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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

More U.S. Coronavirus Deaths, Hospitalizations, and Cases Than Ever Before; First Joint Interview With President-Elect Biden And V.P.-Elect Harris; GOP Braces For Georgia Trump Rally Ahead Of January Runoffs. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired December 04, 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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[05:31:03]

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, good Friday morning, everyone. This is EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Laura Jarrett. About 30 minutes past the hour here in New York.

With America now at the darkest point to date in the coronavirus pandemic, we're hearing exclusive new details from the incoming president and vice president about their plan to tackle this crisis.

By just about any measure, it's never been worse. Two thousand eight hundred seventy-nine Americans reported dead Thursday. The number of people in the hospital and the number of new cases have also reached new heights.

President-elect Joe Biden says the pandemic and its disastrous economic fallout will be a primary focus when he takes office next month.

Biden and V.P.-elect Harris sat down with CNN's Jake Tapper last night for an exclusive interview. Biden acknowledged the pandemic may be raging even more intensely by the time he's sworn in, in January. He said he will ask Americans to unite to beat the virus and save the economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: Well, it's going to be a couple of things. Number one, it's going to be important we set out national standards and let the -- look, we met with governors, Democrat and Republican, as well as 50 Democrat and Republicans mayors, and they said they need guidance -- they need guidance and they are going to need a fair amount of money.

It's one thing for us to talk about being able to get help out there but it's not getting there. We're having -- these hospital stays are overwhelming hospitals right now. There's a need for more financial assistance. There's more financial

assistance needed as well when the vaccine comes forward. There's need for planning.

And so, now I -- the administration has been cooperating with us of late, letting them know what their plans are for the COVID virus -- for how they're going to deliver on the vaccine. But there's not any help getting out there.

And look at all the -- all the businesses that are being hurt so badly. No money to help them. Come Christmas time there's going to be millions of people see their unemployment run out.

So there's a whole range of things that have to be done and we have to ante up. I'm hoping -- and we've talked about this -- I'm hoping the Senate in this lame duck session will come up with some help to make sure we can keep people moving and keep people in their -- even if their jobs -- even if their -- if they have to close restaurants and bars they're able to be able to maintain their business while they're out.

And so there's a whole lot of things that have to be done quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: And, Biden says masks will be an important part of urging Americans to unite and even make sacrifices in the fight against COVID.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: The president and the vice president, we set, you know, the pattern by wearing a mask.

KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT: Yes.

BIDEN: But beyond that, where the federal government has authority, I'm going to issue a standing order that in federal buildings you have to be masked and in transportation -- interstate transportation, you must be masked, in airplanes, in buses, et cetera.

And so, it's a -- it's a matter of -- and I think my inclination Jake is on the first day I'm inaugurated to say I'm going to ask the public for 100 days to mask. Just 100 days to mask. Not forever, 100 days. And I think we'll see a significant reduction if we occur that -- if that occurs with vaccinations and masking to drive down the numbers considerably -- considerably.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: Both Biden and Harris stressed their confidence in the safety of the imminent coronavirus vaccines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, ANCHOR, "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER": Are you confident that if and when the FDA does give that approval it will be safe and effective, and will you take it?

HARRIS: Of course, I will. And it -- but we also want to make sure that the American people know that we are committed. The president- elect and I talk about this all the time -- that the people who need it most are going to be a priority.

TAPPER: Do you plan to get vaccinated before inauguration day, and will you do it in public the way that presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton have suggested they're willing to do?

[05:35:00]

BIDEN: I would be happy to do that. When Dr. Fauci says we have a vaccine that is safe, that's the moment in which I will stand before the public and see that -- look, part of what has to happen Jake, and you know as well as I do, people have lost faith in the ability of the vaccine to work. Already, the numbers are really staggeringly low. And it matters what a president and a vice president do.

HARRIS: Yes.

BIDEN: So I think that my pre-predecessors have set the model as to what should be done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Vice President-elect Harris addressed the issue of reopening schools that have been closed by the pandemic. She says returning children safely back to the classrooms is a priority for the new administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Will the Biden-Harris administration defer to the health experts or to the teachers' unions when it comes to elementary schools?

HARRIS: Look, honestly Jake, I think it's a false choice -- both, both. The public health experts, of course, must be leaders in this conversation because we're having the conversation because of a public health epidemic -- a pandemic. So they must help inform the decisions.

But our educators are our educators. They are on the frontline. They are most knowledgeable about the educational needs of our children. So both have to be participating in that conversation.

But let's start from this place. Everyone wants our kids to go back to school. Every parent wants their kids to go back to school, every teacher wants to educate those children, every community benefits from those children getting an education.

So there is wide consensus about the priority and the goal. And then we have to bring everyone together around how we achieve that in a way that is smart. (END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: President-elect Biden says he's also asked the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, to take on a new role in his administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Look, my chief of staff has worked with him in the last crisis. He'd been talking to him all the time -- Ron Klain.

And I talked to him today -- we spoke today at 3:00. My COVID team met with him. I asked him to stay on in the exact same role he's had for the past several presidents. And I asked him to be a chief medical adviser for me as well and be part of the COVID team.

And so, what has to be done is we have to make it clear to the American people that the vaccine is safe when it occurs -- when that is determined. And number two, you have to make sure -- as he points out, you don't have to close down the economy like a lot of folks are talking about now if, in fact, you have clear guidance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Despite the fact that most Republican senators have yet to publicly acknowledge Biden's win, the president-elect says that doesn't mean he hasn't heard from them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: There have been more than several sitting Republican senators who've privately called me to congratulate me. And I understand the situation they find themselves in and until the election is clearly decided in the minds where the Electoral College votes, they get put in a very tough position.

I'm confident. I'm confident that we're going to -- there's a number of things I've already spoken to several about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: Seeing his inauguration next month, Biden says President Trump's attendance would send an important signal to the rest of the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: President Trump has not said if he's going to attend your inauguration yet. Do you think it's important that he's there?

BIDEN: (Laughing).

TAPPER: You're laughing.

BIDEN: I think it would -- important only in one sense -- not in a personal sense. Important in the sense that we are able to demonstrate at the end of this chaos that he's created that there is peaceful transfer of power with the competing parties standing there, shaking hands, and moving on. I think that's an important --

What I worry about Jake more than the impact on the domestic politics, I really worry about the image we're presenting to the rest of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Now remember, the two people sitting there, they were fierce rivals during the primaries. But now, President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris say that they have -- they're full partners now, united in their approach to the country's most pressing issues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Since the first day he asked me to join him on the ticket, he's been very clear with me that he wants me to be the first and the last in the room. And so, on every issue that impacts the American people, I will be a full partner to the president-elect and the president.

BIDEN: Whatever the most urgent need is that I'm not able to attend to, I have confidence in turning to her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: The president-elect has had quite a bit of experience in running for president. He told Jake Tapper last night how he's feeling now that he's actually won.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: You've been in public life for more than half a century. This was as (INAUDIBLE).

[05:40:00]

BIDEN: Yes.

TAPPER: Yes, your third run for president and you made it -- you made it.

What does it feel like, especially at this moment when this nation is in any number of crises, including the COVID crisis? What does it feel like? Are you -- are you daunted, are you worried, are you fearful, are you exhilarated? What's the emotion that goes through you?

BIDEN: I'm determined and I'm confident that what I've said from the outset, and I've never changed my view in this whole campaign for over -- almost going on 600 days -- exactly what had to be done. We have to restore the soul of this country, meaning honor, decency, honestly. Basic, basic fundamental decency.

The second thing, we have to rebuild the backbone of this country -- the middle class -- that in this time, bring everybody along. And thirdly, we have to unite the country.

They're all going to be difficult to do but I've never -- I've never veered from those three principles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: All right, 47 days until Joe Biden's inauguration as president. It's time for three questions in three minutes. Let's bring in CNN political commentator Errol Louis, host of the "YOU DECIDE" podcast. Great to have you this morning.

ROMANS: Hey, Errol.

JARRETT: Appreciate it.

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, HOST, "YOU DECIDE" PODCAST, POLITICAL ANCHOR, SPECTRUM NEWS (via Cisco Webex): Good morning, good morning.

JARRETT: So, last night was a study in contrast, I think. You write so great on cnn.com what Biden gets about being president that Trump doesn't. What stood out to you the most about Jake's interview?

LOUIS: Over and over again, what stood out was that the Biden-Harris team talk about bringing people together and about bringing in other players.

So that in contrast to the Trump presidency where it was always about him and what he was going to do and how he was going to satisfy his base, what we heard last night was Biden and Harris talking about bringing in the governors, bringing in senators from the opposite party, bringing in teachers, and CEOs, and labor leaders, and so forth and making clear that it was going to be a joint effort that brings this country back to where it needs to be.

Not something we've heard over the last four years.

ROMANS: You know, Errol, the president-elect talked last night about the need for a stimulus deal. Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi, we know they are talking.

I have a question. I've been watching this for months, right? They have very, very defined battle lines on this.

How do they get to yes on stimulus where all the sides can claim they won because that's politically what's happening here, right? The risk is if they don't do that, the American worker is the loser -- the only loser here.

LOUIS: Yes. I think they do it by basically raising the stakes, Christine. This is something we've seen in the past as well.

They're making it part of must-pass legislation so that the whole government will shut down if they don't get something done by December 11th. By making it part of that, I think it ratchets up the heat to the point where folks are really going to have to give. And we saw an early sign of that with the Democrats agreeing to at least consider this employer liability provision that had been a real obstacle and a roadblock to a deal in the past, allowing businesses some degree of legal immunity if they bring people back to work and they end up catching the coronavirus.

This was something that Democrats said could never be part of a deal. Now, they're signaling that they're ready to deal. And that's because, you know, sometimes you have to really put people in a room and say the whole thing goes down --

ROMANS: Yes.

LOUIS: -- if you guys can't cut a deal.

JARRETT: It seems like they always want to take it right up to the line, though. I don't know why. They always want to sort of --

ROMANS: True.

JARRETT: -- put everyone's jobs and everything at risk.

But, Errol, before we let you go, all the talk of presidential pardons this week. The president is butting heads with Bill Barr, his attorney general.

I want to get your reaction to this from the president-elect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Well, it's not my Justice Department, it's the people's Justice Department.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: I think that's so fascinating, especially considering that Kamala Harris actually did say that President Trump should be prosecuted.

LOUIS: Yes -- well, absolutely. We know who the senior and the junior members of that team are. What Biden says is going to be the way it goes. And, in fact, Kamala Harris backed him up on that in the interview last night.

This is something, though -- you know, back to this whole question. I think the historians are going to call President Biden an institutionalist. He respects institutions, including the Justice Department. And they are going to make some trouble for him -- there's no question about it.

You empower other institutions the way Biden has said he wants to do in order to have sort of a consensus-building government, some of them -- some of the choices that they make are going to probably irritate him. But that's what he believes and that's what he ran on, and that's what the voters chose on November third.

JARRETT: All right, Errol, so great to have you this morning. I really appreciate you getting up for us.

ROMANS: Have a good weekend, Errol.

LOUIS: Thank you. Thanks a lot.

ROMANS: All right.

Millions of laid-off workers on the edge of a financial cliff here as pandemic benefits are about to expire. The November jobs report expected to show jobs growth is stalling here.

[05:45:00]

Economists expect 469,000 jobs were added in the last month. That would push the unemployment rate down a little bit to 6.8 percent from 6.9 percent in October. If that prediction holds, the economy would still be down 9.6 million jobs since February.

There's still a lot of work to do to rebuild the economy here. Temporary layoffs have turned permanent.

The day after Christmas, 12 million workers risk losing their jobless benefits once key CARES Act programs expire. Now, extending those benefits is one of the ideas lawmakers behind the $908 billion bipartisan stimulus plan agree on. Congress needs to act, and quickly.

Now, Americans are facing hunger as they choose between paying bills and putting food on the table. The grace period for millions of people with student loans expires at the end of the year. Protections for renters disappear, which could lead to a wave of evictions. And states face layoffs without emergency aid to plug big holes in their budgets caused by the pandemic.

And, you know, I'm a little leery of even calling what Congress is trying to do here stimulus. This is basically about a lifeline to just stay afloat here. The stimulus is something that's going to have to come later to actually stimulate the economy. This is to keep it from falling into a double-dip recession.

JARRETT: It's a great point. This is just basic necessities at this point.

ROMANS: Right.

JARRETT: Well, up next, what could be a huge change for the movie industry as we know it. Stay with us.

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[05:50:35]

JARRETT: Welcome back.

Georgia Republicans are bracing for President Trump's arrival there on Saturday. The president will host a rally in support of two GOP senators who face runoff elections in January and the party is nervous about the president veering off message.

Kyung Lah has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Laura, Christine, Republicans in Georgia are bracing for the arrival of President Trump. He is scheduled to be here in the state of Georgia on Saturday. He's here to boost GOP enthusiasm ahead of the Senate runoffs. These senators are the incumbents -- Republicans Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue -- and they need the president's support.

But, Republicans here in the state are nervous because of Trump's repeated lies that there were widespread voting system failures in November. Take a listen to what the president had to say in the Oval Office.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The level of loyalty, I've never seen anything like it. All over the country, they know it was a fixed election. It was a rigged election. They know it and I appreciate their support.

LAH (on camera): Well, that is upsetting to Georgia Republicans. One GOP leader here in this state said that it is sending a mixed message. He personally has heard from dozens of Republicans who say that they're just not going to vote. And, of course, what is at stake is control of the U.S. Senate -- Laura, Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JARRETT: Kyung, thank you so much.

A quick programming note here for you. Two of the opponents in the Georgia Senate races, Rev. Raphael Warnock and Sen. Kelly Loeffler, face off live on CNN this weekend. "DEBATE NIGHT IN GEORGIA" Sunday night at 7:00 p.m. eastern.

ROMANS: All right, let's get the Friday edition check on CNN Business this morning.

Looking at markets around the world, you can see that European shares have opened slightly higher here this morning. And on Wall Street, stock index futures are also moving up.

It was another quiet day as investors kept an eye on stimulus negotiations. The Dow, yesterday, closed up 86 points. The Nasdaq also higher. That managed to eke out a record high there for the Nasdaq.

More pain for the airline industry. Southwest Airlines warned 6,800 employees they may be furloughed in the spring. If the layoffs do happen it would be the first in Southwest history.

Southwest and other airlines have warned they're seeing a decline in bookings as the coronavirus cases rise again and health officials urge people not to travel during the holidays.

Southwest said it asked 12 unions representing a majority of its employees for pay cuts to avoid furloughs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The exact same day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For the what, now?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: A major move from Warner Bros could change the way movies are distributed in the future. AT&T's WarnerMedia, which owns CNN, will stream all of its 2021 movies on HBO Max the same day they hit theaters. Now, these movies include "Matrix 4," the new "Suicide Squad," a film adaptation of the Broadway show "In the Heights," and others.

Last month, the studio, you'll remember, said it would release "Wonder Woman 1984" in theaters and on HBO Max on Christmas.

It highlights how the pandemic has changed consumer viewing habits as theaters remain closed or are operating at reduced capacity. These streaming services really have their entry here.

And my question for you, Laura Jarrett, is how many streaming services do you think -- well, how many do you have now, but how many do you think you'll have when it all shakes out?

JARRETT: Oh, I have at least five --

ROMANS: Yes.

JARRETT: -- and I'm sure I'll have a couple more. But this makes HBO Max pretty essential now, I think, for any viewing.

ROMANS: Yes.

JARRETT: It's really exciting news. I know someone is very excited for the new "Wonder Woman."

ROMANS: I know. I have my cost center number two (ph) is a huge fan of the first one, so that's what we are doing for sure on Christmas.

JARRETT: That's a good way to spend the holidays.

ROMANS: All right, thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.

JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" is next.

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[05:59:07]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our numbers are at alarming rates. We sure could use some leadership in the White House. BIDEN: From the first day I'm inaugurated I'm going to ask the public

for 100 days to mask.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR AND NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: More than 100,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19.

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: The bottom line is if we don't act now we'll continue to see a death rate climb and more lives lost.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm feeling terrified and very anxious about what's going to happen in the weeks ahead.

HILL: States already preparing to distribute the vaccine which, if approved, could ship in less than two weeks.

HARRIS: We want to make sure that the people who need to get it first are going to be there.

BIDEN: Once it's declared to be safe -- and it's important to communicate to the American people it's safe. It's safe to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Friday.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, it is. You've made it.

BERMAN: We got here much more quickly than we have the last few weeks.

CAMEROTA: I agree. I don't know how to explain that.

BERMAN: Yes, all right -- good news. Six o'clock here in New York.

And this morning, we have a CNN exclusive.