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Trump To Address Nation For First Time In A Week; CNN Projects Georgia For Biden; CNN Projects North Carolina For Trump; Historian Speculates On Likelihood Of Trump 2024 Run; Newly Elected Georgian Senator Defies Masks On Capitol Hill; "CNN Heroes: All Star Tribute" Sneak Peek. Aired 3:30-4p
Aired November 13, 2020 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:30:00]
BROOKE BALDWIN, ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Your thoughts on that?
SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-N.Y.): It's really exciting. And it's terrific momentum to go into these run-off elections in January.
If we want to actually win back the U.S. Senate, which is one of the goals we've had all year long, we can do it through Georgia.
And that means making sure that all the great work that Stacey Abrams put in is continued. And so that means getting out the vote, making sure everyone knows when to vote, how to vote, and make sure that those votes actually do turn out.
So I'm optimistic. With that momentum, it's helpful.
BALDWIN: How do you do that with that momentum into this pandemic winter, in Georgia, knowing darn well that those Republicans are going to put up a fight?
GILLIBRAND: Well, they always do. But what we showed in this last election is that our voters turned out.
And they just turned out in record numbers all across the country to win states like Pennsylvania and Michigan and Wisconsin and Georgia is meaningful. To win a state like Arizona really matters.
And so, what we did across the country was really make sure people understood how important their voice was and how important their vote was.
And we can continue to do that in Georgia since it's now the make-or- break state for the U.S. Senate.
BALDWIN: It is, indeed. Beginning of January, we'll know. I want to ask you about this. CNN has learned just this afternoon that the CIA director Gina Haspel
has been iced out of an intelligence meeting that was supposed to take place at the White House today.
We know just in the last couple days, we've been reporting on how the president has fired folks at DOD.
My question to you is just what are the consequences of -- the thought is perhaps the CIA director might be the next on the chopping block. What are the ramifications of all of this?
GILLIBRAND: Well, it just creates instability. And we want a clean, simple, efficient transition.
And when President Trump is scurrying to replace members of his cabinet, members of his senior leadership team for whatever political purposes he has between now and the end of the year, it just creates instability.
And it sends the wrong message to the world that we are in disarray.
I do believe, though, that Republicans are beginning to speak out. People like James Lankford, who have said we need to start the transition now and that, in fact, we have to certify this election so that, in fact, Joe Biden can get access to intelligence briefings, so he can get access to the resources that the transition's supposed to be supplying.
And that he could begin to vet the 4,000 future employees he's going to need in the federal government.
BALDWIN: I do want to get you on stimulus talks here. I'm curious, Senator Gillibrand -- of course, your party still wants this big package, upwards of $2 trillion. Senate Republicans still don't have much of an appetite for that amount of spending.
Are you all going to finally come together and get something done for the American people or are the millions of Americans who are suffering in for a long-term stalemate?
GILLIBRAND: Well, I hope so. Because New York State is in grave need. We need money for our cities and our state, we need money for health care and food stamps and housing. We need unemployment insurance to be renewed. We need to have more health care workers on the front lines.
These are all things that need to be in the next stimulus package.
We also need relief from the SALT changes, the state and local taxes that President Trump unwound, and no one can take deductions. So those are the changes that are desperately needed in New York.
But I would actually assume the same worries are happening in Kentucky and other places in this country.
So, I'm continually baffled why Mitch McConnell is so reluctant to move this country forward by providing the urgent relief that families are desperate for.
BALDWIN: But I have to push back --
GILLIBRAND: Families have been out of work for a long time.
BALDWIN: I have to push back on you. Because I hear you on the Mitch McConnell, but at the same time, speaker Pelosi had $1.8 trillion on the table from Mnuchin before the election and they could have cut a deal. But it was Speaker Pelosi who wasn't really willing to go there.
Isn't something better than nothing? Again, millions are suffering.
GILLIBRAND: Some things are better than nothing, but it depends what the things are.
What Mitch McConnell did is he created a poison pill in the last package. There have been lots of Democrats that would have loved to get money to small businesses and to unemployment insurance and to health care but he put in a poison pill specifically to say that corporations would be exempt from liability.
And you remember the stories, Brooke. We saw it.
When meat packing plants had people working shoulder to shoulder with no personal protective equipment where COVID spread through these meat packing plants like wildfire. We can't have that.
The epidemic is spiking now. It's spiking all across New York, all across the country. And the truth is, is that we have to protect our families.
And we can't have another 250,000 people dying of COVID because we are unwilling to put the right policies in place. And so, Mitch hasn't been playing fair about this at all.
So, even though you might want to criticize the speaker or the White House, Mitch wouldn't put any of it on the floor, none of it.
[15:35:00]
And the only package he would look at is one that had a poison pill that no one was willing to vote for. Because to give blanket liability to every bad employer in the country that puts people shoulder to shoulder without PPE, that's just morally wrong.
And I think Democrats --
BALDWIN: I understand --
GILLIBRAND: -- rightfully, rightfully --
BALDWIN: I understand.
GILLIBRAND -- withheld their vote.
BALDWIN: And I know you're in touch with your constituents here in New York and people are looking to you all for solutions and for some sort of agreement --
GILLIBRAND: Well, we're hoping we can --
BALDWIN: -- and let's hope we can get there.
GILLIBRAND: -- compromise now.
BALDWIN: I know. I know.
GILLIBRAND: Yes, we're hoping that -- this is the season, it's the season of Thanksgiving. People are in desperate need. So maybe this is a season where goodwill will prevail.
BALDWIN: Let's hope so. Senator Gillibrand, thank you so much for your time. Nice to have you on.
GILL: God bless.
BALDWIN: Thank you. All eyes are on the White House today, where President Trump is set to make his first public comments in days. That happens next hour.
Our special coverage continues after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Just moments from now, President Trump will be speaking for the first time in public in more than a week.
[15:40:00]
And this comes just as CNN has projected President Elect Biden as the winner in Georgia. A state not won by a Democrat since '92, giving Biden an electoral college total of 306.
But still no acknowledgement of Biden's win from this president who continues to support baseless conspiracy theories.
Just today the president tweeted once again that the election was rigged against him, even as his administration says this year's vote was the most secure in American history.
CNN presidential historian Douglas Brinkley is with us.
So, Doug, great to have you on.
DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Thank you.
BALDWIN: And President Trump hasn't conceded, continues to promote these unsubstantiated allegations of massive voter fraud.
You tell me, as an incredible student of history, is there an example in history of a previous president just not -- never conceding?
BRINKLEY: No. This is a unique moment in American history that we have a president of the United States pretending like our democratic election that was run free and fairly is bogus.
He was calling it rigged before we even voted. It goes against our most basic American instincts.
That doesn't mean that transitions have been all smooth. I can think back to when Franklin Roosevelt won in 1932 when they were taking the car ride with Herbert Hoover who he had beaten down for the inaugural and they wouldn't even talk. They were so frosty.
And then FDR demanded that Herbert Hoover's name not be put on the Hoover Dam and he changed the name to the Boulder Dam. And FDR spent the rest of practically a decade just denouncing Herbert Hoover in every speech he could.
Ronald Reagan beating Jimmy Carter was deeply tense during the transition.
But this, the fact that Trump won't admit that Joe Biden won the election --
BALDWIN: Yes.
BRINKLEY: -- is absurd and it's sad. And it makes America look small.
BALDWIN: Yes. I was reading about that frosty ride between Hoover and FDR.
I'm also wondering, all right -- again, to test your presidential knowledge, to think that this president, as we're hearing from sources, might, instead of conceding, like his version of a concession would be, hey, Trump 2024.
And so, I'm wondering from you, how many times has something like this been done successfully before? When a president sort of ultimately has to bow out after a term and four years later runs?
BRINKLEY: Well, Grover Cleveland was a Democrat and was our 22nd president and then he lost and then he came back. So he had two inconsecutive terms. So there is a precedent in that regard if Trump decided to run in 2024.
Grover Cleveland pulled it off. Difference being, Grover Cleveland had won the popular vote by good margins, actually, for three elections in a row. Where Donald Trump is yet to win a popular vote. It's unique in American history.
In 2016 and 2020, for him not to have a majority of the American voters, yet he is still kind of viable right now.
He'd have to figure out a way to expand his base, Trump, if he were going to try to pull that off.
BALDWIN: We shall see. Again, he speaks in the next hour. We'll stay tuned.
Doug Brinkley, you are excellent as always. Good to see you. Thank you.
BRINKLEY: Thank you, Brooke.
BALDWIN: As the United States breaks a record for daily covid cases, one of the newest Republican members of the house is speaking out about wearing masks and why she is against them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:45:00]
BALDWIN: It is orientation time on Capitol Hill. And newly elected house lawmakers and their staff are in Washington gearing up for the next session of congress, which officially gets under way in January.
And one of those new members, Marjorie Taylor-Greene here, who will represent Georgia and is known for her history of bigoted comments and promotion of QAnon conspiracy theories.
So get this. She is now criticizing the requirements about wearing masks on the house side of the united states Capitol during the pandemic.
Congresswoman-elect Greene tweeted this. Quote -- "Our first session of new member orientation covered COVID in congress, masks, masks, masks. I proudly told my freshman class that masks are oppressive.
In Georgia, we work out, shop, go to restaurants, go to work and school without masks. My body, my choice. Hashtag free your face."
Dr. Jorge Rodriguez is with me. He's an internal medicine and viral specialist. Dr. Rodriguez, just go.
DR. JORGE RODRIGUEZ, INTERNAL MEDICINE AND VIRAL SPECIALIST: You know, Marjorie needs to get a reality check, seriously.
It isn't just about her freedom. Her freedom ends where everybody else's begin.
And if this were a personal choice that didn't affect anybody else, I would say go for it. But you know, this is a contagious virus that in her state is actually surging at this point.
So, the fact that she as a representative should be setting an example is asinine that she is not.
And again, it goes to the unthinkable way that this virus, especially masks, have been weaponized. It's a shame.
And I think that her actions may end up causing (ph) people lives. It's that simple. It's ridiculous.
BALDWIN: You're the M.D. Thank you for saying that.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease doctor, is now advising people, obviously, not only to wear masks, but to keep your mask on as much as possible during Thanksgiving gatherings indoors.
Dr. Rodriguez, do you think wearing a mask inside during a Thanksgiving meal will make a significant difference? Other than obviously eating your food?
[15:50:00]
RODRIGUEZ: Right, right, right. You should definitely remove it when you eat your turkey.
But the thing is, yes, it will make a difference. And what people need to keep in mind is that some of the biggest times where the virus is spread is when we are together with family and we assume that family is safe just because they're family.
And due to no cause of their own, they may have come into contact with somebody, heck, at the grocery store when they were buying the stuffing or when they were coming to the house.
So I know it sounds weird and a little bit ridiculous but if you're going to be at home with people in a confined space especially up north where it's colder and you can't really be outside, it may seem weird, but have some fun with it.
Wear your masks almost at any other time than when you're sitting down. You could be saving anybody's life in your family.
And you want them around for next year, right, for next Thanksgiving?
BALDWIN: We need our Thanksgiving. I'm a sucker for tradition and, of course, family. So we play by the rules this year.
RODRIGUEZ: Yes.
BALDWIN: So we have our Thanksgiving next year. Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, thank you, as always.
RODRIGUEZ: Thank you, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Appreciate it.
RODRIGUEZ: Bye.
BALDWIN: And again, if you are just tuning in. The big news this afternoon, CNN projects a Biden win in Georgia and a Trump win in North Carolina.
Breaking news coverage continues as the president makes his first public comments in more than a week.
Live pictures from the Rose Garden where we're waiting to see the president.
[15:55:00]
BALDWIN: Welcome back. Anderson Cooper gives us a sneak peek ahead of "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute," one month from tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, ANCHOR, "CNN HEROES": It's been an incredible and unprecedented year of change in almost every way imaginable. But at times, it's also been a year of hope and inspiration.
We've seen, yet again, that the human spirit is resilient and communities are connected and that life can be filled with joy.
This year's "CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE" is going a be a celebration of the heroic efforts of the many people around the globe from two of the biggest stories this year; the fight against coronavirus and the battle for racial equity and social justice.
Women, men and children in little towns and big cities all over said we can get through this, we can do better.
"CNN HEROES" salutes the remarkable people who, when faced with two simultaneous crises, stood up to do more to help each other.
We want you to help us share some of the incredible moments of inspiration that moved you all this year. Moments that helped some our spirits lifted and moving forward together.
Here's some of this year's most inspiring moments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Before, we never noticed the shift change. We didn't see the healthcare workers and first responders heading home after a long day, but now we do.
We celebrated these heroes every night in cities around the world.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: That's so nice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: For nearly eight minutes, George Floyd pleaded for his life. His death sparked worldwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism.
CROWD: Black lives. Black lives.
COOPER: After a press conference, his daughter, Gianna, shared a hope for us all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIANNA FLOYD: Daddy changed the world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Daddy changed the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: When the call rang out for PPE to keep our frontline workers safe, Americans responded with great generosity.
But the workers at Braskem America did something extraordinary.
They moved in and quarantined in two of their manufacturing plants for nearly an entire month to get the job done.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's the team. The boys.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: In June, a photograph captured the world's attention.
During a London protest, events turned violent.
One man, Bryn Male, a white former police officer, wandered into the crowd and started to get beat up.
Black Lives Matter protestor, Patrick Hutchinson, saw that he was in peril and carried him to safety.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD: (Singing)
COOPER: In Florence, people sang the Italian national anthem.
In Chicago, they countered the sorrow with "Living on a prayer."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, living on a prayer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: And a Broadway legend, Brian Stokes Mitchell, serenaded us with "The Impossible Dream" from his balcony.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN STOKES MITCHELL, ARTIST: Follow that star.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: All over the world, we found a way to lift each other up and connect through the power of music.
CROWD: (Singing)
COOPER: And this summer, millions of people worldwide were willing to risk their lives amid the pandemic by stepping out and stepping up to protest systemic racism.
The call for justice, equality, inspiring a movement of all ages, races, religions, and creeds.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: No peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Which of these moments inspired you the most? Well, vote now at cnnheroes.com. And again, every day through November 30th to let us know your favorite.
Once you vote, you can also upload your own videos, telling us why these moments moved you.
You just might see yourself on "CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE." That's Sunday, December 13th at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.
BALDWIN: Good stories, every year.
