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New Day

Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) is Interviewed about Election Turmoil and Vaccines; Russian Hacks on America; Coronavirus Long Haulers Still Battling Symptoms. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired December 15, 2020 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): Campaigning and filing of lawsuits to challenge the will of the people. It's been exhausting. You're right, he's mostly laughed it off. He's mostly moved forward and focused on the job that's ahead of him. But last night after the Electoral College confirmed his election by the American people to be our next president, I think it was important he took a moment to just look clear in the eyes of the American people and say, this is a dangerous development. We should not have more than 100 members of the House of Representatives, we should not have this many state attorneys general signing off on a baseless lawsuit to try and overturn the election. We can't just move on without looking at this for a moment.

Even Vladimir Putin of Russia has congratulated Joe Biden as our next president. And yet there are still colleagues of mine here who refuse to recognize that.

We are making progress, there have been some direct conversations between the president-elect and senior Republicans. And I'm optimistic that we can move forward.

But I think this was an important moment, John, for Joe Biden to make it clear that this was a dangerous precedent to set.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: You brought up Vladimir Putin. What does it tell you that Vladimir Putin publicly acknowledged Biden's election victory before Senator Mitch McConnell?

COONS: That's a really striking development. Frankly, John, it is a gravely concerning development that the Republican Party remains so enthralled by Donald Trump and President Trump's endless refusal to accept the will of the people that it, frankly, puts our democracy at risk, both at home and our reputation abroad.

BERMAN: Has McConnell talked to Joe Biden yet as far as you know?

COONS: Not that I know of.

BERMAN: One more question in terms of the Senate.

There are House members who are agitating, saying that on January 6th, when the votes will be counted on the House floor before both houses of Congress, that they will offer official objections to the electoral count. They would need to have a senator sign on to those objections to get a vote in each chamber.

What do you think will happen with Republican senators? Do you expect that there will be Republican senators who sign on to those objections?

COONS: Well, there were no Republican senators who signed on to this lawsuit, this attempt that President-elect Biden was referring to. But Senator Ted Cruz offered to argue it in the Supreme Court. So there may be one. There may be two. But, frankly, this is a desperate last gasp measure.

John, our larger challenge here as a nation is a trust deficit. We have a real lack of trust in our political institutions, in science, in this vaccine, the second of which may now be approved that will help get us out of this pandemic. Joe Biden, as our next president, also sent an important message last night of reaching out, of working across the aisle and of trying to heal the divisions of this nation.

BERMAN: So you have been working with other senators trying to put together some kind of proposal for economic relief, for economic stimulus. And there is a bipartisan agreement among this group of senators now that's split the proposal in half a little bit. $748 billion, which would provide enhanced unemployment benefit, small business loans, help with vaccine distribution, but it would not provide direct aid to state and local governments. It separates $160 billion. Ned Lamont, governor of Connecticut, says he desperately wants that money.

How much does it hurt to have to take that money and separate it from the $748 billion? How much of a compromise is that for you?

COONS: Well, John, that's very difficult. As someone who was a county- level elected leader for a decade and is close to lots of state and local elected officials around the country who I know from my service at the local level, there are nurses and teachers, paramedics, police officers who are facing layoffs in municipalities, counties and states around the country. Roughly 1.3 million have already been laid off.

The larger point that I'm going to choose to celebrate, though, is that this group of eight bipartisan senators and two House members worked for weeks and crafted a substantial bipartisan framework for a $908 billion in relief for our country. It's only because Mitch McConnell continues to insist on a broad and extreme version of liability relief to protect businesses, no matter how irresponsibly they behave, that we are having to walk away from that 160.

I continue to believe that if our goal is to allow businesses to reopen safely and for employees and customers to go back to businesses safely, that we can find a compromise, but we have to move forward on this $748 billion that we all agree on. We should not go home without enacting significant relief for the American people who are so much in need right now as we go into the holidays.

BERMAN: Do you have any kind of promise or agreement from Mitch McConnell to even put the $160 billion on the floor for state and local governments?

[08:35:00]

COONS: No.

BERMAN: No. All right, so we'll see what happens there.

Senator Coons, we heard from Dr. Anthony Fauci moments ago who says he would like to see the president-elect, Joe Biden, and the vice president-elect, Kamala Harris, receive the coronavirus vaccine now. He wants them to get the first dose now so they can get the second dose before Inauguration Day on January 20th.

What have you said to the president-elect on this subject?

COONS: Well, look, the president-elect has followed the advice of public health leaders throughout his campaign. He has been a role model for how to conduct yourself in the middle of a pandemic, even during weeks when there were sharp criticism of him for being not as engaged publicly as he otherwise could be. The outcome was clear, the White House, tragically, suffered from dozens and dozens of infections, the core team of the Biden campaign, none.

I think you will see Joe Biden continue to follow the advice of public health experts. He's asked Dr. Fauci to serve as one of the leaders of his COVID transition team. I expect he'll follow his advice.

BERMAN: Do you want him to get the shot?

COONS: I do. I think it's important for our most senior elected officials in this country and for senior community leaders, whether they are athletes or entertainers or business leaders to strengthen the confidence of the American people in these vaccines. If we do not achieve a very high percentage of vaccination, we won't see the other side of this pandemic.

And, frankly, John, we need to be also committed to delivering vaccines for the rest of the world because only when the world is vaccinated will this pandemic truly come to an end.

BERMAN: Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, thanks so much for being with us this morning. Happy holidays to you, sir.

COONS: Thank you, John. And to you.

BERMAN: A huge hack of several U.S. government agencies. What is Russia doing here? A "Reality Check," next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:40:46]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Hackers working for Russia are suspected of one of the biggest hacks against the U.S. government in years. Do Trump supporters think this one is a hoax?

John Avlon has our "Reality Check."

Hi, John.

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hey, Ali.

It's a massive hack with suspected Russian hackers compromising some of the U.S. government's most critical databases, including the Departments of Homeland Security, Treasury, Defense and Commerce. Maybe even Los Alamos, where nuclear weapons are designed. Well, "The Washington Post" this morning reports the State Department and the NIH were hacked as well.

Look, we still don't know how big this could be. But make no mistake, this is not just espionage. This is 21st century warfare. The Trump administration is not the first to have an attack on its watch and it won't be the last, but it is the first and hopefully the last to have a president so easily played, so disastrously naive on the subject. Because, remember, it was Donald Trump who kept advocating the truly dumb idea of forming up, wait for it, joint cyber security unit with the Russians just because Vladimir Putin kept suggesting it.

This was rebuked even by Republicans with Senator Lindsey Graham calling it not the dumbest idea I've ever heard but it's pretty close. While John McCain had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MCCAIN, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: I am sure that Vladimir Putin could be of enormous assistance in that effort since he's doing the hacking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AVLON: That, of course, turned out to be true. But it's part of a line of denial when it comes to Russia and Trump. Like when the president took Putin's word over our intelligence agencies on interference in the '16 election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He just said it's not Russia.

I don't see any reason why it would be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AVLON: Everyone in the room knew this was BS, except perhaps the president. And if you're still not convinced, check out the five volume bipartisan Senate Intel Committee report that found Russia did extensively interfere in that election with the goal of electing Trump.

Nonetheless, Trump and his hard core supporters have engaged in a persistent disinformation campaign to call that reality a hoax.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A Russian hoax. It's a hoax.

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS: The Russia hoax.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, FORMER COUNCILOR TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: A hoax.

REP. DEVIN NUNES (R-CA): A Russia hoax.

REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): Russia hoax.

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): Russia hoax.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AVLON: Russia's latest hack makes it clear their intentions are and were nefarious and any attempt to suggest otherwise is naive in the extreme. In other words, no hoax.

But Trump's strange reluctance to confront Putin was highlighted again with CNN's new report in conjunction with Bellingcat showing that the FSB's proximity to the poisoning of opposition leader Alexey Navalny, something Russia denies, amid worldwide outcry, President Trump, once again, refused to condemn the Kremlin.

And as with many things in the national security sphere, some of the policies pushed by this administration were more hawkish than the president's impulses. They deserve credit for elevating the U.S. cyber command to a more central role in our national defense. There's no question that's needed with the Chinese running rampant cyber operations from the 2017 Equifax hacks that stole the information of 145 million Americans, to recent efforts to steal coronavirus research, while the FBI says it now opens a China-related counterintelligence case about every ten hours.

But, still, cyberattacks do not command the same attention as culture war clashes and celebrity gossip despite the fact these attacks have huge implications for our privacy, our economy and our national security. Look, we're always safest when we confront reality. There is a strong strategic approach between denial and demagoguery, but too often in the Trump era we've lurched between the two. And now, as the Trump -- as the Biden administration prepares to take over, it's telling, Donald Trump is still railing against our democracy but he hasn't condemned Russia's latest, brazen attack on the U.S. government.

And that's your "Reality Check."

CAMEROTA: John, seeing it all in one place, it is just remarkable to see how many Republicans, President Trump's allies, were willing to give Putin a pass.

AVLON: Every time. No hoax.

CAMEROTA: Thank you very much for putting that all together for us.

John.

BERMAN: All right, it's time now for "The Good Stuff."

An allusive canine finally has a home for the holidays. For nearly two years a brown and white dog called Lucy made her home in the woods off of Virginia Parkway.

[08:45:07]

Animal groups tried everything to get Lucy to come with them, but she refused. But when Regina Quinn moved nearby, she made it her mission to bond with Lucy. Every day for weeks, Quinn left Lucy fresh water and food. She was so dedicated, she sometimes slept in her car across the street. Finally, Quinn's persistence paid off and Lucy began to bond with her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REGINA QUINN, OWNER, BLUE ANGELS PITBULL ADVOCACY AND RESCUE: She just started rolling on her back like she was so happy,. like, I don't know, like we were part of a pack. I just gave her as much love as I possibly can give her before she went.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Lucy is now with Virginia Beach Animal Control. She's in great health and just a bit overweight, which is none of our business, frankly, and we shouldn't judge. She looks totally fine to me. I don't think she has to do anything with her weight. She'll stay at the shelter for some time.

CAMEROTA: That's remarkable.

BERMAN: It's a great story.

Nine months into the pandemic, some coronavirus patients are still battling symptoms. Why their cases are stumping doctors, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:50:56]

CAMEROTA: A record number of Americans are in the hospital this morning battling coronavirus. Some of those people will experience symptoms for months. They're called long haulers and there are a lot of them.

Joining us now is Abby Gresko Barclay, she has had coronavirus symptoms nor nine months, and Dr. Norman Gaylis, a rheumatologist who Abby consults.

Guys, thank you very much for being here.

Abby, your case is incredible. It's a cautionary tale for everyone. What have your symptoms been for the past nine months? ABBY GRESKO BARCLAY, SUFFERING CORONAVIRUS SYMPTOMS FOR NINE MONTHS:

Well, they've been the traditional coronavirus symptoms that you hear about, as well as ones that were not talked about initially whenever all of this started back in March. I had everything from severe stomach cramping and diarrhea, to swollen lymph nodes, to an extreme sore throat, shortness of breath, chest pain, muscles -- muscle aches. It's been all over the place. It's impacted my entire body.

CAMEROTA: Yes, and your entire life, of course.

BARCLAY: Yes.

CAMEROTA: I mean you were healthy. You followed a healthy exercise regime and diet regime. You say that you used to walk between seven and ten miles a day.

BARCLAY: Absolutely.

CAMEROTA: Now you can't walk half a mile.

BARCLAY: Right.

CAMEROTA: And yet, back in March, when you started experiencing these symptoms, there weren't tests available in your area of Florida.

BARCLAY: Correct. Right.

CAMEROTA: And doctors, though you repeatedly went to the hospital and doctors, they didn't think that you had COVID. Why not?

BARCLAY: No. Well, initially, I didn't present with a fever. I had a temperature of about 96 degrees for three weeks. My son had a fever. And that's why I thought that I had COVID. And initially I was calling the health department asking, did I qualify for testing because my son had a fever, I had chills, I had chest pain, I had shortness of breath, I had the sore throat, I had the symptoms that were being described as classic COVID symptoms, as did my son, yet I didn't have a fever and so I repeatedly was told that you would have a fever with COVID and it had to be something else.

And so I just -- you know, I -- when I felt like I was dying, when I felt like I couldn't breathe, eventually I did start going to the ER, I started going to urgent cares, I started trying to find out what was wrong with me, if it wasn't COVID. And it just -- you know, it was -- it was forever running into road blocks because the belief back in March was that you had to present with a fever in order to have COVID. And now we know that's not the case.

CAMEROTA: Abby, that must have been so scary and so frustrating.

BARCLAY: Yes. It is, still. I mean I'm almost nine months into this nightmare that I'm living. I've seen 40 doctors. I've been to the ER five times. I've been hospitalized twice. I -- and I still don't have answers because where I'm left is doctors have to go through the process of elimination of figuring out what else could it be since a test wasn't available to me back in March, even though I know without a doubt it's what I had. My son was sick. My husband was sick. My daughter was eventually sick. We had friends that were in our social network that had similar symptoms that we had. And so I don't have any doubt that COVID is the cause of the nightmare I've been living for nine months, yet here I am still trying to get answers.

CAMEROTA: Dr. Gaylis, what do you say to Abby? And is there any doubt in your mind that she has been suffering from COVID for the past nine months?

DR. NORMAN GAYLIS, RHEUMATOLOGIST: So Abby's actually very representative of, unfortunately, a number of patients. If you really think about it, maybe the statistics are 10 percent of anybody who got COVID becomes a long hauler so to speak.

And I say to Abby that she probably, without a doubt, had COVID. The fact is, is that at that time when she first presented there were not sufficient testing or encouragement to do testing being done.

[08:55:07]

So she missed the opportunity or the window of diagnosis.

But, nevertheless, her circumstances, a healthy woman with all the family around her getting ill, I mean, you've got to look at the fact that we're in a pandemic. It is true that when people present with multiple symptoms and we know that post-COVID you can get multiple organs affect, that it is very difficult for physicians sometimes to kind of get through the fog of what is really happening. But, ultimately, you've got to look at reality and statistics. She was in an environment where COVID was rife. Everyone around her was symptomatic. She had really most conditions ruled out. It wasn't that she didn't have testing done. And so I think, you know, you have to get to a point, and we are doing this, where we recognize that testing is not infallible.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

GAYLIS: It's not 100 percent. We get lots of false negatives. And, in fact, studies published in "The New England Journal," Oxford University, have all shown that you can have COVID without a positive test.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

GAYLIS: So in terms of Abby, I think she's got the symptoms of post- COVID.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

GAYLIS: And certainly, I mean, I haven't really put my, you know, my toolbox of treatments to test on Abby, but I think we should. And I think she just represents so many people like her.

CAMEROTA: I do, too. I do, too, particularly that it's gone on for so long. And, Abby, we really feel for you. I'm sorry that we're out of time

right now. I'll put this out on my social media, your story, because, again, I think people are really interested in everything that you've had to endure. And I'm sorry that you've gone through all of this.

BARCLAY: Have a good day. Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Dr. Gaylis, thank you very much for all of the information.

CNN's coverage continues right after this.

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