disrespectful. >> reporter: this michigan voter talking about the empty chair at the table. >> that was a good moment. he did a little bit about his son, good to see him defend his son. those were the moments that joe biden shines. >> how are they helping small businesses getsiting back to thr feet. nobody is talking about that. >> reporter: are you more confused than ever? >> yes. it makes me not want to vote. >> i considered not voting after this debate. ultimately i am going to vote. my ballot is waiting for me. >> i am going to be undecided until the day before i walk into the voting poll. >> reporter: randy kay, cnn,

west palm beach, florida. >> pressing people so much that they are sick of it and don't want to vote. the news continues with chris cuomo, "primetime." >> hey, everybody, i am chris cuomo, welcome to "primetime." the only clear outcome is you loss. partisans can spend their time to compare. just focus on someone is obvious. trump won't debate. he'll not make a case to you. he intentionally wants you to quit on this process if you are not for him. he does not want you to hear anyone else to compare, bottom line, he does not want to debate. he wants to deface, words that are one letter difference.

trump thinks he looks better when he makes everyone and everything else looks bad. what does he do? most of all the legitimacy of that forum. it is absurd to joe. forget about the election. make it all terrible. trash our expectations of anything legitimate or anything better. proof. tell me one positive thing he said about the future of our country last night. tell me one message he had of how great we'll be and why and how? it is the first time he'll have an incumbent sell you by the election by saying vote for me. usually the magic is -- he has to say as bad as we are, biden

can make it. as little as you think of me, think less of him. now, i think the only part that really matters last night was the one team the president was measured. what was that about? his false premise of absentee ballots are rigged and bad things may happen and in relaying that thing is very gentle with his worst followers. today he says i don't know who the proud boys are like he did with david duke of the kkk or what happened to charlottesville and michig immigrants either. he has no problem telling them all go to hell.

with this guy, they are proud boys, reason to be proud, stand back and stand by. they liked it so much and put it on t-shirts. why? he needs them as part of this president's win or bust plan, literally. the election goes his way or else. >> they're sending millions of bla ballots all over the country. they found them in creeks. >> are you counting on the supreme court, including justice barrett? >> they're being sold and ducked in river. this is a horrible thing for our country. i am urging my supporters to go into the polls and watch carefully because that's what has to happen. >> we have poll watchers. what is he really asking? is he asking white hate groups to monitor the polls?

is that why he was so gentle, standby and stand back. tom freedman in his latest new york times, "our democracy is in terrible danger -- more danger than it has been since the civil war." tom freedman, welcome back to "primetime." why do you take him so seriously when apocalypse suggests of hi s comment. >> it is the greatest voter depression enterprise ever mounted in this country led by the president of the united states. he's basically telling us everyday now and every way and in that debate as 73 million

americans watch that one of two things are going to happen and one of them is not joe biden being elected. either i am going to be elected by a majority of vote cast that day or i am going to delegitim delegitimize this election. we have never seen this before out of any president. it is the greatest voter suppression ever, ever mounted in this country. it is going to have -- it is already having huge ramifications. democrats are going to feel if they lose it is because he basically suppress the vote and got people to not vote by mail so they stayed home because they fear for their lives

pandem pandemic. we are going to not maybe have a contested election. he has set it up for an illegitimate election. we have al gore, donald trump will put a bullet into the country before he abides by any supreme court decision that goes against him. this is the most dangerous thing i have ever seen in america. >> you don't believe that -- one step back. do you believe he can throw the election into congress or by pass the results as expressed by the secretary of state and electorate of each state? >> look, i am sure there are all kinds of ways he can do this

by -- >> i am not so sure, tom, that's why i am asking. >> by declarining victory and claiming votes coming in and days after have been delegitim delegitimized and muddy the waters. >> why is it different than in the 2000s? >> this will all be 50 states. god knows what happens. they may not be about -- the supreme court may even rule against him. i have one wish right now and that's for the next national debate. 73 million people watched that debate. here is what the presidential commission on debate says.

begin the debate with ten minutes of instructions by an independent election expert of how you vote legally by mail, why is it legal and why it is possible and why it is legitimate? here is how you do that. the president commission on debate owes us that otherwise they are complicit. >> covering lebanon, the second civil war and i have seen things happening. does this really smack of that for you, tom? >> chris, can i tell you a joke? >> i can use one. >> we can all use one. it is a joke that we used to say

about the syrian election. when 97.8% of the vote and his ai aides came to him, mr. president, you won 97.8% of the vote that means 2.2% of syrians did not vote for you. what more can you ask for? their names. that's what this election is starting to remind me of. elections i have seen in the middle east, in countries that are run by autocrats. chris, this is not maybe. this man is laying the basis to delegitimize this election. if i win, i won, if the other guy win, he didn't win. we'll go to the treats and the court and we'll muddy the outcome in a way that we'll not have a legitimate peaceful transfer of power. he's doing this despite the fact

that chris wray, the head of the fbi reported last week that there is no such delegitim delegitimization of mail-in ballots whatsoever. >> do you think the gop will go along with it? >> boy. >> that's $750 question right there. >> i would like to think there are many republicans who will not go along with this. i don't think the whole party has become so corrupt that it will go along with this enterprise. how many? i don't know. the kind of intimidation that he already unleashed. last saturday, we had trump's orbit out there heckling citizens who were doing exercising their constitutional rights to vote early.

so, i think we can not rule anything out. >> we got ted cruz coming up. he would certainly be a voice people be listening to. let's see what he puts this proposition to and what it means. tom freidman, thank you for the perspective. thank you for being on "primetime." the best selling author from beirut to jerusalem. a decent read right now. he researched the hell of that book. but a good read. a lot of things happening here, it happened in other places. only chance of getting trump to bet anything other than who he was last night. the republic. the people he needs have to stand up. they like the proud boys are

standing back, standing by. why? let's ask one of the most prompt innocent republicans pr prominent members on the hill, ted cruz, next. talk to your doctor, and call 844-214-2424.

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there's a pandemic devastating every corner of the country, but they're just rushing to play politics with the court. it's a lifetime appointment, tell senators to do it right. demand justice is responsible for the content of this advertising. why do so many people in his party standby him and even when

he tries to undermine the legitimacy of our election? let's ask a man with a reputation at one time very true about trump. republican senator ted cruz, out with a new book, "one vote away." senator cruz, welcome. i finally got a way to talk to you instead of saying things about me. >> good evening, it is good to be with you. >> the book, "one vote," it can make a big difference. will you be that voice, playing nice with the crowd voice is wrong. >> well, listen, i condemn the proud voice long ago, white supremacists or nazis or bigoted or morons, i also think the

people care about the constitution and the bill of rights. they care about the supreme court. it was a big reason the president selected and a republican majority and i think this vacancy on the court is the reason i wrote this book. it focuses on the rights that are precious to so this of us, free speech and second amendment and second amendment and how all of them hang in the ballot for us. that issue matters enormously. >> absolutely. was the president wrong to go soft on the proud boys in the debate last night? >> i was glad that he walked back that. >> no, he didn't. >> i am glad that he saought to walk it back, his campaign. the press is hypocrite cical ofs

decision. >> really? >> ten years ago, joe biden, gave a eulogy. >> you are going to go with that. changed his life and spoke about it? i will give you another example. >> no, that's your example. >> hold on, i don't want you to run it a way. he did it in charlottesville and david duke and the old ted cruz, he called lying ted and tweeted

about your wife and brothers. what happened to that ted? >> i am glad you are insulting other folks. >> really, am i insulting you? >> i have not insulting you at all. i am giving you the opportunity to say the right thing and at the right time. >> you are just -- your entire show and network is how much you hate trump. >> really? >> i think a lot of people like are interested in and you said it in your opening. the president did not say anything positive about the country. i thought the most important moment of the debate was when the president made it clear that joe biden policy agenda is shutting down the country and shutting down small businesses and schools and our priority needs to be opening up the economy, bringing jobs back and getting kids back in school and that's a very different policy

agenda. we have had an enormous economic impact from this pandemic. we need to restart the economy, i think the president and joe biden have a very different vision. joe biden's policies don't work and hurt a whole lot of people. when i am back in texas. people in texas don't understand why the press is just like the only thing you talk about. >> senator, when you were in the campaign, did you want to read some of the things you said about donald trump? you want to talk about somebody that had a chance to talk about policy? nobody did more than you. that's why you gave you the nickname and beat you down. the idea that you are going to put it down. you are the brother going on twitter talking about my naked s. >> chris, fine, you hate the president. >> i do not hate the president. i respected him as president, i

want better for this country. frankly i want you to speak to that as well. >> i get that you want to interrupt every sentence but you are behaving like last night. >> senator. >> i remember one time you tweeted out, cruz is dodgin dodging -- literally while i was on "fox and friends" and you attacked me. i did a 15-minute interview on cnn. >> i asked you to come on the show. and you said you did -- >> you literally put me on the hello and said "ted is afraid to come on." >> you are here right now.

>> good. >> last night you said the most important thing was when he talked about the timing of who shutdown the economy. >> there are a lot of times. what's the solution right now? 51 million americans lost their jobs. they want to go back to work. small businesses want to open up. >> yes, they should. >> and theaters. people want to be able to provide for their family and moms want their kids to go back to school >> yes. >> not just moms, dads care too. testing, ted. tedding, ted. >> i am a huge proponent of testing. >> we have also had much, much lower death rates than many

parts of the country. it is political, the attack you are making. i think what we should be focused on is testing. yes, we need to do more testing. >> why don't we do the testing so people can go back to work and kids can go to school? >> i have been introduced in the legislation. in the senate to create a tax credit for employers to test their employees. >> what happened? >> on a weekly basis. >> why have you voted on it? >> the democrats are stopping on everything, they filibuster each time. i don't think schumer and pelosi wanted to pass. >> i would like to call it out when it is there. because the audience stay on straight. i have to tell you, you know i

had it and my kids had it and you know people all over the country are suffering. i hate that kids are not in school. it could not be less political for me. >> let me say something. there is something disgusting that democrats are doing that skrie d joe biden does and you do, you tr try to blame the people that lost their lives. >> that's not right. >> i am saying when people die, you don't say it what it is. >> but you know what -- when your brother presided over the state with the highest death rate. >> i know your brother did not want them to lose their lives. >> you don't think he intentionally kill.

>> of course not. >> the policy mistakes in new york and new jersey of sending covid-19 positive patients in the nursing homes. >> that was a vulnerable population. that's one of the reasons the death rate in new york is four times. >> texas was the place you said you don't need masks. >> we test a lot. i have been tested many times. >> was it a mistake when your brother implemented a policy that nursing homes have to accept covid-19 patients. >> my brother was the first one to say there was a learning curve and mistakes were made and they changed things as soon as they could. >> i can ask you questions of only things about your family but i am not going to do that.

>> i am talking about public policy that was a serious mistake. >> testing is not public policy? >> i am not interrupting you. let me ask you without being r interrupted. >> i think you gotten. >> chris. >> thgo ahead. >> this pandemic, democrats and republicans are trying in good faith to keep people safe. we can have policy discussions about what works. we need to get people back to work and i think people want to go back to work. disney announced 28,000 lay offs. >> did you see the american airlines? >> disney is doing the lay offs in california because they're shutting down their theme parks. it is a clear contrast where democrats politicians are shutting it down.

>> they're laying off people out of business and not the place that's in business and you are saying it is political. >> no. i am saying the policies to shut the economy down are bad policies that hurt people's lives. >> what do you do when people get sick, senator and you can't test them and they don't wear masks? >> you don't send them into nursing homes. >> the nursing home was the total of the entire problem of the country. 7 million cases. texas had 50% more population than new york does. >> what about all the cases they had? you want to open them up but you did not discuss how. you won't talk about the president and his failure, testing has to be done at the federal level, ted. you know this. you understand about state's economics.

you know the governors can't do it themselves. >> look at the rate and look at new york numbers. they were the hub of where people were coming. you guys want to celebrate china, you let 40,000 people and tens of thousands of people. they were the hub. >> we watch guys like you standby and stroke your fears like a weissmaise man. >> my brother will stand for his own record. why don't you talk to the president the way you talk to my brother. are you afraid of him? do you think he'll smack you down at home? >> you guys are really tough. >> my brother is no the president. i am talking about the president. the one that called you a liar.

>> i recognize that you -- you wonder why republicans don't want to come on your show. you are insulting. >> i am not yelling. i am raising my voice for match your own. >> that's okay, chris. you are perfectly fine of the screaming and yelling. >> oh, you don't. >> you are doing it because you don't want to discuss the discussion. instead you just want to repeat insults over and over again. >> and oh, you are not. you just bring up my brother for the interview. >> you were playing in a bias way. the death rates, they are marketly wormarkeworse in some states than others. we should ask the reasonable question.

>> why didn't the president help sooner? that's the question. why didn't he help the places that got hit hardest when they're all democratic. >> was it the right decision or wrong when the president halted travel in and out of china. >> should have done it sooner. >> next question. >> i agree with you on that. >> joe biden denounced he's xenophobic. >> no, he didn't. >> i will bet you dinner that biden did not say that. >> you were right about pelosi. >> your colleagues at cnn, this is talking point, i read the

biden's tweet. i don't have it in front of me. he announced him of xenophobic. >> did you hear of what i just said? >> i agree with you now. >> now? >> let me ask you one other thing while i have you. i think it is almost as important when you say about when we are shutting down. what the president said about the election, senator, seriously, that's why i come at you at the pandemic. i don't play politics today. >> you don't play politics, you are only attacking republicans. >> i have republicans on all the time. >> you attack texas, florida and georgia. >> no, senator, you sound silly.

i care about them and i don't want them to be sick. >> i do what democrats do. >> anybody who's not doing the right thing. i talk about kids in class as a national problem. let me ask you this. the president has been hinting very strong that if the election does not go his way, it will have to be fraudulent. and you heard tom freidman of his concerns. if your state certifies the results and they always do. i don't want a transfer of power. what would you do? >> so, that's not going to happen. there will be a peaceful transfer of power. let me say something. i wish the two political sides have conferrings where versatio

each other. it was surreal listening to you and tom freidman what trump is going to do. >> biden says last night that he'll accept the results. >> hillary clinton told joe biden under no circumstances to concede defeat. >> who cares what she says. >> i was one of the lawyers represented george w. bush. >> i remember. >> it was al gore challenged the outcome of that election and filed a litigation, 36 days of chaos and went to the supreme court twice and ultimately it was resolved. bush won all four times. it is one of the many reasons why nine justices on the supreme court matters because we need a resolution and what my book - i just like to say a second about it. >> i have not stopped you.

keep talking brother. >> before i was in the senate, that was my profession, arguing cases in the supreme court. each chapter talks about free right. what i would say is i recognize a lot of your listeners of a different political affiliation than i am. >> but i invited you. please finish your point. >> my point is if folks at home want to understand why so many millions of people are deeply concerned about protecting free speech and religious liberty and how those rights hang in the ballots, what the book does it tells the inside story of what's happening with the justice and the court and what's happening the landmark cases and many of which i help litigate. i do think on bush verses gore, for example, we can find ourselves in november and january in the midst of

nationwide litigation. it could be brought by joe biden or republicans. if you want to understand the issue more or if you don't agree with me, the book is a helpful tool to understanding these issues and what's going on at the course. >> i hope you would stay by what you said of peaceful transfer. >> and i hope joe biden does, too. >> he said so himself. senator ted cruz, i appreciate you finally taking the invitation. good luck with the book. the book is "one vote away." all right, we'll be right back. now, simparica trio simplifies protection.

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why is it important to pay taxes? they're not in the political of the fact that it is law. so let's talk to somebody who can understand how these kinds of concerns translate into larger concerns about the safety and integrity of our democracy. andrew weissmann. >> lead prosecutor in the mueller's special council's office. he's now the author of the book calls "where law ends." >> thank you for joining us. >> what concerns you in all of this talk about the president's finances and now his discussion about how the election is not

legitimate. what raise legitimate issues? >> let me focus on finances. that's an area where i have some expertise on the political issues and senator cruz to discuss. >> he's going to stay quiet, he won't talk about his president. >> on finances, there are a lot of unanswered questions simply "the new york times" reporting is correct and you have $420 million in debt. >> that's a countdowner intellie issue. you want to know who has that debt. you want to know what policies being set in a way that influenced by that. there are other issues. there was information in "the

new york times" about a russian oligarch named aguillara and you may recall that same oligarch was the same person that put together the trump's meeting in 2016 that russia had dirt they want to offer for the trump's campaign against hillary clinton. the aguilera put you will all the money for "miss universe." the president then, the civilian made $2 million. those are all areas i want to explore. >> so you would want to explore but the question becomes why didn't you guys pull the taxes or go down these roads? >> excellent question.

>> spending 22 months investigating the president of the united states is extremely unusual. the person you are investigating has the power to fire you and pull the plug. one of the things i recalled in the book when we issued the grand jury subpoena and we were looking at paul manafort's finances. the white house's saying are you looking at the president's finances. and, a decision was made, i robert mueller and i supported it. this is a hard core. you risk being fired or do you go forward with the investigation and if you look at what we did, prosecutors put together an amazing set of cases

and they figured out the russians hacking of the dnc and sharing of pulling data like paul manafort with the russian operatives. the information that "the new york times" apparently has uncovered and the open question that we have relating to the data that "the new york times" has. >> bob mueller says people discredited the office but he does not think he had all the facts. i standby those decisions. it is based on incomplete information. is there something else that you could have known that'll change your opinion? >> yes, absolutely.

i was not in on every single decisions and discussion. >> did you think there was a political decision from the doj not letting you look at the facts and laws regarding to the president's finances and association. >> the white house said that was a red liepne. the concern was are we going to be fired when we look at that? >> early investigation is difficult balancing. as we start to improve a whole bunch of things, i thought we should have revisited that. at some point you have to do your job and if you get fired, you get fired and you will leave it as a consequence. the book is an interesting read

because there will be more as we go along. andrew, thank you. the book is called "where law ends." we'll be right back. ♪ i had this hundred thousand dollar student debt. two hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars in debt. ah, sofi literally changed my life. it was the easiest application process. sofi made it so there's no tradeoff between my dreams and paying student loans. student loans don't have to take over for the rest of your life. thank you for allowing me to get my money right. ♪

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i want to see peace. >> well, then, do it, sir. >> do it. sa say it. >> what do you want me to call 'em? give me a name. proud boys. stand back and stand by. but i'll tell you what. i'll tell you what. somebody's got to do something about antifa and the left. >> wow. a damning condemnation by the president of white nationalists and the proud boys. not. how do we know? boy, do the far-right groups, like the proud boys, love what he said. our next guest would know. her name is samantha. she is a former member of the alt-right group, evopa.

did i say that right? samantha, did i say that right? >> it's identity eropa. thank you. she left, after heather heyer was killed in charlottesville. thank you for taking the opportunity to come on. i know this is not easy. but it really is important. what do people need to understand about how, what looked like a half step by the president last night translate into a huge step forward for groups like the proud boys? >> i think -- i think for the far right, especially, in terms of white supremacy or groups like the proud boys are, without direct condemnation or disavowal of this movement, they feel invigorated. they are already making merchandise for it. they're making large, grandiose statements, excited for whatever the next move might be called for them. >> and what does it mean, to those kinds of groups and the people in them?

to hear themselves equated with movements like anti-fascism or movements like systemic equality, black lives matter. that banner. what does it mean to them to be kind of put on even footing? >> i think, for them, it is also an empowering situation. they feel that they are equal to. they feel that they are, also, a civil rights group, as opposed to just violent ideology. >> and what does giving them confidence, potentially, translate into? >> i mean, the entire point of these movements, whether they start online, in person, whatever. the entire goal, through all of it, is to lead to violent action. so, to have an administration not condemn it, to have anyone not clearly state that this is a bad idea, they're winning, in their minds. this is just another step forward for them, in terms of becoming mainstream. in terms of becoming a household name. people are now looking up the proud boys.

and some people might actually get lost in their rhetoric. >> what did it mean, to you and members of your group, when the president said good people on both sides? >> it was -- it was a celebratory moment. they took it as a win. it was taken as, again, a step forward. it was taken as, you know, a reason to beat your chest, and to feel good about being a white supremacist. >> so, what changed for you? how did you go from harnessing hate to wanting to reject it? >> i think it was a few things. but i mean, mainly, it was -- it was the death of heather heyer. it was starting to pull the strings of what this ideology actually meant, looking at the slogans, and the people that said them. just thinking credibly about the movement, really. things started to happen, and more violence started to occur. and when you join the movement,

at least for someone like myself, i convinced myself that it was just a white civil rights organization. and i was able to ignore so many other things, for an amount of time. but once the unite the right rally happened, once more people started dying, once the mass shootings started, or at least being tied to the alt right, being tied to the far right, you can't ignore what is really going on. it's terrifying, and i could not be a part of that. >> well, i'm glad you came to that decision, for your own life. you got more of it in front of you than behind you. so good luck with everything, and i wish the president had the same clarity that you do. samantha, thank you. >> thank you. >> we'll be right back. stock slices. for as little as $5, now anyone can own companies in the s&p 500, even if their shares cost more. at $5 a slice, you could own ten companies for $50 instead of paying thousands. all commission free online.

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we are going to have a lot of them. it's time to hold people to account. put them on the record about what matters to see where they are so you can remember. but we don't want things to be about animosity. even samantha, coming out of it, even just talking about it. i want to cleanse the palate. no more word is more discussed, written about, thought about, or

misunderstood. everyone seeks it and when it's found, it makes everything else seem no longer worth seeking. it costs nothing to give, and it can't be bought. it brings, with it, warm smiles, deep contentment, sometimes, tears of joy, and even a sense of justification. poets romanticize it but no one improves upon it. our word for is it love. some of us believe it was personified nearly 2,000 years ago in a manger in a stable, far from here. some of us, others, see it embodied in other symbols and other events. almost all of us celebrate festivals to it, at this time of year. in doing so, we are reminded how good a whole year could be, if only we were wiser. that is our wish for us, during this time. from me. this was a poem my father wrote. may he rest in peace. the more we focus on love and being together and what matters to all of us, the better we'll be. "cnn tonight" wi