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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; Meghan Markle Reveals Miscarriage, Hopes To Help Others Heal. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired November 25, 2020 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[05:30:26]
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, this is EARLY START. I'm Boris Sanchez in for Christine Romans.
LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Laura Jarrett. It's about 30 minutes past the hour here in New York.
Well, today is the day Americans have traditionally hit the road in record numbers braving traffic and long lines at the airport to be with their family and their friends, watch a parade on T.V., perhaps a football game, and pause for a moment of gratitude. Instead, the start of this holiday season is a sharp reminder of loved ones lost this year and the fear of what's still to come.
Two thousand one hundred forty-six Americans were reported dead of coronavirus yesterday. It's one of the worst days of the entire pandemic just ahead of Thanksgiving, and with health experts now warning that the spread of this 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 superspreader 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 from every airport in the United States and carrying virus with them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The mother of all superspreader events.
And look at this. Eighty-eight thousand Americans are in the hospital right now. It's the 15th straight day of record hospitalizations in the United States. Hospitals, clinics, and nursing facilities are still struggling to maintain adequate personal protective equipment and other vital resources. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JULIE BROOKS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF NURSING, MERCY HOSPITAL, ST. LOUIS: Any time of the day or night they can call and say we're out of beds.
CASEY NOLAN, KSDK-TV ANCHOR, ST. LOUIS: You're improvising on a daily basis?
BROOKS: On an hourly basis.
LORI LYNN, REGISTERED NURSE, MERCY HOSPITAL, ST. LOUIS: The hardest part for me back in April was just isolating completely from everybody. It's just hard to be here and then go back home and not really have much to go back home to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Now, White House Coronavirus Task Force reports obtained by CNN call for quote "significant behavior change of all Americans" -- including something the president frequently mocks, wearing masks.
The U.S. official in charge of COVID testing now also urging people not to travel for the holiday, and he says that if you do, a negative coronavirus test is really not all that helpful in this situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADM. BRETT GIROIR, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH, U.S. COVID TESTING CZAR: That a test that's negative today doesn't mean you're going to be negative tomorrow or the next day, or the following day. That negative test is not a free pass to do risky behaviors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Admiral Brett Giroir also says the White House Task Force and the CDC are looking at whether the 14-day quarantine period for someone exposed to COVID could be shortened to 10 days if a 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.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT: We're already working on meeting with the COVID team in the White House and how to not only distribute but get a -- from a vaccine being distributed to should be -- a person able to get vaccinated. So I think we're going to not 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 had to say yesterday. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But the stock market has just broken 30,000. Never been broken, that number. That's a sacred number.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Now, the Dow did hit 30,000 but many minds on Wall Street point to the positive vaccine news and the transition to a Joe Biden- led administration for that growth.
And even as the president brags about the stock market, most Americans are focused on food -- how they're going to be able to afford the basics and feed their families after lawmakers failed to pass a stimulus bill. And now, instead of lines at the airport, millions across the country are left waiting in long food lines to feed their loved ones.
JARRETT: Well, President-elect Biden wasting no time with the presidential transition. He's introducing key members of his national security team. Mr. Biden is hoping his appointments will also put the United States back at the forefront of global diplomacy.
Let's get the latest from Jeff Zeleny. He's live in Wilmington, Delaware for us.
Jeff, it sounds like the wheels are finally in motion. The Biden team meeting with the Trump administration at some of these key agencies now, finally.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Laura, good morning.
[05:35:00]
We certainly are seeing that really across government, hearing reports of this -- these landing teams is what they're called. These experts in the Biden transition meeting with their counterparts in the Trump administration -- really, happening from the Pentagon and the State Department through every agency of government, including the White House.
And the Biden team, so far, is saying that they're seeing the doors being opened and a cooperation taking place. Now, this, of course, coming after the GSA finally ascertained that Joe Biden is the president-elect.
But what we saw here yesterday in Wilmington certainly striking as the president-elect introduced his national security team, his secretary of state, his director of national intelligence. It clearly was a sense a changing of the guard -- not necessarily new faces -- familiar ones -- but people steeped in Washington experience.
But, Mr. Biden pushed back on any suggestions this could be seen as a third Obama term. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: This is not a third Obama term because there's -- we face a totally different world than we faced in the Obama-Biden administration. The president -- this -- President Trump has changed the landscape. It's become American first. It's been American alone. We find ourselves in a position where our alliances are being frayed.
It's totally different. That's why I found people who joined the administration and keep the points that represent the spectrum of the American people, as well as the spectrum of the Democratic Party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: Also seeing really substantive changes are John Kerry, first and foremost. Of course, the former secretary of state now joining the cabinet as a climate czar, going to focus on this for the first time as a cabinet-level position.
So the president-elect saying he's going to find people who tell him what he needs to know, not what he wants to know. So embedded into all of this, he is not going to be like President Trump.
Now, speaking of that, Mr. Biden was also asked in that NBC News interview if he plans to investigate the president. And he says look, I will not use the Department of Justice as a weapon, as President Trump has, against his adversaries. But he did not say -- and, of course, he cannot control state investigations and probes. As you know Laura, those are the ones that we're keeping our eyes on next year.
JARRETT: Yes. So it was interesting to see how he made that distinction. Obviously, the New York Attorney General's office --
ZELENY: Right.
JARRETT: -- the D.A. there. They have important investigations still going.
Jeff, before we let you go, part of the transition -- a key part is really Biden receiving the presidential daily briefing. Obviously, a compilation of all that sensitive intelligence information coming from all the different agencies. When do we expect Biden to actually receive that briefing?
ZELENY: Laura, that could come as early as today. He said yesterday that he has been given the green light to receive this. The White House had to sign off on this. So he said it could come as early as today. We'll keep our eye on that.
But you're right, this is something he received -- a document he was briefed on for eight years as vice president, but he's not seen it for four years. So this, as you said, is just a compilation of all the threats coming toward America. So this is something that allows him to prepare for being president.
This is something that normally happens the day after the election -- JARRETT: Right.
ZELENY: -- but what's three weeks, Laura?
JARRETT: Well, we have to see on that.
Thanks so much, Jeff -- appreciate it.
ZELENY: Right -- thank you.
SANCHEZ: While President-elect Joe Biden prepares to assume power, President Trump remains stuck in an alternate universe. Today, he's expected to join his attorney Rudy Giuliani in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where state lawmakers are holding a so-called hearing on allegations of election fraud. It's a so-called hearing because it's not actually happening in court or in a legislative body -- it's at a hotel.
And in a sign that Trump is aware his presidency is soon coming to an end, CNN has learned the White House has discussed a possible pardon for Michael Flynn, the president's first national security adviser who was only on the job for a couple of months.
Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017, you might remember, to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia. He later tried to back out of that plea before the Justice Department tried to abandon the case altogether this spring.
JARRETT: Well, 56 days until Joe Biden's inauguration. It's time for three questions in three minutes.
Let's bring in "Daily Beast" Washington bureau chief and CNN political analyst, Jackie Kucinich. Jackie, so nice to see you.
SANCHEZ: Good morning, Jackie.
JARRETT: So --
JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE DAILY BEAST: Likewise -- good morning, guys.
JARRETT: Good morning.
So the president-elect has now introduced several members of his national security, foreign policy team. He clearly wants to project strength to the rest of the globe. Listen to how he described this on NBC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: America's back. We're at the head of the table once again. I have spoken with over 20 world leaders and they all are literally pleased and somewhat excited America's going to reassert its role in the world and be a coalition builder.
(END VIDEO CLIP) JARRETT: America's back -- very different than America's first, the president's slogan.
He wants to turn the page, obviously. Pragmatically, though, what can he do on day one to make this happen?
[05:40:00]
KUCINICH: Well, I mean, this administration -- the incoming Biden administration, day one and day two, three, and four, and five, and for the foreseeable future, is going to be dealing with the coronavirus crisis and trying to get that under control.
In addition to that, he's going to be sending a lot of executive orders, frankly, undoing what the Trump administration has done. Things like rejoining the Paris Climate Accords. Rejoining the World Health Organization, which is also in conjunction with the coronavirus. Reimplementing some of the environmental rollbacks that President Trump has taken during his tenure in office.
But there's also some -- Biden has talked about some of the more -- we'll call them aspirational things that he hopes to do. Things like send an immigration bill to Congress, which as we know even in the best of times in terms of makeup in the House and the Senate, is a tough sell.
SANCHEZ: Yes. To call that sort of agenda aspirational is very diplomatic of him because as we know, Joe Biden faces an uphill climb getting Republicans --
KUCINICH: Right.
SANCHEZ: -- to work with him. Mitch McConnell, for example, as Laura just talked about. He's yet to even acknowledge that Joe Biden is president-elect.
And others are also starting to --
KUCINICH: Right.
SANCHEZ: -- speak out critically, like Marco Rubio. I want to point to the tweet he sent out yesterday saying, in part, that Biden's cabinet picks went to Ivy League schools, have strong resumes, attend all the right conferences, and will be polite and orderly caretakers of America's decline.
Point of fact here. The current secretaries of treasury, state, commerce, health, housing, transportation, and the attorney general -- all of them went to Ivy League schools, but let's take the senator's larger point on its face.
Trump got elected in part because of policies and pitfalls that left millions of Americans struggling for over a generation.
So how can Biden generate the necessary change for those folks that are struggling, especially amid the coronavirus pandemic, while largely relying on people that he served with as vice president?
KUCINICH: Yes. The next thing you know, Republicans are going to start caring about the deficit again. But, you know, I digress.
But no, it's an excellent question. And Lester Holt kind of posed a similar one to Biden considering a lot of the people are the same as the Obama -- that served in the Obama administration. But as Joe Biden said in that interview, he knows that there's a different terrain and even more Americans are struggling than were when he left office because of the coronavirus.
One of the things that they said that they're going to do on the onset is try to push through relief for local and state governments because their budgets have been so depleted over the course of this crisis.
So -- but certainly, that will be a huge test for the Biden administration is not remaking some of the mistakes that the Obama administration made the last time Joe Biden was in a position of power.
JARRETT: Jackie, the president-elect also said that he could pick a Republican for a cabinet post -- and not just a Republican, but someone who actually voted for President Trump. He's obviously trying to do his classic Biden bipartisanship there. But who would that person be?
KUCINICH: That is an excellent question. You know, the parlor game of who's going to end up where in administrations is as old as Washington.
But just speaking more broadly, it is very much a tradition to have someone of an opposite party in a cabinet position across many administrations. I mean, this is something that we've seen for a really long time.
The question is where they end up in the administration. Because progressives are keeping an eye on where Joe Biden is putting their allies and where he's putting perhaps some of the more right-of-center people -- a part of his coalition.
And right now, in terms of the people that he's already nominated or has signaled he's going to nominate, it seems like every part of the Democratic Party and even some parts of the Republican Party are alright with it. But we'll see if that continues. Nothing is ever -- nothing ever stays completely quiet.
SANCHEZ: That's right.
Jackie Kucinich, Washington bureau chief for "The Daily Beast." Thanks for getting up early for us.
KUCINICH: Thanks, guys.
SANCHEZ: As the United States approaches 200,000 coronavirus cases a day, just a few dozen cases was enough for one country to tighten its rules. CNN reporters are covering the pandemic around the world.
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KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong.
On Wednesday, the city reported 85 new cases of the coronavirus, the highest daily total since early August, and the government is taking action. Starting on Thursday, all bars, nightclubs, and party rooms will be closed for a week. Restaurants must limit the number of customers to half their capacity, and no more than four diners are allowed to sit at the same table.
In her policy address today, Hong Kong's top leader, Carrie Lam, said some of China's COVID-19 vaccines are reserved for Hong Kongers but warned that the community should remain vigilant despite the promise of an expected vaccine.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Jim Bittermann in France, where President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation last night to say that the lockdown here will start to ease this weekend.
[05:45:05]
Shops and hairdressers can begin to reopen. People will be allowed to go out for exercise for three hours instead of the one, currently.
It's not much but he said that restrictions may be eased a little more on December 15th if the daily increase in cases can be kept under 5,000 per day. At the beginning of this month, they were running as high as 60,000 per day.
There will be exceptions made for Christmas and New Year's, but a curfew will be in place until January 20th when if there are no further surges in cases, bars, cafes, and restaurants can finally reopen.
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Jomana Karadsheh in Istanbul.
Turkey is reporting an unprecedented number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. ICU occupancy levels at an all-time high during the pandemic at more than 71 percent.
Last week, the government introduced measures, the strictest since June. They include the shutting down of all cafes and restaurants, only allowing takeout and delivery service. There's also a partial weekend curfew and an age-based lockdown.
Now, they say they believe this will bring down the surge in the coming weeks. But if people don't comply they say stricter measures are on the table.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Salma Abdelaziz in London where Christmas bubbles are being formed. The government has announced a limited time special Christmas dispensation between December 23rd and 27th. Social restrictions will be eased to allow up to three households to come together to form a Christmas bubble so that they can celebrate in a safe but limited way.
The prime minister has described this as a cautious approach that allows people to enjoy the holidays. But we've already heard opposition from scientific advisers, saying it's like throwing fuel on the fire and will cause another spike on coronavirus cases.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Thanks to all of our reporters around the world.
Hey, stay with EARLY START. We'll be right back after a quick break.
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[05:51:02]
SANCHEZ: Breaking overnight, buildings collapsed in the Dallas-Fort Worth area during a line of severe storms, including a possible tornado.
The Thanksgiving forecast could include rain in the east and snow in the west. Here's meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.
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PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST (on camera): Good morning, guys. This weather is brought to you by Ninja Foodi -- be proud of what you make.
And this is the day AAA expects to be among the busiest travel days of the year. And, of course, we know given the pandemic, the CDC tells you it may not be a good idea to travel. Mother Nature tells you it's going to be a rough go across positions of the southern United States, even across the eastern third of the U.S. as this system skirts off towards the east.
Now, it's a marginal risk, which means on a scale of one to five, it is a one from areas around New Orleans or north of Cincinnati. Some of these severe weather elements, whether it be hail, wind, or even an isolated tornado, that's a possibility in the forecast. And that energy does shift off towards the east eventually by Thursday afternoon and evening.
So, wet weather really dominates the eastern third of the U.S. Not a blockbuster weathermaker but the heaviest rains are expected to be along the Gulf Coast and farther towards the south.
Now, I'll leave you with this perspective. The travel forecast, some disruptions possible across the Pacific Northwest. And yes, around the Midwest, Deep South, even on into the northeast. As the storm migrates off towards the east, travel disruptions there as well -- guys.
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SANCHEZ: Pedram, thank you so much for that.
Are you OK? It's a simple question but it's one that Meghan Markle is calling on all of us to ask a lot more.
Writing in "The New York Times," the Duchess of Sussex reveals she had a miscarriage earlier this year and she wants to break the stigma around the issue.
She writes in part, quote, "We are adjusting to a new normal where faces are concealed by masks, but it's forcing us to look into one another's eyes -- sometimes filled with warmth, other times with tears. For the first time, in a long time, as human beings, we are really seeing one another. Are we OK? We will be."
CNN's Max Foster covers the royal family extensively and he joins us live from England. Max, it's really a remarkable piece of writing because she's not only tackling her miscarriage, writing so honestly and frankly about it, but she's also talking about the pandemic and systemic racism. So many of the everyday issues we face but she's writing about it in such a clear way.
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and that question, are you OK, actually goes back to a question she was asked by a journalist on a tour that I covered last year in Africa. And she responded, saying not many people have asked me if I'm OK. It really resonated and she really felt how that resonated around the world.
And she was reminded of that phrase again in July this year when she felt a sharp pain while she was changing baby Archie's nappy. She fell to the floor and she started singing lullabies, she says in this piece, to try to keep them both calm. She said I knew as I touched my firstborn child that I was losing my second.
And then she talks about being in hospital with a heartbroken Harry and all she could think to say to him is are you OK, realizing though, that's the first stage in healing in any of these kinds of situations.
She talks about miscarriage as being a taboo subject. People often deal with them on their own. And that's why, partly, she's speaking out on this.
And she says that the conversation is taboo but she goes on to say, "We have learned that when people ask how any of us are doing, and when they really listen to the answer with an open heart and mind, the load of grief often becomes lighter for all of us. In being invited to share our pain, together, we take the first steps toward healing."
As she -- as you say, she then widens this out to 2020 when so many people are suffering, she describes. She talks about the pandemic misinformation. She talks about going into Thanksgiving, urging people to just ask others who might be feeling lonely, are you OK.
[05:55:00]
JARRETT: Yes. I really encourage everyone to read it. It's just a beautiful piece before Thanksgiving.
Max, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
SANCHEZ: An incredibly brave and heartfelt thing for Meghan Markle to do, to take something that so many families struggle with privately and to bring it out into the open, healing and empowering.
Thank you so much for joining us this morning. I'm Boris Sanchez in for Christine Romans.
JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" is next.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The safest thing to do this Thanksgiving is not travel.
REINER: It's potentially, the mother of all superspreader events.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is again the time for us to really hunker down. Do not gather indoors with anyone who is not in your immediate household right now.
BIDEN: America's back. We're at the head of the table once again. America's going to reassert its role in the world.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The White House has signed off on Joe Biden getting that president's daily brief. He does expect to start, potentially, as soon as today.
ANTONY BLINKEN, BIDEN NOMINEE, SECRETARY OF STATE: America at its best still has a greater ability than any other country on earth to bring others together.
