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Russia Sympathize with President Trump; Huge Challenge to be Dealt by Biden Administration; World Leaders Sees a Path of Peace in Biden's Leadership; Stock Markets Reacts to Biden's Victory; Vice President-elect Kamala Harris' Victory Celebrated by Millions of Women; Biden Ironing Out COVID-19 Plans; Crickets Heard from GOP; No Congratulatory Calls From Chinese and Russian Leaders; Health Experts Hopes for a Change in Health Approach; U.S. Coronavirus Cases Worsen. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired November 09, 2020 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, Joe Biden hits the ground running. The president-elect taking action to ensure the coronavirus pandemic is his top priority, and he has a big job ahead of him for the 5th day in a row. The U.S. reported more than 100,000 COVID cases.

With European alienated and sour relations with China, Biden is inheriting some major foreign policy challenges, and many world leaders are already signaling an eagerness to work with the next administration.

Well, U.S. President-elect Joe Biden won't be sworn in for more than two months but he is already working on the challenges facing the nation. Priority one, the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the coming hours he will speak about his coronavirus strategy and announce of the 12 members of his new task force. The virus cases surges to new heights while the U.S. was watching the vote come in.

The U.S. has seen more than half a million new cases just since election day. And look at this map. It shows average daily infections well over 1,000 a day in most of the country.

Texas and Illinois are averaging more than 7,500 a day. The current president meantime still has not conceded and spent Sunday playing golf. He is in the circle is reportedly fighting over whether to admit defeat. But it's also Mr. Trump wants a media blitz claiming without proof that the election was stolen.

From the U.S. to Europe and Asia, CNN is covering the story from all around the world. So, let's start with our own Jason Carroll. He's standing by in Wilmington, Delaware with what to expect from the president-elect in the coming hours.

So, Jason, multiple challenges ahead for Joe Biden in his new role.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

CHURCH: The pandemic as we mentioned, taking top priority. What is he expected to do in the hours ahead?

CARROLL: Rosemary, clearly the pandemic is the number one priority for this administration. Health officials have already pretty much made it very clear that if the Biden administration is going to get any sort of handle on the pandemic, it's really going to have to be an all hands-on deck approach.

And this is something that the Biden team knew. This is something that the Biden team was prepared for. They have been working behind the scenes for weeks, meeting with health officials. And in fact, just last week, then Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kalama (Ph) -- Kalama -- Kamala Harris met with health officials about the pandemic.

Today, as you mentioned, the president-elect is going to be revealing more details about that 12-person coronavirus task force that he has put into place. He's going to be given statements later today about what his plan is going to be to move forward with the pandemic and how to deal with the pandemic.

That will obviously involve things like more of a national sort of plan to test people in this country, increased testing in the country. So, this is the number one priority set forth for this new incoming administration. And it's a very tall order.

CHURCH: Yes. I mean, it all sounds incredibly encouraging, but realistically, Jason, how much can the president-elect achieve in the next 72 days while he waits to take office on January 20?

CARROLL: Well, look, it's a good question. Obviously, there are a great deal of challenges that this administration, incoming administration is going to face. They have been working behind the scenes, the transition team since Labor Day behind the scenes, trying to get things in order. There are certain things he can do as a president-elect. He can put together his cabinet. Make cabinet announcements.

That's not -- that's not expected to happen for a little while yet, but in this next time between now and when he is inaugurated on January 20th, these are the most important things that this administration knows, that lies in front of it is dealing with the pandemic.

The big question is though, will the outgoing administration, President Trump and his administration thrown in monkey wrenches into the transition of power. These are some of the things that the Biden administration is concerned about. But they are prepared for the good, bad and the ugly in terms of transition. So, they are prepared for that as well.

[03:05:01]

CHURCH: All right. Jason Carroll, many thanks to you joining us very late there. Wilmington, Delaware. We appreciate it.

And far from conceding, Donald Trump's campaign is planning a messaging blitz to push the theory that his second term is being stolen through a corrupt vote counts in battleground states. And that is despite sources telling CNN that some key voices in the president's inner circle are encouraging him to accept defeat.

Boris Sanchez is at the White House with more details on what we know at this point. So, Boris, President Trump refusing to concede, despite some as we mentioned, within his own inner circle suggesting he accept his loss. What more are you learning about that? And of course, this media blitz that he is planning? What do we know?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's quite an interesting situation, Rosemary. First you have people close to the president broaching the subject about a concession speech. And whether the president should accept defeat at the hands of President-elect Joe Biden.

According to our sources, the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner and the first lady Melania Trump have brought up the conversation with the president, but it is not something he is eager to do. Instead, he is digging in his heels with denialism.

The president being encouraged by aides, specifically his own attorney Rudy Giuliani, and according to sources, his own son-in-law, again Jared Kushner and other campaign aides, to effectively go out there and take this denialism on the road.

The president apparently planning campaign style rallies where he is going to try to make his case to the American people that this election was stolen despite no evidence at all of any impropriety in the election. These rallies, partly, are expected to include moments where the president will reportedly read obituaries of people that he claims passed away before the election, but voted in them.

Again, there is no evidence to indicate that any of these claims from the president and other Republican officials are valid at all whatsoever, despite that the president intends to move forward. And he's being encouraged not just by these officials close to him, but also very prominent Republicans.

Senators like Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz, even the governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem coming out and effectively saying that the president should fight this.

Noticeably, there are other Republicans who are largely remaining silent. The Senate Majority Leader, for example, Mitch McConnell, he sent out a tweet a few days ago effectively saying that legal votes should be counted very, very selectively and careful language, nothing like the boisterous incendiary claims that we have heard from President Trump. Notably, also, we haven't really heard much from Mike Pence. The last

time that we saw the vice president was Wednesday very early in the morning. He followed up some, again, some very incendiary claims by the president with almost a hedging of the president's statement sharing only two or three sentences with the American people.

He has not really said much about these claims of dead people voting or the conspiratorial thinking that the president is engaged in, ultimately though, it appears that there are waiting to see how the president responds to this, perhaps with a bit of hope that reality may soon sink in. Rosemary?

CHURCH: yes. So, Boris, which is likely to happen with these legal challenges, falsely claiming the existence of massive voter fraud, and what's next for Donald Trump when he does eventually leave office?

SANCHEZ: Right. So, as far as the lawsuits are concerned in different states, look, there are people that are close to the president, aides who readily acknowledge in private that these lawsuits are weak. That ultimately, they will not overturn the results of the 2020 election, especially when you consider some of these vote total leads by Joe Biden. More than 40,000 votes ahead of President Trump in the key swing state of Pennsylvania, for example.

Ultimately though, it's part of a tactic by the Trump campaign and his attorneys to try to delay the transition and find a way to sort of circumvent the Democratic process. As for President Trump's future, he still holds enormous power over the Republican Party. And you see that with his silence that we are hearing from so many Republican lawmakers and prominent Republicans.

The president ultimately will serve as a sort of king maker, and whoever he endorses and races national or local may get a boost from his support. After all, more than 70 million Americans voted for President Trump. He'll likely also capitalize on that support. You can imagine there will be speaking engagements that are paid, perhaps some ghost-written books. Perhaps more campaign rallies.

And there are murmurs among some of the White House about a potential 2024 run if he ever accepts that he lost in 2020. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yes. We'll watch that very closely. Boris Sanchez joining us live from the White House. Many thanks.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

[03:10:02]

CHURCH: Well, meanwhile, former President George W. Bush has congratulated Biden saying, 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.

Republican Senator Mitt Romney has also weighed in saying he has seen no evidence of widespread election fraud. Here he was speaking to CNN's Jake Tapper.

(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 is just no evidence of that at the stage, and I think it's important for us to recognize that the world is watching.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Abd many leaders from around the world are congratulating Joe Biden on his election when. But there are still a few key heads of states holding back.

CNN's Nic Robertson joins us now to bring us the reaction. So, what are the various leaders across the globe saying about this?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, you're right. People like President Vladimir Putin, and the Chinese leader of China, Xi Jinping the -- who have not, you know, spoken out and congratulated as pretty much everyone else has. You know, we heard from the Saudis yesterday, the king and the crown prince of Saudi Arabia offering their sincere congratulations to Joe Biden.

Look, there is a real hope around the world that this is a real reset, that the uncertainty of a Trump administration, the trade war that he started with China, the pulling back from multinational, multilateral institutions that have been the hallmark of the U.S. as sort of power and influence around the world. That it stopped vacuums of powers opening up and to be exploited by nefarious countries. That will come back under Joe Biden, you know, president-elect.

The assessment, I think you were mentioning there and we've been talking about it here of, you know, what happens to President Trump at the moment, how does he decide on his exit from the White House. Of course, that is really cleanly be -- clearly being watched. But more than that, it's really now sites are set on President-elect Joe Biden. What is he going to do? How is he going to change things? The whole process is so carefully watched.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joe Biden --

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: 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. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I look forward to forging a great partnership.

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Even the U.K.'s Trump friendly P.M. Boris Johnson, shifting gears.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

Well, this is the image that people in Europe are waking up to for the next American president. (Inaudible) with sunglasses and all. And I think this encapsulates the message here that people around the world wonders well, time to heal. We have it in this newspaper as well.

A time to heal, America. But a 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.

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 assure his statement from the election result.

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR, PRESIDENT OF MEXICO (through translator): I cannot congratulate one candidate or the other. I want to wait until the electoral process is over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Iran is reacting with caution. Its foreign minister says it will wait to see if Biden abandons the quote, "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.

[03:15:02] Many people in Iran say they would welcome relief from crippling U.S. sanctions that have hurt their economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: But overwhelmingly, many people across the globe say they have grown weary of the tweets and the tone coming from the current White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: 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.

So, President-elect Joe Biden top of his agenda as we hear is tackling the global pandemic. And that really does seem to be the sort of unifying international issue.

You saw Ursula von der Leyen there, the European commission president congratulating Joe Biden. She is talking about strengthening and deepening those ties with the United States between the European Union, specifically on that, on the issue of the pandemic and the impact on the economy.

And to that point as well today, you have E.U. trade ministers meeting to discuss precisely that. New trade relationship resetting with the United States under a Joe Biden presidency.

CHURCH: Incredible. Thanks for that great report too. Nic Robertson joining us there live.

Well, a surge in cases and a new strategy. President-elect Biden is set to unveil his plan to fight coronavirus today as new case numbers in the U.S. soar. We will have the details for you on the other side of the break. Stay with us.

[03:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: COVID-19 is the first item on President-elect Joe Biden's agenda and that's for good reason. New case numbers are exploding across the country and many health experts say it's going to get worse.

Take a look at this. More than 100,000 new coronaviruses cases were confirmed nationwide Sunday. That's the fifth straight day new cases have topped 100,000.

President-elect Biden will outline his plan to fight the pandemic today, and will name a coronavirus task force. It will be led by prominent doctors and scientists. One former FDA commissioner says Biden can do a lot to suppress the virus without resorting to a national lockdown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORMER COMMISSIONER, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION: We don't need to shut down the country, close businesses, tell people they need to stay at home to get some measure of control over this virus. We're not going to get perfect control over this virus. It's a contagious virus. It's going to spread, but it doesn't need to spread at the levels and at the velocity that's going to start to press the health healthcare system which is what we're seeing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

DARRAGH O'CARROLL, EMERGENCY ROOM 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 guided by science. It is the polar opposite of what we have seen under the Trump administration. What's your reaction as a doctor?

O'CARROLL: Yes. Really looking forward to it. You know, I wish it could happen sooner but we've -- it's been shown time and time again that as soon as you politicize this virus and politicize the science, you know, things go in the wrong direction and that's where we are seeing at the moment.

We're having the highest number of cases we've ever seen. Record breaking, you know, every single day. And this is not portraying well for, you know, the rest of this fall and the 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, you know, if things were to change around, let's say, you know, 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. You know, that would save, quite honestly, hundreds and thousands of lives.

CHURCH: Yes. I mean, 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 he had -- if you had his ear?

O'CARROLL: Sure. Absolutely. Promote masks. We do know it's one of the simplest yet most efficacious tools that we have at our disposal and we'll continue to have at our disposal. You know, increasing the production of our vaccinations that are in development. You know, we do have to see the efficacy data. We do have to see the safety data. Those are 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, you know, ways to combat this virus rather than strictly looking at the economy.

Economy is very important, but what we do know, I have to say it again, what we've seen time and time again is that our economic health is tied to our public health. So, let's get our 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.

[03:25:02]

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: You know, some models are predicting that without a national mask mandate we're going to have another 135,000 deaths by January. And that's astronomical. And that's inexcusable. And that needs to be rectified.

And if, you know, President Trump wanted to somehow turnaround some sort of blip in his presidency and save American lives, you know, you would think about following public health guidance, because he's got nothing to, nothing to gain by not at this point.

Golfing doesn't 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, you know, getting this coronavirus in order. I'm sure they're going to be like race horses let out of the gate as soon, from day one.

CHURCH: Yes. We'll 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: And of course, it's not just the United States. The rest of the world is also struggling to get the pandemic under control. The number of confirmed cases worldwide has now topped 50 million. That is according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 1.2 million people are confirmed to have died from the virus.

The country is with the highest numbers of infections of the United States, followed by India, Brazil, France and Russia.

Well, the Republican Party might not be congratulating Joe Biden yet, but some world leaders are as they prepare for a major shift in U.S. foreign policy. Back with that in just one moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone.

So let's talk about how the world is reacting to the U.S. election. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been silent on Joe Biden's win so far. It's worth noting that he congratulated President Trump just hours after his win back in 2016.

And Russian state TV is amplifying Mr. Trump's unfounded claims of election fraud. Meanwhile, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has offered his congratulations and says he is looking forward to working with the new administration.

And South Korea's leaders closely watching after seeing President Trump take a different approach to handling North Korea, but say they don't expect the Biden administration to revert back to the Obama era, policy of strategic patience.

So, let's bring in our team from around the world. Frederik Pleitgen is in Berlin. David McKenzie is in Johannesburg. And Paula Hancocks joins us live from Seoul.

Good to see you all.

So, Fred, let's start with you. No surprise, of course that Russian state media is repeating unfounded claims of voter fraud. And President Putin is remaining silent at this time. What is the latest on all of this? FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're

absolutely right. For the past several days, Rosemary, Russian state media Kremlin controlled state media has been amplifying some of those false claims that President Trump has been making, essentially calling the election illegitimate, especially the mail-in ballots, it's something that they are taking aim at.

And of course, we have to keep in mind, a lot of that of course, or pretty much all of that is for domestic consumption inside Russia. One of the things that you hear repeated again and again and again is look, the Americans keep talking so much about the shortcomings of democracy in Russia and so look at the election that's taking place there now in the United States.

Again, amplifying those false claims that have been made by President Trump to try and discredit the entire political process inside the United States. Then you have the Kremlin. You are absolutely right. So far, Vladimir Putin remains mute on the election. And he certainly did, only after a few hours congratulate President Trump in 2016.

One of the things that we've heard from the Kremlin in the past from Vladimir Putin in the past, is that obviously he knows that whoever is going to be in the White House is going to be the person that he is going to have to work with. He's worked with several administrations, some that were more or less hostile towards Moscow.

So, the Russians are basically going to take this the way that it comes, essentially what Vladimir Putin has said is he said look, of course there are certain things that he liked about President Trump.

A lot of things that President Trump said about Vladimir Putin, taking a soft line every now and again vis-a-vis, Moscow, but for instance, as far as arms reduction treaties are concerned, the Russians are saying they do believe that they have a path there with a possible Biden administration.

First and foremost, of course, the new start treaty we've been talking about so much over the past couple of weeks. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right. Many thanks to our Frederik Pleitgen joining us there live. I appreciate it. Let's go to David McKenzie in Johannesburg. And David, what's been their reaction to President-elect Biden across the African continent?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly many key leaders, Rosemary, South Africa, Kenya, Nigerian presidents all quickly congratulating on social media President-elect Biden for his win. That was to be expected.

I think there is a sense that the Trump presidency, you know, as an individual leader, he largely ignored the African continent in public. He didn't travel here. And in private he was seen to make disparaging remarks that many see as racist towards countries in the African continent.

So there is an expectation from leaders and policymakers on the African continent that they'll get a more conventional American policy towards their countries with Biden coming in. He is obviously a known factor to many leaders, because of his role in the Obama presidency.

It is a complicated relationship with different countries, having different areas of concern with the Americans, but I think there are a couple of factors that might change quite rapidly with Biden coming into the presidency in just the first few days.

The incoming president has said they will get rid of those restrictive travel bans that have affected several African countries in terms of immigration, rejoining the Paris accord, and Africa of course and many countries adversely affected by climate change more than other regions.

[03:34:54]

As well as the reengagement with the World Health Organization and with the ongoing COVID pandemic there will be a sense from public health leaders that they might stand a better chance of having a multi-lateral approach towards accessing a vaccine from the Biden campaign, something that could be critical for moving past this pandemic. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Many thanks to David McKenzie there. We turn to Paula Hancocks live from Seoul. Good to see you, Paula. So, what's being said in South Korea? And any reaction coming out of North Korea at this time?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, when it comes to South Korea, that was a fairly swift congratulations from President Moon Jae-in, also saying that he sees there is going to be no vacuum, no gaps between the two administrations when it comes to the peace process, for example. He doesn't believe that it will change radically and also when it comes to alliances.

Of course, we have heard from President elect Biden -- he wrote an op- ed in one of the South Korean newspapers that he will be encouraging closer alliance, something which he believes Donald Trump did something very different the exact opposite in fact.

But when it comes to North Korea, we haven't yet heard a response. It's not unusual. It usually does take Pyongyang several days to react to whoever won the U.S. election, but it's likely this is not the result that Kim Jong-un wanted. He has spent a lot of time and effort with President Donald Trump. They have had three historic meetings, there were countless letters. Letters which Mr. Trump called love letters.

And clearly, it was a top down approach. It was all about the relationship between these two leaders. That is likely to change quite radically now. We've heard from President-elect Biden that he has been very critical of North Korea during the campaign.

He called Kim Jong-un a thug during one of the presidential debates. But he has said that he could meet with Kim Jong-un own if needed, but he would definitely need to know that there had been some kind of nuclear or weaponry capability given up in order to get that particular meeting.

And he has been very critical of the way that President Trump has dealt with North Korea. Now when it comes to North Korea thinks of President-elect Biden, they have insulted him as they do every leader. They deal with really, they called him a fool of low I.Q.

And clearly, most experts would say that there could be, in the next few months, a test of the new President Biden coming into power, North Korea likely to do some kind of so-called provocation to see what the boundaries are and how Biden would react. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right. Many thanks to Paula Hancocks, along with David McKenzie and Frederik Pleitgen all joining us there. I appreciate it.

So, let's talk now with Ambassador Christopher Hill. He is the former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, Iraq, Poland, and North Macedonia. Great to have you with us.

CHRISTOPHER HILL, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO SOUTH KOREA AND IRAQ: Real pleasure.

CHURCH: So, on January 20th, President-elect Joe Biden will need to hit the ground running on foreign policy issues mending fences across the globe up to four years, President Trump turning U.S. diplomacy on its head, offending allies while befriending adversaries. How big a challenge will this be and what will Joe Biden's top priority need to be?

HILL: Well, as your question suggests, is going to be quite a challenge. There is a lot to do there. I suspect one of his initial moves, of course, will be as he has talked about recently, which is to rejoin the Paris -- Paris climate change accord. I think that would probably be number one.

But I think soon on its heels, it will be an effort really to work with our allies. Joe Biden is someone who really believes in relationships. And I think like all of us he has been very worried about what has happened to our alliances and so I think you will be seeing a big effort to kind of reattach the U.S. to its partners and allies in the world.

Beyond that, a lot of other things going on, including dealing with crises and other problems around the world.

CHURCH: So, what does the president-elect need to do when it comes to North Korea and Russia given the mixed signals both those nations received from President Trump in the last four years?

HILL: Well, I think President-elect Biden is someone interested in having relationships where, you know, around the world where we could talk to people. So, I don't think you'll see this past problem the U.S. has sometimes had about not wanting to talk to people, but I think the president-elect will be very serious about being clear and what, you know, what our -- what our problems are.

We do have big problems with Russia. We certainly have a huge problem with North Korea. I might add as someone who has spent some four years negotiating it, it's not really in a better place. It's not at all in a better place as a result of him of sort of reality TV diplomacy we saw from President Trump. So, there is going to be a big effort there.

[03:40:01]

And finally, I think it's very important to look very hard at this Iran situation, which is also part of the effort to repair our alliance relations.

CHURCH: Yes. I mean, what needs to happen with the Iran nuclear deal? Originally brokered, of course, by the Obama administration in 2015, then abandoned by President Trump in 2018.

HILL: Well, I think it will be in the United States, it will be kind of tied to the effort that I think the president-elect has talked about, which is the need to kind of regain some civil tone in this country. Maybe lay things out to the Republicans who will still be a powerful force in the Congress, and see if there can be a better understanding of what we have to do going forward.

You know, there are a lot of Republicans who really objected to the Iran deal. I think we've seen in the last four years that whatever President Trump thought he was going to put up, and instead, he hasn't really improved the situation. So, I think there will be a lot of diplomacy to be sure with other countries involved in the Iran deal. But there'll perhaps be more diplomacy internally in the U.S. and trying to make people understand this is the best way forward.

There may be other elements too. There may be an element of looking at some of the intern -- of the regional issues in the Middle East. You know, it's hard to say at this point. That's something for the president-elect to determine. But clearly, something needs to be done, because right now it is not in a good place.

CHURCH: And Ambassador, what about the trade deals Donald Trump abandoned during the course of his administration? How difficult will it likely be to renegotiate some of those deals?

HILL: Well, when you ask how difficult it will be, that's easy, it will be very difficult. There are a lot of issues there, a lot of concerns, certainly about China, and one of the distinguishing features of this American presidential election was the fact that there was a lot of similarities between the two parties in their weariness and wariness about -- about dealing with China.

But I think what you'll see is a real policy and effort to kind of take up the issue and see what we can do with it rather than pronouncements that were often never implemented and were often kind of left out there as a sort of soundbite which really didn't lead to any policy follow-up.

So, I think, and I like to think that one of the big changes we'll see coming up is we are going to have diplomacy to be sure, but we are actually going to have diplomacy with diplomats and I think a big issue would be to rebuild the State Department, which has really been allowed to -- has suffered greatly in the last four years.

CHURCH: Ambassador Christopher Hill, a pleasure to talk with you. Thank you.

HILL: Thank you.

CHURCH: Well, markets around the world are reacting favorably to Joe Biden's projected win. Up next, a look at why investors are feeling so positive. Back in a moment.

[03:45:00]

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CHURCH: Joe Biden's projected victory seems to be pleasing the stock market.

CNN's Selina Wang joins us now from Tokyo with a closer look. Good to see you, Selina. Favorable reaction so far. How sustainable is this?

SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, great to be with you. That's right. Clearly, markets here are embracing a Joe Biden presidency. The markets before this weekend were already expecting Joe Biden to be victorious and now the focus here is really on that Senate race.

Investors are expecting Republicans to maintain hold of the Senate. Some preferred the gridlock. They see it as limiting the ability of Democrats to roll back those tax cuts, as well as leading to more moderate regulation. But others were hoping for a blue wave that they see bringing in even more stimulus spending and leaning to even more economic growth.

But Rosemary, regardless of who becomes president, that big factor, that is really driving the markets is the pandemic as well as the Federal Reserve. The Fed is going to maintain those low interest rates, meanwhile the pandemic continues to rage in the United States with no signs of slowing down.

The expectation though is that Joe Biden can be more effective in containing the virus. He is already assembling this coronavirus task force.

Now if you look at the picture globally, markets across Asia are rallying. If you look here in Japan, the Nikkei already trading at three-year highs is continuing to edge even higher. Investors globally are really hoping that Trump, unlike Trump, Biden is going to bring diplomacy back to a more moderate stance when it comes to foreign policy and trade.

When it comes to China, markets rallying here today as well. Even though Joe Biden isn't expected to substantially change the overall direction, given the bipartisan consensus of this Washington tough China policy, at the very least, the hope is that it will lead to a more predictable, less chaotic policy around China. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right. Selina Wang, many thanks for joining us live there. I appreciate it.

U.S. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is preparing for her new role. We will look at the impact she is likely to have as second in command at the White House.

[03:50:00]

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT: Every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities. And to the children of our country, regardless of your gender, our country has sent you a clear message. Dream with ambition. Lead with conviction. And See yourselves in a way that others may not. Simply because they have never seen it before. But know that we will applaud you every step of the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Kamala Harris making history as the first female and the first black and South Asian vice president-elect.

CNN's Kyung Lah looks at why this moment means so much to women and girls across this country.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wearing the color of the women's right to vote movement a century ago. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris showed the world what the future now holds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: The audience mirroring her message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now we know that we have hoped to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: From those who saw her in person.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As a refugee myself, I came here 11 years ago. I'm really excited to see her in office.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP) LAH: To those who spilled into city streets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMIE GRAY, CELEBRATING BIDEN WIN: Today was a monumental day. I did not wake up this morning expecting for this to be one of the best days of our lives. But it really is.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today my woman made history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:55:03]

LAH: To post across social media, women and girls, especially those of color, celebrating themselves finally reflected in one of the most powerful positions in the country, paving the path has been a passion for Harris, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants. A mission instilled in her by her late mother as she told me during her own presidential run.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: When I see those little girls in particular, I mean, I see myself, right? And I see the children of my family. And I see the children of our country. And I see the promise of our country. My mother had many sayings. And one of them is you may be the first to do many things, make sure you are not the last.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: A dream now realized.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: And it's not just with future generations that Harris hopes to have an impact, it's with women right now. As we saw during her presidential run, and also her time as a senator, she hires a diverse staff leaning on women of color, and not just in numbers of staff but in placing those women and decision-making roles.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Scottsdale, Arizona.

CHURCH: All very inspiring. And thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. Early Start is up next. Have yourselves a great day.

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