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CNN NEWSROOM

Trump Campaign Manager: "We Are Behind"; 13 Killed, 31 Injured in California Tour Bus Crash; One-on-One With Chelsea Handler; More Than Five Million Voters Cast in 35 States; Rumors Swirl About Possible Trump TV; Obama Campaigns in Key Swing State of Nevada. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired October 23, 2016 - 19:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:00:20] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. 7:00 p.m. Eastern. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York.

And we begin this hour with Donald Trump's sprint across the must-win state of Florida as his own campaign manager says something that the candidate has not said himself, that they are behind in this race with two weeks to go. The latest national poll out today from ABC shows Hillary Clinton with a 12-point lead.

Our own CNN poll of polls puts Clinton ahead by nine points. To put that in perspective, polling from the same period of time in 2012 had Mitt Romney and President Obama tied. Sixteen days until you go to the polls. Election Day is November 8th. And early voting is already underway. Time for Trump to turn around this race. That time is now if he wants to win.

Let's go straight to our Jason Carroll, he is live in Florida, where Trump just wrapped up his rally. This is one of five, right? Five events that Trump is holding in Florida over the next three days. Tonight, we heard his message again, of a rigged election.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Heard his message of a rigged election, and also heard a different message about those polls, Poppy. Despite the national polls showing him trailing behind Hillary Clinton, despite his campaign manager saying that they are behind Donald Trump telling the crowd here in Naples a much different story. Saying that the polls are wrong, the media is wrong and, once again, he brought up this whole idea of what he calls the rigged system working against him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: My message is this, if we win on November 8th, we are going to fix our rigged system. It is a rigged, broken, corrupt, system. It is rigged. It is broken. It is corrupt. They want me to take that back. Let me tell you, folks, it is a rigged system. And we are going to drain the swamp of corruption in Washington, D.C. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: And Poppy, because Trump is trailing in national polls, there has been concern that he could be a drag on down blot races. And for the first time today when he spoke to the crowd, we heard him say something that we've not heard him say in the past. He said he was encouraging voters to get out and vote for Republicans across the board. Saying you have to get out there and vote. No mention of his accusers, no mention of any threatening of any lawsuits, but again, no acknowledgment that he is not only behind in national polls but behind here in the state of Florida, as well -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Right. In fact, saying these polls look great for us nationally and the Florida polls, which runs exactly counter to what his campaign manager said this morning on "Meet The Press." We'll dig into that now, Jason. Thanks for the reporting live from Naples tonight.

Let's bring in my panel. Hilary Rosen, a Democratic strategist and a Clinton supporter. Scottie Nell Hughes, a political editor for RightAlerts.com and a Trump supporter.

Ladies, thanks for being here. And let's listen to that -- let's listen to what Trump's campaign manager said this morning and what Trump said in Florida about the polls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK TODD, MSNBC ANCHOR, "MEET THE PRESS": Where do you see this race right now? Do you acknowledge that you're behind?

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: We are behind. She has some advantages like $66 million in ad buys just in the month of September.

TRUMP: Investors' business daily, the most accurate poll from the last election and the two elections before that just announced that we are leading nationally by two points. Numbers are looking phenomenal in Florida. Don't believe the media. But even the media is giving pretty good numbers. They can't help it. But the numbers are even better than what they're saying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Let's look at the latest Quinnipiac poll there in the state of Florida where he is speaking tonight. Clinton is leading by four points there.

Scottie Nell, to you first, talk to me about the strategy. Right? Conway comes out said, yep, we're behind. Maybe that is a strategy to rally people to get out. Say, we need you, we need every vote. And then Trump says, nope, we're doing great nationally and we're doing great in Florida. Why the divide?

SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, POLITICAL EDITOR, RIGHTALERTS.COM: Well, I think she was also referring to -- if you listen to the entire segment of Kellyanne Conway, she was referring to the amount of money that is being outspent, that Mr. Trump is being outspent. She pointed out, $66 million in advertising buys, most of those negative advertisements against Mr. Trump. Not necessarily pro-Hillary advertisements.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: Scottie, this is politics. They're both running negative ads against one another. And if she has more money, she has more money. I guess my real question is --

HUGHES: Absolutely.

HARLOW: Are you concerned that your candidate seems to be on a very different page than his campaign manager when it comes to where they stand two weeks out?

HUGHES: Well, I don't think they're on a completely different page. They've been probably on the same page closer than you see Robby Mook and Hillary Clinton being on after today, after some of the disastrous comments he made this morning. But when it comes to Florida, I think there is a lot of optimism. The reason why the Trump team is extremely happy, right now, they're up in absentee ballots. You have the four events that will have 50,000 people in attendance.

[19:05:20] Mr. Trump will be eye to eye with in the next three days. And when you look at you got early voting just is now starting in Florida in 50 counties tomorrow. So, they've not even started really to vote in the lines. And like we've seen in North Carolina and other areas, in Georgia, we're seeing it's actually the rural areas are actually the high voter turnout. And you're not seeing the same enthusiasm in the more urban areas which is usually skew more Democratic.

HARLOW: Hilary, Hillary, go ahead. Your response?

HILARY ROSEN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I'll just say one thing. I couldn't help but think about when I watched Kellyanne Conway and the segment. It is little, rich Donald Trump being -- complaining about being outspent financially, you know, when he spent the last year and a half talking about how he was going to essentially buy this election because he is so rich. Money means nothing to him. Having said that, I think -- you know, who knows? Maybe there is a secret Trump vote. You know, maybe these polls are way off. And I think Hillary Clinton has to be running, as she is and her campaign, has to be running as if there is a secret Trump vote.

As if she is way behind. Because, you know, these are very crucial, you know, moments between now and the campaign -- these are the moments that this campaign was built before. I have to say, I don't know very much about the Trump operation, but I know the Clinton operation. And it is technical. It is -- they know where their voters are. They know how they're getting them out. They know whether they're voting absentee or going to the polls. This is what, you know, these few weeks is what the last 15 months have been built for. And that is where this will be won. HARLOW: Scottie, respond to that as a Trump supporter. Because a lot

has been made of and written about Clinton's ground game and organization and digging into the data and really targeting, targeting specifically versus what Trump's team has been able to do in their ground game. Are you confident in Trump's ground game, say in Florida right now?

HUGHES: Well, let me say this, Hilary is very, very gracious and her answer is completely I think is the right answer that both candidates and their campaigns need to be giving right now. We always knew going into that that Hillary Clinton machine, the Clinton machine was going to be huge to defeat us, especially when paired up with the amazing machine that the Democrats had built. So, it was going to be an uphill battle for any Republican.

But in Florida alone, a lot of it has to do with voter enthusiasm, engagement and turnout. And I think both teams right now in Florida are trying to find ways to inspire and encourage their different demographics. I will say this, overwhelmingly right now, females are turning out to vote. I went and voted. It took me an hour yesterday. More women were in line than men I counted. And I think you're seeing that across the country. Which in some ways, it might speak better for Hillary Clinton. But I think Donald Trump with some of these women that are either accepting or their minds were not changed with the recent scandals that have happened.

HARLOW: But I mean, it is an important note, the fact that you anecdotally have seen more women in the last polling. Your candidate is trailing among Democratic and Republican women by 20 points.

HUGHES: Absolutely. I wish it was better.

ROSEN: You know, interestingly, of course, Mitt Romney won married white women by a very significant margin in the last election. What we see now is that Hillary Clinton is running even with married women and far exceeding with unmarried women. And so, you know, that alone may just end up making the difference here. I think from day one, Hillary Clinton has felt like women would end up carrying her over the finish line. And let's hope that's where we are.

HARLOW: Let's take a look at this graph of CNN's poll of polls. Okay? It looks at from September until now. And Trump has hovered close to 40 percent since September. Clinton has took effort from that.

Scottie Nell, do you -- are you concerned that there is a cap for your candidate right now? Because a lot of Trump supporters have come out, including his campaign manager, and said look, she's not above 50 percent. She's not above 50 percent. But what about your candidate, he seems to be stuck in that 37 to 40 range.

HUGHES: Absolutely. And I think time, you know, time and time again, we've had the debate, whether or not these rallies, the large numbers, actually are equitable to having actual votes, is that count. If we were having small rallies that were just filling up high school gyms, I'd say yes, I would be very concerned. But the fact that you're seeing people waiting for hours to get into a rally to see Mr. Trump, and his rallies are larger now than they've been the entire year, it makes me think, if these folks, if they are willing to wait in line -- and these might not necessarily be folks getting the daily calls by the pollsters, that they're willing to wait in line to cast their vote for Mr. Trump.

HARLOW: Hilary, the feeling of inevitably, I mean, we heard Robby Mook say this morning to take Jake Tapper on "STATE OF THE UNION," you know, basically saying we're taking nothing for granted. You know, we're getting out hard across these swing states. They do not want any even sense of complacency to be anywhere this campaign. Right? They don't want one single voter to think that they don't have to go to the polls. At the same time, she's focusing on down ballot. The Washington Post reporting on Tim Kaine bringing on a former staffer to looking at a transition of VP, sort of transition move. Do you think at all that the focus down ballot, et cetera, is an acknowledgment, that perhaps they're looking at this like it is in the bag?

[19:10:40] ROSEN: No. I think What Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine are doing is looking ahead for the American people to say, all right, if we are going to govern effectively, what do we need to govern effectively? And they believe that they need a Democratic Senate to do that. And so, I think what we're seeing Democrats across the country do is connect these races. As to say, look, if you are for the policies of Donald Trump and if you are for the policies of those incumbent Republican senators, then you are not for the America that Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine represent.

And I think they are making a much more effective and cohesive argument on that today. I think we'll see that over the next couple of weeks. Does that imply more confidence? Maybe a little bit in some states. Shows that they feel like they can bring some people along. On the other hand, I think it also says, look, look, don't expect us to be able to do everything if you don't give us all the tools. And those tools include a Democratic Senate.

HARLOW: All right. Hilary Rosen, Scottie Nell Hughes, thank you both. I got to get to some breaking news. I appreciate it.

ROSEN: OK.

HARLOW: All right. Some breaking news tonight out of a horrible, tragic story out of Southern California. Thirteen people have been killed, 31 injured, after this tour bus slammed into a tractor trailer this morning, it happened near Palm Springs. The bus was on its way back to Los Angeles after it took passengers to a casino.

Kyung Lah is on the phone with me. And Kyung, I understand many of these passengers were asleep when it happened and the driver of the bus actually was killed. What else do we know?

And Kyung, I understand many of these passengers were asleep when it happened and the driver of the bus actually is killed. What else do we know?

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on the phone): We know that it happened -- the reason why they were sleeping, Poppy, is that it was 5:17 in the morning. This was an overnight trip to a casino in the desert just east of Los Angeles near Palm Springs. And they were all coming back. The casino is about 25 miles away when this crash happened. What we know is that it is a horrific scene. The bus was travelling at a high rate of speed. At this point, the CHP says, they don't know if it was speeding or not. But the trailer, it rammed into the tractor trailer so hard that the trailer entered 15 feet into the bus.

Many of the people, of the 44 passengers, many of the deceased were near the front. Thirteen people had died. Thirty one injured. Many of them critically. They were taken to numerous area hospitals. And the CHP officer who is holding the press conference, he says that in all of his years, he is never seen such a bad collision on the freeways here in Los Angeles. At this point, they still do not have a cause. The CHP and the NTSB are both going to be investigating. We do know Poppy that this 1996 passenger bus was inspected every single year last in April 2016. And it does not appear that there was anything unsatisfactory about those inspections -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Tragic. Thirteen deaths, 31 injured. Kyung, thank you very much for the reporting tonight from California.

Coming up next, to politics and more hacked e-mails from the Clinton camp released by WikiLeaks. We'll talk about what they entail and the details that we know from them.

Also, Donald Trump's claim that the election is rigged. You've heard him say it over and over again. But what would it actually take to get a recount? How different is his claim from what we saw actually play out in 2000?

Our Trump Foreman has the answer.

And later, comedian Chelsea Handler gets candid about her road to success in Hollywood.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Is there anything you're scared of?

CHELSEA HANDLER, COMEDIAN: Yes. I'm scared all the time.

HARLOW: Of what?

HANDLER: I don't know. I get fearful. I just push right through fear. Like, if I feel fear, I'm like, go, go, go, go, go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:17:29] HARLOW: For the first time in this presidential race, Hillary Clinton will be joined by First Lady Michelle Obama at a campaign event. The pair will link up on Thursday at a stop in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Clinton is also in the Tar Heel State today speaking tonight at a rally in Charlotte. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: He said a lot of things throughout those three debates, but I got to tell you, there is one in particular out of that third debate that no presidential nominee of either party has ever said before. He refused to say that he would respect the results of our election. Now, I have to admit, you know, when we were both asked the question, I assumed he would say what everybody has always said, which is, hey, of course. You know, you know, because to say you won't respect the results of the election, that is a direct threat to our democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Meantime, a new batch of hacked e-mails released by Wikileaks shows that Hillary Clinton' team actually debated how she should handle her brewing e-mail controversy. This was last year back in 2015. It shows that they even purportedly considered advising her to crack a joke about it at a gala dinner.

Athena Jones has been pouring through the stolen e-mails. She joins me tonight. What was the calculus there?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right, Poppy. Well, it's interesting these stolen emails are speaking to the sensitivity in this exchange at least around the whole e-mail issue in Clinton world. That is an issue that has dogged Clinton from the very beginning. And we see in this latest batch an exchange from March of 2015. That is a month before Clinton officially announced she was running. She was preparing to speak to Emily's List, the Political Action Committee, and her campaign was toying with the idea of her maybe making a joke about this whole e-mail issue.

Let's put up some of those messages on the screen. The first is from Jennifer Palmieri who is now Clinton's communications director. She said, I wanted to float an idea of HRC making a joke about the e-mail situation at the Emily's List dinner tonight. What do folks think about that? Now what followed that initial email is the discussion among several aides about how it would be good for Clinton to show some more humor and how this dinner could be a good opportunity to do that.

But in the end, Mandy Greenwald (ph) who is a Clinton media adviser chimes in to nixed the idea, saying, "We don't know what's in the e- mails so we're nervous about this. Might get a big laugh tonight and regret it when content of e-mails is disclosed." So, that exchange shows that there was a clear awareness in Clinton world, that these e- mails -- this e-mail issue could be a problem.

And also, a clear understanding that Clinton's own words could later be used against her. And Poppy, we've all seen the Clinton campaign using Donald Trump's own words against him in ad after ad. As we've been noting all along, CNN has not been able to confirm the authenticity of these e-mails. The Clinton campaign isn't verifying them. Instead, they're stressing that they believe they were stolen by Russian state actors who were trying to influence the election. And Wikileaks seemed to acknowledge it wants to affect the election tweeting yesterday, leak early, leak often.

If Wikileaks had obtained Clinton e-mails earlier, U.S voters could have chosen Sanders versus Trump. So do it. Do it now. The Clinton campaign, plus Secretary Brian Fallon responding on Twitter, saying, "WikiLeaks makes its Trump endorsement official. Not that it was a secret prior to now." So, a lot coming out in these e-mails. A lot to pour over. So far, nothing that appears to be so deeply damaging as to have an effect on her poll numbers in these closing days of the race. But of course, Wiki is promising that they're going to release a lot more. So, the big question is what's next and what will be in those releases -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Athena Jones reporting from Washington. Thank you for that.

Coming up, one on one with funny woman Chelsea Handler. The comedian on this election, her road to success, here new Netflix show, and if she has ever been paid less than her male counterparts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: You've said men are intimidated by me.

HANDLER: They are. They're scared.

HARLOW: Is that a good thing? Should we all be aiming for that?

HANDLER: I don't know. I've just learned to deal with it.

HARLOW: You really think they are?

HANDLER: They've been since I was like five.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:25:50] HARLOW: In tonight's "American Opportunity," funny woman Chelsea Handler in the spotlight. The comedian sat down with me to talk about fighting the pay gap for women head on. If she'd actually ever run for elected office and why she says having lazy parents made her such a success.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: You said you wanted to do something different, something a- typical. You did that. I mean, you went to Mexico. You were -- am I even saying it right?

HANDLER: Yes.

HARLOW: Could you do that on the television? Could you do that on network?

HANDLER: I could probably get away with whatever I wanted to do wherever I wanted to --

HARLOW: You couldn't swear.

HANDLER: No, you can't swear but they can bleep you. Netflix is giving me a lot of creative license. I mean, we're going all over the world and traveling is a huge component. And kind of real -- kind of like a prerequisite for me wanting to do anything. You know, I wasn't planning on doing another show. It's like, if I am going to do a show, it has got to be really interesting to me. I want to see the world. I want to go to places, film everything I can film to show everybody who doesn't get a chance to travel to Tokyo or to India where we're going after this season wraps for next season, you know. I love what I get to do. I love dinner parties at my house with certain celebrities. I like to have politicians on. You know, I get to interview Chelsea Clinton.

HARLOW: Yes.

HANDLER: I got to interview Barbara Boxer, Nancy Pelosi. That kind of stuff --

HARLOW: You're like deep in politics.

HANDLER: I know.

HARLOW: You're like, really, like we're going to see you running.

HANDLER: Oh, God! Can you imagine? No.

I'm Chelsea Handler, and I approved this message. And I am not going to remove my blouse top.

HARLOW: You've said, I've never been a critics darling. Right? Netflix is a whole new world -- a whole new way consumption. Hundred and ninety countries. What is success to you now?

HANDLER: Well, the show now, I'm in my groove. You know, when I started my show, I felt rocky. And I was like, okay, what am I doing here? And I was doing something -- I had it never done before. So, I have to kind of get my sea legs.

HARLOW: That was interesting to me, you actually talked about vulnerability and you said like, I was a little insecure.

HANDLER: Yes. Yes. Definitely.

HARLOW: How did you get the train back on the rails?

HANDLER: My show runner, Sue Murphy, it was like, I've worked with her for years and she was like, what's up with you? I said, I don't know. I'm not feeling it. And she's like, you're too self-conscious. She's like, you're carrying too much. The great thing about you is you don't care normally. So, why do you care? And I am like, of course I care. This is a huge endeavor, this is like a huge show. Do you know how much money they're spending on me? And then just something switched. And then one day I clicked in and I haven't clicked out. So, I'm really into it.

HARLOW: Sort of, when you stop thinking about yourself is when you're great.

HANDLER: Yes.

HARLOW: You've said, I don't think of myself as a woman. I think of myself as a person. What is the lesson there for all of us?

HANDLER: Well, I mean, you know, of course I think of myself as a woman, but I like -- I don't like the conversation always being about being a woman. It is about more than that. And it is just about -- it's just about parity all across the board.

HARLOW: But it is like laughable when you say parity and women and entertainment, unfortunately. In pay.

HANDLER: Yes. But it's not, you know, you have to ask for it. And I have always have. So, when I talk about my personal experience, is because I know what I want and I've asked for it. And generally speaking, when women do go after it and ask for it, they do get it.

HARLOW: Do you feel like you've ever been paid less than your male counterpart?

HANDLER: No. I don't.

HARLOW: Why?

HANDLER: Because I have a bulldog manager and I know -- like I have no problem saying, I need this amount of money to move on. And I'm also not -- you know, in this industry, we make an absurd amount of money regardless. So, I am not avaricious enough to be like -- I know how to make money. And that's not my issue. My main objective is to be doing something that is like, you know, that amplifies my kind of attitude.

I want to have fun and learn and be like brave and do stuff people are scared to do. And jump off buildings and film it and be crazy and ask questions and be like, you know, and have real experiences. So, you know, when it does come down to it, you know, if I feel like it is unjust or I'm being treated unfairly, then absolutely, I have no problem after it.

HARLOW: Have you ever called anyone out? Any men out for that?

HANDLER: For treating me unfairly?

HARLOW: Yes. Any bosses out there and --

HANDLER: No.

HARLOW: Studio heads?

HANDLER: No. I mean, I haven't had that experience with -- I had an experience once. No, not money. No, I've never had to deal with that personally.

[19:30:10] HARLOW: What about opportunity or control? HANDLER: No, I have control over everything I've done.

HARLOW: You said men are intimidated by me.

HANDLER: They are. They're scared.

HARLOW: Is that a good thing? Should we all be aiming for that?

HANDLER: I don't know.

HARLOW: You really think they are?

HANDLER: They've been. Since I was like five. It has nothing to do with anything that I'm doing anymore. It's just stuck.

HARLOW: I just can't -- why is it that we're in 2016 and there is still such a huge pay gap, maybe it's not for you, but I mean, it happened to Jennifer Lawrence and --

HANDLER: Yes. And she asked for it and then she got the money. You know what I mean? Charlize Theron asked for it and she got the money. So, yes, it sucks and it happens. It is pervasive. My personal story is that I haven't had to deal with that. And you know what? Maybe I have and I didn't even know about it.

HARLOW: Yes.

HANDLER: But I've always worked with people who were generous with me and gave me a lot of money. I've made absurd amounts of money for doing nothing.

HARLOW: You seem fearless. Are you fearless? Do you like that description?

HANDLER: No.

HARLOW: Is there anything you're scared of?

HANDLER: Yes. I am scared all the time.

HARLOW: Of what?

HANDLER: I don't know. I get fearful. I just push right through fear. If I feel fear, I'm like go, go, go, go. Get past it.

HARLOW: Where is that come from? Like what did your parents do or who did that to you?

HANDLER: They were lazy. And I was like, I'm never going to be lazy and tired.

HARLOW: Really?

HANDLER: Yes. I just never wanted to be lazy. I never wanted to like watch for money, I didn't want to ever owe anybody money, I didn't want or rely on anybody to pay my bills. I just wanted to be really fiercely independent. And jackpot. That's what I am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Jackpot indeed. My thanks to Chelsea Handler for that.

Coming up next, millions of ballots already cast in this election. So, what clues are we getting? A look at the early voting tea leaves, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:35:01] HARLOW: You're looking at live pictures of a rally in Las Vegas, Nevada, where President Obama is set to speak on behalf of Hillary Clinton. The sign above the stage, vote early. The fact is, for millions of people, this election is already underway in 35 states, to be exact, shown here in yellow. More than five million of your votes have already been cast. Voters turning out for the first day of early voting in Washington, D.C. waited in long lines yesterday. Some waiting more than an hour.

CNN political contributor Ryan Lizza is with me now. He is also the Washington correspondent for the "New Yorker." Have you voted?

RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: I haven't yet, Poppy. I haven't. You know, as controversial but someone who covers the campaigned believe it or not, the last few presidential elections, I didn't vote. I haven't decided yet if I will this year. But anyway, we can have a conversation about that another time.

HARLOW: Yes. Or offline.

LIZZA: Yes.

HARLOW: Ryan, who does early voting help more this time around, do you believe, and then compare it to traditionally?

LIZZA: Well, there's a couple things going on. One, the Trump campaign got a very late start. You know, well-known that Trump has not spent a lot of the money on the traditional infrastructure that most presidential campaigns and especially in the last modern presidential campaigns have. Heavy investments in mail programs and early voting programs. And they were really playing catch-up against the Hillary Clinton campaign, which inherited a lot from the two Obama campaigns, which were, you know, the best of the modern era in terms of this -- get out the vote stuff. And so I think the numbers four to one, that Hillary Clinton campaign has a four to one advantage when it comes to staffers on the ground in key battleground states. So, that puts Trump behind the eight ball starting out.

HARLOW: Looking at just the latest data from catalyst, what it shows us is in the 21 states right now where party registration is available, meaning we can know if it is more Republican or Democrats voting early, this is what it shows us. The Democrats voting earlier by absentee ballot outnumbers Republicans in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, North Carolina and Ohio.

LIZZA: Yes.

HARLOW: Now, you compare that in 2012, it was sort of reverse. Republicans outnumbered Democrats voting early in Arizona and Colorado. Of course I need to note, we don't know how these people are voting, if they're voting in line with their party or not. But if you're Kellyanne Conway running the Trump campaign, you're looking at these numbers, what are you thinking?

LIZZA: Well, you have to be really careful with these numbers. Because first of all, obviously a registered Republican or Democrat doesn't necessarily vote for their own party.

HARLOW: Right.

LIZZA: You still have lots of Southern Democrats who, you know, just are registered Democrats because of their ancestry and always vote for the Republican presidential candidate. And of course, in this election, you have a lot of registered Republicans especially women and Republicans who are independent leaning but voted for Mitt Romney last time who are telling pollsters they'll going to vote for Clinton. So, registration alone doesn't tell you anything. But you can do a sort of apples to apples comparison and see where these registration numbers are compared to 2012.

And as CNN and catalyst have crunched the numbers, looks like good news for Hillary Clinton in Arizona, in Utah of all places, in North Carolina and in Nevada. Nevada, Hillary Clinton is actually running well ahead where Barack Obama was in 2012, which is odd because Obama -- she's been behind the polling compared to where Obama was. Trump, on the other hand, seems to have a bit of an advantage in Ohio, two states where he has run ahead of where Mitt Romney was at this point in 2012.

HARLOW: Uh-hm.

LIZZA: But overall, if you look just at the battlegrounds, the early voting numbers look good if you are Hillary Clinton and they sort of ratify a lot of what the polling is telling us.

HARLOW: Yes. We're out of time. But, you know, Ryan, you heard Robby Mook saying this morning on "STATE OF THE UNION," like basically, let's not get ahead of ourselves here. And, you know, it is not over until it's over. Because they don't want to become complacent, they don't want voters to think that they don't have to come out, so.

LIZZA: Exactly. Both sides. I mean, they want their people to still vote so they don't want to say that this thing is done.

HARLOW: Those are the first words out of Donald Trump's mouth tonight at that rally in Naples. Early voting is starting, get out and vote for me.

Ryan Lizza, thank you. I appreciate it.

LIZZA: Thanks, Poppy. HARLOW: Coming up, testing out the idea of Trump TV. Is his team ready to possibly launch a network if November 8th does not go his way? We will dig into that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:43:35] HARLOW: You've heard some rumblings about it. Like Trump television. Would Trump ever start a television network if he does not win on November 8th? He denies interest in that. His own campaign is adding to the rumors of a so-called Trump television in a way. Because on Wednesday night, they launched their own live stream coverage of the presidential debate through Facebook. In all, 8.6 million people watched it after it was recorded. And if Trump wants to go further, he certainly surrounding himself with people who could help him do it.

Roger Ailes, an informal adviser and a good friend, obviously, of Trump. Former head of FOX News. And Trump's campaign chairman, Steve Bannon, also used to lead the far right Breitbart news. So, what exactly would Trump TV look like? The late night, the late show Stephen Colbert took a guess.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN COLBERT, COMEDIAN: I can't wait until he introduces his other programming, like the hour-long crime drama "Bad Hombres."

(LAUGHTER)

Or Rudy Giuliani and Chris Christie's buddy sitcom "Bridge and Tunnel."

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Let's bring in CNN senior media reporter and politics reporter Dylan Byers. Dylan, are you on the Trump TV train? Do you buy it?

DYLAN BYERS, CNN SENIOR MEDIA AND POLITICS REPORTER: Look, I think it is absolutely a possibility. If you look at what Donald Trump has done, he has become the sort of folk hero for a very large contingent of people with the sort of far right populous, nationalist world view. Not enough people to deliver him to the White House maybe, but certainly enough people to keep up robust media company. However, you and I both know this, starting a media company is hard.

HARLOW: Very.

BYERS: People on the far right who have tried to do it. Glenn Beck, Newsmax, it hasn't exactly turned out like the next iteration of FOX News. So, it is a very hard thing to do. The other thing I would say is if you look at the far right media landscape right now, something that Donald Trump has really embraced over the course of this campaign, not a world view he used to embrace, it's led by leaders who are sort of thinking more long term. You think about some of the people you mentioned, surely Steve Bannon, the former chairman of Breitbart Media who now runs his campaign, he is someone who wants to push this sort of populous, nationalist viewpoints into the mainstream.

He has used Donald Trump to do that, and he is certainly thinking about how to capitalize on that leadership or that viewership after the election. I'm just not entirely convinced that that's going to be a Trump TV. I think organizations like Breitbart, Drudge report, other media organizations like that, they might have their own designs and their own ideas on what the future of far right media looks like.

HARLOW: I mean, they certainly have a base. Right? The 37 plus percent, you know, of folks in Trump's camp. But you know, it's interesting because this was sort of spurred again this week because there was this meeting of the financial times reported on in a conversation between Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner and the investment banker Aaron Berkoff who is obviously advises in this big media deals. That got everyone talking about this again.

BYERS: That's absolutely right. And after that, you know, all of a sudden, it becomes this sort of foregone conclusion. It is looking increasingly likely that Donald Trump is going to lose this election, just if you sort of look at the poll of polls. And therefore, you hear about deals like this and all of sudden, folks like Stephen Colbert are talking about a Trump television. Let me tell you the way I read that --

HARLOW: Stay with me one second.

BYERS: Sure.

HARLOW: Let's listen to the President stumping for Hillary Clinton in battleground Nevada where she is up by two points.

PRES. BARACK OBAMA (D), UNITED STATES: It is good to be back in Nevada.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

I heard the other guy is trying to tell you how to say Nevada. Do you remember that? Can't do it. I am so glad to be back here. I've got so many good friends.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

You know, I am so blessed to be here. I'm glad to be back at this outstanding high school. Hosting us.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

I've got some really, really good friends here. Folks who supported me when nobody could pronounce my name. But some of my friends, everybody here knows, because they've been friends to everybody in Nevada, so I just want to make sure to give them a shout out. First, I love you back. (CHEERS)

But first and foremost, first and foremost, somebody who has been not just an outstanding elected official but he has been my friend. I could not have gotten done any of the things I got done had it not been for him getting my back every step of the way. I love this guy. He has always stood up for Nevada first.

(CHEERS)

He has stood up for working people. He's never forgotten where he came from. Give it up for your Senator Harry Reid.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

I love Harry Reid. I love his wife Landra more because she's even more lovable. I also want to -- I also want to make sure that you are turning out to make sure that we get a couple of outstanding members back in the House of Representatives. Jackie Rosen.

(CHEERS)

And Ruben Kihuen.

(CHEERS)

And along with electing those two outstanding officials to Congress, we've got to make sure that your next United States senator is Catherine Cortez.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

So I love you back. I love you guys so much. I do.

(CHEERS)

So, you know, I was driving over here and going through -- yes, we didn't drive right through the strip but we go pass the strip. And it made me think that Vegas is a place where people are always looking to improve their odds. I noticed my staff never complains about a trip to Vegas.

(LAUGHTER)

But I'm here right now to tell you that you've got a sure thing.

AUDIENCE: Yes.

OBAMA: You've got the winning hand.

AUDIENCE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, man!

OBAMA: You -- you got Blackjack.

(CHEERS)

And the way to do it, the way to make sure that you win this hand, the way you boost Catherine's odds of winning this election, the way you make sure that Jackie and Ruben are in Congress, is to go vote.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

You've got to go vote. You have to vote. Here in Nevada, you don't have to wait until November 8th. Early voting started yesterday. You -- you -- you've got an ace and you've got a jack. But you've got to make sure to turn over the card by voting.

(CHEERS)

This game didn't start on November 8th. The game ends on November 8th. It's starting right now.

(CHEERS)

So if you need to find out where you can vote early, just go to Iwillvote.com. I want everybody to say that. Iwillvote.com.

AUDIENCE: Iwillvote.com.

OBAMA: Iwillvote.com.

AUDIENCE: Iwillvote.com.

OBAMA: All right. Vote early.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

And I need you also, because not everybody is as, you know, fired up. Not everybody is as focused as you are. I need everybody to pull out your phones if you got them right now. I know you guys got phones. Pull them out. If you got your phone with you, pull it out. Don't just save it for the selfie. And text volunteer -- text volunteer to 47246. 47246. That way, you can sign up for a volunteer shift in the last four days. Because we're going to need to make sure everybody votes.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

I need you to make phone calls. I need you to knock on doors. I need you to call up cousin Pooky and say, Pooky, it's time to vote. I need you to go --

(LAUGHTER)

I need you to go call Jesse and say, Jesse, come on. Don't be sitting on the couch. It's time to vote. Everybody's got to vote early. That's how we won in '08.

(CHEERS)

That's how we won 2012. (CHEERS)

That's how we're going to win in 2016.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

Because let's face it, you know, Nevada is always close. Nevada always makes you a little nervous because you kind of don't know what's going to happen. But that's what makes it exciting. I was here in Nevada in the closing days of both my campaigns. Both times, you guys came through. I turned over that card. It was an ace. And Michelle and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts. For all the support and all the prayers.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

It has been such a privilege to serve you. But being back here -- being back here in the closing days of another hard-fought campaign makes me think about how far we've come together.

AUDIENCE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

OBAMA: Back in '08, we had gone through two long wars. We were about to enter into the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes. Nevada was ground zero. You remember the housing market just collapsed. Folks were losing jobs, losing homes. On issues like health care, issues like climate change, we weren't doing anything about it, just kicking the can down the road.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

OBAMA: And I remember -- you remember, I told you now, I said, look, talk to Michelle. I'm not a perfect man. I won't be a perfect president. But I told you I would work as hard as I could every single day.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

To make sure that you had a better shot at living out your dreams. And eight years later, eight years later, we fought our way back from recession. We have created 15 million new jobs. We've slashed our dependence on foreign oil. We've doubled our production of clean energy, including right here in Nevada. That solar panels all over the place. In part, thanks to the work that Harry did. Incomes went up last year more than any time since they've been keeping records. Poverty fell faster than any time since 1968. The uninsured rate is now at an all-time low. We brought our brave troops home to their families.

(CHEERS)

We knocked out Osama bin Laden. Marriage equality is a reality in all 50 states. High school graduation rates, never been higher. College enrollment at an all-time high. By so many measures, our country is stronger. It is more prosperous. It is safer than it was eight years ago.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

But -- but for all the progress we've made, if we don't work as hard as we can in these next 16 days, all that progress could be out the window. Because competing for the job I currently hold, you've got a guy who proves himself unfit for this office every single day, every single way. And on the other side, you've got somebody who is as qualified as has ever run for the presidency. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

And here's the thing. Presidents can't do everything on their own. If I didn't have Harry, then I couldn't have gotten done what I got done. If we didn't have Nancy Pelosi, we would not have passed so many of the laws that have benefitted millions of Americans. So we can't elect Hillary and then saddle her with a Congress that is do nothing, won't even try to do something, won't even get their own stuff passed, much less the stuff you want passed.

(CHEERS)

All they've got to offer is blocking and obstructing every step of the way. We've got to have a Congress that's willing to make progress on issues Americans care about.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

OBAMA: Here in Nevada, you're trying to replace one of the toughest fighters I've ever known in Harry Reid.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

OBAMA: So you can choose somebody with a proven track record, for standing up for Nevada families, Catherine Cortez Masto.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

Because Catherine's story is Nevada's story. Think about it. Her grandfather comes here from Mexico, enlists in the U.S. army, settles here in Nevada. Works hard as a baker. Her dad started out parking cars at the Doon's Hotel. Went on to live a life of public service.

HARLOW: President Obama tonight speaking in Nevada. Not only stumping for Hillary Clinton, also stumping for the down ticket Democrats in that state, including Nevada's Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, running in a tight race against Joe Heck for Harry Reid's seat. The President making the case to voters to get out and vote now, vote early. You even heard him calling on people to volunteer to help others register to vote.

That will do it for us tonight. So glad you were with us. Coming up tonight on CNN, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, Anthony Bourdain heads to London in host Brexit vote. A new episode of "PARTS UNKNOWN."

At 10:00 p.m., Lisa Ling takes you to one of America's most famous legal brothels on "THIS IS LIFE." I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. Thanks for joining us. Have a great week.