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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Trump Continues Attempts to Meddle in Election Results; Biden, Harris Update Pandemic Response Preparation. Aired 4-4:30p ET

Aired November 19, 2020 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:15]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

We begin today with breaking news.

We are right now standing by for two major live events that we're told will happen this hour. Any minute, members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force will hold their first briefing at the White House in more than six months, as coronavirus cases and deaths surge in the United States.

Plus, also any minute, we're expecting president-elect Joe Biden and vice president-elect Kamala Harris to speak after meeting virtually with several state governors.

The incoming Biden administration is attempting to prepare to lead this nation in the midst of this deadly pandemic, which has claimed more than a quarter-of-a-million lives in the United States so far, though outgoing President Trump is blocking the Biden transition team, all because Trump refuses to accept the outcome of the democratic process, putting his own personal feelings ahead of American lives.

Earlier today, the president's legal team held a press conference where they revealed a willingness to push debunked and wild conspiracy theories about the election.

Chris Krebs, the now former top election cybersecurity official just fired by President Trump for telling the truth and affirming that this past election was the most secure in history, Chris Krebs took to Twitter to say of the press conference -- quote -- "That press conference was the most dangerous one hour, 45 minutes of television in American history and possibly the craziest. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you're lucky" -- unquote.

The president's plan is clear. He and his legal team want to disenfranchise millions of American voters in Democratic counties, a disproportionate number of them black Americans. They want to do this based on lies and innuendo.

Now, it will not work, but it is quite telling how pathetic this effort is becoming and how silent Republican officials are about it. Either way, president-elect Joe Biden will take the oath of office on

January 20, though Biden is saying that he worries that, if this obstruction continues, this refusal to begin the transition process, the Biden/Harris administration and thus the U.S. government will be behind when he becomes the 46th president.

That's, of course, exactly what you do not want during a pandemic, when lives are at stake.

Let's go straight now to CNN's Arlette Saenz, who's live in Wilmington, Delaware.

And, Arlette, the Biden team has focused laser-like on the coronavirus response this week. What are we expecting to hear from the president- elect and vice president-elect in just moments?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, Jake, Joe Biden is expected to keep the spotlight right on COVID-19, as he did this afternoon, as he met with a few of the nation's governors.

This was a group of both Democratic and Republican governors that the president-elect sat down with virtually and talked about the COVID-19 crisis.

He told them he's ready to be their partner in the White House and that COVID-19 is not a red or blue state issue. It is an issue for all Americans.

And Biden in that meeting also noted the fact that they have not had any coordination with the Trump administration when it comes to the pandemic, including on the distribution of a possible vaccine. He actually told those governors that he was hoping to leave that meeting with more information that will help him in his planning.

And we are also learning of a key meeting happening here in Wilmington, Delaware, tomorrow. Joe Biden will be meeting for the first time in person since he's become president-elect with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

They have spoken a few times over the phone since Biden was declared the victor, but this will be their first in person face-to-face meeting, as they are trying to craft their agenda heading into January, when Biden takes office. Biden has talked about how he thinks that Congress needs to pass a COVID relief package in these coming weeks.

That is a topic that they could certainly discuss, but it is just another sign of Biden trying to show that he has right at work even as the Trump administration continues to put up roadblocks to his presidency.

TAPPER: All right, Arlette Saenz in Wilmington, Delaware, with the Biden/Harris transition team, thank you so much.

Stunningly, the president's attempts to overturn the results of a free and fair election are now including phoning up local county level election officials.

Two Republicans on the Wayne County, Michigan, Canvassing Board now say that they want to rescind their votes to certify the election, after they got a call from outgoing President Trump himself, according to a source.

This is all part of the Trump team effort to overturn the election by disenfranchising millions of legal votes cast by American citizens, as CNN's Boris Sanchez reports.

[16:05:10]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the United States crosses another grim coronavirus milestone, President Trump remains largely in hiding, trying to block the transition of president-elect Joe Biden and furiously tweeting dangerous, nonsensical falsehoods about the election.

In an unprecedented move, Trump is getting personally involved in certifying election results in Michigan. He called the two Republicans on the Wayne County Board of Canvassers who initially objected to declaring Joe Biden the winner there, but both eventually voted to certify Biden as the winner.

Now a source confirms to CNN that both say they want to rescind their votes, though it's legally too late. That source also telling CNN President Trump has invited Michigan GOP lawmakers to the White House as part of his effort to interfere in the results of the election, all of this happening as the Trump campaign dropped its lawsuit to overturn the results in Michigan.

RUDY GIULIANI, ATTORNEY FOR PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: This is a disgraceful thing that was done in this country.

SANCHEZ: Meantime, the president's legal team is flailing. Even as some close to the president privately admit his lawsuits are destined to fail, his lawyers are desperately clinging to lies and incendiary claims, while offering no proof.

SIDNEY POWELL, ATTORNEY FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP: President Trump won by a landslide. We are going to prove it.

SANCHEZ: Despite those claims from Sidney Powell, a Trump attorney with a history of propagating debunked QAnon conspiracies, the facts tell a different story. Joe Biden won the election. And the results of a recount in Georgia are expected to reaffirm Biden as the winner in the Peach State, though Rudy Giuliani claims the numbers do not matter and that his team has evidence of a centralized pattern of fraud, though he declined to share details.

GIULIANI: And what emerged very quickly is, there's not a singular voter fraud in one state. This pattern repeats itself in a number of states.

SANCHEZ: But, in Pennsylvania, the Trump campaign's lawsuit currently does not allege any fraud, and Giuliani himself admitted it in court.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, the amended complaint -- does the amended complaint plead fraud with particularity?

GIULIANI: No, Your Honor. And it doesn't plead fraud.

SANCHEZ: Adding to the circus, one of Trump's legal advisers, Jenna Ellis, also facing scrutiny after CNN's KFILE discovered she made disparaging remarks about the president in 2016, calling him an idiot, un-American and not trustworthy.

JENNA ELLIS, ATTORNEY: Why should we rest our highest office in America on a man who fundamentally goes back and forth and really cannot be trusted to be consistent or accurate in anything that he says?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: And, Jake, this Coronavirus Task Force briefing at the White House has yet to begin. It's unclear if we're going to see the president there. He's not had very many public appearances lately, certainly not taking questions from reporters.

The only two upcoming public events the president has on his schedule, the Thanksgiving turkey pardon and the unveiling of the White House Christmas tree. It's also not clear the president is going to participate in the virtual G20 that's scheduled for this weekend -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Boris Sanchez, thanks so much.

Amidst this madness, from Republicans on Capitol Hill, silence.

The most charitable possible interpretation is that Republican officials think that the Trump team's legal efforts are so comically inept, and they know that the state tallies will not be overturned, so they don't feel the need to call out these deranged efforts to disenfranchise millions of voters.

But that position, that decision ignores the damage being done to the voters whose legal votes are being threatened. Many of these voters are black, so it's not as though there's no ugly history of disenfranchisement there already in the United States.

And, also, Trump supporters are being fed a steady diet of lies by Trump, Rudy and MAGA media.

Let's discuss.

Dana, you're learning some new information about the president and his loss? What can you tell us?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That, in private conversations, he is continuing to admit the reality that he lost. That's about where that reality stops in these conversations. One source I talked to who is familiar with the president's thinking

says that what he is saying is that he believes that the Democrats did this to him. And by this, he means tried to delegitimize his election in 2016 with the whole Russia investigation, and, therefore, he is trying to do the same to Joe Biden by slow-walking the transition and, of course, much more detrimentally, by sowing doubt and calling the whole election in general fraudulent.

I also want to add that Gloria Borger is also talking to sources. And one told her, Jake, that Trump is hearing from many friends and allies urging him to just at least let the transition begin, even if he doesn't concede, just to start it.

[16:10:08]

And his answer is, no, you're wrong, absolutely wrong.

TAPPER: So, Abby, the president knows he lost, according to this reporting, but he's blocking the Biden team for his own personal revenge? Because he's petulant.

Is there anyone around the president who can convince him to stop this?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Jake, I think the answer is clearly no. So far, no one has even really attempted to stop this. And, in fact, they're enabling him at the highest levels.

Just a few minutes ago, the GOP, the Republican National Committee on Twitter retweeted a blatantly false statement by one of the president's lawyers, claiming that he won by a landslide.

Look, Jake, everyone around the president knows that that is not true.

TAPPER: All right, got to interrupt you there.

Kamala Harris, the vice president-elect is, walking out.

Let's listen in.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT: ... Republican governors.

We talked about what we need to do to make free testing available for everyone, to make a free vaccine available for everyone, and to get this pandemic under control.

Governors are elected by their states to take action in moments of crisis. They're the ones who go to the places and talk to the people who are hardest-hit. And during this pandemic, they have been called on to make very difficult decisions about the health and safety of the people they represent, about opening schools, and about opening our economic responsibly. I have served in both state and local government. So, I understand the

critical role our governors play. And they will have partners in the White House starting on January 20, because, as Governor Herbert said in our meeting, when the states are successful, the country is successful.

So, our message to our governors and to all of our nation's state and local leaders is simple. President-elect Biden and I will make sure you have the resources and support you need to save lives and help get our economy back on track.

And we will also make sure that our federal, state, local, and tribal authorities are working closely together, so we can tackle these challenges as effect effectively as possible, because when it comes to this pandemic and the economic recovery, we are not Democrats or Republicans. We are Americans. And we will be there for one another.

That's the kind of leadership the American people need and deserve, and it's the kind of leadership president-elect Biden and I will provide.

And it is now my great honor to introduce president-elect Joe Biden.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: Hello, folks. Good afternoon. Thanks for your patience.

The vice president-elect and I, as just was pointed out, have just concluded a videoconference with the executive leadership of the National Governors conference. That included Governor Cuomo of New York, Governor Hutchinson, Governor Hogan, Governor Whitmer, Governor Ivey, Governor Polis, Governor Baker, Governor Lujan Grisham, Governor Herbert and Governor Carney.

And it was really a worthwhile undertaking.

You know, they have had to make some really tough calls during this unprecedented crisis. And we're incredibly grateful for everything they have done and will keep doing to try to keep their communities safe.

Unfortunately, because of the lack of ascernment (sic) as they say, which is -- that's a fancy word these days, but until the head of the GSA says that we, in fact, our team, this transition team, our team, the senator and I, have -- in fact, are the likely winners, until she does that, we don't have access to all the information that we need to get from all the various agencies.

We're not able to deal with everything from testing, to guidance, to the all-important issue of vaccine distribution and, even more importantly, vaccination plan to actually get vaccinations. We haven't been able to get into Operation Warp Speed.

But we will take what we have learned today and build it into our planning.

The country is still in a crisis. And there's a dark winter still ahead. Yesterday, America reached another tragic milestone, 250,000 deaths. A quarter-of-a-million people died due to COVID-19. And there are empty chairs in dining room tables just -- were filled just days and weeks ago with loved ones, family, friends, who laughed and talked together.

[16:15:09]

To those families and friends that are left behind, Jill and I send our love and our prayers. We know, like many of you do, how tough it is to find purpose in the memory of a loved one you have just lost.

It will take time, but you will find it. You will find it. And you will find your purpose, as we're going to find our purpose for our nation, as a nation now. I promise you that.

And I promise you that we will work together. There's a great meeting we had today. All the governors, no matter their political party, whether they're from -- wherever part of the country they represented, no matter their political philosophy, shared a strong and abiding sense of a common purpose.

There was a real desire for real partnership between the states and the federal government. Each of the governors emphasized that we might be Democrats or Republicans, but we're all Americans first.

They congratulated us heartily for our win. What really pleased me was the -- most was that governors made clear that beating COVID-19 is going to require all of us working together as one country.

Kamala and I agree. We are -- we were deeply impressed with how much consensus there was how to move forward amongst the governors.

What we need to do now is how we need to do it. How are we going to do it? In what coordinated way can it be done? We discussed the number of critical ways we can work together and unify around a national approach to combating COVID-19, first delivering economic relief to the cities, states and tribal communities.

The lost revenue from COVID and the cost of COVID recovery is devastating to state and local budgets. As governors, as all of them indicated, we have got to come together. The federal government has to deliver this relief sooner, rather than later, and with flexibility for the states to meet their needs.

This includes helping businesses, schools, working families, from unemployment benefits to early education, continued access to affordable health care, all of that's needed during this pandemic. States and communities shouldn't have to lay off teachers, cops, firefighters, cut vital services for families and businesses.

The second thing there was uniform agreement on, delivering a safe and equitable and free vaccine. The governors all acknowledge that this will be a massive undertaking, one of the greatest operational challenges we will have faced as a nation.

One statistic that was raised by the governors, it took eight months to provide 100 million COVID tests, eight months to provide COVID tests. Just imagine how much more difficult it will be, they pointed out, if we don't find a more efficient and effective way to provide 330 million vaccinations.

Put it in perspective. They made the point we can't wait. That's what the governors are raising.

In the meeting, we discussed the challenges that lie ahead in distributing and administering the vaccine. The governors talked about how getting doses of vaccine distributed is just one step. We have to actually get vaccinations into the arms of 330 million Americans.

That takes enormous resources, people, product. We discussed the difficulty of that task. It's going to take time. It's going to take coordination. It's going to take the federal government and state governments working hand in glove, working together.

The governors all emphasized, we need to be clear with the American people about what to expect, no false expectations. Let them know what we anticipate. They all acknowledged that this is going to take a massive public education campaign.

And we also need to reach traditionally underserved communities that are being hardest-hit by the pandemic, black, brown, Latino, Latin American community, Native American communities, small towns, rural communities. They talked about that in some detail.

Thirdly, we discussed the need to help states with Title 32 funding for the National Guard. That's a fancy way of saying, governors, governors need to be able to get funding when they need to -- and bringing their National Guard into play. And the National Guard is going to have to play this. It costs a lot of money.

And governors need that paid for. Governors discussed the need for funding when waiving certain FEMA fees. The fact is that this is a national emergency. that's what FEMA is supposed to deal with. Our view is, that should be done.

When it comes to deploying the National Guard or COVID or real relief, that should be paid for. You know, that's something Kamala and I will be very focused on.

[16:20:08]

And, fourthly, we discussed the implementation of a national mask mandate. Ten governors, Democrat and Republican, have imposed masking requirements and recognize the need for universal masking, North, South East and West. It is not a political statement. It's a patriotic duty.

And, fifth, we discussed making testing more available and accessible. Anyone who wants a test should be able to get one, period.

And, finally, while we focused on the immediate needs to control the virus, the governors also raised and talked about how much we have to build back better, especially on infrastructure and education, and so much more.

This was not a one-off meeting. I committed, we committed, we agreed that we will continue to work and meet with the governors on a regular basis, continue to seek their input, and that our COVID teams will follow up and coordinate on the issues coming out of that call, because some of them have very competent people on their COVID teams in their states.

The bottom line, we can do this. There's nothing beyond our capacity. But we have to come together as a country.

What this meeting, along with others we have had, reinforces, in my view, is the unity the country is looking for. They're looking for us to come together and deal with problems, most of which have no any ideological basis for disagreement.

That's what we have to do. That's what the governors talked about, and it really was pleasing to hear that.

I want to thank you all. And may God bless you all and those who lost someone. You're in our prayers. May God protect our troops.

I'm happy to take a few questions. And my boss is going to tell me who that is.

QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President-Elect.

I know you mentioned the economic impact and talked a bit about the relief package you wanted. But I was wondering if we could talk about things that you will be able to do just as president, or what will sort of govern your decision in terms of the economy?

So, I was wondering if I could ask what kind of framework you're thinking about as you decide about a Treasury secretary going forward, whether you would consider -- and you had said during the debates that you wanted to punish China over the way that they have been acting -- whether that could include economic sanctions or tariffs for China?

And, finally, do you think a strong dollar helps or hurts the U.S. as we're grappling with historic unemployment?

BIDEN: Well, look, let me try to take it one at a time. You will soon hear my choice for Treasury. I have made that decision. We have made that decision. And you will hear that either just before or just after Thanksgiving, number one.

And you will find it is someone who I think is -- will be accepted by all elements of the Democratic Party, from the progressive to the moderate coalitions.

Secondly, it's not so much about punishing China. It's about making sure China understands they have got to play by the rules. It's a simple proposition. And so that's one of the reasons why we're going to rejoin the World Health Organization, we're going to rejoin on day one as well -- and it needs reform, I acknowledge -- and rejoin the Paris climate accord. And we have to make sure that the rest of the world and we get

together and make sure there are certain bright lines the Chinese understand. We have to not only deal with this pandemic. We have got to plan for the next one.

The idea that viruses are going to go away is just not rational. We're going to re -- we're going to recalibrate and set up the institute we -- the institutional structures we had in our administration of Obama/Biden and build on it.

And what was your third question?

QUESTION: It was about the dollar, sir, whether you think a strong dollar will help or hurt with unemployment, or generally just how you would like the Federal Reserve to sort of approach the...

(CROSSTALK)

BIDEN: Well, quite frankly, the way the Federal Reserve has been approaching the -- dealing with the dollar has -- I think, has been in a positive direction.

Our interest rates are as low as they have been in modern history. And I think that is a positive thing. It lends credence to the possibility of us being able to expend the money and deficit-spend in order to be able to generate economic growth right off the bat. And so I think it's been positive so far.

QUESTION: Thank you.

QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President-Elect.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: You have said that, if this transition doesn't get going, especially coordination on vaccine distribution, that lives will be lost.

[16:25:06]

How many lives do you think are at risk here if this transition remains stalled?

BIDEN: Well, look, we have -- you have heard the projections.

The projections are that, if nothing fundamentally changes between now and beginning of February, we're likely to lose up to 400,000 -- a total of 400,000 lives, another 150,000 lives.

And so it's real. Whether it's that, it gets to 360,000, whatever it is, it's real. And there is no excuse not to share the data and let us begin to plan, because, on day one, it's going to take us time -- if we don't have access to all this data, it's going to put us behind the eight ball by a matter of a month or more.

And that's lives. How many would be lost as a consequence of that, I can't tell you. But the purpose here is to get -- we talked a lot about with the governors about what the immediate needs are. I'm going to -- we're going to impose the -- we're going to enforce the -- excuse me -- employ the Defense -- the act to be able to go out there and dictate companies build and do following things.

We need much more testing. We need much more masking. That's more -- we need gloves. I asked them each to go and I asked the National Governors Association, through Governor Cuomo and the ones on the line, to let us know what their shortages are, what they anticipate, because we're going to move on day one.

That should be moved on now, now. But if it waits, it takes a long time to get this thing going.

QUESTION: And when you take a step back, and you look at the way the president is handling this, his refusal to concede, what do you think is really going on here?

In your view, Mr. President-Elect, what do you think the president is doing? What are Americans witnessing here?

BIDEN: Let me choose my words here.

I think they're witnessing incredible irresponsibility, incredibly damaging messages being sent to the rest of the world about how democracy functions.

And I think it is -- well, I don't know his motive, but I just think it's totally irresponsible.

QUESTION: Are you concerned he may succeed, that people might question the legitimacy of your administration?

BIDEN: No, I'm not concerned. The vast majority of the American people, they have already -- all the polling data is indicated -- although the Republicans who worry about it, it's higher, but over 78 percent American people believe it's -- without question, it's legitimate.

And I just think it's -- and I think most of the Republicans I have spoken to, including the governors, think this is debilitating. It's not a -- it sends a horrible message about who we are as a country.

QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President-Elect. Thank you, Vice President- Elect Harris. Appreciate it.

BIDEN: Nice seeing you in person, not on television.

QUESTION: Nice to see you as well. Yes, appreciate it.

(LAUGHTER)

QUESTION: You have said that lives could be lost if you don't start getting briefings from the Trump administration.

And now here we are. More than 250,000 lives could be lost. Given that, how do you justify not taking legal action to get the briefings that you say are critical, that you say you need?

BIDEN: It would take a lot of time. It would take time. It's not going to speed it up considerably, in my view.

And, in the meantime, I'm hopeful that I'm going to be able to get cooperation from our Republican colleagues in the Senate and the House, as well as the governors, to build a consensus as to how we proceed when we do.

QUESTION: But why not use every tool in your toolbox to get the information that you say you need to do your job and to do it effectively on day one?

BIDEN: I'm making a judgment, based on many years of experience in how to get things done with the opposition.

QUESTION: Do you think you would win?

BIDEN: And my judgment is -- my judgment that it is -- we will get further along by actually working with our Republican colleagues now, and -- because the time in which we would win would not materially change, necessarily.

But it's still an open question. It's an open question. It could change.

QUESTION: So, you haven't ruled it out? You haven't ruled out legal action against the Trump administration, against the GSA?

BIDEN: We haven't ruled it out.

QUESTION: OK.

And given the death toll now, more than 250,000 Americans who have now lost their lives, you have said that you would support a nationwide shutdown, if scientists recommended it.

BIDEN: No. Let -- no, let -- I know.

QUESTION: You have spoken to scientists now.

BIDEN: You keep -- everybody asks that question every single time I stand here. It was a hypothetical question. The answer was, I would follow the science.

I am not going to shut down the economy, period. I'm going to shut down the virus.

[16:30:00]