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Don Lemon Tonight

GOP Sen. Hawley Will Object To Electoral College Certification; Colorado & California Officials Say They've Found Cases Of U.K. Coronavirus Variant; Trump To Return To Washington Early Ahead Of GOP Plan To Disrupt Certification Of Biden's Win; Ossoff Makes His Case To The Fox News Audience; Manhattan D.A. Investigating After Video Shows Woman Confronting Black Teen, Falsely Claiming He Stole Her iPhone. Aired 10-11p ET

Aired December 30, 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]

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: I had to check my math more than once because it seemed impossible but it's true. The equivalent of 140 to 9/11.

This virus is killing us, killing us by the thousands and thousands. And the hard truth is, we aren't vaccinating nearly enough people to stop this tragedy. More than 2.7 million Americans have gotten shots in the arm so far. That works out to a daily rate of 53 shots per 100,000 people. But we're getting vaccinated by countries like Israel, with 608 per 100,000. Bahrain with 263, the UK with 60. Our vaccine effort is just not good enough. And Americans are paying the price right now.

Look at the line at this food bank in Austin, Texas this morning, all those people waiting and waiting to get two boxes of food just to feed their families. And those $2,000 stimulus checks that could help them. Bear a casualty of the standoff on Capitol Hill. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell making it clear his priority is to placate the President, while doing everything he can to ensure the measure doesn't actually come up for a vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): The Senate is not going to split apart the three issues that President Trump linked together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, never mind, those desperately needed checks. We'll just tack on the President's grudge match with Twitter and his false claims of voter fraud, false claims of voter fraud. And we'll just let the bill die. And what is the President doing? What is he doing? Well, Americans are suffering.

There, there you go. Right there. Exactly what you knew he'd be doing and that is golfing, spending his 313th day at one of his golf clubs since he took office. Trump supporters how do you justify that? Republican lawmakers how do you justify that? Come on. While he is playing his allies are hard at work, the Senate Senator Josh Hawley announcing he is going to object to the electoral college results next week, signing on to the President's doomed last ditch attempt to at a coup really. It's nothing but a big dumb show. That's all it is a big reality TV show for all of them. They think it's a game because again, no game. Big reality TV show for an audience of one at the White House or on a golf course I should say.

The proof we're learning tonight the current President is returning to Washington. He's going to do it early. Which means he'll be in town for that big dumb show. Trump now expected to leave Palm Beach before his annual New Year's Eve party, even though guests had already gathered at Mar-a-Lago and were told Trump would be partying with them, partying. That's according to three sources. Looks like he can't resist passing up a ritzy party filled with sycophants for is even bigger show.

Conservative lawyer George Conway, former White House counselor, Kellyanne Conway's husband, outraged tonight, by the game playing on Capitol Hill. And warning, it is very dangerous to our democracy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE CONWAY, CONSERVATIVE LAWYER: What we're seeing here is a never ending downward spiral into delusion and unreality and into just lies about the integrity of our democracy. And that is profoundly dangerous. These individuals are seeking to advance their own political careers. And do so at the at the expense of trust in our democracy. They're fomenting these lies fomenting these fears of an illegitimate election, and they're doing so for their own political benefit. And it's destructive of democracy. It's horrible. And nobody's ever done this before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. So it's obvious right? That it's Senator Hawley's motives are pretty transparent. He's perfectly willing to ride the President's Crazy Train all the way to the end of the line. If it means he can appeal to loyal Trump fans, positioning himself for a White House run. Good luck with that.

But the fact is, all these people think that they can go on Fox News and all of a sudden that they're like, famous or whatever, come on, people. But really. The fact is, for all this President's rantings and ravings about voter fraud, he and his team of clowns have turned up absolutely nothing. nada, zilch, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing. Again and again and again. It's just -- it's maddening.

[22:05:02]

Members of the President's own party, the White House insiders, the courts, they've all said it is over. There was no fraud that Joe Biden won. So let's remember this, OK. This president's handpick now former Attorney General, said that there was no evidence of fraud that would have changed the election results. Refuse the President's or loser demands for special counsel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM BARR, FMR ATTORNEY GENERAL: If I thought a special counsel at this stage was the right tool, and was appropriate I would do I would name one, but I haven't and I'm not going to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So Mitch McConnell waited six weeks but finally acknowledged, Biden's win.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCONNELL: The Electoral College has spoken. So today, I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The Supreme Court throughout election cases twice, twice in one week. The agencies charged with protecting our election called it the most secure in American history. Judges all across this country have thrown out cases, case after case after case. A Trump appointed federal appeals court judge throwing out a case in Pennsylvania writing this, charges requires specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here. Calling an election unfair does not make it so. Wow. Logic. It's crazy.

Well, this is a president who piled crazy on top of crazy, on top of crazy, on top of crazy. If you got the first three years of his term were bad. This year, really took the cake reach new lows, a defeated, impeached, one term President still refusing to admit that he's a loser. That he lost. Still pretending that he can just tweet away his loss to Joe Biden. And with 2020, just about in the rearview mirror, let's look back at some of the best of the worst moments of the insane reality show of the final year of this President's disastrous term. I should say that in all of the insane people who are part of the Insane Clown Posse. Because there were so many of them, we actually need reminding, reminding. This is a president who is whose dereliction of duty left Americans unprotected from a deadly pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: When you have 15 people, and the 15, within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero. That's a pretty good job.

We've done every one of these doctors that have you know so much about this. Maybe I have a natural ability, maybe I shouldn't have done that instead of running for president.

I said, supposing you brought the light inside the body you can which you can do either through the skin or in some other way. And I think you said you're going to test that too. Sounds interesting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

TRUMP: Right? And then I see the disinfectant but knocks it out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or, or almost a cleaning because you see it gets in the lungs?

So I said to my people slow the testing down, please.

They are dying. That's true. And you have -- it is what it is.

That's all I had turned on television, COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID. A plane goes down. Five hundred people that they don't talk about it. COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID. By the way, on November 4, you won't hear about it anyway.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Hindsight is 2020. Right? 2020 minutes. Think all that you just heard that was rearview mirror in liquid turned up? Nothing. That one thing he said there was accurate. Not one thing. Not one thing. Trump supporters, whether you're watching now you're going to see this on spread on social media online. Just looking at the tape, not one thing. You got 15 people soon it's going to be over that going to talk about it after November 4. You could inject it. They said no, that's not what he said. That's what he said. Play the sound bite. None of it was accurate. None of it was intelligent. Just dumb, making up stuff. So he can pull a grift con you. Did you fall for it? This is a president who had peaceful protesters gassed. So he could hold up -- hold a photoshoot up and shoot whatever on the steps of a church.

(voice-over): There it is Bible. I don't know. Maybe upside down? Who knows? Brand new.

[22:10:02]

President who, on the debate stage refused to condemn the far right wing proud boys.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: What do you want to call them? Give me a name, give me a name --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: White supremacist and white --

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Proud boys, stand back and stand by.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: A president who refuse to commit to a peaceful transfer of power.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you commit to making sure that there is a peaceful transfer of power after the election. TRUMP: Go and have to see what happens. Get rid of the ballots, and you'll have a very transfer -- have a very peaceful, there won't be transferred. Frankly, there'll be a continuation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Get rid of the ballots. Now, that sounds like election fraud, because that's what it is. Projection. Who's committing the fraud, or trying to?

A president who on election night wanted ballots to go uncounted and insisted against all the facts and evidence that he'd won.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We want all voting to stop. We don't want them to find any ballots at 4:00 in the morning and add them to the list. OK. It's a very sad, it's a very sad moment. To me, there's a very sad moment. And we will win this. And as far as I'm concerned, we already have one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Done, yes, you won. Believe -- keep believing that? Yes. See the moving trucks outside of the house and what are you going to do? Got to go.

President who defended his mental fitness to hold office by praising his own ability to recall five words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: So it's person, woman, man, camera, TV. OK, that's very good. If you get it in order, you get extra points. If you're -- OK, they're always asking you other questions. Other questions? And then 10 minutes, 15, 20 minutes later say, remember the first question, not the first but the 10th question. Give us that again. Can you do that again, and you go person, woman, man, camera TV. If you get it in order, you get extra points. He said, nobody gets in an order. But then when you go back about 20, 25 minutes later, and they say go back to that, but they don't tell you this. Go back to that question. And repeat them. Can you do it and you go, person, woman, man, camera TV. They say? That's amazing. How did you do that? I do because I have like, a good memory because I'm cognitively there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So cringey. Now that would be Netflix. There you go. That's a great comedy. You could imagine all the program you could have with just that. Yes, cognitively there. What a year. It is my last show of the -- of this year for what I'm doing now. No, we'll see you on New Year's Eve. But seriously, there's a lot of terrible things happening but what a year. Think about what this man has done in the last year since we've been in this pandemic. What a presidency the last four years. What a presidency. One that ends in just 21 days. We'll talk about all the rest after the break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:17:01]

LEMON: So, the coronavirus pandemic is spiraling out of control in this country. Tonight more than 125,000 Americans are hospitalized with a virus that's unfortunately a new record. The CDC is now predicting another 82,000 COVID deaths in just the next few weeks. So I want you to keep in mind, we've already lost more than 342,000 people since the pandemic began. And we are learning that the new highly contagious COVID variant has been identified in California and in Colorado.

So let's go to Colorado right now and talk to (INAUDIBLE) Democratic Governor Jared Polis. Good evening, sir. Good to see you. How are you and your and your husband doing since this? Because you both get down with it right.

GOV. JARED POLIS (D-CO): Thanks, Don. Yes, we're fully recovered. I had an easier time of it. Marlon spent two nights in the hospital but we're all fully recovered. We have the blessing of health. And like everybody, I think we're all ready to move on to the next year. But 2020 still wants to leave us with a new potentially more contagious variant.

LEMON: And that's what I want to talk to you about. So I'm glad we got that out of the way because I know you're now you're looking to protect the people so that they don't end up getting the virus if it, you know, if it can be prevented. So, this new coronavirus variant in your state is even more contagious. How are you going to handle a potential surge? Because hot surge because hospitals already packed haven't even seen the Christmas bike yet, Governor?

POLIS: Well, look, this very unlikely exists in many states, particularly states that had a lot of travel with England, like in Mid-Atlantic New England region. Colorado, scientists were the first to find the variant in somebody in Colorado. We know it's not widespread yet here, because we've looked through a number of different RNA sets. And this is the only case we found. But what happened in England, Don is because this variant appears to be more contagious and essentially overtook the other variants of the virus and became the predominant strain in southwest England.

And so, that's what we're, you know, any it's all contagious on any version is viruses contagious. So, it's really the same precautions, avoid socializing with people outside your home, wear a mask, keep six feet from others.

LEMON: So, Governor, Colorado isn't getting all the vaccine doses that you were promised. What's your reaction to President Trump blaming you, your fellow governors for the lagging distribution?

POLIS: Well, what if you give us more we're happy to distribute more. We set down the rule in Colorado, every provider hospital Community Health Clinic we work with has to use and deploy into folks arms within 72 hours every day we give them when we reassign it to someone who will. So yes, we're ready to deploy more. Go please send it, we're ready to go.

LEMON: The most important thing you need from the incoming Biden administration to help you handle this worsening crisis,

POLIS: I would say the proper use of the soapbox rather than a president that disregards public health advice, a president who encouraged our fellow Americans to save lives by wearing a mask and avoiding socializing with others outside your household. And of course, we'd love assistance with continued work around vaccine delivery and assistance for the states to successfully continue our testing programs and our vaccination programs.

[22:20:18]

LEMON: So, the people in your state as I understand infected with this COVID strain. Our National Guard members who were helping at a nursing home. Should -- Governor should service members assisting with the COVID crisis be a priority for vaccines?

POLIS: Absolutely. I think I speak for all the governors when I express intense appreciation for the work of our guardsmen and guards, women. I mean, they've done an amazing job standing up testing centers, logistical support. In Colorado, we even had our three largest wildfires in the history of our state this summer, the guardsmen helped with evacuations and other work supporting the firemen and first responders. So, they're -- we're very grateful for the work that they do every day. And yes, it was a member of the National Guard that had that first case of that variant.

To be clear, the variant is not more dangerous to one's health. It is what everything we know about it from the UK, same hospitalization rates and fatality rates. It is more contagious wishes if it spreads, the more people could lead to more hospitalizations and deaths.

LEMON: I've got to get your take on what's happening in Washington with this the stimulus drama that's going on right now. Leader McConnell was basically he's basically closed the door for increasing checks to $2,000. What does this mean for all the people who are struggling all over the country, but in your state, you're the governor of Colorado, what does this mean for folks?

POLIS: It's a great shame. I hope they find a way and if they want to, you know, narrow the group a little do it for anybody who lost employment or lost income, and last year, that's fine, get the price tag down compromise. That's what we do come up with something. So we can get out that $2,000 for the people who need it the most, the people who cut their hours, lost their jobs, the $600, which is arriving soon as appreciated, of course, it helps our state did $375 on top of that, but there's a lot of folks across the entire country that can really use that help right now. And I really call upon Mitch McConnell to seek a compromise with his Republican and Democratic colleagues.

LEMON: We know it's a very busy time, and you're dealing with the folks in your state and trying to handle the business of the people in your state. So we appreciate you joining taking the time to join us. Thank you so much. Happy New Year to you.

POLIS: Always a pleasure, Don, happy New Year.

LEMON: The President has lost every argument so far. He's proved -- he's provided no proof for anything. But he just won't stop shouting fraud, and it is dividing his own party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, the one thing you learn now is, loyalty is one way with President Trump. You know if you have these leaders that have done a lot for Donald Trump, and they don't follow through on this, then he'll throw him under the bus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:26:18]

LEMON: So, President Trump getting some help with his latest bogus attempt to overturn the election that he lost fair and square for considered Josh Hawley says that he'll challenge the President's re- election results next week in Congress. But contrary to what the President may tweet. The stop won't prevent Joe Biden from becoming the next president on January 20th.

So, joining me now CNN's White House correspondent Mr. John Harwood, and former adviser to George W. Bush and John McCain is Mark McKinnon. Thank you, sir. He's such gentlemen. Tipping your hat. Good to see you.

John, no tip of the hat. What do you -- no, oh. Well, next time?

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I got no hat.

LEMON: I know, I looked at this screen -- monitor. You don't have it. So let's get to it. So, we're hearing the President Trump John is changing his travel plans because of this last ditch effort to overturn the election results? What do you know about it?

HARWOOD: Look, President Trump is pretty badly wounded right now. He's lost the election. That was a huge blow to him psychologically. He is having difficulty accepting that. So he's holding on to this delusion that he can somehow with the complicity of Republican politicians overturn the results of the election. Can't feel good for him to be having been embarrassed by Joe Biden the election to host that New Year's Eve party. So he's not going to his New Year's Eve party. He's not even happy about the renovations that Melania Trump has overseen to Mar-a-Lago. So, he's getting out of town. White House hasn't officially announced that he could change his mind. But we believe our reporting tells us that he's going to come back tomorrow and try to see what he can get going heading into January 6, when the Electoral College results are going to be certified. That's not in doubt. But the only question is how much of a ruckus and a circus can be kicked up before that happens? LEMON: I got to ask you, because I just getting I just got some stuff regarding another appeal possible appeal to the Supreme Court here. What is it? What are you hearing about that another appeal to Supreme Court this time about Wisconsin's election results contesting trying to get them to overturn Wisconsin's result?

HARWOOD: This is crazy stuff. It's not going anywhere Supreme Court said what they're going to say about this election. They can keep throwing out pieces of paper and challenge different states. But you can tell the way some of the crazier Trump advocates Linwood, the attorney in Georgia is wildly attacking John Roberts, the chief justice and Supreme Court. You can tell that they understand what the what the odds are against them with the Supreme Court, this thing is now going to the Congress on January the 6th, Trump is going to lose again.

Mike Pence is either going to perform that ministerial duty of certifying those results or somebody else will. And Donald Trump's going to leave in three weeks, but he's going to be doing a lot of yelling and kicking and screaming between now and then.

LEMON: Mark what is -- what was Trump's obsession, his supporter's obsession and not just the lawmakers? What's your obsession with using the courts to get to end to be so aggrieved and what is this? I've never seen anything like it --

MARK MCKINNON, FMR ADVISER TO GEORGE W. BUSH & JOHN MCCAIN: Well, it's likely. Well Don, one of the things that -- is first of all, he can't accept losing. It's just not in a psychology. So, he thinks he was robbed and he's thought all along with that the courts all over men including and especially the Supreme Court, are supposed to bend to his political will. He thought that the reason that he got to a point all these people is that they would do what he wanted to under any circumstances. And they didn't have to actually look at the law. They just had to look at Donald Trump and see what he wanted to do, see which way the wind would blow, and that they would respond to genuflect and they didn't.

[22:30:19]

And, you know, to their credit, as I've said before, you know, a lot of Democrats don't like the idea of the Federalist Society, but at least they appointed experienced judges, if they hadn't been there given Donald Trump a list, we'd have Mayor Giuliani and, you know, others on the Supreme Court who would do job Trump's doing a bidding on these court actions to change overturn an election, a poorly held election. So, it really just down it's just a reflection of the notion that he thinks that the court should bend to his will.

LEMON: It's really I mean, when they -- it's really projection in Mark when they talk about snowflakes. Who are the real snowflakes, and all of this? They are the real snowflakes. Because there's so agree they're so put upon it's oh my gosh, I'm so heard of so -- it's really a weird, weird thing that that is happening in this country right now.

After Mark after senator Hawley announced that he's going to object during the Electoral College certification. Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger tweeted this. He says, internal monologue. I want to be president. So I decided to try to get POTUS tweets, POTUS tweets saying I'm great, even though I know this isn't going anywhere. But hey, I'll blame someone else when it fails.

Clearly, this spectacle Mark is all about 2024. But I mean, do you expect other Republicans to follow in Senator Hawley's footsteps?

MCKINNON: Oh, I do. Don. And I think that it's clear and I projected well before the election that if Donald Trump lost, he would run immediately or say he was running for President 2024. Because we know from reporting that Donald Trump never thought he was going to be president. He ran because it because if you want media attention, that's the hottest spotlight in the world run for president. Now, if he's not going to be president, and Joe Biden becomes president, which is going to happen, the next best thing is to run for president and to maintain his stranglehold on the Republican Party and maintain a spotlight when he's attacking Joe Biden everyday, which he will. And so, he's going to maintain that political control of the Republican Party.

Now he may ultimately not run in 2024. So anybody else who's interested in it like Josh Hawley should go make sure genuflect before King Donald to make sure they understand that they pass the loyalty tests away. If and when Don, pulls down the flag and hands and hands it over to somebody else hands up a ton of somebody else's Josh Hawley's first in line.

LEMON: Yes, listen, they're not enough people in this, this big international zoom call that we're having something to bring someone else in. That's former Clinton White House press secretary, Joe Lockhart. He's here too. Joe, good to see you. Welcome. Welcome to the party.

So, Vice President Pence --

JOE LOCKHART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you, thank you.

LEMON: -- will preside over the joint session of Congress next week. Do you think that he'll actually do his job? Or will he do the President's bidding?

LOCKHART: Well, I think he'll do his ceremonial job which is which is only ceremonial which is he'll open the envelope and look at the Oscar say the, you know, the one of the Oscar goes to Joe Biden. That's his only role. Now he may duck out of it because it's politically difficult for him to have someone from the Senate do it. But I think this whole thing is an effort by Donald Trump to delegitimize the presidency of Joe Biden. He's doing everything he can to try to make Joe Biden's job harder. Everything from COVID to, you know, this stuff about voter fraud. And, you know, he just doesn't seem to care. what the consequences of these, you know, of his vindictive, (INAUDIBLE).

LEMON: Yes. Does he think though, it's so transparent. I mean, it makes him -- it makes him look small and petty, Joe and, I mean, it's, he's going out on a bad note, and it's like it I'm embarrassed. I think most people are embarrassed for him, even if he has no shame.

LOCKHART: Well, I think he has a different inner monologue going on, then a lot of the rest of us say --

LEMON: People are laughing at him. Openly laughing at him and mocking him, Joe for this.

LOCKHART: Yes. And there are a lot of people out there who are worshipping him, and that's who he's listening to. You know, he got 74 million votes. You know, he's a classic con man. He doesn't need to con everyone. He just needs to con enough people to get to the next con. And he's done it for the entire administration. Every promise he's made. He didn't build a wall Mexico hasn't paid for. He didn't replace Obamacare, and he didn't deal with COVID. And now we know the vaccine is not getting out. And he's just trying to stay one con ahead.

LEMON: John, Trump clearly views January 6 as a loyalty test for all Republicans, but as we have seen with Georgia's governor, Brian Kemp recently and countless others over the years, it's a one way street for Trump. These people have carried so much water for him. And as soon as you say, one critical word, or you try to stand by the law or do what you're supposed to do, rather than listen to his wackiness, his delusions, he's three turns right on you.

[22:35:28]

HARWOOD: Donald Trump is a an emotional, psychological black hole, he pulls everything in to him. He demands people to do things that ultimately are going to embarrass them, but he's only thinking about what's in it for him. And so, the idea of him sacrificing something to help another person who's been loyal to him, that's not part of his psychological makeup. So yes, Donald Trump goes moment to moment, looking for gratification for himself, and is looking for people who will give it to him. And if they stop giving it to him, he's got no more use for them.

And as a result of that, look at what's happening with Mitch McConnell. Mitch McConnell, deign to recognize reality and say that Joe Biden was the president-elect, Donald Trump is now taking a series of actions from attacking McConnell on Twitter, to this nonsensical 11th hour attempt to get these $2,000 checks. He is doing everything he can to make Mitch McConnell and the Republicans in the Senate look bad. Don't know if that's going to tilt the results of these very, very close runoff elections in Georgia. But because they're very, very close -- very, very close. Just a little bit will help but he's now teed up the framing of the contest. So the Democrats can credibly say, the only reason why you're not getting $2,000 is Mitch McConnell. Mitch McConnell, having struck a deal with Nancy Pelosi and the administration for a $900 billion COVID relief package. Thought he had done what he needed to do to both respond to some degree to the pandemic and take care of the Georgia Senate races. Donald Trump has decided because he's angry at Mitch McConnell to make Mitch McConnell look bad and he's doing it.

LEMON: Well, I mean, look at Bill Barr, what Bill Barr did for him. I mean, he completely spun what was in the Mueller report to help this president. I mean, if we got him out of that hot water, and look what happened.

Mark, I want to play this for you.

MCKINNON: Right.

LEMON: I'm going to get to this the critical race that's happening in Georgia, Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff use an impromptu live interview with Fox News today to make his case. They think they tried to -- they thought they were ambushing him in some way. A pulled a Jedi mind trick and turned it right on and watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON OSSOFF (D-GA) SENATE CANDIDATE: Since we're live on Fox, let me take this opportunity to address directly the Fox audience. We have two United States senators in Georgia, who have blatantly used their offices to enrich themselves. This is beyond partisanship.

We've lost nine rural hospitals in Georgia in 10 years, we can reopen them. We can invest in infrastructure, to build jobs, revitalize our communities, create opportunity, raise the minimum wage so that people doing an honest week's work can not just survive, but can thrive.

I humbly and respectfully request the support of everyone who has tuned in on Fox right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And then he went on to talk about it, according to him that Kelly Loeffler was campaigning with a former member of the Ku Klux Klan live on Fox News. They tried to again say, you know, what about your experience with it? And then I was like, oh, that hurt. What do you think of that move, Mark?

MCKINNON: Oh, man, big kudos to Ossoff for going into the lion's den and backing the lines down. I mean, that's kind of out of the playbook of Mayor Pete. And I love this. I love this from a -- you know, just from a political strategist point of view, Joe, I think you would probably agree. There's a lot of, you know, you may not get a lot of boats going into Fox for a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate. But man, you get points across the board from people watching all over, just for having the courage to go in and speak the truth in a very tough audience. And I think that that says a lot about Ossoff and I think is going to help him in the in the final days here.

LEMON: All right, gentlemen, good to have you on. I really do mean it this time that you know, John, I've told you Happy New Year like 25 times. So I keep thinking I'm not going to see you again. Well happy new year to you gentlemen. You take care of be safe out there. OK. Let's hope 2021 is a lot better.

A black teen accused of stealing a woman's phone. But the thing is, he didn't. And now the DEA is investigating.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:42:43]

LEMON: I just want you to sit and watch this next story. It's disturbing video shows a confrontation, conversation between a woman and a black family inside an upscale New York City hotel happened on Saturday. The woman falsely accused a 14-year-old black teen of stealing her iPhone but the teen's family and the hotel well they call the end result and assault. In a moment I'm going to speak live with the teen's parents and their lawyer. But first I want to bring in Brynn Gingras tonight and she's going to walk us through the video. The accusations in the investigation. She spoke with the woman at the center of the controversy. Brynn?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey Don. Yes, Harrold, a fame trumpeter and jazz musician using his music to show his outrage about what happened to him and his son in the Arlo Hotel in New York City last weekend. Kat Rodriguez, the teens mother says this is a racial and justice issue and how much more terrifying she says this could have been if her son had been alone. The family says the hotel and its manager could have acted faster to stop what they call an assault.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAT RODRIGUEZ, MOTHER OF FALSELY ACCUSED TEEN: He empowered that woman to assault my son and is equally to blame for this injustice.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKERS: That's right, that's right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on Kat.

RODRIGUEZ: He chose to try and prove that he was innocent instead of using his hospitality tools (INAUDIBLE) his side of the story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRAS: The hotel said it could have done more to deescalate the situation and said in a statement to CNN quote, we're deeply disheartened about the recent incident of baseless accusations prejudice and assault against an innocent guest of Arlo Hotel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Show me this is my phone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Show me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't have to explain (INAUDIBE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) that's mine (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you kidding me? You feel like there's only one iPhone made in the world?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, OK then show me that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. You get a life over there --

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You better go use fine Find My iPhone. Go do that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, Find My iPhone is on that iPhone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, you can't No.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't care. This is my son.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm trying to help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, but you're not helping. Men, I am disrespectful.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I'm trying to set up (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GINGRAS: A CNN was the first to speak to this woman seen on the now viral cell phone video accusing the teenager of stealing her cell phone. And then the 20 minute phone interview, she denies attacking anyone and make claims that she was assaulted herself an accusation the family denies.

[22:45:04]

The 22-year-old woman also told me before the incident with the Harrolds, she confronted someone else and insisted they quote empty their pockets. She claims she also demanded the hotel show her the security video. The Harrolds, their attorney and Reverend Al Sharpton planned to meet with the Manhattan district attorney who is investigating the case. And the family demands that charges be filed. The NYPD says as of now the case is not being looked at as a bias incident and detectives are working to speak with the woman.

A top NYPD brass as they are considering this crime as a possible assault or grand larceny or attempted robbery. And when I asked the woman the possibility of facing charges how she feels about that, she said quote, that's not who I am. I actually tried very hard to make sure that I'm always doing the right thing. Now, it is important to note Don that when I spoke to her she did speak at times a radically but she did say she was willing to talk to the family about what happened. Don.

LEMON: We'll see. Thank you, Brynn. I appreciate that.

With me now as Keyon Harrold to -- excuse me Keyon Harold Jr.'s parents, Keyon Sr. and Kat Rodriguez. Also their lawyer, civil rights attorney, Benjamin Crump.

Thank you guys for doing this. I'm so sorry that this happened to your son. 14 years old, 14 years old. How are you doing? How is he doing?

RODRIGUEZ: We were very, we're very hurt. We are disappointed. He is he traumatized and confused about why this happened to him. And speechless sometimes like --

KEYON HARROLD, FATHER OF FALSELY ACCUSED TEEN: We're trying to make sense of it, because it should never happen. From which I, I tried to. I literally tried every form of communication to get to them, you know. I let him know that this is not your phone is not your property. You know, I tried to literally walk away, I tried everything, but it was, you know, just relentless. Unfortunately --

LEMON: What was going through your head because, you know, this happens to not the exact same thing, but similar situations, to people of color all the time? And people don't understand why didn't you just show me for one? Why do I have to show you my phone because you have an issue. I don't have an issue. What was the entitlement of it all? What were you thinking as this was happening Keyon?

HARROLD: What I was thinking was, it's the same thing has been going on for centuries. Just the idea of Show me your papers, show me your papers, boy. And that's just not OK. I wanted to stay in a nice place with my son and wanted to just go down and enjoy some lunch. But the idea that someone felt that they had authority over me, over my son, that they can tell him what to do, even though they didn't pay for his property. I look at it like -- you can't just walk up to someone and say, give me your bank account because I lost mine. It's just ridiculous.

LEMON: But the NYPD Keyon says they're not looking at this as a bias incident.

HARROLD: Well, I mean, perspective, I mean, ultimately, perspective. Like I said, the idea the idea of somebody believing somebody else, just because it's not OK. And the idea of the manager, believing. First of all, this person wasn't even a guest. We were guests, and my son was literally just trying to be a kid and was assaulted, and was --

RODRIGEUZ: Tackled.

HARROLD: -- tackled and just the whole nine (ph). I mean --

LEMON: She's saying that she was assaulted yelling that, you know, what do you say to that?

HARROLD: That's unfortunately, you know --

LEMON: Denying your son. That tonight his attack is not saying that she was assaulted.

HARROLD: That's not true. And, I don't have the full video, the hotel has the full video. And I'll just say that my version of the video is probably the very, very, very GGG, PG version of what happened.

LEMON: Well. Ben, I can see you want to get in. What did you want to say?

BENJAMIN CRUMP, FAMILY'S ATTORNEY: Yes, this is racial profiling one on one Don. These Karen's falsely accuse young black people of heinous things that are not true. By the way Don, her phone was returned by the Uber driver to the hotel. So it was a complete false accusation. And the fact that the hotel manager did not condemn the racial profiling, in many ways, became part of it when he said, well give me your phone as if we're guilty until we're proven innocent and that is not acceptable.

[22:50:01]

And the Manhattan district attorney told us today that the video is way worse on the hotel security that she attacked this kid. She tackled him. She scratched and clawed and fought with his father and say, you are not going to leave this hotel until you give me that phone.

LEMON: Well, Keyon, she said she did it to other people too. Is that did you see that Keyon?

HARROLD: I did. She said -- she did it to other people -- when I walk down stairs --

LEMON: (INAUDIBLE) of other people?

RODRIGUEZ: Well, no, well, but no --

HARROLD: I'm trying --

RODRIGUEZ: Sorry.

HARROLD: What the woman --

LEMON: The woman said that she wasn't just your son that she was, you know, she did it to other people as well. So, I don't know if you happen to see that.

RODRIGUEZ: If that's the case, I'm not sure why the hotel and escort or deescalate the situation then.

HARROLD: And that's the problem. The --

RODRIGUEZ: That's ridiculous.

HARROLD: -- we walk downstairs, there was a guy, I'm not going to say what he looked like. But there was a guy who was basically had been told to -- basically empty his bags, empty his pockets. We walked in, but when my son and I came out of the elevator, literally, it was like, she saw blood and she, you know, sank right into him and told him give me that phone. That's, you know, that's my phone. You know, take off the case, you'll see that it's mine. It's like just ridiculous.

LEMON: So Kat, you obviously thought that they should have handled this different the hotel? HARROLD: If she says she was doing it to other guests, and this kind of establishment something's severely wrong with --

RODRIGUEZ: With the hotel.

HARROLD: -- the management with the security. And you know, I mean, it just wasn't OK.

LEMON: Well, let me (INAUDIBLE) about you. Because I think they should know Keyon about you and your family and not, you know, not that this should but about the people who are on your screen right now. Keyon is a prominent jazz musician. Work with some of the biggest names out there (INAUDIBLE), Jay-Z, Beyonce, Mary J. Blige. His wife is just as successful. I don't have to read your resume. Successful black folks. Do you -- were you -- obviously be surprised by this? But was it shocking to you thinking considering what happened? I mean, I don't really know the question to ask you right now.

HARROLD: Don, I'm still in shock. I mean, what these last couple of days and been like, you know, I'm still in shock. Because it's not supposed to happen. You know, as, as black people as black men, we see it happen all the time. And it's and -- the easy, the easy question that people ask is why didn't you just short up your cell phone. But the issue is that if I were a white guy, nobody would be asking me to show my cell phone, people would just believe that, you know, oh, I must have the wrong guy. But with me with my son, oh, that might mine or show me your papers. And the fact that it just really is at the core of dignity (INAUDIBLE) for my son.

LEMON: (INAUDIBLE) I'm sorry.

HARROLD: I want my son to be a home man. I want him to have his dignity. I don't want people to just anytime they get ready, be able to just, you know, shut him down and make him do things he deserves respect as well. And he got nothing from the management or the young lady who basically should have been dealt with by the management if she was a problem. They should have been able to take care of that.

LEMON: Yes. Many times people who say that they're victims aren't the victims. And we know that.

RODRIGUEZ: Right.

LEMON: Listen, Kat, I got to go. I know you want to weigh in, but I have to run it. Obviously, we have a time limit.

RODRIGUEZ: No worries.

LEMON: I know you want to weigh in. Look. So Mike Walker's uses up those are my glasses and you know that yours? Do you really have to give it to them? Or walks up to your car and says you drive in my car? Do you really have to show them proof? That is your car? I mean, where does this stuff? Come on y'all? You know, stop saying, why didn't you show the phone? We don't -- come on. Happy New Year. I hope that's possible. All right. And my regards to your son you guys be well, thanks. We'll be right back.

HARROLD: Thank you Don.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:00:00]