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Cracks Forming in Trump's GOP Wall of Support?; Homeland Security Department Says Election was Most Security in U.S. History; Joe Biden Predicted to Win Arizona; Interview with Biden Senior Adviser Symone Sanders; U.S. Reports Record Infections in COVID Cases and Hospitalizations; More GOP Members Say Biden Should Receive Intel Briefings. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired November 13, 2020 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:29]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Very good Friday morning to you. It is Friday, I'm Jim Sciutto.

And this morning, Joe Biden's election win even more decisive and the president's long-shot election fight even more hopeless. As Biden flips and takes Arizona, the president's Republican support is seemingly cracking as fast as his legal battles.

The administration's top Homeland Security officials appointed by this administration say this election was the, quote, "most secure in American history" and a growing list of GOP senators are now saying that President-elect Biden should begin receiving intelligence briefings as per the norm.

But while the president grapples with his next steps the nation is fighting a crippling and growing health crisis. It's only getting worse. Record-shattering hospitalizations and new infections across the country.

We are this morning on top of all the headlines. First let's go to CNN's John Harwood. He is at the White House for more.

It's been days, John, since we've seen the president.

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It has and it's really an extraordinary situation that's unfolding here, Jim. First of all, the president is humiliated by this outcome. He understands that's has lost the election, but he does not want to face that music publicly so he's been hiding out in the White House, hasn't been talking before cameras as he typically does every day for a week now.

Second thing he's trying to do is turn this situation to his advantage. So he's throwing up these bogus lawsuits which aren't going anywhere, that are getting tossed out of court as fast as he files them, to try to string this out. He's fundraising for his political action committee as well as his legal defense fund. And he's trying to create a cause, a sense of grievance going forward so he'll have something to rally his supporters around.

As a matter of fact "The New York Times" is reporting that when he finally accepts reality that he's going to be leaving, he may announce a 2024 presidential bid at the same time which would allow him to say, well, maybe I kind of sort of lost but really the campaign is just going on and it will culminate in four years.

The one thing the president is not doing is taking control of the effort to stop this pandemic. He does not seem to be interested in actually being president at this moment. He does not have on his schedule today the first coronavirus-related piece of government business which is a meeting about Operation Warped Speed. That's about the vaccine. He's not trying to stop the actual spread of the pandemic. He's always invested his hopes in the vaccine.

As you mentioned, his Republican support is beginning to crack around the edges about things like getting intelligence briefings but the Republican Party which is so scared of the president and wants his support in these Georgia runoffs is not forcing him to do anything more aggressive on the pandemic itself as these cases and hospitalizations and deaths continue to rise -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yes. With consequences for this country. John Harwood at the White House, thanks very much.

All right. So let's stick to the facts here. Let's get to Kristen Holmes.

And Kristen, some of the officials who we should note were appointed by this president in the Department of Homeland Security whose job it is to monitor elections, they say that this election was the most secure in U.S. history. What did they say exactly? How did they back that up?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Jim. I mean, this is a stunning rebuke of President Trump and even more extraordinary is that it appears to be a direct response to his Twitter feed which yesterday was filled with baseless allegations that voting systems had gone down, that they had deleted votes for him, that he had switched votes for him to Joe Biden.

Now this is a statement from an office within the Department of Homeland Security. It says, "The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history. There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes or was in any way compromised." And this is, again, from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, which is part of Trump's administration.

And there's one thing I want to point out here. We of course, you and I, have been talking about this for months, that there was no basis to any of these allegations of widespread fraud, but more importantly election officials from both parties, men and women who went out during a pandemic to help support our democracy have also been saying this and because of that and because of President Trump's rhetoric many of them have received death threats or said that they've received death threats.

So what's really hopeful here is that getting this statement from the actual administration can put Americans' minds at ease, can put this issue to bed, and let the country move forward -- Jim.

[09:05:10]

SCIUTTO: Let's hope Americans listen to the facts. They matter. Kristen Holmes, thanks very much.

Now to the politics here with Arizona projected, there are now only two states left to call, Georgia and North Carolina. John Avlon breaking down the numbers this morning.

First let's begin, though, with Biden's win of Arizona. This is quite a flip for a Democratic candidate.

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: This is extraordinary. Joe Biden becomes only the second Democrat since Harry Truman to pull away Arizona. This is the home state of not just John McCain but Barry Goldwater. You take a look at it here, he's only 11,000 votes ahead but CNN has called this. And this is a major shift. Maricopa County going hard for Democrats, electing also Mark Kelly to the Senate. Independent voters being critical there.

And you see here in the map, Democrats making real inroads under Joe Biden in the southwest. The exception of Utah they're starting to fill in that corner of the country which used to be rock rib Republican. That's a very big deal.

Now take a look also at what it means for the popular vote. Joe Biden remains ahead now 5.3 million. This is not a normal lead, particularly for a challenger confronting an incumbent. Remember, Donald Trump lost the popular vote last time by almost three million. Here Joe Biden winning it by 5.3. 97 percent still is in, which means this number there's still room for Joe Biden to increase his lead, but it's the electoral votes that count.

Two states outstanding right now, as you know, Jim. Let's take a look at Georgia. This is the one going to a manual hand recount, but Biden is now 14,000 votes ahead, only .3, but 14,000. That's not the kind of thing that typically is going to get reversed despite all the president's protestations. And this is a state that no Democrats won since Bill Clinton back in the 1990s.

The other one outstanding of course is North Carolina. And this is one where Donald Trump is in the poll position, 71,000 votes ahead, 98 percent reporting. The Trump team feels very good about North Carolina and they should. This was hard fought by Democrats and it has been a major battleground but still looks like no Democrat can to win North Carolina since Barack Obama and Joe Biden peeled it off in 2008.

SCIUTTO: And of course, Republicans successfully defending a Senate seat there as well.

John Avlon, thanks very much. AVLON: Correct. Thanks.

SCIUTTO: Now to the growing support among Republicans for President- elect Biden to get, as per normal, intelligence briefings. At least six GOP senators are now backing the move including the majority whip John Thune and even the Trump loyalist Lindsey Graham.

Well, joining us now is Symone Sanders. She's a senior adviser to the Biden campaign.

Symone, thanks so much for taking the time this morning.

SYMONE SANDERS, SENIOR ADVISER, BIDEN CAMPAIGN: Thank you for having me today, Jim. Lots of news.

SCIUTTO: No question. So let's try to tick through as best we can. So you've heard Republican senators one by one coming out saying as per normal the president-elect should get these briefings. Senator Lankford, he said he would contest this if nothing were done by today. Do you have any news? Will these briefings begin today?

SANDERS: I don't have any news to share this morning on that, Jim, but I will just say the fact that a number of Republican members of Congress are coming out and backing the president-elect's, the -- really the law which says that he should be able to receive these Presidential Daily Briefings, both the president-elect and the vice president-elect, I think shows that folks across the spectrum are ready to move forward.

This election is over, Jim, and it's time that Democrats and Republicans come together to chart our course forward because there are many issues facing this country that we will have to confront together.

SCIUTTO: OK. As often happens among the Republican Party with this president folks will say things in private that they won't say in public. Ron Klain, new chief of staff for Biden, he said yesterday that Biden has spoken to several GOP senators in private. I don't expect you to out them here, but a key relationship is going to be Biden and McConnell.

Has the president-elect spoken to the Senate or possibly majority leader but the top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell?

SANDERS: Mitch McConnell and the president-elect have not had an opportunity to connect yet, but I hope folks saw the president-elect's press conference, his remarks earlier this week in a Q and A, where he congratulated Mitch McConnell on his win. He's known him for a very long time and he looks forward to working with him.

SCIUTTO: OK. Let's talk about COVID because the numbers are -- they're not just ticking up, they are jumping. They are surging across the country. Is a national lockdown a possibility under President Biden?

SANDERS: Well, Jim, let me tell you this. It is President-elect Biden's every intention and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris's intention to shut down the virus, not the economy. And the way that we do that is by wearing a mask, social distancing, by doing everything that we can to mitigate the spread.

[09:10:02]

You know, Jim, I have been watching the news on this network and others, and the map from coast to coast right now is red. So, you know, the virus isn't distinguishing between red states and blue states, it is affecting us all collectively every single state. So it's imperative frankly that we do everything we can and we know that wearing a mask, I've got my mask right here, Jim. Wearing a mask is one of the best things we can do to mitigate the spread of this virus.

SCIUTTO: No question. I do want to clarify, though, on a national lockdown because, you know, Michael Osterholm who was going to advice -- who's going to be on the president-elect's task force, he's already been announced, he brought that up and others in the campaign said, no, that's not on the table. To be clear, is a national lockdown on the table for President Biden?

SANDERS: To be clear, Jim, President-elect Biden, it's his intention to shut down this virus not the country.

SCIUTTO: OK.

SANDERS: And the way we go about doing that is wearing a mask, mitigating the spread. You know, in March of 2020 President-elect Biden then candidate Biden put out a plan on what he would do to mitigate and fight COVID-19 and with the announcement of the COVID-19 task force today, for the transition -- pardon me, earlier this week, what that task force is going to be doing, it's going to operationalize the plan that the Biden-Harris campaign put together to make it a plan for the Biden-Harris administration.

SCIUTTO: Understood. OK. So let's talk about the upcoming Biden-Harris administration here. We don't know the results yet of the two races in Georgia where control of the Senate will be decided, but there is a very good possibility that this will be divided government here. Is the President-elect Biden's legislative agenda in danger without control of the Senate?

SANDERS: Well, look, Jim, obviously it would be better if Democrats had control of the Senate, but I think that the reason Americans elected this Biden-Harris ticket was because of President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris's ability to work across the aisle. You know, President-elect Biden knows a number of these folks in Congress. He has worked with them, he has fought hard fights and he's stood, you know, staunchly, you know, for his values and he knows how to compromise.

And so I think what you can expect out of a Biden-Harris administration is results. You know, the American people, they are ready for a plan. We have to get this virus under control, but there's also addressing the climate crisis, addressing the racial injustice in this country and those are all things that will be a focus of a Biden administration. SCIUTTO: Final question, will Symone Sanders have a role in a Biden

administration?

SANDERS: Well, Jim, we don't have any personnel announcements to make today. It was the pleasure of my life, I am being honest when I say this, to serve, you know, candidate Biden and candidate Kamala Harris, and I truly believe that a Biden-Harris administration will save lives and I look forward to seeing that or being a part of it, I don't know, but right now I am resting and napping, and when I leave you I'm going to the grocery store.

SCIUTTO: All right. Symone Sanders, we wish you luck. Thanks very much for joining us this morning.

SANDERS: Thank you so much.

SCIUTTO: Still to come this hour, coronavirus in the United States sadly looming out of control. Breaking 150,000 new infections in a single day. What everyone should be doing now to protect themselves and their families.

And the Department of Homeland Security calls this the most secure election in American history. So why is President Trump spreading disinformation and refusing to concede?

Plus President Trump is also reportedly discussing a potential run for a second term four years from now. We're going to get insight from someone who knows him well, the co-author of "The Art of the Deal." That's just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:15:00]

SCIUTTO: Well, the U.S. sadly is breaking records, reporting more than 153,000 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, that is the most in a single day since the beginning of this pandemic. Forty four states are now reporting an upward trend of new infections as hospitalizations nearly doubled over the past two weeks.

The mayor of Chicago is one of several politicians re-issuing restrictions, strongly encouraging people to avoid travel and to stay home as much as is possible. Joining me now is Dr. Colleen Kraft; an infectious disease expert and the associate chief medical officer at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. Doctor, thanks so much for coming on this morning.

COLLEEN KRAFT, ASSOCIATE CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, EMORY UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: Good morning.

SCIUTTO: All right, so let's begin with what's necessary now. I just spoke with Symone Sanders of course with President-elect Biden who said a national lockdown not in the cards right now, more targeted lockdowns, encouraging mask-wearing, et cetera. From your view, is that all that's necessary right now or do you think -- do you agree with Dr. Michael Osterholm that believes a national lockdown is necessary?

KRAFT: I definitely agree with Symone that nothing has changed, Jim, since you and I began talking, right, in March. We still know how to protect ourselves against the virus, it's not an expensive solution, it may be an inconvenient solution to wear masks.

But as we've shown, people have lots of different ways to cover their mouth and face so they can be comfortable in whatever the job they're doing. And so, we really just need to focus, again, on being innovative on how we do things now that it's getting cold and we're sort of being pushed indoors.

SCIUTTO: OK, so for people -- we're two weeks away from Thanksgiving. For folks who are making plans right now, what should those plans be or should they exercise an abundance of caution, not travel, stay at home, keep their groups small?

KRAFT: So, it's basically a risk assessment of your situation, right? So, if you're going to be with anybody that you don't know their habits outside of their -- during their living, then I think you need to question whether or not you should be in close contact with them.

[09:20:00]

So if you, yourself can be low risk, I think that most people who work -- I'm a healthcare worker, I've been in COVID patient rooms many days, many long hours, I don't consider myself putting myself at risk by being in those rooms because I'm doing the right behaviors. And so, you have to know the behaviors that keep yourself completely safe, I don't think that's a mystery any longer. And then you need to know what the people that you are meeting with are like. So have a discussion, you know, what are you doing? Can you be on --

SCIUTTO: Yes --

KRAFT: Sort of a quarantine yourself before we meet together without masks?

SCIUTTO: OK, we're in a sort of best of times-worst of times situation here, right, because the numbers just jumping off the charts, and yet real progress with a vaccine. Best predictions seem to be from Fauci and others that vaccine is widely available in April. How soon do you believe large portions of the country will have access to a vaccine, and I suppose what do we need to do to bridge the gap now?

KRAFT: Right. So, I think there will be a few months away from even having the vaccine being systematically released. I think people will be able to get it sooner rather than later, those high risk individuals that may need it -- need it in order to sort of keep doing their work.

I think for the regular population, I think we're potentially looking at six months or longer. I'm not a -- I'm not a -- I don't have a crystal ball and I don't work with these companies, but I do think that, you know, our typical supply chain issues that we've seen all along to me would indicate that this is going to be a little bit of time of a ramp up.

So, in the meantime, we need to be doing exactly what we've always been saying we need to do, which is low-risk activities so we don't transmit the virus.

SCIUTTO: Another bit of good news, right, is that hospitals, doctors, have gotten better at treating this, right? Both in terms of learning what works best, for instance, don't over rely on ventilators, there are down sides to that, but also new treatments that have been approved for emergency use, et cetera. Can that allow hospitals to, therefore, better handle the upsurge as we see in this graph on the air right now in hospitalizations?

KRAFT: Yes, we absolutely are better. We are currently facing an upsurge today in my hospital, but we have processes in place, we know what needs to happen in order to keep people safe. We know what we need to dial down and dial back on, and so for us, while we're not happy about the increasing numbers -- and I will tell you there's -- continues to be sad stories every day, which is heartbreaking given that this is completely preventable. I will think -- I do think that we are doing better at sort of having a business as usual, or I would say rather than business as usual, a living with COVID mentality.

SCIUTTO: Yes, well, listen, we wish you the best of luck and also the families that I know you're seeing every day who are going through this. Dr. Colleen Kraft, thanks so much.

KRAFT: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Well, several former officials say that denying Biden the presidential daily intelligence briefing could have immense national security consequences. I'm going to speak with the former House Intelligence Chairman, Republican Mike Rogers next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:25:00]

SCIUTTO: Welcome back. Right now, more than 150 former national security, senior military and elected officials are calling on the GSA, the General Services Administration, to acknowledge that Joe Biden is the president-elect.

This is something that happens after elections so that presidents- elect can get access to key resources. In a joint letter, they say delaying access in particular to the presidential daily intelligence briefing could have quote, "immense consequences" for our national security. Joining me now to discuss is CNN national security commentator and former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers. Mr. Rogers, thanks for joining us this morning.

MIKE ROGERS, FORMER HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Good to see you, Jim.

SCIUTTO: You've seen a lot of intelligence in your time. Does preventing the president-elect from being up to date on the latest intelligence about all the threats to this country, does that endanger national security?

ROGERS: It certainly doesn't help it. I would say yes and shortly. And you think about it, Jim, so even during these periods, we know that adversaries try to take advantage of our democracy, I don't care who is in office making this change, they just -- this is their effort. And so that's why these -- the transitions have become such well-oiled machines.

Matter of fact, Congress recognized this, I don't know, maybe a decade ago where they mandate that both parties after the primaries begin -- why? You need that continuity of government, and part of that is these intelligence briefings.

You don't want the national security team stumbling in and going oh, that's a little different than it was four years ago or six months ago. That's a little changed. You don't want them learning to catch up. You want them to walk in with the latest information so they can make good decisions up front. And candidly, it shows our adversaries that we are ready to go. This would clearly tell me that the adversaries are going to bet, maybe they're not ready to go when they take office on January 20th.

SCIUTTO: OK, so transitions, any transition is a potentially dangerous period. Which adversaries in particular are you watching most closely for the possibility they take advantage of this and how?

ROGERS: Yes, so, what we -- the first part of this is this new age of information operations using digital media. So the Chinese have China Global TV, they have hundreds and hundreds of reporters in five different languages, and that's never reporting the best part of America on a good day. And so all of this chaos they will use to sow doubt about America's leadership in the world, that our democracy isn't really a democracy.