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Biden Moves Forward With One-Sided Transition; Trump's Devolution As A Cult Personality; South Korea's President Moon Speaks The Biden; Bolsonaro Ignores Biden; U.S.: Nine Days Of Cases Over 100,000; Japan's Third Wave: Economy Over Health?; U.S. and U.K. Slam Removal of Pro-Democracy Lawmakers; Blast in Saudi Arabia Injures at Least Two People; Trump's Move to Replace Defense Officials Alarms Pentagon; Election Misinformation Spreading in Social Media; Examining which Masks are Best at Blocking Virus. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired November 12, 2020 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Nationally and in key states. Although those close to Donald Trump say it's likely he will ever concede.
As the U.S. heads towards COVID hell, a coronavirus advisor to President Elect Biden talks up (ph) a six-week long nationwide lockdown.
And one country two systems no more. Beijing means to make more control over Hong Kong, ending the freedoms and autonomy China agreed to as part of the handover deal with Britain.
Despite what the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue may tweet, regardless of the incredulous actions and false and misleading statements of his Republican enablers, there is one undeniable fact right now.
Come January 2020 next year, Joe Biden will take the oath of office and will be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States.
The only real unanswered question between now and then is the final number of votes for Biden in what is already an historic win.
On Wednesday, Arizona's Republican attorney general said Joe Biden will win the once ruby red state, and he dismissed claims of voter fraud.
And as the counting continues, the president elect has extended his lead in the popular vote.
While Donald Trump clings to a fantasy of overturning those results, Biden is moving forward with a one-sided transmission announcing Ron Klain as his chief of staff, a crucial role in every White House.
Klain is a political veteran who led the Obama Administration's response to the Ebola pandemic in 2014. On Wednesday, President Trump made his first public appearance in days
attending a Veteran's Day ceremony. But was soon back at the White House rage tweeting about the election claiming he won Pennsylvania and Michigan.
A false claim; he did not win those states.
And with the current president apparently crippled by the inability to concede defeat and mostly absent from his daily job, President Elect Joe Biden seems to be filling that role at least in public.
While behind the scenes, sources tell CNN within weeks Biden could announce who will fill his cabinet.
Details now from CNN's Arlette Saenz.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In Philadelphia, President Elect Joe Biden and the future first lady laid a wreath paying respects to the nation's veterans as President Trump refuses to respect the results of the election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: To our president elect and first lady, Dr. Jill Biden.
CROWD: (Applause)
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: If there's anybody that understands what veterans go through, it's this family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ: The president elect says his commitment to veterans is personal. Pointing to his late son Beau's service in Iraq.
Biden is promising to be a --"commander-in-chief who respects your sacrifice, understands your service and who will never betray the values you fought so bravely to defend."
While President Trump remains defiant about his loss, Biden is defending his position as president elect, even without a concession.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, U. S. PRESIDENT ELECT: I just think it's an embarrassment, quite frankly.
The only thing that -- how can I say this tactfully? I think it will not help the president's legacy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ: Biden has turned to tones of calm and patience while Trump tries to create turmoil by blocking access to key transition resources and mounting legal challenges.
Biden's top attorneys are dismissing those lawsuits and accusations of fraud as political theater.
With 70 days until his inauguration, Biden is pressing ahead with top staffing announcements for his West Wing likely coming later this week.
Cabinet picks are not expected until later in the month, aides tell CNN but the lobbying for positions has already started.
Including from Bernie Sanders, who's reaching out to union leaders as he's eyeing the job of labor secretary.
On the world stage, leaders already are eager to work with the president elect, including on climate change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I had and have a good relationship with the previous president.
But I'm delighted to find the many areas in which the Biden, incoming Biden Harris Administration, is able to make common cause with us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ: Even though more foreign leaders have congratulated Biden than Senate Republicans, some Republicans are starting to acknowledge the transition should get underway.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. PAT TOOMEY (R-PA.): We're on a path. It looks likely that Joe Biden is going to be the next president of the United States. It's not 100 percent certain but it is quite likely.
And so I think a transition process ought to begin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ: And Biden is moving forward with his transition planning naming his incoming chief of staff. Biden has tapped Ron Klain, a longtime adviser, to lead his West Wing operations.
Arlette Saenz, CNN. Wilmington, Delaware.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Mike Madrid is the company-founder of the Lincoln Project, a group of former Republicans who have been working to defeat Donald Trump.
[01:05:00]
A goal which -- it looks like you've done. Congratulations. MIKE MADRID, CO-FOUNDER OF THE LINCOLN PROJECT: Thank you so much.
VAUSE: OK. What really seems hard to understand right now is that given that Trump has lost and lost bigly -- Biden is more than 5 million votes ahead in the popular vote at this point and that lead is only growing as the count continues -- why are Congressional Republicans so willing to humor him in this fantasy that he actually really is the winner?
And if it wasn't for this widespread voting fraud, which doesn't actually exist, he'd actually still be president?
MADRID: I think what we're watching is actually the devolution of a cult of personality here.
For so long and for so many years we have wondered why people have stuck with him despite all of these improprieties, the clear pursuit and encouragement of the influence of foreign governments into our own democracy here in the United States.
And as his circle shrinks -- and make no mistake, the circle is shrinking of supporters -- it becomes a little bit more intense. And I think we're probably going to have to see this for at least another month, month-and-a-half.
We are also seeing at the same time, though, peeling brick by brick, person by person, elector by elector, movement away from Donald Trump and I think we're going to continue to see that public opinion continues to move away from this and tires of this refusal to concede an election which he clearly lost.
VAUSE: But Trump did, notably, get more than 70 million votes which is the second highest turnout ever in a presidential election. Does that give him a certain amount of power within the party?
MADRID: I think it gives him a very strong amount of leverage in the Republican Party but I think that's to its own detriment.
Again, the Republican Party had actually a pretty good night on election night but it wasn't able to secure the presidency. It's no longer a national force despite the high turnout numbers.
Many of these voters, frankly, turned out just for Donald Trump. And so the party has to have -- is going to have to come to some kind of a reckoning about what it wants to be.
Recognizing that it's not going to be able to win a national election again with Donald Trump or perhaps any Trump at the top of the ticket, it's going to have to be a little more self-introspective.
And I think that part of introspection is going to divisions which have clearly been not too far beneath the surface.
Trump's, I think, bullying was able to kind of coddle together and keep together a very tenuous coalition. Once that's gone, I think it'll be a free-for-all. VAUSE: All that said (ph), the most immediate motivation right now
for Republicans is the Georgia runoff for the two senate seats.
The secretary of state in Georgia has ordered a recount of the 5 million ballots and that recount will happen by hand even though he actually made this admission to CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Have you seen any evidence of the widespread fraud or anything along those lines?
BRAD RAFFENSPERGER, SECRETARY OF STATE, GEORGIA: We have ongoing investigations but we have not something widespread, of a large nature. Nothing in the order of over 10,000.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So a vote, a recount vote by hand, which will have no impact on the outcome by the seems of things (ph). What's the point aside from Trump losing the state twice?
MADRID: That's exactly the right way to put it. Look, it's very unlikely that any of these counts or recounts or challenges -- well, first of all the challenges themselves basically are meritless as was just stated by the gentleman in Georgia.
Recounts itself usually have no wide variation in vote counts other than maybe one or 200 votes at the most statewide even when millions of votes are cast.
We're well outside the margin in every one of these states. The truth of the matter is this election was not that close.
But again, what you're seeing is these politicians and elected officials too afraid to move out of the shadow of Donald Trump knowing he's going to attack you, knowing he's going to berate you, knowing he's going to make you the focus national attention.
The other part that gives us a little bit of pause at the Lincoln Project is the potentiality of delaying this out towards where we're outside of what was called the safe harbor period outlined in the constitution which might allow for more legislative influence in the seating of electors.
The truth of the matter is all of this is really more a sign of desperation than it is a sign of strength.
There's a lot of anxiety in the country right now. It's the first time in our history a present has refused to concede an obviously lost election.
But as every day goes by, the president is losing more and more public opinion support amongst the public, he's losing more and more support amongst rank and file Republicans. And he's going to ultimately have to just recognize that he's lost on the grandest stage in the world -- and that's not something that Donald Trump is very comfortable with.
But the inevitability of it is days away. It's coming.
VAUSE: Well, the latest polling from Reuters shows about three percent of the voters who were polled in all this believe Donald Trump actually won this election.
And so given that, it seems like maybe from four years ago, there's some pretty good advice for Republicans right now which they had for Democrats back then.
Listen to this.
[01:10:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAYLEIGH MCENANEY, THEN-TRUMP CAMPAIGN SURROGATE: You have people out there calling for recounts that are unsubstantiated, based on no evidence.
This was a legitimate election and no one should question the fact that Donald Trump is the president elect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLYANNE CONWAY, THEN TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: The left's going to lie.
SEAN HANNITY, ANCHOR, "FOX NEWS:" They're going to go nuts.
CONWAY: The left's going to besmirch. They're going to go crazy.
HANNITY: They're going nuts now.
CONWAY: They can't accept the election results let alone the fact that he's actually going to solve problems (inaudible).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONWAY: They have to decide whether they're going to decide with him finishing his business, interfere with the peaceful transition, transfer of power to President Elect Trump and Vice President Elect Pence.
Of if they're going to be a bunch of crybabies and sore losers about an election that they can't turn around.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE, THEN "FOX NEWS" HOST: This is America, we live in a democracy. Everybody when they woke up in the morning who's registered to vote could go choose.
So how about respecting the majority that also live here? And their votes should count.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So how about respecting that majority, huh?
MADRID: Yes. Look, this is humiliating not just for these people whose names should -- remembered in history, it's humiliating for the country to kind of have to admit to the fact that these people were actually running and in charge of the country for the past four years.
Look, it's time for them to go. It's time to class up and pack up and leave the White House and turns the reins of power over to a more adult leadership and get this country back on track.
VAUSE: Mike, that's a good point to finish on. Thanks so much. Mike Madrid there, co-founder of the Lincoln project.
MADRID: Thanks for having me.
VAUSE: In the last few hours, South Korea's president congratulated U.S. President Elect Joe Biden. President Moon says they spoke about the relationship between the two countries.
More details now from CNN's Paula Hancocks live in Seoul.
The relationship between President Moon and President Trump has never been an easy one. Trump threatened to withdraw troops from South Korea when the North test-fired short range missiles. There was kind of a shrug from Washington.
It does seem that a Biden Administration would return -- would mark a return to this sort of more traditional relationship.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, John. I think everyone here in South Korea and probably around the world is expecting a far more conventional approach when it comes to diplomacy, a working level diplomacy.
Not this top down diplomacy that we've seen from President Trump over the past four years.
So this phone call from the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, happened Thursday morning local time, Wednesday evening in Washington.
They spoke about the relationship between the U.S. and South Korea and President Elect Biden called South Korea the linchpin in the Indo- Pacific arena when it comes to security and when it comes to prosperity.
Just using one of those words, one of these words that we often hear; "iron-clad alliance," "linchpin."
Just hearing that kind of word once again really reminds you just how different the diplomacy has been over the past four years and the relationship between the U.S. and South Korea over the last four years.
Certainly, what we know from President Elect Biden is that, for him, alliances matter.
He wrote an op-ed in "Yonhap" news agency here in South Korea before the election which was fairly unusual talking about how he was going to repair the alliance.
And what also we heard on this phone call was President Elect Biden actually said to President Moon Jae-in that he congratulated him on the way that South Korea had dealt with the coronavirus pandemic.
And that he hoped that the U.S. could emulate in some way, pointing out that the U.S. was a long way behind how South Korea was dealing with it. John.
VAUSE: Notably, though, to your north in Pyongyang, only silence so far on the new president of the United States.
HANCOCKS: That's right. North Korea's often fairly slow at reacting to a new U.S. Administration but this time slower than normal.
And it really speaks volumes, the fact that they haven't even mentioned that there is a President Elect Biden. Clearly, North Korea is highly likely to have preferred a second term of President Trump.
President Trump put Kim Jong-un really on the world stage when it came to diplomacy with three summits between the two, countless letters which President Trump called "love letters."
Now, of course, there was very little to show for it at the end of it, there was little tangible results when it came to denuclearization.
But for Kim Jong-un that was a radical change from what they had had under the previous eight years under President Obama and, of course, with the former vice president, Joe Biden.
So you would assume there'll be some concern in Pyongyang that they will return to that kind of policy.
If not strategic patience which is waiting for Pyongyang to come to the negotiating table then at least a far more conventional process- led approach which really has historically been U.S. foreign policy.
VAUSE: Yes. A return to the old days. Everything old is new again. Paula, thank you. Paula Hancocks in Seoul.
Well, along with the South Korean president, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called President Elect Joe Biden in the past few hours to offer his congratulations. Adding that he's looking forward to strengthening the deep and
enduring alliance between the two countries, as well as celebrating the 70th Anniversary of ANZUS, the Australia-New Zealand-United States security alliance next year.
[01:15:00]
Well, Brazil's president, often referred to as the Trump of the Tropics, is among a handful of world leaders yet to congratulate Biden.
In the past few days, Jair Bolsonaro has referred to Biden as a candidate and the two leaders look set to clash over the Amazon.
Details now from Shasta Darlington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, took a swipe at President Elect Joe Biden during a nationally televised speech where he joked about resorting to gunpowder if diplomacy with the U.S. isn't enough.
Bolsonaro, an ally of Donald Trump, and one of just a few global leaders who has been silent on Biden's win, spoke in a speech Tuesday night where he recalled that a certain presidential candidate had talked about economic consequences if the fires in the Brazilian Amazon weren't controlled.
Without mentioning Biden by name, he said diplomacy might not be enough to deal with the threat. And joked that you have to have, quote "gunpowder."
In the same speech, Bolsonaro also made controversial comments about the COVID-19 pandemic. He said when it comes to the coronavirus, Brazil needs to stop being a country of sissies. But he used a homophobic slur.
He complained that everything now was about the pandemic. He said he was sorry for the victims who died but added we will all die one day.
Now the number of daily cases in Brazil has declined in the last couple of months but it still has the second highest number of deaths worldwide. More than 162,000.
And it has the third highest number of cases, 5.7 million.
Shasta Darlington, CNN, Sao Paulo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, it as the saying goes, "Everything is bigger in Texas." And that applies to the coronavirus.
The state with the most cases in the country has hit a new milestone.
Details when we come back.
Also, warning signs. Japan could be facing a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Live in Tokyo in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: The U.S. has once again shattered its daily record for new cases of the coronavirus.
On Wednesday, more than 140,000 cases were recorded nationwide. For nine days now, new cases have exceeded 100,000.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, EMORY UNIVERSITY: I'm just terrified. We are entering a very dark phase in this pandemic, the numbers are going up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The White House coronavirus task force says community spread has accelerated because people are spending more time indoors with the colder weather.
Hospitalizations are also hitting record highs. More than 65,000 COVID-19 patients around the country.
Medical tents are being set up outside hospitals in Lubbock, Texas. And El Paso County has requested mobile morgues.
Texas is now the first state to surpass 1 million COVID infections.
CNN's Omar Jimenez has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[01:20:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Latin)
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Churches are empty. Businesses, no different. In the new reality for El Paso, Texas where coronavirus has taken hold unlike any other place in the country.
Based on the number of active cases and the population, one in every 30 people in the county actively has COVID-19. The test positivity rate has been at 20 percent or higher since before Halloween.
Nearly 1,100 people are in the hospital with coronavirus. Record levels.
And the virus continues to claim lives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MINERVA MORALES, DANIEL MORALES' MOTHER: He went to work. That was the last time we saw him. That's the last time his children saw him.
JIMENEZ: Daniel Morales, a nurse, fought for weeks.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: We gathered in front of the hospital in the parking lot every evening at 9:00 pm and we pray because -- he'd come home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANCISCO MORALES, DANIEL MORALES' FATHER: I always have a positive nature where he's going to be fine, he's going to -- he's fighting this thing off. He's fighting it, he'll be fine. He never recovered.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: Daniel Morales was 39 years old. Leaving a wife and four kids behind.
It's a pain that's become all too familiar.
This is one of six mobile morgues currently in operation here in El Paso and they say there are more on the way. Just to try and keep up with the number of deaths that we have seen here.
All in all, officials here say they can hold up to 176 bodies if necessary. You couple that possibility with what's been a record level of hospitalizations here and officials say they are on the brink of disaster.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID STOUT, COUNTY COMMISSIONER, EL PASO, TEXAS: We're in a dire situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: David Stout is a county commissioner in El Paso and knows the medical examiner may need even more resources.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: He's also asked that we start looking for an actual brick and mortar situation that has refrigerations.
JIMENEZ: And that's purely because you have so many bodies backing up.
STOUT: Exactly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: In recent weeks, the county judge instituted a shutdown of non-essential businesses. Some are pushing back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Our team members don't have paychecks. If we don't have hours to give them because we can't serve customers, they don't get paid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: The state supports the businesses, calling the judge's move illegal. Pushing for other mitigation strategies.
Stout supports the county judge's order and an extension of the shutdown. Especially as numbers across Texas continue to rise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: When things start getting worse everywhere else people are going to have to go back to those other places, right? And then what's going to happen in El Paso?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: But the debate over how to proceed, shut down or not --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MINERVA MORALES: These are his ashes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: -- is a back and forth Morales no long has patience for.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MINERVA MORALES: We have an empty chair now. We have a void that will never be filled.
And you know what, if I lose my house, if I lose my car, I will replace it. I'll rebuild. But you cannot bring my son back. You can't.
And they're arguing over this and it makes me angry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: Omar Jimenez, CNN. El Paso, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: A new member of President Elect Biden's coronavirus advisory board is now talking about a four to six-week national lockdown to slow the spread of the pandemic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, BIDEN CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE: We could pay for a package right now to cover all of the wages, lost wages for individual workers, for losses to small companies to medium-sized companies.
For cities, states, county governments, we could do all of that. If we did that then we could lock down for four to six weeks.
And if we did that, we could drive the numbers down. Like they've done in Asia, like they did in New Zealand and Australia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Doctors in Japan are warning of a third wave of the coronavirus with infections at a three-month high.
CNN's Selena Wang is live in Tokyo.
So I guess the basic question's first up -- what's behind this third wave?
SELENA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, I've spoken to infectious diseases experts here who are critical of what they see as the government's prioritization of economic growth, boosting domestic travel and the Olympics over COVID-19 prevention.
And they also expect to see another rise potentially in these winter months as more people are spending time indoors in poorly ventilated rooms.
Now Japan, since the beginning of the pandemic, has never implemented a strict lockdown. And that's because the country's laws do not allow them to enforce one.
And we are now seeing this third wave with cases reaching 1,500 cases a day on Wednesday, which is the highest in three months.
The prime minister, Suga, has called for maximum vigilance, increasing of contact tracing and testing. But what's being put in place here in Japan is very relaxed when you compare it to other parts of East Asia.
For instance, I have gone through quarantines in Beijing, in Hong Kong and Japan. By far, it has been the most relaxed here.
In Beijing and Hong Kong, there were strict enforcements to make sure that you did not leave your room for 14 days for incoming travelers.
[01:25:00]
In Hong Kong, I even had to wear a wristband tracker for the entire time. And before I exited quarantine I had to get another COVID test.
In Tokyo, after I landed in the airport and tested negative there was no enforcement after that to make sure I stayed in the same place.
But experts say that despite these relaxed rules, Japan has managed to avoid the skyrocketing cases we've seen in Europe and the U.S. because of this culture of mask wearing and people generally abiding by those social distancing rules. John. VAUSE: I guess, the big question, we've got the Olympics coming up there in about what, eight months from now. And the IOC is actually visiting Tokyo to look at these preparations.
How are they going to move ahead with an Olympic Games, a mass event like this one, in a post-COVID world?
WANG: Well, Thomas Bach, the president of the IOC was asked if a discussion of a possible cancellation would be discussed and he emphatically said no.
In fact, Japan has already moved ahead with test events. For instance, they just held an international gymnastics events with athletes from the U.S., Russia and China.
I spoke to a couple of the athletes who participated and they said that there were many strict rules involved, they felt like they were in this safe bubble.
But again, John, that was an event with some 30 athletes, a few thousand spectators. The question, as you say, is how are they going to replicate that for thousands of athletes, potentially millions of spectators.
So listen here to what Thomas Bach had to say about this question of how many fans can actually go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS BACH, PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE: Having seen now the different tests in Japan, I think we can become more and more confident that we will have a reasonable number of spectators.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WANG: News of the Pfizer drug is certainly welcomed. But Japanese authorities have said before that they are willing to hold the Olympics at any cost, vaccine or no vaccine. John.
VAUSE: Yes. I guess, this vaccine, a lot's riding on it. Everyone wants it around the world. The question is how it's going to work and how it's going to be distributed? A lot to be answered yet.
Selena, thank you. Selena Wang in Tokyo.
Still to come here. So long, one country, two systems. As Beijing clears the ways for removing all political opposition from Hong Kong's legislative body.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:30:04]
VAUSE: Beijing's latest move to wind back Hong Kong's democratic freedoms has been denounced by both the United States and the United Kingdom. On Wednesday the communist government passed a resolution which will
allow Hong Kong's legislature to expel elected officials accused of promoting independence.
Four lawmakers have been sacked, 15 others say they will quite in solidarity. Beijing says the move protects national security. Critics see it is an effort to crack down on dissent.
The White House national security adviser says the Chinese Communist Party has flagrantly violated its international commitments under the Sino-British joint declaration and its promises to the people of Hong Kong including those under the Basic Law.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout live in Hong Kong. So the basic law is essentially Hong Kong's constitution, it was all part of this 1984 treaty between Beijing and London, the U.K. And it was pretty clear about guaranteeing Hong Kong semiautonomous status. And it was meant to be in place for 50, about another 20 years to go. Beijing couldn't wait that long?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, I mean with passing this resolution, they basically told, the government of Carrie Lam who was effectively handpicked by Beijing that she can bypass the courts and choose to dismiss a lawmaker who is believed to endanger national security. And that's what happened to these four lawmakers and why we saw their immediate disqualification yesterday.
But John, I want to I want to update you on what is happening right now because in the last few moments, one of the last few remaining opposition lawmakers in Hong Kong, Claudia Mo has just entered the legislative council building and she's making quite a statement. She's wearing all black. That is the color of the protest movement, especially during the 2019 the Hong Kong protests for democracy.
She is holding a yellow umbrella which is a powerful symbol from the 2014 protest, the umbrella movement protest for universal suffrage. And in her hand she's holding her resignation letter.
Last night, that was when we saw her as well as 14 other of the last remaining opposition lawmakers gather in the legislative council building. They chanted. They held hands. And they announced their plans to leave unmasked in protest to the dismissals of their colleagues. Listen to the reason behind the resignation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLAUDIA MO, RESIGNING HONG KONG LEGISLATOR: This act of resignation is not just in protest against Beijing's rule by decrees no longer rule of law. It's not even rule by law. It is ruled by decree.
And of course, we are also doing this in support of our four ousted colleagues.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: And one by one, Claudia Mo and her fellow remaining opposition lawmakers are submitting their resignation letters this afternoon.
Once that they are submitted and accepted, those voices of dissent in the parliament of Hong Kong will effectively be over. It will be the end of arguably the last remaining venue for opposition here in the territory.
As expected there has been international condemnation to Beijing's move particular from the west. Governments in Australia, the U.K. have condemned the move as well as the United States.
National security adviser Robert O'Brien-- also condemned it but also threatened further sanctions. We'll bring up the statement, writing this, quote, "The United States will continue to utilize all the powers granted under the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, the Hong Kong Economy Act and the executive order on Hong Kong normalization to identify and sanction those responsible for extinguishing Hong Kong's freedom."
Now, China is fully aware of these criticisms from the west and not having any of it. It calls the situation here in Hong Kong, it calls Hong Kong China's internal affairs.
We heard from the commissioner of the ministry of foreign affairs in Hong Kong, issued a very hard pushback statement, we will bring that up for you next. And in it the commissioner writes this, quote "Hong Kong affairs are China's internal affairs. Any interference in Hong Kong affairs will be firmly hit back by all Chinese people including our Hong Kong compatriots. Any attempt to play Hong Kong as a card against China will reach a dead end," unquote. This represents the new political reality here in Hong Kong, and China is not budging. China is unwavering, John.
VAUSE: Welcome to the heavy hand of Beijing, it seems like it will be an ever presence there moving forward.
Kristie, thank you. Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong.
An explosion during a ceremony for World War I in Saudi Arabia has wounded at least two people including a Greek consulate worker. Diplomats from several other countries are also in attendance including France which has been the target of several suspected terror attacks in recent weeks.
Details now from CNN's Sam Kiley.
[01:34:43]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Saudi Arabian authorities have confirmed that what they are describing as an improvised explosive device was detonated during a memorial service being held at a 200-year-old non-Muslim cemetery on the outskirts of Jeddah.
Now, of course, this was a highly predictable event. 11:00 on the 11th day of the 11th month, marking the moment when around the world, services are held to remember the dead from the previous wars. Particularly World War I and World War II clearly there were a number of foreign diplomats at this location notably, French, Greek, British, American and others. The authorities have confirmed that two people were wounded, and indeed, they have since been visited by the Jeddah governor after what has been a catastrophic event, but one that could have been a great deal worse.
Now events such as these would or should have been swept in advance, a very predictable event. Very clearly scheduled on a global calendar,. In fact and if it was the case that Saudi officials or Saudi security officials either failed to sweep the environment or missed this explosive device that could have been detonated remotely, there will be very serious questions to be asked.
However, it is also possible of course, that a passing terrorist may have been able to throw some kind of device into this location. The number of people wounded though has been relatively low. But it comes during the speech being given by the French Consul General, according to eyewitnesses speaking on French TV. That eyewitness saying that they heard an explosion, saw the smoke and ran because they feared a second detonation.
This is the second attack directed towards or involving French citizens since two weeks ago. A I guard outside the French Consulate in Jeddah was attacked with what is being described as a sharp object by a local individual.
It is assumed that that attack was in response to Emmanuel Macron, the French president's condemnation of some elements of extremist Islam, for demonstrations and violent protests, and indeed attacks against the French after the publication of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons some years ago which recently involved the murder of a French teacher.
Sam Kiley, CNN, in Dubai.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Still to come. With just two months left in office, why is Donald Trump replacing senior Pentagon officials with Trump.
Also election misinformation circulating on social media, not exactly a surprise, but the platform where most of the misinformation has been found is. Details ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:39:57]
VAUSE: More now on the top story this hour. Joe Biden moving ahead with what appears to be a one-sided transition while the incumbent loser, Donald Trump, is crying foul on Twitter that the election was stolen.
Officials are more concerned about the way Trump is trying to prevent a peaceful transition of power. Sources tell CNN the Trump administration is preventing Biden's team from accessing messages from foreign leaders at the State Department, denying Biden the access to the presidential daily briefs.
There's also the replacement of several senior officials at the Defense Department with Trump loyalists.
CNN's Barbara Starr has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: President Trump paying a visit to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to market Veterans Day, as questions swirl about how his relationship with the Pentagon could change over the next 70 days.
Since Joe Biden was projected to win the presidency on Saturday, President Trump has installed his own loyalists at the top levels of the defense department. The move leading to rising anxiety at the Pentagon about what still may come next after years of the military trying to stay out of Trump world.
ERIC EDELMAN, FORMER U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY AIDE: The president, you know, has consistently referred to "my generals", and treated the military as if it was an institution that was personally loyal to him and his political needs, as opposed to loyal to the constitution.
STARR: The former director of national intelligence says it is all a security risk.
JAMES CLAPPER, FORMER DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: When you have the turnover and the purging and then the installation of a network of essentially political commissars, it's a real distraction from the nerve center of our national defense.
STARR: Some Pentagon officials privately worry Trump could even be thinking about replacing top military officers.
General Mark Milley, chairman of the joint chiefs is confirmed by the Senate to a term that ends in 2023, which keeps him in office as President Elect Biden's military adviser.
Even before the election, Milley was adamant that the military would continue to stay out of politics.
GENERAL MARK MILLEY, CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS: Thank you Mr. President.
STARR: As Chairman, Milley serves at the pleasure of the president, but the two men have clashed.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not saying the military is in love with me. The soldiers are. The top people in the Pentagon probably aren't because they want to do nothing but fight wars, so that all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs and make the planes and make everything else stay happy.
STARR: Milley was furious even at the suggestion of warmongering and called chief of staff Mark Meadows.
And when Trump had Milley joined the political theater of the June walk outside the White House during protests, the chairman publicly apologized.
MILLEY: I should not have been there. My presence in that moment and in that environment, created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics.
STARR: Clashes between the president and the Pentagon include opposing Trump's threat to put active duty forces on the streets against protesters last June. Trump forcing the retirement of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman after he testified before Congress in Trump's impeachment inquiry.
Multiple sources telling "The Atlantic Magazine", President Trump called Americans who lost their lives in battle quote "losers and suckers". And still unresolved, the Pentagon's determination to rename military bases now named after confederate commanders.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: And another Trump loyalist has been installed at the Pentagon, retired Col. Douglas MacGregor. He will work here as a senior advisor. He advocates rapidly pulling U.S. troops out of Afghanistan. Something the president wants to do, something that the president's military advisers say is a bad idea.
Barbara Starr, CNN -- the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: With us now is Juliette Kayyem, CNN national security analyst and former assistant secretary for Homeland Security during the Obama administration. And Juliette, thanks for being with us.
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Of course. Thank you for having me.
VAUSE: Yes, it's been a long time. So it's good to see you.
Former CIA director John Brennan, he's had many sleepless nights over the past four years fearing what President Trump might do. Here he is on what he is worried about or feeling over the next 70 days. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BRENNAN, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: I'm more worried now than I have been during the course of his administration because he is prone to these types of actions.
And putting these people in at the senior ranks of the Department of Defense, people who are inexperienced, unqualified and some of them are just partisan hacks really sends a very disturbing signal to our troops, to the military, as well as to nations around the world. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So beyond the replacement of the four senior officials at the Pentagon, do you have similar concerns here? And in particular, what is your worst case scenario in the next transition period of 70 days?
KAYYEM: It's definitely a heightened alert period. It's definitely disconcerting. But also it's oddly predictable.
[01:44:54[
KAYYEM: After four years of living with Donald Trump, trying to figure him out. Living with the sort of increased threats under his administration, did we actually think that he would leave quietly?
And so in some ways the predictability is actually something that can be managed. The concerns that I have about someone making a mistake of the president sort of, you know, saying something that gets another country angry, those words for the next 80 or 90 days during transition.
But our allies are not stupid. They see what's going on and they are moving forward -- Britain, Canada. France, Germany, Israel, and other nations have moved on. And that gives me a lot of reassurances that they know it's going to be madness for the next 70 or 80 days these random sycophants are being put into these high-level positions. And I think they are going to ignore us hopefully until President Elect Biden is president.
VAUSE: Arizona's attorney general made it clear on Wednesday that Joe Biden had won that state. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK BRNOVICH, ARIZONA ATTORNEY GENERAL: It does appear that Joe Biden will win Arizona. There are no facts that would leave anyone to believe that the election results will change. What really happened, it came down to peoples people split their ticket. People voted for a Republicans down ballots but they didn't vote for President Trump, Martha McSally and so that's the reality. Just because that happened it doesn't mean it's fraud.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And he said that on Fox and that's the good news. But fresh off Pompeo's remarks about preparing for a second Trump term, the secretary of state continues to play up Trump's bogus claims of an election in doubt and again, here's Pompeo. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY of STATE: We will have a smooth transition and we will see what the people ultimately decide when all the votes have been cast. We have a process for it. The constitution lays out how the electors vote. It's a very detailed process laid out. We need to comply with all of that. And then I am very confident that we will have a good transition. That we will make sure that whoever is in office on noon on January 20th has all the tools readily available so we don't skip a beat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Whoever is in office? I mean seriously? I mean what's to be gained here by Pompeo, knowingly lying this election result and trying to mislead the audience?
KAYYEM: I mean this I think is the long term damage. While, I may be a little bit calm short term, I do think that the Republican Party is essentially anti- democratic. We do not talk about it enough but they are talking about minority and military votes at this stage. They are talking about the people that either fight for this nation whose votes they don't want counted or people of color and communities of color whose votes they do not want counted.
So we just should say that clearly. Pompeo sort of hides behind saying detailed plan. The detailed plan is to disenfranchise those communities.
Pompeo is in a corner as well. He looks at a future where he's so essentially sucked up to the president, there's no future for him without the president.
VAUSE: Keeping in mind that this country already has a problem with right wing militia looking to start some kind of civil war. Price Wallace (ph), a Republican state lawmaker for Mississippi tweeted this.
"We need to succeed from the union from our own country." And while he did not succeed in spelling "secede" correctly he later apologized for what he said was an inappropriate remark. But you know, there is one person who could lower the temperature of all of this with just a few words and that's Donald Trump.
KAYYEM: He won't. And I think, you know, in a weird way it's weirdly calming. I don't know how to describe that in the sense that this is over. And so you are just seeing the last desperate attacks of someone who never really managed this country very, never really lived up to his rule or his responsibilities as president, so I'm not expecting a change.
I do worry, as you know, over the weekend I was, you know, on air about how the domestic side, about concerns about right-wing militia. I think a lot of oxygen falls out of their support and capability to organize because they don't have someone in the White House.
There will be random violence, but I do think -- I think that with the president out of the White House, animating these lies or amplifying these lies and the potential for violence, that the temperature in this country will lower.
Most Americans welcome it, and most of the world welcomes it. And so we just hold on until January 20th.
VAUSE: Yes, and wait for Joe Biden to I guess, his success as president.
KAYYEM: Yes. And let it be calm. Let it be calm and boring, right?
VAUSE: That would be nice. We look forward to that.
Juliette, thank you.
KAYYEM: Thank you.
[01:49:49]
VAUSE: Well, misleading and false information on social media was widely expected during the U.S. election, but what has turned out to be surprising is where most of it has appeared.
CNN's Brian Fung has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN FUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are facing a wave of misinformation on social media, much of it circulating on Facebook and Twitter. In recent days for example Facebook has shut down a number of pages and groups that have promoted violence or peddled false claims including a so-called Stopped to Steal Facebook group and several pages linked to former Trump campaign manager, Steve Bannon.
But it's YouTube that is emerging as a more troubling source of misinformation. Videos on the platform are going viral and spreading baseless claims such as that media outlets have reversed their calls for a certain states handing the election to Donald Trump.
One such video posted this week has attracted more than 1.7 million views and suggest that the Web site RealClearPolitics altered its projection for Pennsylvania. But RealClearPolitics says that's not true and that it never declared a winner in Pennsylvania in the first place.
Even though that video contains false claims, YouTube has declined to take it down. YouTube told CNN its policies ban misinformation about how to vote, but not about election results or about ballot counting. That is a huge loophole that has allowed unfounded claims of voter fraud to spread widely. And because video is more complicated to analyze than text or images the claims are hard to find.
YouTube has said it tries to evaluate and elevate reliable information in search results and applies labels to misleading content. But the labels are small and show up only as text making it hard for them to compete with a large, highly engaging videos all of that has turned YouTube into a hotbed of misinformation since the election.
Experts now worry the damage it's doing to democracy could last for years, and perhaps decades to come.
Brian Fung, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: Well, any mask is better than no mask but if you have a choice which is best at blocking the coronavirus. We'll tell you in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Well, the former head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control says the agency's new guidance on masks could be huge in getting more people to wear them.
CNN's Brian Todd has details on that plus he shows us which types of masks work best.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just in time for the predicted winter surge of coronavirus, new guidance from the CDC saying if you wear a mask you are not just protecting those around you, you're also protecting yourself from other people's droplets.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Recent data has now shown that as a matter of fact there's also the added benefit to protect you from droplets and virus that is coming your way.
TODD: As this New York Times illustration shows, masks not only stop many the droplets exhaled by the woman on the left but also filter out many of those particles which still reach the man on the right.
DR. SEEMA YASMIN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Just putting a barrier over your nose and your mouth so that if people are in close proximity to you and they're talking or they're laughing than those infectious droplets from them are less likely to cross your mucous membranes by your mouth or your nose.
TODD: A study from researchers at Duke University in August demonstrated the efficacy of some masks in blocking droplets. They found some that worked well, others that didn't. They say gaiter -- those stretchy bands of fabric that cover the nose, mouth and neck, and fleece masks didn't work quite as well unless the material was reinforced with more layers added.
[01:54:58]
MARTIN FISCHER, PROFESSOR, DUKE UNIVERSITY: It's a combination certainly, of stretching us of the material, and the material potentially being very thin.
TODD: The bandana they tested which was made from thin cotton material may look cool, but didn't work very well.
FISCHER: The material itself, that's just made a little bit more transparent, a little bit more transmissive to these droplets, in addition there's of course, lots of gaps.
TODD: The Duke researchers tested 14 different kinds of masks. A researcher put on each mask, then spoke into a dark box to create droplets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay healthy people. Stay healthy, people.
TODD: They shined iridescent light from a laser to light up the droplet so they could count how many droplets were let through by the different masks.
The ones that work well they say, N-95 surgical masks are the best, letting out very few if any droplets.
While a woven cotton mask can block many of the droplets trying to pass through, and N-95 mask stops more of them because it's got synthetic fibers of random size and spacing. Those standard 3-layer surgical masks, the light blue ones that many of us can buy at stores work well they say.
And
FISCHER: All the cotton masks we tested, they work great.
Todd: The fleeces, gaiter and bandanas, the duke researchers tested were problematic they said partly because of the size of the droplets they let through.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Little particles that get generated from big particles, they tend to hang around longer in the air, they can get carried away easier in the air.
TODD: But the Duke Researcher stressed this was just one test. And the performance of the gaiter, fleeces and bandanas did improve with thicker material and more weren't layers.
So whether you wear these effective N-95 of cloth masks, or if you wear those thinner bandanas or gaiters and double up the material, experts say it's more important than ever that you wear something as we head into the expected winter surge of cases.
Dr. Seema Yasmin says we are on track right now to rack up more than one million new cases of coronavirus in the U.S. per week by the end of the year. And wearing these can help head off that worst-case scenario.
Brian Todd, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: I'm John Vause. Stay with me. Yes I will be back next hour for a lot more CNN NEWSROOM.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:00:01]
VAUSE: Welcome back everybody. You're watching CNN newsroom. I'm John Vause.
Ahead this hour, Joe Biden announces his administration's first key appointment while Donald Trump does what no.
