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The Lead with Jake Tapper

First Vaccine Shipments to States to Fall Short of Need; Trump Consumed With Overturning Election Results. Aired 4:30-5p ET

Aired December 07, 2020 - 16:30   ET

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

[16:30:53]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Our politics lead now.

President Trump is spending his final weeks in office ignoring the scale of the COVID crisis publicly. And, instead, he is defying every shred of evidence, insisting even today that he won the election and we're rounding the curve. Neither are true.

As Kaitlan Collins reports, the president, the outgoing president, is consumed by the fight to overturn the election results.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you very much.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Still fuming about the election, President Donald Trump compared the U.S. to a Third World country today, as he appeared to acknowledge that his legal efforts to change the results have gone nowhere.

TRUMP: No, this was like from a Third World nation. And I think the case has been made. And now we find out what we can do about it.

COLLINS: But the case hasn't been made. Trump and his allies have lost or withdrawn at least 40 court cases since the election.

Now sources tell CNN that, between those court losses, some fast- approaching deadlines, and his top attorney being hospitalized with coronavirus, the president's legal efforts might end soon.

TRUMP: Well, I think the case has already been made, if you look at the polls.

COLLINS: There were two more blows to the president's efforts today. Federal judges in Michigan threw out the latest attempt to overturn the result there, calling Trump allies Sidney Powell's lawsuit -- quote -- "nothing but speculation and conjecture."

And the state of Georgia recertifying its results after counting presidential ballots for a third time and affirming Joe Biden's win once again, despite what President Trump claimed during a rally there Saturday night.

TRUMP: You know, we won Georgia, just so you understand.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

COLLINS: As he awarded the Medal of Freedom to wrestling legend Dan Gable today, Trump attempted to compare their records and wrongly claimed he had won two presidential elections.

TRUMP: Well, in politics, I won two. So I'm 2-0. And that's pretty good, too. But we will see how that turns out.

COLLINS: Trump also provided an update on his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani's condition after the 76-year-old was admitted to Georgetown University Medical Center with coronavirus.

TRUMP: Rudy is doing well. I just spoke to him. He's doing very well. No temperature.

COLLINS: Giuliani has been crisscrossing the country to push Trump's baseless claims about the election, and he often greeted people with a handshake and no mask.

While Trump has refused to acknowledge Biden's win or even call the next president, CNN has learned he's already plotting his next steps.

And some staffers are now speculating he may not return to the White House after going to Florida for the Christmas holidays, though no final decisions have been made.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: And, Jake, there are some people who believe there's no way the president doesn't come back to the White House after the Christmas break, because, of course, he's been trying to get so much done before he does leave office to really burnish his legacy.

One place we do know he is going is back to Georgia ahead of that Senate run-off in January to campaign, though, of course, when he was there on Saturday night, it was a lot more of him talking about his election loss than it was campaigning for those two Republicans, who are going to determine which party, of course, controls the Senate.

TAPPER: Yes. And, obviously, we're expecting the president to sandwich in a number of pardons as well.

Kaitlan Collins, thank you so much.

Let's discuss.

Abby, President Trump traveling again to Georgia.

What else might be next for President Trump if his legal challenges come to an official close?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, I mean, I think all of this really is ultimately about what he does after he leaves the White House. It's about trying to set up a political committee that will fund his political future down the road.

I wouldn't be surprised if, as we have reported, the president considers even just straight up relaunching a sort of reelection bid for 2024 as he is leaving the White House.

This is all about trying to make sure that he secures his place within the Republican Party, that he keeps Republican lawmakers who are currently serving in line, understanding that he still has sway over his base. That's what this whole thing is about. And I think that you will see the president pretty soon after really planting a flag and saying, I am the future of the Republican Party, and warning other Republicans who try to break from him that he's not going anywhere.

[16:35:09]

TAPPER: Yes, of course, he is establishing simultaneously as his legacy the fact that he is the worst, sorest loser in American political history.

Meanwhile, Ron, while President Trump is largely ignoring this horrific pandemic, at least in his public comments, his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has become infected.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.

TAPPER: So, in a weird way -- and, obviously, we all wish the best for Mr. Giuliani -- but it's possible the coronavirus will be the downfall of his election fight.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, he's -- the clock is running out. And, certainly, Rudy Giuliani going into the hospital doesn't help his cause.

But the cause has already been sunk by the lack of evidence that has caused him to lose lawsuits all over the country. And it really is striking that both of these things are happening at once, Jake, as you kind of alluded to.

I mean, here we are on Pearl Harbor Day. We are having a Pearl Harbor every day in the United States, in terms of the number of casualties from the coronavirus.

And yet, virtually -- I don't think any leading Republican has complained about the president essentially walking away from the fight, leaving Americans on their own to face this, as we deal with the highest peaks of this outbreak, in the same way that virtually no Republicans in Congress, even to this point, are calling out the president's poisonous fantasies of voter fraud and suppression that have led to death threats, not only now in Georgia and Arizona against the secretary of state, but kind of a mob of armed protesters outside the home of the Michigan secretary of state last night.

And, still, Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy can't say, this is wrong, this is dangerous, this is not grounded in fact, really remarkable and ominous about where we are going in terms of our ability to function as one cohesive country. TAPPER: It's worse than that even, Ron, because, Abby, tomorrow, a

vaccine denier is going to testify before the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

And CNN is now also learning that some of the president's biggest allies on Capitol Hill, his most sycophantic friends, are urging him to not concede even after Biden wins the Electoral College vote next week.

Congressman Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio, telling CNN that this could include a debate over the results on the House floor.

And just a reminder. President-elect Biden not only won the Electoral College significantly, and we will see that officially, but he won the popular vote margin by seven million votes, if not more.

What do you make of this, Abby?

PHILLIP: The big picture of all of this is a Republican Party that is being swallowed alive by conspiracies, and being -- allowing itself to be completely taken over by that element of its base.

We can't -- in fact, we can't even really call it, that it's some sort of -- the sort of base element of the Republican Party. This is the party, sitting United States senators inviting a vaccine skeptic to come and testify, someone who's pushing hydroxychloroquine, which has been proven to have no impact on the coronavirus, to come before the Senate, even as we are on the cusp of a vaccine that could help us through this pandemic.

You have got QAnon supporters being elected to join the Congress. It should not be a surprise then that you have sitting members of the House and the Senate supporting the president in an effort to build a conspiracy theory around this election that he can live off of for the next four years.

This is now what has become of the Republican Party. And if people don't want that to be the case, they should probably start speaking up about it now.

TAPPER: Ron, what is happening to the Republican Party? Like, where did they go from here?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, well, look, I mean, this is -- this is kind of a form of secession from shared -- kind of shared reality in the U.S., where you have this continuing -- the willingness of virtually all Republicans -- Kelly Loeffler in that debate last night in Georgia, the Georgia Senate debate, refusing to say that Joe Biden won the state, saying that Donald Trump was within his rights to pursue every legal means.

He's pursuing extralegal means to try to overturn this election now, trying to pressure the governor to throw out the results of the vote and appoint -- have the state legislature appoint electors in his favor. I mean, you -- I don't think you can overstate the extent to which to

which we are watching the Republican Party, I think, refuse to accept that blue America has legitimacy when it outvotes them. It's not as if Donald Trump is an outlier here. The broad range of Congress is supporting him, and a lot of Republican voters are supporting him, 75, 80 percent of Republican -- of his voters saying the election was stolen.

When Joe Biden talks about unifying the country, he's going to have to deal with a Republican Party that is kind of moving in a centrifugal direction, far more than it was even under Obama, much less Bill Clinton.

TAPPER: All right, depressing news.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

TAPPER: Ron Brownstein and Abby Phillip, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

[16:40:02]

Breaking news: We now know when president-elect Biden will name his attorney general and his secretary of defense.

That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Moments ago, president-elect Joe Biden told reporters that he plans to announce two big nominations this week.

The president-elect says he will name his attorney general and his secretary of defense. It could be historic. Biden has been facing pressure to pick someone of color for one or both of these positions. And he has promised to fulfill his promise to build a diverse administration, though he has not made any specific commitments.

In our health lead: not enough vaccine.

[16:45:00]

A CNN analysis shows that the number of doses each state plans to receive will be much less than what they need to vaccinate all health care workers and long-term care residents. As we're learning, some states have to choose, even among the first wave, who will get the vaccine first.

CNN's Pete Muntean joins me now to discuss.

Pete, how are states determining who will get the vaccines first?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's widely agreed upon, Jake, that front line health-care workers and those living in long-term care facilities should get vaccinated at least off the bat, but what's so interesting here is that we're learning from states that it will not have enough vaccine, at least initially, to cover everybody in that top tier, and now states will have to prioritize within that group.

The conditions are really stark in a place like California. It says it will not have enough vaccine, at least initially, to cover 1 in every 10 front line health-care workers.

TAPPER: Do we know when more vaccines will then become available for the remaining health-care workers and long-term care residents?

MUNTEAN: Well, this is a bit of a rollout, Jake. And what remains to be seen is whether or not this will be smooth and quick or slow and rocky. You know, states say they will keep vaccinating the top tier as they get shipments in, but this is going to be a process.

TAPPER: Pete, you've been inside these cargo planes that can hold up to half a million doses of the vaccine. How is this distribution going to work?

MUNTEAN: It's going to be pretty, Jake. You know, American Airlines says it will begin shipping the vaccine within 24 hours of emergency FDA approval, but the real challenge here is keeping the vaccine cold. In some cases, super, super cold.

We know the Pfizer vaccine needs to be negative 100 degrees Fahrenheit, as it's being transported. Airlines insist that they are up for the challenge. They have special equipment in place, and that is critical because it's airlines who could be transporting the vaccine the furthest.

TAPPER: Thank you so much, Pete Muntean. Appreciate it.

It looks like an abandoned build bug these awful images are actually a working hospital, treating COVID patients right now. CNN pulls back the curtain on this horrific reality in one country. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:51:45]

TAPPER: In the world lead, a CNN exclusive now, rare access inside hospitals in Caracas, Venezuela, revealing a crisis, describing this as disgusting or abhorrent would be an understatement. Dirty, dilapidated hospitals with no running water, no electricity, where people are afraid to get care, a morgue where the smell of dead bodies is unbearable.

The scene makes Venezuela's government numbers questionable. Only 104,000 COVID cases since March and 919 deaths. That's according to the Venezuelan government. But doctors brave enough to speak up say the truth is far, far worse.

They blame President Nicolas Maduro and his socialist government and his years of corruption and mismanagement for the worsening crisis.

CNN's Isa Soares has a look at the unimaginable conditions in this CNN's exclusive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Los Magallanes Public Hospital in Caracas, remnants of this once wealthy nation lie strewn on the dirt floor. Its shackled wards hiding what the Venezuelan government doesn't want us to see.

Here, COVID-19 has unmasked Venezuela's open wounds. And practically, every floor this hospital is empty, tells me this hospital worker who prefers to remain anonymous.

HOSPITAL WORKER: It's empty because there's nothing here. There are no supplies. There's no way to treat patients, no lights, no working pipes, the baths are clogged, and there's no water. If patients don't die of their disease, they did of contamination.

SOARES: It's a risk only a few dare to take. This is the COVID-19 ward. Only this part of it is functional. The rest is completely run down after years of mismanagement. So it's no surprise many would rather face the pandemic outside these walls. Choosing instead their homes over these decrepit rooms where darkness has literally taken over.

This is the intensive neonatal ward. And the reason I'm holding up this light right here is because there is no electricity in this hospital. Have a look around. Bare bones.

And what I have been told by doctors around Caracas and outside of Caracas is that this is a situation day in, day out.

Even in the morgue, death comes with shortages. There's no pathologists here and with intermittent electricity, the stench is unbearable. Now, imagine having to face a pandemic in these conditions.

It's why doctors like Gustavo Villasmil are no longer afraid to speak out.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

SOARES: I have friends of mine who have been criminally charged, he says. Why, for protesting the conditions in which they have been forced to practice. So he doesn't hold back.

In Venezuela, he tells me, there are only as many recognized COVID cases as the regime wants. With testing limited to three government control labs, Villasmil says it's impossible to paint an accurate picture. With regards to COVID, he says, we don't know where we are.

The government, however, claims the pandemic is under control, saying it's strategy has worked.

[16:55:03]

A government minder shows us inside a hotel where suspected infected patients are kept in quarantine for up to 21 days. It's a lockdown strategy employed by China, which the government of Nicolas Maduro has been keen to extol.

Venezuelans have shown an immunity to the virus, says this doctor, toeing the government line.

The families of those died on the front lines may see it differently. Two hundred seventy-two health-care workers have lost their lives in Venezuela as of November 30th.

At Hospital Vargas in Caracas, you can see why. They are overworked and not protected.

It's one nurse for this whole area here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't have masks, we don't have gloves. They turn on the water one hour in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one at night. There's nothing. There's not broom, no mop, no cloth.

SOARES: This is evident all around. And as I walk this ward, I stop to speak to a patient's daughter.

She tells he frail 69-year-old father is here because of malnourishment, the same state in post-malady that we've seen across Venezuela.

His immune system is compromised, yet he shares this ward with a COVID patient.

His daughter tells me he needs iron supplements that the hospital simply doesn't have.

Have a look at this. I mean, this is what -- this is what they have to work with here, nurses and doctors, syringes. It's astounding. They've got nothing.

There's a vast emptiness all around, and a sense of disillusionment and surrender. Painful, no doubt for those who saw this oil rich country one of the wealthiest in Latin America now to think (ph) on the brink of survival.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES (on camera): And, Jake, CNN reached out to the Venezuelan government for comment on really the state, the conditions on those -- in those two public hospitals, as well as the criticism you heard in our reporting from those health-care professionals. And to date, we have not heard anything -- Jake.

TAPPER: Isa, there was an election yesterday. It was boycotted by many Venezuelans, but in it, several Maduro supporters are now claiming victory, claiming control of Venezuela's Congress.

Do any of these individuals publicly recognize the dire conditions? Have they made any promises to help matters?

SOARES: On that, on the election, first of all, Jake, it is not just his supporters or anyone who backs Maduro, but also Maduro's party himself, which secures the biggest percentage of the vote, just over 67 percent according to figures from the government appointed National Electoral Council. That is important to state.

But what we saw in the last 24 hours here in Venezuela, Jake, is really Nicolas Maduro taking control of the last bastion of Venezuelan democracy, which, until now, had been in the hands of Juan Guaido. He was controlling the national assembly. And he's the man seen by many 60 countries as really the rightful president of Venezuela.

But on the question of the conditions you won't hear anyone from Maduro's government acknowledging that. Instead, they blame the election -- they blame these U.S. sanctions. They say U.S. sanctions are to blame.

Medicine isn't coming into the country. Medical equipment isn't coming into the country. The food isn't coming into the country because of U.S. sanctions.

And that simply is not true. One, because U.S. sanctions are very recent. Two, because U.S. sanctions are very targeted. They're targeted at individuals and also big corporations like PDVSA, which is the cash cow -- petro cash cow of Venezuela.

What we are seeing really, Jake, are years of mismanagement, years of corruption that really COVID-19 is bringing to the surface, and that's something they simply will never acknowledge -- Jake.

TAPPER: And, Isa, the doctors with whom you spoke, what do they say about these relatively low COVID numbers the corrupt Maduro regime continues to put out? What do they say the actual number is more likely to be?

SOARES: They don't accept those figures. They tell me already that we're seeing a second wave of COVID infections. They think the biggest, we're looking at four times more than what is being reported.

It's simple that three only -- only three government controlled labs, and they tell me that really they're controlling the labs, they're controlling the numbers. If they control the numbers, they control the narrative.

So they are taking note of what they're seeing and really keeping track on that. But they do not pay attention to the numbers. They simply do not trust it. Again, Jake, question of transparency.

TAPPER: Isa Soares and her team doing incredible work covering the tragedy that is the Maduro-controlled Venezuela. Thank you so much.

You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @JakeTapper. You can tweet the show @TheLeadCNN.

Our coverage on CNN continues right now.

[17:00:00]