'This Week' Transcript 11-3-24: Special Edition Election Preview featuring ABC News’ Powerhouse Political Team of anchors, correspondents & contributors

A rush transcript of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" airing on Sunday, November 3, 2024 on ABC News is below. This copy may not be in its final form, may be updated and may contain minor transcription errors. For previous show transcripts, visit the "This Week" transcript archive.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: THIS WEEK WITH GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC "THIS WEEK" ANCHOR: Two days ago, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump make their final pitch.

KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have an opportunity in this election to turn the page on a decade of Donald Trump.

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We must defeat Kamala Harris and stop her radical left agenda.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Opposing visions of America and the future of our democracy.

HARRIS: This is someone who is increasingly unstable. He is consumed with grievance, and the man is out for unchecked power.

TRUMP: They're grossly incompetent people. And they've destroyed our country. Our country is suffering.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Over 75 million ballots already cast. Does a Harris win hinge on women voters? Will Trump accept the result if he loses?

We cover it all this morning. The latest analysis, the final polls, reports from all the key battleground states, and our powerhouse political team on what to watch for Tuesday night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: From ABC News, this is a special edition of THIS WEEK, “Your Voice, Your Vote 2024.” Here now, George Stephanopoulos.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Good morning, and welcome to THIS WEEK.

It is almost over. What comes next is anyone's guess. What we do know is this, no election since the Civil War has posed such a test of our constitutional system. Whether to accept election results and the peaceful transfer of power has never been on the ballot like this. The stakes in this election are as high as it gets. The differences between the candidates are as stark as it gets. And as we emerge from the final weekend, the polls suggest that this election is as close as it gets.

Our team is here to cover it all. We begin with the closing with the arguments of the candidates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANOPOULOS (voice over): Perhaps it’s fitting that the final week of this ugly presidential campaign began with garbage.

TONY HINCHCLIFFE, COMEDIAN: I don't know if you guys know this, but there's literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. Yes. I think it's called Puerto Rico?

STEPHANOPOULOS: The comedian at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally echoing Trump’s take on America.

TRUMP: We're like a garbage can for the world. That's what’s happened. That's what’s happened to – we're like a garbage can. You know, it's the first time I've ever said that.

STEPHANOPOULOS (voice over): Kamala Harris pounced on that rhetoric.

HARRIS: He talks about America being the garbage can of the world. And just continuously, I think, demeans the character and nature of who we are.

STEPHANOPOULOS (voice over): But as she was delivering her closing message –

HARRIS: On day one if elected, Donald Trump would walk into that office with an enemies list. When elected, I will walk in with a to-do list.

STEPHANOPOULOS (voice over): A roadblock from President Biden, responding to the Trump comedian.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His – his – his demonization seems unconscionable. And it's un-American.

STEPHANOPOULOS (voice over): In battleground Wisconsin, Trump seized on Biden's words, accusing the president of calling Trump supporters garbage.

TRUMP: How do you like my garbage truck? This truck is in honor of Kamala and Joe Biden.

STEPHANOPOULOS (voice over): But when Trump tried to close the gender gap with this –

TRUMP: I want to protect the women of our country. They said, sir, I just think it's inappropriate for you to say. I pay these guys a lot of money, can you believe it? I said, well, I'm going to do it whether the women like it or not. I've got to protect them.

STEPHANOPOULOS (voice over): It was Harris who pounced.

HARRIS: He simply does not respect the freedom of women or the intelligence of women to know what's in their own best interest and make decisions accordingly. But we trust women.

STEPHANOPOULOS (voice over): Heading into the final weekend, Trump's rhetoric, more dark.

TRUMP: She'll get overwhelmed, meltdown, and millions of people will die. You're going to die.

STEPHANOPOULOS (voice over): Even appearing to suggest that fellow Republican Liz Cheney, now a Harris supporter, should face gunfire.

TRUMP: She's a radical war hawk. Let's put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, OK? Let's see how she feels about it, you know, when the guns are trained to her face.

STEPHANOPOULOS (voice over): Harris argued those attacks make Trump unfit for office.

HARRIS: Anyone who wants to be president of the United States, who uses that kind of violent rhetoric, is clearly disqualified and unqualified to be president.

STEPHANOPOULOS (voice over): And her campaign drew attention to Trump’s Milwaukee rally Friday night, where Trump becoming visibly frustrated by a faulty microphone.

TRUMP: Do you want to see me knock the hell out of people backstage? Do you want to see me?

STEPHANOPOULOS (voice over): They posed a short clip from the moment, suggesting Trump was making a lewd gesture.

The campaigns crossed paths in North Carolina Saturday.

HARRS: We have three days left in one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime, and we still have work to do.

TRUMP: If I don't win this thing, after all this talk, I'm in trouble. Will you please go and vote?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANOPOULOS: You see President Trump blowing his voice out right there.

Let’s bring in our ABC News Washington bureau chief pollical director Rick Klein.

A new poll this morning.

RICK KLEIN, ABC NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF & POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, George, this latest ABC News/Ipsos poll has Kamala Harris holding a three-point lead nationally. That's up 49-46 over Donald Trump. She was leading by four points a week ago, but that’s all within any margin of error.

Remarkably, Trump’s level of support just does not seem to move at all, no matter what happens in this race. You'll recall four years ago he got about 47 percent of the vote. Go back four years before that, 46 percent of the vote. In our polling he has been no lower than 45, no higher than 48.

But of course, we – what matters at this point is the battleground states. And this is what we see, the latest and last numbers from "The New York Times"/Siena polling. We see intriguingly that right now Harris is up in two southern battlegrounds that are kind of must-wins for Trump in North Carolina, also in Georgia.

At the same time, we see a tie, a virtual tie in two must-win states for Harris, in Pennsylvania and in Michigan. So that kind of scrambles the electoral map – math.

But just to underscore the uncertainty, George, there is a new poll out today for “The Des Moines Register” that shows a genuine shocker. 47-44 Harris. Yes, Harris in Iowa. That would be a major, major upset if that happens on election night.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Yes, it sure would. One thing we are sure about, Rick, is the country’s in a sour mood.

KLEIN: Yes, George, it sure is. And a whopping 74 percent of the country thinks that we are on the wrong track as a nation. That includes half of all Harris supporters and 98 percent of Trump voters. Those are the kind of numbers that are just brutal for an incumbent party. But this is an unusual election in so many ways.

One place where Harris does have an edge is in favorability. Big edge actually. She's about even, 48-48 in favorability. Donald Trump, meanwhile, is 23 points underwater on that question, viewed unfavorably by 60 percent of the country.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So, walk through some of the electoral maps that each campaign is focused on.

KLEIN: Yes, we’re pretty locked in at this point. And this is what the battleground states look like. These yellow states are the ones that are really up for grabs. If there are no other surprises, the most straightforward way for Kamala Harris to win is to hold the blue wall, to win the three Rust Belt states that are battlegrounds, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania. That's 270. That is your magic number, assuming no surprises anywhere else. That would be the easiest way for her to win.

On the other hand, there’s some opportunities that exist for – from Donald Trump. Probably the mt likely, Nevada and Arizona, notwithstanding "The New York Times" poll. There’s some leads there, as well as Georgia and North Carolina. Those are the states that – that are kind of the most straightforward way for him to win. That leaves him right in the precipice at 268. He would then need to flip either Pennsylvania or Wisconsin or Michigan. Any of the three would do. If you take any of those blue wall states, you win. And those states have voted together. Only one time in the last 44 years have any of them broken from each other. The biggest battleground, Pennsylvania, as always, as close to a must win as exists for the campaigns.

STEPHANOPOULOS: OK, Rick, thanks very much.

Let's bring in the rest of our political team right now.

I want to start with our chief Washington correspondent Jon Karl.

We just showed that piece right there showing the closing arguments of the campaign. Trump not really doing the closing arguments that were scripted. But he didn't like you pointing that out.

JONATHAN KARL, ‘THIS WEEK’ CO-ANCHOR & ABC NEWS CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I was on earlier on "Good Morning America" and I pointed out that his campaign actually has a very coherent and straightforward message, which is, life was better when Donald Trump was president. They argue inflation was lower. The economy was better generally. There were fewer wars around the world. Russia hadn't invaded Ukraine. The Middle East wasn't on fire. That's their message, things have gotten worse under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

STEPHANOPOULOS: That's not what we heard this week from Donald Trump.

KARL: But – but it really isn't. And he – he – you know, he said that I – I have a message. You said that I – you know, I was all over the place. I am not. And I said, well, what about the weave? Because he has this thing he talks about, the weave. He talks about, I mean, you know, all different subjects and he said the weave got me elected president.

But the truth is that much of his message in these final days has been very dark, has been very divisive. You had that whole Madison Square Garden rally, which really cited the kind of extreme ends of the -- of MAGA. You had what he said about Liz Cheney, saying nine guns, you know, I’d like to see her with nine guns in her face. This is not a message that's about the economy.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Yes, you've known Trump for more than 30 years.

KARL: Yes.

STEPHANOPOULOS: How did he sound this morning?

KARL: Well, you know, he sounded a little groggy. I talked to him shortly after 7:00 a.m. He had been campaigning at a rally that ended after 11:00 last night. He's been – he's got an incredibly busy schedule. You've got to say that.

You know, but he definitely sounds -- he says the big question he has is whether or not his voice will hold out. He's got I think seven rallies over the next two days planned.

But he does sound, you know, he insists that he is going -- he thinks he is going to win. I asked him, is there any way you could lose and this was actually interesting. He said, yeah, I might -- I mean, that could happen. Bad things can happen, but I think there's no question we've got a --

STEPHANOPOULOS: He never admitted that before.

KARL: But I’ve never heard that from him before now.

STEPHANOPOULOS: What are we hearing from the Harris campaign?

MARY BRUCE, ABC NEWS CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Look, they know and they will stress straight off the bat, this is going to be close. But they are cautiously optimistic. It’s been described as nauseously optimistic, which may be my new favorite political phrase of this cycle. And part of the reason they feel so good is because they don't think that weave is obviously helping Donald Trump.

They think that all of his rhetoric over the last week, whether it’d be, you know, saying he's going to protect women whether they like it or not the violent rhetoric about Liz Cheney, the vile racist rhetoric at that rally, they think all of that just reinforces Kamala Harris's closing argument, which is this big pitch for unity, her promise to be a president for all Americans.

And I’m told they are actually seeing signs in their internal data especially in some of the key swing states that it is having an impact on those critical undecided voters that tiny sliver of voters that everyone is after, that they are really turned off by what they are hearing from Donald Trump.

And it's not just, you know, Latino voters who are turned off by what they heard from the comedian, you know, calling Puerto Rico island of garbage, but that it's undecideds across the board that are being swayed away from Donald Trump by this.

The question is whether they're just turned off from Trump but are they actually being turned on by Harris and it's going to translate into votes.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Right.

And, Rachel Scott, one of the other unusual aspects of this final week, the re-emergence of RFK Jr., you know, Donald Trump says he's going to put him in charge of women's health. We heard yesterday from RFK, it's time to get rid of fluoride in water?

RACHEL SCOTT, ABC NEWS SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. And look I’ve talked to a few Republicans over on Capitol Hill about this who have pointed out, there's a difference between campaigning with RFK because his name is still going to be on the ballot in Michigan, Wisconsin, and RFK encouraging Trump -- his own supporters to support Donald Trump.

And then there's a difference between putting someone like him potentially in charge of all public health agencies, as well as women's health which is giving a lot of fodder for Vice President Kamala Harris and for Democrats to seize and pounce on this. Again, this is someone who has pushed a range of conspiracy theories including about vaccines and our team had reporting about this earlier this week, including with Jon Karl who I know spoke with RFK about even recommending to Trump's transition team other vaccine skeptics to lead departments like HHS.

I mean, this is painting a clear picture of who Donald Trump would have in his cabinet who would be in his administration if he were to be re-elected.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Chris Christie, what do you make of the final week?

CHRIS CHRISTIE, ABC NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Look, I think that Trump is really not a factor in the final week.

STEPHANOPOULOS: What does that mean?

CHRISTIE: What I mean is that he's locked. His voters and his vote is pretty much locked. If you're undecided about Donald Trump after nine and a half years, one of two things is going to happen -- either you're going to vote for Harris or you're not going to vote. There's nothing to be undecided about him anymore.

And that's why I think -- Martha and I were talking about this earlier, this talk about the MSG rally and these other things, I don't think most undecided voters really lock in on that. They've got an opinion of Donald Trump and if they're undecided today, that means they're not voting for him.

So what he wants to do is to create this dark kind of picture to make them stay home, and what she needs to do and has tried to do over the last week is inspire those people to say, I can make a difference, a president can make a difference, please trust me.

And the question's going to be do those people stay perpetually undecided and just don't show up or do they come and vote for Harris?

Well, one thing I can guarantee you, and with that 37-60 fave on fave number, they're not voting for him. They're going to either vote for Harris or they're going to stay home.

STEPHANOPOULOS: The other big thing, Donna Brazile, is who turns out in the end in greater numbers, women or men?

DONNA BRAZILE, ABC NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Women. And we see that in “The Des Moines Register” poll, we see that in the early vote and we see it across the board in terms of the late breaking undecided voters.

Look, I didn't think this would become a scrappy TikTok kind of campaign, one that I’ve never seen before. I’ve seen a lot of scrappy campaigns, but this is one that is so targeted with their TikTok ad that it blew me away. The number of people now who are excited want to know how to vote.

I had a long talk last night with Charlamagne The God, I mean that -- I mean before I --

(CROSSTALK)

CHRISTIE: You are so valued, it's really great.

BRAZILE: Look, I mean that --

CHRISTIE: Charlamagne is good.

BRAZILE: That that's like a -- that that's like a direct call, okay?

CHRISTIE: Yeah.

BRAZILE: Okay?

And he's feeling good. He's feeling good not just in terms of the momentum, but the fact is he said, I’m talking to people now who are so excited. But he closed on one note, and I think this is a note that a lot of people feeling.

He said I got to do this for my daughter. I think women understand what's at stake. They understand that this is a life and death decision, so I think you will see a really strong, robust turnout on Election Day.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And, Reince Priebus, the big question for the Trump campaign, can they turn out men -- especially younger men in greater numbers than ever before?

REINCE PRIEBUS, ABC NEWS POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, look, the higher the turnout, the more -- the better it's going to be for Donald Trump. It's totally different this time than it's ever been in our party.

We’ve never been like cheering for a high turnout. When you’ve got a 74 percent wrong track, I think that’s a stunning number. It would be – defy all the rules of gravity for Harris to win.

But I would take us back to, you know, the granular, what Donna and I talk about a lot, which is this – we’ve got 2.5 percent of the people out there that are undecided. I agree with Chris, most of those people aren't going to vote. But if they're voting on the issues that Trump is trying to pound away on, which is, do you like where the price of stuff is today? The answer is no. Do you like what's happening on the border? The answer is no. The more –

KARL: Do you want Li Cheney to have nine guns trained on her face?

PRIEBUS: The more that this race is about those two issues, the better it's going to be for Trump.

What Harris is doing is talking –

STEPHANOPOULOS: Yes, but – but you can – you can see that that is not what voters heard from Donald Trump this week.

PRIEBUS: Here's what I can see. The 2.5 percent out there didn't hear any of that stuff. But – but the 2.5 percent are going to make a choice between, well, how do they feel about this economy and whether or not they like Donald Trump's personality. For those people that are voting, that's the question. And I happen to believe that people put their family first. And if you put your family first and it's on economy, I think things look good.

A second – the last thing, early vote and Election Day voting. I mean let's just look at the numbers. Early voting is down by 40 percent, which granted it was 2020, but it was still razor-thin. For the Democrats to win in a state like Iowa right now –

STEPHANOPOULOS: (INAUDIBLE).

PRIEBUS: On Election Day they would have to get 58 percent of the vote, the Democrats. They haven't done that in over 14 years. They’re not going to win on Election Day.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But nobody thinks Iowa’s going to be a tipping point (INAUDIBLE).

PRIEBUS: They will not win on Election Day.

What – take Wisconsin. Same thing. They've got to get 54 percent of the vote in Wisconsin on Election Day to win in Wisconsin. I think that's a – that's a tall order for the Democrats.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You buy his read on the early vote?

BRAZILE: Absolutely not.

Look, I know the Republicans have done a better job of bagging some of their early votes. But with 37,000 mail-in votes probably coming in over the weekend, we're going to flood the zone.

And let me just tell you, the thing about states like Wisconsin, whether it’s same-day registration, all those small college towns and, of course, the college towns across the country, Democrats are going to bag those votes here.

Look, I'm not confident. I'm not overconfident. But I know the work is still there. And I would much rather be in Kamala’s heels than Donald Trump's shoes.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Mary – Mary Bruce –

CHRISTIE: Here’s – well, George –

STEPHANOPOULOS: Hold on one second. I want to go to Mary Bruce on this. Because one of the things that the Harris campaign is counting on is that they've invested a lot more money in getting out that vote on Election Day.

BRUCE: Yes. Yes. And their get out the vote is an impressive operation. I mean their ground – their grassroots operation is impressive. In fact, I was told that yesterday at one point they had 2,000 doorknocks per minute in Pennsylvania.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Yes. Yes.

BRUCE: That is something that Donald Trump's team just can't compete with. And you have seen, especially over the last week as there's been a bit of a shift in messaging and strategy to really hone in on these key demographics and they're going to need is they argue Trump is playing to his base, but not reaching out actually to those voters that are going to make the difference in this race.

So, either it's have been J. Lo and Manai in Las Vegas reaching out to Latino voters, or having Michelle Obama out there delivering blistering remarks on reproductive health, they are trying to reach, you know, all of these groups, and especially, of course, probably more than anyone, those Republican voters, Republican women who they think are going to come out and vote for Kamala Harris, whether they admit it publicly or not.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Rachel Scott, we just heard Donald Trump concede to Jon Karl that he may lose, but his team has laid the groundwork for – to play the same playbook that they played in 2020.

SCOTT: Absolutely. And I think in many ways they have a better apparatus for it this time around because they have been sowing doubt in the election process, in the election system in this country now for months, since Donald Trump first held his rally in Waco, Texas about 600 days ago. The former president repeatedly out on the campaign trail sows doubt into this election process. He has repeatedly done it on Truth Social, his social media platform, over the last few days. And I think the acknowledgment to you was something that we have not really heard from the former president in the final stretch of this campaign.

KARL: And to be clear, he made it clear, he thinks he's going to win.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Yes.

KARL: He told me he thinks he is ahead in all seven battleground states.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Yes. Let's talk about the stakes of the election for numbers. So closely divided. This is likely to be an incredibly close election, no matter – no matter who wins. But the paths each candidate has set out for the country is so starkly different.

KARL: I mean, look, the – we say it – we say it every four years, the most consequential election of our lifetimes. This one, I mean, truly is in terms of – of where the country is going to go under Kamala Harris or under Donald Trump. And not under the Donald Trump that you had elected in 2016. This is a Donald Trump that is empowered by a Supreme Court immunity decision. This is a Donald Trump who, as he has told me previously, when I first came in, I didn't know anybody. I had to rely on advice on who I would bring into my administration.

Now he knows. And he knows that he's going to want loyalists and not people who came in, who tried to steer him in a – in a certain direction. John Kelly or General Mattis or even – or even Bill Barr. People that are going to carry out his will.

And I’ll tell you, George, as high as the stakes are for the country and as divergent as those two paths are, the divergence is even more stark in Donald Trump himself.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Personally.

KARL: Think about it. If he gets elected, he is arguably the most powerful president of our lifetimes. He comes in empowered again by the Supreme Court immunity decision, empowered by the way that he will staff his administration, empowered by another Supreme Court decision called Chevron that gives him vast regulatory powers.

If he loses, he faces those legal troubles. If he wins, Jack Smith is fired. If he loses, Jack Smith goes back to prosecuting him.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Right. As you just --

KARL: He faces the real possibility of jail.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Do we all assume that he's just going to get fired and likely Donald Trump would fire him? That did happen once before in American history. It was called the Saturday night massacre. It's hard to imagine that was actually controversial at the time.

KARL: Right.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Donna Brazile, let me turn it to you. Does Kamala Harris actually have any kind of a mandate if she wins?

BRAZILE: I think so. Look, we know the economy is number one. The American people would like to continue to see their prices lower at the gas pump and in the grocery store. I also think the stability itself of this country, I mean, these next couple of days following the election, I've lived through one and that was in 2000, that was litigated and of course, we all know the results of that election.

So the point is I think she has a mandate to really keep the promises that she's made, uniting the country, lowering prices, lowering costs, but also making sure that America remains strong and secure, and I also think that she can begin to figure out what the hell we need to do at the border. She's going to have to be tough and resilient in those first 100 days of her presidency, and I do believe that her closing message is the message that the American people -- it resonates with most Americans.

She's looking ahead. She's not looking in the rearview mirror and she wants to turn the page, and I'll tell her, pick up more passengers. You know what I think about every night? If I had Chris over for dinner, I know what to cook and I know what we'll watch on TV. We'll watch football and we'll have some things that are good. Very nice. I don't know -- I don't know what to fit if Bernie Sanders and Liz Cheney showed up. But that's the coalition we have now.

STEPHANOPOULOS: If Donald Trump wins, you're his original transitional director back at the end of the 2016 campaign. You're going to see a starkly different government if he wins this time around.

CHRISTIE: Oh, yes. Starkly different for the reasons Jon laid out which is that Trump will be really making his own choices this time. You know, often in that post-election period when Reince and I were in the same room talking to him, and there was a lot of direction because he didn't know, and I think as a result, he got some very, very good people in that first administration who were willing to take a chance to come in and think that they could influence him.

No one who's watched him now over the last nine and a half years believes they can go in there and influence him. If they have a lick of sense, they can't influence him. What they want to do if they take those jobs is they want a title, and they're going to take that title and use it for their own purposes I suspect. RFK Jr. being an example of that.

But the other thing I'd mention, too, here is when you look at rights, you know, we defied gravity for Harris to win with a 74 percent wrong track number and he's right. But here's the other question you have to ask. How in the hell is this race close with a 74 percent wrong track number? I mean, the fact is that Donald Trump is such a flawed candidate. He's just so bad at making that closing argument that that's why it's close.

If you had any other Republican who ran for president on that stage, this would be a five, six-point race nationally.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Reince Priebus, what's the mandate if Donald Trump wins?

PRIEBUS: The mandate is going to be that -- everything that he's laid out, everything in his speeches, everything about what he's going to do on the border, on deporting criminal illegals that are here immediately. The mandate for either candidate, I would contend, is crystal clear. The American people couldn't be more divided than they are today. One-half thinks the other is going to destroy the country, and the issues are very clear to people.

The differences between these two candidates, where we are today, what Donald Trump wants to do, I agree with Donna and Chris, that Donald Trump is going to be -- it'll be less clumsy, more clear, more quick, less roadblocks.

I do think, though, one thing that's true, and I think you would agree with me, Donald Trump doesn't listen to just one person. He listens to a chorus of people. So there's always going to be around Donald Trump a variety of voices on any particular issue. He encourages that debate, the fighting, because he learns from that chorus. So I do think there's always going to be that about Donald Trump.

STEPHANOPOULOS: OK. Stand by, we'll come back to you guys later in the program.

Up next, our team is fanned out across the battleground states. We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Campaigns have focused their time, money, and attention on seven key battleground states. We’re covering them all with our political team.

We begin with Steve Osunsami in Atlanta, Georgia.

And, Steve, we saw those efforts by Donald Trump to overturn the election in Georgia four years ago. What impact are they having this time around?

STEVE OSUNSAMI, ABC NEWS SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, George, there's an argument to be made, of course, that people's memories are short, but in a close election, this could very well matter. For the president’s supporters, the drama over the 2020 election results, it's a fist pump, a rallying cry to the polls and we're seeing that.

But the part that's not being said out loud as much is something that Chris Christie mentioned earlier, and that's among independents and some voters on the right who are sick and tired of it all, and who in particular, are still upset at the former president's attacks against our very popular governor here, Republican Governor Brian Kemp.

There are many people who say that if Trump loses on election night, it will in part because -- be because of his attacks against Brian Kemp at a rally earlier this year, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And, Steve, extraordinarily early vote in Georgia.

OSUNSAMI: Yes. So far, about 4 million people have voted, and when you compare that to 2020, we were looking at a total of 5 million votes. It's an incredible number, but I talked with Republican officials earlier last -- late last week who point out to some really good numbers that they're seeing.

If you look at the counties that have voted, the highest turnout has been in deep red counties, Trump country, they lead the list. The problem is that's not where most of the people who vote and live in this state are. They are in counties like this one that I’m in, DeKalb County, a majority Black county, one of the blue counties in the Atlanta metro area that have all been performing above the state average.

So the key is who is, of course, going to show up at the polls. One thing, George, I will end with that is a very key number to look at, and that is that we are seeing about half a million new voters -- new voters since 2020 who have voted already in this election. How those votes fall will make a difference, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Okay. Steve, thanks.

Let's go to Mary Alice Parks in North Carolina.

Both candidates there yesterday, Mary Alice. And North Carolina appears a bit more competitive than people expected at this stage.

MARY ALICE PARKS, ABC NEWS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, George. Republicans have won here in North Carolina 10 out of 11 presidential cycles. The former President Trump is clearly taking nothing for granted. Four years ago, this was the state he won by the slimmest margin. Now, this weekend in this final push, he has three campaign events scheduled here.

I was at his rally yesterday just outside Charlotte. It was interesting. He kept the focus on national issues, the border, immigration, the economy. He did say we can't afford to lose the great state of North Carolina.

That was also notable that he did not mention Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate for governor here. Robinson has been just embroiled in scandal, really problematic for Republicans.

It's part of the reason that Democrats like their chances this year. That and the fact that this has been one of the fastest growing states in the country, younger, more diverse voters moving to this state, Democrats think that could really play in their favor.

Now, if Harris was to flip this state -- if she were to flip this state, she'd be the first Democrat to do that since 2008. I was with her on the campaign trail in North Carolina, when she was here just a few weeks ago, she went to the eastern part of the state, the more purple part of the state. Activists say that she got a lot of credit for doing that. If she were to win here, it would just really be a big insurance policy for her. It could really open up the map for her, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Any strong sense of what impact the hurricane has had on the vote there?

PARKS: Yeah, look, this is still a real big wildcard in this raise, so much of the western part of the state absolutely devastated by that storm. Election officials here in the state do feel good that they were able to open up all but four of the early voting sites that they had planned and voters have really turned out, they've already broken records. We know that more than half of all registered voters in this state have already voted.

Now, coming into this weekend, more Republicans than Democrats had voted early. But a third of all voters who have voted early were registered Independents, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: OK, Mary Alice, thanks very much. Let's go to Matt Gutman in Pennsylvania. Matt, all states matter, none more in Pennsylvania.

MATT GUTMAN, ABC NEWS CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's the Keystone State, Georgia, and it is the cornerstone for both of these candidates. They have spent a lot of time here, 19 delegates at stake. This is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the battleground states. Both of the candidates intend to close their campaigns out here. They have been here more than 20 times in recent months. Cumulatively, they have spent more than $600 million in Pennsylvania on TV ads, on billboards, on text messages, tens of millions of them from the Harris campaign alone.

The Harris campaign claims that they have built the biggest ground game in the history of elections with 50,000 volunteers, 500 staff, 50 offices in the 67 counties in this state. This is obviously huge for both of them. And what do the polls say? I think Rick mentioned it earlier, they are so close right now, within the margin of air. But the latest poll put them about 20,000 votes apart or about the number of people who can fit in the 76ers basketball arena, just down from where we are here, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And Matt, both sides are prepared for a long and litigation-filled count of the votes in Pennsylvania.

GUTMAN: They are and you see some of that building up already. There were some tweets over the weekend from the Trump campaign alleging that there were "foreigners who snuck into lines in certain precincts and voted." There are allegations and deep fakes of voter tampering. But there are, George, some real serious concerns. We saw that there are about 2,500 voter registration forms in Lancaster County that are now being investigated. In Erie County, which is a swing county, could be very important, the local vendor that provided the mail-in ballots had some significant snafus and thousands possibly of ballots, either arrived at the wrong addresses or didn't arrive at all.

And the elections officials, I've spoken, with Democrats and Republicans alike, are trying to assure the public that this vote is fair, is safe. But they also understand that they are in a race against the clock right now. They've got to finish tabulating all the results as early as they can, Tuesday or possibly early Wednesday morning, before that expected avalanche of litigation from the Trump campaign, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: OK, Matt, thanks. Let's go to "Nightline" co-anchor Juju Chang in Detroit, Michigan, the second state in the blue wall. Good morning, Juju.

JUJU CHANG, ABC NEWS CO-ANCHOR OF "NIGHTLINE": Good morning, George. You know, so much depends on the African-American vote here in Wayne County. Behind me, you're seeing early ballots that are being processed. In fact, 41 percent of all registered Michigan voters have already cast their ballot. Now you remember, Trump broke through the blue wall here by the slimmest of margins, in part because of a lower African-American voter turnout for Hillary, which is why it's seen as make or break for Harris.

Now, this is also a time when Trump is appealing to blue collar workers. This is, of course, motor city home to the UAW, and there have been dueling rallies over the weekend, which we covered. The UAW leadership, of course, endorsing Harris and helping her organize on the ground. But some rank and file auto workers also held a pro-Trump rally. He's been making inroads by talking about electric vehicles, which is a sore spot for auto workers here.

Now, Harris is also appealing to suburban women voters. We were here in 2022, George, when Michigan became one of the first states post-Roe to have abortion on the ballot statewide. That organizing principle helped create a blue wave here in the midterms. And of course, Democrats are hoping that that rallying cry will still be in effect on voting day, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And Juju, the Arab-American vote is not large across the country, but it could be decisive in Michigan.

CHANG: Absolutely. Michigan is home to the largest percentage of Arab-American Muslim voters. And you remember in the primary that 100,000 voters here voted non-committed as a protest vote for the Gaza War.

Now, we’ve talked to Muslim leaders, and many of them say they just can’t bring themselves to vote for Harris. We went to a protest yesterday.

But Muslim leaders and imams have come out supporting Donald Trump. Some have warned against Donald Trump, saying that he's even more pro-Israel than Harris. And, of course, he was the architect of the so-called Muslim ban.

We spoke to one Muslim voter, Zina (ph), who says that her family has voted Democrat for 50 years, but that this time she's voting with the independent candidate, Jill Stein.

And that one more voter I want to tell you about, George, Ali (ph), a lifelong Democrat. He actually helped open the Obama field office here in 2008. He says his ballot is sitting on his kitchen table. It is unfilled. And he's going to decide on Election Day. It is a nail-biter here, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: OK. Juju, thanks very – Juju Chang, thanks very much.

Terry Moran here at the desk, just back from Wisconsin.

TERRY MORAN, ABC NEWS SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That’s right. I spent a lot of time in Wisconsin over the years. And, you know, this is the state that two elections in a row has been decided as tight as any – any other state, 20,000 votes in 2020, 11,000 in 2016. People expect it to be just as tight this time. So, it’s about turnout, right?

And Democrats are happy about one thing. They think they're going to get more rural voters this time around. And that's because of something that happened inside Wisconsin. Their maps for local state offices were overturned by the Supreme Court, partisan gerrymandering grounds, and they think that discouraged Democrats, Democrats who had nothing to vote for because they were locked in Republican districts, they will come out. And they also see those rural Democrats sort of finding each other on their own, and they've organized them as much as possible. But is that enough.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You know, we all – we all saw that “Des Moines Register” poll yesterday. Iowa, as I said, is not going to be the tipping point state, but a lot of people wonder if the direction you’re seeing in the Iowa poll will translate into Wisconsin.

MORAN: Well, they say that Wisconsin and Iowa the same except for Milwaukee. And there is truth in that, right?

I do think one of the things that you get a sense of in Wisconsin from voters on both sides, they tell you they’re exhausted and yet the rage and mockery and cruelty the last ten years. You know, Wisconsin nice is a real thing. And I think you – the fever is breaking a little bit in Wisconsin.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Yes, I think that's one of the reasons that Kamala Harris brought Liz Cheney first to Wisconsin, to try to appeal to those moderate Republicans.

MORAN: And they're out there.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Yes.

Martha Raddatz, you are just back from Nevada and Arizona.

MARTHA RADDATZ: And, of course, it's very tight there as well. Trump slightly ahead in Arizona. Harris slightly ahead in Nevada. But what I found there is what people really care about is the issues, the economy and immigration.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RADDATZ (voice over): From the majesty of Hoover Dam, to the glitz of Las Vegas, and the sprawling Nevada suburbs in between, it is politics, politics, politics.

For Matt Jalbert, it is just too much.

MATT JALBERT, NEVADA VOTER: Kamala’s America. Vote early.

RADDATZ (voice over): Every day the ads, masses of fliers, texts and mail.

RADDATZ: Do you read it all?

JALBERT: No. Maybe a few months ago, but now it's become overwhelming.

RADDATZ (voice over): And for Jalbert, who works three jobs to make ends meet for his young family, none of these ads are changing his mind.

JALBERT: We were thriving under Trump's administration and right now we aren't. You know, I'm – I'm – I'm a regular guy, I'm a working class guy, so I can't sit here and, you know, explain economics to you. But as a regular guy, I can say, under this administration we were thriving, now we aren't.

RADDATZ (voice over): Jalbert may be the Trump base, but Nevada has voted Democratic in the last four presidential elections, although Trump narrowed the margin of win significantly.

RADDATZ: In 2020, Donald Trump painted nearly all of Nevada red, except the most important part, Las Vegas and Clark County, where nearly three-quarters of the population lives.

RADDATZ (voice over): A population where one in five voters is Latino, and where the powerful Latino majority, culinary workers union, has made the difference for Democrats in the past and is hoping to do it again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE), Kamala Harris.

CARLOS PADILLA, NEVADA VOTER: I know she cares about us. I know Donald Trump doesn't care about us.

RADDATZ (voice over): Democrat Anna Diggs is going door to door trying to reach undecided voters.

RADDATZ: How do you change the minds of people who say, look, Biden-Harris have been in office for four years and my groceries are higher, or – or my rent is higher? How do you convince them that's not the Biden-Harris?

ANNA DIGGS, NEVADA VOTER: Well, we tell them that they came into an office that was not perfect, and it took time to get things better, and that they should give them a chance, and that things are going to turn around.

RADDATZ (voice over): But Trump has made gains with the black and Latino vote, especially on immigration.

JAVIER BARAJAS, NEVADA VOTER: I'm very disappointed. I don't believe anymore on the Democrat body because they promise and promise, and they never do anything. So, I'm voting for Donald Trump.

RADDATZ: So, President Trump has basically said he'll deport millions and millions of people who are here illegally.

BARAJAS: Well, he said that the first time, too, when he was president.

RADDATZ: So you don't think he's going to do that? You think he's going to help people over here?

BARAJAS: He -- he go after criminals, Martha.

RADDATZ: So you think he's just going to deport people who are criminals or --

BARAJAS: Yes.

RADDATZ (voice-over): In neighboring Arizona, an even closer race. In 2020, President Biden flipped the Republican stronghold blue by fewer than 11,000 votes. But in the rural parts of the state like here in Kingman, on Route 66, store owner Jack Alexander is all in for Trump.

JACK ALEXANDER, ARIZONA VOTER: I like Trump. We like Trump very much. We like what he did those four years. We just believe in what he's doing and what he has to offer.

RADDATZ: But it is not rural Arizona where the candidates are concentrating. It is Phoenix, Maricopa County, where 6 in 10 of voters live.

Twenty-nine-year-old Alejandro Castro Gonzalez was torn about Harris until he heard the garbage comment from Donald Trump's New York rally.

ALEJANDRO CASTRO GONZALEZ, ARIZONA VOTER: I think, like, the last comments are, like, really edged me towards like Kamala. Before I was, like, ah. After that, if you get, like, that type of comment, usually you get -- you tend to be pushed towards the other direction.

RADDATZ: Carolina Billegas didn't see those comments, but she is exactly the kind of voter both candidates are trying to win over.

CAROLINA BILLEGAS, ARIZONA VOTER: Honestly, I think it's better for business it’s President Trump. But about the immigration, it's Ms. Harris, Kamala Harris.

RADDATZ: And she will decide on Election Day.

BILLEGAS: I just say that I will decide that day, yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RADDATZ (on camera): And that is exactly what it will come down to, George, on Election Day, these undecided voters, whether they vote at all and who they vote for, of course.

STEPHANOPOULOS: That’s right.

Great reports from the states that matter most. Thank you all very much.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN EASTERLY, CISA DIRECTOR: I do not believe it would be possible for a bad actor to tamper with or manipulate our voting systems in a way that they could have a material impact on the outcome of the presidential election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: That is the Biden administration's top cyber defense official, Jen Easterly, speaking about the security of voters on Election Day with Pierre Thomas. Pierre joins us right now. Why is she so confident?

PIERRE THOMAS, ABC NEWS SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, number one, the voting machines that Americans use are not tied to the internet at all, so they're virtually impossible to hack. The other point that she emphasized is that 97 percent of Americans will have their ballots, their votes recorded on paper, which means they can be checked and rechecked over and over again. It's an artifact, it's there. So they're very confident in the accuracy of this upcoming election.

STEPHANOPOULOS: What are the biggest problems that election officials are worried about?

THOMAS: George, I think it's this barrage of disinformation that is out there. Russia, China and Iran are involved. The Russians are particularly active in the last few days. Just in the last week alone, we've seen the Russians apparently create a video showing a man destroying Trump ballots in Pennsylvania, battleground Pennsylvania. There's another video out in Georgia where a man claims to be a Haitian immigrant saying that he has voted multiple times.

The FBI and DNI and Homeland Security have put out statements saying these are fake videos, telling people not to believe them. They say if they're -- if there's any question that you have about information circulating in your community, call your local election official to get the proper information.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You've also seen threats against local election officials and they're taking extraordinary efforts to protect themselves.

THOMAS: George, it's hard to imagine, but some election officials are creating and producing bulletproof glass to protect their workers. They're operating in security, involving armed guards, barbed wire around their facilities where they will count the vote. And officials are very concerned, if it is a very close vote where the county takes place over a series of days, that law enforcement officials will have to be at the ready. Maricopa County, for example, will even have a SWAT team available if needed.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Also concerned about civil unrest.

THOMAS: Civil unrest, a number of governors are talking about having the National Guard be at the ready. The Governor of Washington put out a statement in the last couple days about that. So, again, very tense moment for the country. Although they do believe that voters can go and feel that they're very safe to cast their votes.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Pierre Thomas, thanks very much. Final thoughts from the Roundtable when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And end the dramala.

MAYA RUDOLPH, COMEDIAN: With a cool new step-mamala. Kick-backing on our pajama-las. And watch a rom-Kamala.

HARRIS: Like legally blonde-la.

RUDOLPH: And start decorating for Christmas. Fa-la-la-la.

HARRIS: Because what do we always say? Keep calm-ala and carry on-ala.

RUDOLPH: Keep calm-ala and carry on-ala.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Surprise appearance on "Saturday Night Live" with Kamala Harris. Our team will be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Back with some final thoughts from the roundtable. Same question for everyone. What are you watching for most on Tuesday? Do you have a strong conviction about what's going to happen?

CHRISTIE: What I'm looking for most is to see what female turnout really turns out to be. What's that differential? When Reince talks about the margins that Democrats need to get in some of those important states, if the female vote is 11, 12, 13 points above the male vote, then I think she has a chance to win. If it isn't, then I think Trump wins. And I don't have a strong conviction. I think it's trending to Harris, but I don't think -- I don't have a strong conviction.

BRAZILE: Tuesday, November 5th is going to be recalled in the history books as ladies' night. Not only are we going to see a historic first in our country, but we're also going to see more women elected to the United States Senate. And two black women, one from Maryland, one from Delaware. So it's going to be a great night but we've still got to get those young people out to vote.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Jon?

KARL: I'll say this. If Donald Trump wins, he'll be defying history. He has not won a general election since 2016. That was one was won very narrowly by small margins in those key states. He has been losing general elections both candidates and obviously Donald Trump himself in 2020, but if he does win, it'll be the greatest comeback in the history of American politics, the most unlikely comeback. What's going to happen, who the hell knows?

BRUCE: I'm watching closely to see that hidden Harris vote. How many dissatisfied, disillusioned Republicans has she been able to convince and come over to her side? Something else I'm watching closely, what does the Harris team really do if Donald Trump does what he did four years ago and come out prematurely declaring victory? I've asked her about this this week. She says, you know, she got a team of lawyers, she's prepared. She thinks he's capable of thinking but how will they handle that situation and what's to come. I don't make predictions.

SCOTT: We are a nation at a crossroads. Donald Trump begins every single rally asking the same question. Are you better off now than you were four years ago? Do voters this election push aside his rhetoric, the false claims about the 2020 election and vote for how they werefeeling four years ago? I talked to him earlier this week. He feels pretty confident that maybe they will. Also, George, control of Congress and the Senate --

(CROSSTALK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: That I was going to ask you about.

SCOTT: -- for the last 30 years, every president who has ever taken office has done so with their party having control of both the House and the Senate. Does the next president face a divided government? And how will that work?

STEPHANOPOULOS: Right. I mean, Senate likely to stay in control of Republicans. The House is really on a knife's edge.

SCOTT: It is. It's razor thin here and Democrats feel pretty good about their chances of taking back the House.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Reince Priebus?

PRIEBUS: Well, in 2016, I basically ran the ground operation on the Trump campaign at the RNC. One of the things I looked at first was Virginia. You might wonder why Virginia closes at 7:00 P.M. They move pretty quickly. And if it's super tight in Virginia, I think Trump's going to have a good night. I think he is going to have a good night.

He's doing better with men than she's doing with women. The early vote numbers are pretty clear to me that he's got an advantage that he didn't have in 2020 or 2016. I expect Trump to do well, and I would be surprised if this thing drags out for a long time. I think he's going to win. And I don't think it's going to take days and days at all (ph).

STEPHANOPOULOS: If he doesn't, will he accept the results?

PRIEBUS: Yeah, I do. I do. I do think so. And I also think that -- I think that -- I think the country's tired of debating this issue. And I -- and I just think that the states have also really tied things down pretty well. And I think -- I think these are going to move pretty smoothly.

STEPHANOPOULOS: OK. Thank you all very much. We'll find out on Tuesday and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: That is all for us today. Thanks for sharing part of your Sunday with us. Tune in Tuesday night for full election coverage on ABC and ABC News Live, and I'll see you tomorrow on GMA.

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