[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] Happening now, running mate rumble. Just hours from now, Tim Kaine, Mike Pence who will make a better case for the top of their ticket at the vice-presidential debate right here on CNN?
[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] Poll positions. New data coming in and how it could factor into the next Clinton-Trump debate.
[Blitzer:] And Donald Trump in Arizona right now. Will he fire back at the critics again, including a high school student who called him out today about body image?
[Cooper:] I'm Anderson Cooper.
[Blitzer:] And I'm Wolf Blitzer. And you're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Good evening from the campus of Longwood University here in Farmville, Virginia, just west of Richmond, site of the one and only 2016 vice- presidential debate. I'm in the spin room here, what the university calls Spin Alley. Tonight on CNN, two men, both seasoned debaters and experienced advocates, will take the stage here at the university's Willett Hall, each with a job to do. They'll be making their case for the top of the ticket, perhaps in ways that Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, for that matter, that they themselves cannot make. Billions will watching. We've just learned that Trump will be live tweeting during the debate. And with election day fast approaching, what happens here on CNN tonight will factor into how people vote. We begin, though, in Prescott Valley, Arizona, with CNN's Jason Carroll He's covering the Trump rally that's about to get under way any moment now. Jason, what can we expect from Trump today over there where you are in Arizona?
[Jason Carroll, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, a couple of things, Wolf. We do expect Donald Trump to talk about tonight's debate. That's first. Second, we also expect him to once again keep up his defense about being the underdog when it comes to his tax controversy. As you know from those rallies yesterday in Colorado, we heard him lay out this new narrative, talking about he did what he did for his company, he did what he did for his family, saying that he's a fighter, he knows the system, and that he knows how to win. I've been talking to a number of people here at this rally, and basically, Wolf, they say they're in line with what Donald Trump is saying, but many of them are telling me they also wish he would move on from this point, move on to the issues. We'll see if he talks about that later on. He's expected to take the stage now in just about any minute Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Jason, Has the campaign commented on their expectations from Mike Pence at the vice-presidential debate here tonight?
[Carroll:] Well, they're already talking up Pence, even before Trump has taken the stage. They've been talking up Pence. They've been saying that they're expecting him to do well, calling him a winner. Donald Trump has been saying that he's been doing a fantastic job. As you alluded to earlier, Donald Trump also saying that he's going to be live tweeting from Las Vegas. So he'll be watching tonight's debate, as well. Pence, for his part, has been preparing in what we could say is more of a traditional way. As you know, Donald Trump criticized for not preparing for his debate. But Mike Pence apparently having a stand-in for tonight's moderator, Elaine Quijano. The Trump camp, from what we're hearing, telling CNN that he is very prepared and will hold his own tonight Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Jason Carroll reporting for us. Thank you very much. I want to go to Jim Acosta, who's got late word on how Mike Pence has been getting ready for tonight. Jim, what can we expect tonight from Governor Pence? What's his objective?
[Jim Acosta, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, his objective tonight, Wolf, is to win. The Trump campaign desperately wants to reset the narrative out there, and a win will do just that. If Mike Pence can deliver that tonight. I will tell you, I just talked to a top Pence aide in the last several minutes, who said Mike Pence did not do any additional debate prep today, that he feels he's ready to go. He worked out. He spent some time with his family but felt no need to do any additional debate preparations today. That's basically because he's been doing this, Wolf, since he got the nod as Donald Trump's running mate back in July. That is how long he's been preparing for this debate, as Jason Carroll said. He's taken a more conventional approach, working with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, playing Tim Kaine behind the scenes and yes, even a top aide, Nick Ayers, playing Elaine Quijano, the moderator in tonight's debate. All that in debate prep. I will tell you, Wolf, they say he is ready for these attacks on Donald Trump's tax returns. They know that those attacks are coming. I talked with one top aide with Mike Pence who says, yes, he is prepared to handle that. And for good reason. He should be ready to handle other things. I ran into a top Democratic strategist in just the last several minutes walking up to this live shot who said Mike Pence better be ready tonight. They're going to be coming after him. Tim Kaine is going to be coming after him with everything that they've got. Post- traumatic stress disorder comment that Donald made yesterday when he said that some soldiers coming back from battle zones oversees are perhaps not strong enough or not ready to deal with the effects of moving back into civilian life. Trump later said he didn't mean any kind of dig or attack on soldiers when he said that, that that was a misunderstanding. But according to this Democratic strategist that, too, is in the arsenal for Tim Kaine tonight, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Jim Acosta reporting. Thank you. A teenager provides the headline tonight for the Clinton campaign. She asked Secretary Clinton a question that goes straight to the challenge that Donald Trump faces in winning more support from women, especially in key states like Pennsylvania, where new polling today shows weakness for Trump. Let's talk about we'll talk about the polling in a little while, but I want to go straight to CNN's Joe Johns. He's outside of Philadelphia for us right now. Joe, how did Hillary Clinton respond to this young woman who asked her about body image?
[Joe Johns, Cnn Correspondent:] It was a strong response, Wolf. The women's vote so important in the Clinton calculation this November. It was a forum to talk about women's issues. A 15-year-old, tenth grader from this area, asking Mrs. Clinton a question, the very first question of the forum from Brennan Leach about female body image and Donald Trump's record of evaluating women by their looks, giving Hillary Clinton an opportunity to weigh in. Listen.
[Hillary Clinton , Presidential Nominee:] My opponent insulted Miss Universe. I mean, how do you get more acclaimed than that? But it wasn't good enough. So we can't take any of this seriously anymore. We need to laugh at it. We need to refute it. We need to ignore it. And we need to stand up to it. And especially the bullying. There are too many young women online who are being bullied about how they look.
[Johns:] The questioner, the tenth grader in that situation, Brennan Leach, told me after the event she's always been a political junkie. Her dad's involved in politics in the state. But I asked her how she got that question in. And she said, believe it or not it was random, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Very fascinating, Joe. What else did Hillary Clinton have to say at her event today?
[Johns:] It was an interesting event. It was attended by not only Hillary Clinton but also Chelsea Clinton, her daughter. It was moderated by Elizabeth Banks, the actress. And in the audience, among others, Chelsea Clinton's mother-in-law, Marjorie Margolies Mezvinsky, the former congresswoman from here in Pennsylvania. They talked about a number of the issues Hillary Clinton has hit across the campaign trail. Women's equal pay, for example. The use of guns to commit crimes. Many other issues, including children's health. So a long forum here, and an opportunity for Hillary Clinton to make her case to voters in a state where she's doing quite well in the polls, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] All right, Joe. Thank you. Joe Johns reporting. And now to Tim Kaine, Virginia's Tim Kaine, who will be debating on home turf. The White House said President Obama will be watching at least a portion of the debate tonight. He and Senator Kaine, as you might know, they are good friends. Jeff Zeleny has been following debate preps on the Democratic side for us. He's joining us now. Jeff, what has Tim Kaine been doing today in these final hours before the debate?
[Jeff Zeleny, Cnn Correspondent:] Wolf, one thing Senator Kaine has been doing is simply relaxing. One aide said that he has done all the preparations he needs to do and was simply relaxing. He visited a civil rights museum this afternoon here in Farmville, Virginia. His parents are visiting from Kansas City. They were with him. So he's hanging out with family and friends, but he is getting ready for this moment. Wolf, the Clinton and Kaine campaign know that this moments is absolutely essential. And it's described to me like this. They want to continue the momentum started at that first presidential debate. And Tim Kaine is going to simply pick up exactly where Hillary Clinton left off and going to prosecute the argument against Mike Pence. So he has been studying up. He actually spent some time in Raleigh, North Carolina, at debate camp. He was reading and watching former debates that Mike Pence had done, as well as really familiarizing himself with Hillary Clinton's record but also with Donald Trump's record, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] What are you hearing, Jeff, about his specific strategy for tonight?
[Zeleny:] Wolf, one thing I'm told that Senator Kaine is going to do is make Mike Pence, or try to make Mike Pence own Donald Trump's words. He is going to repeat a litany of what Donald Trump has been saying throughout this campaign and ask Governor Pence if he agrees with it. We know there are several differences between Mike Pence and Donald Trump. Releasing the tax information, of course, is one of the most obvious. But he is going to press Mike Pence on if he agrees with something that Donald Trump has said specifically. He also is going to really try and make this more about Donald Trump, a referendum on Donald Trump. Of course, Mike Pence is going to try and make this all a referendum on Hillary Clinton here. But Wolf, one thing that is different about this vice-presidential debate, after covering several of them. There are no questions in this debate hall if either of the two of them are prepared to be president. Pretty much everyone agrees, at least by most establishment standards, that they are. So that gives them both time to focus on Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Without being on stage, they will still be the center of conversation Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Yes, indeed, they certainly will be. Jeff Zeleny, thank you. Up next, as Donald Trump's rally gets underway, Trump just now starting to speak. Anderson and the panel getting ready to weigh in on what Mike Pence and Tim Kaine need to do tonight to help the top of their respective tickets. We're counting down to the 2016 vice-presidential debate here in Farmville, Virginia. We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.