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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Trump Demands Changes to $900 Billion Relief Bill Passed by Congress; Trump Pardons Papadopoulos, Former Lawmakers Hunter and Collins; Anger Builds at UK Port; Israel Prepares for the Fourth Election in Two Years After Parliament Dissolves; Biden Slams Trump Over Recent Cyberattack on U.S. Government; Georgia Senate Races Heat Up With Less Than Two Weeks to Go. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired December 23, 2020 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:25]
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is EARLY START. Thank you so much for joining us.
I'm Boris Sanchez, in for Christine Romans.
LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Laura Jarrett. It's Wednesday, December 23rd. It's 5:00 a.m. here in New York.
And this morning, 28 days left in Donald Trump's presidency and you better buckle up. The president has all but stopped governing for weeks, but now, out of nowhere, he's demanding changes to the $900 billion stimulus bill passed by Congress with veto proof majorities.
Since the measure is linked to a broader spending bill, the president's opposition could now trigger a government shutdown sending the economy into a free fall. That means even more uncertainty for American families going hungry right now and the homeless during the holidays.
Yesterday also saw the second most deaths reported in the entire pandemic, and the president's sudden opposition to the relief bill has White House aides surprised and annoyed, we're told. He posted this video an hour after a top aid indicated the president would sign the measure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000 or $4,000 for a couple. Send me a suitable bill or else the next administration will have to deliver a COVID relief package, and maybe that administration will be me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: No, it will not be him. He lost the election to Joe Biden, even though he likes to live in fantasy land. It would be funny if there weren't so much at stake here. Stimulus
checks, which could be sent next week, extended unemployment benefits, billions of dollars for small businesses that are trying to survive and of course billions for vaccines and rental assistance.
The president's demand for bigger checks is actually being welcomed by Nancy Pelosi, but don't expect the relief bill to be renegotiated in the current Republican-led Senate. The president already lashing out at the GOP leadership for refusing to help him overturn the election.
JARRETT: Also developing overnight, the start of the president's pardon spree. President Trump granting full pardons to 15 people with five others getting their sentences commuted. Some people who have been pleading their case in conservative media, others a clear parting shot at Robert Mueller's investigation.
CNN's Pamela Brown has more now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Trump announced 20 pardons including several of his allies and past associates and those include George Papadopoulos who pleaded guilty in the Mueller probe to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russians. He is the fourth person the president granted clemency to in the Russian probe so far.
Also on the list, two corrupt GOP allies who are early supporters of President Trump, Chris Collins and Duncan Hunter. Hunter who was sentenced to 11 months earlier this year for misuse of more than $200,000 in campaign funds will not serve any time behind bars with this pardon. Collins was sent to prison in October of this year for insider trading activity, he engaged in while on White House grounds, according to investigators, and then there are other controversial names on the list such as four Blackwater guards involved in war crimes and massacre of Iraqi civilians, including one, Nicholas Slatten, who had been convicted of first degree murder, and one sentenced to life in prison.
So, there are some of the key names, and there are also two former border patrol agents who were sentenced to prison in 2005 for shooting an undocumented immigrant. They were heralded as heroes on right-wing media at the time and nearly half of the pardons are non-violent drug offenders who have been advocated by Alice Johnson, who Trump pardoned earlier this year.
So we have around -- we have 20 pardons on this latest list from President Trump before Christmas and we expect a flurry of more pardons before the president's term ends.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Pamela Brown, thank you for that.
Researchers studying the new coronavirus variant in the U.K. think it likely arrived in the U.S. in mid-November and that many people in the country may already be infected with it. Scientists have searched genetic sequences of coronavirus in the U.S. to see if any match-up with that U.K. variant. So far they haven't found any, likely because the U.S. surveillance system is simply not catching them.
JARRETT: Meantime, another new record overnight. More than 118,000 people are currently in the hospital. Back in the spring we heard all about flattening the curve. Remember that?
The original idea was not to overwhelm hospitals. Now when you look at that curve you get a sense of what's happening at hospitals and how bad the winter will be.
[05:05:01]
ICU space in California diminishing rapidly. Hospitals are desperate for out of state doctors and nurses to help out. And they're expecting the worse is still yet to come after Christmas and New Year's.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think right now we can safely take care of our community but as people gather for the Christmas holiday, we are going to be in trouble two weeks after that for sure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. My concern is that we're not my concern is that we're not near the peak and this is going to continue and that while we're meeting the need now, we're going to get to a point, like many other hospitals in California, where they cannot meet the need.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Overnight, more than 3,000 deaths were reported. Just a staggering number, but keep in mind it's the fifth time it has happened just this month.
Here's President-elect Joe Biden addressing what lies ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: Here's the simple truth: our darkest days and the battle against COVID are ahead of us, not behind us. So we need to prepare ourselves, to steel our spines. As frustrating as it is to hear, it's going to take patience, persistence and determination to beat this virus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: In Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp is reauthorizing use of the World Congress Center for patient overflow beds as hospitals in that state face capacity issues.
JARRETT: Philadelphia is extending its safer at home restrictions until January 15th. Restrictions on indoor gatherings, dining, and sports, as well as theaters, casino and colleges.
Restrictions are also being extended statewide in Maine and Louisiana. In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio says widespread vaccinations in the city will likely not be completed until at least June of next year.
Coronavirus is now on every continent with Antarctic reporting its first outbreak at a research base.
SANCHEZ: After days stuck in their trucks, frustration boiling over at truck drivers at a standstill at border closures due to coronavirus in the U.K.
CNN will take you there live after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:10:18]
JARRETT: Moments ago in the U.K., anger boiling over for truckers stranded at the border with France for days now. They haven't been able to cross because of travel restrictions imposed over a new coronavirus strain in the U.K. But there could finally be some movement.
Salma Abdelaziz is live from Dover, England, for us.
Salma, the U.K. recorded its highest number of cases just yesterday. What is it going to take for this situation at the border to get resolved?
Clearly, it's not sustainable.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Laura, there is absolutely chaos, confusion, tension, anger, frustration here at the border this morning.
I just want to lay out what we've seen and what we know. What we know is that French and U.K. authorities have agreed to reopen this border for anyone testing positive for coronavirus.
So, what's playing out here is entirely different. The policemen that you see behind me, I'm going to let you to pan over to take a look at the actual border. Those policemen have been instructing all truck drivers that they cannot cross even if they have a negative test. What they've been doing is instructing them to go get tested somewhere.
The only places they can get tested are an airport that's nearby, where over 4,000 truckers we understand are already in line to get tested. Otherwise they have to go on a website in English, and most of these drivers are from Eastern Europe, and don't expect English as their first language, they have to get on that website and try to book a test somehow.
Of course, this has played out very badly. Earlier this morning, you saw that footage. Earlier we saw essentially dozens rushing to this border, rushing up to police officers angrily demanding how they're going to get into this country, how are we going to get tested.
We actually have one of these truck drivers with us so we can learn more about what's happening here.
Greg, I know I've been speaking to you all day. You've been here for two days now, right? Just tell me what you're seeing happen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. So I'm stuck here with all of these people since Monday and we have now I think -- there is no food, there is no care (ph), nothing here, no information when can we leave, what need to be done, where we should go, where we be tested. The Dover port is stuck. It's 10 --
(CROSSTALK)
ABDELAZIZ: Greg, do you know how you're going to get tested? Has anyone told you how to get a coronavirus test?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No. No.
ABDELAZIZ: You have no idea?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. There are several information. Some information that that Dover will test something, somewhere, some -- I don't know. But there was information that they will start test 4,000 trucks on airport, but there is information from trucks that there's nothing there.
(CROSSTALK)
ABDELAZIZ: There's nothing.
I understand your family is in Poland. You're from Poland. Are you going to make it home for Christmas?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If am I going to make it?
ABDELAZIZ: Are you going to get home?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We still have hope that we are going for Christmas, but you see Dover is closed. Nobody is going to the ferries. Ferries are waiting but are empty.
ABDELAZIZ: But you've called your family and said maybe I won't go home for Christmas?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They need to be prepared for that.
ABDELAZIZ: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seeing this situation.
ABDELAZIZ: I'm very sorry. I'm very sorry, Greg. I do hope you find a solution -- a solution soon.
But you've heard it there. There's already about 7,000 trucks in line to get tested. We have heard two trucks have passed over to the French authorities. We just heard that this hour, crossed over to France.
But that's just two trucks. There are thousands more, Laura.
JARRETT: No food since Monday. It's just -- it's just a mess down there.
Salma, thank you so much for staying on top of this story for us.
SANCHEZ: To the Middle East now. Israel is getting ready for its fourth election in two years. The government there has collapsed again. The power sharing agreement took only seven months to crumble so what comes next?
Let's go live to Jerusalem and bring in Elliott Gotkine.
Elliott, thanks so much for joining us this morning.
Obviously, the unity government dissolving over the failure to pass a budget and now it seems for Benjamin Netanyahu, there may be a difficult road to maintaining power. He may be challenged from his own side of the political spectrum.
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: That's right. And with Donald Trump set to leave office, what, in January, there's less than a month to try to throw any gifts Netanyahu's way in a similar vein to what he's done in the past. You may recall at the last elections, at the beginning of this year, Donald Trump presented his peace plan which promotes everything that Netanyahu had wished for.
We won't see anything in that league this time around as he's saying Netanyahu has got a tough fight on his hands not from the center or the left of the political spectrum, but from his own right wing side of the political spectrum. Right now, of course, he's in full blown campaign mode. He is promoting his overseeing of the vaccination campaign against coronavirus.
He actually went to the airport to physically oversee delivery of the first batch of Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccines almost as if he was receiving a foreign head of state.
[05:15:08]
He went on live national television when he became the first person in Israel to receive the coronavirus vaccine as well. And today, he's been tweeting charts showing Israel is second in the world in terms of the number of people per hundred receiving vaccinations.
So, he'll be focusing on that for sure and less so on the fact that Israel has been struggling with coronavirus and cases are rising again. He's come in for criticism for the way he has handled that.
As far as the opinion polls go, they suggest Netanyahu will be ahead of the largest party in the next parliament but again he may struggle to form a governing coalition. So, we could have another stalemate -- Boris.
SANCHEZ: Yeah, it looks like this March election is going to breed as much uncertainty as the last three have. Elliott Gotkine reporting from Israel, thanks much.
JARRETT: Still ahead for you, the incoming president vowing to do what the outgoing president won't, respond to a cyber attack reaching the highest levels of the U.S. government.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: President-elect Joe Biden taking aim at President Trump for downplaying a far reaching cyberattack the United States is blaming on Russia, one that has penetrated networks of key federal agencies and U.S. companies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: This assault happened on Donald Trump's watch when he wasn't watching. It's still his responsibility as president to defend American interests for the next four weeks.
I see no evidence that it's under control. I see none. I've heard of none.
[05:20:02]
Defense Department won't even brief us so I know of nothing that suggests it's under control.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The president has avoided blaming Russia at all costs, even though Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the outgoing Attorney General Bill Barr have done so publicly.
JARRETT: President-elect Joe Biden also set to unveil his latest cabinet pick today. But just how quickly will he get his nominees confirmed in the Senate? That chamber can't organize formally until the Georgia runoffs to determine which party is in charge. Some Republicans are still wary of provoking President Trump given his refusal to concede defeat.
Biden also facing competing factions within his own party as he lays the groundwork for the country's recovery from COVID.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Laura and Boris.
President-elect Biden is announcing one more cabinet secretary before heading off for a bit of a Christmas break. That is education secretary nominee Miguel Cardona. He'll be doing that later this morning here in Wilmington.
And Mr. Cardona is the head of Connecticut's school system. He's been talking about the need to return students back to the classroom. That certainly is one of the goals of the president-elect, but it largely depends on funding from Congress next year, and that was a central theme of a wide ranging news conference the president-elect had here in Wilmington on Tuesday.
He was praising Republicans and Democrats alike in Congress for passing that $900 billion COVID relief bill, but he also said that is just a beginning, the down payment.
But I asked him how that's possible to get more when this was so difficult.
Do you believe you will have a honeymoon to get things accomplished?
BIDEN: I don't think it's a honeymoon at all. I think it's a nightmare that everybody is going through and they all say it's got to end.
It's not a honeymoon. They're not doing me a favor. You have a different team in town. I'm not going to villainize the opposition. But I'm going to stand and say this is what we got to do because they know it.
ZELENY: Mr. Biden's point was that American sent a divided government to Washington to try to get something done. That, of course, remains to be seen in the New Year, but one thing else everyone is waiting for, if President Trump is going to actually sign that COVID economic relief bill making some rumblings of vetoing it, certainly ending this year in a very tumultuous way -- Laura and Boris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Jeff, thanks for the recording.
Less than two weeks to the runoff election in Georgia, and those races will decide balance -- the balance of power in the U.S. Senate, ultimately give President-elect Biden a sense of how much easier or harder it will be for him to govern.
More than 1.6 million votes have already been cast in Georgia. That's about a third of Georgia's total vote in November.
So what are voters and candidates thinking as Election Day approaches?
CNN's Ryan Nobles is on the ground in Atlanta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Boris and Laura, the ad spending here in Georgia is just off the chart. The four campaigns spending upwards of $480 million on television ads and we have a little less than two weeks to go before Election Day.
And we're seeing these campaigns seize on the issue of relief for the coronavirus pandemic. Of course, this vote that just passed, the Republican candidates who voted for it, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, telling them they were in Washington working for them while the Democratic candidates saying that relief package didn't go far enough.
This is what Jon Ossoff told me yesterday.
JON OSSOFF (D-GA), SENATE CANDIDATE: I would have voted for it because relief is eight months too late, but $600 is a joke.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A joke.
OSSOFF: Yes, I would have voted for the deal and on day one, I'll be ready to work for more direct economic relief for the people because folks have rent that's overdue, credit cards maxed out, prescriptions they can't afford, college bills coming due and people are hurting through no fault of their own right now.
NOBLES: Now, the Republicans have tried to turn things back on the Democrats, describing them as obstructionists because of their complaints about the prior aid package.
Now, Jon Ossoff said he would have supported that original package, but he thought there were issues with the way money was disbursed through the CARES Act. But that's not stopped David Perdue from filling the airwaves with attacks against Jon Ossoff as to how he's handled the coronavirus pandemic. And his response to all of it, of course, this is all continuing as voting taking place right now. We are now in the second week of early voting. Election Day is on January 5th -- Boris and Laura.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JARRETT: Ryan, thank you so much for that.
Some states trying to stop the spread of COVID-19 are expanding home testing free of charge.
CNN has reporters covering the pandemic coast to coast.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Omar Jimenez, as the vaccines provide new hope for COVID-19, testing is now set to cross another threshold, at least in places like Wisconsin and New Mexico. Both of them are done through saliva tests and are chaperoned, so to speak, by a supervisor over video call. The samples are then sent off to the labs to get results within 24 to 48 hours of receiving those tests.
[05:25:02]
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jean Casarez in New York.
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker is announcing further restrictions to try to stop the spread of COVID-19. Now, this all starts the day after Christmas, December 26th most industries in the commonwealth will have the capacity limit of 25 percent. Now, this includes retail businesses, restaurants, close contact
personal services, offices, theaters, and places of worship. Now as far as personal gatherings, inside they're limited to 10 people. Outside, they're limited to 25 people.
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rosa Flores in Miami.
The first senior citizens not living in long-term care facilities in Florida were vaccinated at The Villages during a press event hosted by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Tuesday. He also announced that tens of thousands of people in the state have been vaccinated already, including front line health care workers at five hospitals and senior citizens at 100 long-term care facilities.
As for who will have priority once more doses of the vaccine are available, Governor DeSantis said that the elderly population will.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Martin Savidge. The governor of South Carolina, Henry McMaster, has tested positive for coronavirus. The 73-year-old Republican, according to his office, is suffering only mild symptoms, including a cough and slight fatigue. The governor's wife has also tested positive although she is described as asymptomatic. The couple attended a Christmas party at the White House indoors last week.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JARRETT: Thanks to all of our correspondents for those updates.
Still ahead for you, the president thinks he's a master dealmaker. But just when Congress finally, finally made a deal on COVID relief, the president wants to rip it all up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JARRETT: Good morning and welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Laura Jarrett.
SANCHEZ: Good morning, Laura. Always a pleasure to be with you.
