'This Week' Transcript 10-6-24: House Speaker Mike Johnson and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell

A rush transcript of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" airing on Sunday, October 5, 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.

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GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC "THIS WEEK" ANCHOR: One month ago –

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is going to be a very tight race until the very end.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Donald Trump and Kamala Harris storm the swing states. Trump returns to the site of his first assassination attempt.

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A cold-blooded assassin aimed to silence me and to silence the greatest movement.

STEPHANOPOULOS: This morning, Rachel Scott reports from Butler, Pennsylvania. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson joins us live. Steve Osunsami kicks off our series, “Protect Your Vote.” Plus, our powerhouse roundtable.

Southeast strong. One week after the deadliest U.S. hurricane since Katrina, communities struggle to recover amid baseless claims over the emergency response.

GOV. ROY COOPER (D-NC): The misinformation is damaging.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Gio Benitez is on the ground in North Carolina. Plus the latest with FEMA adviser Deanne Criswell.

Mideast tensions.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Israelis have every right to respond.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Israel intensifies its operations in Lebanon, weighs a counterstrike against Iran. Ian Pannell is live in Beirut.

And one year after the October 7th attacks, Martha Raddatz speaks with the brother of two Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: From ABC News it’s THIS WEEK. Here now, George Stephanopoulos.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Good morning and welcome to THIS WEEK.

Thirty days until the final votes. This presidential race is as tight as can be across the country, and in that handful of states where both campaigns are focusing their time and money. What will determine the outcome, impossible to know right now. Will there be an October surprise, or the surprise of no surprise? Which side will do a better job of mobilizing their most loyal supporters? What new information, if any, will sway that sliver of undecided voters who could tip the election either way?

This weekend, Kamala Harris was with storm victims in North Carolina, Donald Trump returned to the scene of his first assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.

Rachel Scott was there. She starts us off.

Good morning, Rachel.

RACHEL SCOTT, ABC NEWS SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: George, good morning to you.

Donald Trump making his return to Butler, Pennsylvania, using the attempt on his life as a rallying cry for his supporters, even going so far as to suggest his political rivals are responsible, something the FBI has found no evidence of.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT (voice over): Donald Trump and Kamala Harris entering the final 30-day sprint to the November election with the race virtually tied.

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Fight, fight, fight.

SCOTT (voice over): As both candidates work to win over voters in the seven battleground states, Trump returned to Butler, Pennsylvania, in the exact rally location where he narrowly dodged a would-be assassin's bullet.

D. TRUMP: But we love Pennsylvania. And, as I was saying – oh, I love that. I love that chart. I love that graph.

SCOTT (voice over): The former president and his son, Eric, with no evidence, both suggesting his political opponents were behind the July assassination attempt.

D. TRUMP: Over the past eight years, those who want to stop us from achieving this future have slandered me, impeached me, indicted me, tried to throw me off the ballot, and who knows, maybe even tried to kill me.

ERIC TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP’S SON: They tried to kill him, and it's because the Democratic Party, they can't do anything right. They can't do anything right.

SCOTT (voice over): Authorities have found no political motivation connected to the gunman. Since the attempt on his life, the race has transformed. President Biden dropping out. Harris closing in. After courting union workers in battleground Michigan Friday, hoping to seize momentum from a better than expected jobs report and the end of the port workers strike.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump's track record is a disaster for working people. And if he wins again, it will be more of the same.

SCOTT (voice over): Trump still leads on the economy, brushing off her gains.

SCOTT: Jobs are up. The stock market hit that all-time high. Do you acknowledge that the economy is improving?

D. TRUMP: No, it's not. It's – inflation has devastated our economy. It's one of the big problems we have.

SCOTT (voice over): Both candidates trying to show command this week, visiting communities gutted by Hurricane Helene. Harris, in North Carolina, and Trump in Georgia, side by side with Governor Kemp for the first time in four years. The Republican who he repeatedly bashed for refusing to help him overturn the results of the 2020 election.

It all comes as special counsel Jack Smith laid out new evidence against Trump. The filing noting allegations that as an aid rushed to tell Trump that Vice President Mike Pence was moved to a secure location on January 6th, Trump responded, so what? Trump denies all wrongdoing.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hey, folks.

SCOTT (voice over): President Biden now with a blunt warning about the next transfer ofof power.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have confidence that it will be a free and fair election and that you can be peaceful very (ph) much (ph)?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm confident it will be free and fair. I don't know whether it will be peaceful. The things that Trump has said, and the things that he said last time out when he didn't like the outcome of the election, were very dangerous.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT (on camera): Donald Trump was asked directly about President Biden's comments. He said he could only hope that this election would be free and fair. He would not answer, George, if he believes it will be a peaceful one.

George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And, Rachel Scott, thanks very much.

Let's bring in the speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. Mr. Speaker, thank you for joining us this morning.

In the wake of the assassination attempts on Donald Trump, you worked all sides to tone down the rhetoric. So, is it right for the president and his family to suggest that Democrats are behind the effort to assassinate him?

REP. MIKE JOHNSON, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE & (R) LOUISIANA: I just saw the clip. I was at an event in Texas last night, so I didn't watch all the remarks from Pennsylvania.

I will tell you, I talked to President Trump right after it, and he was pleased. They had a massive crowd there and a lot of enthusiasm and energy.

But I didn't hear all the comments. I don't know the context. I – what I – the clip that I just heard that you just played there, George, I don't think they're saying that Democrat – the Democratic Party tried an assassination attempt.

I – I think what they're alluding to is what we’ve all been saying. They have got to turn the rhetoric down. For years now the leading Democrats in this country, the – the highly – highest elected officials and the current nominee for president have gone out and said that Donald Trump is a threat to democracy. That, you know, the republic will end if he's re-elected.

It's absolute nonsense. And they have incited dangerous people to do dangerous things. The rhetoric has. I think that is a fact that's objective that everybody can agree to. We do need to turn the volume down.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well –

JOHNSON: We have to have vigorous debates about policy, but – but not – not take it to that level. No one involved in this is a threat to the republic.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But Mr. Speaker, you just said Democrats are. You said their – you said their rhetoric is inciting. We all just saw what both President Trump – former President Trump and his son Eric said.

Eric actually did specifically reference Democrats. He said, “They tried to kill him. They tried to kill him and it's because of the Democratic Party, they can't do anything right.”

Do you support those comments or not?

JOHNSON: I – I don't know what Eric was saying because I only heard just a – a snippet there. I don't know the context. I do know that Eric is very level-headed and a very intelligent person.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You just saw it, sir.

JOHNSON: I saw your clip of it, George. I didn’t see the full speech. We need to all look at these things in full context. What they're referring to, though, is the absolute open attacks that have been engaged by Democrats against President Trump since the day he came down that golden escalator in 2016, OK?

The lawfare is unprecedented. They have attacked him in every single way. They try to malign his character every single day. And the people have had enough of it. That's why you have these massive turnouts at the rallies. People have had enough of this.

We need everybody on all sides to turn the rhetoric down and let's have a debate about the records of these candidates, not the rhetoric. Let's talk about the policies, not the personalities. That's what the American people demand and deserve. These are serious issues the country’s facing. We need to be talking about the ideas and the answers and the solutions to get out of them, and not all this other stuff.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So, you're actually repeating the charge. And I don't know what more context you need. Here's exactly what Eric Trump said. “They tried to smear us. They came after us. They impeached him twice. And then, guys, they tried to kill him. They tried to kill him, and it's because the Democratic Party, they can't do anything right. What more context do you need? Do you support that statement or not?

JOHNSON: George, George, I'm not going to parse the language what people say at rallies. I could give you pages and pages of crazy comments by the leading Democrats in this country. That's not what this is about. We have to talk about the greatest collection of challenges that this country is facing probably since World War II, maybe the Civil War. Let's – let’s put all this political nonsense behind us and talk about how we get out of this mess. And I believe the way we do, and I believe on – a large number of the majority of the American people understand, you have to put steady hands at the wheel. You’ve got to put President Donald J. Trump back in the White House because he will bring stability back. He will get the economy going again. He will restore our stature on the world stage at a time where we're facing – almost on the verge of World War III. You have got to get his leadership back in the White House. That's why the massive crowds are drawn to these rallies. And that's why I believe we're going to win in November.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Isn't that rhetoric the kind of political nonsense you're talking about?

JOHNSON: Look, we’re in an election cycle. This is a silly season, as they say. We're in the – 30 days out from the most fateful (ph) election of our lifetime. Let's talk about the economy. Let's talk about our stability on the world stage. Let's talk about the rising crime rates and the wide-open border. That's what the American people are concerned about. Not all this other stuff.

I mean, I’ve been traveling the country nonstop, George. I've done campaign events in I think almost 215 cities across 39 states. I'll be in 65-plus cities this month alone.

Everywhere I go, George, large crowds are gathered and they have questions. They have really important questions about how these crises are going to be solved for their families, how we're going to fix the economy, how we're going to get our energy policy going again.

The Republican Party, President Trump, the House Republicans, the Senate Republicans have answers to those things. We're delivering them with great credibility and it is resonating with the people. And I think that's why we're going to have a very good November.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So, it's very clear you're not going to condemn the base’s suggestion the Democrats are behind the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.

I’m ask you another question --

(CROSSTALK)

JOHNSON: George, George, there's so many -- please, anything else --

(CROSSTALK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, you have the opportunity to condemn it if you want. You have that opportunity, but we can move on now.

I do want to ask you a question that Senator Vance did not answer at this week's debate. Can you say unequivocally that Joe Biden won the 2020 election and Donald Trump lost?

JOHNSON: See, this is the game that is always played by mainstream media with leading Republicans. It’s -- it's a gotcha game. You want us to litigate things that happened four years ago when we're talking about the future. We're not going to talk about what happened in 2020. We're going to talk about 2024 and how we're going to solve the problems for the American people.

I think this thing -- this game that's played all the time, I’m not going to engage in it. We're -- we're not talking about that.

Joe Biden has been the president for almost four years. Everybody needs to get over this and move forward. That's what we need to talk about, what happens on November 5 and the days after that.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So, like --

(CROSSTALK)

JOHNSON: I think it’s really important and that’s what the American people demand for us to talk about.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So, like Senator Vance, you cannot say unequivocally that Joe Biden won the 2020 election and Donald Trump lost?

JOHNSON: George, I’m the speaker of the House. I work with the president of the United States all the time. Joe Biden has been the president for four years. There's not a question about this, okay?

It's already been done and decided, and this is a gotcha game that's played and I’m not playing it. I want to talk about the future. Let's talk about policies.

Ask me anything you want on, any challenging issue. Let's put that out there for the American people. That's what they need to hear.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, it's President Trump who every single day -- former President Trump, at just about every rally is say -- is saying that the election was rigged, that he won and that Joe Biden lost. I’m just saying if you accept that or not.

JOHNSON: George, I’m not going to play the game. Ask me any question on any issue that's facing the country. They're some of the biggest issues that we faced.

How about another hurricane headed toward the country? How about Israel being fired upon by Iran? How about the rising crime rates that have everybody alarmed around this country and the cost of living because hard-working families can't afford to do it?

We have -- I’ve talked to moms and dads around the country taking second and third jobs to put food on the table because Bidenomics has destroyed their family finances. They're -- they're -- they're trying to -- GoFundMe, the website, said there's a 40 percent increase this year over last of people who are starting GoFundMe pages to prevent their cars from being repossessed and being evicted from their homes.

That's what the Biden-Harris policies have done to the country and that's what the American people want you and me to engage on and talk about. We have answers for all that, and I’m -- I’m delighted to talk about it. Let's do that.

Mr. Speaker, the reason it's relevant is because of what former President Trump says at every rally. He's also laying the groundwork to challenge the results this year if he loses.

Let's look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If I lose, I’ll tell you what's possible because they cheat, that's the only way we're going to lose because they cheat. They cheat like hell.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Is that what you believe the only way that Donald Trump loses is if the Democrats cheat?

JOHNSON: Donald Trump's going to win.

I’ll tell you that election security is a major concern of the American people. All these cities have been in hundreds of places doing campaign rallies over the last several months. The first or second question almost without exception in every audience and crowd is about election security.

I think the latest poll says 60 percent of Americans and both parties are worried about that. They're worried about election interference by foreign nationals like Iran who's trying to meddle in our elections. They're worried about, of course, illegals voting, non-citizens voting. That is against federal law.

Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have not made clear to people, reminding them it is against federal law. And we know that the handful of states that have done audits on their voter rolls have shown that you have non-citizens currently registered to vote. That's a concern. That's a problem by people, and it's not being adequately addressed by the Biden-Harris administration.

(CROSSTALK)

JOHNSON: We’re hopeful that we have a free and fair election. I certainly hope so.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And that -- that gets to my final question for you as well.

What would you do next January 6th if you are indeed speaker? If every state completes the certification process successfully, will you accept the results even if Kamala Harris is the winner?

JOHNSON: George, I’m going to follow the Constitution. Article Two of the Constitution is very clear, Congress has a very specific role and we must -- we must fulfill it.

I’ve made a career defending the Constitution, I always have. And I’ve demonstrated over and over that we are going to do the right and lawful thing. So you can count on that. We're going to do our job.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Mr. Speaker, thanks for your time this morning.

JOHNSON: Thanks, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Coming up, we're on the ground as rescue workers just respond of the devastation of Hurricane Helene. The head of FEMA joins us live.

Back in two minutes.

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STEPHANOPOULOS: The devastation from Hurricane Helene has been so widespread. And the storm, now the deadliest hurricane in the mainland U.S. since Katrina.

And in hard-hit North Carolina, they are still working to survey the damage and reach survivors, as a wave of misinformation from the former president and his allies hampers the recovery effort.

Gio Benitez reports from North Carolina.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GIO BENITEZ, GOOD MORNING AMERICA WEEKEND CO-ANCHOR (voice over): This morning the death toll from Hurricane Helene rising above 225 as the painstaking search for survivors goes on.

GOV. ROY COOPER (D-NC): There are still people that we are trying to find and get to.

BENITEZ (voice over): But across the devastated region, certain remote areas remain hard to reach.

JOSH THOMAS, DEACON, BAT CAVE BAPTIST CHURCH: There are so many places where the road's completely gone.

BENITEZ (voice over): Yesterday we followed food trucks into one of them.

BENITEZ: And we’re in Bat Cave right now. This is a town here in North Carolina, east of Asheville. This is quite literally where the water just rushed through. Look at these homes over here. It seems like walls were just torn off by that rushing water. There is so much that was just destroyed in this area.

BENITEZ (voice over): Josh Thomas is a deacon at Bat Cave Baptist Church, now carrying supplies across the river on his ATV.

THOMAS: There's no way to prepare for landslides. You know, there’s no way to prepare. You know, everybody says, well, why didn't they evacuate? Why didn't they prepare? It's like telling people in Florida, prepare for a blizzard.

BENITEZ (voice over): Other residents begging for more assistance.

TAMMY HOLBROOKS, NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENT: Where's the help? This is not politics. This is human beings needing help.

BENITEZ (voice over): Vice President Kamala Harris, in North Carolina Saturday, meeting with local officials and residents.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that these moments of crisis bring out some of the best of who we can be and who we are.

BENITEZ (voice over): But misinformation has become rampant amid the release efforts. At a rally on Thursday, Donald Trump falsely accused Harris and the Biden administration of spending a billion dollars in FEMA relief money on housing for undocumented immigrants. The White House firing back in a memo stating, “no disaster relief funding at all was used to support migrants housing and services. None at all.”

This week, Trump also basely accused the federal government and North Carolina's Democratic governor of intentionally not helping people in Republican areas.

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I don't know why he does this. He implies that we're not doing everything possible. We are.

BENITEZ (voice over): In the wake of Trump's various claims, FEMA launching an anti-rumor tool this week to combat those messages, with local officials calling on people to ignore online falsehoods.

SHERIFF BILL WILKE (R), HAYWOOD COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA: I would encourage the good – the good residents of western North Carolina to turn that garbage off.

BENITEZ (voice over): But a source tells ABC news that law enforcement is monitoring threats towards public officials prompted by disinformation and conspiracy theories, including specific individuals linked to FEMA and other recovery agencies.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BENITEZ (on camera): And, George, there is a real concern this morning that this misinformation could actually prevent people from getting the critical help that they need and that's why that FEMA tool is so important.

By the way, we should also tell you here that FEMA says that the money used for migrants actually came from a separate fund -- not the fund used for disaster relief -- George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Okay, Gio, thanks.

Let's bring in the FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. She joins us this morning. Thank you for joining us.

Let's start out with the recovery -- with the recovery and rescue effort. Where do things stand right now?

DEANNE CRISWELL, FEMA ADMINISTRATOR: Good morning, George.

We are still actively supporting the governor in this search for individuals. But at the same time, we continue to move in critical commodities into the places that have been hard to reach, and our plan and what we're doing with them is to make sure that we can sustain that for as long as needed, as we know it's going to take time to repair the infrastructure and get access to all of the roads in the communities that either have limited access or no access at all.

We've got thousands of responders on the ground right now, along with thousands of volunteers and the private sector, working alongside our state partners, the National Guard, the first responders in the community, meeting the needs of the people on the ground.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Do you have all the resources you need?

CRISWELL: Absolutely, George. We -- again, we moved resources in before this storm happened. We embedded our staff in the state to work side by side, so we could quickly employ those resources to where they were needed. And as we continue to see how long we're going to have to provide this level of sustained support, we will continue to do that.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Let's talk about some of the misinformation that is out there, including these claims from former President Trump that FEMA is about a billion dollars short because money has been going to undocumented immigrants, also that the areas of -- the Republican areas of the state are being intentionally ignored in some fashion.

CRISWELL: You know, it's frankly ridiculous and just plain false. This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people. You know, it's really a shame that we're putting politics ahead of helping people and that's what we're here to do.

We've had the complete support of the state. We've had the local officials helping to push back on this dangerous -- truly dangerous narrative that is creating this fear of trying to reach out and help us or to register for help.

You know, people need resources and we need them to get into the system, and it's -- it's just, you know, a shame that people are sitting -- sitting home on their comfortable couches while we have thousands of people here on the ground that have left their own families to be able to help those in need.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So much is going viral online as well. One user suggested yesterday that a militia should go against FEMA, got more than half a million views.

What kind of impact has this had on the recovery effort?

CRISWELL: It has a tremendous impact on the comfort level of our own employees to be able to go out there. But it's also demoralizing to all of the first responders that have been out there in their communities helping people -- FEMA staff, volunteers, the private sector that are working side by side with local officials to go out and help people.

I need to make sure I can get the resources to where they are needed, and when you have this dangerous rhetoric like you're hearing, it creates fear in our own employees and we need to make sure we're getting help to the people who need it.

STEPHANOPOULOS: There are reports that another storm may be heading to the region. Are you ready for that? What advice do you have for people who are living there right now?

CRISWELL: We are absolutely ready. We have started planning for this days ago even before it formed. We know that it's headed straight towards Florida.

I reached out to Governor DeSantis this morning and I believe I’m having a call with him shortly after this interview. We will con -- we'll move more resources in there to support their needs, but we have a lot of people in Florida already, helping to support the response in the recovery from Hurricane Helene, but also previous storms in Florida.

So we're working with the state EOC to understand what their requirements are going to be so we can have those in place before it makes landfall.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Deanne Criswell, thanks as always for your time.

We're going to continue our reporting on Southeast Strong all this week on “GMA”.

And coming up, Steve Osunsami reports from Georgia on the election workers protecting your vote in November.

We'll be right back.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRAD RAFFENSPERGER (R), GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE: The end of the day, you're going to know who the winner is, who the loser is, and I’m not saying you're going to be happy about it. I understand how polarized we are.

You know, there's going a lot of people dancing in the street. The other half will not be dancing in the street. My job though is to make sure it's fair.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: That was Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaking to ABC News about concerns about election security in the 2024 race.

This morning, we're launching a month-long series introducing you to people across the country who are dedicated to ensuring the integrity of the voting process.

We start with senior national correspondent Steve Osunsami’s look at election officials protecting your vote in the battleground state of Georgia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am a U.S. citizen. I demand that I vote --

STEVE OSUNSAMI, ABC NEWS SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's come to this in Georgia.

FEMALE: -- I want to vote now!

I need to call my husband.

OSUNSAMI: For the first time ever, county workers who run elections here are role playing a month before November 5th. And they've trained for the worst -- screaming voters, deadly packages, and active shooters.

DEIDRE HOLDEN, ELECTIONS & VOTER REGISTRATION DIRECTOR, PAULDING COUNTY, GEORGIA: Most important thing is to get those voters out and get them to safety, and fight for your life if you have to, and I never thought I'd ever have to say those words. I’m sorry.

OSUNSAMI: Nothing to be sorry for.

Deidre Holden, with the voice full of sweet Georgia tea has directed elections in Paulding County, Georgia, a suburb northwest of Atlanta, for the last 17 years.

HOLDEN: Good morning.

OSUNSAMI: Even though this is still a county where the red team always wins, she says some people here started threatening her life and scaring her staff with frightening emails after Joe Biden won the statewide vote in 2020.

If you can read me some of this --

HOLDEN: One of the things that always stands out to me in this email is when you get to the part here that says “will make the Boston bombings look like child's play at the poll sites in this county, you just f-ing wait”.

OSUNSAMI: They had to put up new cameras and keep a bag of Narcan near the mailbox for absentee ballot, in case someone tries to hurt her people with an envelope of deadly drugs.

Do you have a panic -- panic button in this office?

HOLDEN: I do -- I’m looking at it right now.

OSUNSAMI: Wow.

HOLDEN: Yeah.

OSUNSAMI (voice-over): They all feel for what happened to two Georgia election workers in the city who were terrorized by a fire of lies, wrongly accused of stuffing ballots on camera.

HOLDEN: I always tell my girls -- in this office, I call them my girls -- it's my job to protect you, and I'm going to fight with everything I have.

OSUNSAMI (voice-over): It's a tough time to work elections across America. In September, and for the second time this year, someone mailed mysterious powders to election officials in 22 states. One of those packages was mailed to this man, arguably the most famous state election official in America, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says the threats haven't stopped since he refused demands from the former president to break the law and change election results when Trump lost the state.

RAFFENSPERGER: I want voters to understand Georgia, that we're going to have an accurate election. I also understand that half the people aren't going to like the results.

OSUNSAMI (voice-over): In the suburbs, Deirdre Holden says she's praying that her staff and her voters stay safe. Early voting starts in less than two weeks, and she says she's ready.

HOLDEN: And I promise you there is no thought that ever goes through my mind of not counting a vote or cheating. I wouldn't know how to throw an election if you paid me to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: All right. Thanks, Steve, for that and to the election officials keeping the votes safe and secure. ABC News will continue. I'll look at efforts to protecting your vote for the next four weeks ahead of Election Day.

Roundtable is up next. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOWEN YANG AS SEN. J.D. VANCE, 'SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE': It's rich to say that Donald Trump is a threat to democracy when he peacefully gave over power. We said no fact checking. And willingly --

(LAUGH)

YANG: -- and willingly -- don't check that, got on his plane without incident. Don't -- right after saving Obamacare. Don't check that.

(LAUGH)

JIM GAFFIGAN AS GOV. TIM WALZ, 'SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE': Well, if we're allowed to stand up here and lie, then I would like to say I actually was in Tiananmen Square.

(LAUGH)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: "Saturday Night Live" on the vice presidential debate last night. Let's go to the Roundtable now, joined by Former DNC Chair, Donna Brazile; Former RNC Chair, Former Trump White House Chief of Staff, Reince Priebus; Associated Press Executive Editor, Julie Pace; and New York Times National Reporter, Adam Nagourney, Author of 'The Times: How the Newspaper of Record Survived Scandal, Scorn, and the Transformation of Journalism" now, paperback, terrific book.

Let's talk about the state of the race right now. Donna Brazile, hard for me to remember another race this far along, this close, where nothing seems to move.

DONNA BRAZILE, FORMER DNC CHAIR & ABC NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: George, it bafflesthe imagination, especially with the almost billion dollars in spending on digital ads, on political ads.

But, you know, it's going to come down to the ground game. It’s going to come down to those probably 17, 18 counties across seven states that will determine the election. At this point in the game, they can put all the money on – on air. Of course, I’m biased. I like the ground game. You're laughing at them, but you know what I mean. You get three to five points on the ground.

REINCE PRIEBUS, FORMER RNC CHAIR & FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF & ABC NEWS POLITICAL ANALYST: Right.

BRAZILE: You have to actually go where the people are. You can no longer just dial it in. You’ve got to meet them where they are. Whether it's at the supermarket, the grocery store, at the workplace or – or where they go and pray.

I still believe the advantage is to Kamala Harris because she has a significant ground game, she has the resources. And while Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are basically operating on blue smoke and mirrors when it comes to the ground, they’ve been on the ground long enough to understand that they can also win in the margin.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Is that a concern for Republicans, though, that they're being outspent on those field operations?

PRIEBUS: Well, you know, money is always a problem. And the field operation, as you know, the Trump campaign has farmed out a lot of that to third party. Huge super PACs funded by people like Miriam Adelson, Elon Musk, and others. So, I think the money’s going to be there. That’s not the issue.

But what should worry Kamala Harris is the fact that in 2016 Trump was supposed to lose by four. He lost by two nationally. He was supposed to lose by eight and a half in 2020. He lost nationally by three or four. And right now he’s only down by two and a half. That’s just nationally.

So, the problem that Kamala Harris has is that when Trump was president, unemployment was low, gas was cheap, groceries were cheap, we didn't have wars, we had a secure border.

So, all of these scare tactics, Trump's a threat to democracy, it hasn't worked because the truth is people don't like where they're at in America, they don't like the state of the economy. She had three and a half years to do it, and she didn't. So, her message is falling flat.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Right, so talk about scare tactics – you talk about scare tactics. So, let me ask you the question I asked Mike Johnson, is it appropriate for the president and his son to be suggesting that Democrats are behind the assassination attempt?

PRIEBUS: Well, I don’t – look. I don't like suggesting any of those things. But the fact of the matter is, if Donald Trump's head was one tiny twist the other direction, he would be dead right now. And what would be happening in America right now?

So, yes, when your dad almost gets killed and when he almost gets – when he gets shot again –

STEPHANOPOULOS: You blame Democrats?

PRIEBUS: Look, I'm not suggesting the Democrats are doing it, but the – the rhetoric that Donald Trump is a threat to democracy was a Democrat talking point. And the other talking point now is that he wants to monitor women's pregnancies, that Trump said that if he doesn't win there's going to be a blood bath.

So, look, all of this stuff, the one thing I agree with is that the rhetoric should calm down, but it's part of the Democrat tactic to win this election, is to paint Donald Trump as a threat to the very republic that we live in.

JULIE PACE, ASSOCIATED PRESS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Well, now, of course, you see that Republicans are doing the same, using those same lines against Democrats. You've got Trump and Vance and Musk out there saying that now it’s Democrats who are the threat to democracy.

But I think, overall, if you kind of take a step back from the perspective of voters, we have wars in the Middle East that are escalating. You do have economic indicators that, at a macro level, are moving in a more positive direction, but we all know that prices, you know, when it comes to what you’re actually paying day in and day out still haven't come down.

And then, of course, you see just what's happening, this devastation with the storms. And so there is that just sense of unease among a lot of voters. And I think the challenge for Harris is that, you know, she has to both paint herself as experienced enough to take on this job because she's sitting in the White House right now as vice president, while also making clear to voters that she's not going to just continue on with what the current administration is doing. It's a very tricky balance for her.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And no big events on the schedule right now that – that could tip the balance either way. We just came out of the vice presidential debate probably awash.

ADAM NAGOURNEY, NEW YORK TIMES NATIONAL REPORTER & AUTHOR, 'THE TIMES': I think so. It seems like all the things that we think would tip the balance, don't. The election seems really stuck I place. I've never seen an election quite so close and so difficult to call. Like, if we were meeting a month from now and it turned out that Trump won by six points or she won by six points, I wouldn't be shocked by it.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, that’s one of the things. And your paper has done a good job, Nate Cohen –

NAGOURNEY: Nate, yes.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Oon the tell – showing people how if the – if the polls are wrong in the way they were wrong in 2020 –

NAGOURNEY: Right.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Then he's going to win big.

NAGOURNEY: Yes.

STEPHANOPOULOS: If they were wrong in the way they were wrong in 2022, she's going to win big.

NAGOURNEY: I mean I think the bottom line is we – let's just assume that it's really close. I think Reince’s point about what happens when it’s this close in the past two elections is really instructive.

But I've been working with Donna for like 30 years, and she's a big believer in the ground game. And my experience is, and when an election is this close, ground game matters. And my sense is that Harris is ahead on that right now, just in terms of investment and energy. And that’s what I'll be paying attention to.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And, Donna, we also, this week, saw the Jack Smith filing. Do you expect that that is going to become more part of the Democrats' message or do they have to move on from that?

BRAZILE: That's not going to be a part of any message because you know what? It's -- it's a court filing. We know that's going to go back and forth, and I don't think any Democrats want to relive what happened in 2016 with Mr. Comey putting out scurrilous information at the end of the election.

Look, I got to say something to you. I come out of a civil rights movement. Nonviolence was our touchstone. We made change by going out there protesting because we wanted to change our country, to make sure that everybody was included.

Democrats -- and I’ve been a Democrat since I was 18 years old, although I voted once or twice for a Republican or two, there's no, no -- and I mean this -- there's no place for violent rhetoric. And when you threaten election workers, when you threaten to execute your, quote/unquote, former joint chief of staff, Mr. Milley, when you mock Nancy Pelosi husband being beaten by a hammer,

I don't want to be lectured by Eric Trump. Who in the hell is Eric Trump saying Democrats? No, there's no place for violence of any kind and this is something that needs to be said.

I was there with you, brother, Mr. Priebus. I was there with you the day that Mr. Trump had that attempted assassination. The Biden campaign put down all their ads just like they did during COVID, and they said, we are going to stop this.

We need both political parties, both leaders do not go out there and blame Haitians. Do not go out there and blame immigrants and migrants. That is the rhetoric we hear every day and if you cannot -- you cannot say that Joe Biden won election -- Joe Biden won election, then you should not --

(CROSSTALK)

BRAZILE: It’s not the lies. It’s the floodgate of lies.

REINCE PRIEBUS, ABC NEWS POLITICAL ANALYST: -- the matter is --

BRAZILE: Lies.

PRIEBUS: -- this is a former president and a son that, number one, came extremely close to losing his life and losing his father, okay? He's been called a threat to democracy from the very beginning. They got rid of a sitting president to fulfill their message that he's a threat to democracy and in order to save this country, they had a sitting president step down put in a vice president in the summer.

This is how they feel about it and this is how everyone under the Democratic Party feels about it. So don't sit here and act like holier than thou --

(CROSSTALK)

BRAZILE: I’m not holy, baby. I’m telling you the truth.

PRIEBUS: That somehow you have a corner on this message --

BRAZILE: The floodgate of lies.

PRIEBUS: -- because you don't.

BRAZILE: And you don’t.

PRIEBUS: And that's why you're not winning.

BRAZILE: That’s Ms. Ruby.

PRIEBUS: That's why Harris is behind, and that's why she's going to lose. People aren't buying the rhetoric.

BRAZILE: She’s not behind.

PRIEBUS: People are not buying the rhetoric.

BRAZILE: We're not buying the lies.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Why can't you say -- why can't you simply say that blaming Democrats for this --

(CROSSTALK)

PRIEBUS: I would not blame Democrats.

STEPHANOPOULOS: To say it’s wrong.

PRIEBUS: I just said it, okay? But it's also wrong to paint the president of the United States -- President Trump --

BRAZILE: The former president.

PRIEBUS: -- as this threat to democracy that's going to end the United States of America. What does that do to people's heads when you do that? What does that do to millions -- hundreds of millions of people in America?

BRAZILE: What does that do to legal immigrants?

PRIEBUS: It has an effect, guys. Wake up.

BRAZILE: What does it do to legal immigrants when you know you're lying? What does it do to kids who are trying to go to school?

(CROSSTALK)

PRIEBUS: We’re talking about the president of the United States getting -- practically getting killed, okay? That’s the topic.

BRAZILE: And we all condemn that.

PRIEBUS: You're hitting 20 different topics at once.

BRAZILE: The Democrats -- the Democrats condemn that, and but the lies -- the floodgate of lies must stop.

PRIEBUS: What lies? Like that President Trump's going to monitor women's pregnancies, oh, that's Project 2025. It has nothing to do with President Trump, but you know what? It's a good talking point for the Democrats so they keep saying it. They lie all the time.

BRAZILE: Oh, wow.

STEPHANOPOULOS: What's this election going to turn on?

ADAM NAGOURNEY, NEW YORK TIMES NATIONAL REPORTER: I think -- I think it's going to turn on to a large extent turn but also motivation of both bases, and I think one of the things that you see here, not in any way talking about motivation of what you guys are saying is the way the both parties are trying to get their supporters to turn out.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And the final question is, you know, when you look at this group of undecided voters, most likely, their decision is whether or not to vote.

JULIE PACE, ASSOCIATED PRESS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Exactly.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Who vote for.

PACE: Exactly. I mean, it is really hard to imagine that there's something between now and election day that is going to change the opinion of people. It's just a matter of who shows up.

And if you look at a state like Michigan, for example, where -- where Harris just was, and you look at the impact that the war in the Middle East is having on the Arab American community, that is a turnout question right now. If that -- if that population does not turn out and vote for Democrats, you can see that state swinging very quickly and it's pockets like that across all these battleground states that I think are going to be the most significant aspect.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Donna, one change we seem to be seeing on Kamala Harris's campaign strategy this week seems like a battery of interviews coming up. She has been getting criticized for not being out there.

BRAZILE: Look, George, I think at the beginning of her campaign, which was a very effective strategy was to build the support, increased the enthusiasm and closed that gap. She's closed the gap on the economy. She's closing the gap on immigration.

And now, you know what, she has an incredible story to tell the American people. Look, it's not a two-year campaign, on in the case of Donald Trump, a nine-year campaign, it's been a three-month campaign with three years in office. She has got to close this gap by talking directly to the American people.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Reince, do you see any possibility that Donald Trump agrees to another debate?

PRIEBUS: I think it's possible, but, you know -- I think it's to Trump's advantage for everything to stay stagnant, the way it is, put it on the ground as Donna said. History shows that he under polls. I think they're feeling pretty good right now.

STEPHANOPOULOS: OK. Thank you all for your time this morning.

Up next, with fierce and escalating war in the Middle East, we'll have the latest from Beirut. And one year since the October 7th attacks, Martha Raddatz speaks to one family still waiting for their loved ones held hostage to return home.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: Israel is defending civilizations against those who seek to impose a dark age of fanaticism on all of us. Rest assured, Israel will fight until the battle is won, for our sake, and for the sake of the peace and security of the entire world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday as his nation approaches the one-year mark since the October 7th attacks by Hamas. The entire Middle East on high alert as Israel batters Beirut, weighs retaliation against Iran. Chief Foreign Correspondent Ian Pannell is on the scene in Beirut. Good morning, Ian.

IAN PANNELL, ABC NEWS CHIEF FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Good morning, George. You know, we have been talking about the risks of escalation for months and months and months. I think it's fair to talk about it as having already escalated. This is already now a much wider war. What started in and around Gaza on October the 7th, that singular terrifying attack inside Israel has now morphed into a conflict that's drawn in Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.

And certainly here, we have now had 14 straight days of day and night bombing. The scene behind me looks calm and peaceful, but the reality inside the city is entirely different. I think a lot now depends on how Israel responds to that Iranian missile strike earlier this week. Does Netanyahu now decide to settle all scores for all the enemies he has aroundhim? Iran is enemy number one, certainly for Netanyahu and some -- for some of the right-wing members of his cabinet.

Or can the U.S. persuade Netanyahu to try and calibrate its response to reduce the risk of even further escalation? So, I think a lot of open questions there. I think that some within the administration are frustrated by Israel, feel that Israel is not sharing enough information with them and that, for Netanyahu at least, this is a time to settle all scores. George?

STEPHANOPOULOS: But as you suggest, there are big questions across the region about U.S. role, how much influence we have.

PANNELL: Yeah, if you talk to people here, firstly, I think people will say this is an American and Israeli operation that's going on right now. People do not delineate between the two, and I think that's true here and across the entire presence (ph) into Iran. Obviously, you have a large U.S. Military presence in the region. Israel -- the United States obviously, kind of bankrolls Israel up to a certain extent, provides military aid, provides financial support and if -- you know, if the United States is not able to contain Netanyahu in his response to that Iranian missile strike, then it is also going to have to deal with the consequences. George?

STEPHANOPOULOS: Ian Pannell, thanks.

And as we mark one year since Hamas' brutal attack on Israel, Chief Global Affairs Anchor, Martha Raddatz returned to Kfar Aza, a kibbutz less than a mile from Gaza. She first visited it just a week after October 7th.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTHA RADDATZ, ABC NEWS CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The moment you enter this ravaged kibbutz, your heart sinks once again. The images are stark; the silence jarring. This now abandoned community was once bursting with life and activity, home to some 800 people, families, children. But on October 7th, Hamas militants penetrated fences, swooped in on paragliders, and terrorized this community, murdering some 60 residents here and taking 19 hostage.

This row of houses where the young adults lived, now a brutal reminder of the horrors of that day. This is where 23-year-old Sivan Elkabets and Naor Hasidim lived, the house where they were slaughtered. Now left open for those who visit the kibbutz. Her mother writing, "May they all come, May they all remember." And throughout the kibbutz, another reminder, the faces of the hostages still held by Hamas.

RADDATZ: This is the gate where the Hamas terrorists entered into the kibbutz and also, likely the gate where they took the kidnapped hostages into Gaza, which you can see just about a mile away.

RADDATZ (voice-over): Two of the hostages, twin brothers, the life of their large family, Gali and Ziv Berman. Today, their older brother, Liran visits the kibbutz often to feel their presence.

LIRAN BERMAN, BROTHER OF HOSTAGES HELD BY HAMAS: This is the home --

RADDATZ: This home?

BERMAN: Ziv's, one of my brothers, and on the other end, this is Gali's home.

RADDATZ (voice-over): Gali kidnapped with a neighbor, Emily Damari, after he ran to help her when terrorists stormed the kibbutz. And Ziv?

BERMAN: You can see they burned the outside of his room, and all the smoke inside, to drive him out.

RADDATZ (voice-over): Everywhere, reminders of the vibrant young man who once lived inside. The twins' parents lived elsewhere on the kibbutz and survived, but waited with Liran 11 days after the massacre to find out what happened to Gali and Ziv.

RADDATZ: You've had to think they might have been dead?

BERMAN: Yes. We waited for the announcement that we are to bury my two little brothers. And when the officers came to us and told us that they are kidnapped, it was -- now a year into this, it sounds unreal when I'm saying it, but it was one of the best days of my life that we had hope and optimism.

RADDATZ (voice-over): But a year later, Liran has moments of doubt after seeing the condition of released hostages, and the news of the six executed last month.

BERMAN: I'm not thinking out loud, but I'm thinking to myself, if it was the better out of the two options, but back then, it was the better out of the two options, we didn't have to bury my two little brothers, and they are still alive to this day. And since no one told us otherwise, we are believing they are still alive. We have no reason to believe that they were murdered or anything. And we still keep this optimism of the 11th day, that they are still alive.

RADDATZ (voice-over): It is that hard-earned optimism that keeps Liran and his family going. And of course, the memories.

RADDATZ: What's the image you keep in your mind? The best image you keep in your mind of your brothers?

BERMAN: There is one. We were -- it was the family, all of us. Mother, all four brothers, my wife and my kids, we were all in Cyprus in July. We were together and eating, and everyone was smiling.

RADDATZ (voice-over): Those are the days on which Liran focuses, even sitting here among the rubble of his brothers' lives, Liran's own life now with a single purpose.

BERMAN: I think this is my life mission. I've never done something as important as this, and it is a roller coaster of emotions. We don't have good days. We have OK days. And -- but mostly, it's like I'm keeping focus on the mission, and the mission is the return of my brothers and all the other hostages.

RADDATZ (voice-over): A mission that gets harder every day this war continues.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Thanks to Martha for that. We'll be right back.

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STEPHANOPOULOS: That is all for us today. Thanks for sharing part of your Sunday with us. Check out "World News Tonight" and I'll see you tomorrow on "GMA."

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