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Legendary "Jeopardy!" Host, Alex Trebek Dies At 80; First Lady Melania Trump Among Inner Circle Urging Trump To Accept Loss; Former President George W. Bush Congratulates Joe Biden And Kamala Harris; U.S. Hits Highest Daily New Case Count Since Pandemic Began; Interview With Representative-Elect Nikema Williams (D-GA) On Senate Runoffs; Trump's Decisions That Culminated In Loss To Biden. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired November 08, 2020 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:11]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin today with some sad news from the entertainment world. Longtime "Jeopardy" host Alex Trebek has died at the age of 80. He revealed his battle with pancreatic cancer last year.

Our Stephanie Elam looks back on his indelible legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX TREBEK, HOST, "JEOPARDY!": This van's "Monster" album included "Crush with Eyeliner." REM.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (VOICE-OVER): "Jeopardy!'s" Alex Trebek had all the answers on the popular gameshow. The revamped version of "Jeopardy!" was an instant hit when it debuted in 1984. With its distinctive answer and question format, the syndicated game show made the Canadian-born Trebek a star.

TREBEK: Luck plays a very important part in success in television. If you're lucky enough to wind up on a show that the people take to heart, then you're set.

ELAM: The long-running game show earned him five-time Daytime Emmy Awards and a Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Game Show Host from the Television Academy.

TREBEK: Being nominated is nice. You don't get too excited about it, but I'll tell you something, if I were not nominated I think I'd be disappointed, I'd be sad. Because you work hard, you do your best, you think you're doing quality work, and you want to know that people recognize you for that.

ELAM: "Jeopardy!" wasn't his only gig. The husband and father of two also hosted the National Geography Bee for 25 years.

TREBEK: A city that is divided by a river of the same name.

ELAM: The talented host became a U.S. citizen in 1998 and was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame the following year.

TREBEK: I am truly honored, I don't feel I deserve it, but there are a lot of other things in my life that I've had that I didn't deserve and I've enjoyed, and suffered with.

ELAM: In the middle of "Jeopardy!'s" 18th season, Trebek made headlines when he shaved his signature mustache. He told Larry King it was all on a whim.

TREBEK: I just walked into the makeup room and I said, give me the hair clippers. And I just went, zip, turned it right off, just to see what it would look like on camera. The audience reacted pretty favorably. When I went home however, my wife and my two kids did not even notice.

ELAM: Family and fans both took notice when Trebek suffered through some health scares. There were two mild heart attacks. One in 2007 and another one five years later. In 2017, surgeons removed blood clots from his brain, and then in 2019, this announcement to fans.

TREBEK: This week I was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. Now normally the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I'm going to fight this.

ELAM: Trebek often gave back to his community and was a strong supporter for charity such as World Vision, the USO and the National Geographic Education Foundation. The affable host was grateful for his rich television career and kept it all in perspective.

TREBEK: When I leave, somebody younger will be doing the show and it'll carry on. Shows have a life that is independent of their hosts. That doesn't mean that they won't miss the host, but they'll develop an allegiance to the new guy. And that's the way it should be because it's a quality program.

ELAM: And even though the show must go on, Alex Trebek will be forever remembered as the irreplaceable host of "Jeopardy!"

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Such a fixture of American television these past few decades.

Let's bring in now Brian Stelter, CNN's chief media correspondent and anchor of "RELIABLE SOURCES."

So, Brian, let me get your reaction, with so many others who are thinking and feeling with this news.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Trebek was one of a kind. The greatest game show host of his generation. And this is a loss that tens of millions of viewers are going to feel because "Jeopardy!" has been for decades one of the most popular programs on all of American television. So much has changed in TV, but "Jeopardy!" didn't change. Trebek didn't change.

He was this incredible, strong, confident presence. This man who was the host to knew it all, the host with all the answers. You know, "Jeopardy!" was always fun to watch. I grew up watching "Jeopardy!" like so many people. It was always fun to watch but it was also about something bigger. The show is about something bigger. It's about facts. It's about truth.

You know, this is a show, it's about truth. It believes in the idea of truth. And you know, you always watched "Jeopardy!" and you came away smarter thanks to Alex Trebek. He made television smarter and he made America better for that reason.

WHITFIELD: Yes, certainly that was the centerpiece knowledge is indeed power. And just listening to, you know, Stephanie Elam's piece there where he is, you know, reflecting on the show's identity, the show's identity will still be there.

[13:05:07]

It will be adaptive with a new host, but it does seem like it will be hard to envision anyone else being able to fill the shoes because he is the identity of that show.

STELTER: Yes, you know what, the show has been in production recently. They've been taping new episodes. He went back to work with more social distance this fall and was taping episodes even while, you know, battling pancreatic cancer. He lived longer than many people including members of the production crew expected given his diagnosis in 2019. And he said in interviews is that his cancer diagnosis did give him a different perspective on life.

He also wrote a memoir. It came out over the summer. He said he thought of himself as host as a visiting relative in people's home, who was a comforting and reassuring presence. And he certainly was. He talked in the interview it was about the importance of treating every day like it's a blessing. He said that after his cancer diagnosis, he thought a lot about how he just wanted to leave the world at a little bit better. have a positive impact in world, and he certainly did achieve that.

WHITFIELD: Wow. He made an impact indeed. All right, Brian Stelter, thank you so much.

Again, Alex Trebek dead at the age of 80.

All right. Now we turn to the 2020 election and the growing pressure on President Donald J. Trump to come to grips with his defeat. That pressure coming from his own family members. A source tells CNN First Lady Melania Trump has advised her husband to accept the loss, and CNN has also learned that senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner has approached President Trump about conceding the race.

Instead, the president publicly remaining defiant, using capital letters, continuing to falsely claim the election was somehow rigged against him. Meantime, both the president and president-elect are facing an intensifying pandemic. Saturday set another devastating record, more than 126,000 new cases. It's the third straight day of more than 120,000 cases. Globally, the pandemic has surpassed another grim milestone. More than 50 million infections and counting.

And in his victory speech last night, President-elect Joe Biden pleaded to name a new Coronavirus Task Force by tomorrow, comprised of leading scientists and experts. Biden making it clear the pandemic will be his top priority when he takes office January 20th.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: Our work begins with getting COVID under control. We cannot repair the economy, restore our vitality or relish life's most precious moments, hugging our grandchildren, our children on birthdays, weddings, graduations, all the moments that matter most to us until we get it under control.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Let's bring in Jeremy Diamond at the White House.

So, Jeremy, what more can you tell us about son-in-law, adviser, Jared Kushner's efforts to get the president to concede?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, listen, two sources familiar with the matter have told our colleague Kaitlan Collins that Jared Kushner has approached the president about conceding this 2020 election. Now campaign officials are disputing the story at this moment including Jason Miller, a senior adviser who took to Twitter say that Jared Kushner has advised the president to pursue all available legal remedies.

But, you know, what's clear, Fredricka is that there is a growing recognition in the president's inner circle that the election outcome is quite clear, and that Joe Biden is indeed the president-elect, and that there's very little that any legal maneuvers can do to ultimately change that outcome. But nonetheless there are voices in the president's inner circle who are still advising him to dig in and to continue contesting the results of this election, as he pursues his potential -- these potential legal challenges.

They include the White House chief of staff Mark Meadow, who I'm told has been a vocal presence on that side of the debate, as well as the president's two adult sons, Don Jr. and Eric Trump who have both been vocal in terms of urging the president and his allies to continue to contest the results of this election and to pursue those legal challenges.

I'm told that even beyond their public bluster, both Eric Trump and Don Jr. have been privately saying that they believe that this election was stolen from the president and that they should continue to pursue these legal challenges, as well as continuing to urge some of the president's allies and prominent Republicans who are senators and governors to also put out statements in support of the president's efforts to challenge the outcome of this election. But of course, we should note, Fredricka, that so far the Trump

campaign and the president himself have been making a lot of noise about the -- what they view as the invalid results of this election, by they've presented almost no concrete evidence to actually back that up. And what we are left with is the clear conclusion that Joe Biden, by an overwhelming popular vote and a pretty commanding lead in the electoral college, he is the president-elect and he will sworn in as the 46th president of the United States in January.

[13:10:13]

WHITFIELD: And Jeremy, as early as tomorrow, it's expected there could be more filings as it pertains to any kind of, you know, legal routes the president and his team might be taking? Is there much to be expected as to whether there will be any real details in those filings that will reveal what wrongdoings there may have been in this election and in the counting of votes?

DIAMOND: Yes, look. It's unclear at this point what kind of actual evidence they're going to put forward. I mean, it was kind of summed up in a tweet by Rudy Giuliani, the president's attorney who was also involved in these legal challenges who essentially said tweet me, you know, examples and what you think of this voter fraud while I try and prove it in court, and that is kind of this campaign's legal strategy so far is putting the cart before the horse in terms of making these wild allegations and then saying that they're going to come up with the evidence later.

But I can tell you, Fredricka, in talking with the Republicans around Washington, there is amongst, in some circles, a growing frustration with that approach. And essentially some Republicans are starting to say to the campaign, put up or shut up because obviously this is casting a pal on the results of this election. At least that is the goal it seems by the president and his allies.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kate Bennett is also here. She follows the first lady.

So, Kate, what are you learning about what the first lady is saying if anything to the president about conceding?

KATE BENNETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it does sound like the first lady is leaning towards this growing chorus as Jeremy said and as our Kaitlan Collins has reported. She has told the president, according to a source, that he has lost this election and that it is time to acknowledge that. Anything beyond that in terms of conceding or calling off this legal battle the president is discussing has yet to be known.

But this is a first lady who does give her opinion. She is somebody that the president listens to. She's one of his closest advisers. People tend to forget or not realized how influential she is with the president. But many times she said and also he said it, too. And also if you look back on the week before the election when the first lady was out there on the campaign trail, she was just as fiery and just as supportive of the president's rhetoric, bashing Democrats and calling the Russia hoax, and using a lot of the same language as he was.

So certainly, this moment happening in the White House, now she has not made any public comments. She tweeted once, it was about "Be Best," her initiative. Nothing to do with the election. But behind the scenes, it appears the first lady is telling the president that he's lost and it might be time to accept it.

WHITFIELD: All right. It's been 24 hours since the race was called. We'll see what happens next.

Jeremy Diamond and Kate Bennett, thank you so much to both. We appreciate it.

All right, and this just in. Former president George W. Bush just called Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to congratulate them on their victory. He is one of a handful of Republicans publicly congratulating the president-elect.

Let's go now to Joe Biden's headquarters where we find CNN's Jessica Dean in Wilmington, Delaware, with more on this -- Jessica.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good afternoon to you, Fred. That's right, George W. Bush, the only living former Republican president right now with this very public statement. I want to read you a part of it. He said, "I extended my warm congratulations and thanked him," that would be Biden, "for the patriot message he delivered last night.

I also called Kamala Harris to congratulate her on her historic election to the vice presidency. Though we have political differences, I know Joe Biden to be a good man, who has won his opportunity to lead and unify our country.

"The president-elect reiterated that while he ran as a Democrat, he will govern for all Americans. I offered him the same thing I offered Presidents Trump and Obama. My prayers for his success and my pledge to help in any way I can."

Again, that coming from former president George W. Bush who also added that he believed this was a fundamentally fair election, and that the outcome of this election is clear. And as we just heard from Jeremy Diamond, that stands in stark contrast to what we've heard so far from President Trump who has so far not conceded this race. It remains to be seen if he will ultimately do so.

But here we are, Fred, as you mentioned about 24 hours out. And so far that's not happened. But former president George W. Bush offering his public congratulations to both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jessica Dean, thank you so much in Wilmington, Delaware.

All right, still ahead, another record-setting day for the coronavirus pandemic as the U.S. sees more than 126,000 new cases. President-elect Biden plans to introduce his own task force tomorrow. Will it be enough? Plus, Georgia, the state of Georgia hangs in the balance as Democrats'

battle for control of the U.S. Senate. Could two longtime Republican seats turn blue?

[13:15:06]

And a historic victory as Kamala Harris becomes the first woman and first woman of color to be elected as vice president.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: While the U.S. has been largely focused on the election, the presidential election for the last week, the coronavirus pandemic continues to surge to record levels across the nation. On Saturday, the U.S. reported more than 126,000 new cases, a new record. It was the fourth day this week that new cases totaled more than 100,000.

Dr. Gigi El-Bayoumi is a professor of medicine at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Services. She is also a medical liaison for the White House Medical Unit.

[13:20:09]

Doctor, good to see you.

DR. GIGI EL-BAYOUMI, PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND HEALTH SERVICES: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: So, the president-elect is already getting to work announcing that a new coronavirus task force will be announced tomorrow. As a medical profession, if you were looking for a different approach to handling the virus, what would it look like, what does it need to entail?

EL-BAYOUMI: Well, I think that, first of all, to have a president- elect that is going to validate all the frontline health care workers, to not attack and say that people are profiting, to acknowledge the hard work and the sacrifices, that will do a lot for the morale, number one. lot for the morale. Number two, there is actually already a playbook. It is the pandemic playbook that was handed from the Obama-Biden administration to the current administration.

So simply dusting that off, updating it, tailoring it will be important. I know because of the prescription medicine initiative that President Obama had started and being part of a health equities section that the approach is holistic, right? I mean, we are in a four-alarm fire, and we need to not only get everybody to stop the fire, stop it from spreading, but also figure out what caused the fire in the first place. We have to have all hands on deck.

WHITFIELD: So you see Biden as, you know, resurrecting the playbook that the Obama administration already had was not administered and executed during the Trump years. So let's talk about what will happening in the short term, as well.

President Trump will remain in office for another 73 days until Joe Biden's inauguration. The flu season is about to kick in. The COVID pandemic continues to surge toward record levels. With no national strategy right now, what do you fear could potentially happen in the next 73 days?

EL-BAYOUMI: Well, it's already happening. We're seeing exponential growth, quantum leap of COVID. But remember, there are already local and state initiatives that are happening. So, for example, we at the Rodham Institute are part of the Black Coalition Against COVID, which comprises the four historically black medical schools as well as labor unions and teacher unions, et cetera, to begin to educate the African- American community not only about COVID, not only about the future of vaccines, but about the importance of getting vaccinated against the flu right now.

So there is a lot of work that is happening on the grassroots level, on a local and the state level. I think that the optimism of having an administration that uses science and data and facts is refreshing, and I think will help to invigorate the health care and public health community.

WHITFIELD: You're sounding like you are relieved about the potential in the days ahead.

EL-BAYOUMI: I am relieved on so many levels, I won't hide it from you. I think that when it comes to the health, you know, we have to have an appreciation, and I know this from previous task forces and initiatives, the Moonshot campaign against cancer that the President- elect Biden has already previously, to have an initiative and approach which takes into consideration how against cancer that has been launched previously from Joe Biden, and to have an initiative and approach which takes into consideration how people, especially people of color, are living in intergenerational household where food is an issue, where other health care conditions, chronic diseases such as diabetes impact on COVID, but also how the pandemic is impacting non- COVID case.

Did you know that there has been a 30 percent drop of new cancer diagnosis? Well, that means that there is going to be a surge of people protecting at a much later date. And so to have a strategy that is holistic in nature is crucial.

WHITFIELD: Dr. Gigi El-Bayoumi, thank you so much for that. Appreciate your time.

El-BAYOUMI: My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, President Trump undermining Joe Biden's victory while attacking the bedrock of American democracy. Hear what his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani has to say about unproven allegations of voter fraud.

[13:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: CNN has learned that at least two members of President Trump's family are urging him to come to terms with losing his bid for reelection. A source tells CNN First Lady Melania Trump is privately advising him to accept the result and we're also learning his son-in- law and senior adviser Jared Kushner has approached the president about conceding the election. But in public, the tone from the Trump team is defiant as ever with his lawyer Rudy Giuliani saying don't expect a concession any time soon, vowing to fight on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S PERSONAL LAWYER: Obviously, he is not going to concede when at least 600,000 ballots are in question. These lawsuits will be brought starting on Monday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: With us now chief Washington correspondent for "Politico," Ryan Lizza, national politics reporter for the "Wall Street Journal," Sabrina Siddiqui, and national politics reporter for "Yahoo News," Brittany Shepherd.

[13:25:07]

Welcome, everybody.

RYAN LIZZA, CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, POLITICO: Hi, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Brittany, let me begin with you. You know, the two campaigns', you know, plans for Monday, it says it all. You know, President-elect Biden naming a coronavirus task force, today he was going to church. President Trump filing lawsuits tomorrow and today he was on the golf course. So what does this disconnect say to you about the approach of, you know, these two camps and how they're approaching or transition or not?

BRITTANY SHEPHERD, NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER, YAHOO NEWS: Yes, Fred, it's a pretty stunning split screen, right? So I think it principally says that the Biden campaign and Joe Biden himself are not waiting one minute for Donald Trump to concede essentially begin his presidency. Honestly, they're not even waiting for inauguration. They already have a live Web site for their transition team and a Twitter account to announce incremental updates and Joe Biden's campaign and his advisers are at least telling me that they really want to hit ground running especially when it comes to coronavirus.

Just looking at all the figures that the United States is hitting, kind of really grave numbers everyday where we're seeing swells in major cities and in rural areas, and, you know, the Biden campaign wants Biden to be out there to appeal to those millions of voters who voted for Donald Trump to say, you know, I can be a fixer and I am here to heal not just for Democrats but for Republicans, too.

And we're seeing that Republicans are responding to that message even at least on the high levels, like George W. Bush's statement that came out just a couple of few minutes ago.

WHITFIELD: Sure. Former president, you know, came out endorsing Biden, saying let's recognize him as the president-elect.

But, Ryan, only two, you know, senators on the Hill have done that. This was Utah Senator Mitt Romney on CNN this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): I understand why the president wants to keep on fighting. I do believe, however, that it's destructive to the cause of democracy, to suggest widespread fraud or corruption. There's just no evidence of that at this stage. And I think it's important for us to recognize that the world is watching.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. So you've got, you know, Ryan, two Republican senators, Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, offering their congratulations to President-elect Biden. What is the goal here for this kind of reticence on Capitol Hill to acknowledge when the race has been called that it's Biden and Harris?

LIZZA: I think it's Republicans who have stuck with Trump through the last four years see that in 2016 and in 2020 when he's on the ballots, there is strong Republican turnout, and they're, despite the evidence, remaining loyal, basically caring a little bit more about his hard feelings and letting him get to the place that everyone knows he will eventually get to, that he's lost this and there's nothing he can do about it.

So I think it's basically a lot of Republicans caring a little bit more about Donald Trump's bruised feelings and ego rather than stepping up and helping the country move past this and put to rest any of these doubts that the White House and frankly a lot of other Republicans have sewn for the last few weeks.

I mean, you know, I guess that it could be a lot worse frankly. You could have a lot of Republican senators echoing the kind of things that Rudy Giuliani and, to take another example, Newt Gingrich have been saying. I think, you know, I thought it would be worse, frankly. I thought more people would follow Trump down this path, but it's really just the kind of die-hards, dead-enders at this point like Giuliani and Gingrich.

Even FOX News which is incredibly important communication vehicles for this stuff, they've clearly taken the position that they're not going to be destructive, they're not going to undermine democracy, and for the most part, you know, they've called the race for Biden. Even their most kind of fiery commentators have started to accept reality. So I think these other Republicans will come on board, but they're basically just giving in to Trump's kind of hard feelings for the next few days.

WHITFIELD: The message is, Sabrina, last night from Biden, you know, saying I want to be a president for everybody, yes, I'm a Democrat through and through, but I'm a president for everyone. There are no red states, blue states, but the United States. Kamala Harris, you know, saying I may be the first, but I'm not the last. You know, for you, covering politics for a long time, covering the

White House, what is this going to be like for you, Kamala Harris representing so many firsts, first woman vice president, first Indian woman, first woman of color, black woman, you know, to rise to this level, and now being the most powerful woman and influential in Washington?

[13:35:20]

What would that be like for you covering her? And what was that moment like for you personally?

SABRINA SIDDIQUI, NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER, WALL STREET JOURNAL: Well, look, I think it's a historic moment in this country. And when Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is inaugurated in January, she will be the highest ranking woman in this country's history, and we've just had this nationwide reckoning over systemic racism and what that has exposed is the lack of diversity in senior levels of this government across multiple industries, and so it's hard to really overstate what it means to have a black woman, a woman of Indian descent, as the sitting or soon-to-be sitting vice president.

And there are a lot of girls across the country who were looking at her last night and who saw what could be possible. And that really means a great deal to this country and to future generations. And it's not just girls. It's important also that a lot of boys who were watching across the country must continue to fight a culture where there is still a great deal of entrench sexism and misogyny that they too saw that yes, a woman could also be serving in one of the highest offices in the land.

WHITFIELD: Right. Of course. And even for Barack Obama, it wasn't just about inspiring young black boys, it was young girls of all walks of all colors as well.

And so, Brittany, for you, how personal, you know, this will be for you? What kind of change might it be covering a black woman, Indian American woman, who is vice president as you continue to cover Washington and politics?

SHEPHERD: Well, it's surely a stunning thing like Sabrina was saying. I mean, representation is so important both in the folks, kinds of reporters who are covering an administration. I hope, and I think I will expect to see more women of color in the briefing room. I think I'll have a big smile on my face when I do that, not just because hitting diversity quota is good, but because bringing in diverse thought, diverse experiences informs coverage in a way that better serves your viewers, it better serves our readers and subscribers.

And I was having this conversation with Senator Cory Booker and Ayanna Pressley a couple of days ago talking about the importance of Kamala Harris' nomination to them, and I think there is kind of two-pronged thought. The first is emotional, and Cory Booker was telling me that seeing Kamala, his friend, his deep friend up there, it was like the voices of his ancestors being born to life. Such a powerful image. I think it's important to note that black women have been the backbone

of the Democratic Party forever. It's their most reliable voting bloc and have been routinely left out of the conversation up until now, it's that you have to work twice as hard to get half as much conversation. And Cory was saying I think that might be the beginning of the end to that. And just to add that Rep. Presley was saying it's not just about representation, it's about actually forming policy that matters.

She can -- Kamala Harris has passed legislation about uterine fibroid which is an issue that affects the black women community disproportionately, and she expects more of that to happen where there is a voice at the table shaking with you.

WHITFIELD: And Ryan, not to dismiss you as the male voice here, but what are your thoughts quickly on this historic moment?

LIZZA: You know, I think Brittany and Sabrina make a good point about the press corps as well. This is -- you know, I've covered all these presidential campaigns since 2000 and, you know, our newsrooms could to a whole lot better when it comes to diversity and representation especially at the top but the people covering the White House and the campaign, it's really the most diverse that I've seen.

It's a really, really good sign. I think Sabrina is right about the White House briefing room. It's likely to see a lot of different faces in there than previous administrations.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LIZZA: You know, I know I interviewed Stacey Abrams right before the election in Georgia and, you know, she was making a point not -- you know, not just that Biden chose Kamala Harris, but that basically all of the finalists were women of color, and I didn't think about it, but how important it was to Leader Abrams that she was one of the finalists, and that she had these conversations with the Biden team about her decision making process and what kind of a vice president she would be. And so really it was that entire process, not just the --

[13:40:00]

WHITFIELD: All right, I don't mean to cut you off, but we were running up a hard break here. But I really appreciate all of your thoughts.

Thank you so much, Ryan, Sabrina, Brittany. Thank you so much.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Runoff elections for two crucial U.S. Senate seats in Georgia will now likely determine control of the U.S. Senate in a new Congress. Republicans are projected to hold a 50-48 advantage in the chamber heading into the January runoff elections after GOP incumbents in Georgia failed to receive a 50 percent majority on election day. Democrats are confident they can win both seats which would result in

an evenly split Senate with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris as the tiebreaker.

Joining me right now is Congresswoman-elect Nikema Williams who just won a House seat formerly held by the late Representative John Lewis until his death in July.

Congresswoman-elect, congratulations. Good to see you.

NIKEMA WILLIAMS (D), GEORGIA CONGRESSWOMAN-ELECT: Thank you so much for having me today. Happy to have this conversation.

WHITFIELD: Wonderful. So how confident are you about this runoff -- these two runoff elections which could very much potentially change the dynamics of the U.S. Senate?

[13:45:10]

WILLIAMS: So, Fredricka, people keep telling me that Democrats don't turn big out for runoffs, but I tell them that Democrats also have never turned Georgia blue, and we're doing that this year. Democrats have also never had a black woman as their state party chair, but here I sit as your chairwoman. And we are -- we're breaking norms this cycle. So I'm excited about our prospect, I'm excited about our candidates with Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raffy Warnock.

And we're doing the work on the ground. We're going to continue to build upon what Stacey Abrams made possible in the state, and we know that we can win for Democrats.

WHITFIELD: And look at you, you're wearing your pink and green, you're an Alpha Kappa Alpha. OK.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: As is your soro-sister, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. You know, what was going through your mind last night particularly, listening to her speech, talking about possibilities, and she's the first, but she says she is not going to be the last.

WILLIAMS: She is not going to be the last. I'm just thinking about the doors that she's opening up for so many people who don't even realized that she's paving the way for them. I look at how many -- like even myself, I am a congresswoman-elect, and it still moved me to know that anything is possible as a black woman in this country. I mean, she's an HBCU graduate. Got to shout out Talladega College, my HBCU that made me. And just opening up the doors for so many people in different communities that shows us what is possible in this country.

WHITFIELD: I'm a Howard alum as well, so I get you on that. So, you know, one of the first things that Harris said in her speech last night, in reference to Congressman John Lewis, you know, she says democracy is not a state. It is an act. And here's the rest of what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE-PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Congresswoman John Lewis, before his passing, wrote democracy is not a state, it is an act. And what he meant was that America's democracy is not guaranteed. It is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: How do you see yourself fighting to protect democracy for all?

WILLIAMS: We are fighting here in Georgia by turning out to vote. When the votes came in that put Joe Biden on the top here in Georgia, and they came from Georgia's Fifth Congressional District, right in Clayton County, like I felt like John Lewis was speaking to us, and he was his happy dance in heaven knowing that we are deciding the presidency, and we have the option right here by using our voice to decide the balance of the United States Senate.

We are showing up. We're showing out in force. Black women have always been the backbone of this party, and now you have a black woman in the highest office of the land. And we're going to deliver on January 5th.

WHITFIELD: All right. And you're swearing in just, what, 56 days away and counting? I know you'll be doing your happy dance, too.

(LAUGHTER)

WILLIAMS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Congratulations, Congresswoman-elect Nikema Williams.

And we'll be right back.

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[13:53:14]

WHITFIELD: President Trump is still refusing to accept his loss to President-elect Joe Biden and appears to be preparing to wage a legal war against the election results. But the loss is a culmination of decisions made by Trump as he appeared convinced the formula that had won him the White House in 2016 would work again.

CNN's Kevin Liptak joins me now with his reporting.

So, Kevin, good to see you. Was there anyone trying to convince the president that the 2016 strategy just might not work right now?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, there were certainly plenty of people around the president who were advising him on different ways to go in the course of this campaign. And as this campaign was concluding and as it was starting to look more and more likely that the president was going to lose, we started to ask the people around him on the campaign and in the White House where they think this all went wrong.

And of course, the president still believes that he could win his and there are plenty of people around him who are supporting him in his legal fight, but there are also plenty of people around him who say, you know, this is lost, and they're starting to identify some areas where they think the president went wrong. And the biggest one, the biggest thing that people say the president did wrong was this pattern of self-destructive behavior over the course of the last year, focused primarily on the coronavirus.

Plenty of people still look back to that April press conference when the president suggested ingesting disinfectant and sunlight, as sort of the moment when they realized that the president didn't get it, he didn't understand that this was a once-in-a-generation health crisis, that he needed to focus on it and act presidential around. Even at the same time that the president was sort of ignoring the crisis, downplaying it, he was berating his campaign advisers.

He believed that they weren't doing a good enough job to improve his standing, even as he sort of refused their advice to do things like wear a mask in public and adapt this more presidential air.

[13:55:11]

The other thing that people identified around the president was his inability to adjust his campaign to the moment, inability to switch from being an upstart challenger to being the incumbent president. And you saw that most notably in these rallies in this final stretch when the president aired all of these grievances instead of focusing on his accomplishments.

And the last thing that people identified was his inability to sort of recognize that he could lose. He went into this -- into election night believing he would win. Advisers presented him with data that showed him winning, and so by the time, you know, today rolls around, I think you can see why it's so hard for him now to grasp that he will not be president in January -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And I have a feeling he might be wearing earplugs, too, because we can hear still the jubilation right outside Lafayette Square and Black Lives Matter Plaza right outside the White House there.

LIPTAK: Certainly. Yes, it's an exciting scene. This is right outside St. John's Church where the president staged that maligned photo-op back in June. The celebration still continuing around the White House today. The president drove through some of this as he came back from the golf course earlier. It's a much different scene than he saw in June when he walked out there.

WHITFIELD: All right.

LIPTAK: Around those other protests.

WHITFIELD: Thank you again for that perspective as well.

Kevin Liptak, thanks so much in Washington. Appreciate it. We'll be right back.

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