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The Lead with Jake Tapper
U.K. Begins Vaccinations; Trump Again Falsely Claims He Won Election. Aired 3-3:30p ET
Aired December 08, 2020 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:01]
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Sanjay, Gloria, Abby, thank you for being with me.
I'm Brooke Baldwin. We will see you tomorrow.
"THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" starts right now.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: And welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.
We begin today with breaking news. Just minutes ago, at a vaccine summit, outgoing President Trump gave a false and stunning response to a question about how Americans can expect to get the coronavirus vaccine.
Mr. Trump was asked how the next administration, the Biden/Harris administration, will handle distributing these lifesaving doses. Here was part of his answer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, we're going to have to see who the next administration is, because we won.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: That's not true. Outgoing President Trump lost.
I'm not qualified, as a news anchor, to say why the president continues to state otherwise and spread this lie. I don't know if it's political, or if he's cynically lying, or if there's some sort of psychological issue.
The reality is, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if he doesn't want to acknowledge it. On January 20, president-elect Joe Biden will become President Joe Biden, elected by more than 81 million Americans.
Also, minutes ago, president-elect Biden vowed 100 million vaccine doses in his first 100 days. Today, there is a major milestone in the fight against coronavirus. The very first doses of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine are now being administered to citizens of the United Kingdom.
We do anticipate that Americans will soon join them. Pfizer's vaccine is expected to be approved for use in the U.S. in just two days.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins joins me now live.
And, Kaitlan, again, an opportunity for the president to herald this grand achievement at the vaccine summit goes off the rails with these deranged lies.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
And, Jake, I have never seen the president take questions in this room before. It's a big auditorium, where they're supposed to have a slew of speakers come and talk about this amazing feat that they have accomplished, all the effort they have put into it.
But after the president opened it up, he decided to take questions from reporters. And they, of course, were asking why no members of the Biden team were they, given, after, you noted, that Joe Biden is inaugurated, they're going to take over the distribution of this vaccine.
Yet the president was falsely insisting that he won this election. And, Jake, he was saying publicly what we have been reporting that he was saying privately, which is putting pressure on people to help him try to overturn the election results, even though he has suffered a string of court losses, and every recount has only affirmed Biden's win.
Listen to him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We were rewarded with a victory. Now let's see whether or not somebody has the courage, whether it's a legislator or legislatures, or whether it's a justice of the Supreme Court, or a number of justices of the Supreme Court. Let's see if they have the courage to do what everybody in this country knows is right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: And so, remember, as the president is saying that there to reporters, privately, he has been calling these officials, these legislators in certain states and trying to pressure them to help him push for these challenges, that, of course, he has had no wins in court.
So now he is trying to turn to the electors and the legislators to help him do the bidding here.
TAPPER: It's incredible. I mean, he is trying to undermine the democratic results of the election.
And Republican leaders throughout the country and here in Washington, D.C., are completely silent about this.
We're also learning, Kaitlan, that the Trump administration turned down an offer from Pfizer this summer to purchase hundreds of millions of more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. "The New York Times" reports it was up to 500 million extra doses that the U.S. does not have.
What is the White House saying in response to this?
COLLINS: Well, the press secretary denied it.
But, of course, the former FDA commissioner who's now on the board of Pfizer said that this is true, that they came to the U.S. government multiple times with this offer. They were turned down. They have now promised it to other countries, which has raised this concern about when the U.S. get more of the Pfizer vaccine, more of those doses beyond the 100 million that they have already secured and just, of course, what that timeline is going to look like.
But Moncef Slaoui, who is the head of Operation Warp Speed, defended it by saying, they came to us over the summer before it had been proven to be highly successful in these clinical trials, which just happened in the last month or so. So, he said, we wouldn't have reasonably bought more doses of it at the time.
But what this is raising questions about and what people should look for going forward is whether or not they're going to try to stop other countries from getting access to this vaccine, because you saw the president hint at that there in the auditorium earlier, talking about using the defense production agreement earlier to potentially try to, if they don't like the way some of the companies are distributing these vaccines, to intervene.
But a lot of that really remains to be seen, Jake.
TAPPER: That's right. And some companies, like Moderna, I believe, and others got money from the federal government to create their vaccine. I don't think Pfizer did. They did get money for manufacturing and distribution from the government, but not for the actual discovery of the vaccine--
COLLINS: Right.
TAPPER: -- which could be significant here in terms of this.
Kaitlan Collins, thanks so much.
As president-elect Joe Biden introduced the key members of his health team just moments ago, he also laid out a 100-day plan to try to deal with this pandemic.
[15:05:05]
CNN has also learned that the Biden team will meet on Thursday with officials from Operation Warp Speed about vaccine rollout plans.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny is live for us in Wilmington, Delaware. And, Jeff, president-elect Biden just laid out three steps he hopes to take in his first 100 days. Tell us what they are.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Jake, he did.
He renewed his challenge to America that he first made with you last week. He called on Americans to be patriotic and wear masks for 100 days, essentially asking them to do what the federal government cannot do by law.
But he said he would sign an executive order on his first day to require masks be worn in all federal buildings. He also said that he would hope to achieve 100 million vaccinations in those first 100 days. But he also stipulated that that depends upon what happens now, in the next 43 days, and the rollout of the Trump administration.
He also said a priority is opening schools. So, those were the three main provisions of his first 100 days, masking, vaccinations and open schools.
But, Jake, he also spoke in very blunt language. He said his team of advisers that he was introducing would be honest with the American people, they would not sugarcoat what lies ahead. So, he introduced his new health and human services secretary, and, of course, a familiar face from the Trump administration, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who was appearing here via video.
And he said, look, the road is going to be tough in the next several weeks ahead, but America can get through this. So, with his new health care now, they will be on the sidelines for the next six weeks or so, but then they will take over this response.
TAPPER: All right, Jeff Zeleny in Wilmington, Delaware, thank you so much.
Today, a 90-year-old British woman became the first person in the entire world outside clinical trials to get a fully vetted coronavirus vaccine. Her name is Margaret Keenan. Next week is her 91st birthday.
Margaret said this was the best gift you could have ever wished for. The second person vaccinated in the U.K., his name, believe it or not, is William Shakespeare. His friends call him Bill.
As CNN's Max Foster reports from Cardiff, Wales, for us, these brave vaccine pioneers are showing the world what is possible.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Let the mass immunization program begin, 90-year-old Margaret Keenan making history as the first person in England and indeed the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine outside a trial.
(APPLAUSE)
FOSTER: But stealing the show was none other than 81-year-old William Shakespeare, coming in second, giving a glimmer of hope in this winter of discontent. A hospital inpatient, he got the shot just 20 miles from Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, VACCINE RECIPIENT: Groundbreaking, I think. It could make the difference to our lives from now on, couldn't it? It started changing our lives and our lifestyle.
FOSTER: In neighboring Wales, front-line health and social workers were put to the front of the line.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before you know, it's all over. Look, not even a mock.
JONATHAN HOLMAN, VACCINE RECIPIENT: Thank you.
FOSTER (on camera): Were you nervous at all beforehand?
HOLMAN: Not particularly, no.
FOSTER: Do you feel like you're part of history?
HOLMAN: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
NUALA MAHON, IMMUNIZATION COORDINATOR: It's just so exciting to be able to begin this and be part of that history.
FOSTER: In many ways, it feels like a regular vaccination clinic. But the National Health Service has described this as a turning point in the global pandemic.
We can't tell you where we are, for fear of people turning up outside hoping to get a vaccine. It's strictly invitation-only.
(voice-over): Everyone who gets the shot is issued with a card, a simple reminder, the government says, to come back for a second dose in three weeks' time.
And behind the scenes, pharmacists had to be brought in to help prepare the injections.
DARREL BAKER, CARDIFF AND VALE UNIVERSITY HEALTH BOARD: Normally, vaccines would arrive in a ready prepared syringe ready for administration. This vaccine has to be diluted and then individual doses, five doses taken out of each of the individual vials.
FOSTER (on camera): So, big learning curve for you?
BAKER: Absolutely.
FOSTER (voice-over): Lessons learned here informing the rest of the Western world, as others prepare for mass vaccinations too.
(on camera): And the world is watching.
TRACY MEREDITH, CARDIFF AND VALE UNIVERSITY HEALTH BOARD: The world is watching.
FOSTER: So, they will be learning from your example.
MEREDITH: Well, I hope so.
FOSTER: And what's the message then?
MEREDITH: The message is, I think, gets everybody in, get everybody vaccinated. Obviously, it's a choice. But we're here to look after everyone and for everyone to look after each other. So, please get vaccinated.
FOSTER (voice-over): This moment in history not lost on the nurses, who've had the toughest year of their careers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: And the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, stepping in to temper the excitement to some extent, though, today Jake, saying, we've got a long way to go in this vaccination program. Still stick to those safety guidelines.
But I think a nurse probably summed it up best to me earlier on today. I met her at the vaccination center here in Cardiff. And I asked her what she was doing. And she simply said, "I'm injecting hope."
[15:10:01]
TAPPER: Yes, a light at the end of the tunnel.
In Cardiff, Wales, Ben Foster -- Max Foster, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
It's a very hopeful day on the vaccine front, but there are still some major obstacles to making sure it's available to every American.
Then: What can the AIDS epidemic teach us about slowing the spread in this pandemic?
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: In our health lead today: Today, the United States reached 15 million COVID cases total since the beginning of the pandemic, 15 million. That is roughly the populations of New York City and Los Angeles and Chicago combined.
And, as we hit new daily case records, we're also seeing a record 102,000 people in the hospital right now with coronavirus in the United States and a shocking 1,400 new COVID-related deaths just yesterday.
[15:15:03]
As the pandemic worsens, more cities are weighing more restrictions to stop the spread, as CNN's Erica Hill now reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERICA HILL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The first coronavirus vaccines in the U.K.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's been such an exciting day.
HILL: As the U.S. records his worst numbers yet, more than 15 million confirmed cases, more than 102,000 Americans hospitalized.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there a limit? Yes, there is a limit.
HILL: Thirty-four states reporting an average positivity rate in the last week above 10 percent. The goal is less than 5 percent. In Pennsylvania, it's 36 percent.
DR. RACHEL LEVINE, PENNSYLVANIA SECRETARY OF HEALTH: We're seeing far more new cases now than we saw in the spring. And we are seeing record rates of hospitalizations.
HILL: It's not just Pennsylvania. This field hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts, accepting patients to help ease the strain. Ohio may soon limit surgeries, as the number of COVID patients soars.
GOV. MIKE DEWINE (R-OH): Heads of hospitals have told me it's unsustainable at this level.
HILL: Michigan extending its statewide pause, Wyoming adding an indoor mask mandate for the first time and new limits for bars and restaurants. New York City facing new restrictions of its own in a matter of days.
BILL DE BLASIO (D), MAYOR OF NEW YORK: No one's happy about it. I feel for the small businesses that might be affected and their employees. But this health situation has to be addressed.
HILL: The National Restaurant Association warning, another 10,000 restaurants could close in the next three months.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About 40-something employees, and they're all essential to the people in their lives.
HILL: So, what about that vaccine? An FDA advisory panel will consider Pfizer's the first to apply for emergency use authorization on Thursday.
DR. STEPHEN HAHN, COMMISSIONER, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION: We do feel that -- preliminarily, that the success criteria have been met.
HILL: States preparing for their initial shipments, Johnson & Johnson, currently in phase three trials for its vaccine, offering this today:
PAUL STOFFELS, CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER, JOHNSON & JOHNSON: We might have results sooner than expected. But we target for results in the month of January, both for safety and efficacy.
HILL: AstraZeneca's data published today in "The Lancet" shows average efficacy of 70 percent.
DR. PETER HOTEZ, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: We're going to need at least four or five different vaccines in order to vaccinate the -- most of the population of the United States.
HILL: While we wait, masks, distance and patience.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Now, Jake, one other thing to consider when it comes to these vaccinations is who will administer them.
Just behind me, at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital, they said they're really hitting all the avenues here, so not just the nurses and doctors, not just looking at pharmacists, rather, and nurses who are currently administering flu vaccines, but they're also looking at pharmacists, pharmacy and nursing interns, medical students and residents as well.
They say, throughout the entire hospital system, they have about 15,000 high-risk employees, just to put those numbers in perspective.
TAPPER: A big task ahead. Thanks so much, Erica Hill.
Appreciate it.
The chair and president of Access Health International, William Haseltine, joins us now to discuss.
Thanks so much for joining us.
So, "The New York Times" and "The Washington Post" are reporting that the next round of Pfizer doses is tied up with other countries and will not be available to the U.S. until summer. Are you worried that we will face a vaccine shortage in the United States?
DR. WILLIAM HASELTINE, INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT: I think it's likely that we will. But, fortunately, there are many other countries developing vaccines.
So -- and they are ramping up rapidly too. And I think those vaccines will be -- the information will be available. And whether we choose to import some of those vaccines, say, from China will be a really big geopolitical question. But it might be to our advantage at least to consider that if there is, as anticipated, a major shortage.
TAPPER: It's been reported by "The New York Times" and "Washington Post" and confirmed by members of Operation Warp Speed that the Trump administration passed on the opportunity to secure up to 500 million more Pfizer vaccine doses over the summer.
One official told CNN the decision was a mistake. Obviously, we didn't know at the time how effective the vaccine was. But do you think the administration's decision was understandable? Do you think it was malpractice? What's your take?
HASELTINE: I think it's unfortunate, but I think hindsight is better than -- hindsight is easier to make than making judgments at the time.
And there were a number of vaccines that were making their way through. And I think it was hard to tell which one. I wouldn't criticize them overly for that decision. But I would try to broaden the net to bring whatever vaccines seem to be safe and effective to this country, whether we make them here or we import them.
A lot of our vaccines, we can import and do import.
TAPPER: President-elect Biden just pledged 100 million doses of the vaccines in his first 100 days in office.
What worries you most about vaccine distribution? Is it whether or not we have the manpower to give the vaccines, whether or not the public, too many members of the public are going to refuse to take it, whether or not there is a shortage of it?
[15:20:07]
What weighs on you the most?
HASELTINE: What weighs on me the most is the same thing that troubled us during the testing, that we don't have a uniform central government policy for vaccination.
Yes, we will get the vaccine to jurisdictions, which will be states or counties or towns or even townships. But then it's up to those individual jurisdictions to decide who gets the vaccine and who will administer the vaccine.
So, there's a lot of serious questions. And we know there's going to be -- there are going to be big differences between the different jurisdictions. What happens in one town might be different from the other town. And some people in one town might be able to get the vaccine, and the same kind of people won't be able to get it in another town.
And it's likely to lead to some serious disagreements and uncertainties and upsetness. That all will pass over time. But there's going to be -- I would say we see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it's a very long tunnel, and it's very dark at the beginning, as you have described.
TAPPER: Should Americans, particularly those who are not health care workers or considered high risk, not get our hopes up for a vaccine any time soon?
HASELTINE: I think that is probably most likely.
I think the people who are on the high list to get the vaccine should be getting the vaccine.
I'd like to add a word of warning. There are going to be fakes. There will be fake vaccines. If you try to jump the line, the chance that you're going to get a fake vaccine is probably pretty high. That could be not only useless. It could be dangerous.
TAPPER: All right, Mr. Haseltine, thank you so much. Always good to have you on. Appreciate it.
HASELTINE: My pleasure.
TAPPER: More on the breaking news the hour, President Trump going all in on that delusional election rant during a vaccine summit?
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:26:47]
TAPPER: Minutes ago, whether it is rooted in cynical lies or some sort of psychological disorder, outgoing President Trump continued to spew the nonsense conspiracy theories that he may still be in office when vaccines are distributed after January 20, when President Biden will be inaugurated.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: Why not include members of the Biden transition team as part of this summit that you're hosting today?
TRUMP: Well, we're going to have to see who the next administration is, because we won in those swing states. And there was terrible things that went on. So, we're going to have to see who the next administration is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: You didn't win in the swing states. We're not going to have to wait to see who the next administration is, because it's going to be the Biden/Harris administration.
And the only terrible things going on are President Trump and his supporters trying to subvert the will of the people.
Let's discuss.
Jackie, what on earth is he doing?
JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I mean, it -- he's living in his own reality.
And by, I guess, letting someone from the Biden transition in the room while this photo-op/summit is going on is a concession that they did not -- he did not, in fact, when the election.
Now, we know that the Biden transition is talking to current officials. Dr. Fauci has joined Biden's administration as an adviser, but any sort of public-facing thing, Trump is refusing to do. And this isn't without consequences.
As you alluded to, Jake, a lot of these officials in these states are being harassed, some by armed supporters, like the Michigan secretary of state, people coming to her home and scaring her child.
There are real consequences from the president deciding to continue to push the lies that he is.
TAPPER: And, Laura, the outgoing president even called on the Supreme Court to help him overturn the election results. I don't even know how to respond at this point. There is no case that's going to overturn the election results. We know he's lost. He is going down in history as the sorest loser in American political history.
I don't even know why his family isn't stepping in here.
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: No one's stepping in. Republicans aren't stepping in. His family isn't stepping in.
When I have spoken to Republicans, the vast majority of them do not acknowledge that Biden won. I just asked an incoming Republican today, a freshman, whether or not they would acknowledge that Biden won the election, and she wouldn't do that.
I mean, Trump -- all of the lawsuits so far put forward by Trump's campaign and his allies have -- almost nearly all of them have failed. And just this week, out of Georgia and out of Michigan, judges rejected lawsuits, saying that they had no merit and that there was no evidence for any reason to overturn the results of those elections.
And yet the president continues to spout those conspiracy theories and continues to spout that he somehow won the election. And the vast majority of Republicans are supporting him in that endeavor.
TAPPER: It's so crazy. It's like -- it's Reverend Jim Jones kind of stuff.
In the meantime, president-elect Biden is trying to get a handle on the pandemic as he prepares to take office. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: My first 100 days won't end the COVID-19 virus.
