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South Dakota Town Divided Over Mask Mandate As Deaths Rise; Reno Hospital Expands Into Parking Garage To Handle Surge In Patients; President Trump Asks U.S. Supreme Court To Invalidate Millions Of Votes. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired December 10, 2020 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:32:14]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: South Dakota is experiencing dark days of this pandemic. More people have died in the past month there than have died the rest of the year from coronavirus.

South Dakota's governor, Kristie Noem, has long resisted and rejected a statewide mask mandate, along with many local elected leaders, and that has led to a major division in one small town after several well- known and beloved figures in the community became victims of the virus.

Joining us now is Susan Tjarks. She is a city councilwoman in Mitchell, South Dakota. Councilwoman, great to have you here.

Just tell us what happened. You believe there should be a mask mandate, and what was the reaction in Mitchel and beyond to your feeling?

SUSAN TJARKS (R), CITY COUNCIL MEMBER, MITCHELL, SOUTH DAKOTA (via Cisco Webex): Well, initially, it felt like there -- it was met with quite a bit of resistance. But as it turned out, I think that once the idea of masking was introduced, I think that then people came forward and said this is something that we need to do.

The hospital system, the university, the school system -- we have a lot of entities in our community who stepped forward and said this is something that we definitely need to pursue because like you said, we had lost so many important people in our community.

It was interesting because by the middle of November, our community -- our county was 11th in the nation per capita for positive coronavirus cases. And so, we had really hit a point where it was difficult to deny the need for taking some mitigation measures.

CAMEROTA: And I should just mention you're a conservative Republican, and the only reason that even warrants mentioning is because this has become somehow a political statement and a political battle. And you know the governor of your state has basically suggested that it's some sort of badge of honor or sign of freedom not to wear a mask. And so, what was your reaction to that?

TJARKS: Well, I mean, we're all about personal freedoms and, of course, I believe in the Bill of Rights and all of the freedoms that we've been granted. But I do think that there is a time that we have to step back and reevaluate and say is what we're doing working.

And I -- you know, I -- Kristie Noem has consistently said I trust the people of the state of South Dakota to do the right thing. But as we saw our cases numbers rising, I think there just became a time when it was a point where we needed to say OK, can we just stay the course and not do anything, or is this the time that we need to step in and maybe do some things that will start to curtail the cases that are so rapidly increasing in our state.

[07:35:10]

CAMEROTA: I mean -- and the problem with that logic of hers is that not everybody does the right thing. That's why we have drunk driving laws in this country.

And so, when you found your way early to believing that a mask mandate was important, were the people of Mitchell, your town -- were they wearing masks in public?

TJARKS: It was -- you know, it's very divided. It's a -- this is the most divisive issue I've ever encountered in my time on the council. And so, you would go to the grocery store and I think early on there was probably 50-50. I'm so proud to say that since we have instituted the mask mandate it is unusual to see people not wearing a mask.

And the results of that mask mandate have been phenomenal and we have seen -- we've gone from being the 10th-worst in the top 10 cities in South Dakota to being the third-best in terms of cases per capita. So the mask mandate is definitely working.

And we do see a lot of -- most people, I would say, are wearing the masks. And there will always be those who buck the system, but I'm pleased with the response from our community.

CAMEROTA: I mean, it's just remarkable how well it's working and hopefully -- and hopefully, that message will spread so that people can see there's actual proof of its effectiveness.

But I know that you had to deal with some disparaging remarks from the City Council --

TJARKS: Right.

CAMEROTA: -- president, Kevin McCardle, who said "You don't see the grocery stores putting mandatory masks in. Nobody would go to 'em. They'd lose business."

What does he say now?

TJARKS: I think that Kevin probably still is not in favor of a mask mandate. However, at our council meetings, he's wearing them. So I think that the important thing is that we're able to come together at the end of the day and work together on this.

So -- but, yes, he still probably would vote against it. I'm sure he would vote against a mask mandate. So, yes, I don't know. I don't know even how to respond to that. I can't speak for him, I guess.

CAMEROTA: Yes. No, I understand. I mean, you have fought against obviously, fellow Republicans, fellow conservatives, and the proof is in the health of your town now versus what it was.

So, Susan Tjarks, thank you very much for explaining to us what's happening there on the ground.

TJARKS: Thank you so much.

CAMEROTA: President Trump calls what you're about to see fake. It's a hospital stretched so thin it's been forced to open an overflow wing in a parking garage. Our camera is going to take you inside there, next.

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[07:42:13]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, a flood of coronavirus patients forcing a hospital in Reno, Nevada to open a new wing in its parking garage. The move getting reaction from President Trump.

CNN's Sara Sidner got an inside look at this most unusual field hospital.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dr. Jacob Keeperman is mustering all his mental and physical strength as another wave of COVID-19 patients show up in the intensive care unit at his hospital. Everyone here has been going nonstop for months.

SIDNER (on camera): What was your worst day?

DR. JACOB KEEPERMAN, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, RENOWN TRANSFER AND OPERATIONS CENTER: So, my worst day of this pandemic was actually the day I posted a tweet thanking my teammates. I had just finished a seven-day stretch in the intensive care unit. There had been patient after patient after patient who was not surviving this illness.

SIDNER (voice-over): The tweet he sent was a simple selfie showing off their new COVID-19 wing. That wing set up in the hospital parking garage. That fact seemed to set President Trump off, who retweeted the tweet calling it fake and a scam. That unleashed the Twitter trolls.

KEEPERMAN: I was sad and devastated, and I was angry.

SIDNER (voice-over): Devastated and angry because of all of the hard work being done by his colleagues inside this parking garage hospital every single day, from the food staff to the CEO.

ANTHONY SLONIM, HOSPITAL CEO: This is not fake. This is as real as it gets.

SIDNER (voice-over): The idea was conceived and executed months ago, but during this COVID surge patients are now parked in the spaces instead of cars.

SIDNER (on camera): The number of coronavirus cases in Washoe County, Nevada that this hospital services has exploded. This week, there are actually 10 times the number of COVID-19 cases than there were just a couple of months ago, so the hospital had to do whatever it takes to find more bed space. And so, here we are on floor G of the parking garage.

JANET BAUM, SITE NURSING MANAGER: It was scary, you know. We don't expect to go to work and be working out of a parking garage. We've made it a hospital so we don't even consider it a garage anymore.

SIDNER (on camera): Did you ever think that in America they would have to treat people in a parking lot?

ROSALIA MARTINEZ, CORONAVIRUS PATIENT: I apologize for what I'm going to say. When they started building this, I laughed.

SIDNER (voice-over): Making a dusty, dirty parking garage into a sanitary space seemed laughable. But then, she ended up hospitalized here.

[07:45:03]

R. MARTINEZ: People don't realize how bad this is -- the pain -- how you feel. The not being able to breathe, that's one of the worst things that I ever did experience in my life.

SIDNER (voice-over): A few days later, her husband of 35 years was also hospitalized with COVID.

LUIS MARTINEZ, HUSBAND OF ROSALIA MARTINEZ, CORONAVIRUS PATIENT: I thought she was going to die.

SIDNER (voice-over): After spending days in isolation with no visitation, they found each other again parked just four beds apart in the parking garage.

R. MARTINEZ: He coughs at nighttime. I can hear him. And if I yell, he can hear me. He knows that I'm still alive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: (video difficulty).

BERMAN: I think we lost Sara Sidner there.

What a report -- the imagery of Sara walking through a parking garage now being used as a hospital. And the thought of that husband and the wife who'd been separated, as Sara put it in a line that I'm not going to forget for some time, saying they were parked four spaces away from each other. That's where we are.

CAMEROTA: I mean, you and I can talk about the numbers every morning, as we do, but one piece like that from Sara or our correspondents brings it home in an emotional way that the numbers don't.

BERMAN: And there are people calling that fake. I'm sorry, there are people calling that fake. Those people are in a parking garage trying to get better right now. It is desperately real.

CAMEROTA: We want to take a moment now to remember some of the nearly 290,000 American lives lost to coronavirus.

Jay Welches, of Tennessee, was a former firefighter, EMT, and a sheriff's deputy who volunteered as a Little League umpire and a Pee Wee football coach. Friends remember him for his kind heart, his sense of humor, and his willingness to help others. Jay was 69.

Thirty-seven-year-old Melinda Roellig was a beloved art and music teacher from Clarksville, Indiana. Colleagues say every student wanted to be in her class. Family members say Melinda avoided a trip to the hospital because she was not sure her insurance would cover the costs.

In Georgia, family, friends, and former colleagues are mourning the death of the state's former chief justice, George Carley. In addition to his family, Justice Carley loved two things, the Georgia Bulldogs and the court. He was a stickler for protocol and was known for always appearing in public properly attired, as he said, in a coat and tie. Justice Carley was 82 years old.

We'll be right back.

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[07:51:57]

BERMAN: This afternoon, President Trump will host the attorney general from the state of Texas and other attorneys general who are trying to join with him to overthrow the results of the presidential election.

Joining us now is Republican election lawyer and CNN contributor, Ben Ginsberg. Ben, thanks so much for being with us.

This is a case filed by the attorney general of Texas, Ken Paxton. The president has joined it. It is trying to get the Supreme Court to throw out the results of the elections in Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.

Before we get into some of the details of this case, I just want to ask you in a general sense, were you a law professor, what grade would you give to the legal arguments of this case?

BEN GINSBERG, CNN CONTRIBUTOR, REPUBLICAN ELECTION LAWYER (via Skype): (Laughing) Well, I think it's a solid F. There are -- there are many, many things wrong with it. Just for

starters, it asks the Supreme Court of the United States to disenfranchise 20 million American voters. They're not likely to want to do that. And the Supreme Court, I think, won't even take up the case because there are two basic provisions of the Constitution it violates.

First of all, that states have the right to set the time, place, and manner for their own elections. That does not mean the Texas attorney general gets to tell Michigan how to run its elections.

And secondly, it -- the Constitution says that the Electoral College must meet on the same date throughout the country and basically, this suit asks for a delay in the meeting of the Electoral College in the four states.

BERMAN: So, Professor, it sounds like what you're saying is that the problem -- the main problem with this case is the Constitution, which is a somewhat large problem when you're trying to get it before the Supreme Court.

Let me just read you Article II, Section 1 because you brought up the Constitution here -- Article II, Section 1.

The Constitution is murky on some things when it comes to the election and Electoral College. It's crystal clear on who gets to decide how things work. "Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors." Each state -- the Legislature thereof.

So what rights does the Constitution grant Texas in determining how Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, and Pennsylvania pick their electors?

GINSBERG: None. There may be a provision of the Constitution called the "hope and the prayer clause" that these folks are reading into it, but there's nothing in the document.

BERMAN: And again, as you say, the Supreme Court -- how will this be received there? What is the process over the next few days?

GINSBERG: The courts ask for briefings from the four states to be turned in today. The court can then take it up -- and undoubtedly, the full court will take it up. They usually meet in a conference on Fridays, so they might hear it tomorrow. My guess is they'll want to deal with this before Monday, which is the date that the Electoral College does meet in each of the states.

[07:55:06]

I think this case is likely to get something similar to what the justices said about the Pennsylvania case brought by a Trump supporter. It was a one-line dismissal, the most elegant and decisive way to get rid of a frivolous case.

BERMAN: And so you think this will happen -- again, today's Thursday. Monday is when the electors meet in each state, mandated by the Constitution and written into law in the Electoral Count Act. You think the court will basically dismiss this or refuse to hear it before Monday.

GINSBERG: Yes, I do.

BERMAN: And then what? And then what? From this president who refuses to give up no matter what, and then what?

GINSBERG: Well, I think the number of options are severely limited. The Electoral College in each state will send its results to the Senate -- to the Congress of the United States. That happens by December 23rd. And each of the states has already certified its elections so once the Supreme Court deals with the Texas case, that's done.

The only hope left where you might see some theatrics but not substance is January sixth when the Congress does deal with the Electoral College certificates.

BERMAN: Yes, I'm glad you brought that up because it is theatrics, not substance. January sixth, it goes to the full Congress -- and they count. Their only role, honestly, is to just count the votes out loud. But because of this law passed in, what was it, 1886 or something --

GINSBERG: Eighty-seven, yes.

BERMAN: Eighty-seven. I'm sorry, I get an F, too.

That if one senator and one member of the House objects, then they go vote on those objections. But both chambers need to agree on that objection.

So, Ron Johnson and Jim Jordan can spin their wheels right now, but what are the -- what's the likelihood of a Democratic House and Senate with Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, John Cornyn basically saying they would want to overturn the results of the election?

GINSBERG: I think the chances are none. And what it is, again, goes to trying to stir up stuff and never admit defeat, which last time I checked is not a constitutional principle.

BERMAN: It's such a good point. And basically, what you're saying here Ben, is this is not about the law. This is so far past the law at this point. It's about political arguments and it's about emotion and really trying to stir people up right now.

Talk about Ken Paxton very briefly because people have raised this question. Paxton -- the Associated Press and others have reported that he's under federal investigation for political favors. And some have asked could he be doing this to try to get a federal pardon -- a pardon from the President of the United States. Is that something that could happen?

GINSBERG: Well, you know, you've got two parties which would appear to have a common goal. The president has made clear he's looking to grant pardons. Ken Paxton feels like he's auditioning to get a pardon by the way he's

written this complaint. I mean, his actions have historical inaccuracies in it, as does the president's motion to intervene in this. It's inaccurate on the law.

All these cases that they complain of have already been litigated in the lower courts. They were losers, each and every one of them.

And so, each action that seems to be taken here is just repeating the notion of the president and his campaign as a loser, which is kind of a mystery to me because he's very brand conscious and the brand he likes the least is being a loser. But he's sure not a winner in any of these cases.

BERMAN: No. And I have to say, the president's own legal filing, which said the country is more divided than it's been at any time since the election of 1860 -- I was stunned -- stunned they brought up the election of 1860 comparing this to that. Because as you know, the reason that was controversial was because Abraham Lincoln won. So the Trump legal team has associated itself with the losing side in that election. That's not the side you want to be on historically for a ton of reasons.

Ben Ginsberg --

GINSBERG: No.

BERMAN: Yes, go ahead.

GINSBERG: I think they're trying to make it into a self-fulfilling prophecy dividing the country, which is the sad part.

BERMAN: It's sad and it's terrifying given where we are right now.

Ben Ginsberg, thanks so much for being with us. I appreciate, as always --

GINSBERG: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: -- the education.

So we could know today when the first coronavirus vaccines will be available in the United States. NEW DAY continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, FORMER SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: We are in a totally unprecedented health crisis in this country. Healthcare workers are exhausted, hospitals are totally full.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR AND NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Daily reported deaths skyrocketing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm ready to get that vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration has the most extraordinary track record of vaccine safety. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The federal government is saying that 2.9 million doses will be in that initial shipment. But we're learning from states that will not be enough.