top of the hour. hello, everybody, i'm john king in washington. thank you so much for sharing your day with us. we're told today president trump is trying to push his way back into the west wing, even as his white house adds to the new coronavirus case count. staffers are getting down, goggles and masks ready, in case they have no choice to assist the president in the oval office. the list of aides available to help keeps shrinking. adviser stephen miller is the latest trump insider to test positive for covid-19. the chief of staff, he tested negative again this morning, but listen, he sounds nervous he could be next. >> we know this virus will -- has a way of reaching out and getting people when they least expect it. >> it's important to note the president's doctor last answered questions back on monday, and the white house continues to

share only vague written updates that don't tell us much about the president's condition and his covid treatment. if he is feeling well enough to work today, one thing not in his to-do box is broad stimulus negotiations. a surprise tweet from the president yesterday ended his talks and rattled financial markets counting on washington to do more to help ease the pandemic's economic pain. chief of staff meadows, you saw him there, said the white house would aim for splaulmaller deal helping airlines is one example. they blame nancy pelosi but she was making progress until the tweet bomb yesterday. and you see the site tonight salt lake city, no doubt the coronavirus and its economic impact will be flashpoints. vp debates do not usually alter the course of an election but as we look inside the debate hall here, we should be reminded this campaign is anything but normal. and a 74-year-old president

confined to the white house with coronavirus 27 days to election day only adds to a long list of 2020 things we simply have not experienced before. vice president's mission tonight is project the president and recovery is on the road to recovery. senator kamala harris tasked with the democratic response and pence's role as white house task force leader, will also come under fire. this debate coming at a time of grave republican worry. the president's numbers are miserable and getting worse. if things don't change soon, republicans see the senate slipping away along with the white house. and within this pandemic election, the coronavirus numbers are troublesome and getting worse. look right there. 25 states, half of the united states now heading in the wrong direction. more cases now than a week ago. 43,000 new infections reported tuesday. colder weather and coronavirus fatigue has dr. anthony fauci very worried. >> the models tell us that if we do not do the kinds of things that we're talking about in the

cold and in the fall and the winter, we could have from 300,000 to 400,000 deaths. that would be just so tragic if that happens. >> stunning number there. stunning number there. joining me now the washington chief of the daily beast, jacqueline ka sid itch, and at the site of the debate and cnn's john horowitz in washington. john, we're told the president said he's itching to get back into the oval office. we're told they're setting up an isolation cart so any aides called to work with him can get the protective equipment they need. i want to you listen to a little more of chief of staff mark meadows this morning talking about a situation in the white house that frankly is, overused term used all of a sudden, a ghost town. >> we do mandate social distancing as much as practical and even with some of your colleagues. a number of your colleagues who

may wear masks religiously, they've come down with it. so it makes us pivot back to one critical thing. we need to make sure therapeutics and vaccines are what we focus on. >> the last part is a bit of a copout. responsible buy haever also helps. the president and many around him have not practiced responsibility behavior. but what is the status there >> what do we kno when will we next hear and when will the president's doctor actually next actually take questions? >> is we don't know very much a all, john, about the state of the president's state. we got a vague statement yesterday from the white house physician saying the president reported no symptoms but did not say the president had been examined, did not provide any specifics about his vital signs, whether he was getting oxygen, whether he's still taking the steroid dexamethasone. so there's a lot of blank sheets of paper that we're looking at in terms of trying to figure out where the president is. we have not heard from the

president's doctor in a couple of days, as you noted. we have not heard the president speak live in a number of days. he put out taped statements. apparently, he taped something last night. we have not seen him. so we don't know the state of his health. if in fact he had symptom onset late last week that he's still in a danger zone in which this very unpredictable virus can take a turn. he wants to go back to the oval office. aides are i have apprehensive. there are departmenty desks all over the place. that will make it extremely difficult for the vice president to make the argument the road is on the road to recovery if the white house itself is a hot spot. >> you mentioned tonight's debate. jackie, here we are 27 days from election. the president ask confined to the white house with the infection, with the disease that he said would disappear six months ago. i want you to listen here because republicans are very careful here but privately they're very worried. listen to senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. he will try to come back in a couple of weeks and push the supreme court's confirmation

battle through. but listen to his own frustration here with the fact coronavirus is so front and center. >> i do think there have been risky behaviors in other areas but not in the senate. >> so you're saying you think the white house has taken too many risks? >> well, there's no question some of the infections occurred elsewhere, and not here. >> i mean, you understand sometimes we have to translate the majority leader there. but clearly frustration. the infections occurred elsewhere and not here. three of his senators, republicans, have been infected right now and two were at that supreme court rollout event. >> right. and also on the judiciary committee, which is going to be charged with reporting out amy coney barrett, which if this ends up happening, which it seems like now it is. but, sure, this is slowing down what mitch mcconnell's main be objective is, get the supreme court justice through before election day.

and the fact the white house has been so belligerent about not mask wearing, mark meadows hasn't worn a mask. he's used every reason to be nervous, saying it sneaks up on you. you can hide a little bit if you and every around you is wearing a mask. sort of use what he said. but it is frustrating everyone on every level. now mike pence has to stand next to a plexiglas because of all of these infections in the white house, which is a visual reminder during this debate of the failures of this administration to handle the coronavirus crisis. >> and, ryan, that is the point senator harris hopes to prosecute tonight. she hopes to make the case because of this administration's mishandling of the pandemic e. that's why we're in october and we have 25 states heading in the wrong direction. we have more than 210,000 americans dead. senator harris also understands mission number one for her is do no harm. the democrats have a big and

growing lead at the moment. joe biden is in the driver's seat in this race and he essentially helped try to right the script yesterday when it comes to prosecuting the pandemic. let's listen. >> this pandemic is not a red state or blue state issue. this virus doesn't care whether you live, where you live, what political party you belong to. it infects us all. it will take anyone's life. it's a virus. it's not a political weapon. >> set the scene for us there, ryan. as i said, normally americans don't vote based on the vice presidential candidates. i don't remember campaign where the vice presidential debate altered the course of the election, however, we are in a campaign unlike any other so i say watch everything closely. >> i think you're right, john. the other point that should be made is that the final two presidential debates are in dallas. so this may be the last opportunity that we may have to see both of these campaigns face to face answering tough questions. but getting back to your point about how the biden campaign

through kamala harris tonight will attempt to prosecute the trump administration's response to the coronavirus, it is a dicey proposition because mike pence is a much different person on debate stage than president trump is. his nickname within the trump campaign is on message mike. they've found a way to hone in their message even in the wake of the president's coronavirus diagnosis. and you can expect mike pence to try to turn this back on kamala harris, accuse her of being a sponsor of medicare for all and going down the road of socialized medicine and tying her to the radical left. it's pretty cler from the polling there's a lot more for democrats to lose than there is republicans to gain. so it's going to be very difficult for the harris campaign and in this setting to try to make that case without doing more harm. however, they do feel more confident somebody like kamala harris, who is a skilled prosecutor, who has shown the ability in settings like this and her role on various senate

committees, particularly senate judiciary committee, where she grilled members of the trump administration to have come before, she has a unique ability to do it in a setting like this. it creates a very interesting dynamic, john. and it's important to point out, again, this may be the last debate we see so as a result it takes on a special level of importance. >> jackie, to that point, frank fa fahrenkopf, chairman of the debate commission, made that point. the president wants to debate. joe biden said he will show up only if the doctors say president trump is covid free. frank fahrenkopf says stay tuned. let's listen. >> now he said yesterday i understand from the newspapers he's ready, raring to go and will be in miami and run the debate. but it depends what the doctors say about his health, whether or not not only will he be safe but the people around him safe. we're concerned about our staff, our workers who are here. we have a crew of about 65 people who work on these things

so it's going to depend upon what the medical evidence is. >> it is a fascinating moment there. the coronavirus concerns. if you look at this from the trump campaign and republican party perspective, it is hard to come back from a deficit as big as the president faces now and it's a lot harder when the other guys have more money and the other guy is on the campaign trail and you're confined to the white house with the coronavirus. >> and it is and the president will try to push forward with the debate no matter what. but there are things we don't know. we don't know when president trump's last negative test is. somebody there knows, san djay gupta said that, but we don't know. the american people don't know. so we don't know if he will not be able to infect anyone else. and the biden campaign, their biggest concern is keeping joe biden healthy. how is the presidential debate commission handles this, it's a

stay-tuned situation. but it's not just the president being dragged down by this, john. it's other candidates, senate candidates around the country people are looking at what's happening in the white house and look at what's happening around the country with these infections and are, perhaps, casting their vote elsewhere. >> it is a remarkable moment unchartered, we use all of those words, but that's a fact. jackie kucinich, john hargrove, thank you very much. up next -- coronavirus infections, our sad october reality, rising in half the country. dr. fauci said it's not rocket science how to get this number down but too many americans simply not listening. why?! ahhhh! incoming! ahhhahh! i'm saved! water tastes like, water. so we fixed it. mio

we'll look back and remember the moment that things, for one strange time in our lives, got very quiet. some lost work and invented new ways to get by. others were busier than ever, and found strength they never knew they had. we sheltered with the people who matter most, sometimes finding how far apart we'd drifted. we worried over loved ones, over money, over our planet. and over take-out. and we found a voice

one the noise out there had kept quiet. when the world starts spinning again, let's remember this time where none of us felt secure, and fight for a future where everyone can. because when the world seems like it's standing still... that's the perfect time for us to change it.

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candidates debate tonight and vice president pence, of course, the head of the white house coronavirus task force. the current numbers are going to be hard to explain away. let's take a look at the current numbers. you look at the 50-state trend map right now and this is just a very sober first week of october. 25 states, as it gets colder, 25 states heading in the wrong direction. that means reporting more new infections now compared to a week ago. you see orange and red on the map. those are the states heading in the wrong direction. now now include texas and arizona. they were part of the summer surge. let's hope those are just temporary there. 25 states heading up, and only 3 of the 50 states reporting fewer infections now than a week ago. that is very troubling as you head into the colder weather. five states reported over 2,000 new cases yesterday, 5 states. maybe you're not surprised when you see big states like florida, texas and california, with more than 2,000 new infections. but look kansas, kansas more than 2,000 new infections reported yesterday. wisconsin as well. wisconsin is a hot spot. and this is the saddest map of all. again, when you have more cases,

which we have at the moment, you get more deaths, 22 states red and orange. across the northern half of the country where temperatures are colder right now. 22 states reporting more deaths, more coronavirus deaths now compared to a week ago. 11 holding steady. 17 states trending down in their week-to-week death count. if you look at the case timeline now, again, trendline heading in the wrong direction. this is where we are. call it a plateau or stislight , but we're above. the average new daily infections about 40,000 now. remember, it was below 20,000 when we started the big summer surge up to here. this line not moving up, you see the trajectory, it's not moving up straight like that but this is a stubborn, stubborn plateau right now at about 43,000. the fear is as it gets colder, it will go higher. nationally the positivity rate in pretty good shape. you want to be 5% or lower. it's at 4.7%. but that's a national look.

going state by state, especially in the northern half of the country, 23% positivity in ohio, 15% wyoming, kansas double digits, missouri double digits, iowa, wisconsin, indiana and so on. dr. fauci looks at these numbers, and he says i know a lot of you simply don't want to listen to me. he's begging as we head into the colder weather to give him a chance. >> it occurs because of the lack of implementation of simple public health measures. it's so frustrating because it is not rocket science. you don't need to lockdown. you almost want to say, okay, country maybe 50% of you hate me because you think i'm trying to destroy the country, but do me a favor, listen to me for like maeve six weeks or so and do these things, you would see the level of infection go down, absolutely. >> joining us now is dr. thom

engles, director of the johns hopkins center for security p doctor, it's good to see you again. you can hear the exasperation in dr. fauci, basically begging people, give it a chance, wear a mask, watch the numbers. but you just saw me go through the numbers. 43,000 new infections on average. positivity rate in double digits in most of the states, many of the states, where it's now getting colder. where are we going? >> yeah, unfortunately i think as a country we're moving in the wrong direction again. if you look at where we were three weeks ago, we're 20% higher in terms of national numbers of cases, numbers of hospitalizations are going up for the first time in a while. the number of icu beds occupied by covid patients are picking up again and we are seeing some states in the worse condition since the start of the pandemic, in the midwest, dakotas,

wisconsin, mountain west. they're really high numbers. we have to work to turn those around or we're going to have health care crisis like we're beginning to see in wisconsin. >> the numbers going up at a time when we now know anyone's hopes for getting a vaccine will be delayed at least some. the fda finally put out new guidelines. the white house resisted them allowed them to go forward. the president for weeks said we'll have a vaccine soon. we keeps saying soon and then he keeps saying possibly before the election. i think that's off the table now if you look at the new guide aechbs. data from phase three study should include median followup of at least two months after completion of the full adequate regimen to help assess the vaccine's benefit/risk profile. that leads me to without a doubt the end of the year as we're at october 5th now. and the president is not happy. he tweeted new fda rules made it more difficult to speed up vaccines for approval before election day. just another political hit job. he's accusing of his food and

drug administration chief of a political hit job. i'm not going to make you do politics but in terms of the timeline, when is the earliest now that there might be a vaccine ready, even for just limited emergency authorization use? >> it does look like because of this new fda guidance it will be another couple of months. they need to see the data after the results are beginning to come in for some period of time because we need that time to be able to make sure that there are no safety side effects. some of the effects of vaccine that we've seen in the past have not occurred for six to eight weeks or even a bit longer, and so i think the fda is absolutely doing the right thing and is in consultation with the companies, and making its decisions based on science and i think we need to follow that. >> one of the giant concerns, you know better than i do, dr. dingells by, as people get colder and go inside, especially getting lax in terms of mask wearing and people distancing

and the like is the impact on possible new infections. i want you to listen to dr. fauci. there's been a debate for some time, how long if you emit coronavirus, how long can it hang in the air? listen to dr. fauci. >> in a restaurant in china, where with people far distanced from the index case that was infected got infected very likely because the air-conditioning recirculated the aero-sol out of a person's mouth and that was transmitted. so it's a highly respiratory transmitted virus. >> and it's a concern. >> it is a concern. once and for all, let's settle that. it is a concern. >> like a week or so ago, that was a bab ack and forth guidanc putting it up, taking it down, putting it up. why has it it taken so long to be certain, as dr. fauci says it

is? >> i think most of the cases that had been investigated, most of the outbreaks investigated, shows transmission is happening almost predominantly at short range but there have been examples of people being infected at longer range in indoor settings. and i think it's taken some time for scientific agencies to really judge that the evidence was strong enough to be able to say aerosol transmission is happening. i think there's been evidence growing for some time. it's not a high percentage of cases but enough there the cdc's guidance is very clear, indoor places with core ventilation, transmission can occur at greater than six feet. we should minimize the time we spend in those settings. >> we absolutely should, and i hope folks listen to you as they listen to that exasperated dr. fauci we played at the top of the segment. doctor, always grateful for your expertise and opinions.

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are off the white house says today, meaning things look bleak for business u.s. hoping for coronavirus relief lifeline from washington. but the supreme court nomination process is on. republicans insisting they can keep the rank and file in line in the gop. so it's on, something important for millions of struggling americans is, at the moment anyway, off. navigating dicey politics is part of the job if you accept a leadership role. senator john barrasso of wyoming is a member of the senate leadership team. senator, good to see you. i'm grateful for your time. how do you handle this? you're not on the ballot this year but you have a number of fellow republicans and dynamic in the house as well, vulnerable democrats, why can't we get in

line for relief? the president pulled the plug yesterday and financial markets got rattled and the president trying to backtrack a little bit, retweeting himself a little bit. saying, if i'm sent a stand-alone bill for stimulus checks this will he go out for relief immediately, and retweeted it fast, putting the pressure on nancy pelosi. it's a mess right now. what can be done? >> there are still people, john, that need help. the president is right to want to do it in a rg tatttargeted w. he tweeted a number of things including paycheck protection to keep people on the payroll. remember a couple weeks ago republicans took that bill to the floor of the senate. 52 republicans voted for it and the entire democratic senate team voted against it. they all filibustered it. i have been saying for a long time, i don't believe nancy pelosi actually wants a deal. i wish she did. i think she views this as something that would give the president a bit of a victory prior to the election so she's not going to allow that.

the discussions are not just about the cost of the bill, it's about what's contained in it. when i read what she's proposed, its a ransom note. she wants money to go to bailout states that have been poorly run for decades, wants money to go for tax breaks for millionaires in new york and in california. we need to keep this focused on getting people back to work, getting kids back to school and hoping get the disease behind us. >> senator, i'm old enough to remember a washington where it might be possible to pass more than one bill in a month. that washington hasn't existed for some time. and you're well aware of that, because of the partisan differences between the republicans and democrats in the house and now the white house. i want you to listen to the fed chairman jerome powell, who's trying to be an honest broker here. he says, to all of you -- all of you, people need help. >> too little support would lead to weaker recovery creating unnecessary hardships for

households and businesses. by contrasts, the risks of overdoing it seem to, for now, be smaller. >> you say the speaker's plan is too big. she says your plan is too small. chairman powell said the economy desperately needs help. why can't we figure out, where is the goldilocks moment, why can't we get to just right? >> i think we can get to just right on the money figure but we will not get to just right as long as she continues with what i call poison pills in this bill, which is really a liberal wish list she's put out to all of this money to states that have been irresponsible, with additional significant unemployment benefits that are enhanced, that are bonus checks to go out and continue to keep people off the payroll. we have help wanted signs here in wyoming. i talked to people at a chamber of commerce event the other night, they're saying we need workers. and if washington continues to pay more to people to not work then to work, it's going to be harder to get folks back to work. so there are areas we have agreement. we ought to limit this to just

things that deal with getting people back to work, getting the disease behind us and getting kids safely back to school so they don't fall further behind, john. >> i want to ask you, sir, the level of your concern 6789 you're a member of the senate republican leadership. if you look at the numbers now, the president's numbers right now, and as you know a ticket splitting is thing largely in the past in america, if numbers don't change, you're going to be in the minority. it's just a fact looking at the numbers. a gop group working to ee senate republicans polling over the weekend in four states, couldle kol, georgia, montana and north carolina after the president was hospitalized, the president's numbers dropped significantly every state, dropping by about five points in all four. what do you need the president of the united states to do right to right his own ship and keep you, since i assume you would rather stay in the majority than be in the minority, what must change now? >> i think we're going to see a vice presidential debate tonight, which is going to be the most consequential vice presidential debate since they

started doing these, john, in 1976. i think people watching both of these candidates will be watching to say, who is ready to be kmachcommander in chief beca what we know right now is joe biden is turning 78 next year. we know the president has coronavirus. i think people will be watching with an increased interest and focus. when i look at those two individuals, joe biden is somebody who clearly has long years of experience in congress and governor for two terms, popular governor of indiana. other governors that have worked with him, republican and democrat. really looked at him as a mature, experienced, respected voice. kamala harris, i served with her. i like her personally, but i will tell you her voting is the most liberal of the united states, even more liberal than bernie sanders. issue after issue, aplauds defunding the police. the things she supported in terms of the green new deal would be a terrible blow to our

economy. the things about raising taxes, all of those things are going to be on the table tonight as part of this debate. she may be mainstream in california but she's far to the extreme of most mainstream americans. >> we will watch the debate tonight. i agree with you, it's more interesting than normal vp debate. you're putting a lot of pressure on mike pence there, back to the bigger point e. about where the president's are at the moment. we will watch it play out. senator barrasso, thank you for your time, sir. >> thank you, john. up next -- the justice department announcing the indictment of two isis fighters accused of killing an american. insulin injections can make diabetes complicated. omnipod delivers insulin through a discreet waterproof pod... to help simplify life. no more daily injections. it's game-changing.

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with customizable coverage. -and i'm gonna -- -eh, eh, eh. -donny, no. -oh. this important breaking news just in to cnn, the justice department just announcing charges against two isis fighters accused of kidnapping and murdering four americans. prosecutors say these two part of an execution isis style due in court. jessica, tell us what we know about these arrests. >> john, these are two high-profile isis fighters. they had been detained in iraq since their capture in 2018 but we just learned they will appeal in federal court in virginia this afternoon to face multiple

charges, all related to their brutal beatings and beheadings of at least four americans. you'll remember their names. they are american journalist james foley, steven so the lof, as well as american aid workers pete kasich and kale up mueller. their families have been appealing to the u.s. government for years now to bring those two captured fighters here to the united states to face justice. and today the fbi director appeared alongside the top official in the national security division of the department of justice to announce that those fighters will be here in the united states to face justice. here's how john demers put it, the top national security official at doj -- >> you will face american justice in an american courtroom and the prospect of many years in an american prison. either way, you will never live in peace. you will be pursued to the ends of the earth. no matter how long it take, we

will never forget. we will never quit. >> and these two isis fighters were part of a cell that was led by a man known as jihadi john. he was actually killed by a u.s. drone strike in 2015. these two isis fighters who are coming here to the united states, they were captured in 2018. john, they're 30-year-olds. been extradited here with an agreement under the british government that the department of justice will not, in fact, seek the death penalty here. but as you heard from john demers, their punishment is expected to be severe nonetheless. john? >> very important news. jessica schneider, appreciate the breaking news. when we come back, it is debate night. and how about a flashback. this a memorable moment from the 2008 vice presidential debate. >> nice to meet you. can i call you joe?

>> you can call me joe. >> thank you, thank you. if you r "ooh" is more of a "hmm..." you have 100 days to change your mind. that's the visionworks difference. visionworks. see the difference.

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they do one of the most deven in normal times.s, our frontline health care workers. and when these heroes lack the resources they need, that risky job gets ten times harder. prop fifteen makes corporations pay their fair share. to invest in our communities, in our clinics, in the essential workers who treat everyone- rich, poor, and in-between. whether it's this pandemic or the next health crisis, vote yes on prop fifteen. for all of us. traffic and air pollution will be even worse after the pandemic. that's why we support measure rr to keep caltrain running. which is at risk of shutdown because of the crisis. to keep millions of cars off our roads, to reduce air pollution and fight climate change.

and measure rr helps essential workers like me get to work and keep our communities healthy. relieve traffic. reduce pollution. rescue caltrain. [all] yes on measure rr. senator kamala harris tonight is do no harm. yes, that's an old cliche, but it also happens to be true. the biden/harris ticket has a clear lead and clear momentum 27 days until election day. . so tonight's vice presidential debate is a giant opportunity for senator harris to cement her role as a new national democratic leader. one key, how does she respond when vice president mike pence paints her as the new face of the radical left? >> the number one mistake for harris to avoid is letting herself get pulled into saying

things that will make it easier to peg the biden/harris ticket far to the left. kamala harris needs to avoid giving any ammunition to the trump campaign to make the case that joe biden is actually very far to the left, socialist, et cetera. and because her record is further to the left than biden's is, she presents that risk. >> california attorney general xavier becerra is a democrat and congressman now in the job harris held before she was elected to the senate. mr. attorney general, it's great to see you. you get the terrain here pretty well. former house member, now former attorney general of the great state of california. mike pence will turn to her and say you're to the left of bernie sanders, you're the radical left. joe biden is a puppet of the radical left and you want to >> she'll say what all americans already know. joe biden is steady, strong and is going to lead. he doesn't get sick. kamala harris is his partner.

it's the biden agenda. they are going to build back america better. they are going to prove you can do this while you bring everyone in america together along the right. >> so i'm interested in your thoughts at the moment as you watch this race play out. we all remember 2016. we don't want to overinvest in the polls. if you look what happened nationally and in the key battleground states, our new cnn poll has 16-point lead biden/harris over trump/pence. if you look deeper into the numbers in those polls kmois for president 57, trump 41, among women biden 66, trump 32. that is a mind-blowing gender gap. among seniors, reliable voters, 60, 39, i understands, biden 57, trump 38. this is an enormous opportunity for the democratic ticket not only to win the white house but if the numbers stay like that, the senate will flip as well, which means there's enormous

pressure in a vice presidential debate on senator harris tonight, a debate like none other. the age of the two presidential candidates, number one, and the current president is confined to the white house with coronavirus. >> john, you've said it all. reliable voters, as you just mentioned, they are looking for a reliable president. they are looking for a vice president who can stand right members to the president and lead when necessary. i think kamala harris is going to do a phenomenal job of prosecuting the case for bid biden/harris. she's done it before, she'll do it again. it doesn't matter how experienced a vp pence will be. kamala harris is tough, she's smart. she's ready for the blows. she knows what's coming. we saw what happened in that first debate where president trump was totally out of control. joe biden was strong, he was steady, tough, smart. again, reliable. people are looking for someone reliable in these very difficult, crazy times.

>> joe biden knows he's comfortably in the lead right now and he's trying to keep it that way. i want you to listen to a snippet of a speech he made, an important speech in gettysburg, pennsylvania, where he talked about he views his job as trying to unite people and bring back a word we haven't heard in this town for a long time, bipartisanship. >> too many americans see our public life not as an arena for differences but an occasion for total, unrelenting partisan warfare. instead of treating each other's party as the opposition, they treat them as the enemy. this must end. we need to revive the spirit of bipartisanship in this country. >> general becerra, you served in the house in washington at a time when the polarization was increasing, maybe not quite where it is now but increasing. you know a lot of progressives think when they hear him talk about that he's stuck in a time

warp. some don't want to cooperate with republicans. some think it's impossible, they won't cooperate even if you stick out your hand. is that the right message or does he risk deflating turnouts among progressives. >> john, it's joe biden. he's reflecting the decency that we've always seen in joe biden, and, quite honestly, the outreach he's always had. you can talk to republican senators, maybe right now during this heated political time. i guarantee you, they would all tell you joe biden was easily one of their best friends on the democratic side. joe biden has always been this way. he's always reached out. it should surprise no one that's the way he treats this campaign. that's the way he's going to treat this as president. he's not going to look at you as an r or a d, he's going to look at you like an american. that's the beauty i think people are beginning to see contrast joe biden with donald trump. joe biden wants to win as president with everyone's vote. he doesn't want to leave anyone behind. right now during covid, the last thing we need is to have

americans who are left behind. >> we may get to put that bipartisan thing to a test if numbers don't change in 27 days. you know, general becerra, 27 days, another cliche but it can be an eternity in politics. we'll get through it together. appreciate your time today sir. >> thank you. >> still ahead for us, coronavirus cases rising across europe, including germany, now seeing levels not seen there since april.

europe right now bracing for a long winter because of the second surge of covid-19 that is already under way. the hardest hit nations at the moment, czech republic, spain, and netherlands. fred pleitgen has the update from berlin. >> reporter: i'm fred pleitgen in berlin, which has been declared a coronavirus hot spot as this country sees a steep rise in new coronavirus infections. the german center for disease control recorded more than 2,800 new infections in a span of 24 hours for the first time since the middle of april. while germany is still faring a lot better than most european countries, angela merkel said she's concerned about the session because of the amount of people who are in intensive care and need to be ventilated is also on the rise. here in berlin, the local authorities have identified berlin's vibrant party scene as

one of the main culprits for the new rise in infections and they are taking some new fairly drastic measures. they are telling stores, bars, restaurants to shut down in the hours from 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. and banning alcohol sales in that time as well. hello to our viewers around the world. thank you for sharing your day with us. 25 of the 50 united states are trending up in the coronavirus case count today. only three are trending down. that is a sober october reality and a certain debate flash point. vice president mike pence, senator kamala harris face off tonight in salt lake city. you see a live picture of the debate hall there. they will be 12 feet apart protected by plexiglass, that a stark reminder of today's new normal as the vp candidates debate whether an america needs four more years of donald trump or joe biden course