support and respect that you deserve, and you understand that. we've worked together for a long time. as president, i'm deeply aware that america's 54 million seniors have borne the heaviest burden of the china virus. many older americans have endured months of isolation, missing weddings, births, church, family reunions, you know it all too well. my heart breaks for every grieving family that's lost a precious loved one. i feel their anguish and i mourn their loss, i feel their pain. i know the terrible pain they have gone through when you lose someone, and it's nothing to describe what you have to bear. there's nothing to describe it. in times of challenge, we turn to our fellow americans for a shoulder to lean on, and we turn to god for healing and strength,

and together we will overcome. we will overcome. my message to america's seniors today is one of the optimism, confidence and hope. your sacrifice has not been in vain. the light at the end of the trouble is near. rear rounding the turn. i say that all the time. some of the media doesn't like hearing it, but i say it all the time. we are rounding the turn. don't listen to the cynics and angry partisans. we are prevailing. it's amazing what's happening, if you look at what's going on, it's really amazing. i'm moving heaven and earth to safeguard our seniors from the china virus to deliver life-saving therapies in record time, and to distribute a safe and effective vaccine before the end of the year, and we're really doing it even sooner than

that. we have the vaccines getting ready to go. seniors will be the first in line for the vaccine, and we will soon be ending this pandemic. a thing like this hasn't happened since 1917, 1918. i will not rest under we have eradicate this plague. which the china virus arrived we launched the largest mobilization since world war ii. our aggressive action saved more than 2 million lives from the best estimates last spring. remember when they were giving you estimates. since the beginning our nation's seniors have been a top priority. it was obvious early on that it was affecting seniors. the young people have strong immune systems. i give all credit to them.

99.99 -- think of that, but when you get into people that have a few more years, it's a little bit more difficult. when you get a lot more years, it's a lot more difficult. what they have done with therapeutics now and what they have done with all of the other things they're doing, it's incredible. we heightened mitigation and surged testing to protect those at highest risk. we sent billions and billions in funding to personal protective equipment and distributed rapid testing to 15,400 nursing homes all over the country. we have worked with a lot of governors. we worked with a lot of governors, some have done a poor job, but some have done a great job. just this week, even this week,

"new york times" was forced to admit that experts i say with genuine confidence, the pandemic in the united states will be over far sooner than expected. we have many treatments, but behalf great advancements, we have reached the point where the fatality rate is reduced by 85%.

i'm here, i will tell you. [ chanting ] >> i don't know what they gave me, but give me more the it right now and you can have some. no, i know exactly what they gave me. it was britt amazing. i'm working with the agencies to make what i received. they felt very confident even six months ago. think of it, now we're going for emergency use, because we're going to make it available to everyone who needs it for free.

all right. we're jumping out of this event by president trump. quite frankly there's so many falsehoods, we need to fact check some of this. this is supposed to be a substantive address to seniors, and the president has said just a mir of lies that i want to go over. he said there will be a vaccine sooner than the end of the year. we do know this is something that's been sleighting. it's clear that won't be in the work in the immediate future. he said this will be over far sooner than expected, and he seemed to indicate that his recovery from coyne is really just kind of the norm, which it isn't.

he has said it will be free. that is a lie. according to the fact checking that cnn has done, this is something still very much in its early stages. it doesn't even have emergency use authorization. it was use on a compassionate basis for the president. i want to bring in randi kay. one of the hardest thing to watch looking at that cutaway shot of the room, and this is a lot of senior citizens they're sitting awfully close, you might have a better count of how many are there, but there's a lot of people and they're indoors. where transmission is a problem. >> the president has gathered hundreds of seniors and supporters of his inside this convention center.

they did get temperature checks on the way in. they were offered masks, many are wearing masks we've seenen also sitting very, very close to each other. he what is promised a $200 drug card discount coming. he also said seniors will get the same treatment he got. he says it will be free. no sign of that, either but this goes friendly territory for him. ther the president won't this county by about 20 percentage points though i've been talking to seniors here and many are very concerned about hi responsibilities to the pandemic. i talk to one 77-year-old here

in ft. myers he told me he's not voting for trump this time around. he called him a charlotscoundre. >> but to be clear, it actually says that lives would have been saved with better leadership. it talks about american personally taking the initiative to course correct. we need to be clear about the thing he's touting isn't something he thoob touting. talk to us about this promise he's giving of these therapeutics, where if you're in that audience, you're thinking

it's amassing when really it's not the truth these anti-body cocktails of promising, but still not proven. the fda may say we may authorize it for a small liver of a kind of patient. there won't be enough doses of this, for instance, for everyone who falls sick. i think we have sound of the regeneron explaining how this could be limited. >> who decides who's going to get the supply of your drug?

coming much where we take what's limited who would most benefit from it, people who are high at risk, household contacts, perhaps. we have to find out ways to ration this. >> they will be the ones the government has bought and will be made available fry to some patients. potentially available to more americans, what is the price going to be? they insist they're going to try to keep it low. and brianna, we should know there was an opportunity months, months back for the administration to really invest in this manufacturing capacity and ramp up the available of

these kind of antibody cocktails once approved, and there were folks inside and outside the administration trying to get them to do that, but administration officials tell us they knew that was the kind of thing that was going to work, and they didn't feel like the science was there months ago to pour this investment into the antibody cocktail, that the president is now promising to everybody. >> you can see they're having issue with that timelynn fitting to his narrative. saye sara, you covered the president in 2016, and this has been a very difference to him, but just looking at that room in florida, a senior citizens event. it is indoors, and there are so many people, they don't actually appear to be appropriately socially distanced indoors, and just because they are indoors, it's something that creates considerable risk in a particularly vulnerable group.

i mean, a lot of folks would look at that and say, why is the president doing this this why is he talking to them indoors? >> there's not a good answer for that. there's not a defensible answer for why you would do something like this indoors and why put your biggest supporters at risk. they are literally risking their lives to be in this room to hear the president speak. it shows you what also value he has, even on his supporters that he's willing to put them in this position, that the campaign is looking for a different outdoor venue. i think it's important, when you're talking about there's a dose of opt miff, yeah, there's a dose of optimism in an extremely bleak year the president could try to turn this around by wearing a mask, by being an example, and he's doing the opposite. >> randi kaye, thank you so much

for the fact check as well. appreciate it. the white house has refused to answer questions about when the president last tested negative before he tested positive. at issue is did he actually get tested for the first debate? at last night ace town hall, here is what he claimed. >> before the debate, which i thought was a very good debate and i felt fantastic. i had no problem before. >> did you test the day of the debate? >> i don't know. i don't even remember. >> did you take a test on the day of the debate is the bottom line. >> i probably did. >> you don't know? >> possibly i did, possibly i didn't. >> the president, it's worth noting claims he has one of the greatest memories of all time, and of course hi doctors would know when he was tested, and if he was tested leading up to the debate. >> did you take a test on the day of the debate. >> the doctor would give you a

perfect answer. >> only if you think the perfect answer is not an answer. reporters have pressed the president's physician's position on this. his answer was far from perfect. >> i don't want to go backwards. >> reporter: when was his last negative test and what was his viral load? >> everyone wants that. >> reporter: when was the last negative test? >> again, hipaa precludes me from going into too much depth of things i'm not at liberty or doesn't wish to be discussed. >> as for next week's debate former vice president joe biden says he will demand that president trump take a covid test and receive a negative result before he will share a stage with the president. next, federal authorities are now investigating whether e-mails surfacing are tied to an ongoing russian disinformation campaign. plus disturbing new reporting that the president was warned rudy giuliani was being targeted by russian agents. former new jersey governor

chris christie says it was a mistake not to wear a mask at the white house. you're watching cnn special coverage. $9.95 at my age?

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just into cnn, federal authorities are now investigating whether recently published e-mails that report to detail the business dealsen joe biden's son are tied to an ongoing russian disinformation campaign. alex marquardt joins me now. tell us what is happening here. >> reporter: we're being told by two people briefed by the fbi that they're looking into whether the unverified e-mails published by "new york post" about foreign business dealings are part of that bigger russian

disinformation effort, which of course is well under way in the final days of the 2020 presidential election. the intelligence community has said for months russia is actively engaged in a disinformation campaign, particularly against joe biden, trying to denigrate his campaign in favor of president trump. the "new york post" says they got these e-mails from rudy giuliani and steve bannon, that they were found on a --top le-- laptop left in a repair shot. for a long time rudy giuliani has been openly working to dig up dirt and promote disforms on the bidens. one person he's teamed up is a ukraine lan politics, who has been named by the u.s. intelligence community and even has been sanctioned by the u.s. treasury department. you have giuliani openly working

with a known russian agent, "new york post" and is now reporting that the intelligence community was so concerned that the russians were using giuliani to feed information to donald trump, they warned the white house about it last year. giuliani, as you might imagine is denying this. listen to what he said today on fox news. >> no one in the trump administration warned me, no one in the intelligence community warned me, the president didn't say that to me. this is the first time i'm hearing that. i have a pretty good idea of where it's coming from. these are people trying to tear down donald trump and destroy his presidency inside the intelligence community, of which there are many. so, again, that is classics deepstatemedee deep-state theory we hear time and time again.

joins me is peter strzok after he was fired. he is now suing the justice department saying his firing was politically motivated, and he's the author of the book "compromise." peter, there's a saying of someone who is considered a person of utility by foreign intel, that they are a useful idiot. perhaps they are not an actual foreign agent, but essential operate perfect ly -- >> well, i think -- brianna, thanks for having me on. you can't give it directly to something is your target audience. you need a way to launder that

information to get it into the dialogue and allow it to be used. this is kind of a routine way the disinference is seeded and planted into the larger dialogue. rudy giuliani is no unwitting mope. he's the former mayor of new york city. he's no sucker, no rube, should be wise in the ways of the world. when i see this reporting out of the "new york post" that multiple officials briefed the president himself in december of last year about concerns that giuliani was the target of russian disinformation, it's staggering to think that nobody reached out to giuliani to warn him. in my 20-plus years at the fbi, if we saw somebody targeted as part of a disinformation campaign, we are either going to open a case or go out and warn them. if they continue the contact, we'll open a case, so i find it

heart to believe rudy giuliani says he has no idea that he was being targeted business these folks society are associated with russian intelligence. >> so that's not a useful idiot. that is someone perfectly to help their political interests, or that of basically their boss. >> that's right. i think, you know, when the "new york post" story, when you look at this computer storeowner in delaware who allegedly received hunter biden's laptop, that's kind of the entry point that is again a classic indicator of the potentially presence of disinformation, but again the concern with rudy giuliani, he is far down the chain. he isn't the entry point, though he was actively running around soliciting this information. what's really staggering, when you step back, brianna and look

at the story, president trump was warned his attorney rudy giuliani was being started by a disinformation campaign by russian intelligence. nevertheless, after that, he sent rudy giuliani to ukraine to dig up information on biden. he actively met with giuliani after his return from ukraine multiple times in december at the same time his impeachment was brewing. after that, not only used this information but continuing to use it to this day. so you have a president who is asking to obtain russian disinformation, knowing that that is what it is. he's accepting that same information, and then turning it and used it on the campaign trail against his opponent. that's mind blowing. there's no president in modern history that i can think of who did anything remotely close to this. >> all right. peter, i want you to stand by. i also want to ask you about something that president trump said last night at the town hall or what he didn't say. he once again refused to

denounce the qanon theory. >> i just told you. >> what you tell me doesn't necessarily make it fact. i hate to say that. i know nothing about it. i do know they are very much against pedophilia. >> a satanic cult run by the deep state -- >> i know about antifa, and the radical left and know how violent and vicious they are. >> the president continued to insist he knows nothing about this movement, even though he regularly retweets items. let's be clear, this is a wild, dangerous and completely factless series of claims, that dozens of satan worships

politicians and celebrities are working around the world to engage in child abu. abuse. >> i didn't realize the nefarious impact it was having on me. it was very insidious how it closely disconnected me from reality. that bothers me to this day how willing and happily and joyfully i would have reacted to something i normally wouldn't have had no part in. >> peter, the fbi has deemed qanon a potential threat. what damage is the president doing by not denouncing it? >> he's legitimizing a group

that his own government has -- anytime the president says that normalizes a group, it brings them into the mainstream. it allows and enhances their ability to recruit people. it's simply not believable he doesn't know what qanon is, and it's not believable that he hasn't been briefed about his own government's concerns about that group. >> peter strzok, we appreciate you being with us. ahead i'll speak to a former prosecutor who just quit after nearly four decades. why he couldn't bear to work any longer under attorney general bill barr. we'll solve the biggest mystery of president trump's town hall. who was the woman constantly nodding over his shoulder?

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of all questions to come from last night, one of the big ones, who is the woman nodding behind president trump? she's i identified as immigration attorney may use jolie. despite it being an audience

of -- she's a trump supporter who ran for congress. alex dockerty is the washington correspondent for "the miami heral herald". tell us what you found out about her. tell us who she is. she a well-known trump activist i picked her out just like everybody was, and noticed a lot of her mannerisms, having written about her and covered her in the past. i went to her social media pages and she was already posting videos with the president, to kind of confirm it was her.

this goesres this is actually a where i had who of the interaction she posted. i'm an american. i'm an american, other yes. he adores me, he's a good guy. he's a good guy. i will. i will. >> you knew to go to her social media page. >> what you heard in her video,

her companion was yelling dominicans for trump. and they will be part of trump's winning coalition. he will have to win latino and spanish voters. her support is emblematic. he needs to win. jolley is obviously a very enthusiastic trump supporter, very well known in local political circles, but it's a point of a larger phenomenon that is really present in miami this cycle. >> does he have the support of the group that he needs? >> it's not clear. but it's going to be close, just like every election is in florida. vice president pence was also in

miami yesterday ma making commen comments. alex, thanks for joining us. he says he was compelled to speak out. he's going to join me live in just a moment. new projects means new project managers.

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i want to read first part of your op-ed. you say, quote -- barr overruled career prosecutors in order to assist the president's associates and/or friends who potential harbor incriminating information. this career bureaucrat seems determined to turn our democrat set into an oug-- >> the question is when could i have gone public? i think i should say it's a truly sad day for me when i end of criticizing and speaking out against the attorney general of the united states. i cherished the work the department of justice does and i cherish the people in it. it became apparent too me that our democracy is not guaranteed

anymore. it's not guaranteed any more than the roman entire because destining to last forever. when the attorney believes he serving the president and not the people, our democracy is in peril. >> one of the thinks we've seen barr be noticeably absent on is this terror plot against governor whitmer, a democrat president trump has been very critical of. why is barr been so absent? >> you make a great point here. i want to make it clear to everybody that i don't run the department of justice. i firmly believe that the attorney general should decide what he needs to speak out on. but justice has to be blindfolded. it has to be evenhanded, so the question is really what disturbing everything that i speak to, why does he choose to speak out guess black lives

matter protesters in portland? why does he authorize tear gas in lafayette park against american citizens, yet stand idly by when armed militia storm the michigan state capital? that is a problem. not only does he do that, he doubles down. when the president tweets about it, he goes on tv and tells people that the governor's public health orders are the greatest danger to the united states since slavery. this is abhorrent. this should be abhorrent to every american citizen. >> what do you think, if the president is to lose this election, what happens in the final two months of his presidency? what are you concerned could happen? whether it's pardons, or there are cases involving barr? what are your worries?

>> well, the president has a track record from general kellie to general mattic. over blind obedience to him. that worries me. these are the demands of a dictator, not a patriot. this appears almost universitily to simply, as you said, act as his lapdog. unless the department of justice is vigilant in looking at the electoral system, our company has a problem. this is something we have been consistently in the past and what gives me great heart is that there's so many people in the department of justice who i know like myself will be committed to making sure we don't have abuses. philip, thank you so much

for talking to us. we really appreciate it. >> thank you, brianna. one of the president trump's most ardent supporters is warning americans about coronavirus. former governor chris christie spent seven days in the intensive care unit. last month he spent time with the president doing debate prep, and attended the super-spreader event. in an interview, he admitted he was wrong to not wear a mask. i was doing it right for seven months, avoided the virus. i let my guard down for a couple days and it cost me in a significant way. just ahead on cnn, another blow to president trump's hopes of a vaccine by election day. pfizer now saying it won't try to get its version approved undulate november. and at fideli, you'll get planning and advice to help you prepare for the future,

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taking california for a ride. companies like uber, lyft, doordash. breaking state employment laws for years. now these multi-billion-dollar companies wrote deceptive prop 22 to buy themselves a new law. to deny drivers the rights they deserve. no sick leave. no workers' comp. no unemployment benefits. vote no on the deceptive uber, lyft, doordash prop 22. one ride california doesn't want to take. i'm voting 'yes' on prop 19. nineteen limits taxes on seniors. it limits property tax on people like me. nineteen limits taxes on wildfire victims. it says so right here. if 19 passes, seniors can move closer to family or medical care. i looked at moving but i can't afford the taxes.

will you help california's most vulnerable? vote 'yes' on prop 19. a coronavirus outbreak on campus. evan per pez is following this for us. >> the college president has resigned after they continue to grapple with the pandemic on campus. they announced 270 cases of the virus since the campus opened on august 17th. that's more than half of cases in the entire student system. students switched entirely to remote learning in late august in response to the number of

cases. the school had initially sdilded not to test students or quarantine them upon their arrival to campus. one student told cnn that's rare for their schools. this is rare for their reopening plan. president trump and joe biden holding multiple events today. we'll hear from joe biden from the battleground state of michigan. gained a couple of more pounds. that's good for the babies. between the moments that make us who we are, and keeping them safe, private and secure, there's webex. ♪ ♪ beautiful.

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on select new 2020 models. now through november 2nd. social distancing has helped protect the elderly from covid-19 but the social isolation has had a devastating effect on the mental and emotional well-being of some seniors. since 2014, cnn hero carol rosenstein has been using music to help people battle diseases like alzheimer's and park instoni

inson's. since covid, she moved online. >> covid gives people lots of levels of wellness because they have so much isolation going on. we're going to start seeing people deteriorating faster. but we can provide a great substitute for this that will keep us healthy and well during quarantine. ♪ >> music is medicine for the mind. ♪ don't worry. >> it excites so many centers in our brains. all of that excitement miraculously pushes neurotransmitters that help us function. medicine with a side effect that is pure joy.

>> where is my kleenex? >> and you can see anderson's full story about carol's work. go to cnnheroes.com right now for that. our special coverage continues now with jake tapper. welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. we begin this friday with the 2020 lead. minutes ago president trump wrapped up remarks in fort myers, florida making a pitch to seniors in this final 18-day stretch of the presidential race. president trump making this last-ditch appeal to this key electoral group, saying he will soon be ending the pandemic, he will crush coronavirus, he says. the president is coming off a contentious town hall in lieu of joe biden, a town hall in which he expressed, quote, a willingness to denounce a