Trump privately predicting worst case midterm scenario

[0:00] Tone-deaf President Trump tonight, though. [0:02] The president making his final midterm pitch. [0:04] And it was a message which had nothing to do with Americans, Republicans, the economy. [0:08] None of that. Absolutely none. [0:13] Today, I'm thrilled to announce the official opening of the Lincoln Memorial Reflectine Pool. [0:21] That's actually the largest pool, the longest pool anywhere in the world by far. [0:24] And by the way, we resurfaced the granite. [0:27] This was sad because this was the grass and it was totally vandalized. [0:32] So that says 8647. You don't see it as clearly because we sprayed it. [0:37] I looked at it two days before and I said, what beautiful grass. [0:41] You can even see where the concrete, that's the rebar behind. [0:45] So this was just really worn out. [0:47] Tremendous algae problems. [0:49] And you have that picture with the algae? [0:51] Yeah, let me see that. [0:53] The green, that's not grass, that's algae that took over the entire pool. [0:57] The grass in front of the White House, if you take a look at the new helipad [1:00] and all of the grass and surroundings, that's brand new and it's beautiful. [1:06] We're much, even more proud of all the statues that we've done all over Washington. [1:10] We're going for a final approval of the Triumphal Ark military complex. [1:17] We're doing a renovation of the golf course, which is in a horrible condition, [1:22] very dangerous and horrible condition. [1:24] The walls are caving in. The whole thing is a mess. [1:27] So Trump spent about 25 minutes talking about what you just heard, [1:33] the reflecting pool, granite, rebar, grass, algae, the golf course. [1:38] He had props and he didn't actually wrap it up even at the end by mentioning the election, [1:43] urging people to vote, endorsing his candidates. [1:45] Instead, he did this. [1:51] So what we heard from Trump today was actually very consistent with CNN's latest poll, [2:10] in which 74 percent of voters said Trump does not have the right priorities. [2:14] And that, of course, has been dragging down his party. [2:18] Tonight, the final forecast from two of the nation's top election forecasters are out. [2:22] Larry Sabato moving five Senate races today in the Democratic direction. [2:25] Just one, Iowa going towards the Republicans. [2:28] And the Cook Political Report's final prediction moves that Michigan Senate race from toss-up to lean Dem. [2:34] Both Cook and Sabato forecast the House goes to the Dems easily. [2:36] They'll be here in just a moment. [2:37] But Election Day voters, right, they're going to start going to the polls in less than 10 hours. [2:43] But Election Day voters are following on the heels of 56 million Americans who have already voted. [2:50] 56 million Americans. [2:51] So we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, [2:54] but we can tell you some things about those early 56 million voters. [2:58] And so far, it boils down to this. [3:00] Overall, Democrats have a 13-point advantage in terms of voters' identification across 25 states, [3:07] which compares to a four-point advantage just two years ago. [3:12] Kristen Holmes begins our coverage tonight out front, outside the White House. [3:15] And Kristen, what are you hearing? [3:17] You know, we hear Trump publicly, okay? [3:19] Algae, golf courses, statues, the triumphal arc, all of that. [3:23] What's he saying privately behind closed doors about the election tomorrow? [3:28] Yeah, I mean, Aaron, he has seen all the same things that we at CNN have seen with reporters across the country. [3:34] He's seen the polling, which obviously does not look good for Republicans. [3:37] He's seen the field of candidates. [3:39] He's seen the landscape. [3:40] And privately, to some allies and advisors, he has predicted the worst-case scenario, [3:45] which is that Democrats win both chambers of Congress. [3:49] And in that, has talked about what exactly that would look like in terms of governing [3:54] or investigations or potential impeachment hearings. [3:58] The other part of this that was interesting is you almost heard Trump admitting that today [4:03] during that speech in front of the reflecting pool. [4:06] Yes, he spent most of the time talking about things that most Americans don't care about [4:10] and, frankly, will probably never see. [4:12] But he also did talk about the midterms only to stress that almost every cycle, [4:18] a president wins, and then the next cycle, the other party wins, [4:20] and then saying, we gave it our best shot, which sounds like almost a concession [4:26] before actually seeing the results. [4:29] Now, I will tell you, even though he has privately predicted this, [4:31] when I ask White House officials, how do you think he's going to react [4:34] if, in fact, Democrats do win both chambers of Congress, [4:39] they say it's anyone's guess. [4:41] It's going to be how Donald Trump feels in that moment, [4:45] even though he has been prepared, even though he has been predicting this. [4:47] Now, interestingly, the White House just added this viewing party, [4:51] closed press, tomorrow night, starting at 7 p.m. in the East Room. [4:56] We'll see if they end up opening to the press. [4:58] I think a lot of that's going to depend on how Republicans are actually doing. [5:02] I mean, today he goes out to this reflecting pool. [5:04] That would be a site that you'd go to if that was actually a successful project, [5:08] because then you could say, look at this beautiful reflecting pool behind us. [5:11] We created this, and we got rid of taxes on tips, [5:15] and we, you know, secured the border, [5:18] and we've increased the economy, if he actually had. [5:22] But instead, he goes and for 25 minutes talks about a debacle. [5:26] I have no idea what that was. [5:28] And he certainly has done nothing to try and help Republicans for the last two years. [5:34] I mean, Jonah, he said something else at the end of his speech. [5:36] I saved it for this. [5:37] I wanted you to hear it. [5:38] Because, okay, 25 minutes of what you heard, right? [5:41] Algae and arcs and, interesting, it's an arc, not an arch. [5:45] And the golf courses and everything. [5:47] And then he ends, towards the end, with this. [5:51] We have a lot of great things planned for Washington, [5:53] and I could get into the nation, but for that, you don't have enough time. [5:57] So 25 minutes of golf courses and the ilk, [6:01] but not enough time to mention anything about the country. [6:03] Yeah, I mean, like, you can imagine the political consultants inside the White House [6:11] white-knuckling it through this, you know, chain-smoking cigarettes [6:14] and shooting up black tar heroin, thinking, you know... [6:17] What's he going to say? What's he going to say? [6:19] You know, it's sort of like, you know, like, you expect them to do that thing from Jerry Maguire [6:23] where they just drop to their knees and say, [6:25] help me help you, right? [6:29] Because this, like, I take Richard's point about, you know, [6:33] if this had been successful and all that. [6:35] Let's just assume it was successful. [6:36] Like, he thinks, who's voting on the rehab of the Lincoln Memorial Pool? [6:42] I mean, like, I live in Washington, D.C. [6:43] I will actually make the case that there have been improvements [6:46] because of Trump's doing this stuff. [6:49] No one cares! [6:50] Like, where in America is someone voting on this? [6:53] How does this affect affordability or all the stuff Democrats want to talk about? [6:56] Like, he's talking about doing great stuff for the nation. [7:00] It's like his showman reveal, like, stay tuned because, you know, [7:05] same bat time, same bat channel, the second half is going to be awesome. [7:09] I just don't think it's working on anybody. [7:10] The grass looks really good, he says. [7:12] The grass looks good. [7:13] Listen, I've been around presidential politics for a long time. [7:15] I've been with winners. I've been with losers. [7:18] And I got to tell you, he's done the hardest thing there is to do in politics. [7:22] He did it twice. He won the White House. [7:23] So that means I have to assume there's something that's happening that's not just crazy. [7:27] So here's what I think is going on. He's just counter-programming the news. [7:31] As long as we're talking about whatever crazy thing Donald Trump is talking about, [7:35] then we're not talking about $4 gas, [7:37] and we're not talking about the fact that people can't go to the grocery store and buy food, [7:41] and we're not talking about the inflation rate or the mortgage rates that are going over 7%. [7:45] All those things are things that he doesn't want us talking about, [7:48] which creates space for candidates in the states to actually have time to maybe escape that narrative [7:54] for a little bit and try to run on something else, which is what culture play is about. [7:58] And it's about all of the touching, talking about men's backsides, all that. [8:03] And so get us to not talk about the economy. [8:04] Paul, Trump did talk today about the biggest drop in oil in history, which has not happened. [8:10] Just to be clear, right? [8:12] We have the most expensive election day gasoline on record tomorrow. [8:17] The most expensive. [8:18] So just that those are the realities. [8:20] But, you know, to Jamal's point, so he mentions a drop that didn't happen. [8:24] We've got the most expensive gas. [8:26] Americans know that, right? [8:27] People see that. [8:29] And instead of talking about gas prices, he talked about something else here. [8:35] We're doing a renovation of the golf course, which is in a horrible condition, [8:41] very dangerous and horrible condition. [8:43] And we're doing a renovation of the golf course, [8:45] and we're going to make it a world championship course. [8:48] It's going to be built to the highest standards of golf, a world-class golf course. [8:55] But even if that's to distract, people are seeing this, right? [9:02] And tone deaf maybe doesn't even capture it. [9:04] No, chaos is our new normal. [9:06] And it's been our normal with him through both administrations. [9:09] And I think he's reminding everybody why they don't like him. [9:13] Every time he's out there talking about things that are unfocused, [9:16] no working people care about his golf course or the reflecting pool, [9:18] except for maybe people who run pool companies, right? [9:20] But if you wanted to craft a message that would be explicitly ineffective with independence, [9:25] it would sound like that. [9:26] But I think this is also what we should brace for no matter what happens tomorrow, [9:29] because he is going to be all gas, no brakes, and maybe even more so. [9:34] I think he may be even accepting the loss. [9:36] And a cornered animal is a dangerous animal. [9:38] Simultaneously, he's talking about increasing attacks on Iran. [9:41] I think we have to prepare for the unexpected and don't have a failure of imagination, [9:44] because Trump never does. [9:46] I mean, the only thing he could do to be less popular is say he's hitting Cuba. [9:49] And he's talking about doing that, too. [9:50] I think we have to take a step back, too, and remember the world is watching. [9:53] And he looks deeply unserious and unfocused. [9:56] And we're laser-focused on our election, but the Chinese love this. [10:00] Putin loves this. [10:01] I mean, our enemies are celebrating his lack of focus and his lack of seriousness. [10:04] And I would just add that the chaos here, to me, [10:07] is because he doesn't have anybody surrounding him anymore in this second term [10:11] that is going to tell him the actual truth. [10:13] You had some of those people in the first term. [10:16] He got rid of most of them quickly. [10:17] But at least they had experience in knowing how to do this. [10:20] Now he has absolutely nobody. [10:22] Anybody who would look at that event today and say, [10:24] I planned that. [10:26] You know, I developed that. [10:27] I think that was a great display. [10:29] That is not happening anywhere, because he is just running the show. [10:34] There's nobody else there. [10:35] And that's where you get to the really dangerous point in time. [10:37] Talk about being a cornered animal when someone gets in a corner.