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South Carolina Senate Candidate Jaime Harrison Live on New Day; White House Chief of Staff: "We are not going to Control the Pandemic"; GOP Senate's Hypocritical Rush to Confirm Amy Coney Barrett. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired October 26, 2020 - 07:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[07:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And Jaime Harrison joins me now from South Carolina. Thank you very much for being with us.

If I can ask you about a little bit of news first. It's that Vice President Mike Pence is planning on visiting South Carolina tomorrow. The campaign for Lindsey Graham, as you know, five people in the vice president's inner circle are now positive. The president, vice president, has chosen not to quarantine, as is CDC guidelines. What do you make of the fact that the vice president will still be in your state?

JAIME HARRISON (D), SOUTH CAROLINA SENATE CANDIDATE: Well, two things, John. First of all, it's good to see you this morning. Two things. Listen.

First, the vice president was over the COVID relief effort and the COVID effort for the administration. So, I think it's probably not the safest thing for him to be traveling around with five members of his staff, including his chief of staff have been infected with the virus. You know, we've got to be responsible. We have to demonstrate the right type of leadership.

But the second thing is this. You know, I don't think I'm old enough to remember the last time a presidential candidate or vice- presidential candidate traveled to South Carolina in the last week of an election.

It goes to show you that when a 25-year incumbent has to call the sitting vice president, who is trying to battle for his own reelection in places like Ohio and Pennsylvania and Michigan. When he has to call in that type of favor, it says that Lindsey Graham is in trouble. That he's going to lose his race.

But we've seen this, because Mitch McConnell has put $20 million into South Carolina in just the last two weeks. We are building a movement here, John, that Lindsey Graham doesn't understand, and he can't control. And that's why he's scared that he's about to lose his job. And if folks want to join us, go to jaimeharrison.com. Let's make it happen.

BERMAN: How concerned are you for the health of South Carolinians given that the vice president and his people will be coming to town?

HARRISON: Well, I'm very concerned about the health of South Carolinians. You know, I was a guy who brought the Plexiglas in my debate with Lindsey Graham, because he had been exposed to several people who had COVID. You know, South Carolina has been in the top 10 of the states consistently over the past few months in terms of the rate of increase of COVID. We've got to be much more responsible.

And you know I try my very, very best, in whatever we do in terms of campaigning, making sure that my golden rule is that every person is safe. Because we don't want to do anything that jeopardizes the health of any person in this great state.

BERMAN: As you travel the state, what do you believe the most important issue is in this election?

HARRISON: It's health care, John. And it was health care before COVID hit us, but it's health care still today. COVID has only exacerbated the problems that we have here. You know prior to COVID, South Carolina was one of 12 states, still is, that has not expanded Medicaid.

So, we have over 250,000 people in the state who don't have health care. And because of COVID, 400,000 people have lost their health care, because they were laid off from their jobs. And so, we have a senator who supports a Supreme Court case right now that would rip away health care from 28 million people.

We need someone who's going to fight for health care in this country and in this state. And people are suffering right now. I mean, we have 14 of our 46 counties, John, who don't have OB/GYNs in the entire county. Four of our rural hospitals have closed. And so, we need someone who's going to be serious about fighting for affordable and accessible health care for all of our people.

BERMAN: You brought up the Supreme Court. Obviously, Lindsey Graham is the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee who has shepherded through the confirmation process of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who by tonight will be Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

You've been very critical of Lindsey Graham for reversing his position on confirming a justice this close to an election. Be that as it may, some 52 percent of South Carolinians support her confirmation. Just 30 percent oppose it. So how is this not Lindsey Graham just doing the will of the people of South Carolina?

HARRISON: Well, you know, what the folks in South Carolina want is for their representatives to tell the truth. I mean, Lindsey Graham didn't just reverse his opinion. Lindsey Graham lied. He said, hold the tape. You know, use my word against me. We should not take up a nomination of a judicial appointment during an election year. Not only is it during an election year, people have already started voting. We've almost had a million people to vote here in South Carolina. BERMAN: True, but the people of South Carolina -

(CROSSTALK)

HARRISON: (INAUDIBLE) this effort.

BERMAN: But they do say, they want it to be Justice Barrett.

(CROSSTALK)

HARRISON: Well, John, that's one poll. I've got another poll that shows you that many folks wanted Lindsey Graham to stick by his word. And so, in the end of the day, you know, what folks want is for their - you know, I think the greatest travesty of a public servant is to lie to the people that you serve.

[07:35:03]

And that is what Lindsey Graham has done. And if he's done it this time, he'll do it again. And we can't have that.

We have to be able to understand that there's a reason why we have precedent, there's a reason why we have rules and laws. And politicians like Lindsey Graham don't get a free pass in order to do whatever they want, whenever they want.

BERMAN: I want to ask you -

HARRISON: We have to hold them accountable.

BERMAN: I want to ask you two sides of the same question here. The success of your candidacy today. The fact that this race is close. The fact that you've brought in all this money. The fact that you have a fighting chance to win in South Carolina right now. What does that tell you?

HARRISON: Well, it tells me that people are anxious for hope. You know, when you think about the last few years, John, it's been hard for so many Americans. We've had such divisive politics in Washington, D.C. And when you add the coronavirus on top of it, the anxiety in homes across South Carolina is at an all-time high.

They want a candidate. They want a leader who's going to bring our communities together and not tear us apart. If you listen to the rhetoric of Lindsey Graham right now, Lindsey Graham is trying to scare people to support him. I'm trying to inspire people to support me. That's a very different contrast. And in the end, I think hope is going to beat fear.

BERMAN: If, though, and the flip side of the question I just asked you, if in the end, and it's been a long time since South Carolina has elected a Democrat, Ernest Hollings. If in the end, after spending all this money, raising all this money, getting as close as you are right now, South Carolina reelects Lindsey Graham. What will that tell you?

HARRISON: Well, listen. It's going to be close, regardless of whether I win or whether I lose, it's going to be really close. And I think, I hope if I come up a little short, there are two things that I hope.

One, I hope that Lindsey Graham will stop taking for granted the people here in the state. He represents South Carolina, not Washington, D.C. And that means he need to focus on the issues that are important to the people in the state. And I hope I've pushed him to start doing just that.

But second of all, John, I was just in Florence, South Carolina, for a rally. There were a number of small kids there. And one of the small kids smiled at me and he held a Jaime Harrison sign and he said, you know I see you on TV. I'm going to vote for you.

John, what I hope we have done is inspired a whole new generation of young folks who never imagined themselves running for office or that someone who looked like them could represent them. And so, I'm emboldened by that and that gives me so much energy and so much joy. And I hope we've sparked a whole new generation of leaders in this state.

BERMAN: Jaime Harrison, we appreciate you being with us. The next eight days I imagine will be some of the busiest of your life. We should note, we did invite Senator Lindsey Graham to come on NEW DAY. He declined.

Obviously, a big vote in the Senate today to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to be Justice Barrett. We'll talk about that with one of the senators who will cast a vote, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:42:15]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK MEADOWS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Here is what we have to do. We are not going to control the pandemic. We are going to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics, and other mitigation areas because --

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Why aren't we going to get control of the pandemic?

MEADOWS: Because it is a contagious virus just like the flu. It's contagious --

TAPPER: Yes, but why not make efforts to contain it?

MEADOWS: Well, we are making efforts to contain it --

TAPPER: By running all over the country and not wearing a mask?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: That was Chief of Staff Mark Meadows seeming to confirm that the Trump White House won't do anything, take any steps to contain the virus beyond waiting for therapeutics and a vaccine.

We are joined now by independent senator from Maine, Angus King. Senator, thanks for being here. Great to see you. What did you make of Chief of Staff Mark Meadows' words there?

SEN. ANGUS KING (I-ME): Well, my first thought, Alisyn was, remember, I don't know, five or six months ago, the president said, this is war. I'm a wartime president. Yesterday was unconditional surrender. It was basically waving the white flag, saying, we can't control it, there's nothing you can do. And that's nonsense.

Of course, they can control it. The CDC and doctors and everybody else have been telling us for months what we have to do. It's an airborne disease, therefore, masks, wash your hands, keep separate from one another.

If that had been the consistent message from the White House from the beginning, when we knew those were what we had to do. In the meantime, had they developed a really strong testing program, there would probably be 50,000 to 100,000 fewer deaths and we would be looking like other countries that are having surges, but nothing like what we're having.

CAMEROTA: Right.

KING: And that's, you know, like I say, yesterday was the moment that you know that the White House surrendered to the virus.

CAMEROTA: I mean, it's not like we don't see the model of other countries that have done it right, that have had a fraction of our deaths. And now, five people in the close circle of Vice President Pence have tested positive. But Vice President Pence, the head of the Coronavirus Task Force, is not staying home, as the CDC guidelines say you should for 14 days. He's going to go out on the campaign trail and interact with voters.

And I understand he's also today going to come preside over the Senate vote for Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Do you know why he's coming -- are you comfortable with him coming to the Senate and why is he doing that?

KING: No, he shouldn't be coming, particularly when his chief of staff has tested positive. It's a show. His vote isn't needed. There's no reason for him to come.

But let me go back to your other question. The president was in Maine yesterday. And Maine is a good example of how it can work. Our governor, Janet Mills, was very tough, took a huge amount of flack in terms of how we dealt with the pandemic. We had a very aggressive CDC commissioner.

[07:45:03]

And here's the - here's the bottom line. And if the Trump folks had figured this out, they would be in a lot better shape right now. We're the highest state in the country, according to Moody's Analytics, of getting back to normal, because we took it seriously from the beginning last March.

We have one of the lowest infection rates in the country. I think it is the lowest. And also, we're closer being back, our economy, to normal, because we did these simple things and our governor, as I say, took a lot of heat, but stood up and did it right.

CAMEROTA: I want to move on to Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation today. You've written a piece for "The Atlantic." That is called "Amy Coney Barrett's Judicial Philosophy Doesn't Hold Up to Scrutiny." Why not?

KING: Well, number one, one of the problems with these nominations in recent years is the hearings are really kabuki dances. There's no real content. The candidates won't answer questions about what kind of judge they'll be, which of course is the real relevant question. But she has characterized herself as something called an originalist. And this is Justice Scalia, for whom she clerked, who she said was her mentor. This was a big deal for him.

Originalism says this, Alisyn. If you have a question about what the Constitution means, there are only two places you can look to determine the answer to that question. One is the text itself, the words themselves. And secondly, what was in the minds of the people that wrote the Constitution, those 55 men in Philadelphia in 1787? That's it.

Anything else is judicial law making. The problem with that theory is, you've got terms in the Constitution like due process, equal protection of the laws, privilege and immunities, which aren't clearly defined. And if we're frozen at what they said and thought in 1787, that doesn't allow us any room for ethical and moral and political growth.

And that's really the problem with her philosophy. It's a narrow, crabbed view of what the federal government can do. And it's going to lead in some very dangerous directions in my view when you get to things like the Affordable Care Act.

CAMEROTA: OK.

KING: But let's talk about the EPA or doing something about climate change.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

KING: These folks want to strangle the federal government through the courts and she's going to be one of the foot soldiers in that battle.

CAMEROTA: So as a result of that, you and now Vice President Biden, have both talked - have both, I think, said virtually the same thing about adding seats to the court. Here's what you said.

I don't want to pack the court. I don't want to change the number. I don't want to have to do that. But if all of this rule breaking is taking place, what does the majority expect? What do they expect? It sounds like you're saying, their bad behavior is going to make us do this. I mean, do two wrongs make a right? KING: No, I don't think so, but let's put it in a little historical context. The size of the Supreme Court is not fixed in the Constitution. It's up to the Congress. It's changed seven times over our history. And by the way, the Republicans who are clutching their pearls now about oh, no, don't talk about that in the court. In three states, I think - I can't remember, Arizona, Iowa, and I think one other, over the last three or four years, the Republicans have packed their courts.

So, you know, come on. The point I was making last night was that the Republicans have broken the rules of the Judiciary Committee. They've broken historic precedent by doing this nomination. It will be done eight days before an election, when they wouldn't do Merrick Garland eight months before the election?

And so, when I said, there's this cycle, and I don't think two wrongs make a right, but I don't understand how they can be so wrought up about this if they're willing to break all the rules and then they act surprised that the folks on the other side -- and by the way, to change the size of the court is not breaking a rule, as I mentioned, it's happened seven times in our history.

CAMEROTA: Senator Angus King, we appreciate you being on with us this morning. We will see you very soon.

KING: Indeed. thanks, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Thank you.

John?

BERMAN: We want to remember some of the more than 225,000 Americans lost to coronavirus. Everett "Boone" Pike was a 90-year-old retired police officer and father. His daughter says he attended church four times a week, had plenty of friends, raised beagles and tended to his livestock on the family's 80-acre farm. His daughter wants people to know that her father was not just a number.

Peter Secchia was 83 years old. He was a top Michigan State University donor and a leader in Republican politics. He served as ambassador to Italy during the George H.W. Bush administration. His wife remembers him as a husband committed to his family, business, community, and country.

And Aurora Chacon Esparza died less than a month after giving birth.

Her husband said she got coronavirus in June while seven months pregnant with her third child. Aurora would have been 36 in August.

Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:53:50]

CAMEROTA: By the end of today, we will very likely have a new Supreme Court justice, a justice who was rushed through the confirmation process in just 30 days, and one week before Election Day. But as John Avlon reports, this is not the end of the hypocrisy. It's not even in the beginning.

John Avlon joins us now in "The Reality Check." John, tell us more.

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, later today, the Senate's narrow Republican majority is expected to put Judge Amy Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court for life. Now, this will give the court a 6-3 conservative majority with three justices nominated by President Trump but two of these seats, Democrat decry as stolen because of course Republicans refused to give nominee Merrick Garland a hearing.

But when Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died just last month, those same senators abandoned any pretense of principle to push through this nominee with record speed. Nothing was going to stop them even when Judge Barrett refused to answer basic questions like whether a president could unilaterally delay an election.

He can't. Whether voter intimidation is illegal. It is. Or whether a president should commit to a peaceful transfer of power. No-brainer. Not even the fact that Judge Barrett sat on the board of a school that bars admission to the children of gay parents. (INAUDIBLE).

[07:55:04]

Now, Let's be clear, we are witnessing a partisan power grab on the Supreme Court, one that follows Senate Republicans blocking an unprecedented number of Obama nominees and then ramming through their own, who by the way, have been 85 percent white and 76 percent men, with 10 Trump nominees rated not qualified by the American Bar Association.

All of which raises the question of retaliation by Democrats. Some have suggested that Congress should expand the number of seats on the Supreme Court, which was changed six times before it was settle on the current nine. But when F.D.R. tried this in 1937, he got smacked down by a Democratic-controlled Congress. For what it's worth, Joe Biden has been on record opposing the idea of court expansion.

Now plainly says he's not a fan, proposing instead of bipartisan commission for Judicial reforms. But Republicans seized on packing the court as a campaign issue, with Trump mentioning it almost 60 times in the last month alone, according to "Factbase."

Here is the thing. Republicans have been trying to pack courts for years. You'll be right. Take Arizona where Republican Governor Doug Ducey expanded the state's Supreme Court from five seats to seven. When it comes to the U.S. Supreme Court, he says we shouldn't be changing our institutions.

We saw it in Georgia, where former Governor Nathan Diehl expanded the state's Supreme Court from seven to nine. In Iowa, Republican proposed expanding the Supreme Court in 2009 after gay marriage was declared legal in the state. In fact, there have been 11 mostly GOP-led attempts to pack state courts in recent years. Get this, when President Obama fresh off his reelection had three vacancies open up on the D.C. circuit court in 2013, Republicans proposed removing those three seats all together. They called the bill the Court Efficiency Act.

And Senator Mike Lee said that he hoped Democrats would not seek quote, "to pack" the D.C. circuit with unneeded judges simply in order to advance a partisan agenda. There is no record of whether he was able to say this with a straight face. Because as one Brookings' scholar pointed out, appointing judges to existing vacancies is not court packing. It's simply the way the system works, at least it used to be.

Our judicial system is supposed to be independent and above partisan politics, but it's been degraded by partisan power grabs that pretend to be about principle. So, don't buy the crocodile tears. It's going to take time and some serious reforms to rebuild the broken trust.

And that's your reality check.

CAMEROTA: John, thank you very much for that history lesson and reality check.

All right. NEW DAY continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With just over a week ago, before Election Day, the president insisting, we're rounding the corner.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The way he's handling COVID is just absolutely totally irresponsible.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The vice president was in North Carolina yesterday despite the fact that several of his top aides have recently tested positive.

MEADOWS: We're not going to control the pandemic. It is a contagious virus just like the flu.

TAPPER: Yes, but why not make efforts to contain it?

MEADOWS: Well, we are making efforts to contain it --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We usually will hit six-figure numbers in terms of the number of cases and the deaths are going to go up precipitously.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're at a dangerous tipping point right now.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: People are not wearing masks, then maybe we should be mandating it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman. BERMAN: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY.

And a grim milestone in this pandemic, the worst seven-day period in terms of new cases we have ever seen. That's right, the average daily case rate in the United States is higher than it has ever been. Well that's happening, at least five members of Vice President Pence's inner circle have now tested positive including his chief of staff and body man.

But the vice president, who is the leader of the Coronavirus Task Force, the leader is ignoring CDC guidelines to quarantine. He's supposed to quarantine for 14 days. He's not going to bother. He's out on the campaign trail, sending the signal that winning votes more important than protecting lives. Not only will he be face to face with voters all around the country, but he's expected in the Senate chamber today to preside over the Supreme Court confirmation vote for judge Amy Coney Barrett.

CAMEROTA: So, overnight, there were more than 60,000 new coronavirus cases reported in the U.S., but that follows back-to-back days of more than 83,000 cases. Friday and Saturday set a record for the entire pandemic. Cases are increasing in 37 states. No states on this map that you see on your screen are in green, meaning none of them are trending in the right direction today.

Eight states are seeing record hospitalizations and the death toll in the U.S. is now more than 225,000 people. And the White House sounds like they are admitting that they have given up on trying to stop the spread of coronavirus. Chief of Staff Mark Meadows telling CNN quote, "We are not going to control the pandemic."

BERMAN: All right. Joining us now is the dean of Brown University School of Public Health, Dr. Ashish Jha. As well as Andy Slavitt, he's a former acting administrator from Medicare and Medicaid.