captioning sponsored by cbs >> brennan: i'm margaret brennan in washington, and this week on "face the nation," as we begin the last week before election day, there is a stark contrast between the candidates on the realities of coronavirus. and breaking overnight, five days to find vice president mike pence to test positive for the virus. campaign 2020has finally entered the home stretch. ♪ >> brennan: with president trump barn-storming the battleground state. >> president trump: we have 10 days, and nothing worries me. in florida we're doing very well, and --

>> brennan: but the covid situation is definitely not going well. friday saw a new record of nearly 84,000 new cases, and experts say that will soon get higher. >> president trump: you know why we have cases? because we test so much. in many ways it is good, and in many ways it is foolish. this country and their reporting systems are really not doing it right. you turn on the television, and you hear cold front, colcoldcovid, covidy the way, on november 4th, you won't hear about it. >> brennan: for former vice president joe biden it is a much different scene and reality. ♪ you do what you do, you do what you can ♪ >> brennan: democrats now do social-distanced drive-in campaign rallies with cars honking -- >> he has given up. he has quit on you. he has quit on your family. this is going to be a dark winter ahead unless we change our ways all because this president cares more about the stock market than he does you.

because he refuses to follow the signs. >> brennan: we'll talk with national security advisor robert o'brien about that new white house coronavirus outbreak, and the revelation from top intelligence officials that russia and iran have interfered win the election. we'll take a look a at where the race stands with just nine days until election day as americans vote early in record numbers. we'll here from asa hutchinson and the democratic mayor of kansas city, missouri, quinton lucas. and we'll talk to dr. scott gottlieb, and voters reflect the parallel reality of the coronavirus. >> the virus is a virus. it is so small. it is going to do what viruses do. >> you can't get on television, no matter who you are, and say take it and that's nothing to kid about. >> brennan: it is all just ahead on "face the nation." ♪ >> brennan: good

morning. and welcome to "face the nation." as we come on the air this morning, more than 58.5 million americans have already voted. meanwhile, there are alarming new records being set when it comes to cases of coronavirus here in the u.s. experts say we are facing an increasingly bleak outlook for the virus in the next few months. we begin today with cbs national correspondent mark strassmann in atlantic. >> reporter: day by day, lab results bear witness: a covid spread and a deepening american sorrow. on friday and saturday, new cases nationwide topped 83,000, and have spiked 248% since the start of september. americans may be in for a grim winter. 31 states are in the red zone for new cases, up from 26 last week. 11 states broke single-day records this week.

wisconsin is in crisis. wisconsin is also a battleground state, nine days before election day, as is florida, where president trump voted early on saturday. >> president trump: i voted for a guy named trump. >> reporter: resumably vice-president pence did, too. the next day five of his staff tested positive, including his chief-of-staff, marc short. early voting is now under way in all 50 states, and setting records in many, including georgia. nearly three million georgians have already voted, more than double the record set four years ago. there is a push to the polls here from various groups. one called "black voters matter" will pass out a quarter million voting fliers. a q.r. code on each lists nearby polls and real-time wait times. in a state dogged by allegations of suppression -- >> if anybody is going to make a decision, you need to be a part of that

process. >> reporter: and of a special process called grieving. in washington, d.c. lies a field of white flags hanging sadly. each honors one of america's 225,000 covid dead. that is death toll is one of the many drivers in the early vote stampede. >> i'm coming out to vote. my life depends on it. >> reporter: even on a sunday, this atlanta library is open for early voting. former vice president will campaign here on tuesday. our new battleground tracker poll showed this race is tied at 49 apiece. margaret? >> brennan: mark, thank you. wewant to take a closer look at two other states. president trump won both in 2016, but now former vice president biden is in the lead. he is up two points ahead of the president in florida, and mr. trump is

at four points behind him at 47%. anthony salvanto joins us from west chester county, new york, to tell us more. good morning. what is the state of the race? >> good morning, margaret. well, more toss-up states throughout the south, those polling leads very narrow, these states could go either way. let me show you why. starting with some dramatic differences in how voters are evaluating the candidates and the state of the country. first, look at concern about coronavirus. the majority of joe biden voters very concerned. much less so among trump voters. it is that coronavirus concern that has been driving votes towards joe biden throughout the summer and the fall. put that in context, margaret, for biden voters it is a major factor, along with personal character, where they see biden with an edge. less so for trump voters.

for them, it is more about the economy and immigration, and maybe underscoring why opinions just haven't moved on all of this throughout. big differences in how people view the threats to the company. trump voters fearing that the country is becoming too socialist; biden voters it is becoming too authoritarian. so this race seems very locked in at the moment, margaret. >> brennan: what are the key groups of voters you're watching? >> the first group you want to watch throughout election night is women with college degrees. i'm going to show you big margins in all of these states, as in many battleground states, for joe biden. in florida, georgia, and north carolina. they have been trending towards the democrats since the mid-terms of 2018, and they're still propelling him right now. even more specifically, look at white women with college degrees, and i'll show you the movement since 2016 towards the democrats, in this case,

towards joe biden, up from what hillary clinton got in florida, up from what hillary clinton got in georgia, and up from what she got in north carolina. that is a big part of this. and then i would add seniors. this is an important vote. th president with leads in a couple of these states, biden leading with seniors in north carolina. marginally, seniors vote. they've been concerned about the president's handling of coronavirus. biden cutting president's margins in what has been a reliably republican block is also helping him a lot. marrying? >> brennan: anthony, this is just such an unusual year. we have 57 million americans who have already voted at this point. is there a risk of miss reading? >> it is a tale of two groups. first, you look at the early vote. we estimate about half the vote in all of these states is already in. among those voters, joe biden has a lead. these are voters who have

told us they voted for joe biden. and if you look at the public voting roles, it seems that democrats are turning out more than republicans. but if you look at voters who are still to vote, who plan to vote between now and election day or on election day, that electorate tilts very heavily towards the president. when we get to november 3rd, it is going to be a case of perhaps the democrats have a lead and then do the president's supporters turn out in large enough numbers to make up the difference. they have done that before. i would caution anybody if you read the early vote, or for that matter small polling leads, and think this race is over, you will be mistaken. margaret? >> brennan: no doubt, anthony. but when you look at these three states, are these required for president trump to have a path to victory? does he need to swing this? >> if you look at the map and then you put these states, hypothetically, back fo into the president's

column, i'm put florida, georgia, and north carolina all back to where they were in 2016, which could happen, then he has to go up and win ohio again, and i'll put iowa, again, back in his column. that gets him much closer to joe biden, and then we're back to the upper midwest, and we're going to watch pennsylvania, maybe wisconsin, or a couple of those other states, to see if he can flip them from leaning democratic as well. if it feels a little bit like 2016, or dejavu all over again, maybe it is. >> brennan: it ain't over until it is over. thank you very much. >> we go now to the white house and national security advisor robert o'brien. good morning to you, ambassador. >> good morning, margaret. >> brennan: once again the virus has put some of the very top levels of our government at risk. this time the vice president, we've learned, has had close contact with

covid-positive staffers, and yet the white house says he is still going to travel. he is being classified as an essential worker. how is campaigning essential work? >> well, the free election -- ik campaign and the voting are about the most essential thing we can do -- >> brennan: can't he do it virtually? >> my understanding is he has tested negative, as has the second lady. i did speak with marc short, who testified positive. he is doing well. his symptoms are mild so far, and i wish him, and i know you and everyone else does, a speedy recovery from this virus. >>brennan: we certainly do. but these climbing numbers around the country and the news that once again the white house is a hot spot is deeply concerning. the chief-of-staff, mark meadows, was on another network, on cnn this morning, and said we are not going to get control of the pandemic. you were on the covid task

force, is that the trump administration policy now, it is just out of control. >> what we're seeing is seeing the pandemic -- i want to make clear to you and all of your viewers this came from china. china did not behave -- >> brennan: right. but it has been here for about eight months. >> it is spiking in europe. it is running rampant through europe. i was just in brazil and south america to sign three new trade deals, and it is running rampant through brazil. this is a terrible virus. at the end of the day, what we need to do is flten the curb and protect the most vulnerable. we need to protect the elderly and those who are frail and have pre-existing conditions. ultmail, the only thing that is going to stop this virus -- there is no magic way -- what will is a vaccine. we're on track to have a vaccine for americans in less than a year. it is really incredible. >> brennan: less than a

year, when is that, exactly? >> i think we're going to have something very, very shortly. i'm hoping by the end of the year. there are multiple companies with very promising vaccines that are in the final phases of trials. but what we've done is put together an operation warp speed, and we bought all of these vaccines ahead of time. so when one proves efficacious, the u.s. military will distribute those all over the country. and we'll do what we did with ventilators. remember when i was on your show and we didn't think there would be enough ventilators? and we sent them all over the world. and we're going to get therapeutics as well. in the meantime, we have to do everything we can to protect the elderly -- >> brennan: in the meantime, should masks be mandatory at the white house? >> people do wear masks at the white house. >> brennan: but they're not mandatory. >> a lot of people do wear

them. in my shop, they're mandatory. but even masks, margaret -- i was one of the early proponents -- i called this thing early, i wore a mask early, and i still got covid and survived it. our hearts and the president's heart goes out to the people that lost their loved ones and the families that have an empty chair. we love them. god bless them, and we're praying for them. but the way to stop this virus that came from china is vaccines and therapeutics, and we'll have them very soon. >> brennan: the c.d.c. says into 2021. i want to ask you about election security. what do americans need to know about whether their votes are going to be accurately counted given the foreign interference the administration highlighted this week? and do we think of iran, china, and russia as the same in terms of posing a threat? >> that's a great question, margaret. i think the best thing i heard this morning was on the outset of your show,

when you talked about how many people have voted early. the best way for americans -- ie what party you're voting for -- i've got my preference, as you can imagine, but get out and vote. that's how we defeat our foreign adversaries. let's get out. if you vote early, great. if you vote absentee, great. if you vote at the polls polls, great. i just held a principals committee meeting with the heads of all of the agencies and intel organizations, and we're doing everything we can. i want to make a distinction between election interference on election day and trying to influence people. there are irani efforts to hurt the president by sending out these e-mails from the proud boys saying they know how you voted. every american should understand their vote is secret. >> brennan: is that the u.s. intelligence community's assessment? i've been told that was his opinion --

>> that's every assessment i've seen. and i think you're seeing the same thing. microsoft had a report on election interference. so you're seeing the russians -- >> brennan: and the intelligence community's conclusion is that russia was trying to undermine joe biden to boost president trump, which was not said in the press conference? >> what all of the countries are trying to do is trying to create chaos, and they're doing it any way they can. i want to talk about election interference on election day, and that's something we've taken a very strong position on. we've told our foreign adversaries, don't try to mess with the ballots. andit is very hard for them to do so. because we have paper trails for 90% of the votes cast all across the country -- >> brennan: but there are about seven states that don't have that backup system. when it comes to russia, specifically on this point, we heard from

homeland security that hackers have been able to access state and local governments. and the concern is by getting into those networks they could somehow threaten election infrastructure. california and indiana were two states reported by the "washington post" having had those breaches. can they change votes? >> no, they can't change votes. >> brennan: can they make it harder for you to vote? >> no, they can't do both of those things. we got ahold of it early on, and there is nothing they can do to change your vote or to stop you from voting. i was out in iowa meeting with the iowa national guard and they have a tremendous fiber unit. they have stood up to help the secretary of the state of iowa to make sure there is no cyber interference, and we have that going across all 50 states. >> brennan: you said you said to vladimir putin's right hand man, don't change our tallies -- it looks like russia is trying to test your

limits? >> i can tell you there are severe consequences to anyone who attempts to interfere with our elections on election day. and we're also working on other things while we're doing that. we had an historic peace agreement in sudan, with sudan and israel under the president's direction. we spent this entire weekend trying to broker peace between armenia and azerbaijan. and armenia has accepted a cease-fire. azerbajian has not yet, but we're pushing them to do so. so there is a lot going on in addition to the election security. the president is trying to bring peace around the world, and that is good for america as well. >> brennan: ambassador, >> brennan: ambassador, thank you forgiving us that news. we have to leave it there. we're back in a moment. ok everyone, our mission is to provide complete,

balanced nutrition for strength and energy. whoo-hoo! great tasting ensure with 9 grams of protein, 27 vitamins and minerals, and nutrients to support immune health. >> brennan: we now go to kansas city, missouri, and its mayor, quinton lucas. good morning to you, mr. mayor.

>> good morning. >> brennan: the health department said it in unintentionally reported the numbers of covid in your state. can you give a reality check of what is happening in your city right now. we've seen reports that i.c.u.s at your local hospitals are simply overwhelmed right now. are you setting up field hospitals yet? >> mayor: we are not setting up field hospitals. but we always have a standby plan if we need them. we have trouble trusting data, sometimes dat data from washington or own our state. so while our city has a mask mandate, there are cities all around kansas city do not. a lot of those folks get sick and have to go to hospitals, and there is hospital space in the cities. so we're running into real challenges with i.c.u.s

and the virus. >> brennan: but they're not yet overwhelmed? >> not yet overwhelmed, but we have concerns over what happens in the winter months, as more people are inside. we had more deaths in missouri in september than any month previously. that has been a huge concern for our area. >> brennan: in your area, the last time you were with us in august, you said you were looking at reducing capacity at bars and restaurants to avoid the spike that we saw in other cities. and the white house advised you to do that. you're seeing that spike now, but your bars are at 50% capacity, same as they were in august. restaurants can still serve indoors as long as tables are six feet apart. why haven't you reduced capacity? >> mayor: that's why we continue to enforce a lot of our rules. just yesterday our health department shut down two bars violating capacity rules. we're catching more people who aren't taking the

virus seriously. the ambassador started talking about the china virus rather than the virus in missouri or kansas. every time we issue a new rule, we get a new political pushback. masks are controversial, and dr. fauci is now controversial. that undercuts our ability as local leaders to try to push back the virus' spread. >> brennan: but epidemiologist say the longer you wait, the more drastic those measures will have to be. your hand will be forced. so why not take these measures? if the white house is telling you take them now. >> mayor: we continue to consider that. but here is the thing: we don't live on an island. we are surrounded by a lot of states. if we have a rule and somebody across the line isn't wearing a mask and is having gigantic events, then that creates real challenges for us. so we're trying to balance

what i think is a very aggressive response, but recognizing the realities around us. a nationwide mandate would be helpful for this country, particular where it is spiking in middle america. a state mandate would be helpful, and we do not have one either in missouri or kansas. that's the reason a lot of mayors' hands are tied. we will do whatever we can to keep people safe, including a bar shutdown, but if every city around you is loose and white wide open and there are huge parties, that is going to be a concern, particularly in the cold weather months. >> brennan: i'm looking at the upcoming election, and missouri doesn't have early in-person voting, and absentee ballots sometimes require a voter to have an i.d. and to have it notarized. there are some barriers here. are you concerned about turnout on november 3rd? >> mayor: i'm always concerned about turnout, particularly voter intimidation, particularly some of the work that is done to misdirect voters.

in missouri, we're one of 10 states that does not have a pure form of early voting. that said, 23% of kansas city people have voted. but particularly in communities of color, particularly of communities where you see voter intimidation tactics work, i'm concerned about something in missouri called poll challengers. they can stand there when you're checking in and say this person shouldn't be voting today. because of someone who was turned away recently because of a snafu, that could be a real barrier perhaps for somebody who is going out to vote for the first time. >> brennan: all right. mr. mayor, thank you. good luck to you. we'll be right back.

(working mom vo) i think i'm already registered. ...hmm!...hmm!...hmm! (woman on porch vo) can we vote by mail here? (man on porch vo) lemme check. (woman vo) thank you! (man vo) thank you! (grandma vo) you'll be safe, right? (daughter vo) yes! (four girls vo) the polls! voted! (grandma vo) go out and vote! it's so important! (man at poll vo) woo! (grandma vo) it's the most important thing you can do! we knew that this was really, really bad. we had ample forewarning. but we did almost no testing, almost no contact tracing. completely ignored the science, completely ignored the warning signs. there were things that could have been done.

a lot of people have died needlessly, and there's nothing more frustrating than feeling like you're fighting against someone who should have your back. we are not going to stamp this out unless we have a change of leadership. ff pac is responsible for the content of this ad.

[captioning funded by cbs sports division] captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org james: six up, six down, week seven is under way. boomer: ben roethlisberger and two teams 5-0 and better. and looking to 6-0. bill: they face a big divisional rival