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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Biden's Cabinet Nominees Speak About Their Priorities; VP-Elect Harris Says, We Are Announcing Leaders Who Will Help Deliver Immediate Relief to Our Country; Sources Say Trump Told FDA Chief to Authorize Pfizer Vaccine Today or Resign. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired December 11, 2020 - 15:30   ET

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

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KATHERINE TAI, U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE NOMINEE: They were naturalized in 1979. Five years after I was born in Connecticut. And it wasn't until decades later filling out that paperwork that it occurred to me that I became an American before my parents, the very first American in our family.

The second memory that came to mind was from several years later when a colleague and I from USTR went to Geneva to present a case, suing China before the World Trade Organization. We sat down at the table. She, whose parents had emigrated from south India, and I, whose parents had come from Taiwan, and my heart swelled with pride as we raised our placard and stated that we were there to present the case on behalf of the United States of America.

Two daughters of immigrants there to serve, to fight for and to reflect the nation that had opened doors of hope and opportunity to our families. Those memories fill me with gratitude for being an American and for what America is at our best. And they remind me of the extraordinary responsibilities that come with the honor as we navigate our relationships with the world.

Trade is like any other tool in our domestic or foreign policy. It is not an end in itself. It is a means to create more hope and opportunity for people, and it only succeeds when the humanity and dignity of every American and of all people lie at the heart of our approach.

I am proud to join with leaders who instill their policy with purpose and who never lose sight of the humanity and dignity, the opportunity and hope that make trade a force for good in our nation and the world.

I am very proud to be an advocate for American workers, to stand up for their ingenuity and their innovation and for America's interests across the globe. I look forward to harnessing the power of our trade relationships, to help communities lift themselves out of the current crisis, and I and grateful for this chance to serve, fight for all and reflect America on behalf of all our people once again. Thank you. SUSAN RICE, INCOMING DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE DOMESTIC POLICY COUNCIL:

Thank you so much, Mr. President-elect, madam Vice President-elect. I'm honored to join this tremendous team. Today we confront a profoundly connected set of crises, a relentless pandemic, a struggling economy, urgent demands for racial equity and justice, a climate in need of healing, a democracy in need of repair, and a world in need of renewed American leadership.

In the 21st century, our foreign, economic and domestic imperatives are deeply intertwined. Tackling these challenges is personal to me. I'm a descendent of immigrants and the enslaved. And service is in our blood.

My paternal great-grandfather was born a slave in South Carolina and joined the Union army. He went on to get a college degree, become an A.M.E. minister, and he founded the Borden Town School in New Jersey, which for seven decades provided African-Americans with vocational and college preparatory educations.

Two generations later, my father, Emmett Rice, served as a Tuskegee airman and as a Governor of the Federal Reserve. My maternal grandparents came to this country from Jamaica with no education. But working for decades as a janitor and a maid, they saved and they scraped to send all five of their children to college and on to professional success.

My mother, Lois Rice, was known as the mother of the Pell Grant program which has enabled 80 million Americans to reach college. And as she liked to say, not bad for a poor colored girl from Portland, Maine.

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But today, for far too many, the American dream has become an empty promise, a cruel mockery of lives held back by barriers new and old. That is not good enough for any American.

But we know that throughout our history, Americans have forged opportunity out of crisis. After the Civil War, we ended slavery and enshrined the concept of equal protection under the law.

During the Great Depression, we established the Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps. After World War II, we enacted the G.I. Bill. In the 1960s, we abolished legal segregation, established voting rights and enacted Medicare and Medicaid.

Now at the foot of yet another bridge between crisis and opportunity, I'm honored and excited to take on this role. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' vision for our future is expansive but achievable.

America must finally become a nation where every child, from Akron to Arkansas, from the Bronx to Brownsville, from the Sioux Nation to South Central Los Angeles, can dream without limits and make her dreams come true. I have no illusions about the difficulty of making that vision real. But we are here to get hard stuff done. Our top priorities will be to help end the pandemic and revitalize the

economy so that it delivers for all. To bring dignity and humanity to our broken immigration system. To advance racial equity, justice and civil rights for all. To ensure that health care is accessible and affordable, and to educate and train Americans to compete and thrive in 21st century.

I profoundly believe that we all rise or fall together, absolutely all of us. So, Mr. President-elect, Madam Vice President-elect, I promise you, I will do everything I can to help this country I love to build back better, to make our government deliver for all Americans and for working families, and to bring the American dream far closer to reality for all. Thank you very much.

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA) VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT: Good afternoon. Over these past few days and weeks, we have announced members of our administration who will help us meet the unprecedented challenges facing the American people.

We have brought together a health care team that will help contain this pandemic once and for all. An economic team that will help build an economy that works for working people and all those looking to work. And a national security and foreign policy team that will help keep our nation safe and restore and advance our leadership around the world.

Today we are announcing leaders who will help deliver immediate relief to every corner of our great country, from rural communities to big cities and every place in between. Leaders who will help care for our veterans and their families. An advance opportunity for all Americans at this consequential moment in our country.

At a time when one in eight households say they didn't have enough money for food in the past week, we need leaders who understand that no one should go hungry in the United States of America.

At a time when one in six renters are behind on rent, we need leaders who will not only help provide relief to all who need it but help address the affordable housing crisis in America.

I was in high school by the time my mother saved up enough money to put down a down payment on a home. And I understand the dignity of home ownership and the importance of making the American dream a reality for everyone.

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At a time when veterans, including those I've represented in California, have been strained by almost two decades of war and economic hardship, we must have leaders who will treat all who have worn our nation's uniform and their families with the dignity and respect they have earned.

Leaders who will be focused on doing what is in the best interests of the American people. Who will negotiate trade deals that are good for workers and good for our economy. Who will address the defining challenges of our time, from combatting our climate crisis to advancing racial justice. That is what these remarkable Americans will do. I know them well, and some are very dear friends.

These leaders have different backgrounds and life's experience. And they bring to their roles different skills, perspectives and areas of expertise, and they all reflect the very best of our nation. They are all dedicated and compassionate public servants, and all of them are ready to hit the ground running on day one.

So, Mr. President-elect, congratulations on these outstanding choices. I look forward to working with each member of the team and the whole team that we are bringing together to meet the urgent challenges facing our nation. And to rebuild our country in a way that lifts up all Americans. Thank you.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES. Thank you.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper and you have been watching President-elect Joe Biden and his newest staff picks speaking in Wilmington, Delaware. Biden starting off today's event by attempting to reassure the American people that the coronavirus virus vaccine is safe and effective, and the scientists who made those decisions were not pressured by politics.

That seems likely to have been a nod to breaking news just into CNN. Sources saying that White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn that if he does not authorize the Pfizer vaccine today, he should submit his letter of resignation.

Let's get straight to CNN's Kaitlan Collins at the White House. Kaitlan, what are you learning about this conversation between Meadows and Hahn?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, it was a phone call that they had this morning and basically the way this conversation was described to us by multiple people is that Mark Meadows told Dr. Hahn that if they were not prepared to grant that emergency authorization for Pfizer's vaccine by the end of today that he needed to be prepared to resign.

And we're told that's a larger sign of the president's frustration, we know he's been fed up with the FDA for weeks now but this week specifically he's been venting because he's seeing other countries roll out their vaccines and their citizens getting shots in their arms. And so he's been incredibly frustrated that the emergency use has not been granted here for Pfizer's a vaccine despite how it's been in the works for several days.

And that comes, Jake, as we heard from the HHS Secretary this morning saying they are working on this, that we are incredibly close to this, potentially just days away, and that this authorization could come as soon as this weekend, yet the President's patience seems to be running thin, wearing thin and that is why he was tweeting this morning, complaining about the FDA, calling it money drenched and telling them to, quote, get the damn vaccines out.

And now that led to this phone call between Mark Meadows and Steven Hahn. But the question is whether he is whether or not he's actually going to be fired, and if the president is really going to go out there and fire the FDA Commissioner with six weeks left to go in his administration given this is the biggest thing they are dealing with right now -- Jake.

TAPPER: Yes, I saw the president's tweet. He misspelled the word "damn." One thing I wonder about, Kaitlan is, there have been concerns about the president putting political pressure on the scientists. That has undermined confidence in the vaccine which, of course, is the last thing we need right now because we need about 70 percent of the American people to get this vaccine when they can. How did Hahn respond to this reported threat?

COLLINS: So he put out a statement saying that it was being misrepresented that he was told he was going to be fired if he didn't get it out. Instead he said that the FDA was encouraged to continue working expeditiously on this Pfizer vaccine. That's certainly not what the White House believes that the FDA has been doing.

But you're right, Jake, there has been the question of whether or not there's this political pressure being exerted over the FDA and really what they're going to accomplish if they did fire the FDA Commissioner because that could only potentially further undermine the confidence that this vaccine has gone through, all the right process and decision making that it needs to go through. And so that's really the ultimate question that the White House is facing here when it comes to this.

But we should note, there have been multiple tense conversations between the White House Chief of Staff and Dr. Hahn over the last several weeks. This phone call was just really a culmination of that altogether.

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And the president is not even hiding that he is pressuring the FDA. He says the only reason they got this through so quickly is because of his pressure, which notably the White House used to deny that he was pressuring them at all -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Kaitlan Collins, thanks so much.

Let's bring in Dr. Paul Offit. He was on the FDA Advisory Panel that met yesterday and voted in favor of recommending Emergency Use Authorization of the Pfizer's vaccine. Dr. Offit is also the Director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Dr. Offit, first I want to get your reaction to this reporting that the White House is basically telling Dr. Hahn approve and authorize of the vaccine today or clean out your desk. I mean we all share this urgency, but isn't this inappropriate?

DR. PAUL OFFIT, MEMBER, FDA VACCINES ADVISORY COMMITTEE: It's just meaningless sabre rattling. I mean Pfizer submitted its Emergency Use Authorization on November 20th.

For three weeks the FDA went through every piece of clinical data that Pfizer had for all these 44,000 patients that were participants that either received vaccines or received placebos to see if there were any inconsistencies in what Pfizer had submitted and all the primary data.

Then and only then they provided to us, the Vaccine Advisory Committee, not only Pfizer's original application but their assessment of all the other data. So two huge documents which we then got to review.

On Thursday after having reviewed that and having discussed all that, we recommended approval. It was very clear that the CDC met on Friday to basically look through the same data that we, the FDA, looked through, with an understanding they were meeting on Sunday because they assumed that sometime in the next couple days, either tonight, Friday night, or Saturday that the FDA would grant approval, which would be typical.

And then on Sunday they would vote on it because the CDC wouldn't vote on something that hadn't yet been approved by the FDA. So the administration says, you know, do this or else is ridiculous, they were doing it, anyway. So I think it's just all show and it means nothing. It certainly doesn't rush the process in any sense, so people shouldn't be frightened that that's what's happening.

TAPPER: But to be clear, Dr. Hahn, in your view, was probably going to authorize this today or tomorrow, anyway?

OFFIT: Exactly.

TAPPER: But I have to say, you know, one of the concerns that there is about the vaccine is there are so many skeptics in the public right now, according to polling. It's about one-third of the American people. A number of them are in minority communities, black communities that historically have been treated as guinea pigs, such as the Tuskegee experiment, and they're very skeptical of the government. This could undermine confidence in the vaccine, I would think. Is that a concern?

OFFIT: I mean, hopefully people will be convinced by the compelling nature of the data. This is a 44,000-person study, 22,000 people got vaccine, 22,000 got placebo.

It was 95 percent effective, it was virtually 100 percent effective against severe disease. I was 95 percent effective in people over 65. African-Americans were certainly well-represented. I mean not perfectly represented, but about a little over 9 percent of the study participants were African-American, who represent about 13 percent of the population, so roughly equivalent to this trial looked like what America looks like.

So, you know, when you launch a vaccine like this, you're not trying to answer the question, do you know everything? You never know everything, the question is do you know enough to say that the benefits of this vaccine clearly outweigh, at the moment, theoretical risks. And I think that answer was pretty easy yesterday when we met.

TAPPER: So the message from you, a member of the advisory committee, is the vaccine is safe, people should take it and ignore the president's buffoonery, or sabre rattling, as you called it. Just don't pay any attention to it, the process is going to work, that's what I'm hearing from you.

OFFIT: Exactly right. I mean President Trump is completely off the point at this point in the process.

TAPPER: Dr. Paul Offit, thank you so much for what you do and thanks for joining us today, appreciate it.

Let's talk about this with panel, Olivier Knox, let me start with you. You heard Dr. Offit. It's possible that the FDA was going to approve this vaccine today or tomorrow, but now, of course, there's this concern of more pressure from the president politicizing science and the concern that this could undermine confidence in the vaccine.

OLIVIER KNOX, CHIEF DC CORRESPONDENT, SIRIUSXM: Sure and part of a pattern of the President of the United States pressuring -- well, pretty much anyone, American corporations, American lawmakers, American governors, American scientists, American health advisers, members of his own cabinet, his attorney general, et cetera.

And I'm glad you highlighted the polling. The polling is pretty scary. There are large numbers particularly of women and of minorities who are, according to recent polling by the Associated Press, hardnosed or unsure whether they will take the vaccine.

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And we need as you said about 70 percent of Americans to sign up for this in order to beat back the pandemic.

TAPPER: Nia Malika-Henderson, President-elect Joe Biden moments ago made a point to stress that the vaccine was developed free from political influence, it will be safe. He told me a couple weeks ago, he will be inoculated, he will be vaccinated in public if appropriate. What does this accomplish? Donald Trump is on his way out the door. Why do this?

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: This is a terrible, terrible, terrible thing, given what we know about the skepticism that many, many people have. People I talk to, people you all talk to as well about this vaccine.

This is the fear that it was rushed that they didn't do their due diligence in this vaccine. You have the doctor, of course, saying something different, people should look at the data. But people might not want to look at the data, right. I mean that's not how people necessarily think about these things. They see what this president has done with this phone call with this real pressure. So this is a real dangerous, dangerous thing that happened today.

I mean when I read the story, my stomach dropped because it is only going to feed the skepticism, feed the view that maybe people shouldn't take this vaccine because it has been politicized and maybe it was rushed.

I mean I talk to Democrats, white people, white men, black people, you know, all sorts of folks are just so skeptical of this vaccine and to have this happen today, there needs to be some sort of widespread education campaign. Dr. Offit is one person. And you saw Joe Biden talk about this today. But this needs to be much more front and center.

I think Obama said that he might take this thing live on television. It might not be the best viewing but in terms of a public education campaign about this vaccine, that is going to be certainly necessary because people are just deeply skeptical and with good reason.

TAPPER: Well, not according to the science.

HENDERSON: Right.

TAPPER: I mean historically, they might be skeptical.

HENDERSON: That's right, I think there are two things, yes.

TAPPER: Or Trump politicizing it. But in terms of the science they shouldn't be skeptical. They should take it. I'll certainly get it as soon as I can. It's just amazing to me, Operation Warp Speed such an accomplishment of the Trump White House and he continues to step all over it. Nia Malika-Henderson, Olivier Knox. Thanks to both of you.

Meantime, millions of Americans could be getting their first shots as soon as Monday as we wait for FDA Emergency Use Authorization that could come any moment now. But ensuring everyone gets a vaccine quickly may depend on the other vaccine still in trials.

Take the so-called dark horse of the COVID-19 vaccine race being developed by Johnson & Johnson which requires just one dose. CNN's Stephanie Elam is taking part in the J&J vaccine trial and here she shows us what it's been like.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Everyone in this office is here in the pursuit of science.

STANTON ROWE, VACCINE TRIAL PARTICIPANT: Hopefully, I'll develop immunity over the next few weeks.

ELAM: ARC Clinical Research will administer shots to about 200 people, part of a randomized COVID-19 vaccine trial for Johnson & Johnson.

ROWE: I think that enough is known that I'm very comfortable with getting the injection.

ELAM: But not everyone is, especially since trials have been sped up to battle a coronavirus crisis that's out of control. Nationwide, some 40,000 people are taking part in this trial, including me. I'm not just reporting on this Phase Three COVID vaccine trial, I'm part of it.

(on camera): I wanted to do this because I wanted to see how the science worked and I wanted other black people, other people of color to see someone like them going through this process.

DR. KENNETH KIM, CEO ARC CLINICAL RESEARCH: Generally, it's important that you study people from many different diverse backgrounds because you can have a different side effect profile or you can have different dose levels if it's a drug.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What the United States government did was shameful and I am sorry.

ELAM (voice-over): Yet America's history of unethical medical studies on people of color has led to generations of fear, most notably, the abhorrent decades long Tuskegee experiment that began in the 1930s. It was designed to study untreated syphilis in hundreds of black men without their consent.

(on camera): What do you hear from people, from those demographics that are more hesitant?

KIM: Rather thinking of this as an opportunity to get access to a new therapy earlier there's more suspicion that this could be an unsafe program so there is definitely fear.

ELAM (voice-over): But not all are fearful. 22-year-old Conrado Perez is waiting for his shot.

CONRADO PEREZ, VACCINE PARTICIPANT: I know a lot of people like within my ethnicity would be, I guess, skeptical of it? But me, not really.

ELAM (on camera): I signed the paperwork and they've asked me all of the things they need to know about my personal health.

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And I've had my blood drawn and I've been shown what I'm taking home with me and how that technology is going to work and how I'm going to update them about any symptoms, any feelings that I have after I get the vaccine. All that's left, is to get the needle in my arm. I don't know whether or not I'm going to get the placebo or the real vaccine. In fact, no one here knows what I'm going get, it's all decided by a computer someplace else.

(voice-over): And even though some vaccines are further along in the approval process, America still needs more doses to cover the population and there's great interest in candidates like this one from Johnson & Johnson. For one thing, it's just one shot unlike the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

UNIDENTIFIED NURSE: It gets shipped to us frozen in just a regular freezer setting and then we're allowed to store in the refrigerator for about 28 days.

ELAM: Storage lesson aside, nurse Princess is here to give me my shot. UNIDENTIFIED NURSE: All right. Deep breath. Small poke.

ELAM (on camera): It felt like getting a flu shot but now I've got to sit here sit here and wait for 30 minutes to make sure that there's no adverse effects right away. But I am still feeling really solid about my decision to do this.

UNIDENTIFIED NURSE: All right, no injection site reaction, you're OK.

ELAM: And hopefully, hopefully this will get people out there to trust science and to believe in science and medicine and how hard these people work.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM (on camera): And I can tell you as far as my experience after I got the shot, the next day, I was waiting to see if I had any pain, if I had any sniffles. Nothing felt out of sorts for me at all. I did check in with Dr. Kim. And he told that some people who get the placebo actually do feel sick after, while other people who do get the real thing, don't feel sick at all. So I still don't know what I got and I won't know for two years.

But hopefully, Jake, what I'm really hoping here is that black people, people of color, anyone who's skeptical will take a look at someone like me and think, OK, I can do this too. Because it really could save lives.

And when you look at how this virus has been decimating in California the Latino community and black people as a whole, I really hope that people understand that these vaccines are here to help -- Jake.

TAPPER: You're a very cool lady. Thanks so much for doing that piece and thanks for doing that for humanity. Appreciate it.

More on our breaking news. The White House now threatening the head of the FDA to get a move on final approval of the Pfizer vaccine. The head of Operation Warp Speed is going to join me live next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: CNN breaking news!

TAPPER: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

And we start with breaking new in our Health Lead. Authorize the coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer today, or you're out, that is reportedly the message from the White House to FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn according to two sources who tell CNN that White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told Hahn to submit his resignation letter if he does not OK the U.S.'s first coronavirus vaccine by the close of business today.