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Don Lemon Tonight

Trump Pardons Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn; President-Elect Joe Biden Urges Americans For A National Unity To Fight Virus; U.S. Reports More Than 2,000 COVID-19 Deaths Today; Denver Mayor Apologizes For Thanksgiving Travel Plans; President Trump Calls For Overturning Election Results At Baseless Voter Fraud Event; Harvard Elects Its First Black Student Body President. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired November 25, 2020 - 23:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN HOST (on camera): I mean, it displays and it shows it well, but you really don't need a split-screen to see the contrast in the two styles of the President-Elect and the president, the current president of the United States. And for that, I bring in Laura Coates. Laura, am I wrong?

LAURA COATES, CNN HOST (on camera): No, you're not wrong. They're about as stark as a stylistically as we are tonight in terms of what's going on. I mean, the idea that one is saying that they're going to look forward and be uniting people and thinking about the division. The other one seems to just think that, you know, you can beat a dead horse, the horse's ashes, the skeleton. It's just way nothing stopping him from continuing to avoid the inevitable, and that doesn't bode well for unity, frankly. It just doesn't. We have to move on at some point. But I'm smiling, Don.

LEMON: We do have to move on, but Laura --

(LAUGHTER)

COATES: I'm silent.

LEMON: You're smiling -- it's just --

COATES: You know I'm smiling. The world out there, you don't know that Don Lemon can sing. You don't know if he can actually sing. He just did. I told him, I heard Cuomo say the whole shaft thing. But I saw Donny Hathaway which I don't know why anyone lost the Don Lemon-Donny Hathaway connection just now. But Don Lemon just sung for all we know. And OK. OK Don Lemon.

LEMON: Is it OK? I think of though you are -- you are the Roberta Flack to my Donny Hathaway. Where is the love where is the love.

COATES: My jaw just -- I know I'm not, but I'm going to take that compliment. Because I'm telling you so. I'm trying to focus on it. Well, I can't think of myself as -- he actually did the whole thing and he did this with it and -- actually all I'll probably see. I know I'm going to talk about Biden and Trump. But right now, I'm just thinking about Donny and the Hathaway and Don and the lemon. So, OK.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Donny Hathaway -- and then people are going to be mad at me, I'm sure. But three male singers, really. Donny Hathaway is the best male singer I know. Luther Vandross comes a close second. And -- oh, my gosh, why can't I feel like -- what's his name -- Steve -- whatever -- what's his name from Texas where he couldn't remember the third. But I can't remember my third singer.

COATES: That's probably a good thing because now every male singer you meet in the future or come across, you'll say I met you.

LEMON: They'll think it's him.

COATES: I met you. You've got to leave one to be like you know I was thinking about you, right? That's -- you know, I was talking about you, right? That's how you got to do it.

LEMON: Yes. Oh. I have four, I forgot about Frank Sinatra. I'm sorry, Frank. Sorry about that.

COATES: I wasn't going to say anything.

LEMON: There's a third (inaudible) I can't remember.

COATES: I don't know why Stevie's not on this list. That's fine. That's fine. Well, I'm sorry. But thank you. You looked great. You sounded great. It was a great show and it's going to keep me smiling all day long.

LEMON: Happy Thanksgiving Laura Coates. You have a great Thanksgiving. OK.

COATES: Happy thank giving. For all we know, we'll meet again, Don Lemon. This is CNN TONIGHT. I'm Laura Coates. And as he prepares to leave office, President Trump granting a full pardon to Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser who twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador after Trump's election in 2016.

And as the COVID-19 pandemic surges out of control, the U.S. records more than 2,000 deaths from the virus just today alone. And President- Elect Joe Biden in a pre-Thanksgiving address asking Americans to fight the deadly virus, not each other.

Joining me now, CNN White House correspondent John Harwood, CNN political analyst, Toluse Olorunnipa, also Peter Wehner, former adviser to George W. Bush. I'm glad that you're all here today. Thank you each of you. And by the way, he's the author of The death of politics: how to heal our frayed republic after Trump.

John, let me begin with you. You know, President Trump is saying that he's still going to win this election. But of course, by pardoning Michael Flynn, he seems to be acting like a president that's really about to leave town. What are your thoughts?

[23:05:02]

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's definitely a president about to leave town, and he's a president -- and I think we discussed this earlier in the week, Laura -- he's a president that doesn't seem interested in doing the job anymore. He's thrown up his hands on the pandemic. He's checked out, hasn't taken questions in three week, hasn't had public events of consequence on public policy issues.

And what he's pre-occupied with doing is doing things to try to damage Joe Biden, box in Joe Biden on policies, try to create a cause going forward with his 70-some-million voters and supporters to say that the election was stolen from him to provide -- exercise some clout over the Republican Party, support his future political endeavors, raise money from them but also try to protect himself from legal exposure on the way out.

And that's where the Michael Flynn pardon comes in. Mike Flynn got in trouble for lying about his interactions with Russia at the conclusion of the campaign where Russia assisted President Trump's campaign and the Trump campaign according to Robert Mueller welcomed it.

He, Michael Flynn, cooperated with Robert Mueller, then withheld cooperation. It seems pretty clear he got some sort of signal to expect this kind of protection, so he stopped providing information to Mueller. Paul Manafort did the same thing. Paul Manafort is someone also in line for a pardon, and so is Roger Stone, who held out, said he wasn't going to flip on President Trump, got his sentence commuted.

And today after Flynn got his pardon, Roger Stone said, I want one too. And because Roger Stone still has leverage over Donald Trump, you can bet Donald Trump will very seriously consider doing that.

COATES: The idea of what about me. And of course you contrast that to the way in which Donald Trump spoke about his former fixer and attorney Michael Cohen, and he certainly did not have those words to say about unfairness when it came to him. I think he even called him a rat at one point. So maybe the writing was clear.

But Toluse, I want to go to you because, you know, the White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, actually congratulated -- he congratulated Michael Flynn on Twitter, writing in part, what the left did to his family these last four years must never be allowed to happen again in America. What the left, he says, not the guilty plea. It seems like this is all about trying, in many ways, to rewrite the history of the Russia investigation, right?

TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, CNN POLITICAL ANALSYT, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, BLOOMBERG NEWS: Yes. This is revisionist history. Michael Flynn pleaded guilty twice to lying to the FBI, raised his hand in a court of law and said that he was going to tell the truth. And his truth was that he had lied to the FBI. And now he's tried to spin this and the Trump supporters have tried to

spin this into some broad conspiracy by the FBI, the FBI that was under the Trump administration led by people in the Trump administration, essentially saying that the Department of Justice trying to conspire by forcing his national security adviser to lie about his contacts with Russia.

Michael Flynn had a number of different challenges, legal challenges, including his representation as essentially a lobbyist for a foreign government while he was advising the incoming president. So, it wasn't even just what he was doing with Russia that caused him to be on the radar of a lot of these investigators. And they had listened to his calls and they saw that he had said some things that, you know, raised flags about potential interference.

And he decided to lie about those calls, which raised additional flags when you're an investigator. You have someone on tape saying something and then lie about it. It makes you wonder why they're lying and why they are not only lying to investigators but also lying to the vice president of the United States.

So, it's pretty clear that they're trying to revise history and change things in the rear-view mirror. But Michael Flynn was someone who did plead guilty and was not the victim of some sort of a broad conspiracy against the president.

He spoke the words on his own. He decided to lie. He decided to plead guilty on his own. And now in hindsight the president and his supporters are trying to say that he was a victim and by extension of president of the victim of a deep state plot to take him down.

COATES (on camera): And of course, you know, as you say, (inaudible) are closer that they appear and we know, of course, remember when Sally Yates, the then acting Deputy Attorney General was raising the alarms and trying to make sure they knew that perhaps he was compromised in some way and had made the vice president look like a fool on the world stage.

Peter, let me turn to you, because we're talking about a period of time with Michael Flynn when it was the transition period of an incoming presidential administration. And we saw it today a comparison between two very different leaders who were on display, one the President-Elect and one the incumbent. But the outgoing administration. And what we heard from President-Elect Biden heading into the Thanksgiving holiday? Well, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, 2020 PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: We fought a nearly year-long battle with a virus that has devastated this nation. It's divided us, angered us, set us against one another. I know the country's grown weary of the fight. We need to remember we're at war with a virus, not with one another, not with each other. This is the moment where we need to steal our spines, redouble our efforts and recommit ourselves to the fight. Let's remember we're all in this together. (END VIDEO CLIP)

[23:10:28]

COATES (on camera): Now, of course, Peter, Trump claimed that he is a wartime president, but he seems to barely ever acknowledge the virus we're fighting. Is this a really stark contrast for you?

PETER WEHNER, CONTRIBUTING OPINION WRITER, NEW YORK TIMES: Yeah, that was a jarring juxtaposition but not a surprising one. I must say that Biden's speech I thought was lovely. Almost pitch perfect. And it's not just the words, which I thought were quite elegant. But it was the fact that they are true to who Joe Biden is. I think his life story, his story of suffering and grief and perseverance and hope fit this narrative. It's true to him.

So I think those -- the words that he says has particular power. But yeah, what we're seeing is a man coming in who embodies a certain amount of grace and a person who's leaving whose graceless. Biden is a patriot. Trump is not. And I think of Joe Biden as a person who sees his task at this moment to be a hero of the bridge, is a phrase in the Hebrew Scriptures, from the book of Isiah. I think he used that phrase in that speech, that's what we need.

Now, I don't know if it's going to work and I don't know if Republicans are going to accept his extended hand, but he can't control that. What he can control is what he does. And he can control the decency and the dignity that he acts with.

And so far I think he's off to a really good start. To hear those words from an incoming president is an important thing, and it is important. One other thing I'll say is that Biden is coming in and Trump is going out. And that's what's really important to keep in mind. The decency is on the ascendency. The indecency is about to lead to the stage.

COATES: Well, of course it does occur to you that -- you know, John, I want to go to you, and thinking about, you know, tonight President Trump actually invited these different, you know, state lawmakers, I believe, to the White House. And I'm wondering, from you, what are you hearing right now about the meeting, after talking about the outgoing versus incoming? He seems to be so fixated of course, on what happened in the past. What are your thoughts, John?

HARWOOD: Well, Laura, it just makes the point that Pete just made. That is the indecency that remains in the White House. Donald Trump lost the election. He lost it decisively. He is now pretending that he didn't to rouse up supporters to try to rally behind him. He, according to polling, has managed to persuade a significant chunk of the Republican Party, the majority of the Republican Party, the election was fraudulent. It was not.

So, he's telling lies. He's getting people to believe his lies and he's using those lies to feather his nest going forward to get supporters behind him, potential consumers behind him. You could see him selling products to the pole who are following him and believing the lies that he's telling.

You could see them supporting him if he decides to run for president again or gets behind some other candidate. That would be a force for him to mobilize or just a hold over the Republican Party. But Donald Trump is all about himself, not about other people.

So, it is no accident that Joe Biden was beseeching Americans to take care of one another to protect the lives of others by being careful to try to control this pandemic, and Donald Trump was worried about making himself better off when he leaves the White House on January 20th.

COATES: Thank you all, the idea of the consoler in chief, and commander in chief, and of course I wonder where we go with revisionist history into to the future of America. Thank you all for joining tonight.

WEHNER: Thanks.

COATES (on camera): You know, the CDC ensemble forecast now projects up to a stunning 321,000 COVID deaths in this country by December 19th. And President-Elect Joe Biden says that every American has a responsibility to step up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Each of us has a responsibility in our own lives to do what we can do to slow the virus. Every decision we make matters. Every decision we make can save lives. None of these steps we're asking people to take are political statements. Everyone is based on science, real science.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[23:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: Our breaking news tonight, the CDC projecting there could be up to 321,000 deaths from the coronavirus, get this, by December 19th. There were over 179,000 new cases of coronavirus here in the United States, and over 89,000 people hospitalized with the virus. We have broken the record for hospitalizations for now 16 days in a row. More than 2,200 people lost their lives to this virus today alone. The highest number since May.

And the president, in his Thanksgiving proclamation, is urging people to gather for the holiday. Yes, you heard that right. Joining me now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. Dr. Reiner, I'm glad you're here, but I am really just befuddled at this point that anyone would be encouraging gatherings, but the CDC is projecting a big surge in coronavirus deaths, potentially up to 23,000 more deaths. Just last week alone. What is your reaction to all this?

[23:20:17] JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Yes, it's just mathematics now.

It's tragic mathematics. So, when you look at people who are hospitalized today, they were infected two weeks ago, maybe more. So, it takes about five to seven days to become symptomatic. Usually it takes about another week to be sick enough to be hospitalized. So, that's two weeks at least, and then it takes usually another week for folks to succumb to the illness.

So, there's this built-in lag time. So, the massive number of cases now are related to the infections that we saw like three weeks ago when we were seeing barely 100,000 cases -- I say barely, it's a massive number, but it's almost half what we're seeing now.

So, I expect that the daily death rate will double in the next 10 days. So, we'll be seeing close to 4,000 deaths a day, which is how you get another 60,000 deaths in only about 20 days.

COATES: I mean, you know, in stark contrast to what you just talked about, I mean, this idea of we know what is happening right now, I mean, we cannot be ostriches with our heads in the sand. We know what's happening. And President-Elect Biden spoke from the heart today about the lives we've lost.

He was pleading with people to keep up the fight. And the differences just really couldn't be more obvious in the two ways that the President-Elect and the president are communicating about the gravity and the severity of this very tragic virus.

REINER: Right. The incoming president is imploring people to pull together to face the threat. The outgoing president always has tried to make us believe that there was no threat from the beginning, the virus would just go away. You don't need to wear masks. We need to open up quickly. The incoming president listens to scientists and is telling us that hard days are coming but we can get through it if we stick together. And one of the ways of sticking -- that we can do this now is not to travel, to mask up, keep out of crowds.

Tomorrow on Thanksgiving where the president has encouraged people to gather, you know, my brothers and sisters in hospitals around the United States will be working to try and take care of the folks who are coming in during this massive surge. So, if you want to support the tens of thousands of people who put their own lives at risk to care for those who are sick now, stay home. Wear a mask.

You know, be an American. Be a patriot. That's the patriotic thing to do. And we heard today that President-Elect Biden is really reaching out to the sense of patriotism and to try and get people to do the right thing and lessen the risk of further spread of this virus.

COATES: Well, not only as you mentioned (inaudible) not only are they working tomorrow, with the numbers we're seeing, they will be announcing deaths to families tomorrow. I mean, these numbers are so shocking and egregious, the idea that people could be so cavalier about it is not only disheartening. I mean, it's just so horrible.

I mean, the mayor of Denver is actually apologizing for flying to spend Thanksgiving with his family in Mississippi. I mean, which he did shortly after urging people to host virtual gatherings. I mean, we all want to see our families, right? But leaders are elected to make these tough choices and to sacrifice, right?

REINER: Exactly. You know, despite these horrible numbers, I really am optimistic. We now have the biologic tools, the vaccines that will put an end to this virus. But it's going to take months. So, we need to cut our losses. And the only way to cut our losses is to do these simple public health things. Like many of us have been saying from the beginning.

The difference is that going forward after January 20th, there will be a consistent message coming out of Washington. There will be consistent messages to the states, not mixed messages. So, I'm optimistic, but the next couple of months are going to be really tough and the American public needs to understand that they have a role in this. They can help suppress the pandemic.

COATES: So true. And the least we can do is wear a mask, really. I mean, it's something that we all have to do our part. And thank you for all that you are doing to really spread the word and make sure people understand that there is hope at the end of the tunnel, but we've got to get there first. We got to get there and do the right things. Thank you Dr. Reiner, I appreciate it. Happy Thanksgiving.

REINER: Happy Thanksgiving.

[23:25:00]

COATES: Thank you. You know, President Trump is still grasping at straws as he's trying to overturn the election. You know, the one back in November on the 3rd. Why his argument has no basis in reality? I'll make my case next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES (on camera): So, there was a Gettysburg address today, only it didn't involve a president righteously calling for unity after extraordinary division that tore the country apart. Instead, it involved a president unwilling to concede defeat even if it preserved the union and again make baseless claims of widespread fraud and voting irregularities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (voice-over): This was an election that we won easily. We won it by a lot. This election was rigged and we can't let that happen.

[23:30:00]

TRUMP: We can't let that happen. We can't let it happen for our country. And this election has to be turned around because we won Pennsylvania by a lot and we won all of these swing states by a lot.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COATES (on camera): President Trump phoning into an event in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, coordinated by the Trump campaign and Republican state lawmakers. Now, Rudy Giuliani calling it a hearing, but it was actually nothing more than a PR stunt a day after Pennsylvania officials certified Biden's victory there.

Trump was supposed to attend but had to cancel when a campaign adviser tested positive for COVID-19 just this morning. So to top off this circus performance, Trump invited the GOP lawmakers to the White House tonight. For what exactly, I don't know.

But in Gettysburg, there will be no great lines to recite or moments that will live in respectable infamy, only confirmation that, yet again, there's no there there. The people have spoken and not liking what they had to say does not a corrupt election make.

Each time Trump falsely claims to have won an election with lies that even simple arithmetic disproves, he runs afoul of the very optimism of Lincoln's address that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.

But the only people still fighting the inevitable is a legal team, frankly ill-prepared and unequipped to prove what the evidence does not even show, can't show. And for a president who has repeatedly compared himself to Abraham Lincoln, he surely misses the mark.

After 157 years, President Lincoln's words still ring true. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.

And the American people should remember President Trump's unsubstantiated claims have sewn doubt in the integrity of our elections, and that hurts the country that he was not re-elected to lead.

I want to bring in CNN Legal Analyst, Elie Honig. I'm glad that you're here particularly on a night like this as we are talking about all the things that are going on. You and I were having this conversation earlier today, by the way.

By CNN's count, Elie, the Trump campaign and the president's allies have failed in at least 30 cases and only won one. Yet they're still pulling all these shenanigans like what we even saw today. And Pennsylvania lawmakers were at the White House tonight as you're looking at the screen below you. I mean, what is Trump's angle here? What is he trying to pull?

ELIE HONIG, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yeah, Laura. This is denialism. This is shenanigans. I mean, to call what happened today -- you hit it on the head -- a hearing, I mean, that's not what a hearing is. That's a circus. That's a stunt. And to do it at Gettysburg, as you pointed out, is just outrageous.

Look, if they had this evidence, if they had this powerful smoking gun evidence strong enough to overturn an election, imagine that, where has it been? Why have we seen none of it in courts? Why are they getting shellacked across the country? It is because they have nothing.

There is something else at play here, whether it's the president in child -like denial of what happened or some effort to rally the base, but as sure as heck is not law.

COATES: I mean, speaking if it were a courtroom though, right? I mean, the idea if wishes and buts were candy, we would have, I guess, happy Thanksgiving tomorrow, to paraphrase that actual statement.

But, you know, think about this. There's no there there. If you had proof, if you had evidence, it would be now. If you're in a courtroom, imagine if they had been under oath, I suspect these statements would not have been made don't you think?

HONIG: Oh, my goodness. This would get laughed out of court so quickly. I mean, forget about complying with the rules of evidence. Think about the contrast, Laura, between the rhetoric, the rhetoric from Rudy Giuliani and from -- I don't even want to credit these folks as being legitimate attorneys, but we know who they are, the elite team, the elite strike team. The rhetoric is so hot.

And then when you get into courts, A, they're not even alleging fraud in a lot of these cases, and B, judges are tossing them out as quickly as they can file these complaints. At best, they have sort of hearsay piled upon hearsay piled upon hearsay, which you and I know, Laura, does not even come close to flying in a real life criminal trial, in a real life courtroom.

They're just operating on some other planet entirely. And again, this ain't law. I don't know what they're doing. Maybe it's politics. Maybe it's showmanship. It's not law.

COATES: Well, you know, of course, they're not under oath. Sometimes, they actually want to dismiss the cases themselves. But what they're telling people in the court of public opinion versus what happens in the court of law, people should pay attention to that. It's like they're selling a bridge to nowhere at this point in time.

[23:35:03]

COATES: I have to ask you about President Trump's pardoning of a familiar person. It's probably expected. I'm talking about Michael Flynn. And, you know, you say that it's really a wild abuse of power to have done so, even in spite of a president's ability to actually pardon people. Tell me why.

HONIG: Yeah, Laura. Look, you and I and everybody who follows law and politics saw this one coming a mile away. But that doesn't mean we just accept it. Yes, the president has almost unlimited, unqualified pardon power, but we still get to point out, when there is an abuse of power like this, a historic abuse of power, I think history will look back on this as one of the four most abuses of power.

Here is whey. We are talking about somebody who not only is the president's political ally, more than that, which is national security adviser, but was in position to implicate the president in wrongdoing. We know that Michael Flynn was cooperating with Robert Mueller for a long time. Laura, you know, as well as I, as a former federal prosecutor, the worst thing you can do as a defendant is start to cooperate and then go bad the way Michael Flynn did.

The only reason he would have any rational basis to do that is because he was expecting either this pardon or Bill Barr to try to intercede, which didn't go so well when Judge Sullivan in D.C. said, not so fast, I want to ask some tough questions here.

So, this is the president letting off the hook somebody who stayed silent about him. That's why it's so corrupt.

COATES: This is a heck of a back scratch, and you scratch mine scenario there, right? And the idea here --

HONIG: Yeah.

COATES: -- that really is so odd to me is that, you know, you know the president is the head of the executive branch. Under that umbrella is the Department of Justice.

One of the things Michael Flynn was saying in his commentary was that there was prosecutorial misconduct, that they were a vindictive Department of Justice. He tried to make comments that somehow there was this deep state conspiracy.

And then DOJ tried to dismiss the case. It was one of those things. It was baffling to career prosecutors, who would look at it and say, you're going to insult me to my face and then you get a favor for it in the same breath? What about other defendants?

You also have, by the way, Elie, a number of other pardons that are under discussion right now. I'm sure these names will also sound familiar to people. Some have idea that Trump is going to try to pardon even himself. What's your take on the cast of characters and also in particular, could Trump possibly try and be successful at self-pardoning himself?

HONIG: Buckle up because these pardons are -- I think tonight was the first of many that we're going to see over the last few weeks in office for this president.

I mean, you have to start with the other folks who were convicted in the Mueller case, with Roger Stone who is now openly begging for a full pardon. His sentence was commuted before. But now, he wants the full deal. Paul Manafort, George Papadopoulos, just to make a point against Robert Mueller.

Keep an eye on Rudy Giuliani. We know Rudy Giuliani reportedly is under federal investigation by my old office, the SDNY. Charles Kushner, Jared Kushner's father, was convicted of very serious offenses here in New Jersey federal court a few years ago. Beyond that, look at the family, perhaps the children, who are under state investigation. Can the president pardon himself? We don't know. It's never been tried before. It's an open area of law. It will be one of those things that are completely mind-blowing. I don't think it's constitutional, but we haven't found out yet because no one has ever had the guts to try it.

COATES: Well, I guess there's somebody who is probably willing to try. Elie Honig, thank you. Happy Thanksgiving.

HONIG: Thanks, Laura. Have a great Thanksgiving.

COATES: You, too. We'll be right back.

HONIG: You, too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: History being made at Harvard University. The student body is electing its first black president in Harvard's nearly 400-year history. He's Noah Harris of Mississippi, and he joins me now, right now. We're so proud of you.

I know you're having some problems with connectivity just now, but I wanted to ask you a very important question while we have you, because I had to have you on the show.

Noah, congratulations. Tell me what it feels like for you to have made history like this. The first black man elected to student body president of Harvard in a year of racial reckoning from a state that now has replaced its confederate insignia. I mean, tell me, how does it feel for you? Oh no, are we losing him?

NOAH HARRIS, ELECTED FIRST BLACK STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY: It is great honor for the Harvard student body to -- it's a great honor for Harvard to trust me with this moment and to allow me to be with -- to voice their opinion to the administration and to fill gaps in the student experience.

And that's why they voted for my vice president, Jenny Gan, and me. They really just wanted to trust a black man and an Asian woman and help get us through this unprecedented time during this pandemic.

COATES: We're all beaming with pride. You also have a children's book that my kids love called "Successville," as well. You've got amazing plans for yourself. You've got one more year to go in school. There's your book right there, overwhelmingly proud for you.

What are your big plans? I wish I had more time for you. I can't wait to see what you have in store in the future, Noah Harris. Congratulations. We are all lifting you up tonight. Thank you.

HARRIS: Thank you so much. Have a happy Thanksgiving.

COATES: Thank you to you, as well. I'm glad that you're here.

[23:44:58]

COATES: And ahead is an unexpected bond that's happening between prisoners and prep school students. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: Two worlds, one of promise, one of punishment. They come together for an unlikely experiment on this Sunday's season premiere of "This is Life with Lisa Ling." Lisa brings us a unique look at a prison and prep school that have formed an unlikely bond over literature.

[23:50:00]

COATES (on camera): Here is a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: I bet you every man in blue here has been told the same thing. Be a man, be a man, be a man. We're taught this through so much multigenerational dysfunction.

My dad beat into me, not to cry, a grown man hitting a kid. Violence was the answer to everything at that time. And I look at the youth, and like, you guys should not be learning that kind of lesson. You don't need that.

It is coming to prison for me to understand that man is loving, man is understanding. A man treasures his family and friends. A man is selfless. These are things that you should be taught. We weren't. So, now, I teach them to you, today.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES (on camera): Joining us now, Lisa Ling, the host of "This is Life." Lisa, what a powerful episode. I mean, I could imagine that a lot of these prep school boys, I'm guessing, had never been to a state correctional facility before. And so this must've been such an eye- opening experience for them.

LISA LING, CNN HOST: It really is, Laura. And it's so transformative for them, as well. This program has been in existence for the last six years. But you're right, for those who are going in for the first time, it is hugely eye opening.

And it -- what -- you know, at first, I thought that the transformation really would happen among the incarcerated men because here, they have this opportunity to interpret literature with these very educated high schools, prep school students.

But really, what happened was remarkable. These inmates, in this particular program, they were so candid about their crimes and so remorseful about them. And also could really identify how trauma in childhood affected their lives and how they ended up going on this path to destruction.

And by them just sharing their hearts with the prep-school boys, it gave them permission to share things that they may have never shared with their own friends or family members before.

In fact, I heard some of the boys say after one of the sessions, you know, i knew Aden since I was a little kid and I never knew that his father had ALS and passed away.

So, just this opportunity to give boys that chance to feel, you know, as Raul, in that clip, said, so often, men are told to man up, don't feel, and don't cry. And what boys really need, especially ones that are struggling and we all know boys that are struggling, is that chance to be able to feel.

COATES: Well, you know, I have a little boy. I think it's been an opportunity for him to really learn in a way by watching what's happening right here. And, you know, the prisoners in this program, I mean, they feel so tied to these students. They even set up a scholarship fund for one of them. I mean, how did that happen, Lisa? And what does it tell you about the impact of this program?

LING: So, Laura, this is why I felt compelled to tell this story. I found out that a couple of years ago, the incarcerated men in the program were so moved by a book that they read called "Through the Valley of the Kwai," that they decided to start this scholarship to help a young man attend the Palma School, which is that private prep school.

So over the course of a couple years, they raised over $30,000. And keep in mind, a lot of these inmates make eight cents an hour, and they funded a young man through almost the entire duration of his education. He graduated last year. And it was just, to me, one of those remarkable stories that I think we all need to hear right now.

COATES: Oh, it sends chills of joy and really just the idea of how in touch and how committed people really are, and that there is really so much good in this world. This season is actually premiering with back- to-back episodes.

On Sunday, you got a second episode taking an exclusive look at a retreat just for boys who are struggling with a host of issues. And you were actually the first woman ever allowed to attend. What did you find out?

LING: Well, look, Laura, this is what I am talking about. You know, I think these days there are a lot of young men who have -- are having these feelings but are really unable to express them. And, you know, girls, generally, are able to be more communicative about their feelings. But boys aren't often given that permission.

And at this program that I attended, about 60 to 70 men from the community volunteered because they feel like it's so important to be able to be mentors to these young men. Many of whom don't have father figures in their lives. And I'm telling you, what happened there also was just truly, truly remarkable and transformative.

COATES: Can we watch with our kids? I want to. I have a 6-year-old, you know, and an 8-year-old. I'd love to be able to watch it with my kids. I want every kid to have that safe space of watching the experiences of others. Is this good for children, as well?

LING: I think so, Laura. You might want to check it out yourself first. But I watched some of these episodes with my 8-year-old, and we had incredible conversations afterwards.

[23:55:01]

COATES: I think it's so important to see this. And of course, every child deserves to have the opportunity, to have the safe space and opportunity to grow in this way. So thank you. And please, don't miss the premiere of the new season of "This is Life with Lisa Ling." It's on Sunday night. And those back-to-back episodes start at 9:00 p.m. I cannot wait to watch it.

And thank you for watching. Our coverage continues.

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