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President-Elect Biden Plans for Office as Trumps Refuses to Concede; World Leaders Congratulates Joe Biden on Winning the White House; Biden Will Rejoin Paris Agreement; New COVID Cases Soar To More Than 100,000 A Day In U.S.; Biden To Name COVID-19 Task Force; COVID- 19 Is First Item On Biden-Harris Transition Website; Global Case Count Tops 50 Million; China Looks For Improved Ties With U.S. Under Biden; Russian State TV Amplifies Trump's Unfounded Fraud Claims; Voters Of Color Play Big Role In Biden's Victory; Longtime "Jeopardy!" Host Dies At 80. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired November 09, 2020 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States, and all around the world. I am Rosemary Church live at CNN Center where it is 2:00 a.m. on the U.S. east coast, 11:00 p.m. out west, and 9:00 a.m. in London. Thanks for joining us.

Well, America's current president is looking to delay his White House exit as the president-elect turns to face the challenges ahead. Joe Biden visited the grave of his late son, Beau, on Sunday. Sources say, he is planning executive actions to reverse some controversial Trump policies. He is also said to reveal his coronavirus task force today, as COVID cases sore across the country.

Meantime, President Donald Trump played golf Sunday, but did not concede. His inner circle is reportedly at odds over whether to accept defeat. Sources say he wants to mount a media blitz arguing the election was stolen, but there is so far no evidence to support that claim.

Our Boris Sanchez is in Washington with more on the Trump campaign's latest strategy. But let's start with Jason Carroll in Wilmington, Delaware to find out more about the president-elect's plans. Good to see you Jason. So, multiple challenges face Joe Biden in his new role, of course. The pandemic taking top priority. What is he expected to do in the hours ahead?

JASON CARROLL, CNN U.S. CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, health officials, Rosemary, made it very clear that if this administration, this new administration is going to get their hands on the coronavirus, on this pandemic, they're really going to have to hit the ground running and the Biden team was well aware of that.

And that is why for weeks now, they have been laying the groundwork for things that they are going to be able to do moving forward. They've been meeting with health experts, and in fact, just last week, then Vice President Biden and then Senator Kamala Harris met with health officials about the pandemic.

We do know that later on today, you know, President-Elect Biden is going to be talking about and releasing details about this coronavirus task force, this 12-person task force that he's put together.

And then also later today, Rosemary, he's going to be giving remarks about his plan in terms of how to proceed forward. This is the first priority that's on the plate, the Biden team, as they move forward. This is what they're going to be focused on.

CHURCH: How much will a president-elect to really stickily (ph) be able to achieve in the next 70 today while he waits to take office on January 20th?

CARROLL: Well, that's a good question. I mean, there are some things that as president-elect he will be able to do. He will be able to put together his cabinet, they are working on that. These are things that his transition team, in fact, has been looking at and working at behind the scenes since Labor Day.

Again, he'll be working on the pandemic, getting his team together. He'll probably be having a conversation or two with Dr. Anthony Fauci about how to proceed. So there are a number of things that this president-elect can do moving forward.

The question is, what sort of monkey wrench will the Trump administration put in place to try to sort of muddy the waters as this transition tries to move forward.

CHURCH: Yes. It's a very good point indeed. Appreciate that Jason. And Boris, let's go to you now. And President Trump is refusing to concede, despite some within his inner circle suggesting he accept his loss. What more are you learning about these and of course, the media blitz that he is planning.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It's quite an interesting situation as you imagine, Rosemary. There are people within the president's inner circle that are, at least, broaching the subject of a potential concession speech with the president including, according to our sources, First Lady Melania Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

The president clearly is not eager to do so. And so, partly, his son- in-law, Jared Kushner, partly his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, and others who work on the Trump campaign, have counseled the president on this idea of a media blitz to try to drum up support and build up his claim that this election is illegitimate, and fraudulent, and in his, words stolen from him.

We need to be clear and precise about this. There is no evidence, at all, that is indicating that this election was anything but fair and clearly legitimate. Despite that, the president wants to put this message out there. The belief among his aides is that if the president is able to delay

the transition, it would benefit him, potentially, allowing some of his lawsuits to run their course.

[02:05:03]

And further, we have to be kind of precise with how we word this. There is an immense amount of debt related to the Trump campaign. Money that is still owed because obviously campaigns are extremely expensive to run, and it may benefit him to be out in public, asking the public for money.

There have repeatedly been e-mails from the Trump campaign asking to help fund this legal fight. And the belief is that some of that money may wind up to going to paying off some of these campaign debts. Of course, Trump is being egged on by fellow Republicans, many of them prominent, people like Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, Kristi Noem, the governor South Dakota.

Others though, are engaging in a much more moderate tone. People like the senator from Utah, Mitt Romney, suggesting that people should work with Joe Biden, and that eventually, Trump may not concede publicly, but that he will take part in a peaceful transition of power.

There is an immense silence though from a large number of Republicans who are effectively waiting this out to see how it goes. We've not heard, for example, from Vice President Mike Pence since very early on Wednesday morning when he sort of hedged on some of what the president was saying.

Some very incendiary claims about the elections. Pence really only saying two or three sentences and we haven't really heard from him since then, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes. A number of Republicans have gone very quiet on this, haven't they? So, what is likely to come of these legal challenges, falsely claiming the existence of massive voter fraud? And what is next for Donald Trump when he eventually does leave office?

SANCHEZ: Yes. There are people even within the president's inner circle that have privately acknowledge that these lawsuits simply are weak and will not overturn the results of the election. And that even if some errors are found, that if some level of irregularity is found, it will not be enough to overcome the more than 40,000 votes that Trump lags behind president-elect Joe Biden in Pennsylvania, for example.

So, it is an uphill battle to say the very least. AS for the future of President Trump, he still holds enormous sway within the Republican Party, and the silence from many Republicans is evidence of that. You can see him, essentially, as a kingmaker.

Having plenty of influence over elections, whether national, or local, going into the future, his endorsement would means a lot because he got so many supporters. After all, more than 70 million people voted for him in this election. You can also bet that he'd capitalize on some of that support with

books, and speaking engagements, and potentially these rallies, not just this push to have a media blitz and rallies about the election being illegitimate, but the further rallies into the future, gathering his supporters and trying to mobilize them potentially for a 2024 run, something that sources indicate has been discussed by the president and his aides.

CHURCH: Fascinating points there. Jason Carroll in Wilmington, Delaware, and Boris Sanchez in Washington. Thanks to both of you for joining us. Appreciate it.

Well, Nathan Gonzales is the editor and publisher of "Inside Elections" and a CNN political analyst. He joins me from Washington. Good to have you with us.

NATHAN GONZALES, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Thank you for having me.

CHURCH: So let's talk about all this pressure building for growing calls within the Trump circle for President Trump to accept defeat. How likely is it that he will concede and is it even necessary?

GONZALES: No, it's not necessary for him to concede. There are some things that need to happen for the transition to continue, like the head of the GSA signing off on getting that transition in motion. But Rosemary, we have to remember that four years ago, the president complained about an election that he won.

You know, he was trying to find a way to explain why he lost the national vote, you know, and won the Electoral College. So, it's really no surprise that we're in this position where he's complaining about an election that he lost.

Now, I think the two things can happen at the same time where we move ahead with the transition, that the media has done its due diligence on their decision desks and calling the race for President-Elect Joe Biden.

But also, let the Trump campaign try to play out all of their legal options because I think in the end, exhausting those options is probably best for the country because it allows -- it answers some of these unanswered questions.

Legitimate or not, just let the process play out so hopefully, we will have more Americans believing in our, you know, the future set of leaders that have just won these elections.

CHURCH: Yes. I mean after all, we do have 72 days, don't we, in this lame duck period. So, President Trump and some members of his team are pushing hard with his unsubstantiated claims of massive voter fraud. How far can they go with this and why aren't more Republicans speaking out about the lack of evidence of voter fraud?

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GONZALEZ: Well, it will be interesting this week, you know, when we are done with the weekend and if -- and as more reporters are asking more members of Congress what they should do. But, you know, I think the Trump campaign is trying to exhaust everything that they can, and I guess, you know, you don't blame them for trying it.

But, you know, I've been listening to the attorneys, anyone who has been watching CNN and watching Ben Ginsburg, who is sort of the dean of the Republican attorneys, he doesn't really see a path forward that would overturn, you know, a result in a particular state.

You know, they kept talking about recounts, and usually, recounts might overturn, you know, might switch a couple hundred votes, but in many of these key states, Biden has either thousands of votes or tens of thousands of votes advantage, and so that's why it seems unlikely.

CHURCH: Yes, of course. And then meantime, President-Elect Joe Biden plans to make the pandemic his top priority. He has done that, preparing to announce this 12-member task force in the coming hours. And he plans to sign numerous executive actions once in office, to undo many Trump policies. How will that likely be received do you think?

GONZALES: Well, I mean, if the pandemic and COVID-19 gets as bad as what the medical professionals are saying, it's going to get into weeks and months ahead, I think that there will be an appetite for change, or at least appetite to have a plan or a new plan in order to handle this.

And that might be the best opportunity to get some bipartisan consensus in dealing with COVID-19. Executive order, I mean, this is a tradition. The new presidents come in and promptly, try to undo as much as possible from the previous president that can be done by executive order.

I think the president-elect has already sort of laid that out in a couple of articles this weekend. And so that's a tradition in American politics, as what can you do by executive order on day one.

CHURCH: Yes. And just very quickly, former Republican president, George W. Bush, congratulated Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for the historic win. How likely is it this will pave the way for other Republicans to do the same as President-Elect Biden offers an invitation to work together and unify this incredibly divided nation?

GONZALES: I don't know. That is -- President Bush's statement is sort of who we have come to know him to be, particularly in his days out of office. I'm not sure that it's going to persuade a lot of Republicans that are within the Republican right now.

I mean, right now, this is still Donald J. Trump's Republican Party. This is still President Trump's party. He is the most popular politician, among Republicans, and so at least for the base and a lot of these elected officials, they're first going to look to Trump before they look to President Bush.

CHURCH: All right. CNN political analyst, Nathan Gonzales, joining us from Washington. Thank you so much for your insights. Appreciate it. GONZALES: Thank you.

CHURCH: Well, leaders from around the world are congratulating Joe Biden on this election win, but there are still a few key heads of state holding back. More on that in just a moment.

And the president-elect takes on the pandemic. How Joe Biden plans to make coronavirus his first order of business. Back with that and a whole lot more after this short break. Stay with us.

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CHURCH: Welcome back. Well, world leaders are congratulating Joe Biden on his victory in the U.S. presidential race. They include, Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr. Netanyahu says he has known Biden for decades, but he is also thanking Biden's rival, President Donald Trump. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translation): I have a personal, warm, and long relationship with Joe Biden for nearly 40 years and I know him as a great friend of Israel. I am sure we will continue to work with both of them to continue and strengthen the special alliance between Israel and the United States.

On my behalf and on the behalf of all citizens of Israel, I thank President Trump, again, for the great friendship he has shown the state of Israel and me personally.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And CNN's Nic Robertson joins us now live from London. Good to see you Nic. So we heard there from the Israeli leader. OF course, many other leaders are speaking out as well. For the most part, there appears to have been a collective global sigh of relief in response to the election of Joe Biden. What's being said about it?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Really, this sort of idea that the United States can go back to being a multi- lateralist, non-isolationist, involved and engaged with the rest of the world type of country that everyone was familiar with. That's really being broadly welcomed.

The fact that, you know, Joe Biden will rejoin the Paris Climate Change Accord, that he'll get the United States to sign back up with the WHO, the World Health Organization in the midst of the pandemic. This is being warmly received because, you know, most people recognize that the United States is key and integral to the inter-global institutions that exists today that President Trump has turned his back on those.

And that has not helped the one dealing with the global pandemic, and it's also sort of counted against many countries in faltering trade relationships to trade more between the United States and China. So yes, absolutely, everyone around the world has been watching this election so closely.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (voice-over): A closely watched election. Not just in the United States, but around the world. Many leaders quickly sending messages of congratulations to President-Elect Joe Biden.

SCOTT MORRISON, PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA: I look forward to forging a great partnership.

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: It is clear now that the 46th president-elect is Joe Biden.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Even the U.K.'s Trump friendly PM, Boris Johnson, shifting gears.

BORIS JOHNSON, PRIME MINISTER OF UNITED KINGDOM: I look forward very much to working with President Biden.

[02:20:02]

ROBERTSON (voice-over): The win for Biden is a hope for many U.S. allies. The relations strained after four years of Donald Trump's America first presidency will return to what they once were.

ROBERTSON (camera): Well, this is the image that people in Europe are waking up to for the next American president. Aviator sunglasses and all, and I think this encapsulates the message here that people around the world want as well, time to heal. You have it here in this newspaper as well.

Time to heal America, but time to heal the world as well. There is a real feeling that President Trump, has bruised relations all around the world. People are now looking to Biden to change that up.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): But Some Trump allies still slow to shift. Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who benefited from Trump moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, took more than 12 hours to issue a statement on the election results.

And Mexico's president, Andre Manuel Lopez Obrador, whose country shares a border with the U.S. says he is waiting until the legal fighting is finished.

ANDRE MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR, PRESIDENT OF MEXICO: I can't congratulate one candidate or the other. I want to wait until the electoral process is over.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Iran is reacting with caution. Its foreign minister says it will wait to see if Biden abandons the "lawless bullying of the outgoing regime." Biden has said, he would try to revive the nuclear deal with Iran struck by former President Barack Obama, which Trump withdrew from two years ago. Many people in Iran say they would welcome relief from crippling U.S. sanctions that have hurt their economy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): I feel things are somehow calmer. God-willing, things would get even better for us, the people of Iran.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): China also has had a rocky relationship with the Trump administration over trade. Some residents in Beijing hope that will change.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): I hope when Biden becomes president he can control the pandemic well and improve the bad relationship with China.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): But, overwhelmingly, many people across the globe say they've grown weary of the tweets and the tone coming from the current White House.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm really hoping that, you know, outside of a late night reality show we never have to see him again.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): In London, at the world famous Madame Tussaud's wax museum, they are working on just that. Trump, not quite disappearing, but, off to play golf.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (on camera): The new agenda emerging you saw in that report, Ursula Von Der Leyen, the European Commission president, well, she is saying she wants to strengthen those relationships with the United States.

This is a big message coming from the European Union. They have ideas on how to do it, pandemic and the global economy are two of the principal reasons behind that. But today, how does that actually look? Well today, you have E.U. trade ministers meeting to discuss, in part, their new relationship potentially with the United States.

Remembering, for example, that Donald Trump put tariffs on E.U. steel for national security reasons. There is just a lot that the Europeans and others are hoping that they can undo. And today they begin some of -- their planning to do that.

CHURCH: Yes. It's a great report there. Nic Robertson, thanks so much. Really appreciate it.

Well, Joe Biden is promising that when he takes office in January, climate change will be among his top priorities. On his website, build, back, better, the president-elect promises to recommit the U.S. to the Paris Climate Agreement.

For more on that, let's turn to CNN's Melissa Bell who is joining us live from Paris. Good to see you Melissa. So, what's been the response to the election of Joe Biden and his promise to make climate change a top priority?

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think for a lot of leaders particularly here in Europe, this is one of the big concerns of course when Donald Trump had withdrawn from this agreement, the only country to do so since it was signed because it is such a large contributor to the problem of greenhouse gas emissions.

Now, Joe Biden's pledge, of course, that he tweeted on the very day that officially the United States had withdrawn, which happen to be the day after the election on Wednesday, Rosemary, that within 77 days, the country would be back.

Clearly, a huge sigh of relief from those who care about these things and for other governments that had already been making their pledges. Now, how will it work? Of course, he has to take office on the 20th of January, then an executive order can be made up.

He can then request permission to rejoin, it will take about a month for that to happen. So you are looking, Rosemary, if he does it straightaway as he said he would, at the end of February.

But the question is really, how the delays will then be caught up, all of the lost time, of course, over the course of the last few years where it simply hasn't been a priority for the American administration.

[02:24:55]

Now, on this Monday, as luck would have it, the next COP26 was due to take place, the next installment, the next big meeting where the countries involved would have to make their new pledges. That, of course, has now been pushed back because of coronavirus.

But there is going to be an awful lot of catching up to do in order for the United States to be able to beef up their pledges. And in the end, get to that pledge that Joe Biden has made about the United States more generally, that by 2050, it would meet that aspiration, that target of being entirely carbon admission free.

CHURCH: Yes. So, the U.S. president-elect promising to re-commit the U.S. to the Paris Climate Agreement. As you say, this process will take time. So, maybe by the end of February we will see this occur. How far behind is the U.S. since it abandoned this agreement?

BELL: Well, it is pretty far behind because, of course, there has been the deregulation that's taken place under the Trump administration, and because it simply hasn't been a priority for the administration.

So, Joe Biden has independently of this, of course, said that this will be a priority for him, that idea of that carbon neutral emissions by 2050. And the reason that's important, Rosemary, is not only because the United States is the second largest emitter of these gases in the world, the second biggest polluter in the world, but also the impetus, the renewed impetus that it will give to the targets of all.

What we've seen really ever since the climate accord was signed here in Paris, is that things have gotten worse. The understanding that scientists had about how far country needed to pledge, needed to go even further because things were worse even than they had imagined.

So it is with all of that fresh information in mind with the renewed impetus of United States being behind this, the countries will be looking next year to substantially increase their national contributions. That is the targets they fixed themselves that will allow the world to tackle the problem of climate change more broadly.

CHURCH: All right. CNN's Melissa Bell joining us live from Paris. Many thanks.

And still ahead, President-Elect Joe Biden won't be sworn in for another two and a half months, but that's not stopping him from starting the fight against coronavirus today. We will tell you what he plans to do, that is next.

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[02:30:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Well, the coronavirus pandemic shows no sign of slowing down. With confirmed cases now topping 50 million globally, no country has been harder hit than right here in the United States.

Deaths are now nearing 240,000, and as you can see here, most states have seen rising case numbers over the past week. There were more than 100,000 new cases reported nationwide on Sunday alone. That is the 5th highest day of new cases in the U.S. since the pandemic began.

President-elect, Joe Biden, is making the disease a top priority. He is set to announce a coronavirus task force today. The group will be led by prominent doctors, and scientists, and tackling the pandemic is the first item on the Biden-Harris transition team website.

So let's bring in Dr. Darragh O'Carroll. He is an emergency physician, and he joins me live from Honolulu, in Hawaii. Good have you with us.

DR. DARRAGH O'CARROLL, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN: Hi. Thanks for having me, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So as the U.S. hits record numbers of new daily COVID cases, President-elect Joe Biden making the pandemic his top priority, preparing to announce a 12-member task force guarded by science. It is the polar opposite of what we have seen under the Trump administration. What is your reaction as a doctor?

O'CARROLL: Yes, really looking forward to it and I wish it could happen sooner. But it has been shown time and time again that as soon as you politicize this virus and politicize the science, things go the wrong direction and that's what we are seeing at the moment. We are having the highest number of cases we've ever seen, record-breaking every single day, and this is not portraying well for the rest of this fall and winter. And we still got a lot of days and a lot of months to go, and what that means is a lot of suffering.

And so, if things were to change around, is say, I would anticipate one of the first things they would do is something akin to a national mask mandate, or at least a national testing and mass strategy. That would save, quite honestly, hundreds of thousands of lives.

CHURCH: Yes. It is hard to know what Joe Biden can actually achieve, until he is actually in office. But once he gets there, let's talk about how he can turn this around. You mentioned there a national mask mandate, it is more than likely that that will be one of the first things he does. What would you advise him to do apart from that? If you he had you - if you had his ear?

O'CARROLL: Sure. Absolutely promote masks. We do know it is one of the simplest, yet most efficacious tools that we have at our disposal and we'll continue to have at our disposal. Increasing the production of our vaccinations that are in development, we do have to see the efficacy data, we do have to see the safety data, those aren't completely out yet nor robust at the moment. And so we do need to evaluate those, but if they do come out to be efficacious, we need to increase the production, and get those distributed.

We do have - most of our states have had to submit our distribution plans, and just continue to be a figure that promotes science, promotes the best epidemiological ways to combat this virus, rather than strictly looking at the economy. Economy is very important, but what we do know, and I have to say it again, what we've seen time and again, is that our economic health is tied to our public health. So let's go to public health in line and then we can enjoy the fruits of unencumbered life from this virus.

CHURCH: Yes, and of course, as we mentioned, President Trump remains in power for another 72 days or so. He was seen playing golf over the weekend. So the pandemic is not, apparently, on his mind. We are not going to see a national mask mandate, or more PPE produced by invoking the defense production act, or rapid COVID tests made more accessible.

So without all that, how bad could this pandemic get by January 20th, do you think? What will Joe Biden be taking on when he takes office?

O'CARROLL: Some models are predicting that if without a national mask mandate, we are going to have another 135,000 deaths by January, and that is astronomical and that's inexcusable and that needs to be rectified.

[02:35:00]

O'CARROLL: And if President Trump wanted to, somehow, turn around some sort of blip in his presidency and save American lives, you would think about following public health guidance because he has got nothing to gain by not, at this point. Golfing does not sound like he is thinking about it very hard, as you mentioned.

And so I would recommend all of those things you just mentioned and really looking forward to this being guided. Not only in the climate health sense because that is also going to be causing a lot of public health misery in the years to come. But getting this coronavirus in order, I'm sure, they're going to be like race horses let out of the gate from day one. CHURCH: Yes. We will be watching very closely, of course. I know you will.

Dr. Darragh O'Carroll, thank you so much for joining us, and for all that you do. We appreciate it.

O'CARROLL: Thanks so much.

CHURCH: Vladimir Putin has yet to congratulate Joe Biden on his victory, and now Russian state media is repeating claims made by President Trump about the election. We will have a live report for you after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back.

Well, Chinese state media is raising hopes about better ties with the U.S. under President-elect Joe Biden. Relations between the world's two largest economies sank during the Trump presidency over issues like trade, Hong Kong, and the coronavirus.

And here to discuss is CNN's Kristie Lu Stout, joining us live from Hong Kong. Good to see you, Kristie.

So let's talk about China's expectations under a Biden presidency.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, we are still awaiting official response from Beijing, but with Donald Trump yet to concede, Chinese President, Xi Jinping, has yet to issue a statement. So we've been monitoring the reaction in Chinese state-run media. And overall they have been signaling a note of cautious optimism about Biden's victory.

[02:40:00]

STOUT: Some news media outlets in China, saying that they are hopeful that Biden will be able to stabilize this very rocky relationship between these two world powers. Let's bring up an editorial that was issued by the Global Times in response to Biden's victory over the weekend. It says this, "Biden is expected to appoint more professional officials to his diplomatic team and so it will be possible for U.S.- China tensions to take a brief time out".

And then we have this from the state-run, China Daily newspaper, which writes, "Improving ties with China which may not be a policy option for U.S. politicians of either party at this point, nor is it a priority consideration. But managing it certainly should be a prime concern. The question then is where to start. The answer appears to be obvious: trade. Reviving the trade talks is critical to restore some understanding and trust in China-U.S. relations".

Now Rosemary, tension between the U.S. and China will continue to simmer. We are at an unprecedented low in the relationship between U.S. and China lows, not seen since when diplomatic relations were established back in the Nixon era under multiple front level from tech, trade, Taiwan, Xinjiang, South China Sea, Hong Kong, and the fate and future of the territory here. The list goes on. Because of the stakes China has been watching the outcome of the U.S. election very closely, but also because of the theatrics and perceived absurdity.

Recently, Donald Trump took to Twitter, and said that he had won the election by "by a lot". That is not true. The People's Daily, a communist party mouthpiece in China responded to that on Twitter by trolling the U.S. President with a crying with tears LOL emoji, and the word "ha ha". Now that post has since been taken down. Rosemary.

CHURCH: Interesting. We will continue to wait for that official reaction. Kristie Lu Stout joining us live from Hong Kong. Many thanks.

Well, someone who has not reached out to the U.S. president-elect, Russian president, Vladimir Putin. And Russian state TV is amplifying Donald Trump's unfounded claims of election fraud.

Frederik Pleitgen, joins us now, live to discuss. Good to see you, Fred. Of course, it's no surprise that Russian state media is repeating these unfounded claims, and that President Putin remains silent at this time. So, what is the latest on this?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're absolutely right, Rosemary. The Kremlin remains mute on the subject, so far hasn't said anything. We are still waiting for a possible call, a possible press call by the Kremlin's spokesperson. We'll see whether or not there is going to be any sort of update then as to why exactly the Kremlin hasn't said anything yet.

But you are absolutely right, Russian state media amplifying some of the claims, the false claims that President Trump has been making, essentially trying to call the U.S. election illegitimate, especially the mail-in ballots. A lot of that, Rosemary, is of course for domestic consumption in Russia.

Essentially, the Russians saying, "Look, the U.S. lecturing us on all the shortcomings, Democratic shortcomings in Russia, and now look at what the election is like there in the United States". So it's certainly something that some of these Kremlin propagandists have been feasting on.

As far as the Russian President himself is concerned, it is actually quite interesting, because it certainly does seem as though Vladimir Putin obviously favored President Trump to have another term, but of course Vladimir Putin is also really a veteran of international politics. In fact, when Joe Biden takes office, Putin will be on his fifth U.S. presidents.

So obviously, the Putin administration will be capable of working with whoever goes into office in the United States. And essentially, what Vladimir Putin has said in the past is, look, he said he thinks that he's heard some good things for Russia from President Trump. But the Russians also believe that as far as, for instance, some of these disarmament treaties are concerned, they believe they can also work with a Biden administration.

You look at, for instance, the new stark agreement, which so many people have been talking about, keeping the amount of nuclear warheads down, and then also a possible successor to the INF Treaty as well. It certainly seems though the Putin administration does believe that at least in Joe Biden, or Biden administration, they would have someone competent to talk to, to try and get those agreements either back on track, or keep them on track. So that's certainly something where they believe that they can work with the Biden administration.

Then you have some senior Russian politicians, like, for instance, the senior senator Konstantin Kosachev, who said, "Look, quite frankly, after the past four years, it is hard to see how things can get worse than they already have been. Obviously, a lot of new sanctions against the Russians, the relations have been very, very difficult". So there are some who believe that while it might not get better, they certainly don't believe that it necessarily can't get any worse than it already has been.

But in general, if you look at Russian media, you look at some of the state media channels also some of the newspapers, quite frankly as well. They certainly don't believe that there is going to be something like an improvement in U.S.-Russian relations even though some believe that it has already hit rock bottom and it's hard to get any worse than it already has been. Rosemary.

[02:45:00]

CHURCH: Interesting. Frederik Pleitgen, joining us live from Berlin. Many thanks.

Well, in Iran, President Hassan Rouhani says, Joe Biden and the next U.S. administration has the opportunity to quote "Make up for past mistakes". That is according to Iran's state-run media.

Nick Paton Walsh joins us now live. Good to see you, Nick. What Murray learning about this?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: We've also heard that the foreign minister, Javad Zarif - Mohammad Javad Zarif has reached out in Arabic to Iran's neighbors, who of course we're leading a lot in the Trump administration for sort of a more aggressive approach towards Iran in the region to say that they should not be relying on neighbors and they could work things out between them.

The real road header is kind of clear. Joe Biden President-elect made it clear while he was campaigning that he wanted to get back into the nuclear deal that Trump kind of tore apart. And to some degree, Iran is pretty clear they want to do that as well. And Trump has made Biden's path relatively easy, because frankly at this point there's very little left for the U.S. to sanction in Iran. They have put on terror-related sanctions, nuclear deal related sanctions. So there is a lot that Joe Biden could potentially alleviate as a kind of carat, if you like, towards the Iranians to get back in to the confines of the nuclear deal. Remember Iran has been increasing its enrichment slowly in certain areas, getting outside of what they agreed to under that particular deal. And also the other signatories of the deal as well, particularly European powers akin to see Iran get back into that. But it frankly isn't that simple.

The rhetoric against Iran, particularly amongst Republicans in the senate that Joe Biden is going to need to win over has got particularly fierce. There are Iranian hardliners, who have seen, probably their most prominent figure, Qasem Soleimani, the revolutionary guard chief killed by the Trump administration. So the fever pitch is exceptionally hard to wind down at this point.

And an add on that too, later on next year, the current reformist moderates, who in the charge of Iran's government, President Rouhani mentioned him there, will face reelection and could possibly lose to more hardliners. So there is a small number of months in which Joe Biden has to get this deal back running again, and essentially also to begin working on another deal, because the main provisions in Iran nuclear deal begin to lapse in about five years or so.

And so I believe there is a huge task ahead for Joe Biden, but frankly the massive lapse in relations and the rock-bottom had hit in the Trump administration could only make his job slightly easier. Rosemary.

CHURCH: Nick Paton Walsh, many thanks for joining us. Appreciate it.

Well, record turnout in the election helped put Joe Biden over the top ahead. We will find out what role minority voters played in his win.

Back with that in a moment.

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[02:50:00]

CHURCH: Joe Biden won the presidency by the thinnest of margins in several states despite a record turnout this year, and many accrediting voters of color for helping carry the president-elect over the finish line. Concern over the coronavirus, the economic downturn and racial injustice were among the top issues that brought them out in record numbers.

And as you can see from the CNN exit polling, while more white voters supported Mr. Trump, voters of color went heavily for Joe Biden.

Joining me now is Theodore Johnson, a senior fellow at Brennan Center for Justice. Thank you so much for being with us.

THEODORE JOHNSON, SENIOR FELLOW, BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: So broadly speaking, how significant was the Black and Hispanic vote for president-elect Joe Biden in the 2020 election? JOHNSON: Yes, well, by the looks of things and there is still some votes to be counted, but it looks like Brown and Black voters won the election for Joe Biden. If you look at turnout in Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia, you will find that in those very slim margins of victory that Biden seems to have pulled out, that the minority votes in those states were really the margin of victory, specifically Atlanta and Georgia, Detroit, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and then out west in Nevada and Arizona.

Mexican Americans provided the margin of victory alongside native Americans, especially in Arizona. So it cannot be discounted, it can't be underscored enough, the rule that minority voters, particularly Black and Brown voters played in this election.

CHURCH: And explain to us why you think it was so different for 2020 and given we were all dealing with the pandemic at the same time and yet so many Black and Brown voters came out to make sure their voice was heard. What was different about this election?

JOHNSON: Yes. So I think it's a number of things. One, 2020 was a difficult year for the world, I think, but especially for people of color in the United States. The coronavirus pandemic, we know that has pretty much shut the country down, sequestered people in their homes, quarantined some, social distancing. But what it really did was impact communities of color at a disproportionate rate than other communities in terms of who got the disease and who perished from it, who died from it.

And then you had the economy again that was unstable and communities of color bore the brunt of the downturn in terms of unemployment and inability to find new work and meeting the stimulus checks and the unemployment assistance from government that turned out to be wanting near the election.

And then you layer on top of that the killing of George Floyd on Memorial Day. And a summer of racial injustice protests that were multi-racial, multi-generational across the region, every state in the union and so the convergence of these three things reminded the voter, whatever they took for granted in 2016's election that caused a number of voters of color to sit the election out, they did not take those things for granted this time around.

CHURCH: And of course Kamala Harris made history. The first woman of color to become vice president elect. How significant is that for you, and how big a role do you think she played in bringing Black voters out to cast their ballot?

[02:55:00]

JOHNSON: Yes, it's historic. And look, we know Barack Obama was the first Black president in 2008, reelected in 2012, but there is something to be said about having a black woman, a woman of South Asian descent as the first female vice president. And what we know from political science is that when black women, in particular, run as Democrats, that the black voter turnout in cities that have high black concentrations tends to increase as well. So naming her to the ticket was, I think, a strategic move on behalf of the Biden campaign to run up the score among black voters by naming Kamala Harris to the ticket, knowing the effect that a black Democratic on a ticket has on black voter turnout.

CHURCH: Theodore Johnson, thank you so much for joining. We appreciate it.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

CHURCH: And game show legend, Alex Trebek is being remembered as a great man, both on and off the screen after his death Sunday at the age of 80.

"Jeopardy", which he hosted since 1984 was what we call appointment viewing in millions of U.S. households. Trebek hosted more than 8,000 episodes over 36 years, and continued even while undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Trebek revealed in March of last year that he was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer.

A look back now on his very first show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And now here is the host of Jeopardy, Alex Trebek!

(APPLAUSE)

ALEX TREBEK, HOST OF JEOPARDY: Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of all of us, welcome to America's favorite answer and question game, Jeopardy!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And he, of course, will be greatly missed.

That is all the time we have for this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. We will be back with another hour of live news in just a moment.

Do stay with us.

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