Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

U.S. Reports 2,146 Deaths from Pandemic, Highest in Six Months; Biden Rolls Out National Security and Foreign Policy Team; Trump Expected to Join Giuliani at Pennsylvania GOP Voter Fraud Event; Germany Sees Record Single-Day Coronavirus Deaths; Wisconsin-Minnesota Game Called Off Amid COVID-19 Concerns. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired November 25, 2020 - 05:00   ET

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


[05:00:22]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is EARLY START. I'm Boris Sanchez, in for Christine Romans.

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Great to have you, Boris.

I'm Laura Jarrett. It's Wednesday, November 25th. It's 5:00 a.m. in New York. It's eight weeks until Joe Biden's inauguration as the 46th president of the United States.

So, today is the day Americans traditionally hit the road in record numbers, braving traffic, long airport lines to hug family and friends, watch a parade, perhaps a game and pause for a moment of gratitude. Instead, it's the start of a holiday season marked by loss for so many families this year and the fear of what's still come, 2,146 Americans were reported dead of coronavirus yesterday. It's one of the worst days of the entire pandemic, just ahead of Thanksgiving.

And as health experts warn, the spread of the virus is being driven mostly by household gatherings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: It's the -- potentially the mother of all super spreader events. One of the ways we think the Midwest was seeded with virus during the summer was with the Sturgis, South Dakota, motorcycle rally where people were infected and then dispersed out through the Midwest. Now imagine that on a massive scale with people leaving every airport in the United States and carrying the virus with them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Eighty-eight thousand -- 88,000 Americans are in the hospital right now for the 15th straight day of record hospitalizations in the United States. Hospitals, clinics, nursing facilities still struggling to maintain adequate personal protective equipment and other vital resources.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FMALE: Any time of the day or night they can call and say we're out of beds.

REPORTER: You're improvising on a daily basis?

UNIDENTIFIED FMALE: On an hourly basis.

UNIDENTIFIED FMALE: Started back in April isolating completely from everybody. It's hard to be here and go back home and not really have much to hold on to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: A White House coronavirus task force reports obtained by CNN call for, quote, significant behavioral change for all-Americans including, perhaps not surprisingly, wearing masks. The U.S. official in charge of COVID testing now also urging people not to travel for the holiday, and he says if you do, a negative test isn't really all that helpful in this situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADM. BRETT GIROIR, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH, U.S. COVID TESTING CZAR: A test that's negative today doesn't mean you're going to be negative tomorrow or the next day or the following day. The negative test is not a free pass to do risky behaviors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: That was Admiral Brett Giroir who also says the White House task force and the CDC are looking at whether the 14-day quarantine period for someone exposed to COVID can be shortened to ten days if the person tests negative at that point.

Now, with the presidential transition finally underway, President- elect Biden says his team is prepared to tackle this virus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT: We're already working out and meeting with the COVID team in the White House in how to not only distribute but go from a vaccine being distributed to a person being able to get vaccinated.

So, I think we're not going to be so far behind the curve as we thought we might be in the past.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: President Trump does, however, have eight more weeks in office and as the death toll spiked to levels not seen since the spring. This is what he said yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But the stock market's just broken 30,000. Never been broken, that number. That's a sacred number.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: We should point out some of the biggest names on Wall Street have attributed it to vaccine news and a transition to Joe Biden administration.

But while the president brags about the stock market, most Americans are focused on food and how they're going to afford the basics after lawmakers fail to pass a stimulus bill. Now instead of waiting in lines at airports, millions across the country are left waiting in long food lines to feed their families a holiday meal. Nashville where only 9 percent of ICU beds are available is implementing new restrictions at bars and restaurants.

And in New York, the mayor, Bill de Blasio, says gyms, bars, and indoor dining are likely to close in the next two weeks. Meantime, he says he's looking for ways to reopen school classrooms.

JARRETT: President-elect Biden is wasting no time with the transition, introducing several key new members of his national security team. Mr. Biden is hoping these appointments will put the United States back at the forefront of global diplomacy.

Let's get the latest from Jeff Zeleny is live in Wilmington, Delaware, for us.

[05:05:01]

Jeff, good morning. Nice to see you.

It's interesting, Biden is saying this isn't a third term of Obama but he's picking people from the Obama administration, people he knows well, but also people who are really experienced in their field.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Laura, good morning. He absolutely is. Very familiar faces on that stage behind him here yesterday as he did announce his team.

But we should push forward here. I mean, he is also saying that his transition team is already in contact with every agency of the federal government including the White House and on the coronavirus of course his priority, the country's priority, he said that he believes the outreach efforts are sincere, even some discussion. He has not spoken to Dr. Fauci, but he said members of his team absolutely have.

But it was a striking scene behind him as his first members of his national security team and foreign policy team were coming together for the first time. The president-elect said he had a simple message. America's back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BIDEN: America is back. We're at the head of the table once again. I've spoken to over 20 world leaders. They all are literally very pleased and somewhat excited America's going to reassert its role in the world and be a coalition builder.

(END VIDEO CLI)

ZELENY: Now as the president-elect continues to build out his team, of course several cabinet members to go, he's also telling NBC News and our reporting suggests as well that he is eyeing at least one Republican member to serve in his cabinet. Now, that, of course, may raise some eyebrows, but in fact, you'll remember back to President Obama's transition 12 years ago, he had Republicans serving in his cabinet. That is something we'll keep an eye on.

Clearly, the president-elect said he wants a cabinet that reflects the diversity, and ideology and race and gender of America. So, that would perhaps include Republicans. We will see if that happens.

But here in Wilmington today, the president-elect does plan to deliver a Thanksgiving Day address to the nation later on today. Clearly, the focus though on the economy and coronavirus as we've seen those cases, as you've been reporting all morning, rise so dramatically.

JARRETT: So, Jeff, before we let you go, we know the Senate is obviously on recess. But Mitch McConnell, he knows how to find a reporter or issue a statement if he wants to. Radio silence so far since the president has allowed the transition to proceed here.

When should we expect to hear from the Senate majority leader?

ZELENY: Laura, great question, and probably not until after those Georgia Senate runoffs. That is what's at play here.

Look, Mitch McConnell and Joe Biden have known each other for a long time. Their relationship is a business relationship. They're not necessarily particularly close friends, but Mitch McConnell needs president Trump's voters. He needs his supporters for those two Georgia runoff races.

But, look, Mitch McConnell is key to confirming these cabinet members. So, we'll see if that call happens at some point. As of yet, three weeks-plus after election day, it hasn't -- Laura.

JARRETT: All right. Jeff, thank you so much. See you back next half hour.

ZELENY: Sure.

SANCHEZ: While President-elect Biden prepares to assume power, President Trump remains stuck in an alternate universe. Today, he's expecting to join his attorney Rudy Giuliani in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where state lawmakers are holding a so-called hearing on allegations of election fraud.

But it's only a hearing in name only, it's not actually in court. It's at a hotel. Better than a landscaping company, I suppose. The president clearly doesn't want to look like a loser but the federal government is moving on with or without him.

We get more now from Kaitlan Collins at the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Boris and Laura.

Where we find the White House today is an interesting walking contradiction, almost, where President Trump is insisting they're going to push forward with these legal challenges to the outcome of the election, but the rest of his administration appears to be moving on with the transition. President-elect Joe Biden told NBC News last night that his chief of staff has spoken with the president's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, about moving forward.

He has not spoken to President Trump yet, but it comes as the White House has formally signed off on Biden getting that president's daily brief, that ever important intelligence assessment that keeps U.S. leaders up to date on what the national security threats are facing the world and something Joe Biden has been denied the last three weeks since the election. But now, he is actually formally going to get it and he expects it could come as soon as today.

And that comes as the other officials in the administration are moving forward, starting to have their conversations and their meetings and briefings with these officials. But when you look at the president and what role he is playing in all of this, he has still not spoken to Joe Biden and Biden said he would be willing to meet but, of course, that hasn't materialized yet as the president seems to be focusing on burnishing his legacy and focusing on what his last moves in office are going to be.

And after that Turkey pardon yesterday at the White House, of course, pardons are on everyone's mind. Not just what wildlife the president is going to pardon, but what of his own allies potentially.

[05:10:00]

A new CNN reporting shows the president and his team have had discussions about potentially pardoning Mike Flynn, the first national security advisor that the president had, but also multiple other people in the president's orbit. Now that could change as the president changes his mind often, but those discussions are happening with just two months left in the Trump administration.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JARRETT: All right. Kaitlan Collins, thank you so much for that report.

Well, online learning being is being blamed for a spike in failing grades in one of the nation's biggest school districts. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Breaking overnight: Germany is reporting the highest single- day spike in coronavirus deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. Chancellor Angela Merkel is poised to announce already tight restrictions will get tighter.

CNN's Frederik Pleitgen joins us live now from Berlin.

And, Fred, we understand there was a bit of a scare involving Angela Merkel just a few minutes ago.

[05:15:01]

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, there certainly was, Boris. It was about an hour or so. I will get out of your way real quickly.

It was actually a car that ran into the security fence here in front of the chancellery.

Now, the Berlin police, as you can see, there's a lot of cops here on the screen, they're investigating the matter right now. They're not clear what is behind this.

We fan over there, we can see the car is actually still there. It has some sort of what seems to be political writing on it. The driver has been arrested. The police here in Berlin are investigating the matter. The situation is very much under control.

Now, in the meantime, the German government is fighting to get the pandemic situation under control. So far, the lockdown measures that have been in place here in Germany somewhat lighter than other European countries. And they have not brought the numbers under control. And you mentioned that death toll as well, very worrying for the government here.

One of the things we expect to happen today is Angela Merkel is in negotiations with the country. They are going to extend lockdown measures that will suppose to end at the end of this month. They're also going to probably put in place stricter mask mandates for schools, for students there, and then also further restrict the amount of people that folks are allowed to see.

In other words, trying to minimize those contacts as a thing the Germans are working towards right now. They say put stricter things in place right now to try to save Christmas and make sure people can celebrate Christmas even though it will certainly be in a much smaller framework than usual, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, Fred, glad to hear that incident was relatively inconsequential. Curious, though, if it's got to do with the anger that some Germans feel toward these tight restrictions over coronavirus.

Fred Pleitgen, reporting from Berlin, thank you. JARRETT: The governor of Vermont says people children who take part

in Thanksgiving outside of their family will have to learn remotely after the holiday. But as more schools go virtual, new data shows online instruction is not making the grade.

CNN has the pandemic covered coast to coast.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN SENIOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I'm Bianna Golodryga from New York.

A new study from Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia's largest school district, which remains fully virtual shows a significant decline in academic achievement, comparing last year when classes were in person to today, middle and high school students receiving F's increased by 83 percent. Younger students appear to struggle more as do those for whom English is a second language and students with disabilities.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dan Simon.

Amid a surge in cases in Nevada, the governor has issued a new set of restrictions that could have a big impact on the state's economy. But Governor Steve Sisolak says they are needed to help slow the spread of the virus. Among the restrictions, most public recreational facilities including casinos must reduce capacity from 50 percent to 25 percent. That also includes gyms, restaurants, and bars. Private gatherings now restricted to no more than 10 people and no more than two separate households.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Brynn Gingras in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where the Meadowlands YMCA filled the need for food for more than 500 cars on Tuesday. People who lost their jobs, people who can't pay their bills, people who need help just feeding their families.

Now, we got families who have waited in line for more than five hours to get the meals. Others will have to visit another food bank later in the week we're told. The need not only for Americans but for nonprofits as well.

The Meadowlands YMCA says they could be a few months away from shutting down the service to their community if they don't sustain donations or get help from federal government.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Thanks to all of our reporters for those updates.

Still ahead, for the first time since 1906, a major college football rivalry will not be played, a casualty of the pandemic. Your "Bleacher Report" after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:23:09]

JARRETT: College football's most played rivalry is going have to wait another year because of COVID-19.

Andy Scholes has this morning's "Bleacher Report".

Andy, probably could have seen this one coming the way the virus is ravaging these team sports.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. You know, a lot -- we've missed out on a lot of great games, big rivalries, Laura.

And, you know, for the first time in 113 years, Wisconsin and Minnesota will not be playing for Paul Bunyan at Saturday's big rivalry game called off due to an outbreak with the Golden Gophers. So, nine players and five or six staff members tested positive for COVID-19 over the last five days. As resulted, Minnesota suspended all team activities.

Now, Wisconsin already canceled two games earlier this year due to outbreaks of their own. So, they're only going to end up playing five games this season, which means they are now ineligible to play for the Big Ten championship. The league has said, before starting play, you needed to play six games in order to play in that game.

So far, seven games have been canceled or postponed this week due to COVID. Last week, 18 were called off.

The Pac-12, meanwhile, says Utah will now play at Washington on Saturday after both teams had their original opponents cancel because they were impacted by coronavirus.

All right. The NFL says tomorrow night's Ravens/Steelers game is still on despite more positive coronavirus tests. A Baltimore report said at least ten positives since Sunday night, including coaches and support staff. The Ravens said their team facility will be closed and all team activities will be held virtually with the health and safety of players and staff remaining the highest priority.

All right. Finally, college basketball tips off today with games all day long, 44 games scheduled for today have been postponed or canceled due to COVID. That may sound like a lot, but keep in mind, there are still 212 games today between the men and the women.

[05:25:06]

Boris, that's a lot of travel for a lot of people and, you know, some of those games are allowing fans in the arenas to watch. So, it's certainly interesting to see how this college basketball season goes. I imagine there will be plenty of postponements and cancellations.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, it's going to be interesting to see how the NCAA juggles all of this, especially if they hope to have March Madness in 2021. It's going to be a lot of work.

Andy Scholes with the "Bleacher Report", thanks so much SCHOLES: All right.

SANCHEZ: The pandemic showing no mercy, even on Thanksgiving. The most deaths reported in six months as Americans prepare for a holiday marked by empty chairs and tables across the country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)