Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Holiday Travel despite Surge; Vote against Certifying Results; Counties in Michigan and Pennsylvania to Certify Votes Today; Storm System ahead of Thanksgiving. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired November 23, 2020 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

WILLIAM HASELTINE, CHAIR AND PRESIDENT ACCESS HEALTH INTERNATIONAL, FORMER PROFESSOR, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL AND AUTHOR, "A COVID BACK TO SCHOOL GUIDE": From now a huge increase in what's already a horrendous fight. These people are infecting each other and they're going to infect the people that they're having Thanksgiving with. And there will be consequences in terms of disease and death as a result of what you're seeing today.

We've seen that on a much smaller scale when we see things like the Sturgis Rally. But this is a massive infusion of virus. You know, there are now reports -- we know that the virus can spread on airplanes, for example. There's a report done by sequence analysis where you see one person infecting four of his seat mates. Absolutely nailed it cold. They know who did it and he was tested PCR negative 48 hours before he got on the plane. He must have been in some -- in the latent period before the virus showed up.

So this is spreading the disease, not only amongst the people who are flying, but all of the places they're flying to, and all of their most beloved family and friends.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: I was interested to read that you said that if you have to travel -- I mean some kids their colleges have let out. They -- they're coming home, you know? They -- they can't stay indefinitely alone in a dorm room. And so you -- I was interested to read that you said that if you travel, wear an N-95 mask and you think a hazmat suit. Really? You think people should be getting on the plane in a hazmat suit?

HASELTINE: You know, if you look at how they fly in Asia, let's say from Singapore to China, or from China to Thailand, they are wearing N-95 masks, they are wearing face shields, they are wearing hazmat suits, and they're wearing disposable gloves. I have workers, people who work in my foundation, who traveled recently from Singapore. They wore hazmat suits and everything I just described. And when they got to China, they waited in isolation for 14 days before they could go out and about. That's how you protect the country. That's why there's virtual zero COVID in a country of 1.4 billion people.

But the same is true if you travel in Thailand to Singapore or from Singapore to New Zealand. That's how people travel. And why we don't learn from countries that know how to control this pandemic. You know, we're all hoping for a vaccine and a vaccine, we should be optimistic about, but it's not the panacea any more than the flu vaccine is a panacea for flu. People still get the flu, they still die from the flu. And this is more infectious than the flu by a long shot. Every measure we're taking shuts down the flu virus. Doesn't shut this down. So that's what we should look at. (INAUDIBLE) in the impact, but not a panacea for this pandemic.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Professor Haseltine, thank you for that dose of reality this morning. Appreciate your time, as always.

HASELTINE: You're welcome. Thank you very much.

BERMAN: So, today, a Republican member of Michigan's canvassing board is expected to vote "no" on certifying its election results. In other words, siding with President Trump, trying to overturn the vote in Michigan. What does that mean for the state and what happens next?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:37:14]

CAMEROTA: Developing this morning, a key Republican on Michigan's canvassing board is expected to vote against certifying the state's election results today.

CNN's Dianne Gallagher joins us now to explain what this means.

What's next, Dianne?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so, Alisyn, this is usually a pretty mundane process that most people don't even realize happens. The board of canvassers is essentially meeting to do some math here in Michigan today. They're going to add up all of these certified county canvasses to come up with those state totals.

Now, it's a four-person board that's made up of two Republicans and two Democrats. And as you said, one of those Republicans has relayed that, well, he might not be willing to certify today. They have to have at least three votes for certification, and one must come from each member of a party. So all eyes at this point are on that other Republican member, who has not said what he plans to do.

Now, if there were a 2-2 deadlock at that point, you can expect to see the lawsuits happen. Anybody who is affected by this. So that means anyone from a voter to an organization, all the way up to the governor herself here in Michigan could file a lawsuit with the court of appeals asking them to force the board to certify.

After that, well, things get a little more murky. But here's the thing, Alisyn, the secretary of state has pointed out that the Republicans have said that they want there to be an investigation, even though there has been no evidence presented for any kind of voter fraud here in Michigan, specifically in Wayne County. But the secretary of state says that, well, those things can't be done until the election is certified. Both audits and recounts cannot happen until certification happens because state officials can't get ahold of those voter rolls to do their job in the case of an audit or an investigation unless certification happens.

CAMEROTA: OK, that's a very interesting and murky situation.

How about Pennsylvania? So they're also expected to certify results today. What do we expect there?

GALLAGHER: That's right. And so most counties in Pennsylvania are going to certify their election today, the exception being the Philadelphia area and one other county, saying that that should probably happen sometime tomorrow or the next day. They're deal, of course, with ongoing litigation.

But, look, here's the thing. If you remember, basically since the election has happened, the Trump campaign has been filing multiple lawsuits that have been dismissed, over and over again, when it comes to Pennsylvania and the election there. The latest one coming on Saturday.

I just want to read you a bit from the judge there, the U.S. district court judge, Matthew Brann.

[06:40:07]

When he dismissed that lawsuit, he said, quote, this claim, like Frankenstein's monster, has been haphazardly stitched together from two district theories in an attempt to avoid controlling precedent.

Of course, again, it's yet another failed attempt to prevent the inevitable in Pennsylvania.

Just coming back to Michigan real quick here, Alisyn, the Trump campaign is trying to stall, it sounds like here. At this point, President-elect Joe Biden won by more than 154,000 votes this year. To give you some comparative perspective, President Trump won in 2016 the state of Michigan by just under 11,000 votes.

CAMEROTA: That is really interesting context, Diane. Thank you for explaining all of this and what we might be able to expect or not today.

All right, meanwhile, President Trump's lawyers have met defeat after defeat in key states. So how long can they keep up these futile legal battles?

That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:45:06]

BERMAN: So, developing this morning, a federal judge in Pennsylvania, a Republican, by the way, has dismissed this Trump campaign effort to overturn the results of the election in that state, or commonwealth. And in Michigan today, the state canvassing board meets. If they deadlock 2-2, then, you know, it becomes even more of a mess in that state.

Joining me now, CNN analyst Jessica Huseman. She's a reporter with Propublica. Also with us, CNN contributor Ben Ginsberg, a Republican election lawyer.

And, Ben and Jessica, I have to say, as much as I love speaking to both of you, I don't think we're going to be doing this in this way that much longer because we don't need reporters and lawyers to understand what's happening in the Trump lawyer's minds right now. You need like mystics, illusionists, and snake charmers. It's gone beyond the law in reporting.

To that end, Ben, I want to start in Michigan.

The canvassing board meets today. They could deadlock 2-2. We know at least one Republican is going to vote against certifying. There was this notion, this throws it to the legislature and somehow this could tilt the state to Donald Trump. It doesn't really work like that. The law doesn't work that way, Ben. What do we need to know in Michigan?

BEN GINSBERG, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: What you need to know in Michigan is that the certification process doesn't go to the legislature. It goes to the governor. You also need to know that the state board of canvassers have a ministerial act. They are supposed to add up the numbers and certify. The only time the state board of canvassers in Michigan delays is when there aren't certification from the individual counties and jurisdictions. They've got them all. So that they have no legal reason to delay the certification, which means courts are not going to -- not going to countenance that.

BERMAN: Doesn't mean there won't be theatrics today.

GINSBERG: Sure.

BERMAN: It just means that theatrics will not amount to anything.

Jessica, Pennsylvania, we saw this ruling from this federal judge Saturday night, a Republican, by the way, who really just had no time for the Trump campaign legal arguments in Pennsylvania.

What's significant?

JESSICA HUSEMAN, CNN ANALYST: Yes, I think that -- that the entire opinion is really significant and a huge blow to the Trump campaign. I think that we all saw this coming. Perhaps the only ones that didn't were the lawyers that filed the suit. And the opinion was, again, as you said, very striking. It said they had no evidence. It admonished them for filing a lawsuit with such grandiose claims despite filing evidence for none of it. And so I think that the appeal that they filed, which will land them right back in front of that judge, isn't -- isn't going to go anywhere soon, which is very puzzling given that Trump said his next step was the Supreme Court. BERMAN: And, Ben, you are the lawyer here. The district court is the

trier of facts. And this judge said, there are no facts here, which sort of limits the possibilities on appeal.

GINSBERG: Exactly right, John. I mean that was the most -- there was a lot of withering language in that opinion, but as a legal matter, the judge saying there is no fact. Trial courts are the trier of fact. That record is what appellate courts, the Third Circuit and the Supreme Court have to work on. This judge saying there's nothing there is really the death knell for the case.

BERMAN: So let's talk about, then, what the motives in all of this might be. Yes, there are people within Trump world who think this can delay certification. It can't. It won't. This will be certified eventually. So then what, Jessica? There are those who wonder, is the president just raising money here? Is the president just creating some kind of legal political slush fund that he can use after January 20th?

HUSEMAN: Yes. Yes, I think the theories around his motivation for doing this are flying? I think one of them certainly is to raise money. If you look at the bottom of every fundraising email, it says that a huge portion of your donation is actually going to go to campaign debt and none of the recounts and none of the lawsuits that the Trump campaign is demanding right now.

You know, and I think that the most compelling theory, largely because Trump has been saying this behind the scenes, and even his attorney, Rudy Giuliani, has been saying this, is simply to delay, to cast doubt upon a Biden presidency and make it harder for the transition to happen and make it harder, especially in the early term, to help Biden achieve his goals. You know, if you cast doubt on the legitimacy of a presidency, that president is going to be less effective. And I think that we're running out the clock just so that Republicans can see that happen.

BERMAN: Ben, you know campaign money. I mean you've been involved with campaign finance for years, as well as legal challenges to balance and what no. What can President Trump, or then, you know, former President Trump after January 20th, do with the stuff he's raising right now?

GINSBERG: Well, he's formed what's known as a leadership PAC, which can allow him to travel around and to agitate in other elections.

[06:50:02]

The most interesting thing to me about the money in this case, John, is that he is in direct competition with money for the two Georgia runoff election races. So every dollar Donald Trump raises is money that's not going to Georgia to help with the Republican Senate majority.

BERMAN: Worth noting. Ben Ginsberg, Jessica Huseman, I have to say, I'll find a reason to speak to both of you. I like you just that much, even -- even if and when we can finally close the door on this election. I appreciate your time, really, I do.

GINSBERG: Thanks.

HUSEMAN: Thank you.

BERMAN: So President-elect Joe Biden making his first major cabinet picks. New details about his diplomatic team, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: This morning, a storm system is brewing in the Rockies that could bring snow to some states ahead of Thanksgiving.

[06:55:04]

CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray has our holiday forecast.

How's it looking, Jennifer?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Alisyn, you're right, we do have a big system that's going to be in the works over the next couple of days. It will bring some snow. In the meantime, we do have rain all up and down the eastern seaboard for today. Luckily, that is going to push out in the next several hours, by the afternoon.

By the way, this weather is brought you by O'Keefe's, guaranteed relief for extremely dry, cracked skin.

Let's get back to that forecast because here's your forecast radar. And you can see, going forward in time, later today, that rain is quickly going to be moving out. But you can see this system that's gearing up behind it. That's the low that we're talking about that's going to bring rain and, yes, even snow to some states, just in time for Thanksgiving. So it's really going to get its act together by the time we get into this afternoon, tonight. And then you can see, bringing lots of rain really across the Mississippi River Valley, the Ohio Valley, snow across northern tier of the country. We're talking about places in Wisconsin, Michigan could see some snow, as well as northern New England.

So as this pushes to the east, I think areas to the south are going to be entirely too warm for snow. Even places like Chicago is going to be all rain. All the big cities across the northeast should be all rain with this. So the extreme northern tier will see snow for Thanksgiving. But looking at these temperatures, especially going into Thursday, Chicago, Thanksgiving Day, 49 degrees. New York City will be at 58 on Thanksgiving. D.C., 66, and Atlanta, 71. So, yes, a mild Thanksgiving, but it could be a very wet one for a lot of people.

John.

BERMAN: Well, look, which is significant, Jennifer, isn't it, right, because a lot of people wanted to do things outside. But in huge population centers, it's going to be pouring all day.

GRAY: Exactly.

BERMAN: So that will not be an option. GRAY: Right.

BERMAN: Jennifer Gray, thanks so much.

GRAY: Yes.

BERMAN: More sad news to report this morning. Pat Quinn, co-founder of the Ice Bucket Challenge, died Sunday at the age of 37 after a seven- year battle with ALS. Quinn lived in Yonkers, New York, and was diagnosed in 2013. That's when he established a support group called Quinn for the Win. The Ice Bucket Challenge, everyone remembers, went viral with more than 17 million people pouring ice water over their heads to raise awareness and money. Since its inception, it raised more than $115 million. That's astounding for the ALS Association. He made a real difference and we're thinking about his family today.

NEW DAY continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The president-elect is starting to put together his cabinet.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tony Blinken would be an excellent choice when it comes to restoring the soul of the State Department.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Trump campaign is not only racking up legal losses by the day, but now are also trying to claim that a member of their legal team is not actually a member of their legal team.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're beginning to look like we're a banana republic. It's time for them to stop the nonsense. I'm embarrassed that more people in the party aren't speaking up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cases will go up. They are going to make it worse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seventy percent or so of the population being immunized would allow for true herd immunity to take place.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need to really start a massive public messaging campaign right now, otherwise we will never get to those numbers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

BERMAN: All right, welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY.

And breaking overnight, CNN has learned that President-elect Joe Biden will nominate Tony Blinken to be his secretary of state. Blinken is a well-regarded longtime foreign polyester -- policy expert. He served as deputy secretary of state. This is seen as a sign that the incoming administration is determined to rebuild damaged alliances. He is an internationalist. The president-elect will announce his first cabinet picks tomorrow. Blinken leading that list.

CNN also has new details about other potential nominees, including ambassador to the United Nations and his national security adviser, which, of course, does not require Senate confirmation.

While this is going on, some high-profile Republicans have had enough with President Trump's efforts to overturn the election results. The vote certification process continues today in Michigan and in most counties in Pennsylvania. There could be more theatrics today, but little-to-no substance. The theatrics but little-to-no substance has become the hallmark of the Trump campaign legal efforts. We'll have the very latest.

CAMEROTA: John, I never realized how close policy expert and polyester were to each other until just then. Thank you for that.

BERMAN: I know. I know. It was the big lapels really what ties it all together.

CAMEROTA: Thank you. Thank you for that.

Also developing this morning, millions of Americans are flying across the country despite dire warnings from health experts not to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday. Nearly 84,000 Americans are hospitalized with the virus this morning. That's a record that will likely be broken over and over and over in the coming days.

Also this morning, breaking news, a new, major vaccine development.

[07:00:04]

Another pharmaceutical, AstraZeneca, reports trials showing its vaccine has an average of 70.