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Don Lemon Tonight

Virus is the Number One Cause of Death in the U.S. this Week; Pentagon Blocked Biden's Intel Transition Team; GOP Worries as Trump Election Lies Could Suppress Vote in Senate Races; Stimulus Bill Being Urged by President-Elect Biden. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired December 04, 2020 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00]

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: They actually don't believe in the science. Yes, there is some degree of political act going on. They -- because it decided it was useful to make a distinction between the wimps and the nerds who were wearing masks and the real Americans who were not.

But given the number of people who are getting sick and dying, given the fact that Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain went to a Trump rally and died and to watch them continue to do this in the West Wing, in the East Wing for a White House Christmas parties, on the company trail before the Election Day, and now in the runoff, they continue to do this. They gather without masks, you know, some people wear them, but many, many people don't. Packed in close together.

They're asking for super spreading events and getting them, as they did with the Amy Coney Barrett on her unveiling in the Rose Garden. It's impossible to fathom really.

Although I will say this is not the only way which President Trump rally may hurt himself and his party, because given the division within the Republican Party and the president's relentless attacks on the Republican Governor of Georgia, it's very possible that this could be counterproductive politically as well as they move towards the January runoffs.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Susan, when I got the alert for your piece, I was like, man, we are on the same wavelength. So, this brings us to your amazing piece. I saw it last night and I read it and I was like, and I said this to producers, they are already on it, but it's amazing.

The president is acting crazy, so why are we shrugging it off? OK, and you write in part you say, Donald Trump in defeat, it turns out, is even more whiney, dishonest, and self-absorbed than he was before his decisive lost to Biden.

The temptation is to look away, to move on, to cringe and avert your gaze. But when the president launches a direct attack on the most important traditions of American democracy, I'm not ready to say yeah, whatever just yet.

I talked about a little bit about this in the open to my show last night, like can you imagine if relative did this, he would be the crazy uncle that he everyone talked about. And you certainly would not elect him to public office. There is no sugar coating what we are dealing with right now, is there, Susan?

SUSAN GLASSER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, looked, Don, I think you are absolutely right. You know, in a way we've been building up for four years to this. I am quite convinced that, you know, whatever the historical record of this is, what Donald Trump has done in the last run since the election is certainly going to rank up there with his very biggest sort of outrageous and violations of the norms of American democracy.

This is certainly on his top 10 list, may be top five, maybe even top three. I mean, it is really just extraordinary. If you listen, and I'm not certainly recommending this to your viewers, because it's hard to do that. But if you listened to that 46-minute rant of the president the other day and you strip away everything else -- you honestly, there's really only two options here, right.

Either the president of the United States believes what he is saying, which is this fantastical insane conspiracy theory, in which case, he's lost it. Or, unbelievably cynical, direct frontal attack on American proxy. Either way, worried. If this is the situation that we have right now with the president.

LEMON: You point out Susan, that this lame duck craziness is highlighting their shamelessly craving nation of the Trump era GOP. Explain.

GLASSER: Well look, I mean, once again you know, Don, you see, I isolated examples of Republicans state and local officials who -- for whom this election fraud is a bridge too far because they are the ones counting the votes, or certifying them, speaking out.

It's only tends to underscore the unbelievable silence, even as we are having this conversation, more foreign leaders have recognized Joe Biden's victory publicly and congratulated him than Republican members of the United States Senate.

The Republican members of the Senate have gone to attacking Biden's cabinet. Without ever stopping to actually recognize that Biden won the election and in doing so, (inaudible) not just some kind of wacky Trump tweets, this is again, to systematically undermine the diplomacy of an American presidential election. One month after it occurred.

I mean, if anything, we are being way too gentle in how we speak about what the president is doing right now. I think that history is going to be a lot harsher when you look at the death toll for the pandemic, and what it is that the president is doing to the foundation of our democracy.

LEMON: If you were here, and it wasn't COVID, I give you a hug right now because you are absolutely right and I seriously, you hit the moment. This is a moment that we are in, and I encourage everyone to read the president is acting crazy, so why are we shrugging it off? It's in the New Yorker, and it's a Susan Glasser's. Susan it's a great piece.

[23:05:10]

Ron, meantime, let me bring you in here. And talk about this. I know you feel like it's not just Trump that's gone crazy. The Republican Party is following a man that in a way that they didn't even do, right, with Joe McCarthy, because we talked about it, you related to McCarthy-ism the other day, the other night on the show and that he is dragging the whole country along, and they are dragging the whole country along with them.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. Well look, I mean, as I wrote this week, I mean, there was more pushback from Republicans against Joe McCarthy's conspiracy theories than there has been against Donald Trump's, period, stop.

And of course, that was a historic acquiescence in itself and this is even weaker than that, at the end of the road for McCarthy before he was censured a Republican Senator who led the drive said, we are reaping what we have sewn because our party leaders focused only on the short term value to the party of white McCarthy was doing.

And again, we are in that place with Trump. To Susan's, point it is -- it would be astonishing if it wasn't so consistent with a pattern that so many Republicans are not only going along with these poisonous fantasies which have just enormous real were consequences, but also seeking to benefit from them.

I mean, there is reporting today that in Georgia, the Republicans and the legislature are trying to use these fantastical claims of fraud as the basis for a new round of voter suppression. We saw 75 Republican legislatures in Pennsylvania today writing a letter to their Congressional delegation saying despite the lack of any evidence to the claim, that they should throw out the states electors and challenge the states electors when Congress has to, you know, approve them, because of alleged fraud.

You know, just ask yourself, if Donald Trump had found a state legislature or a Republican judge, willing to clearly override the verdict of the voters in a state, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, whatever. Would Mitch McConnell have stood in the way? Would Kevin McCarthy and Marco Rubio, would any of them have raised a finger to protect small d-democracy?

As I said to you the other night, I don't think we have a language in our politics to fully express what is happening within the Republican Party and its willingness to run over the rules of democracy if that's what it takes to maintain power.

LEMON: So John, listen, and every time I asked this question I want to come off the wrong way, and I've been told that I sound like, you know, the biggest skeptic and that I'm a Debbie Downer. I just -- I hope that it does work. No, I really do. I hope that Joe Biden can work with the other side but given everything that Susan just said, and everything that Ron just said. How does he do it? How -- I hope it works, I really do. But how does he work with, you know, Republican legislators who are

wanting to turn over and da-da-da-da, I hope he can do it again, let me just say, for anyone who is watching, but I have also been doing this job for the last 12 years and I see what is happening. Go on.

HARWOOD: Well, I think your skepticism is well justified and the record over the last 12 years is one of blowtorch oppositions from Republican to Democratic presidents. There are a couple things that are different this time. First of all, Joe Biden is a white man. Barack Obama's race played a role in the intensity of the grassroots and the opposition in Washington to what he was trying to do so that makes a difference.

Secondly, temperamentally, he's very well suited to make the attempt and he has put every foot right so far in trying to turn down the temperature, drain the energy from some of the animus, we saw that in his interview with Jake Tapper where he was expressing understanding with Republican Senators, their position they are in, why they have not come out publicly. That doesn't mean it's going to work but at least he's in a position to make the attempt.

I do want to buttoned up in one sense the point that Susan was making, in her terrific piece she poses the point, either President Trump believes what he says in which case he is crazy, or he is ice-cold cynical and trying to peddle these lies to his benefit.

I think we shouldn't forget that Ted Cruz in the 2016 Republican primaries, square that circle. And what he said was, Donald Trump is a pathological liar, but the moment those lies come out of his lips, he adopts them as his beliefs. And what we have seen is that many Republicans are willing to do precisely the same thing.

I think Joe Biden is going to set an entirely different tone, he's fundamentally an honest person, he's fundamentally a decent person and we will see whether honesty and decency and rationality cuts in the ice with some increment of Republican Senators necessary to get things done.

LEMON: Boy, what a great conversation this was. And John, I'm glad you said the first part about Joe Biden being a white man. I didn't want to go there but I mean, they may feel like he's one of them, they know him, he's Joe, you know, from the old days and maybe they may want to work with him. And that's the reason that they work with him then so be it, I hope it happens.

[23:10:15]

Thank you all, Ron I did not mean to discount your piece, yours is fantastic. I think Susan got you this week though.

(LAUGHTER)

Susan's fantastic. So, again, read Susan's piece in the New Yorker, the president is acting crazy, so why are we shrugging it off, and I appreciate it, you guys, have a great weekend, thank you so much. Thank you One White House adviser says people around the president are quote,

panic about the Senate runoffs in Georgia as he prepares for a big campaign style rally there tomorrow. Former President Barack Obama says this about the race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You need to understand this is not just about Georgia. This is about America, and this is about the world. And it's in your power to in fact, have an impact.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:15:00]

LEMON: So Georgia Republicans are on edge ahead of President Trump's rally tomorrow in the state that will determine which Party controls the Senate. The president is supposed to be campaigning for GOP Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue. But it seems more concern with spreading lies and settling scores over his election laws.

Now sources are telling CNN that he blasted Georgia GOP Governor Brian Kemp, as a moron and a nut job on a recent phone call. Governor Kemp certified Georgia's election results after no evidence of fraud, President Trump's rhetoric being parroted by allies like Sidney Powell and Lin Wood who are even telling Republican voters to stay home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNEY POWELL, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: I think I would encourage all Georgians to make it known that you will not vote at all until your vote is secure.

LIN WOOD, U.S. ATTORNEY, GEORGIA: They have not owned your vote. Don't you give it to them? Why would you go back and vote in another rigged election for God's sake?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Maybe there is a strategy there, I don't understand it though. So let's discuss it now. I want to bring in Lane Flynn, the chair of Georgia DeKalb County Republican Party. Lane, it's so good to have you on, I appreciate you coming on, especially in the position that you are in and just speaking the truth.

So, listen, correct me if I'm wrong here, but you are appalled by what you are seeing from members of your own party, the president's lawyer like Lin Wood, Sydney Powell, what's the impact of this mistruths, these lies about your election there?

LANE FLYNN, CHAIR DEKALB COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY: Well, thanks for having me on your show tonight on, Don. First of all, my understanding is that neither the attorneys we are speaking with our working for President Trump or his campaign. But I would have to say that yes, I am deeply concerned about anybody who wants to tell Georgia citizens not to go out and exercise their right to vote in the January runoffs.

Obviously, these are very important elections, they determine who controls the Senate for the next two years and one thing I can absolutely tell you for sure is that if Republicans don't show up, we won't win the election and fraud or no fraud, won't even matter. We just won't have any votes. So, I absolutely out here urging every single person, every single Republican in Georgia, whether it be by absentee or early, in-person or at your precinct on Election Day to go and vote and cast your ballot in this election.

LEMON: Why do you think they would do something like that, Powell and Wood?

FLYNN: You know, I can't speculate on anybody's internal motives. I certainly don't think they have the best interest of Georgians in mind, or the best interest of the Republican Party, because I think those interest are very aligned with electing Republican Senators. But I can't really speculate as to what other plans they may have.

LEMON: OK, let's talk about the -- thank you for answering that. Let's talk about the president's trip there, because he has been -- CNN has been told that Trump be grudgingly agreed to visit Georgia, Lane. Do you think that he even cares about keeping the Senate and GOP hands?

FLYNN: Well, again, I'm not a mind reader, unfortunately I have never had the pleasure of meeting President Trump, I have to take him at his word as public statements which is that he is coming to Georgia to have a rally in support of Senators Purdue and Loeffler and I take his word on that. We are glad to have him in our state and I agree with that statement that he's made that 100 percent that he wants to come here and rally Georgia Republicans to come vote for Senators.

LEMON: Are you a little bit nervous about what he's going to say, because if he says the wrong things he could turn some voters off? But if he just rallies the crowd, I think everyone thinks he could help.

FLYNN: Well, I absolutely believe that it's going to help. President Trump certainly is known for making some off the cuff's remarks and he has a lot of support on that basis because people, I think like somebody who may be tells it how they think it is and maybe he's a little less filtered than the traditional politician.

So again, I can't speculate on something that he may or may not say in the future, but I go back to, you know, taking his word that he's going to come to Georgia for the reasons that he says he's coming, to rally support for the Senators.

LEMON: Well, lane, I'm so happy that you came on to talk about this, you know in this day in time, it's hard to get people to come out and just even give constructive criticism of members of the party. So thank you so much and be well.

FLYNN: Thank you, Don. I appreciate you having me on tonight.

[23:20:00] LEMON: Thank you. Democrats are gearing up their get-out to vote

operation as Georgia Republicans are being sent mixed messages about the upcoming Senate runoffs. Commonly held an event there with Stacey Abrams organization last night and closed it out with this message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COMMON, HIP-HOP ARTIST: The people of Georgia thank you for helping change this country and changes the world. We are asking you to go out and register to vote on Monday. It's something important going on. It's time to win the Senate, to let the Senate and get up in it, -- flip the Senate, (inaudible) in it, yeah, flip the Senate, we can win it. So, I encourage each and every one of your family members, your loved ones, we do it for our communities. We do it for our elders. We do it for ourselves. But we do it for our children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Common, thank you so much for joining us, so we all know this Georgia runoff has a very high stakes for the Biden presidency, it was a narrow win for the Democrats last month, what is the strategy and what are you and Stacey Abrams trying to accomplish there right now?

COMMON: Well, one of the things that I want to accomplish and using Stacey Abrams wants to accomplish and I believe Stacey Abrams wants to accomplish is to encourage people to go out and vote and make them aware of how important this Senate race is.

And also to let them know that they have candidates that really actually represent them and Raphael Warnock and John Ossoff. I've had the opportunity to be able to sit and talk with these brothers, black, white there just brothers. You know, and their philosophy and the way they think about better in Georgia and better in this country is what I'm looking for in leaders.

It's someone who comes -- it's a person who comes from a place of love and listens to each and every individual and is thinking about considering people from all walks of life and I think Stacey Abrams is basically saying, hey let's encourage people to be aware of who is out there and know that this is extremely important for you people to live in Georgia and across the country.

LEMON: I can imagine, I hear from people who are down in Georgia that every ad on TV is a political ad, it's a negative ad. And listen, you pay attention to the news. Republican Party is divided there with a lot of infighting, accusations of rigged elections and so on, does that threaten the integrity of this runoff election, you believe?

COMMON: I mean, I think, by saying that these elections have been false and like really discrediting the election process threatens not only this election, but it threatens what America has been striving for. What Americas is saying, this is the country we want to be, but you know, when you have people in leadership discounting the votes and the fact that we went out there, that's what discourages a lot of people to say I don't want to be a part of this political process.

LEMON: Right.

COMMON: But the reason why I applause Stacey Abrams so much, is because she took a whole different route. I went to Georgia in 2018, campaigning and speaking out for Stacey Abrams and have faith that she will win that election, and we know different things happened in that situation. But she didn't take that and say, I'm down, I'm done. She took that as an inspiration and encourage more people to be aware of what their vote means and how important they are to the future of this country and their own environment.

And I think, you know, that's what's so significant about what's happening right now. I think we have to know, no matter what is said, like publicly about this is not legitimate in that, to know that you are going out and voting and being aware of who you are voting for and identifying candidates that really represents you, can be one of the biggest things you can do to change your community and your country.

And I speak to people, man, on. I tried to talk to people like hey, do you understand what is going on with the prison system, do you know what's been happening with that? We have to change this. And its candidates like Raphael Warnock and John Ossoff, that want to see criminal justice reform and prison reform.

LEMON: Well, you mentioned Stacey Abrams a couple of times, you know Stacey Abrams and the former President Barack Obama joined the other day in a virtual event to support John Ossoff and Reverend Warnock. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: You are now once again the center of our civic universe, because the special election in Georgia is going to determine, ultimately, the course of the Biden presidency and whether Joe Biden and Kamala Harris can deliver legislatively all the commitments they've made.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[23:25:06]

LEMON: So, Common, you said that you talk to people and you try to get an understand things. Do you think people in Georgia, the folks you speak to understand how much is at stake?

COMMON: Well, Don, I have to say that I was very pleased and inspired by how educated a lot of the voters were in the neighborhoods that we were going to in Georgia. But I do believe some of us, like let me speak for myself. I didn't realize that President Obama couldn't get certain things done because he was being blocked by the Senate and you know, and by Congressional people. I didn't realize -- you know, I always support Obama 100 percent, but I didn't realize that was one of the biggest obstacles.

And now, what President Obama is speaking to is that we have -- President-Elect Biden and president -- Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris have a lot of things that they want to accomplish. And a lot of those things, those agendas are bringing people together, like stepping and creating an environment where black people and brown people have opportunities.

Some of those things to follow through on those things, they have to have the Senate. That's why the Senate is important. Like, they have to have the Senate, or they won't be able to get some of the things that they've promised done.

LEMON: Right.

COMMON: It will be a battle and we will continue -- the system will continue to be fighting itself --

LEMON: Gridlock.

COMMON: -- until we actually have an opportunity to see justice and actually see a president and vice president at work. So that's why the Senate is so important.

LEMON: The gridlock will continue if -- that's what folks believe that there will be gridlock, that they won't be able to get their agenda (inaudible). But let me ask you, Common, how do you think Biden is doing so far with his cabinet and staffing? Because some people are saying that there needs to be more diversity, more black people, is that fair? Should more black and Latinos be in top jobs?

COMMON: I definitely want to see more black and Latinos in top jobs. But I must say that you know, from what I've seen, you know, some of the Biden-Kamala Harris is going to be a big benefit to making sure that that happens. And also, I do believe, and I've been out there canvassing and campaigning for Biden, I do believe that he is taking into consideration a black and brown agenda.

And I want to be clear like, it's not a -- when you do that, you're not separating the sand, oh I don't care about other nationalities, but let's face, it in this country the black and brown people have had the short end of the stick, especially women. And that's why I think this combination of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris is so important. The white man has been in a position of supremacy in this country for a long time. He's been in that position on the totem pole.

The black woman, woman and black woman has been at the position of, you know, not as a person, but you know, society wise has been at the lower end of the totem pole. I think Kamala Harris can speak to so many things that may be overlooked that Joe Biden may overlook, that people on his staff may overlook, she can speak to that and I do demand and believe that we will have black people and brown people in leadership. And Asian people in leadership with his staff, but for sure black and brown people, we need them right now.

LEMON: Well, Common, thank you. I always enjoy listening to you speak and I enjoy listening to you rap and your music and your activism. And I really appreciate you on what you're doing. Thank you so much, you'll be well and be safe and have the best holiday season ever.

COMMON: Blessings to you. God bless, love. LEMON: Well today is the fourth straight day of record-breaking

hospitalizations numbers. So why are we still seeing all these rallies and events like the New York Young Republican Club, holding a gala fund-raiser in New Jersey, which is now under investigation. Governor Murphy calling out Congressman Matt Gaetz for being there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. PHIL MURPHY (D-NJ): The tall, handsome fella in the gray suit that is a Representative Matt (inaudible). Sorry, Matt Gaetz. And based on his past performances, it is obvious being a knucklehead is not beyond the pale. I hope you are watching Matt. You are not welcome in New Jersey and frankly, I don't ever want you back in this state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The U.S. tragically setting another new record for coronavirus hospitalizations, 101,276 Americans. This is the third day in a row that we have seen COVID hospitalizations surpass 100,000 people in this country. So, why are so many people, including our president, dismissing basic public health measures?

Dr. Jonathan Reiner is here to discuss. He is the director of the Cardiac Catheterization Program at George Washington University Hospital. Doctor, good to have you back on. So, we are dealing with a massive public health crisis and the president is planning to hold what he calls a big rally tomorrow. You say this is reckless endangerment.

JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Oh, yeah, what else can you call it? We're in the worst public health crisis of anyone's life, and we're seeing record after record fall. So as you said, over 100,000 Americans are hospitalized, we had almost 225,000 new cases today and all these numbers continuing to rise.

Yet the president says he is going to hold a -- quote -- "big rally" tomorrow?

LEMON: Mm-hmm.

REINER: For what purpose? To spread the virus? You know, it violates the law in Georgia. The Republican governor of Georgia instituted a restriction on public gatherings, limiting it to less than 50 people. So, how does the president get around this? He gets around it by calling this a protest.

[23:35:05]

LEMON: Hmm. Take a listen to what we heard from Dr. Fauci about getting COVID-19 vaccines. REINER: Yeah.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Even if you are vaccinated, you may be protected against getting sick, but you may not necessarily be protected against getting infections. So, you may have some virus in your nasopharynx, it wouldn't bother you and maybe it wouldn't even infect anybody else, but it could be there. That is the reason why you can't abandon all public health measures.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: This is very important because people are still going to need masks after getting vaccinated. That's something that really needs to be explained to the American people.

REINER: Right. So, we don't yet know whether these vaccines will prevent you from actually becoming infected. We know now with really great science that these vaccines will prevent you from getting sick and will almost completely prevent you from getting very sick. But we don't know whether it will prevent the virus actually from, you know, colonizing in your -- your nose or your nasopharynx.

So, it is possible that you could spread the virus to people who are not yet vaccinated or not immune. So, for at least the next several months, maybe the next year, we're going to wear masks in public as often -- as -- until really the virus is gone. But it's going to take a long time. So, we just have to get used to wearing a mask. It's how we protect each other, even in the vaccine era.

LEMON: Admiral Brett Giroir says that at least 20 million Americans will be able to receive COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the year. Does that seem realistic to you?

REINER: It seems realistic if we have two vaccines that are shipping. So, as Dr. Fauci said this evening, it looks like -- actually in some places, the Pfizer vaccine has already been pre-positioned, awaiting the EUA from the FDA.

A week later, the Moderna vaccine goes before the FDA and if that vaccine is approved, yeah, we should have about -- enough vaccine for about 25 million people.

LEMON: By the end of the year? It's December 3rd already. Today is December 4th, excuse me, December 4th. By the end of the year? We don't have very long. That's a lot.

REINER: Yeah. So, yeah, the vaccine will be shipping. But again, that's still only 10 to 15 percent of the --

LEMON: Yeah.

REINER: -- population. It's still a relatively small amount.

LEMON: Yeah. So, coronavirus was the number one cause of death in the U.S. this week, surpassing heart disease. As a cardiologist, what went through your mind when you heard this news today?

REINER: It's heartbreaking. I've spent the last quarter century trying to get heart disease to not be the number one killer of Americans, but not this way. Not this way.

So, heart disease kills about 650,000 Americans a year. So that turns out, if you go on a per day basis, that's about 1,800 people die heart disease per day in the United States. And today, there were 2,563 deaths.

LEMON: Yeah.

REINER: So, yeah, when we're at this level, coronavirus is the number one killer of Americans. And I never thought I would say this, but I look forward to the day again when heart disease becomes the number one killer of Americans.

LEMON: Yeah. Doctor, thank you so much. I appreciate you joining.

REINER: My pleasure, Don.

LEMON: Children being left behind, coronavirus exposing what has been there all along, the making -- and making things worse, I should say, the growing divide between students who have and have not, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: With coronavirus cases surging across the country, more and more school districts are returning to remote learning. This poses challenges for everyone, but the numbers show black and brown students are impacted more. Evan McMorris-Santoro has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We are now getting data from the first full semester of pandemic school and the divide among students that appeared in spring remote learning may not have been solved.

Numbers on the ground are showing dramatic drops in attendance, academic participation, and grade performance among students of color attending public schools. What was bad before the pandemic for students with fewer advantages is getting worse.

JOHN KING, FORMER SECRETARY OF EDUCATION: The sad reality is, as a country, we give the least to the students who need the most. So before the pandemic, it was already true that low income students and students of color were less likely to be in quality, early childhood education. They were less likely to be in schools with strong, well prepared teachers.

We had all these gaps before. We had significant achievement gaps before, 20, 30, 40-point gaps in academic achievement on assessments of reading and math, gaps in college access and college completion. So those are all challenges before. COVID has exacerbated those challenges.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): Those challenges are on display in a Zoom room out of northeast Washington, D.C.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Next, we have story time.

[23:45:00]

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): Student tutors from a non-profit called Reach Incorporated are trying to close a growing gap in elementary school literacy between wealthy students and those with less privilege.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE) is called "Deena Misses Her Mom."

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): Program director Mark Hecker says everything is harder in the pandemic.

MARK HECKER, PROGRAM DIRECTOR, REACH INCORPORATED: Our system is certainly not built for this moment. And what we see over and over is people trying their best to do what they can right now but really struggling on all sides.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): Baker is a 15-year-old Reach tutor. She is trying to go to school and teach other kids while struggling to get Wi-Fi at home. The bad connection and the frustration are obvious.

NEVAEH BAKER, TUTOR, REACH INCORPORATED: Most kids are not doing as well virtually because they don't understand. They'll get overwhelmed and then they -- they'll, like, break down, cry, shut down. They won't want to do it. I can tell that from experience because that happened to me and my sisters.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): The D.C. literacy crisis is real. Stark numbers from the city's public school system shows students of color being left behind in pandemic school. The D.C. numbers are not uncommon. National data is starting to show a tale of two very separate education experiences in the pandemic.

A study of more than four million tests completed by students in grades three through eight by the educational assessment non-profit NWEA found an overall drop in learning that was less than they expected. In the words of the researchers, there was some good news in the overall numbers. Not so fast, say experts like John King, a former Obama administration education secretary.

KING: I am very worried about some of the recent studies that -- where the descriptions of the findings, to my mind, understate the level of impact that COVID has had on kids' education. MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): The authors of the NWEA study actually agree with this. They note that fewer students participated in assessments this time, and the students least likely to be counted were students of color, and those from economically struggling school districts.

Researchers said they don't know where those missing students are. Their school may not have had the technology required to administer the test. Students could have skipped it or they could have dropped out of the system altogether. So what is not in the data could be as indicative as what is. People like King saw this coming. And now, they say the results could be dire.

KING: There is a real risk here of a potential lost generation of students. If you aren't a strong reader by third grade, your prospects of graduating from high school go down, your prospects of going on to secondary education go down, and your long-term career and earning potential goes down.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: Now, Don, educators like John King are actually pretty optimistic that if the resources are invested, that the kids that are falling behind can catch up. But that optimism is based on the idea of Congress and state governments doing a lot for these kids at the bottom. And that's just not something we see happening very often. So, the question of if these kids can catch up is a big if. Don?

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LEMON: Evan, thank you. We'll be right back.

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[23:50:00]

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LEMON: This year CNN Heroes is focusing on the fight against the coronavirus and the battle for racial equality and social justice. We are making it easy for you to help by highlighting eight organizations doing important work to help on both fronts and make the world a better place. Anderson Cooper tells us more.

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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The Center for Disaster Philanthropy provides strategies to help donors increase the impact of their contributions during global crises like COVID-19.

Chef Jose Andres and his World Central Kitchen feed the needy in times of crisis, using the power of food to heal and strengthened communities.

JOSE ANDRES, CHEF: We need to be part of the solution.

COOPER (voice-over): Adopt a Classroom advances equity in education by giving teachers and schools access to the resources they need.

GLENN CLOSE, ACTOR AND ACTIVIST: I challenge every American family to no longer whisper about mental illness behind closed doors.

COOPER (voice-over): Co-founded by Glenn Close, Bring Change to Mind is working to end stigmas surrounding mental illness by encouraging dialogue and raising awareness, understanding, and empathy.

The Make a Wish Foundation provides life-changing experiences for children battling critical illness, restoring in them --

UNKNOWN: Thank you.

COOPER (voice-over): -- a sense of childhood and giving normalcy to their families.

The Equal Justice Initiative fights to end mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States by challenging racial and economic inequity and protecting basic human rights in the prison system.

UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE).

COOPER (voice-over): Water.org has helped change the lives of millions of people with access to safe water and sanitation in 17 countries around the world.

[23:55:02]

COOPER (voice-over): And finally, Issue Voter is increasing civic engagement beyond the voting booth --

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COOPER (voice-over): -- helping people share their views on new bills with elected officials with just one click.

UNKNOWN: We can create the world that we want to live in through representative of democracy by making all of our wishes heard on the issues.

COOPER (voice-over): Want to learn more? Go to cnnheroes.com and click "donate" to any of this year's organizations to make a direct contribution to their GoFundMe charity campaign. You'll receive an e- mail confirming your donation, which is tax deductible in the United States.

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LEMON: So, again, if you want to learn more about each organization, go to CNNHeroes.com and don't forget to tune in to the 14th annual "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" on Sunday, December 13th.

Thanks for watching, everyone. Our coverage continues.

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