Transcript of Backlash after comedian at Donald Trump rally calls Puerto Rico 'island of garbage' | BBC News

Hello and welcome to today's Verified Live. It is exactly one week until the US election, and the race is at a knife edge. Republican nominee Donald Trump has been holding a press conference at Mar-a-Lago today where he falsely claimed he was ahead in the polls for all of the seven swing states. He also attacked his rival, Kamala Harris, on a range of points, from migration to allegedly stealing the presidency. Well, the vice President is due to give a major speech later from the Capitol, a speech described as a closing moment speech to the nation. Well, let's start this hour hearing a little of what Donald Trump had to say.

Who would want open borders where millions of people can flow in from prisons and from gangs, gangs, the worst gang members anywhere in the world? Who would want this for our country? Who would want all of these transgender operations all over the place, like at will, even if you're in detention, I want a transgender. These are things she used to have who wants to defund the police? She's wanted her whole career to defund the police. She only changed recently. She changed on 15 different items, fracking. She was against fracking at the highest level. Wouldn't even think about. Now all of a sudden, Oh, I'd like fracking very much. But they change after the election in about two minutes, and I think Pennsylvania understands that.

Well, let's go to our North America correspondent, Oony Wells, who's there in Washington. I know you were listening to that. That was a speech that ranged from saying he was not a Nazi to attacking Kamala Harris on all sorts of things and claiming he was ahead in all seven swing states. What did you make of all of that?

I think it showed how Donald Trump is really using the final days of his campaign to double down on some of his core messages throughout this election campaign. It was heavily focused on strong rhetoric around immigration, accusing migrants of bringing crime to the US, for example. Also doubling down on some of his economic messages as well, which he knows, as the polls suggest, is one of the One of the top, top issues on voters' minds at the moment. He talked about areas of squalour, for example, in the US, essentially blaming the Biden-Harris administration for what he describes as these areas that have been left behind, neglected economic likely. I think that shows that his strategy, really, over the next couple of days is really to focus on some of those core messages. He's not really necessarily that occupied right now with trying to convince maybe some of those moderate voters. What he's really concerned about is trying to rally up his core votes, his support base, to go out and vote for him ahead of polling day.

What is your assessment in terms of recent polling?

Well, certainly, the recent polls are incredibly close, and all of the pulses that you will speak to will say the same thing, that it is on a knife edge and within the margin of error in many places. Now, in some of those key battlegrounds, Kamala Harris is very, very marginally ahead, according to some polls, which is contrary to what Donald Trump said. But as I say, most will tell you that this is within the margin of error and that it is simply too close to call in many of those key battleground states. I think what that does speak to is that this could be a result that goes on for several days. There may well be recounts in some of those close counties in particular. There may even be challenges made to the result if it is particularly close. But both candidates are very keen to stress at the moment that they need their core vote, their base as I say, to get out and vote for them. The Democrats have been pushing this message as well. They've been arguing that it is very close to cool. They're trying to boost turnout, and turnout is one of the things that will determine the results in some of these key states.

Ione, thanks very much. Just another line to bring you from what we heard from Donald Trump a little earlier, because, of course, so much focus on that Madison Square Garden rally, which was, of course, they had the Warm Up Act, which had those extraordinarily offensive comments aimed at Puerto Ricans and African-Americans, Donald Trump, are calling that event, A Love Fest. No apologies or even hint of apologies for what happened on Sunday night that potentially has the impact of alienating a section of voters. Let's talk on the program to Paul Oulack, who's a former speechwriter for Bill Clinton and co-founder of West Wing Writers. Thank you so much, Paul, for being here with us. Now, Kamala Harris has this really big speech coming up in the next few hours. It's there in the capital. It's being called a Closing Moment Speech. What do you think in terms of content and where she's going to deliver it?

Well, this is a campaign tactic topic that every campaign does from the last 100 years. There are three moments when the press actually reports directly what you say. There's your announcement speech, there's your convention speech, and then the closing argument. As a prosecutor does in court, you pull the strings of your argument together and you make the case. Two things about this are really interesting. One is that she's doing it on the ellipsis behind the White House, behind the south fence of the White House, which is the same spot where Donald Trump delivered his Stop the Steel speech before his supporters went to the Capitol and killed some people and destroyed a lot of it back in 2021. And it's also within shouting distance of this rally that happened in Medicine Square Garden, which was not part of the plan. But I think the contrast is going to be pretty remarkable because you'll see, we even saw this morning that one of the things that's marked this candidacy for former President Trump is that it's been relentlessly negative. I mean, it's the first modern campaign that has had no positive messaging. It's just all negative.

It's hard for voters to watch that and ask what is he going to do for me? What do I hear about me in this?

And yet when we were listening to Donald Trump, he described Kamala Harris's campaign as a campaign of hate. But in terms of what she needs to do in this speech, what is your assessment?

Well, she'll pull the threads together. There are three things, really, to redefine who she is again. People, polls have shown, dial testing. Everything's shown that when people hear from her, learn more about her, they support her. They like her a lot more than they like him. The second is to contrast with Donald Trump, the threat that is Donald Trump, that has been playing for a really long time, and I think most people can see. And the third is really to lay out, again, articulate her middle class vision for the country, the kitchen table issues that are actually the issues that swing voters decide who to vote for on. They are not the things that drive headlines, usually. They're not as sexy as Donald Trump talking about a golfer's member or something in front of an audience. But they are the things that people make decisions on, and that's what she's going to go back to, protecting the Affordable Care Act, affordable care I was saying, all the things that we've heard her talk about over the last 90 days.

Why hasn't she campaign harder on the economy? Because when you listen to voters, they invariably end up talking about that. In terms of the administration, they have good numbers to boast about, and yet it doesn't seem to connect.

Yeah, Matthew, I would disagree with you that she has been talking about this pretty regularly everywhere she goes. It just doesn't get covered the way the outrage of the day gets covered. In every rally, she's in front of 30,000, 40,000 people talking about these kitchen table issues. Many people pay attention all the way through. A lot of people really tune in in the last week before an election, and they really start to care. She's just going to reiterate all the things that she has been saying for in 90 days. I think that middle class voters will hear a very strong contrast to what they hear from the former President, which is that he doesn't have anything.

She will have to obviously address some of the things he has been saying. But here's a question, are people actually listening? Whether it's the race baiting we had at the New York rally, whether it's all the crazy? Is that, in effect, just baked in already?

I hope they're listening. I mean, I think there are 470,000 Puerto Rican Americans in the state of Pennsylvania who heard what was said about Puerto Rico at that rally and are not happy about it. And very well in a state where thousands of votes can mean the difference between winning or losing, it could make a difference. So yeah, I think they are paying attention. But really, the message here is we don't have to live like this anymore. We don't have to have these attacks on women's appearances every day. We don't have to have people, Americans, called by names that disagree with this candidate. We've lived this for 10 years every single day. I think Americans are going to respond to that. I just don't think they want another four years of this American carnage and everything is terrible message.

One sentence. Do you think the polls are wrong?

I think the polls are wrong. I think women are going to turn out in record numbers because abortion is the first issue on a lot of people's minds that are not being seen in those polls. I don't even think it's going to be close, to be honest.

Paul, as you so much for taking time. I know we were going to speak to you earlier in the day, but we had moving events, so very patiently waited. But thanks for talking to us on today's Verified Live.

My pleasure. Thank you for having me.