you can get more agility and security. giving you more control of your business. we call this enterprise intelligence. from the network america relies on. more republicans need to speak up, otherwise somebody's going to get killed. >> that is -- that could be a true statement. >> sad. >> and i think more republicans need to speak up. we're going to get to that. good morning, everyone. don lemon here. it is not 10:00 at night. it is 8:00 in the morning. >> people are checking their watches right now. >> poppy harlow, kaitlan collins. it is november 1st. welcome to "cnn this morning."

third hour. this is -- >> we made it through the stretch hour. >> the power hour. >> the power hour. >> the seventh thing inning str >> we're so glad everybody is with us this morning. i'm glad to be next to you too. >> it is going quick. it is already 8:00. >> speak for yourself. i did two hours and now it is three. i'm so glad to be here with you guys because you guys mean, i think we all help each other make each other better and we hope we make you better at home. there is a lot to get to this morning. welcome to the program. we're going to give you some news now including these baseless conspiracy theories circulating about the attack on paul pelosi. we're going to debunk them one by one in a cnn fact check coming up shortly. >> midterm elections, we're one week exactly away, but a lot of votes already cast in early voting. republican leaders gaining confidence that this is going to cut their way. chris sununu of new hampshire running for re-election, he'll join us this hour to talk about his party's prospects.

>> and another big question is what are nasa and spacex up to today? the classified mission that is set to be under way very soon, we'll tell you more. >> we'll get to our lead story now. we'll gbegin with the spread of misinformation en the attack of paul pelosi, the house speaker's husband. some of the loudest voices on the internet have been pushing some of these baseless conspiracy theorys to millions of their followers on social media. but new revelations from the san francisco district attorney put those conspiracy theories to rest. >> yes, it appears as though this was based on his statements and comments that were made in that house during his encounter with mr. lopelosi that this was politically motivated. >> joining us to separate the fact from the fiction is cnn reporter and fact checker mr. daniel dale. good morning, daniel. thank you. this is a very important story because there are tons of conspiracy theories out there. please, what did you find in

your fact check? >> don, it is rare you see a conspiracy theory debunked this definitively, this fast. the central claim of the conspiracy theory that has been circulated by elon musk and others online is that paul pelosi invited the attack near the home, that they had some sort of salacious relationship that went bad. that's complete fiction, according to local and federal law enforcement and the official fbi complaint says according to the attacker himself, the fbi says in that document that the attacker himself told police in a recorded interview that he broke into the pelosi home by breaking a glass door using a hammer, that he surprised mr. pelosi, told mr. pelosi to wake up, the complaint says pelosi told 911 later a police officer he didn't know the man and here's what san francisco police chief bill scott told cnn yesterday. >> there is absolutely no evidence that mr. pelosi knew this man. matter of fact, the evidence indicates the exact opposite. >> the exact opposite is what he said.

daniel, some right wing figures including actually elected people in important office, like lieutenant governor of north carolina, have been promoting this claim that the attacker was found by police in his underwear. it is not true. where did that come from? >> so, poppy, this came from a report from a local tv station, a fox affiliate, except that tv station retracted the claim, issued a correction saying pretty plainly, it is just not true. and if that's not sufficient for people, take a look again at the fbi complaint. it says the cops on scene found a bunch of stuff, including a cell phone and cash in the intruder's shorts pocket. so this man was wearing clothes. now, this one may have been based on some vague police language early on, but the fbi complaint makes totally clear there was one hammer, people have been saying there may have been two hammers, they both had hammers going at each other. the fbi complaint says the attacker told police he brought a hammer, he used a hammer. at the time the police arrived, mr. pelosi had grabbed on to that hammer for obvious defensive reasons and was hit

with it. >> and, daniel, you know, you've seen these efforts to distance this attack from people in the political right. what do we know about david depape's potential motives? >> i think we should take it from this man himself, the fbi says in the complaint the attacker told police he broke into the pelosi home over his animosity toward the democratic party. that his aim was to hold speaker nancy pelosi hostage because he viewed her as the lead er of a pack of democratic liars. he was thinking about breaking her kneecaps as a message to other members of congress. we know he had been promoting right wing conspiracy theories online. these are allegations from the feds, from local cops. we know this man has a curious history, dabbling in all sorts of ideas. it is very possible there are relevant things we don't yet know about the attack, the man involved. i'm not saying the word of law enforcement should ever be taken on the gospel unquestioned word. but think it is clear, we can say confidently at this point,

that the conspiracy narrative is bunk it just garbage. >> conspiracy theories around the world before the truth gets out of bed. thank you. nancy pelosi's democratic friend and colleague says the escalating rhetoric by some on the right is to blame for many of these dangerous conspiracy theories. listen to this. >> this is something that has gone -- that is truly out of control. and i don't even know if lowering the rhetoric is enough. it is an incredible cancer that if we don't start holding people accountable for their words, then we're going to see more of this. and it sends shivers up and down my spine. >> that was democratic congresswoman jackie speier of california. let's go to manu raju for the campaign fallout. good morning, manu. >> reporter: good morning, yeah. the political fallout among republicans, you've seen them divided over how to respond here.

mitch mcconnell, the republican leader, the senate side, was quick to condemn the attack at the pelosi household, calling it horrifying. but others likened it to other political attacks, other violent attacks against republicans. then you've seen some push those baseless conspiracy theories with no fallout whatsoever. this comes as nancy pelosi has been absolutely demonized by republicans for the better part of the past two decades in the republicans' quest to battle over the house and certainly the fight right now to take back power in the house. the other big fallout and the big question among members themselves and questions that they're confronting is the security situation that they face on the campaign trail, and also out in public as we know that only the leadership is the one who received the security detail that nancy pelosi had, but it does not extend to rank and file members and it certainly does not extend to family members themselves. so as we look at how the political landscape may be affected by this, members

themselves are assessing their own personal safety. right now, there is a review among law enforcement agencies within the united states senate and the house to determine exactly whether to change the security protocol for these members as we are seeing these threats of violence escalate. >> while we have you, it seems like president obama is working overtime, not in office, making sure democrats hold seats and gain seats. he's back on the campaign trail today. how much of a difference do you think he can make in the final push, the final week? >> reporter: that is the big question here. there have not been that many surrogates, democratic surrogates on the campaign trail. president biden for one has not been out on the campaign trail. we have seen barack obama, the biggest one here. and this is such a significant race. the democratic incumbent, first term senator going against a republican, former attorney general, in a race that poll after poll has shown is essentially a dead heat. republicans stand a serious chance of picking up this seat, more than $100 million has been

spent on the air alone in this state between labor day and until now. and what catherine cortez mat so said is what she hopes is that barack obama will help juice democratic turnout. listen. >> what do you hope that former president obama brings tomorrow to help you in your final days in this campaign? >> we're going to have a number of people coming in to help get out the vote. they're absolutely welcome. my focus are nonnevadans and getting out and talking to nevadans and the importance of voting and turning out those voters. >> reporter: looking at the calendar, you see how busy things have been for barack obama. he's been in georgia, michigan, wisconsin. he'll be in nevada later today. and then arizona and pennsylvania. all those key states with those key senate races, barack obama trying to make the difference. >> he seems to be enjoying some of his campaign stops and bringing a lot of --

>> they're still fine. >> that happened. manu, thank you. that was the clip of the weekend. manu in vegas. for more on all of this, we want to bring in new hampshire's republican governor chris sununu, who is up for re-election. governor sununu, thank you for joining us on our first show. i want to start, though, with, you know, i know you've been talking about inflation and how you believe that is such an important factor and how voters in your state are making a decision in this election. but i want to start with what's happening with house speaker pelosi and this attack on her husband. i know you said that your sympathies are with them. there was this moment last night with the republican candidate for governor in arizona, kari lake, she weighed in on what happened to speaker pelosi. >> it is not impossible to protect our kids at school. they act like it is. nancy pelosi will, she's got protection when she's in d.c. clearly her house doesn't have a lot of protection. >> what is your response to not

just what kari lake said, but also the laughter from the crowd, the moderator? >> yeah, look, i would just say anyone who is not taking what happened to speaker pelosi and her husband extremely seriously with all the sympathies that it deserves, there is just no place for it. this is serious. us as political figures, we can talk about issues, we can defend ourselves. most of our families doesn't ask for them. the political rhetoric over the past few years has been really escalating. lines have been crossed. new lines have been drawn, inappropriately. and it is scary. it is a very scary thing and very scary time. so, you know, this isn't an isolated incident, unfortunately. we have the shooting of steve scalise, gabby giffords, the assassination attempt on justice kavanaugh. these lines are moving on both sides. this isn't just one party or the other. this is a cultural phenomenon that is not good for america. it is one of the bigger crises we're seeing in that folks think that certain things are appropriate when they really aren't. we have to take it seriously.

>> i think it -- you're right that it is escalating. i think it is unfair to say on both sides. this is not the same on democratic side as it is on the republican side, especially when you consider you say it has been escalated over the last couple of years. that has been a direct contribution from the former president. treating people harshly and his language around violence and the attack on the capitol, the assault on the capitol and encouraging people toward violence. so, listen, you can say, you know, it is the sort of both sides, but really republicans aren't speaking out for the most part in a vehement way. you have -- you've got senator mitch mcconnell, kevin mccarthy, but for the most part, silence, very muted from republicans about what is happening with violence and don jr. tweeting horrific things. why don't people get in front of the cameras, more republicans, and say this is awful, this should not happen, this is what

republicans shouldn't be doing, i don't want my party defined by this bs? why doesn't that happen? >> well, look, i think -- look, i think you're absolutely right. as leaders, whether you're a governor or president or an elected official in washington, everyone should be speaking out about the horrific actions of what happened. again, the steve scalise shooting, justice kavanaugh was almost assassinated outside of his home, so there is danger on both sides. >> governor, i don't disagree with you. let me tell you the difference here. when it is on the democratic side and it does happen, people say it is wrong, it should not happen and they denounce it. democratic leaders come out and do it immediately. republicans don't do that. are they afraid of don jr.? are they afraid of donald trump? are they afraid to come out, they're going to lose votes? i'm being honest. that is the truth. go back and look at the evidence. so it is not the same thing. >> look -- well, look, i'm here telling you as one of the

leaders of the republican party, you denounce it wholeheartedly. of course. a lot of folks have. i get it. and, you know, whatever the issue and the action of the day is, unfortunately this week it happened to speaker pelosi and her husband and her family, that's real. and does that mean it is going to stop today? probably not unfortunately, right? it is going to potentially continue. as a whole, the media, the social media, elected officials, everyone within their community needs to bring that temperature down. >> governor, thank you again for joining us for this really important conversation this morning. you're right, you mentioned elected officials. we know that this suspect, we know that depape hosted, mentioned many times conspiracy theories including about the 2020 election. you are supporting, you're going to vote for the republican nominee for senate in the state of new hampshire, don bolduc, who keeps denying the results of the 2020 election. he did it again a few weeks ago and said i can't say whether it was stolen or not.

he's perpetuating lies that are dangerous, that become these conspiracy theories. how do you square the two? this is a guy who called you a conspiracy theory extremist. why is he worthy of your vote? >> yeah, so, look, at the end of the day, the election was not stolen and the vast majority of people -- >> he keeps saying it could have been. no, he -- three weeks ago came out -- three weeks ago came out and questioned it again. that's all i'm saying. >> yeah. yeah, and what i'm saying is when it comes down to voting for an individual, voters, whether as a -- me or the 1.4 million other people in the state of new hampshire, they're going to go cast the vote on a variety of issues. we might disagree on what happened in 2020 or folks are focusing on the conspiracy theories around the 2020 election. at the end of the day, the vast majority of voters, independent voters who haven't made up their mind, they're voting on inflation, they're voting on the cost of goods, they're voting on not being able to make their

mortgage or find housing. those are things drastically impacting their family today that have been driven by very bad policies out of washington, d.c. on the democrats side and so therefore not just myself but a lot of other folks will be voting for republicans come november. it is not just a one issue, you can't say, well, based on that one issue we vehemently disagree, so we shouldn't be casting our vote. >> you're arguing that what you're hearing from voters in your state is that what they're paying at the supermarket, at the gas station is more important to them. and that's what's factoring into their vote. you know, you're supporting don bolduc the republican as poppy was mentioning there in this race. if he's elected, are you confident that if he goes to washington that republicans are going to have a plan to fix inflation? because that's been the pushback we have heard from democrats, from the white house, is they say republicans keep talking about inflation, but they're not so sure they have a plan to fix it. do you think that they do? >> one thing i'm really confident of is if you send the

same people back to washington, you ain't going to get a different result. not even close. the fact you have folks that want to step up, that aren't typical politicians that want to come down that -- the general, he's a war hero. he served his country. he's worked with issues of mental health at a level unseen in this country. and those are very important issues s and he wants to mix things up and he's going to go to washington and do that. you can't say by electing the same old democrats you'll get a different result. we want a different result. only way to do that is to bring a different system. >> governor chris sununu, taking time to answer these important questions for us this morning. >> anytime, thank you, guys. >> thank you, governor, on our maiden voyage. he came here and took the tough questions so really appreciate it. >> he's up for re-election obviously himself. he's got a big race, don't forget. it is one week from tonight, we're going to be talking about his race, the other senate races in new hampshire, cnn's special coverage of the midterm elections will start at 4:00

p.m. that afternoon. we will be going all night with the three of us. you'll see us bringing in the results. >> all night, all morning. >> details to come. we'll explain what we mean that. spacex hoping to re-create the successful launch in just a few hours. this time, though, the falcon heavy rocket will head to space for another mission for the u.s. space force. so joining us now cnn space and defense correspondent kristin fisher. good morning. good to see you. so, what can you tell us about this? what is going on? apparently some sort of secret classified mission here? >> reporter: good morning, yeah. guys, it is tough to hide a rocket this big launching, right? everybody up and down the florida space cost is going to see it. it is the most powerful rocket currently in operation today. what is being kept secret and what is the mystery here is the classified payloads, the things that are inside this rocket. those are coming from the u.s. military, the u.s. space force.

this rocket, the falcon heavy, is going to be launching it into a orbit called geosynchronous orbit, lower than other orbits where most satellites are placed. this is a big deal because, yes, it is a secret mission for the u.s. space force, but it is also just really cool to watch because, guys, this rocket has not launched in -- since 2019. it only launched three times before. this will be its fourth launch. and if you are anywhere near the kennedy space center at 9:41 a.m. eastern time this morning, this is one of those launches that you want to just go outside and look up in the sky because there is nothing else like this flying today. with that said, nasa is trying to launch an even more powerful rocket, a little bit later this month. but what you're going to get with the falcon heavy landing, guys, it is not just a rocket launch, you're also going to get two rockets landing. they're going to try to bring two of the boosters back and

land them almost simultaneously at cape canaveral. so, you get a launch, you get two rocket landings, and two sonic booms that come with that. the space force putting out warnings up and down the florida coast that if you hear two big booms, don't worry, it is just the sonic boom. it is a good launch to go see if you can. >> good heads up. >> got to put this -- thank you, kristin, appreciate it. puts into perspective what we do. this is not rocket science, that actually is rocket science. the climate crisis causing droughts across america and pushing the mississippi river to its lowest levels on record. how that will unpack your wallet. that's next. bill weir, there he is, live in my hometown of baton rouge, louisiana, coming up after the break. ♪ hey lexus, turn it up! ♪ there's no place like unknown. unreal. the all-new lexus rx. never r lose your edge. ♪

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if it was a safe 12 feet deep, he would shout, mark twain! samuel clemens made that his pen name, of course, but if you wrote about this river today, tom sawyer and huck fin would spend a lot of time walking on the beach because in too many places, the not so mighty mississippi is a fraction of a twain. >> we're going to look at a few old steamboats. steamboat wrecks. >> reporter: mark swain era steamboats. and the relentless drought across the heartland is exposing all kinds of memories. >> it may have caught on fire or sank 50 miles upstream and floated here during the floods. as far as water levels go, this is the worst you've ever seen? >> this is about as low as i've seen it. >> reporter: from the missouri down to new orleans, accidental archaeologists are finding steamboat graveyards and human remains, civil war ammo and forgotten shipwrecks. >> one of the more striking

yardsticks is here in baton rouge, the "uss kid," on a good year the mississippi comes to that first rust stripe, about 25 feet above my head right now. and these water levels are so low, creating such a catastrophic shipping crisis that this is going to affect your grocery bill. it is a price of moving a bushel of soybeans went up 300% and there are thousands of barges full of food and all they can do is just wait and pray for rain. and if they can't get rain, they pray for help. >> we got a difficult stretch of river. >> reporter: from the army corps of engineers, with billions of dollars on the line they cut channels as fast as they can, with working antiques like the dredge potter, built in 1932, but still a work horse and endless fight with the river in every kind of weather. >> you're a professional weather bed redecorator.

>> kind of. yeah. yeah. >> move this over here. put that over there. >> as long as we can keep barges moving and keep commodity prices down, that's our mission. >> reporter: it is impressive to see up front. you know the ole miss better than most. you've been doing this a while. >> 34 years. >> reporter: how would you characterize what is going on these days? >> it is a concern. a heightened concern. i don't know that i would call it a panic yet. but we are watching the water levels very closely on an almost hourly basis. >> reporter: is it the kind of thing if this goes on, you can dredge around the problem? >> to a point. in 1989, and then again in 2012 we got to an area where the -- to a level where the channel was almost unsustainable. that we had numerous drudges working, and there was very little commerce going through. and ultimately what saved the day was rain. >> reporter: and these days when

you wish for rain, you have to specify not all at once. the midwest is still recovering from summer flash floods. and if the water cycle whiplashes again, hard rain on parched earth would be another blow to farmers. already struggling to move their har harvest. fewer and lighter barges on the river means more expensive trains and trucks, putting more planet cooking pollution into earth's system. which scientists continue to warn will only make droughts and floods and the related crises more extreme. and on a connected planet, where one in eight humans eat something that was moved down the mississippi, those hardy souls on the dredge potter are going to need a lot more help. normally they dredge until december. they're going to go until february this year. and, don, i don't know if you remember in your years here, locals tell me they can remember when they could stand under the "uss kid" but never remember it

being this extreme, this low, for this long. you can see on the banks, the big pier and dock here at baton rouge that takes folks from the paddle wheels and ferries to the convention center is completely worthless right now. you couldn't even use this. and so, again, the water will come back on the mississippi, it always does. the question is, when, when, and how much of this vital commerce will be choke points. >> i got to tell you, it is jarring, especially for me to watch this, bill, because i know exactly where you are. used to be the central plex and now the convention center and i remember when the "uss kid", they put it in as a memorial there, what have you. i think back in the '80s, like 1982. i remember going there as a kid and watching it. and just behind you, on the other side of the river, that is my hometown. right across that river that you're looking at. i've never, ever seen the river this low in my entire years.

i won't say on this planet. >> it has got to be weird. >> shocking. >> reporter: really is. and the really shocking thing is it could get lower between now and thanksgiving. so, again, i can't put it -- we got guys on 1932 dredges trying to keep up with this river, and this is the beginning of a climate crisis, we have to rethink coastal infrastructure, sea level, and now inland infrastructure for droughts like this, got to talk about this more, guys. >> well, look, you've been ringing aring ing the alarm bells on this for years and years and years and now it accelerates. thank you. michigan state has suspended four players who were involved in that post football game brawl. but, michigan's coach jim harbaugh says he wants criminal and expects there to be criminal charges. and pfizer announcing a major development after

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so, we have this new this morning, pfizer says it will seek fda approval for its rsv vaccine by the end of this year. pfizer says that the vaccine is administered to pregnant women, who can then produce antibodies and pass them on to their babies. a study found after birth the vaccine was 82% effective at preventing severe lower respiratory tract infections in hospitalized babies for the first three months of life. and about 70% effective at preventing severe rsv in hospitalized babies for six months. pediatric hospitals across the country say beds are filling up fast with infected children. >> big concern for parents. meanwhile, michigan head coach jim harbaugh says he expects the four michigan state players who were suspended after they appeared to assault his players

to potentially face criminal charges. new video appears to show one of the players from michigan state swinging his helmet in the tunnel as you can see the violence that broke out after their game. coach harbaugh says the suspensions are not enough, not even close in his view. >> there needs ts to be accountability, a full thorough timely investigation. i can't imagine that this will not result in criminal charges. the videos are bad. and it is clear what transpired. it seems very open and shut. as they say, watch the tape. an apology will not get the job done in this instance. there should be serious consequences for the many individuals that are culpable. >> obviously two of the michigan players were injured in that violence that broke out. the attorney for one of the players who suffered a concussion told us, quote, they

have every intention of pressing criminal charges against those persons who are responsible for this vicious assault. it is just -- it is unacceptable to see what happened. >> unnecessary, uncalled for and no excuse for it. the political discourse in america, speaking of no excuse for this, sinking to new lows. our calls for civility futile. we'll take a closer look next. we also will have some fun this morning. why not on day one? we have a little surprise coming up that you will not want to miss. stick around. who is it? >> who is it? >> got to guess who it is.

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sir, sir, this is what i'm saying, look, we got a -- there is a process that we set up in our democracy. right now i'm talking. you'll have a chance to talk sometime. this is part of the point i want to make. just basic civility and courtesy

works. and that's what we want to try to encourage. >> that was like a champ, the former president -- >> did you see whitmer's face during that, she's sitting there watching it all. >> that's how you handle it. that's on the campaign trail in michigan calling for basic civility. but is that call too late for america? we need to go back to that. people talk about when john mccain did his thing or what have you. that's how you handle hecklers and disinformation. we don't do that anymore. joining us now, elsy granderson, the latest column asks if we're part -- if we're past the point of civility. also my friend and our friend, friend of the show here. i was jobiking, like, elsie, we never get to talk to each other. >> we talk every day. this is amazing. happy first day. >> this is not even our permanent set. wait until you see our new home. >> setting the bar high.

>> i hope i can come back. >> let's talk about this. you have a new column that is going to drop this morning for "the l.a. times," everybody goes back to that, when they go low, we go high. is that from the former first lady, michelle obama. is that realistic in this moment? >> you know, that's what i was trying to explore in this piece, right? like, i want to still believe in that higher calling, right, but as we're still reaching for the higher calling, the people who are reaching for the lower callings are getting things done. like the supreme court situation -- >> they're the loudest voices. >> they're the loudest voices, right. there comes a point, and i have spoken to a lot of voters, a lot of grassroots leaders over the years and they're beginning to get more and more frustrated with playing nice with republicans. >> did you see my conversation with elissa slotkin earlier? i'm not sure what -- i understand what she's saying. but i wanted to be clear about what people may be hearing about what she is saying. she's saying this win at all costs, she's saying it is a

bad -- it is bad for democracy. and she is right on that point. but when you say, you know, winning is not the most important thing, democrats may -- could be turned off by that. and may think, democrats aren't strong enough because the whole point is to win and get your legislation passed to make it better for your particular constituents. am i wrong about that? >> you're not wrong. we're in this weird transition as a nation where we're in this weird transition politically. i think we're still trying to figure out what covid did to us culturally if you will. i know i'm interacting differently interpersonally. i'm assuming a lot of us are. when i hear a cough in a public space, it triggers me, right? you look, like -- so we're still trying to process what it means to trust one another again. and so while it is true that, yes, you want to try to win, you want to get your policies through and want to do it as much as possible and sometimes that requires back room dealings, but because we are dealing with the end hopefully of trumpism, because we are

still trying to assess what happened to us after covid, we're not necessarily in a position culturally to trust one another that you're going to do what's best for me if you look differently. or if you're in a different party, or you're a different gender, or you worship differently. that's where we are right now. >> something obama said as he's been on the campaign trail, being very outspoken, that really stood out, he talked about birtherism and the lies that were spread about him, he made a joke to mandela barnes in wisconsin saying, get your birth certificate ready, you're a democrat with a funny name. but he said remember those, those were the good old days, saying our political discourse has gotten so much worse even from that really ugly moment. >> it has. and it is really unfortunate. i think, you know, in 100 years or so, knock on plexiglass, if we're still here, that there will be like some ph.d. student that would go back and look at what went wrong during this time period. and i think one of the biggest things that went wrong was allowing the lie to breathe in

spaces where truth is supposed to reside. >> the birtherism lie. and allowing the person who perpetuated that lie a platform. >> if they said the earth is in the and i have documentation soon that the earth is flat, we probably wouldn't entertain that. we did for that purpose because it was considered harmless and now it is -- >> look at what we had elissa slotkin on, and she's on the campaign trail tonight with congresswoman liz cheney, working together, even though they have many disagreements on issues. my son's teacher partnered them together with people they have different views with and they have to work together, 4 years old. my kids don't know what it is like to go into a world, if you disagree, it becomes like that for so many. somehow that wins you points in votes in some circles, right. how do we get what we're teaching the 4-year-olds to

teach the people in charge? >> what is interesting about -- we started this conversation about the former first ladies when they go low, we go high. the larger part of that conversation, she was talking to her children about that. that's where that phrase comes from. >> after an attack on the white house. >> exactly. so, what you're talking about, poppy, is exactly that. like, this is how you do it. you raise adults who don't need to be reminded of this by having your children go through these type of programs. >> just sometimes think, sometimes watching our kids helps remind us how to live. >> yeah, and the context of that, someone took shots at the residents in the white house and she was teaching her kids that just because they go low, you don't have to go low. thank you, lz. >> you're back with us on thursday, right? >> thursday. >> coming up -- >> coming up, we have a mystery guest that poppy and i know who it is, but guess what, don lemon does not. we'll reveal it next and make him guess who it is first. >> i hate surprises.

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i told you who i think it is. >> all right. >> oh, my gosh. >> we're back from commercial break to help promote this new show we went to a coffee shop in the best borough, brooklyn. chatted about lives, our careers, had a lot of coffee and we talked about what and who inspire us. >> interesting. >> what was the moment you fell in love with journalism? >> i turned on the television and saw bryant gumbel. i was like that is what i want to do. i would pretend in the mirror that i was anchoring a show like "the today show."

i would say this is "today" on nbc. >> now you're anchoring a morning show. how cool is that? >> yeah. i realized from watching those vhs tapes that i could do it. >> what? >> bryant gumbel. >> this is a surprise for don. we have a special guest. the legendary -- >> i knew it. i got it. oh, my gosh. >> really tough guess. >> bryant, i love you, man. >> how you doing, man? >> don't make me cry on my first day. >> you're not going to cry. >> where's your beautiful wife? >> she's back at the house relaxing. >> morning. how are you? >> thanks so much for joining us. >> my pleasure. >> it's an honor to have you. >> i had dinner with you two weeks ago. >> yeah, i think so.

>> bryant is celebrating his 50th anniversary in the business. you gave he advice. what did you say? >> everybody will always ask what time do you get up. there are two things common to everybody. whatever time you get up you bitch about it. number two, the second year in the shower it doesn't matter. >> you bitch about it. >> you thought i was going to be the first one to curse on tv. >> that's not one of the words you can't say. >> you were on broadcast. this is cable, bryant. you're the host of "real sports" on hbo. >> i don't use bad language on it. >> it was a special moment when we were talking about what this show would look like and don really talked about how he watched you and envisioned himself in a similar role.

>> he wishes he was watching something else at the time. you weren't watching cartoons? >> no. i should have been watching a movie to become a movie star. bryant, you did inspire me. you were perfect on television. you never flubbed a word. you were great. >> i have a different memory, but thank you. i never walked away from something saying i couldn't have done it better. i find a zillion things that are wrong. i was given and opportunity and was fortunate. >> what did you learn over the years? this is day one. we're pretty lucky. you guys were great together and you were lucky to be with one another. we're lucky to be together. what did you learn? >> i learned incremental. you don't learn everything in a hurry. you try to learn something each day and pick up on that. patience is one of them.

understanding, tolerance, civility like barack obama just said. just trying to be yourself on a daily basis. it's a very difficult thing to do when everybody is watch. >> don is okay that i come in with my color-coded folders with sticky tabs. >> i was worse. in my early days, i color coded guest materials based upon what their background was. in other words, politics was blue. if it was economy, it was green. if it was hollywood, it was red. honest to god. >> i'm not surprised. since we're in this moment, how has it changed? we talk about civility and all of that. politics has always been a rough and tumble sport. has it changed? >> yeah. yeah, i really think so, and not for the better. i was watching you with governor

sununu. i remember when rob brown died in a plane crash. at the time republicans said nothing about it. i went on the air and asked if that was politics as usual or bad manners. i got a reprimand from nbc. nbc apologized, but i didn't. i was watching that this morning. >> this is where i get it from everybody. this is where i get it from. >> as i was watching this morning, i was thinking the more things change the more they remain the same. >> i don't like to both sides things. >> it's a false equivalence. >> what's happening is beyond the pale and more people should vehemently speak out about the madness. paul pelosi could have died. every republican at any available microphone should be speaking out and saying it's terrible, but they're not doing it. >> it's unfortunate. >> what do you think is the way

to handle that? you see people like governor sununu saying he expresses sympathy for the family, but then you have kari lake who is laughing about it and making a joke about it. >> i saw that and heaven knows desantis hasn't said anything about it either, that i'm aware of. i don't know any other way other than to call it out when you see it. you would ask it of anybody in any position in society. >> these are the two sports brains -- >> we're going to hate each other this weekend. >> they're going to alabama. they were like poppy, do you want to come and referee? i was like have fun. sports, "real sports," this is your wheelhouse. you just saw what happened in

michigan. >> it's sad they still do that at that stadium at um. they go through the same tunnel. they had an incident two weeks ago of going through that same tunnel and cooler heads did not prevail. that's clear assault. i would expect some charges. i think i read that five of the kids have been suspended from the team during an investigation. >> those are the role models that so many people look up to. >> it's one of the reasons i did this. i talked to you and other people. it's not often you get to do something different at the place you already work and challenge yourself, but you did that with "real sports." what you get to explore is that sports -- i mean, look, that's what changes things in the culture. >> it has a huge impact. >> this thing about shut up and dribble, that's never been the case.

>> no. when people talk about "real sports," they say i shouldn't watch that because i'm not into sports. we use that as a vehicle to get to other stories about race, gender, equality, income. that's how we use sports. >> you see with kyrie irving. he was saying he wasn't going to apologize for talking about that movie that pushed anti-semitic tropes. then you see last night -- >> i missed that. i was out halloweening. >> look at what happened in baseball, tennis with arthur ashe, on the basketball courts, social justice and civil rights, that came from sports. >> it backfires too. keep an eye on georgia tuesday. just saying, it backfire. >> we'll be up all night

covering that. let's get back to don. >> this is an out of body experience sitting here with you on this set. i grew up -- >> i know i'm old. >> people come up to me and say don lemon, i grew up watching you. i'm like i'm not that old. i grew up, bryant, wanting to be you and here you are. as i said to you at your anniversary, it's an honor to be in the room with you. >> i'm proud of you. happy for you. >> thank you. >> any advice? >> yeah, be nice to these two la ladies. >> that's not a challenge. he's a dream. >> what did you think when you heard about don getting this show? >> i sent him a text right away. i was surprised, but i wasn't. i knew that, you know, while it hadn't run his course he was interested in doing something else. i didn't foresee this. i told him i was here to help if

he needs something. >> you getting to bet earlier now that you don't have to watch me? >> i go to bed late. it doesn't matter. i don't sleep much. >> he doesn't sleep. >> when i did this thing in the morning, i slept an average of three hours. >> what do you sleep now? >> probably about six. >> six on a good night. >> six or seven. >> what is it about your brain? >> i've never been a great sleeper. i'll have plenty of time to sleep when it's all over. >> bryant, thank you. i love you. >> love you, buddy. >> our thanks to mr. bryant gumbel on "real sports." thanks for watching, everyone. cnn newsroom starts right now.