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Georgia Senate Race; Pence Can't Block Biden's Win; Ossoff Widens Lead over Perdue; Protesters Clash with D.C. Police; Only 4.8 Million Vaccine Doses Administered in U.S. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired January 06, 2021 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But today is really getting gummed up in the theatrics of this political moment.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Theatrics of Republicans trying to overthrow an election.

Sunlen Serfaty on Capitol Hill. Please keep us posted.

Joining us now, CNN political commentator and former Republican Congressman Charlie Dent. Also with us, CNN political analyst David Gregory.

David, the Georgia implosion. Look what you get when you do Donald Trump's bidding. That is what Republicans are waking up to in Georgia this morning. So if, you know, you're headed to Capitol Hill to watch the electoral vote counted today and you're one of these Republican members of Congress, how might that change your calculation?

DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, you've got to be confused about what the impact of Donald Trump is at this point. I think there was the calculation that no one wanted to cross Trump, not just because he was still in office, but because he represented the driving force of this new Republican Party. And so the Josh Hawleys, who's highly educated and yet doesn't think very straight, who probably wants to be president and thinks he has to go through Donald Trump even out of office to do that. Mike Pence, who in all of this time in Washington is apparently still having to study to understand that he as vice president can't gum up the works for a president who wants to steal the election.

So I don't know what the impact is. I think the commitment has been made by those who want to ride with Trump into the sunset. But what Georgia tells us is that a voter suppression effort on the part of the president of the United States is not a winning formula. Republicans have always thought it was important to be for something in terms of defining their party and what they take to voters. That's not what they've done here and they're -- and they're paying for it.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: So, Congressmen Dent, remind me again, over the past four years since Donald Trump won, he's managed to lose the White House, lose the House, it appears he's on track to lose the Senate for Republicans. Why do Republicans still, this morning, think he has the Midas touch and they might pull this stunt on behalf of him?

CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, that's a great debate, Alisyn. I've been arguing for some time that there are consequences to chaos. And last night's result is just a reflection of that. Donald Trump divided the GOP in Georgia, attacking the Republican governor and secretary of state mercilessly, saying the election was rigged. As David just said, he suppressed the GOP vote and now this may have cost Republicans the Senate.

This is not shocking what happened last night. And it's going to fall squarely on the president. Why anybody right now would want to carry the president's water in the United States Senate, after what happened last night, is beyond me. I mean it's -- to placate the president's unhealthy and undemocratic obsession.

So I think, right now, if you're a Republican going on this little suicide mission today, which will be unsuccessful, why -- why would you be doing this to facilitate a president who lost? He just cost Republicans every -- the president lost the election and every Republican down-ballot was reaffirmed across the country who ran for re-election almost -- in the House anyway, and these state legislatures around the country. Trump was the problem. Everybody knows it, except apparently for the folks in -- the two Senate candidates in Georgia.

BERMAN: David, how will history judge these Republicans who are trying to undermine democracy in broad daylight to overthrow an election in broad daylight. And how will history judge Vice President Mike Pence, who apparently has told the president he has no power to overthrow the election, but we fully expect to give some kind of, you know, sunny speech that, you know, gushes praise and advances the president's arguments.

GREGORY: Look, if you're -- if you're Mike Pence, who has a long history in Washington and as a governor, if you are going to enable the disease of Trump, the lies, the attempt to steal an election, to undermine democracy, then history is going to judge you very harshly and you don't deserve any future in electoral politics. There's no two ways about it. He's vice president of the United States. He has a responsibility to the integrity of that office, to the integrity of himself.

What he's been engaged in is a -- is a hedge, is a way to tack back and forth to stay in Donald Trump's good favor. That's a decision he's made as an individual. And so he'll have to -- he'll have to be judged for that. But it's certainly not in keeping with everything that he claims to stand for as a human being and as a politician because there's simply no excuse for trying to thwart the will of voters. It is undemocratic, as you said.

And so he sticks out. And if he ryes to be coy today, that's not good enough. I mean his record is clear. And I think your question answers itself with regard to these others who will take this stand.

[06:35:03]

I mean there's no way to understand what a Josh Hawley or a -- I mean Ted Cruz, after all of the stuff that Trump did to Cruz and his family, I don't know how craven you can get as a politician, but that's -- that's pretty deep. They're making a calculation that somehow this is worth it because Trump still has enough standing on the outside to affect their political fortunes. We don't know how true or false that is at this point.

CAMEROTA: Charlie, we want to ask you about what happened in Pennsylvania at the statehouse yesterday. It was quite a spectacle. And it appears to be the trickle-down effect from what Republicans are doing in Congress and what President Trump is doing -- has been doing in terms of the just denying reality, the obstruction.

And so yesterday, in the statehouse, in Pennsylvania, Republicans refused to seat a duly elected Democratic state senator. The reason they did so is because there's some question about some signatures on the outer envelopes of some ballots that's already been adjudicated statewide. But the Republicans are suing in federal court. So they won't seat this state -- duly elected state senator until it's resolved in federal court. But the states have already resolved it, including, I believe, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

And so it was quite a spectacle. I mean let me just play you a minute of it.

Oh, OK, I'll reenact it. Basically there was a lot of yelling -- yes, it went like that. And the lieutenant governor was yelling and that he couldn't believe what he was witnessing.

BERMAN: Yell, yell, yell, yell.

CAMEROTA: And that -- thank you. And then they had him ousted from his seat.

What was that?

DENT: Yes. What happened -- I served in the Pennsylvania State Senate for six years, so I know a lot of these folks. Basically, the lieutenant governor refused to recognize the president pro tem on a motion, and that really set them off.

Frankly, I would have voted to remove him from the chair too if he didn't recognize the pro tem. He didn't recognize him. They removed him. That election was decided by 69 votes. There are 300 ballots that are in dispute. It's in federal court. Once that's disposed of, I do believe that -- and Brewster, the senate -- the incoming senator, prevails, as he likely will, then I believe he will be seated. But that was -- it was quite a spectacle.

By the way, in the '90s, I was -- I was there in Harrisburg when this happened, when an incumbent -- when a Democratic senator was seated in a contested election and then was thrown out by a federal judge and unseated. And then they put the judge -- the Republican in. So we've had some -- some battles like this in the past.

But I think, at the end of the day, once the federal courts rule on this thing, that senator will be seated.

CAMEROTA: OK. I mean, that's interesting. And so, very quickly, you think they should have waited to seat this Democrat because there's still more to be said?

DENT: Well, I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that while this legal dispute is pending that they wait to see this individual. Hopefully the federal court will take it up quickly and once that's disposed of this individual will be seated. So I don't -- I'm not -- I'm not losing sleep over it. I don't think it has anything to do with Donald Trump and the presidential election. I think this is a very much Harrisburg-specific issue. It doesn't affect the balance of power in the senate. The Republicans have a firm majority.

CAMEROTA: OK, Charlie, thank you very much for all of that insight and context.

David, thank you.

DENT: Thank you.

BERMAN: All right, so pro-Trump protesters clashing with police overnight in Washington, D.C., ahead of this rally across from the White House today, where the president is expected to speak, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:42:28]

BERMAN: All right, welcome back. It is 6:42 on the East Coast.

And as we sit here this morning, Democrats are one Senate victory away from taking control of the U.S. Senate. Why? Two races in Georgia overnight. In one of the races, CNN projects that Raphael Warnock has defeated incumbent Senator Kelly Loeffler. And in the other race, Jon Ossoff is leading incumbent Senator David Perdue by 16,000 votes.

Why does that number matter? Well, 16,000 is more than the 11,000 that Joe Biden won when he ran the presidential race in Georgia in November. It's also very close. You can see Jon Ossoff leads by 0.4 percent. If he get to 0.5 percent, that is beyond the realm where the incumbent senator, David Perdue, can request a recount.

Now, a 16,000-vote margin right now and Democrats believe there is reason to think that margin will grow as the remaining votes are counted.

Where are those votes? Let's take a look. Fulton County. A county that Jon Ossoff won with 71 percent of the vote. There are 4,000 votes left there. Gwinnett County, a county where he leads, he's got nearly 60 percent there, 4,800 votes there. Also in Chatham County, which is down here, that's where Savannah is, a similar story, 3,000 votes left to count. He holds a big lead there. There's a smattering of votes from other parts of the states as well, but these are the biggest, single groups, which is why Democrats do believe that the lead will be expanded. We are watching DeKalb County overnight. This is a heavily Democratic county where Ossoff leads by more than 230,000 votes. The last batch of votes we got from DeKalb skewed towards Ossoff by 98 percent. So you see where this late- counted vote is skewing right now, which is why Democrats think that within a few hours this race could be called for Jon Ossoff.

Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, John, and we know as soon as there are more votes that come in, you will bring them to us. Thank you very much.

Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., tensions are building. Pro-Trump protesters clashing with police there overnight. This morning, protesters already lining up across from the White House where the president will address the crowd in just a few hours.

CNN's Boris Sanchez is live in Washington with more.

So what are you seeing at this hour, Boris?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

Yes, an enormous line at the Washington Monument, gathering since before 3:00 a.m., and waves of supporters for the president are still arriving now. This is President's Park on the west side of the ellipse where President Trump is expected to speak later tonight.

[06:45:04]

Hearing from these folks, a lot of anticipation for what the president is going to say and a lot of anger, as well. And some of that tension boiled over last night. A number of incidents around Washington, D.C., including at Black Lives Matter plaza, the site of so much violence and drama last summer when social justice protesters encountered law enforcement and things got ugly. They got ugly again last night. It appeared that some irritant was dispersed at one point, pushing lines of police officers, then being pushed back.

Remember, at the time, President Trump put out a message of law and order. So far we have yet to hear that from the president when his own supporters are agitating officers.

We should note, there is an enormous law enforcement presence all across this city. There is National Guard that has been deployed. There are street closures all around the city. A lot of vigilance over what is happening.

The president expected to speak here at 11:00 p.m. -- rather, 11:00 a.m. And then shortly after that, at around noon, these marchers are expected to walk all the way down to the Capitol, hoping to essentially overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Alisyn. CAMEROTA: OK, Boris, be careful as things heat up there.

So the pandemic hitting grim new levels. Another record number of deaths overnight in the U.S. Why can't we vaccinate more Americans?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:50:26]

CAMEROTA: So, 3,775. That's the number of American deaths reported just on Tuesday from coronavirus. That breaks another record. Hospitalizations also jumping. Another 3,000 patients overnight to now more than 131,000 people in the hospital.

Joining us now is Dr. Abdul al-Sayed, epidemiologist and public health expert.

Doctor, you warned us that January would be bleak. We knew dark days were ahead, but we held out hope that the vaccinations would help us turn a corner. And now we have learned that there is no plan, there's no national plan for vaccinations. There never was a national plan for vaccinations. So when our leaders, the health experts and the Trump administration and beyond said that 20 million Americans would be vaccinated by now, I don't know that was based on because, as of today, 4.8 million Americans only. Vaccines are sitting on shelves. And I just don't know how we're going to get out of this.

DR. ABDUL EL-SAYED, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: That's right, Alisyn, it is heartbreaking and it is frustrating and we knew that this was coming and we know that given the holidays that it looks to be getting worse. And we had hoped that the vaccine was going to be the solution.

But here's the thing. The same broken, under resourced, understaffed, under invested in public health infrastructure that has kept us from being able to coordinate a response across geographies, across different levels of government, it was also going to be necessary to be able to deploy a vaccine. And because it has been as ineffective and as underfunded as it has been, we've seen it flummox our ability to be able to get vaccines out there.

And don't get me wrong, the folks who work in the system are amazing. These are real patriots who have been working so hard since the beginning of the pandemic, but they haven't had the resources, they haven't had the investment, they haven't had the staffing up capacity, they haven't had the coordination. And all of this speaks to a failed leadership from the very top of American government. And here we are, in January, breaking records with a virus that has been around now for a second year, a third year, in fact. And it doesn't look like we've got what we need, where we need it, to be able to take this on.

BERMAN: You talk about breaking records. We hit a new record in hospitalizations overnight. We're back up over 130,000 hospitalizations. And I just want to know, Dr. El-Sayed, what are we doing wrong? I mean I keep waiting for this number to plateau or drop, and it's not. It just keeps on growing and growing and growing.

So what's going wrong?

EL-SAYED: I think there are three things. Number one is that we have gotten used to a particular level of engagement with the COVID-19 pandemic that tells us that the things that we want to do are quote/unquote normal. And so even as we've gotten so fatigued with this pandemic, people have foregone all of the birthdays and all of the holidays and all of the travel and all of the engagements that they would have otherwise, there's still a level of baseline interaction that we've gotten used to. And the pandemic fatigue has kept us from doing more to be able to bring down the level of cases. That's number one.

Number two is this, you can do all of those things, but if they're not coordinated, if you don't have the parts moving in synchronicity like they need to, it doesn't work. It's kind of like a dance, you need to be able to move together. And what we're seeing here is a complete lack of movement together on the part of the federal government, the state governments, the local governments.

And then the third thing I'll say is that we have had a president in this country, throughout this pandemic, who has normalized a level of death and destruction from this disease, because of his inaction, because of his willingness to dismiss basic science and to disregard experts that tells us that this is, quote/unquote, normal. This is the best we can do.

Now, we've got a change of guard in about two weeks. And it looks like that change of guard, the new president, may have a Senate that's willing to work with him. But the fact of the matter is, is that if we cannot get coordinated, if we cannot recognize that if we do not do what we need to do at all levels of government in all places that this is going to continue to happen, I worry a lot about what happens in the rest of January, in February, and even in March.

BERMAN: A lot of people are suffering.

Dr. El-Sayed, thanks so much for being with us. We really appreciate it.

[06:55:00]

EL-SAYED: Thank you, John.

BERMAN: A political earthquake in the making. The Democrats poised to take over the U.S. Senate. Something that honestly almost no one could have predicted after the November election. How did this happen? We're counting the votes, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CAMEROTA: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY.

And we do begin with breaking news. If you are just waking up, it's been quite a night. At this hour,

control of the U.S. Senate is still on the line. Democrat Jon Ossoff is expanding his lead over Republican David Perdue. At the moment, it is 16,370 votes ahead for Ossoff. While CNN has not yet projected a winner there, he has gotten more than the margin that Joe Biden won the state of Georgia by in November.

[07:00:02]

Meanwhile, CNN can project that Democrat Raphael Warnock will defeat Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler.