that cage simply swam back up and climbed out of the case unharmed. But what a story to tell and it's on video documented.

BLACKWELL: Yes, so many questions. We really don't have time to get to all of them.

PAUL: Hey, make some great memories today and thank you so much for sharing your morning with us.

BLACKWELL: We're handing it over now to John King for "INSIDE POLITICS". Have a good day.