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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Interview With San Antonio, Texas, Mayor Ron Nirenberg; Texas in Crisis; President Biden Speaks Out on Vaccine Rollout; Interview With Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ). Aired 4-4:30p ET

Aired February 19, 2021 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:10]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

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

And we begin with breaking news today.

Just moments ago, President Joe Biden wrapped up a visit to a vaccine manufacturing site in Michigan, thanking employees at the Pfizer plant in Portage, right outside Kalamazoo, and encouraging all Americans to take the vaccine once it is available to them.

President Biden has previously promised vaccines for anyone who wants one by July of this year. And, today, Pfizer's CEO says they accepted a challenge from President Biden to try to produce vaccines even faster.

But the president says he's making no promises when it comes to getting life back on track.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe we will be approaching normalcy by the end of this year. And God willing, this Christmas will be different than last.

But I can't make that commitment to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: The vaccine rollout, which is -- was already lagging, is now facing a new challenge, widespread severe winter weather that has shut down shipping hubs and canceled appointments, as well as transportation.

Vaccinations in all 50 states have been affected. The distribution of vaccines in some places has been brought to a grinding halt, as Dr. Anthony Fauci put it.

Officials say this means the U.S. will have to work double-time to catch up.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny is traveling with President Biden in Michigan. And, Jeff, the U.S. is approaching any day now its 500,000th COVID death, far higher, according to official numbers, than any other country in the world, President Biden under a lot of pressure to ramp vaccinations.

What is he saying today?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Jake, he absolutely is under pressure. And he knows that he owns this challenge and problem.

It's why he wanted to come here to the Pfizer plant behind me in Portage, Michigan, to see firsthand and make the case that, A, vaccines are safe. We have not heard this message in a while because there has not -- there has been a shortage of vaccinations, quite frankly.

But as they ramp up supply, there is a worry inside the White House and across the administration that the people who need the vaccines may not be taking them. So, he said, I urge Americans who are eligible to believe that these vaccines are safe.

But then, Jake, he quickly shifted to trying to urge Republicans to support his $1.9 trillion COVID economic relief bill. And he said -- in the most political terms yet I think we have heard since he became president, he said, look, the polls show that the majority of Americans support this bill.

And then he said, what would you have me take out of this bill? What should we not spend on trying to solve this problem? So, clearly trying to drum up support for this, but Jake, the reality is that this is likely to be a Democrat-only bill, at least at this point, unless we see some changes next week in the House and in the Senate, but, clearly, the president trying to say that he is getting a handle on this, but also urging calm.

He said there are things we cannot control, like the weather, like other strains and variants, so saying that the U.S. will get a handle on this, but acknowledging even he does not know exactly when that will be -- Jake.

TAPPER: Is he open at all to changing this bill in order to get Republican support? Is that something he's willing to do?

ZELENY: He teased that in terms of the spending on this.

He has defended the $1.9 trillion price tag on this, saying now is the time to go big. But he said he does still want to sit down with Republicans. And they could -- he could be open to trimming the number in some respect.

That likely means more targeted economic relief checks to Americans. He didn't say that specifically. But he certainly signaled some openness to trimming it somewhat, but certainly not dramatically.

They are focusing on this big bill here, Jake, but the House could vote on it as early as next week, but still a lot of complications here along the way, largely with Democrats in the president's own party, Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Jeff Zeleny, thanks so much.

Today, the White House says winter weather has created a backlog of six million vaccine doses, though, as CNN's Alexandra Field now reports for us, officials are expressing optimism that they will be able to catch up, claiming that the backlog will be delivered to states in the next week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): All 50 states now feeling the impact of the deadly winter storm.

ANDY SLAVITT, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE ADVISER FOR COVID RESPONSE: We have a backlog of about six million doses, millions of vaccine doses delayed, forcing many states to stop administering shots, closing mass vaccination sites like Disneyland in California.

FIELD: Senior White House COVID adviser Andy Slavitt saying the winter weather has impacted every part of the process, from vaccine manufacturing sites to distribution hubs.

SLAVITT: Our logistics and distribution teams have all faced challenges, as workers have been snowed in and unable to get to work to package and ship the vaccines, kits and the required diluent.

FIELD: Power outages across the country now affecting as many as 13 vaccination sites. Until the power is back, they can't get new supplies.

[16:05:06]

But 1.4 million doses are finally on the move again today. Health officials say UPS and FedEx will make Saturday and Sunday deliveries this week. And they're tasking states with making up for lost time next week.

GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS (D-LA): It appears that, next week, we're going to be trying to double up.

MICHELE ROBERTS, WASHINGTON ACTING ASSISTANT HEALTH SECRETARY: We estimate that more than 90 percent of this week's allocation will arrive late because of the weather out East.

FIELD: The delays coming just as so many states across the country were starting to close the gap between doses received and shots in arms; 37 states now say they have administered more than 75 percent of what they have received. Four states are over 90 percent.

GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): We have now got over 200 vaccine distribution sites. We're ready for more. We have been told to expect a significant increase. FIELD: The latest estimates suggest a big increase. If Pfizer and

Moderna are able to provide what they have promised, in the next three months, the U.S. should have three times as many shots on hand.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD: And even with the delays we're experiencing right now, the Biden administration is pushing forward with plans to open more federally administered vaccination sites, saying today that they will open four new sites in Florida, one in Pennsylvania. All five should be up and running in the next two weeks -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Alexandra Field, thanks so much.

Joining us now to discuss, the Democratic governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy.

Governor Murphy, thanks for joining us.

So, about 5 percent of your state's population is fully vaccinated. That's also the national average right now. Experts say that we need that number to be 70 to 85 percent of the population in order for there to be herd immunity achieved.

What's responsible for the rollout being slower than desired so far? And how do you plan to step up the vaccination rates, particularly with this weather challenge?

GOV. PHIL MURPHY (D-NJ): Yes, I mean, the weather is certainly the here and now reason why it isn't a straight line.

But I'm confident -- it sounds like your reporting is as well -- that this will straighten itself out in a matter of days.

This -- the biggest reason is a lack of supply. We're now up to 83 percent of every shot that we have gotten has been already administered. It's 70 percent in the federal program for long-term care. It's 88 percent in the piece of the -- the big part of this that we control.

I think we have overbuilt our distribution capability, Jake, knowing that we didn't have the supply that we wanted or expected at the beginning. But, as that supply increases, I am very confident we have the distribution capability to get it into people's arms.

TAPPER: Bloomberg reports that there have been daily fixes and glitches with your vaccine appointment booking system. It's crashing and blocking users.

What's going wrong? And how are you fixing it?

MURPHY: Yes, we have had some spirited challenges with our principal vendor. It's in a better place this week, thank God. And we're -- our intention is to keep it that way.

We have had 2.7 million people pre-register for a vaccine. So the -- I don't want to -- there's no excuse for that. But the reality is, this is among the biggest supply demand imbalances of anything I have ever been around. It's going to get cured. The Biden team is doing a great job.

They inherited an empty cupboard. They're slowly, but surely fixing that. The president himself is laser-focused on it. I'm cautiously optimistic that in the not-too-distant future, this is a much more balanced, more regular cadence, much more acceptable reality for all of us.

TAPPER: I know it's hyperbole when you say an empty cupboard, because, obviously, the Trump administration deserves some credit for Operation Warp Speed getting many of these vaccines up and going. I know the supply has been an issue, but it's not as though they didn't do anything here. And that should be recognized.

MURPHY: Yes.

TAPPER: I want to ask you about the racial gap in vaccinations, which is an issue all over the country.

It's particularly wide in New Jersey, only 4 percent of vaccines going to black residents of the Garden State, though they're 15 percent of your state's population, 5 percent of vaccines in New Jersey going to Hispanic residents, though Hispanics are 20 percent of the New Jersey population.

Why is this disparity happening? What are you going to do about it?

MURPHY: Yes, I just want to go back to the prior administration.

I don't think any Democratic elected leader in the country gave the Trump team as much credit for the development of the vaccine as I did.

TAPPER: Absolutely, yes.

MURPHY: So, you're absolutely right about that.

But the manufacturing-distribution piece, they let us down.

Listen, we're not happy with the with the penetration at the moment in our black and brown communities. That's begun to change. The numbers are actually a little bit better than that today. Still not acceptable.

We have begun a FEMA partnership in houses of worship. I'm going to be in a Latino, predominantly Latino church on Tuesday and a friend of mine's Baptist church on Wednesday.

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We need to do a lot more. And we have -- we have a plan to do a lot more to get into communities that we have not been able to reach as effectively as would like. That's going to change. And it has to change.

This pandemic didn't create these inequities, but it has laid them bare.

TAPPER: You have said that all schools in New Jersey should reopen. But a lot of them are not, including in the two largest school districts.

They have remained close to in person learning, with teachers union saying that the teachers don't feel safe. You have said that you agree that the science is on the side of getting kids back into a physical classroom, as long as safety measures are taken with masking and distancing.

So, why are all these classrooms still closed?

MURPHY: If you look at the districts, Jake, that we have responsibility for, whether it's districts, charter schools, renaissance schools, and whatnot, it's just over 800.

Right now, plus or minus 650 of them have some form of in person instruction. And, in fairness, a lot of them are hybrid. So, there's different cohorts during the week, depending on which day you look at.

But the needle is moving pretty, pretty regularly, pretty -- with a pretty good rhythm toward from remote to hybrid, and, ultimately, from -- it'll go from hybrid to all in person.

Vaccines for educators, I hope to get to sooner than later. That's a an important step to accelerate that progress. It's not a bright-line- only step. It's obviously the social distancing, the ventilation and the face coverings, all the other contributors.

But we are slowly but surely getting to what we need to, which is safe, responsible in person instruction.

TAPPER: Does the vaccinating of teachers need to be accompanied by a pledge to go back to school? Because I don't need to tell you kids are suffering with this remote education. And if the science is on the side of getting the kids back in school, I think there are a lot of very frustrated parents and caregivers who do not understand why so many schools remain closed.

Should vaccinations for teachers, putting them at the front of the line, come with a promise that they will go back to school?

MURPHY: The problem with that, Jake, is, it implies that the only reason we're not back in school is the vaccine.

And the CDC has been quite clear that the vaccine is a very important element to getting kids back into in person instruction, but it is an element. It's an important one. But it is face coverings, social distancing, barriers, one-way halls, good ventilation, vaccines, please God, sooner than later.

My only point is, is that we are migrating almost every day to more in person instruction. Will vaccines of our blessed, heroic educators accelerate that? Absolutely. There's no question about that.

TAPPER: Democratic Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey, thanks so much. Appreciate your time today.

MURPHY: Thank you, Jake.

TAPPER: Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.

Now millions of Texans are in desperate need of drinking water. And that is not the only basic necessity in short supply.

Plus, get the second COVID shot now or wait, so that more people can get their first dose of the vaccine? Could the vaccine timeline be changing?

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:17:42]

TAPPER: In our national lead: A water crisis is now unfolding in Texas, as most of the power is back on in the state.

Water and food are scarce. And officials warn that this may be the case for days, as CNN Ed Lavandera reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A military plane transporting 84,000 bottles of water from California landed in Galveston, Texas. Thousands of people are driving through massive food and water distribution sites in Houston and San Antonio.

AALIYAH DIEW, TEXAS RESIDENT: I don't think any of us was expecting this, for it to be like this. So, it's all about survival right now, until it starts getting warm.

SYLVIA HILL, TEXAS RESIDENT: No water. It's real bad. And I have a 7- year-old. And it's like -- it's tough.

LAVANDERA: Some 16 million Texans are battling water disruptions, as more than 1,200 public water systems across the state are fighting to fix disruptions caused by the winter storm and power grid failure.

The worst of the Texas freeze is over. State officials say the power grid emergency is now under control. There are still tens of thousands of people without power in Texas, but getting those people back online will require utility crews to repair damage inflicted by the historic winter storm. And that could take several more days to repair.

BILL MAGNESS, CEO, ERCOT: I really want to acknowledge just the immense human suffering that we saw throughout this event. When people lose power, there are heartbreaking consequences.

LAVANDERA: Seven people around the town of Abilene died from weather- related causes. A volunteer found an elderly couple in their home. It was 12 degrees inside. CANDE FLORES, ABILENE, TEXAS, FIRE DEPARTMENT CHIEF: They had been reluctant to leave their home. And so it was 24 hours later, she went back to take them food, and found the husband deceased in bed.

LAVANDERA: As if battling a massive power outage and in temperatures wasn't enough, residents like Melissa Webb in the San Antonio area apartment complex could only watch as fire destroyed their homes.

MELISSA WEBB, FIRE VICTIM: I haven't been able to go to work all week long. And now anything that we have in there is gone.

QUESTION: As the water pressure was, as you mentioned, the...

LAVANDERA: Part of the building collapsed as a reporter interviewed a firefighter. Frozen fire hydrants and failing water supply hampered efforts by firefighters to put out the flames.

[16:20:00]

Cities are battling crisis after crisis. Del Rio Mayor Bruno Lozano says his city's wastewater system was knocked offline for an hour this week, which sent sewage seeping into some low-lying parts of the city.

BRUNO LOZANO, MAYOR OF DEL RIO, TEXAS: This is something that it's beyond historical, beyond unprecedented. It's a chain reaction of worst-case scenario of worst-case scenarios.

LAVANDERA: Texas Governor Greg Abbott has renewed calls for an investigation of ERCOT, the agency that runs the state's power grid system, and has also-called for its executives to resign.

Bill Magness, the CEO of ERCOT, answered those questions on CNN.

QUESTION: How can you keep your job after a week like this?

MAGNESS: We're going to go and explain the steps we took and how that played into the entire situation on the electric grid. If that's the outcome, that's the outcome. That's where we're accountable. And we want to -- we want to be accountable and explain what we did. And then we will see what happens.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: Jake, as of Friday afternoon, this afternoon, there's about 160,000 people across the state still without power. It will take most of the weekend to get all of the water issues fixed.

There is a sliver of good news, temperatures across the state finally above freezing. But we have one more night of frigid below-freezing temperatures to go before we're out of the woods -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Ed Lavandera, hang in there, buddy. Appreciate your report.

I want to bring in the mayor of San Antonio, Texas, Ron Nirenberg. Mr. Mayor, how bad are things in San Antonio right now? Does your city have power? Do you have water that you can use? Are grocery stores stocked?

RON NIRENBERG, MAYOR OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: Well, 20 percent of our service area is without water right now. About 30 additional percent are low pressure.

We have been doing well in terms of getting people's power back on. We have roughly 500 or so customers now without power. The sun has come out in San Antonio, but it has been an extraordinarily tough week of suffering in our community, like it has all across the country -- or all across the state.

TAPPER: What about grocery stores? Do you have enough -- is there enough food there for people?

NIRENBERG: There has been a run on water, as you can imagine, and other foodstuffs. So, there has been an incredible amount of activity in our grocery stores.

In fact, my wife was just today spending three hours at the grocery store bagging groceries for our community. And there's just a lot of activity. But there is a run on supplies. And so what we have done is set up water delivery, mass distribution sites, along with our food bank, all around the city.

And that will continue for a while.

TAPPER: Mr. Mayor, we know you spoke with somebody at the Biden White House.

Have you talked to Governor Abbott?

NIRENBERG: Yes, I talked to the governor last night and described our situation, which, unfortunately, is playing out all across the state.

One of the things that we talked about is, I'm working on a fund to help people pay for broken pipes and related damage that has been part of that chain reaction of this terrible event that started with the ERCOT shutdowns of power.

TAPPER: So, you had long lines today at a water distribution site in San Antonio, and as you have discussed, many Texans have been told they need to boil their water before using it.

How long do you anticipate needing this distribution site open? When do you think water is going to be fully functioning in San Antonio?

NIRENBERG: You know, it's very hard to say, Jake, because what we're anticipating now with the -- with the weather warming and pipe stalling is that we're going to have a crisis of infrastructure damage.

We have been sending more water through pipes than we usually do in the peak months of the summer. But that -- there's no pressure. And so that water is going somewhere.

And so there's going to be a catastrophic number of leaks and breaks in our pipe system. And that's going to continue for some time. The truth of the matter is, these food supply lines, water distributions have been occurring for the last 12 months because of COVID.

And now we have another crisis on our hands with regard to the energy situation.

TAPPER: All right, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, thank you so much. Stay in touch with us. Let us know how we can help and what we need to bring attention to.

Our thoughts and prayers with the people of Texas.

NIRENBERG: Thank you, Jake.

TAPPER: President Biden's first major speech to the world, showing they're not dealing with Trump anymore.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:29:12]

TAPPER: Our world lead today: It's a big day for President Biden's foreign policy agenda, as he looks to try to change America's standing on the world stage and undo several steps that Trump took in order to reverse the Obama agenda.

President Biden extending a fresh invitation to Iran to sit down for nuclear talks, amidst criticism he's turning a blind eye to Iran's abysmal human rights record, not to mention its funding of terrorism, as Alex Marquardt now reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BIDEN: America is back.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): It might have been virtual, but Biden's first return to the world stage was no less of a seismic shift for U.S. foreign policy.

BIDEN: America is back. The transatlantic alliance is back. And we are not looking backward. We are looking forward together.

MARQUARDT: In a speech alongside the leaders of France, Germany and Britain, Biden vowed to reengage with Europe, to confront the rise of China, Russia's bullying, and the threat to democracy around the world.

BIDEN: Democracy doesn't happen by accident.

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