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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Biden Prepares for Transition, With or Without Trump Concession; Biden's First Priority Will Be Addressing COVID crisis; Dems Worry About Sen. McConnell's Veto Over Biden Agenda; Trump Campaign to Push Baseless Claim of Dead People Voting; Stock Market Likes Biden, American Still in Job Crisis; World Leaders Respond to Election of Joe Biden as President-Elect; Iran Signals Tepid Interest in Working with Biden White House; Joe Biden Faces Spate of Tough Challenges on Day One. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired November 09, 2020 - 04:00   ET

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


[04:00:00]

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world, this is "EARLY START," I'm Laura Jarrett.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Nice to see you. I'm Christine Romans, it is Monday, November 9th. It is 4:00 a.m. in New York. 72 days until the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States.

A no concession, no problem, a Biden transition official tells CNN that work preparing for a new administration is moving quickly, despite President Trump rejecting the election results. Biden's top priority coronavirus and with good reason. There were nearly 106,000 cases yesterday in the U.S. the last five days in the U.S. are the five worst days anywhere in the entire pandemic.

JARRETT: 43 states are adding new cases now. Exactly 0 states are on the decline. Hospitalizations, meanwhile, in the U.S. climbing toward a new high point for the pandemic. President-elect Biden appealing to the entire country for help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: For all those of you who voted for President Trump, I understand the disappointment tonight. I've lost a couple of times myself, but now, let's give each other a chance. It's time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature. See each other again. Listen to each other again, and to make progress, we have to stop treating our opponents as our enemies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: That optimism about to meet some harsh realities, a spreading pandemic, an unemployment crisis, an opponent who refuses to concede, and rampant misinformation about what happened in this election as a nation is as divided as ever. Now it appears a little known official in the administration could be standing in the way of the Biden transition. We'll have more on that in just a moment.

ROMANS: Yes, but we expect to hear from Joe Biden today after he and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris receive a briefing from the transitions coronavirus advisory board. CNN's Jason Carroll covering the Biden team joins us live now from Wilmington, Delaware. Notable, this is going to be the first sort of official action of this transition, it will be a coronavirus task force.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, and later today, we're going to be hearing more about this coronavirus task force. We're going to be hearing from President-elect Joe Biden. It's a 12- person task force headed by scientists including people like former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. He's going to be on the team again. Later today, Christine, we're going to be hearing from President-elect Joe Biden himself about how he plans to fight the pandemic.

His transition web site is already up. So, we already have sort of some idea as to what he's going to say. It's called "Build Back Better," and on that web site, there's a 7-point plan that includes how the President or the President-elect plans to deal with the pandemic. It includes, quote, regular reliable and free testing to all Americans. So that's one point of how he plans to address the pandemic.

So, looking ahead in terms of what Joe Biden plans to do in terms of trying to get his agenda across to much of America. He plans to, on day one, after becoming President, he says he's going to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord, sign executive actions to rejoin the World Health Organization. So again, these are just some of the things he's going to do to make good on some of those campaign promises. But first things first and that's going to be dealing with the pandemic. This crisis facing the country -- Christine.

ROMANS: Now, Jason, we understand some Democrats have concerns about Mitch McConnell. He and Joe Biden know each other well. They have worked together for many, many years. What are those concerns?

CARROLL: Well look, the concerns are this. McConnell feels as though he's got a mandate since that blue wave never happened. Biden feels as though he has a mandate given what's happened with the election. So, both men are sort of polar opposites, and you've got, you know, pressure from the left for Biden. You've got pressure on the right for McConnell. A lot of folks are wondering how in the world Biden is going to be able to get his agenda passed with McConnell controlling the Senate.

So, I think what's going to happen is you're going to have someone like Joe Biden who's going to be relying on his 30 years plus in the Senate, 20 years working alongside McConnell, the two have been known in the past to work on deals together. But this was before Trump. And in the Trump era, the political temperature, the political climate has really, really grown.

[04:05:00]

And so, there are real questions about whether or not Joe Biden is going to be able to get his agenda passed with McConnell controlling the Senate.

ROMANS: All right, Jason Carroll for us in Wilmington. Thanks so much, Jason, talk to you soon.

JARRETT: All right, the Trump campaign is seizing on baseless claims of election fraud as it tries to contest Joe Biden's victory. Now the campaign's last gasp focuses on dead people, yes, dead people. CNN's Boris Sanchez joins us live from Washington this morning. Boris, nice to see you this morning. I guess, after the stunt at the four seasons total landscaping fell flat, now their latest substantiate is to try to brandish the obituaries of dead people.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's about right, Laura. Good morning to you and the Christine as well. The Trump campaign effectively planning a messaging blitz to try to put out the message to the American people that this election, according to them, was stolen and illegitimate despite not having any evidence to actually prove that.

It appears there's a tug of war behind the scenes with some folks close to the President urging him to accept reality and concede, and others suggesting that he should dig in his heels and hold campaign style rallies to try to push this conspiracy theory to the American people. Part of that includes, as you noted, reading out obituaries of people who the President claims passed away before the election but yet voted for Joe Biden in the election. Again, no evidence to support these claims that are being made by the President and other fellow Republicans who are supportive of this cause.

The belief here from the White House and the Trump campaign is that holding this messaging blitz would accomplish two things. Number one, it would delay the transition, and that would buy them time in the legal process to effectively curtail the Democratic process. And secondly, they believe that with enough pressure, certain secretaries of state in significant battleground states may open up new investigations into voting in their states and that might give them wiggle room to potentially change the result of the election -- Laura.

JARRETT: Well, and as our Jake Tapper has reported this is really about currying favor with the President's ego and not changing the vote tallies or the results at core. But before I let you go, Boris, is I want to also talk to you, you know, there's obviously mechanisms for any transitions to happen. But now CNN has learned that this little known Trump appointee who's in charge of actually handling the transition resources to Biden hasn't done so. What's going on here? Is she slow walking this?

CARROLL: Apparently. So, this is known as the process of ascertainment. Right? And the general services administration, which is led by Emily Murphy, a Trump appointee, they effectively have to sign off on allowing the incoming administration access to certain materials, whether office space or equipment or millions of dollars in funding, to go about the logistical process of transitioning the administration. But she has yet to sign off on this document that typically is just sort of a footnote in a transition process that allows the ball to get rolling in a sense. Obviously, Trump has yet to concede. She has yet to sign off on this

document, that could potentially be an indication of a more delayed process than one we're anticipating. The only time this has happened in modern history was in 2000 when it took a month for the Supreme Court to ultimately decide that George W. Bush defeated Al Gore in that election.

JARRETT: Yes and given that we are in the middle of a pandemic, you would think that this transition might a little bit move swiftly. But we shall see.

CARROLL: Right.

JARRETT: Boris, thanks for getting up with us, we appreciate it.

ROMANS: All right, eight minutes past the hour, the vast majority of Republicans in Congress has yet to acknowledge Joe Biden won this election. Why are they so afraid of a lame duck Trump? That and more, next.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right, the results are in. Investors, well, they're OK with a Joe Biden presidential victory. Stock index futures moving higher after a drawn out election week. Global markets, around the world also higher. Investors will be looking for signs a Biden administration will take a more diplomatic approach to trade negotiations.

Wall Street was already expecting a Biden victory, but it's important to remember, Wall Street is not main street and America is still in a jobs crisis, even though 638,000 jobs were added back into the economy in October. The economy is still at a huge jobs deficit. Still down about 10 million jobs since the beginning of the pandemic. The unemployment rate ticked down to 6.9 percent. The unemployment rate for black Americans is still in the double digits at 10.8 percent.

Renewed calls for more help from Washington are growing. Last week Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said a rescue package is a top priority. So, it's possible a stimulus package could happen in the lame duck session. One thing more that a lot of investors are talking about, is if you have Republican control of the Senate and you have a Democrat in the White House, that means it's very unlikely you're going to have higher corporate taxes and that's something that corporate leaders in particular are happy about, encouraged about. They're also looking for a steady hand. Right. A steady hand and some clarity on policy, and they think that maybe Joe Biden can bring that.

JARRETT: And predictability, of course, the markets always want that.

ROMANS: Exactly, boring is better for them.

JARRETT: Boring is better for them. Well, world leaders are responding to Joe Biden's victory over the weekend. But with no concession and even acknowledgment from President Trump, reaction to Biden's election actually varies a little bit country to country. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is live in Berlin where German Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to weigh in this hour. Fred, what are we expecting to hear from her?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Laura. Well, I think that the German government, quite frankly, is pretty much thrilled to in the future be dealing with a Biden administration. It's no secret that relations between Angela Merkel and President Trump pretty much hit rock bottom from the very beginning. And I think some of the things that the Germans really are looking to, they believe that trade relations are something that are going to improve considerably.

[04:15:00]

If you look at some of the things that have happened in the past four years. The threat of terrorists, for instance, against the German auto industry. The threat of sanctions against, for instance, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline as well. There were a lot of issues between the Germans and the Trump administration.

One of the things that's already happened is that Angela Merkel has already sent out a written congratulatory note to Joe Biden and also the German foreign minister has already offered the new administration a "transatlantic new deal" as the Germans call it. Obviously to deal with things like for instance, trade relations but of course, international migration as well.

So, you can really see that the Germans really are looking forward to a new administration, and really want to get things going very, very quickly. On the other hand, of course, you have the other side of the medallion, if you will. We're also looking at reactions not coming in from Russia. The Kremlin still has not congratulated Joe Biden on his victory. In fact, there's a conference call going on right now with Russian media, a Kremlin spokesperson. And he was asked there why there hasn't been a congratulatory note. The Kremlin saying that so far there has not been official results they say. That has not been an official concession from President Trump, and that's why they are not congratulating yet. But this comes, guys, as Kremlin media continues to trash the U.S. electoral process -- guys.

JARRETT: Interesting, the Kremlin sounding like the Trump campaign there. All right, Fred, thanks so much, nice to see you this morning.

ROMANS: So, with Joe Biden heading to the White House, one of the global relationships to watch here is the one with Iran. The nuclear deal that President Trump pulled out of was brokered while Biden was Vice President. So, what's the plan now? CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has reported extensively on Iran. He joins us live from London. Hi there.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Hi, and it's quite clear that the Iranians possibly see an opportunity, quote, in the words that President Hassan Rouhani, to right past mistakes here for President-elect Joe Biden. Who has already said that he wants to get back into the nuclear deal that Donald Trump called one of the worst deals ever. But time is short for that, frankly because while it's fair to say

that the Trump administration has put so many sanctions on Iran, they've made Biden's job easier. There's a lot of things he can potentially lift to encourage the Iranians back into the deal and to stop enriching parts of their nuclear material which they weren't supposed to under that deal. Time is short.

Because he gets into power officially in mid-January and then at some point during 2021, there are likely to be presidential elections in Iran, which could see the reformers, the moderates who are currently the President and his coach who were even behind this deal, lose out to hard liners.

Remember, tensions are exceptionally fraught here. And of course, Joe Biden will face opposition within the Republicans in the Senate, who potentially he has to win over on this, and the general awful climate frankly in American/Iranian relations. I think it's fair to say that both Washington and Iran feel this moment is there for them to diplomatically get back into this deal. But the deal itself and its provisions potentially lapsed in the next five to six years. So, another deeper deal is essentially needed. So much work ahead and very little time for that.

ROMANS: Yes, big agenda there. All right, Nick Paton Walsh for us in London. Thanks, Nick. 18 minutes past the hour. We'll be right back.

[04:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JARRETT: All right, with or without the cooperation of the current occupant of the White House, President-elect Biden is preparing for a transition and he faces no shortage of challenges right now. Let's bring in CNN's senior political analyst John Avlon, great to have you this Monday morning.

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, guys.

JARRETT: All right, so Biden entered this race saying he would be a transitional candidate, but America looks a lot different when he first launched his campaign. I know that seem like forever though. But now we have the pandemic. We have the resulting unemployment from the pandemic. We have this reckoning on racism, at least, hopefully, and of course, the climate crisis is worsening. And now the Democratic Party is searching for its soul, searching for its direction. So, does Biden -- can you get away with being transitional or does he have to be transformative?

AVLON: It's a great question. Look, I think he's got transformative challenges on his plate that are nonoptional. The next president is going need to deal with these big things. At the same time, this was not a Democratic landslide. He has a historic margin of victory, but he doesn't appear to have a Democratic Senate. We'll know after the Georgia runoff. That's going to constrain the transformation ambitions of some on the progressive wing. But make no mistake the challenges are big and that means the mandate and the need for big presidential action is huge as well.

ROMANS: You know, Biden got the most votes for President ever. The second most Trump and he lost. Democrats they won the White House, John, but they lost House seats. They did not make the gains that they expected in the Senate. Ohio is barely a battleground anymore. And Florida, the party lost ground with Latino voters. Is the Biden win just covering up larger problems the Democrats face here?

AVLON: No, I think, but you see there's question, Biden ran ahead of the ticket in a lot of key districts. Look, I think what we're finding out is the down ballot. First of all, you had some Republicans who rejected Donald Trump and voted Republican down ballots.

Second, you see particularly in southern Florida, a problem with certain Democratic messaging around things like defund the police or talk of socialism, and this is going to be a major bit of soul searching for Democrats. Because while the progressive wing may be very animated, if they alienate more people than they attract, that's a fundamental problem. That said, nothing should distract from the fact that the Democrats just took the executive branch and by a historic margin.

JARRETT: Hey, John, you know, I think we obviously had so much focus on the election and for good reason. We are potentially entering a very turbulent lame duck session with President Trump at the helm. Obviously, a stimulus still on the table. Millions of Americans still need help. Nothing done there. This is a president that is known for being vengeful when he doesn't get his way, and he's still in charge until January. What should we expect to see in the next few weeks and months?

AVLON: Chaos, petulance, unfortunately a president who has no record of putting the national interest ahead of self-interest. Maybe on his way out the door he could be some of those better angels. But I wouldn't bet on it. Instead, the people around him are going to need to step up. Leaders in Congress have to find a way to reason together without expecting the President's to be part of the solution because he's almost always a part of the problem.

ROMANS: Does he have an eye to infamy or legacy. You know, this is where you can start to cement legacy for how you leave this --

AVLON: That's right.

ROMANS: -- office. You know, the first priority for Biden now, coronavirus. We've got records set almost daily. Biden is going to name his coronavirus advisory committee today. But again, the President is in office for ten more weeks.

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This isn't just about photo ops and being polite. The transition now is about national security and public health. How can Biden and his team get the cooperation that they need here -- John?

AVLON: This is one of the trickiest things and the reality is they can't. You know, there are transitions that will go on, on a lower level. But right now, the government has given every indication they won't do the normal things you would do to ease the transition. And that means that the Vice President and the President-elect is going to have to take matters somewhat into their own hands. But it's going to be a messaging influential campaign because there's no sign the Trump campaign will do what most administrations do. We have had this problem before, by the way, but never with such high stakes perhaps, going back to at least The Great Depression.

JARRETT: All right, John, we're in for it. Appreciate it.

AVLON: Yes, we are guys.

ROMANS: Thanks so much. Good to see you. Come back, we'll talk more.

Less than a year Donald Trump was impeached for trying to smear Joe Biden, it's Biden who has the last laugh. So, what will the transition look like from one to the next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right. Good morning, this is "EARLY START." I'm Christine Romans.

JARRETT: And I'm Laura Jarrett. About 29 minutes past the hour here in New York. No concession, no problem. A Biden transition official tells CNN that we're preparing for a new administration is moving full steam ahead. Despite President Trump rejecting the election results. Biden's top priority, coronavirus, and with good reason. There were nearly 106,000 new cases yesterday in the U.S. the last five days in the U.S. are the five worst days anywhere in the entire pandemic.

ROMANS: That's right. 43 states now are adding cases, exactly zero are seeing cases decline. Hospitalizations in the U.S. now climbing toward a new high point for the pandemic. President-elect Biden appealing to the entire country for help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Refusal of Democrats and Republicans to cooperate with one another is not some mysterious force beyond our control.