Return to Transcripts main page
Don Lemon Tonight
McConnell: Bill To Increase Stimulus Checks To $2,000 Has "No Realistic Path To Quickly Pass The Senate"; GOP Senator To Delay Affirming Biden Victory By Forcing Votes On Electoral College Results Which Won't Change Outcome; CDC Projects Up To 424,000 Total COVID-19 Deaths By January 23. Aired 9-10p ET
Aired December 30, 2020 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[21:00:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: We did, yes. Yes. I had not had that before. I don't want to do that again.
"CNN'S NEW YEAR'S EVE LIVE" starts 8 P.M. Eastern, and we're doing it from Times Square.
COHEN: We're going to see what Times Square is like. And we are going to - we're going to turn this around.
COOPER: Well and we're just saying goodbye to a, you know, good riddance.
COHEN: Exactly.
COOPER: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, CNN CO-ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: There are a lot of folks who are ready for that!
Well, the news continues tonight. Let's hand it right over to "CNN TONIGHT."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.
TEXT: BREAKING NEWS.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DON LEMON, CNN HOST, CNN TONIGHT WITH DON LEMON: And this is CNN TONIGHT. I am Don Lemon in for Chris Cuomo, who has the week off.
No $2,000 for you any time soon! President Trump claimed he wanted you to have it for stimulus relief. And in the bizarro world that is 2020, even Bernie Sanders did his own form of retweeting that message. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): We have a very unlikely ally in President Trump. Ain't nobody here has disagreed with Trump more times than I have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Finally! Finally! Bipartisanship! What could go wrong?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Here's the deal. The Senate is not going to split apart the three issues that President Trump linked together just because Democrats are afraid to address two of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Oh, well there you go! Whomp Whomp!
No, Leader McConnell, here's the deal. You blew off the House version that might have sailed through, if you put it up for a vote. Instead, you pretend that the bill can only pass, if you placate this President's fantasies of suing social media companies, and investigating mass voter fraud, where there is none.
Also from this Congress of Chaos, Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri ready to fight the battle, one that is already lost. The 2020 Presidential election, that is. He is the first senator to confirm that he's going to object to the Electoral College certification, next Wednesday, something even Mitch McConnell doesn't want.
Hawley isn't claiming widespread fraud, just making accusations about a state that he doesn't represent, along with Facebook and Twitter. It might please President Trump, but it won't change reality.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): This is just grossly irresponsible by Senator Hawley.
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): There is no credible basis for objection. It is simply a political exercise.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): I have no doubt that on next Wednesday, a week from today that Joe Biden will be confirmed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, while some Republicans waste time, COVID continues to rage, the U.K. variant, now in California. The vaccine rollout remains drastically behind.
And all of that will be true as 2021 begins. No leaving those facts behind and no ignoring them, on our last program of 2020, by the way. We're covering it all for you, including the breaking news, tonight, on President Trump's travel plans.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins is in West Palm Beach, Florida tonight. Let's check the wind. Yes, still very windy there. Phil Mattingly is on Capitol Hill.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Still here.
LEMON: And with us from L.A., our Senior Political Analyst, Ron Brownstein, a Senior Editor at The Atlantic. Now, Ron and Phil's hair blows, I know something's wrong because they're both inside.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST, SENIOR EDITOR, THE ATLANTIC: Yes.
LEMON: It's got to be a very strong fan!
Good evening to all of you, and happy New Year to you.
BROWNSTEIN: Good evening.
LEMON: So, Kaitlan, not sure about the Happy New Year because the President was planning to have his annual New Year's Eve party at Mar- a-Lago, but now he is leaving Palm Beach early, to return to Washington. What's going - what's that all about?
COLLINS: This is really unusual. The President typically spends New Year's Eve here, because he has that party, at Mar-a-Lago, every year.
A lot of guests come in town. They did this year. And they were told the President was going to be there. But now, we have learned that the President is actually going to be leaving Florida earlier than he was slated to do so.
He was supposed to go until later this week, maybe on Friday, I believe. But now he's going to be leaving here, tomorrow morning, to go back to Washington. And aides aren't really sure what the President is going back for.
But they do know what's been going on behind-the-scenes, which is the President has not stopped talking about January 6th, which of course is that date that Congress is going to meet next week, to certify the results that the President is counting on Republicans, to disrupt.
So, they believe that is what's behind the President's early departure, though, it did catch a lot of his own staff and his guests that are going to be at that party tomorrow night off-guard.
LEMON: Is it - I mean, listen, I'm sure there is some scheming going on, right?
He wants to be in the White House. He feels that psyche - he is - that's his protective bubble, his protective shelter. But does he, Kaitlan, does he just not want to face people considering what's going on? He doesn't want to be social - sociable and answer questions?
COLLINS: That could be part of it because, typically, you see the President walk the red carpet with the First Lady. We know that they have been arguing, this week, about the renovations that happened at Mar-a-Lago.
And he likes having the press there. He likes having all the cameras there, in front of his guests, so when they come in, they see this big to-do. But the President has been shying away from that.
[21:05:00]
He's been at the club this week. He's been going and mingling with people, in between rounds of golf that he's been having, like he typically does. But sources have said that he's been incredibly irritated this week that he has not stopped fuming about everything, from the election loss, to the renovations that are happening.
And so, I think it's just part of this pattern that we've seen where the President has been really unpredictable, more than ever, since the election. And that's continuing with this trip back to Washington, earlier than was expected.
So, it's not clear what he's going to do, when he gets back to D.C. tomorrow, since he's leaving here around lunch.
LEMON: Ron, you are shaking your head in agreement when I was making that--
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
LEMON: --the question to Kaitlan. Why?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, more unpredictable than ever. I mean, look at what's happening in Georgia. I mean, we are days away from two runoff elections that will determine who controls the U.S. Senate.
Democrats have not won a Senate election in Georgia since 2000. But they are actually very encouraged by the early voting totals that Republicans need a big Election Day turnout that the President is supposed to deliver with his election eve appearance.
And then today, he goes on Twitter, and calls on the Republican Governor, in Georgia, to resign, because he would not - he has not sufficiently supported the President's disproven fantasies of election fraud, in the state.
And it just - to me, it's just a reminder of how much of his policy - the loyalty to President Trump is entirely a one-way direction.
And the demands on - the demands that he's going to be putting on the Party, not only in terms of - not only in terms of trying to subvert this election and decertify this election, but going forward, once he's out of office, is setting up loyalty tests all over.
This is what Republicans have put themselves in for by refusing to confront, more forcefully, his fantasy that he wasn't defeated, the election was stolen from him. LEMON: Well Phil has - probably has some answers with all this. Phil, more than likely, emphasis on "More than likely," this is going to be an exercise in futility.
But we still have to see how it plays out because Republican Senator Josh Hawley, trying to get fellow Republicans on record, with his move to vote against certifying the election results, they will have to side with the President or either the will of the voters.
Even McConnell, Phil, has asked them, his Party, not to do this. What is the point?
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, according to Senator Hawley, he wants to elevate the issues, the issues you laid out in the open, and this would be the last and best and final opportunity to do so. But I think what goes with that is the ability to elevate the individual as well.
And I don't think there's any question about it. Everybody knows that Josh Hawley is paying attention to a potential 2024 run.
He's considered an up-and-comer in the Republican Party. And this is an opportunity to address an issue that has become very prevalent in the Republican base. Obviously he addressed an individual--
LEMON: Do you think he can run in 2024, if Trump is still around? OK!
MATTINGLY: Look, I think - and Kaitlan can match me on this one, predicting anything past like the next three hours is not something I'm willing to do right now.
But I do think this is important, because you make the key point here that Mitch McConnell, a few weeks ago, made clear to the Conference, in a private phone call, "Do not join House Republicans in this effort. If you join House Republicans, in this effort, not only will it fail catastrophically," he cited a 2005 effort by Senator Barbara Boxer, a Democrat, that vote went down 74-1, and made clear that he felt that that was an embarrassment for the Senator at the time.
But also, it puts the - his colleagues in a very bad position. And Mitch McConnell, who's willing to accept the reality that Joe Biden is the President-elect of the United States, doesn't care necessarily about President Trump all that much.
What he does care about is the health and the continuation of his Republican Conference and his Republican majority.
And he is concerned that those Republicans, some of whom have re- election campaigns in 2022, or 2024, will now be faced with a decision of siding with President Trump, who is obviously still very popular with the base, still very popular with the broader party, or siding with reality.
That's a position McConnell doesn't want his members to be in. And Don, I can tell you, in talking to Republicans, throughout the course of the day, there are a number, who are extremely frustrated - extremely frustrated with their colleague, because they know that is the position that they're now going to be put in.
LEMON: Let's talk more about the dynamics, Kaitlan that Phil just mentioned, because the President is still demanding that these pandemic stimulus checks and Mitch McConnell isn't putting it up for a vote.
He's still demanding that it happens, Mitch McConnell not putting it up for a vote, talk about that dynamic here. What is happening?
COLLINS: It's fascinating to see what is happening between Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump, in the last days of his presidency, because they are completely at odds with this, because, as Democrats made clear today, Mitch McConnell knows how to get something through the Senate.
He knows whether something is going to succeed. And he knows that by pairing these $2,000 stimulus checks with the two other measures, that the President has demanded, they're not going to go anywhere.
So, not only is he not bringing it to the floor, he is ensuring that anyone who has hopes of getting these $2,000 stimulus checks through the Senate, those are dashed right now, based on what he has said today. And, so, that's something the President demanded.
[21:10:00]
You've heard Mitch McConnell. He's kind of not been saying it explicitly, but he's been saying the President's team negotiated this last Coronavirus package, with Congressional Democrats, with Congressional Republicans.
They put forward those $600 stimulus payments. And so, that's what they're getting right now, and basically saying there was no chance of these $2,000 checks happening, at this moment, as things stand right now.
LEMON: Ron, the President, I mean, he really, really has seemed to force McConnell into a corner.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
LEMON: But this situation and the chaos around it doesn't seem like it has been good for anyone involved in this.
BROWNSTEIN: No. And look, if the Republicans lose those two Senate seats in Georgia, next week, I think there will be a verdict that Mitch McConnell was too clever by half, because, as Kaitlan pointed out, he has killed the $2,000 payment.
Let's be clear what he has done. By attaching it to these other two anchors, these two poison pills, he has insured that it is not going to go forward. And in that way, he thinks he's allowing Republicans to say they're for it, without actually having to divide his Caucus, by letting them vote on it, and pass it.
But what he is also doing simultaneously is validating the core Democratic argument in these Georgia senate runoffs, which is that as long as McConnell holds the majority, there will not be a fully robust response to the COVID crisis, either on the public health side, or on the economic side.
I mean, he is essentially showing, underlining the case that Democrats are kind of resting their, particularly Jon Ossoff, has been resting their hopes on. So if - and even Newt Gingrich has said there is a risk in not allowing this to pass between now and next Tuesday.
So, McConnell, as always, I think, is giving a preview of what a Joe Biden presidency can expect. If he does hold the majority, he will find clever ways to obstruct the agenda. But this may be an occasion where he was too clever by half.
LEMON: All right, thank you. Phil to come out (ph) three minutes it may all have changed, and I might need you guys back, so hopefully not. But if I don't see you, happy New Year. Thank you.
BROWNSTEIN: Happy New Year to you.
LEMON: So, I want to bring in now Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.
Senator, thank you for being here. Good to see you. It's been a minute.
It's a huge disparity, in this country, between vaccines allocated versus those distributed. Did the last step of this process get overlooked?
Why the delay in getting these shots into people's arms? Because it's supposed to be, as the Vice President has been saying, "A whole of government approach." This doesn't seem very whole of anything.
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): Well, it's not going to be overlooked, when Joe Biden gets in, and he's made that very clear.
Because we've always known we can't just parachute these vaccines, in the middle of, say, a rural town, in Minnesota, in the middle of winter. And so, this is going to take a major distribution network that I don't think has been adequately set up yet.
That's part of why we were pushing so hard to get the pandemic relief package, signed into law, while the President was golfing. The sooner we can get that money, the sooner we put that money into expanded vaccines and distribution.
The second thing is some of the things that Joe has been talking about, from the beginning, things like using the Defense Production Act, to ramp up the production of these vaccines.
It's getting other vaccines approved that we know is starting to happen in places like Great Britain this week, and it's a major public education campaign, once we get the vaccines out, because we still know there is doubters out there. There is people that are somehow are afraid of this vaccine, and it's just not that scientific evidence. So, it's going to have to be all hands on deck, and we can't do it
with someone who is literally spending his team going through, I don't know, 17 stages of grief on national TV.
LEMON: Yes.
KLOBUCHAR: Who basically abandoned what he should be doing, which is leading the country through the end of the pandemic and, of course, a peaceful transition of power to the next administration.
LEMON: Well--
KLOBUCHAR: That's what you do, if you are a leader, and he's not doing it.
LEMON: Well, I mean, listen, you mentioned now, the very first thing you said was, in the next administration, the Biden administration, but this President is still in office.
And so, we have to get past those days, in order to get to where you say the Vice President - the President-elect, excuse me, Biden wants 1 million shots a day. Given the mess that this is right now, is that - is that realistic?
How fast do you think he could ramp this up? Because it's got - listen, we got--
KLOBUCHAR: Yes.
LEMON: --we have to do better.
KLOBUCHAR: Agree. I mean, Don, right now, we've got like moms and dads, going to bed, laying awake, thinking how can we get that vaccine out there. I think people are tired of running the government on their own.
So, we need someone competent, in the White House, and an entire team, that's going to be focused on that, from day one, that's going to wake up in the morning, not looking at tweets, not looking at Fox News, to see what they're saying about him, but instead saying, "Have we gotten those vaccines out to Nevada? What's happening at Atlanta right now? What's going on with COVID? What's happening?"
And that just, to me, is what's been missing, is that Commander-in- Chief that views this pandemic as our number one priority from morning tonight. And then, of course, we get through it. We get the economy back to where it is and the like.
[21:15:00]
So, I think it's a really important point. The way we get the economy back to normal, at least to where we can start building on that economy, to build back better, is by getting through this pandemic.
LEMON: OK. So, you work with Mitch McConnell. I'm sure you know Josh Hawley as well, right? KLOBUCHAR: Yes. I know him.
LEMON: I just - I want to talk to you about him then or what he's doing.
KLOBUCHAR: Sure.
LEMON: Looking to delay Congress in affirming the - informing - affirming Biden's election win, get his Republican colleagues to either side with the President or the American people.
This is just theater. We know the ending here. Biden won and Trump lost. But can you tell us how you think this is going to play out, what's going to happen?
KLOBUCHAR: Well--
LEMON: Why they're doing it?
KLOBUCHAR: Yes. I'm going to be there, one of the people running this, because I'm the Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee, the highest-ranking Democrat.
And, so, I'm not going to bore all your - maybe we can later dig down into how all this works, but we're going to prevail. We're going to prevail because we've got Democrats, and Republicans, in the Senate making clear.
Today, Susan Collins, "I do not think that he will prevail in his quest," talking about Hawley, "And I question why he is doing it when the courts have unanimously thrown out the suits," right? Over 80 judges have thrown out these suits. That's what she's referring to.
Senator Capito, "My plan at this point is to vote to accept the votes of the Electoral College."
So, I'm saying this because this is going to be a bipartisan pushback and people that are, in my mind, just in Hawley's case, I guess he's running for President in 2024.
But everyone knows that this was a valid election. We've got Republican election officials and governors, like in Georgia, certifying the results. They have been certified already, Don.
All this is, is that we accept the results, and under a law from the 1800s we can - if someone objects, from both houses, which it appears now is going to happen, we go and debate it for two hours, and then we vote on each state.
And I can tell you, right now, and guarantee you that democracy will prevail.
LEMON: It's something - every time it's even with a trumped-up scandal, no pun intended, but it works in this situation, "Let's wait for this report to come out. And then we'll do this report. And let's wait for the Durham, let's wait for all this," and then nothing ever happens.
And then with this, "Well let's wait for the signatures to be audited, and this to be there," and it all happens. And they still say, "Well, let's keep waiting."
How much more proof do they need from all the Republicans, who have certified the election, from the - from the attorneys general, to the state electors, to - and on and on, and the Supreme Court, like what?
KLOBUCHAR: In the end, you know what's going on, Don. They're just messing around because they're afraid of Donald Trump. That's what's happening.
And there are, and I keep saying this, not to defend everything they have done, but there are a number of Republican senators and, of course, governors, who have stood by these results.
LEMON: Yes.
KLOBUCHAR: Some of them say "I don't like the result, but I standby the result." They're upholding our democracy.
We couldn't do this alone. We do need people, who are willing to stand up to this guy, right now, and say "We're not going to be part of a coup. We are not going to go against the democracy that this nation was founded on."
LEMON: Yes.
KLOBUCHAR: "We're not going to engage in this."
So, I just want your viewers to know that because that's why I feel good going into this day. It's going to be a spectacle. We know there's going to be these crazy objections. We're going to go in there, calmly debate them, and then Joe Biden is going to be inaugurated, and Kamala Karris is going to be inaugurated--
LEMON: Yes.
KLOBUCHAR: --as the Vice President by his side.
LEMON: And Senator?
KLOBUCHAR: And it's all going to.
LEMON: We're going to be watching. Thank you. Have a - have a very happy New Year. And I'll see you on the other side. Thank you so much.
KLOBUCHAR: Thank you.
LEMON: Thank you.
Well, what will Joe Biden need to do, on day one, to fix this vaccination mess? And how did we end up here in the first place? A former COVID Task Force Adviser to Vice President Pence says this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLIVIA TROYE, FORMER COVID-19 TASK FORCE ADVISER TO VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: It comes down to, really, just a lack of a national strategy on this vaccine distribution. And this has been the problem, from day one, on the pandemic response.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[21:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: So, the year is almost over, and it's clear the Trump administration is not going to reach their goal of 20 million vaccinations by January.
Of the 12.4 million doses, the CDC says have been delivered, only 2.7 million have been administered. That is not good enough. Today, we set a record for hospitalizations.
And according to a new forecast, from the CDC, up to 424,000 people could die from the Coronavirus by January 23rd. There have been over 341,000 total deaths from the pandemic so far.
So, according to this projection, we could be looking at over 82,000 additional lives lost, in the next three weeks or so. So, I want you to think about that. More than 82,000! 82,000!
We can't afford slow starts. We need to get shots into arms, and we need to do it right now.
So, joining me now is William Haseltine, a former professor at Harvard Medical School, and Chairman, the President of ACCESS Health International, and CNN National Security Analyst, Juliette Kayyem.
Good to see both of you. Thank you so much for joining.
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST, FORMER DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY OFFICIAL: Thank you.
LEMON: So Professor, I have to start by getting your reaction to the CDC's new projection, 424,000 dead, 424,000 dead, by January 23rd. That's about 80,000 additional deaths in three weeks.
The numbers are shocking, hard to comprehend. I think it's hard to comprehend the loss of life because when you say it with so many, right, it's - I don't think people can really register because it's just it's so many deaths.
WILLIAM HASELTINE, FORMER PROFESSOR, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL, CHAIR AND PRESIDENT, ACCESS HEALTH INTERNATIONAL: It's true. It's a real tragedy.
It is an American tragedy. It didn't need to happen. It happened because of inattention, denial. And now we're in a real mess. We're in the winter. People are - want to celebrate the New Year. They're traveling. It's all the things they shouldn't do.
And in addition to that, there is a new variant, at least one, and probably more. They're increasing the rate of transmission. This thing is accelerating, not decelerating. And we need to take a whole series of actions.
Vaccines are the long-term answer, but they're not the short-term answer. They're not going to save us in the next two months to three months. What's going to save us, in the next two months to three months is government doing its job, to help people stay safe.
[21:25:00]
LEMON: I got to tell you, I mean, when you talked, you talked about that variant, and then we'll get back to Warp Speed, but this is the first time that I've had the COVID test, where I've actually been really, really worried because of that variant. And I mean I got the results back. I just got it tonight.
HASELTINE: Right.
LEMON: Got the results back. It was negative. But I was like, "Oh, man. What if?"
HASELTINE: Right.
KAYYEM: Yes.
LEMON: You know? Because it's just - people are, I think - I think I'm even more afraid or more nervous than at the beginning of the pandemic. Am I - is there something wrong with me, Professor?
HASELTINE: No. It's very much more likely that people can get infected, fewer viruses, shorter time, and children.
And this virus, and a similar one from South Africa, is not only more infectious, it is infecting children, and it's making more children ill, because it can get into children, who have lower numbers of receptors than adults do. This virus sticks more tightly to those receptors, so you need fewer.
The other thing, if you really look at these viruses, carefully, they are much more tricky than we had thought. We had thought they were relatively stable. It's like saying, "Yes, I know that enemy." Well it turns out this enemy can change.
And so, we don't know the enemy, as much as we thought we did. We need to know it more, and we have to really surveil it, and we have to be prepared to react to changes.
LEMON: Yes. So, Juliette, like, you know, Operation Warp Speed, like great--
KAYYEM: Yes.
LEMON: --this incredible, they did it. It was a good job. KAYYEM: Right.
LEMON: Getting it out after the President was saying, "Oh, it's not a big deal, and I can't wear a mask." Operation Warp Speed did get the vaccine out fast.
KAYYEM: Yes.
LEMON: But this mass vaccination has been dumped on the states to deal - to deal with.
KAYYEM: Right.
LEMON: And we know that is hard to do. But you say that it can be fixed. What does the Biden team need to do? Because it's abundantly clear that the Trump folks are not going to do it.
KAYYEM: Yes. And I want to begin with one factor, is that even before Biden is president, things will look better. And I just have - I have confidence in this, because I've seen a lot of the state plans, but also because this is the nature of a big logistics campaign.
It starts off clunky. Data management is really complicated. Person X is not talking to Person Y. It's hard to get to rural areas. It's the holidays. I know everyone - we want it fast, but that does matter. That will start to smooth out.
Then when President Biden comes in, two things that the Trump White House did not do, throughout this, throughout COVID, is consistent, from testing and surveillance, to now, you set a floor for the states. In other words, what's the minimum they need to do, and so because states are different, so you want to give them some leeway, and then you provide the resources.
You make sure that they have both the funding, and that you invoke the Defense Production Act, or whatever, you may need to invoke, to make sure that they have supplies coming.
That can be done on day one. It's still going to be a little bit clunky, because it will take a while. But I am still, you know, I know it feels like the sky is falling, but I've been through this before.
It takes a while for things to - not something like this, but H1N1, big disasters. It takes a while for systems to get into place. We're going to have a course correction on January 20th.
And then, I'm still holding, and so is Dr. Fauci, to an idea that we're going to start to get to the general population in April/May. Anyone who promised otherwise was not telling the truth, and that's true of this White House.
And that we will feel general population herd immunity in the sense that we'll feel like the world is different, you know, by early- to mid-summer. And I'm still consistent with those numbers.
Look, 1 million vaccinations a day seems like a lot today. If CVS and Walgreens were doing them, there's about 20,000 stores, in the United States, they would only have to do 50 shots a day. So that's doable, right? But then you think of all the other places that are giving shots.
So, I'm - hope springs eternal at the end of 2020. And so, these things will get fixed, more money, more resources, more support for the states. And I think we're going to have a President who doesn't view this as an ego thing.
LEMON: Well.
KAYYEM: And I think that's going to make a meaningful difference.
LEMON: I hope you're right, because it feels like we're in the, you know, like the nation is in my old VW Beetle, when I was in high school, and we had this momentum, and then you get to the top of the hill, and you're like "Whoa!"
KAYYEM: Yes.
LEMON: Then you're inside of the car, go "Come on! Just get to the top of the hill," feels like we're running out of power, and we're close to the top, right? And we just need to go a little bit further.
KAYYEM: Yes.
LEMON: So, I hope you're right. I hope you're right. All right.
KAYYEM: You've grown up, Don. You own a fancy car now. Just takes a while for it to start.
LEMON: Yes, yes, a subway in New York City!
Thank you. And we lost Professor Haseltine, and his shot. Thank you. Happy New Year to you.
KAYYEM: Thank you. Bye.
LEMON: My next guest.
KAYYEM: You too.
LEMON: Yes, thank you.
My next guest lost her job. Her electricity was shut off. Her children's medicine costs hundreds of dollars. She's doing what she can to make ends meet. But she's not alone. Huge, huge lines at food banks, in Texas today, that's proof of that. Stay with us.
[21:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: So, take this, for months, Americans across this country, crippled by the pandemic, through no fault of their own, they, have been waiting on Congress to send a lifeline. And though Congress is fighting about the size of the checks that will
be sent, some help is on the way, in the form of direct payments and unemployment aid. Unfortunately, it's just too late for many people in this country.
Food insecurity is soaring, millions of Americans going hungry, families struggling to put food on the table.
Take a look at these lines, look at that.
(VIDEO - LONG LINES OF CARS AT AUSTIN, TEXAS FOOD BANK)
LEMON: This is - it's the Central Texas Food Bank. It's in Austin, Texas. Today, it held its 67th food distribution event since the pandemic began, and the eighth, this month alone.
The lines are unbelievable. And I'm not making it up. You can see that for yourselves. These are hungry Americans. The traffic you see here, that's for food.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RC HUGGINS, AUSTIN RESIDENT & RETIRED CONTRACTOR: It's been very difficult, very difficult. I don't think people have any idea how difficult it is, worrying about how to feed your family, day in and day out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Those are your fellow Americans. Doesn't matter who they voted for, what political stripes, they're fellow Americans. And they deserve to be able to take care of themselves, their families, and put food on the table.
By the way, my colleague, Camila Bernal learning today that last month, about 14 percent of the people, who showed up to this food bank, were new. They weren't coming here before the pandemic.
[21:35:00]
Jill Fowler, another one of those people, who showed up today, says her daughter lost her job, and had COVID herself, and now she is in need, and scared.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JILL FOWLER, AUSTIN RESIDENT: I feel like I can't have enough food, if that makes sense. And then, my friend, with the six kids, she - I mean, they never have any food. They never have any food.
CAMILA BERNAL, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN NEWSOURCE: And is this something that you used to do before the pandemic or is this?
FOWLER: Oh, no. This is totally since the pandemic hit.
It's like a tumbleweed that starts out small, and it wasn't so bad, at first, and it's just been picking up speed and picking up speed. And I don't know. It just feels like this is a major depression at this point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: America! This is America, the richest nation on earth.
It's all a tragedy. There are too many Americans in desperate situations right now. So, let me bring in someone, who is in the middle of a financial struggle, lost her job due to this pandemic. Sylvia Cerda Salinas joins me now.
Sylvia, thank you for coming on. Thank you for sharing your story, and hope we can help you and many other Americans. I'm so sorry for the struggle you and your family are facing right now.
Tell us what this has been like for you, please.
SYLVIA CERDA SALINAS, LOST JOB DUE TO COVID-19: Thank you so much for having me on, first of all, Don. It's been a really big struggle.
I have worked all my life since I was 12-years-old. I've been able to provide for my family all our lives. And with my husband being disabled, I have never had an issue being able to bring food to the table, or even just put - bring water, just anything in general.
And with being diagnosed with COVID, in July, and losing my job, it's really, really hard. And I have - I have five children. Out of those, I've got three of them that are special needs, two are diabetic, and one of them has a chromosome disorder. So, it's hard.
We had to change our lives a 100 percent. It's my kids, we can't - they haven't left the home, since March, because they fall under that category for the underlying conditions. So, I don't want to risk it.
And, I mean, we've gone through food banks. Our light has been cutoff. We've had to do raffles (ph). I went to school for cosmetology, and I've done fully (ph) of services, just to make ends meet.
We've just had to sort through just some creative things just to make it by when before we didn't have to. It's just - it's been really tough. And then--
LEMON: Do you--
SALINAS: --our car--
LEMON: I'm doing--
SALINAS: Our car broke down on Christmas Eve.
LEMON: Oh my God!
SALINAS: So, it's just been - yes.
LEMON: I'm just - do you ever just - because everything that you are telling me, you know, because I'm sure people are sitting at home, and they thought they had it bad, right, and you never know what the next person is dealing with, or your neighbor, or what have you. You just don't know.
SALINAS: Yes.
LEMON: Do you ever just say, "God, what is going on?" Because I see you got the Last Supper, above you. And I--
SALINAS: Yes.
LEMON: As I understand from you that your dad, before he passed, that was a gift from him. So, I think that you are a person of faith. Do you - how did you say, "God, why are you doing this to me?" Or "What is going on?"
SALINAS: I do. I mean, I lost my mom, when I was 19. And then, I lost my father when I was 29. And my grandmother passed away this June.
So, after a while, it does get to the - I mean, it feels like you are being squeezed, and you do say, "When is it all going to be over? When do I get a break? When?" It is. It does feel tough.
And I think what gives me hope is the fact that thank god my children haven't been touched by this disease. I mean, they have been, but not directly by it. And it's just hard because I have to do, what it takes, to protect them.
But that also means that I can't go out, and get a job, and physically be out there. I have to find a job that allows me to stay home with my kids so that I don't bring this disease, this virus back to them.
It - yes, you do get to the point where you just feel like, "OK, when are we going to get a break?"
LEMON: Yes.
SALINAS: "When?"
LEMON: I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. If I was there, I would hug you. But I'm just - I don't even know what to say.
But I appreciate you coming on, and telling your story. I wish I had more time to spend with you. You take care. God bless you. And hopefully, in the New Year, things will be much better, OK? Take care of yourself. Thank you so much.
SALINAS: Thank you. Thank you.
LEMON: Thank you.
SALINAS: I appreciate it. God bless you.
LEMON: God bless you.
So, folks in Washington, lawmakers, if you are watching this, at home, come on!
We'll be back. We'll be right back.
[21:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK. You must watch this. New tonight, secretly-recorded audio of first lady Melania Trump saying she doesn't care about being in magazines, just as the President lashes out, over it, online.
The President slamming the fashion press for allegedly keeping the first lady off magazine covers, He called Melania Trump, "The greatest of all time."
The new audio, tonight, coming from former friend and aide, of the first lady, and that's Stephanie Winston Wolkoff. Wolkoff published a tell-all book, earlier this year, about working for Melania Trump, and on the Trump Inauguration, in 2017. She was fired in February of 2018.
And she joins me now.
She's the Author, by the way of, "Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady."
So happy you could be on. Thank you so much. Really appreciate it, Stephanie. Good to see you.
STEPHANIE WINSTON WOLKOFF, AUTHOR, "MELANIA AND ME": Good to see you, too. And thank you for having me, Don.
LEMON: You have provided new audio that you recorded from a conversation with the first lady, Melania Trump, in the spring of 2018, about her press coverage. Let's listen to it, and then we'll talk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELANIA TRUMP, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm glad I, you know, when I, Vogue said like "Oh, we want to do a profile." Profile? F you profile. I don't need profile.
WOLKOFF: Remember, oh my god, I remember, I remember that.
TRUMP: Oh my god. Oh, you know, they come back. They came back, after like two months ago, they came back.
WOLKOFF: Oh, they did?
[21:45:00]
TRUMP: Yes, what I need another profile? It, it might be a cover, I'm like "Might be a cover?" I don't need, I don't give a (bleep) about Vogue and any magazine. I have, I have other stuff that they want to do or other magazine. I'm like "For what, what, what I will do for?"
WOLKOFF: No.
TRUMP: Another photo shoot? Go and Getty Images and get the pictures, and you will see me. OK? Seriously?
WOLKOFF: You're not the September cover?
TRUMP: Are you kidding me? No way.
WOLKOFF: Could you imagine if you were?
TRUMP: No way.
WOLKOFF: That would have been--
TRUMP: Yes. But they would never do it.
WOLKOFF: I know.
TRUMP: They would never do it. No way. No way. All these people they are so mad. They are so - they are so, you know some people they say like, "Well, they're jealous. They want to be you." They - they cannot believe they're all these designers that they, you know, they say "Oh, we will never dress her" like it's almost like I need their help. You understand?
WOLKOFF: Right.
TRUMP: I'm doing so much important - more important stuff. It's, you know, that's why it's like, do I care? I don't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So, the President and a lot of the MAGAsphere have been up in arms about Melania not being on the covers of magazine. Is she really - she really unfazed by it? Is it partially her fault, in some way, I don't know the answer, that's why I'm asking, that she hasn't been on these covers?
WOLKOFF: No, Don, and I think the importance of sharing this audio was to share with everyone that it's really Donald who is more concerned that Melania is not on the covers of these magazines.
LEMON: Right.
WOLKOFF: Because Melania was very realistic and upfront about the fact that the fashion entertainment industry was not supporting the Trumps from the very beginning. And, for Donald, having Melania on the cover of Vogue, originally, legitimized Donald. It made Melania a cover model.
And I think Donald now, more than ever, needs for something to make him feel that his brand is still worth what it was then, because he was able to talk about how beautiful and wonderful Melania is, which she is.
But Melania knew the difference between, going in to the White House, as the first lady, married to the 45th President of the United States of America, versus being just Melania Trump.
LEMON: Uh-huh. OK. I get what you are saying. It's more - it's him. It's not her.
WOLKOFF: He is.
LEMON: He cared about it. She really doesn't. And she understands, when you are the first lady, and if you're married to the President, a fashion cover or whatever--
WOLKOFF: No, this President.
LEMON: This President.
WOLKOFF: If you are married to this President, Don.
LEMON: Got it. Got it. Got it.
WOLKOFF: Very different.
LEMON: So, listen, we asked for a statement from the first lady, but haven't heard back.
In her previous statement, the first lady's Chief of Staff blasted you for recording Melania, saying, "Secretly taping the first lady and willfully breaking an NDA to publish a salacious book is a clear attempt at relevance," and goes on from there.
The Justice Department is suing you for breach of confidentiality. What do you expect to happen in this case?
WOLKOFF: Well, we have already filed a - to dismiss the case. It's really meritless. And it really is the Department of Justice working, on behalf of Donald and Melania, as their own personal lawyers, as opposed to the country's. So I'm really not that worried about it.
LEMON: Yes.
WOLKOFF: And I didn't break my NDA. So, it's complicated, but it's not worried.
LEMON: Let me ask you about what's - apparently what's going on. And you may have some insight into this.
Sources tell CNN that the President was in a foul mood over renovations at Mar-a-Lago, at the resort there, in Palm Beach, not happy with changes made at Camp David, both overseen by Melania.
Have you seen that kind of thing before in their relationship?
WOLKOFF: I did. When I was - right after we had finished the Presidential Inauguration, I had gone to the White House with Melania. And I was there, while she was in New York, overseeing some of the renovations being done, in the East Wing, as well as in the residence.
And there were many things that Donald disagreed on. Donald likes a darker, deeper brown. Melania likes a softer, cleaner white. So, there are definitely things that, you know, Melania is more - looking towards more of a modern feel. Donald is still into his gold and gilded look. And it's definitely had it's - played a role within their relationship.
We were going to - Melania and I were going to be working on the Oval Office together. That got discarded. Donald has his own taste. But he is involved in every single decision, down to the table clothes, of the planning of the Inauguration.
LEMON: Well, Stephanie, it's been a pleasure to have you on. I'm sorry our time is short, because we have so much going on. But we will have you back.
[21:50:00]
It's fascinating to get some insight on the first lady, and to see who actually cares about what, that it's actually the President who cares more about her being on magazine covers than she does. Thank you so much. You have a happy New Year. Yes.
WOLKOFF: Thank you so much, Don.
LEMON: And the book is called Melania--
WOLKOFF: And you too, happy New Year.
LEMON: I mean let's put the book out. There it is, "Melania and Me." Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, we really appreciate it. "The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady."
We'll see you soon.
WOLKOFF: Thank you.
LEMON: Excuse me. The former President Barack Obama releasing an ad for Jon Ossoff, President Trump and Joe Biden planning rallies, less than a week to Georgia's runoffs, and the gloves are off.
We're live there. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: So, let's talk about this Georgia runoff election. Just days away, and according to the Georgia Secretary of State, over 2.5 million votes have already been cast. Can you imagine? The runoffs will decide who controls the Senate.
CNN's Senior National Correspondent Kyung Lah joins me now from Atlanta. Atlanta has been really at the center of every - all the big election news.
Kyung, good to see you. So early turnout numbers--
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's been hot, Don. LEMON: --I mean it's crazy. Democrats are bringing out the big guns, campaigning hard to turn out the minority vote. Where was the action today, Kyung?
LAH: Well, Jon Ossoff today was out targeting that minority vote that you're talking about. He was at a "Get out the vote" event, targeting Latinos. Tomorrow, he's going to be focusing on Asian-Americans.
But throughout his campaign, throughout Reverend Warnock's campaign, the emphasis has been on Black voters, an absolutely crucial electorate here. If they want to flip those two seats in the U.S. Senate, control then, of the U.S. Senate, would go to the Democrats.
And speaking directly, delivering the closing message is a potent voice for the Democrats, former President Barack Obama.
LEMON: So Kyung, listen, the stakes - the stakes cannot be bigger for these runoffs. But President Trump isn't making it any easier for his own Party.
He's tweeting lies about election loss, repeatedly attacking Georgia's Republican Governor, I mean, telling him he needs to step down. Twitter was going, you know, is the Twitterverse is going on, well he was on Twitter, and the Twitterverse went crazy about it. But what is happening here?
LAH: OK. So, it's been a theme, throughout all of this, Don. And Twitter certainly was going off today about it. President Trump asked the Republican Governor of the State to step down. And this is all about--
LEMON: And he did it on Twitter. That's why it was going crazy.
LAH: --President Trump's anger at losing this - yes. And this they were - this is because he lost the state of Georgia to Joe Biden. He wants Kemp to go away.
The Governor then assembled reporters, at the State Capitol, basically to say "Obviously, I'm not going to do that." And he urged Republicans to essentially ignore the President's tweets, and to focus on trying to win these runoffs.
LEMON: Well, Kyung, you got your work cut out for you there. So be safe. Again, you're at the center of the action. I appreciate it.
LAH: OK.
LEMON: Kyung Lah in Atlanta.
[21:55:00]
So listen, I just want to say the--
LAH: You bet.
LEMON: --we finally did. We heard back from the first lady at the White House. They did not - they chose not to issue any further statements. So, the original one that we mentioned in our - in our piece, that's the one they're going to stick with. We did hear back from them. So, thank you for responding, at least in some way.
Republican Senator Josh Hawley says that he'll object to the Electoral College results. Why? Probably not because he actually cares about your vote. My take is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TEXT: BREAKING NEWS.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: This is CNN TONIGHT. I am Don Lemon. We have breaking news.
This country hits a record number of COVID-19 hospitalizations for the third day in a row, more than 125,000 people. That as the CDC now projects there could be 424,000 Americans dead from the Coronavirus by January 23rd.
Imagine that! I want you to think about that just for a minute. It's not just a number. We're talking about 425,000 Americans, who did not have to die.
Think of it this way. That's more than 142 times the number of people who died on 9/11. More than 142 times the number of people who died on 9/11. I had to check my math more than once because it seemed impossible, but it's true, the equivalent of 142 9/11s.
This virus is killing us, killing us by the thousands and thousands.
