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Don Lemon Tonight

GOP Sympathizes with Trump; Republicans Swallowing Their Words; Vaccine Availability Don't Guarantee Zero Cases; Pfizer Vaccine Granted with EUA; GOP's Lawsuit Going Nowhere; President Trump Breaking All the Norms. Aired 10-11p ET

Aired December 10, 2020 - 22:00   ET

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

[22:00:00]

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: Thank you for watching. Time for the big show, CNN Tonight with the big star, D. Lemon.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: How are you feeling about our democracy?

CUOMO: I'm in a wait and see mode, brother. I've never seen anything like this before. And when you haven't seen anything like it before, you've got to be at best cautiously optimistic. I know the law on it. I understand. This suit is a little different than the Pennsylvania one. But the principles remain the same.

And reading through the briefs, there's a lot of non-sense in there. But that's the scary part. They know it's nonsense, and yet 100 members of the re-Trumplican party sign on to this. States sign on. And what does that mean in terms of wanting to do any kind of deal with the other side if you are going to be this dug in?

LEMON: They don't want it. They don't want it.

CUOMO: But then what does that mean for getting money to have the vaccine produced?

LEMON: They don't want it. They would rather have division. They would rather have their way. This is the ultimate act of entitlement that you can tell other people, other states, how they should conduct their elections. We don't like what you did. We don't like what the will of your citizens are, what they decided to do. So, we are going to change it.

That's what entitlement is, when people think that their way is the highway. They're used to be being the preeminent voice and they want to push that on to other people. That's what entitlement is. That's what this whole last gasp of these folks there. They don't believe in free and fair elections. That's a lie. They don't believe in decency, as they have been saying. That's a lie. They're not the part of the moral party or whatever they call --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: They're not about states' rights either. LEMON: -- family values and states right. It's all a lie. It's not

about what Evangelicals say, it's about, do unto others or Christianity and all of those things that they claim to believe in because it's all been proven to be B.S. for the past five years. They put up with a president who paid off a porn star. Someone who, any time he gets an opportunity to poke his finger in the eye of democracy, to undermine the Republican the democracy in this country, he does it. And you stand by him? You are complete hypocrites.

What you say you stood for is all a bunch of lies. It is bull. And so, there's no recourse. Don't tell anybody -- don't tell me how to live my life. Don't tell me how to clean up my house until you clean up yours, until you get the speck out of your own eye, don't tell me about mine. And that's exactly what they're doing.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: I just don't know where we go from here? Even if it fails, which it should -- I mean.

LEMON: I heard you make a point even if it does -- earlier. You're right. Even if it fails the damage is done in large part. But I would rather see it -- I would rather see it fail because I think --

CUOMO: Hope it doesn't fail, Don. You and I are going to be very busy for a while.

LEMON: Or either on an island.

CUOMO: I mean, we got big problems.

LEMON: No, I'm not, yes, I'm not -- I would never run away from this.

CUOMO: I don't know how a democracy survives a nullified election of this scale.

LEMON: I don't think the election will be nullified.

CUOMO: Me either, but I'm saying that's why you're saying -- you -- it can't succeed. It cannot succeed.

LEMON: But think about -- think about all of the people who you have on your program. And you know I always tell you, Chris, why are you giving that person a platform. You know, we talk about those things, and that's -- but think about all the people you think are seemingly logical in some way and sane at some level and then they sign off on this and you go where's your credibility? You're crazy. This is absolute craziness.

And when people talk about entitlement and privilege, this is what they're talking about. Now, imagine if you did this -- if you lost out to something. You said, no, no, no, no, it was all rigged and I'm going to turn it over and I'm going to use the courts to turn it over and I am going to raise money off of it. And I am going to continue to lie to the people who support me? What do you think would happen to you? What do you think people would do to you? CUOMO: Me? I don't even have any followers. You know, I would either

be ignored or fired.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: You know, the thing with Trump is, you know, he's good for them. He helps them. They need who likes him. And that's why what we're seeing here it's not just like --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: They were, they need what?

CUOMO: They need the people who like Trump. They can't go against Trump. They will lose that base. It's not who Donald --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: But what is that saying?

CUOMO: -- scares me. I need his people.

LEMON: All right. Stop right there. What does that say about what they've done then? What does that say about how they've radicalized those people? What did they say -- what does that say about how they've lied to those people?

[22:04:56]

Because if they need people who they have lied to and who are actually not operating in facts and reality right now, what does that say about those people and what does that say about them?

That's where we need to get to because unless you admit the problem, the issue, what you've done, then how can we go any further? Unless you come to some realization about what is the truth, when someone stands up and says, my name is Don Lemon and I am a whatever -- whatever it is, when you go to a or whatever it is, right, you cannot deal with the problem unless you admit that there is one. And they are not admitting there is one.

The people -- the politicians know. They know. But they are not being honest with the people. And they can't be honest with the people because it puts them in a conundrum of being exposed.

CUOMO: I just think that as I've often said, what we have here is fragile.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: A failure to communicate.

CUOMO: No, no. There's been too much communicating. This is very fragile. Nobody else is trying what we're doing here.

LEMON: Yes. CUOMO: And there's a reason. And it can break. And when you're the webbing --

LEMON: Excuse me for this.

CUOMO: -- is a mutual respect of -- are you tearing up?

LEMON: No, no, I just have a cold.

CUOMO: When the webbing is the mutual respect for the laws, that's our mutual religion, that's all we have.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: When that's gone, I don't, I don't know what's next. I mean, you could have a commission that looks at it and I guess you could take a poll of who are the ten people you believe most --

LEMON: Who are going to be on the commission?

CUOMO: -- but it's like anybody who sits on it, if they say something someone doesn't like, they're going to just, that guy is Trumper, you know, which should be completely disqualifying in my -- if you back this guy --

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: -- in this effort when you know there's no proof -- and there's no proof.

LEMON: Here's --

CUOMO: I -- I mean, I don't know how that person gets some credibility --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Here's what we have to do. Here's what we have to do. I think that we are complicit as well because what we have been doing -- and I'm including myself in this -- either wittingly or unwittingly is giving false equivalence to both sides.

Both sides play politics. That's what it is. It's politics, OK? Democrats are pretty bad at politics, I believe. Democrats do some things that are not great. But for the past couple years and even decades, there's been a large swath of the Republican Party that has not been operating in reality, that has not been told what is the truth, that has not lived up or come to a realization about the history of this country.

And those folks need to come into reality. It's not both sides. We can't do the both side-ism on this. And I know people are going to be mad at me and I'm going to get a lot of flak. But it's true.

John Harwood said it on my show last night. There's one side that basically operates in reality, does dumb things, plays politics as usual. There's another side that is not been playing in reality, especially for the past five years.

As another -- the other side who believes that the president, the former president, was not born in this country, who believes that Barack Obama was wiretapping, who believes what Bill Barr said, how he framed the Mueller report, who believes that Russians did not interfere in the election.

There is a whole side to this in this country, a whole group of people who are not operating in reality and thinks that both sides are equal. It is not. And we in the media have to stop pretending that because we don't want to seem partisan. That's not partisan. That's operating in reality and truth and that is what we must do as journalists.

One side right now, and it is on steroids showing us you're not operating in reality. Donald Trump lost the election. There's no widespread voter fraud. That is not partisan. That's the truth. The other side is saying, there's no widespread voter fraud, Donald Trump lost the election, Joe Biden won. That side is operating in reality because that's exactly what happened in this country.

So, we have to stop pretending and giving both sides equivalence. It's not -- it's not both sides here. We have to call out the side that's not operating in reality. That's how I feel. And that's the only way you're going to correct it.

So, some people are going to come along. I believe that there are people out there who are in the squishy middle that people talk about who want to be educated who want to live in reality. And then there's a large swath of people who fall victim to cultism and non-truths, become susceptible to that, and they live in that world and they will probably never be changed. And they are unreachable.

I'm sorry but that is the truth and we have to stop saying every single time, how do we get those people? How do we get those people? How do we get those people? Because if we keep asking how do we get those people, then we forget about the people that we're actually supposed to be serving and the ones who want to listen to us and the ones who are operating in reality.

And guess what that does. If we keep trying to reach out to people who are not there? That makes us one of them. If you keep doing the same thing over and over and over, what does that make you?

[22:10:05]

CUOMO: Insane.

LEMON: OK. I got to run.

CUOMO: Amen. I love you, Don Lemon. Preach.

LEMON: I love you too. I love you too. I'll see you soon.

OK. I need a breath. That's the truth, you all and you know it. You know it, you know it, you know it. If I didn't say it, I wouldn't be doing my job. This is CNN Tonight. And I am very proudly Don Lemon and I am going to

tell you the truth.

The news tonight is that this country has been waiting for, what this country has been waiting for, it is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel of this pandemic. We could just be just days away from the first vaccinations. Can you imagine?

Finally, we're on the road to recovery where this will be over. Maybe the next six months or so. But will there be a light at the end of the tunnel for our democracy is the question?

You can be mad at me all you want. I'm going to tell you the truth. We -- we -- our democracy is on the line. I am asking a really serious question. America is in crisis right now.

Let me tell you where we are. Half the states are fighting the other half before the Supreme Court as Republicans fall over themselves to back this -- it's an insane attempt to overturn the election. And all for the sake of what? Of what? Of who? An impeached one-term president who lost the popular vote by one of the largest margins in decades, by the way.

It's nothing but kamikaze loyalty. This is no time to stay on the sidelines, people. This is no time for a wait and see what happens, let's see what happens. Let's not say anything. I don't want to say anything. I'll call Joe Biden and congratulate him but I can't say anything to my constituents. I can't say it publicly.

Even if you're not a politician, an everyday citizen, I don't want to say anything because I don't want to tick off my husband, I don't want to tick off my wife, or my neighbor. I don't want to -- tell them. This is a time for everyone to stand up to this president, to say enough is enough. You lost. And you're trying to play me. Don't play me. Don't play me. Play the lotto. I'm not here for it.

Joe Biden won. It's time now for an orderly transition of power. Let's talk about Jeb Bush, son of -- son of one president, brother of another president, saying tonight that this is crazy. It will be killed on arrival. Why are smart people advancing this notion? Let it go. The election is over.

Thank you, Jeb Bush. But the shameful fact is -- this is a fact -- 106 -- there are their names right there -- Republican members of the House, our elected representatives, have signed on to the current president's attempted power grab. You see their names right there on your screen right now. One hundred six of them. Elected officials.

More than half the Republicans in the House selling their political souls, selling out the voters, the people they're supposed to represent, selling them out, just lying to them, giving them false hope.

And I want to talk to those Republicans right now. If you support this, if you are promoting these lies, if you have signed your name to this case, you have climbed on board the crazy train. And the next stop is autocracy. Absolute power in the hands of one man to whom you have pledged your loyalty instead of to the Constitution and to the people. Un-American. That is un-American.

None of you who are riding that train should ever be allowed to claim to be on the side of the founding fathers ever again. You all love to do. The Constitution, the Constitution, the Constitution. Give me a break. Give me a big ole' break. Its the Constitution.

I'm here to tell you something tonight so listen up. The founding fathers would be disgusted by you. They overthrew a monarch, a mad king, fought, died, set up a republic, a democracy to last hundreds of years through a Civil War, World Wars and you threw it all away for a reality TV show star. Give me a break.

[22:15:00]

To prove your loyalty to an unworthy man, to a pathological liar, to a racist, to a womanizer, to someone who pretended to be a big boss on TV and is now pretending to be president. Someone who sits ranting watching TV while hundreds of thousands of Americans, your loved ones, your fellow Americans, die.

Who shames you with name calling, threatens you with mean tweets. I'm so scared of mean tweets. Do you know how many mean tweets I get? I don't even read them. Never even read them. So, if you're mean tweeting me, good luck. Have fun. Don't care. You are not public servants. You're his servants. You should all be ashamed of yourselves.

And it's not like they didn't know. It's not like they didn't know exactly who Donald Trump is, OK? So, here's some receipts for you. I want to start with Ted Cruz, perhaps the thirstiest thirsty. Someone give that man a drink of water. Thirstiest of all who offer to argue this case himself before the court. Remember when he argued this?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): I tell you what I really think of Donald Trump. This man is a pathological liar. He doesn't know the difference between truth and lies. He lies practically every word that comes out of his mouth. The man cannot tell the truth but he combines it with being a narcissist, a narcissist at a level I don't think this country has ever seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: How are you going to get somebody named lying Ted to argue your case? You want to -- if I was the opposing the counsel and they say, I'd say first of all you have someone you named lying ted yourself argue your case. So, where's the credibility? That was Ted Cruz 2016. Twenty-twenty, you know, you got a whole new model. Different chip put in.

Where's Marco Rubio, who had Trump pegged as a con artist long before he attempted the ultimate con, the grift and theft going on right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): A con artist is about to take over the Republican Party and the conservative movement and we have to put a stop to it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Congratulations, Marco. Maybe it -- M-a-r-c-o. Maybe your name should be M-a-r-k-o because you've been the perfect mark.

Lindsey Graham called him a race baiting xenophobic religious bigot. (Inaudible) kook just for good measure or bad measure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): He is a race baiting xenophobic religious bigot. He doesn't represent my party. I think he's a kook. I think he's crazy. I think he's unfit for office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That was the Lindsey Graham of 2015, 2016 before he got his chip, his upgrade or downgrade or whatever that is. Lindsey Graham is supporting that man now over a man he once considered one of his closest friends.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAHAM: If you can't admire Joe Biden as a person, then probably you've got a problem. You need to do some self-evaluation because what's not to like? He's the nicest person I think I've ever met in politics.

UNKNOWN: Is that right?

GRAHAM: He is as God a man as God ever created.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: With tears. With tears. Joe Biden is a good a man as God ever created. Lindsey. Let me stop before I go too far. You all know. You all know. Rand Paul called him a delusional narcissist.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): Donald Trump is a delusional narcissist and an orange-faced wind bag. A speck of dirt is way more qualified to be brought in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: They all had Trump's number not so long ago. They knew. They still know. They know. And we were warned about something like this, warned by some of the people who know him the best, like his former fixer and keeper of secrets, Michael Cohen who told Congress this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER DONALD TRUMP'S LAWYER: I fear that if he loses the election in 2020 that there will never be a peaceful transition of power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[22:19:57]

LEMON: Michael Cohen said that. Predictive. How would Michael Cohen know? Because he was with him for years, his fixer. His ghost writer on the art of the deal who said he will never concede.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY SCHWARTZ, AUTHOR, THE ART OF THE DEAL: He will never concede. He won't attend the inauguration. He can't -- he can't concede because to concede for him is to accept that he is a failure. And that is an intolerable thing for him. So, he has to keep this delusional idea alive that he was cheated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And you're going right along with it. His former White House communications director warned us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI, FORMER WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: The notion of him conceding I don't think is going to happen, Erica, ever because I think he's manifesting -- that's part of his whole conspiracy cabal. And that's how he's going to try to keep these supporters and acolytes tied to him. He's got a very large group of people believing these falsehoods and lies, and I think that's his game plan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Previous opponent and co-president in his eyes and Fox News' eyes Hillary Clinton warned us. She lost to him and conceded the next day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: I think it is a fair point to raise as to whether or not, if he loses, he's going to go quietly or not. And we have to be ready for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Even his own family, his niece, warned us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY TRUMP, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S NIECE: We should definitely be worried and on our guard and vigilant about what happens. And I think, again, the pressure needs to be on Republican leadership because I don't know that there's anybody else who can contain the damage that Donald is apparently perfectly willing to inflict upon the country --

LEMON: Yes.

M. TRUMP: -- he's ostensibly leading.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: They all warned us. They all warned us. And you know who else warned us? In a way so did he.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: You don't understand me. You don't understand me, but that's OK. You'll understand me after the election. But you don't understand me now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, we're going to have much more tonight on the outrageous attempted robbery of the presidency that is underway right now. But we also have some huge news on the pandemic tonight. When can you get the vaccine? And when is it safe? Dr. Fauci says we're not through with this virus just yet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We're not through with this just because we're starting a vaccine program. Even though you as an individual might have gotten vaccinated, it is not over by any means. We still have a long way to go, and we've got to get as many people as possible vaccinated of all groups.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[22:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: FDA advisers giving the green light for emergency use authorization of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine. The FDA could grant that approval at any moment. Hospitals already receiving materials to prepare them for the vaccine shipments that they will need, they will soon receive like this one in Pennsylvania that's up on your screen there.

But that good news, coming as deaths are surging all across this country. Yesterday was the deadliest day of the pandemic so far, with 3,124 deaths. The key IHME model projecting half a million Americans dead from the virus by April 1st. The deaths are spiking or holding steady in 49 states.

And the CDC director is warning that we will have more COVID deaths every day than deaths from 9/11 for the next two to three months even with a vaccine approval.

So, joining me now is CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta, our chief correspondent, and Dr. Tom Inglesby, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

Sanjay, I guess it's a -- good evening to both of you. I guess it's fair to call this bittersweet, right? We got good news of a vaccine. But then the days ahead, it's going to be -- they're going to be tough and they're going to be dark.

This is what everybody's been waiting for. There are kids out there who have coronavirus vaccine on their Christmas list right now. And we took a huge step forward today. So, put this in context. Context it for us. Tell us what happened.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, I agree with you, Don. Best of times, worst of times, right? I mean, it feels like whiplash. We're seeing some of these tragic death tolls, and I'm glad you mentioned that because today's the day worth celebrating scientifically. I'm going to show you what the final vote was all about.

But at the same time, we're celebrating this remarkable feat of science, the numbers are still getting worse and they're going to continue to get worse for a period of time. The vaccine may not necessarily help that for some time to come.

But what this final vote was about today was basically to say we're going to look at this vaccine and basically when we evaluate the totality of the scientific evidence, do the benefits outweigh the risks. That was simply the question, Don. This is for people 16 and older. And the conclusion, the majority conclusion was that, yes, that the benefits do outweigh the risk.

There were, you know, a few issues, there were four people who voted no, mainly because they thought, it seemed like they thought the age was too young. That instead of 16 years old, it should be 18 years old. They said there wasn't enough data for 16 and 17 years old. And I think that's going to be a topic of discussion to come.

But this is a recommendation now to the FDA to emergency use authorize this vaccine. FDA is still got to do that. They typically take the advisory committee's recommendation. That will likely happen tomorrow and then over the next couple of days the CDC's advisory committees will meet to sort of determine the who, what, where in terms of how this vaccine gets distributed.

But a historic day scientifically, Don, I actually didn't think that we would see that this year.

LEMON: I know. You texted me and said it's all good news. I mean, listen, I remember covering -- you know, this didn't just happen overnight. Everyone thinks that this, you know, this just happened starting at the beginning of the year or in the spring.

[22:30:02] But this all came, you know, after the SAR -- after SARS in 2003 and so on and so forth they've been working on these things.

GUPTA: Yes.

LEMON: But I have to ask you, doctor, I know that you said, you've talked about all these other advisory board have to do their thing. But is it right that Pfizer can start shipping vaccines within 24 hours after this authorization? So, when are we going to see the first people getting their shots?

GUPTA: Yes, so, after the authorization, if it comes -- and again, it looks very likely -- then they can start distributing it. And this is from the manufacturing locations to the states is my understanding. What happens with the states may be different state to state. Some will stock pile it. Some will go straight to pharmacies and hospitals.

But that takes place after the advisory committee with the CDC. They're going to make -- they're going to formally recommend this vaccine. And then after that, Don, I mean couple days, I think early next week --

LEMON: Great.

GUPTA: -- potentially --

LEMON: Great.

GUPTA: -- we could start seeing people getting this outside of a clinical trial.

LEMON: That's great. So, Dr. Inglesby, I want to bring you in, because what about safety? You heard Sanjay talked about that a little bit. Some people would, thought maybe the age was too young and so on. Some people think it happened too quickly, especially after we heard about this, you know, allergic reactions to the Pfizer vaccine in the U.K. Should Americans feel confident that everything possible has been done to make this vaccine safe?

TOM INGLESBY, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR HEALTH SECURITY, JOHNS HOPKINS BLOOMBERG SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Yes, I think they should. I think if you look at the trial data from the U.S., it has been very safe. We have not seen severe reactions so far. Obviously, things can emerge.

GUPTA: It help.

INGLESBY: Things can emerge, and we have to follow safety data very carefully over time. But so far so good in terms of safety. There were two incidents in the U.K., two allergic reactions which were serious. We're still learning about those. I think by the time any American gets vaccinated, we'll know a lot more about those reactions and whether there are any precautions that particular groups of people might take. But so far, I think the safety data has been very encouraging.

LEMON: Let me stick with you, doctor, because on top of the new IHME model, the CDC is projecting up to 362,000 deaths by January second. That's not -- that's just around the corner. I mean, that would be about 70,000 deaths in three weeks. This pandemic is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better.

INGLESBY: Yes, unfortunately, I think what we're seeing right now is the consequence of people wanting to be together over the holidays, which we all understand. But when people come together in large numbers, this virus takes advantage of that.

LEMON: Yes.

INGLESBY: And so, we're seeing the aftermath of the holidays. We're also -- people have moved inside in the cold. And when people are inside and conditions aren't really well-ventilated, then the virus spreads much more easily.

LEMON: Yes.

INGLESBY: And so, you're right. I mean, I think you both said already. This is the best of times, the worst of times. We have to do everything we can to try to slow this virus down.

LEMON: Yes.

INGLESBY: We are not going to see the effect of this vaccine in terms of slowing this pandemic down for many months. So, in the meantime, we have to do what we can do as individuals --

LEMON: Wear masks.

INGLESBY: -- together with our elected officials.

LEMON: -- social distance --

INGLESBY: Right.

LEMON: -- and don't -- try not to have large gatherings, especially over the holidays. We're so lucky to have both of you on to help get us through this and to educate us about this. Thank you, doctors. I appreciate it. Thanks so much.

INGLESBY: Thanks so much, Don.

LEMON: Eighteen attorneys general signing on to this baseless Trump- backed lawsuit. Geez. Looking to overturn the election and throw out millions of votes. But guess what. At least 23 are fighting against it. I'm going to speak with the attorney general leading the charge. That's next.

[22:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So, House Republicans seem to be falling all over themselves to back President Trump's desperate attempts to overturn the election results. As of tonight, 18 Republican attorneys general are supporting Texas A.G. Ken Paxton's lawsuit to throw out millions of votes in battleground states the current president lost.

But at least one Republican A.G. is rejecting it. Lawrence Wasden, the attorney general of Idaho says I am declining to join this effort. As is the case the legally correct decision may not be the politically convenient decision but my responsibility is to the state of Idaho and the rule of law.

We're also learning about a coalition of 23 other attorneys general calling on the Supreme Court to reject the Texas lawsuit. Washington, D.C. A.G. Karl Racine is leading that coalition and he joins me now.

Attorney general, I'm so happy to have you here. Thank you so much.

Let me just reiterate what's going on. I want -- and you have 18 attorneys general who -- and other GOP -- and GOP-led states saying they're not going to do t it. What is your message to Texas, the Attorney General Ken Paxton, I should say, 18 other GOP-led states where they are doing this thing? And what's your reaction to them and the more than 100 House Republicans who are supporting this baseless Texas lawsuit?

KARL RACINE, WASHINGTON, D.C. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I'm going to look beyond them for a moment and I'm going focus on the first name that you started with, and that's Attorney General Lawrence Wasden from the great state of Idaho. That's a profile in courage right there. Honest, thoughtful and persuasive. And he's the embodiment of our attorney general room.

I am the president of the National Association of Attorney General, a bipartisan room that just yesterday, 48 of us, sued Facebook alleging monopolistic behavior. So, seven Republican A.G.s did not join the Texas attorney general, and let me tell you they stood up against withering, coercive pressure. Social media on them is awful and hateful.

[22:40:01]

There are protests in front of their homes. They deserve credit. As to Mr. Paxton and others who joined Ken Paxton's brief, I really want to say that I don't judge them because, again, the coercive pressure of Donald Trump would be easy for me to criticize them. I don't know what I would do. I hope I would be Lawrence Wasden.

But let me tell you something else, Don, and this is where I have great confidence. The Supreme Court of the United States, just like state and federal judges throughout Donald Trump's tenure, he's losing about 80 percent of the cases that have been filed against him because as Chief Justice Roberts said, the judges are not Democratic judges nor Republican judges nor Trump judges nor Obama judges. They take an oath to follow the rule of law.

And Don, I'm here to tell you, sometimes I'm upset at how a decision comes down, especially if it has to do with reproductive rights or gun control or even campaign finance. But overall, the Supreme Court, state judges and federal judges are the heroes of this particular time when we have seen other individuals in politics yield. LEMON: I agree. Listen, I could let you speak all night and I would

love to hear you because I think that you're right on. But unfortunately, you know, we have a time constraint. We only have so much time for this conversation. I want to make sure people get out of it everything that they can.

RACINE: Sure.

LEMON: And I want to talk about what's happening with this case because yes, there are other attorneys general as you mentioned, who declined and they're standing up under great pressure. And I commend them and you did as well. And I think most people in this country do.

But there are others, 18 others, who signed on. And can you tell us in a nutshell what this lawsuit is claiming and if you think it has -- if it's going to go anywhere?

RACINE: In my view, it's really close to frivolous and it's not going anywhere. The lawsuit claims that the four states that they're seeking to invalidate voters' will of, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, they claim that those states are riddled with fraud.

Well, we know there's no systematic fraud in voting. It's never been established. Remember Ben Ginsburg, the great Republican election lawyer? He's told you over and over again that there has never been systematic voter fraud, not until Donald Trump made it up.

And so, a court, especially the Supreme Court of the United States, regardless of who appointed them, I believe is going to do the easy and right thing, the lawful and truthful thing and dismiss this matter.

LEMON: Well, everyone is watching. And I do have to tell you, listen, again, I think I agree, you agree, and most people in this country agree that the people who stood up to this, those attorneys general who did under great pressure that they deserve all the credit and support as you do as well.

RACINE: Don, can I say one more thing?

LEMON: Yes, and we would love to have you back, but go on, go on. Say, please.

RACINE: OK. Please. I would say as I'm praising my Republican colleagues who didn't join, the Democratic attorneys general are not a bunch of partisan hack lawyers. We care about the rule of law. We're not perfect. But I've got to tell you, if you're pitching 80 percent in your lawsuits against a lawless administration, you're actually standing up for justice and fairness. And I'm proud of my colleague.

LEMON: Thank you so much, Attorney -- Attorney General Racine. I appreciate it. You be well and be safe.

RACINE: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: Thank you. So, more than 100 House Republicans signing into this bogus lawsuit, a

suit actively looking to overturn the will of the voters. How much chaos are they making and how long will it last?

Before we go to break though, the people like him and the people he mentioned, as I said, you should speak out against the ones who are doing the wrong thing. You should speak up for the ones who are doing the right thing. They need to know that you support them. We'll be right back.

[22:45:00]

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LEMON: President Trump is doing anything he can to hold on to power, and the GOP seems ready and willing to help. Tonight, more than half of House Republicans, 106 to be exact, are backing the bogus legal push to invalidate millions of votes. Our democracy is in danger.

Let's discuss now. Presidential historian Jon Meacham is here who occasionally advises our President-elect Biden. Jon, boy, good evening. This is -- this is crazy. I mean, America is in crisis right now. They say the darkest hour is just before the dawn. Is that where we are, or is it going to get darker?

JON MEACHAM, HISTORIAN & AUTHOR: And I've always wondered if that's true actually, is that meteorologically in fact the case. I think crisis is a great word for it. You know, we use crisis in our politics and that vernacular because it was a medical term in the ancient world. Hippocrates first used it, and a crisis for him was a moment in a disease where the patient survives or doesn't.

And so, it's an inflection point, a vital inflection point. And I think when you have, what, 106 members of Congress who are enabling this madness, you are at that kind of inflection point.

LEMON: Yes.

[22:50:00]

MEACHAM: I was reading today about the secession winter of 1860 to '61 and how you had these two conflicting visions of reality that just would not, could not reconcile. And there had to be this extraordinary clash of arms to do it. I don't think we're there, but there is a -- there's a sense here that we're just -- it's not that we're not talking to each other. It's not that we're even talking at each other. We're just speaking two different languages.

LEMON: Right. Has there ever been, you said the -- you talked about the succession winter, right? Is that what you call it?

MEACHAM: Yes.

LEMON: Has there -- has there ever been an effort even then to invalidate millions of votes the way that we're seeing now, Jon?

MEACHAM: No. I mean, that was, they left because Lincoln won.

LEMON: Yes.

MEACHAM: They were waiting for results. Ultimately, 11 state of the confederacy were waiting to see what happened in 1860. But, you know, even in our most ferociously fought elections you often had, interestingly, twice in modern memory -- Richard Nixon in 1960 and Al Gore in 2000 -- who has as vice president of the United States and president of the Senate had to preside over what's going to happen on Monday, the Electoral College vote.

And they both had every reason to believe that they should be the one being elected. And they performed their duties with grace and understood that in a republic, in a popular government, in a Democratic republic, you ultimately follow the will of the people. You climb back in the arena if you want and you take the case to the people again. But to have an American political party that is so disassociated from reality is a remarkable and unique moment.

LEMON: Jon, I wish I had more time with you. I kind of went on a little bit longer at the top of the show. I'm long winded. But you have some friends in television who are that way, so you should be used to it. And it rhymes with smoke Marlboro (Ph).

All right. Thank you very much. I appreciate it, Jon, I'll see you soon.

Damning allegations leading to concerns the Trump administration tried to conceal and destroy evidence at the CDC. Stay with us.

[22:55:00]

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LEMON: Take this. The director of the CDC says the U.S. should expect upwards of 3,000 deaths a day for the next two to three months.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROBERT REDFIELD, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: We are in a time frame now that probably for the next 60 to 90 days we're going to have more deaths per day than we had at 9/11 or we had at Pearl Harbor. I mean, this is really, as I said, this is a real -- going to be a real unfortunate loss of life. Kind of all that we've had so far. And the reality is, the vaccine approval this week is not going really impact that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Yes. That last part is important. Not really going to impact that. This is beyond disturbing. If you do the math, 3,000 death a day for just 60 days means at least another 180,000 deaths. The vaccine will not stop it.

That as a congressional committee wants to talk with CDC Director Robert Redfield. The committee is concerned that the Trump administration tried to conceal and destroy evidence of interference at the CDC from Trump appointees. They want to hear from Redfield because an official at the CDC says she was ordered to delete an e- mail, an instruction she understood came from him.

In that deleted e-mail, an HHS employee appointee allegedly demanded that the CDC alter or rescind truthful scientific reports he believed were damaging to President Trump. We're going to stay on this story for you.

Three thousand deaths a day for the next two to three months, yet the current president is focused on overturning the will of the people, and most of his party is just following along.

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