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CNN Projects Biden Will Win Arizona's 11 Electoral Votes; Some Republicans Appear to Accept Election Reality; Transition Moving Ahead Despite Trump's Roadblocks; Trump Allies Begin Signaling President to Accept Defeat; U.S. Sets COVID-19 Cases Record Thursday with 153,496 New Cases; Pfizer Has Released Promising Data About Vaccine Candidate. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired November 13, 2020 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Joe Biden adds to his lead in the U.S. election. CNN predicts he will win Arizona, the first time a Democrat has done that in decades.

President Trump still refusing to accept defeat, but it looks like more and more Republicans are.

And coronavirus continues to rampage across the United States. More than 150,000 people test positive in the last 24 hours. Yet another new record.

Hello and welcome to CNN NEWSROOM, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes.

Welcome, everyone. Joe Biden's lock on the White House now more secure than ever with CNN projecting he will win Arizona and its 11 electoral college votes. It is the fourth state that Biden has flipped from Republican red to Democrat blue, and he becomes the first Democrat to win the state since Bill Clinton, back in 1996.

China now the latest foreign power to congratulate the President- elect. The statement from the foreign ministry saying that it respects the will or the choice of the American people. The question now is how much longer President Trump will ignore the math and admit defeat? We're told a growing number of key Republicans have begun signaling to him that it's over.

The President's unfounded claims of a rigged election are increasingly falling on deaf ears and U.S. election officials, including Trump appointees in the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday declared the 2020 election the most secure in American history. An extraordinary moment when the government must reaffirm the sanctity of the election as a losing president insists the vote was fraudulent.

And the pandemic, Mr. Trump said, would miraculously disappear. It is of course, growing worse by the hour. Hospitals all over the country on the verge of being overwhelmed with COVID patients. More than 1 million Americans have tested positive for COVID-19 since the election just ten days ago. Thursday seeing another record, more than 150,000 new cases in 24 hours.

We will have the latest on the pandemic just ahead. But first, I want to take you to the Trump White House. One person who spoke to the President told CNN he is dejected over his election loss. More now from Kaitlan Collins.

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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yesterday was one week since we had seen the President actually speak directly to reporters. Probably one of the first times in his presidency that he has gone that long without talking to the media. But it came as on Twitter he was continuing to contest the outcome of the election alleging that there where fraudulent votes, even though, of course, as we have noted many times, there is no evidence to back up the President's claims.

But what was remarkable that we saw yesterday was this rebuke from his own administration. The Department of Homeland Security over the President's claims.

[04:05:00]

We saw the cyber security and infrastructure security agency put out a statement from a high ranking official saying this was the most secure election and that none of these votes were fraudulent in the way that the President has alleged. They actually said making clear there is no evidence that any voting system was compromised in any way.

Of course that comes after the President was re-tweeting articles from fringe web sites and fringe news channels alleging there was this fraud using this system that was used across the country. Which just has no evidence to back up what the President is saying.

So, the question is, how much longer is the President going to continue this? Because we've seen a crack in the support among Republicans on Capitol Hill who are coming out saying that Joe Biden does deserve to have those classified intelligence briefings that typically a president-elect would get immediately, but so far, the Trump administration has blocked.

So the question really in the President's circle is not what end of this is going to look like. Because they know the President is not going to be in office past January. The question is how long does he continue to drag this out? And right now, they believe it's still going to go on for at least a few more days.

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HOLMES: Well, despite Trump's obstruction, Joe Biden moving ahead with the transition as best he can for the first time since being declared President-elect. Biden spoke with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer about COVID-19 and economic relief. CNN's Jessica Dean with more on Biden's transition.

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JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President-elect Joe Biden on the move today, leaving Wilmington, Delaware, for his beach house.

On Wednesday night, Biden announced his first major hire, naming longtime aide Ron Klain as his chief of staff. In a statement, Biden described claim as invaluable, adding, quote --

His deep, varied experience and capacity to work with people all across the political spectrum is precisely what I need in a White House chief of staff.

Klain said in a tweet he was, quote, honored by the president-elect's confidence.

Biden and Klain share a long history, dating back to 1989, when Klain served as chief counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee, including during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings.

More recently, Klain was Biden's chief of staff when he was vice president and served as Ebola czar in 2014, a critical asset, given the current coronavirus pandemic.

RON KLAIN, INCOMING WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: The Trump administration response to this crisis has clearly failed.

DEAN: Meantime, Biden continues to mull his selections for cabinet secretaries. Senator Bernie Sanders is ramping up his campaign to become labor secretary, telling CNN he would say yes if offered the position.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): If I had a portfolio that allowed me to stand up and fight for working families, would I do it? Yes, I would.

DEAN: President-elect Biden said he hopes to name some cabinet members by Thanksgiving, with more decisions coming later in the year.

Meanwhile, Biden today spoke with Pope Francis, as he is set to become only the second Catholic president in U.S. history.

As for other foreign leaders, State Department officials tell CNN a stack of congratulatory messages are sitting at the State Department untouched, as the Trump administration continues to block the Biden transition team from accessing those messages or using the department's resources.

(on camera): The Biden transition team also pushing back on some comments from a board member who's on their COVID-19 advisory board. This doctor had said in an interview this week that perhaps a four to six-week lock down could be useful in driving down COVID-19 numbers if the government could cover financial losses and small business losses. But a Biden transition aide telling CNN that that is not in line with what the President-elect is thinking, adding there are many members of the advisory board.

Jessica Dean, CNN, Wilmington.

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HOLMES: Joining me now in New York, CNN political analyst, and politics editor for the "New York Times," Patrick Healy. Good to see you, Patrick. There are signs of cracks in the GOP wall around the President and his strategy of crying foul. But, you know, the existence of that wall in light of the results is remarkable, isn't it? Trump lost the three key states, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, by triple the margin he won them in 2016 when Democrats conceded. Why are most GOP Senators still silent on Trump and his strategy?

PATRICK HEALY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: That's right. It's so striking that even though he has lost the presidency, he still retains a real iron grip over the party and particularly over the base. We haven't seen a Republican president in decades, really, since Ronald Reagan who had such a close relationship with the Republican Party base. And even though Trump now has lost, he still retains a lot of popularity, sort of a sympatico with many Republican voters.

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And from the view of Republican elected officials, you know, particularly some who want to lead the party, who want run for president in 2024, you know, who may just be up for election two years from now, they know the single most important endorsement right now at least will be coming from President Trump. And to alienate him means potentially to alienate significant numbers of voters. Now, this is the way politics is now. Come a year from now, that may be very different, but a lot of Republican officials are willing to take that risk.

HOLMES: Meanwhile, many analysts say the damage is being done to the democratic process because these Senators and others are basically placating a President who's known for turning on anyone who doesn't agree with him. Is it just fear? I mean, given the damage done, is it just they're scared of him?

HEALY: They are. They have been scared of him since, you know, 2018 when his endorsements or his opposition caused a few Republicans to lose and even this time around, the ability of this President to move voters, and, you know, in this case, winning even more voters in 2020 than he did in 2016 does put a lot of fear into these Republican lawmakers.

I think in some ways, though, they believe that this is just a moment in time, that the democratic process in America is more than 200 years old, that it will outlive Donald Trump, that allowing him to spend a few weeks filing lawsuits, making a lot of noise won't have a permanent effect. The problem really is, and we're going to see this pretty soon, whether Republican legislators actually start mucking around with the process and further damaging it.

HOLMES: I guess to the point you're making there, do you think Trump wants to retain effective control of the party going forward, either for power reasons or as some have suggested, the potential to monetize that control money from supporters. Do you think he wants to continue down that road, and what will become of the GOP as a party?

HEALY: Trump very much wants to keep control of the party. He's going to be creating essentially a political action committee that will be able to raise money and make endorsements and funnel money to candidates. He very much wants to stay in control. You know, there's some people close to him think that in some ways he's more interested instead in that political role than he actually is in being President and dealing with the problems of state.

So, I think it is a continuing role that he wants to play, and I think that he knows that right now, there is no leader of the party in waiting. There's no one who has anywhere near his influence over Republican Party voters. Whether it's Vice President Pence or Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, they're just not able to command that kind of support.

HOLMES: I wanted to squeeze in one more, Joe Biden, I mean he talks about being a deal maker, he has that reputation. But will deals with Republicans forward the agenda that Democrats really want? And if Senate leader Mitch McConnell is still in the driver's seat with the power of the yes or no after the Georgia runoff, he could do what he did with President Obama's agenda, just say no.

HEALY: He could. He could just stymy that agenda and then give the Democrats something to run against in 2022 to try to win control of the Senate. It's going to be harder in 2022 if they're not able to win it this time around with the Georgia runoffs. But it would be something to run against.

HOLMES: Speak to go Patrick Healy of the "New York Times" a little earlier and we appreciate it.

All right, we're going to take a quick break. When we come back here on CNN, we'll take a look at America's surging coronavirus numbers. The U.S. keeps setting new records but there is hope for a change. We'll have details after the break.

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HOLMES: The U.S. soared to another coronavirus record on Thursday, reporting more than 153,000 new in infections according to Johns Hopkins University. It is a staggering number of course, topping more than a week of staggering numbers and there is no end in sight. Thursday was the 10th consecutive day in which new case numbers topped 100,000. Rising infection numbers of course lead to rising hospitalizations. And according to the COVID Tracking Project, there were more than 67,000 Americans in the hospital on Thursday with COVID-19. The highest number of the pandemic so far.

But the country's top infectious disease expert says we're lucky because Pfizer's potential vaccine may be more than 90 percent effective. Dr. Anthony Fauci saying that effectiveness will encourage more people to hopefully take it.

Now, the approaching holidays here in the U.S. have many health experts worried about the spread of the virus. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar saying people should make sacrifices to keep their loved ones safe, and that doesn't mean -- that doesn't have to mean staying home. It can mean going the extra mile and using increased safety precautions.

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ALEX AZAR, U.S. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: As you think about your Thanksgiving gathering, please address those circumstances there. Reduce the number of people at your gathering, if you can open the windows, let more ventilation in. We've got very practical things. Even if you have a ceiling fan, set it so it pulls the air up instead of down. Use single use servings for individuals. Wear your face coverings. Because I want to sure even if we make sacrifices this Thanksgiving and Christmas, those sacrifices are for a reason, so that everybody you want to be with will be here for next Thanksgiving and next Christmas.

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HOLMES: Joining me now in La Jolla, California is Dr. Eric Topol. He is a cardiologist and professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research Institute. Always great when we can get you on, doctor. I want to get to the big picture in a moment. But first, you tweeted about something I think is a really important issue. We know about the long haulers now, people with symptoms long after infection. But you were tweeting about this phenomenon of even people who had relatively mild symptoms or moderate were really suffering.

ERIC TOPOL, PROFESSOR, MOLECULAR MEDICINE, SCRIPPS RESEARCH: Right. Well, good to be with you, Michael.

This is the problem. There's this notion that you have to be really sick to have the long chronic form of COVID. But it isn't true. It actually happens with mild cases and especially more common in young people. So, this is the real issue that we're not in touch with. It's more frequent and in less severe cases than was initially envisioned.

HOLMES: Yes, I mean as somebody put it, there is a chasm between recovered and death when it comes to COVID. And those people are feeling a horrible, sort of number there. You know, broad -- more broadly there is this accelerated climb going on right now. Hospitalizations at record levels. I think there's been a million positive cases since election day. The modeling suggesting numbers could double by January. I mean, what do you see ahead? And what can be done about it? So many hospitals at or near capacity already.

TOPOL: Right. Well, it is an out-of-control situation. It's desperate. And what's amazing so little is being done to respond to it. So, the virus has an unrestrained ability to find new hosts, and we're not doing the things. It doesn't need a national lockdown, but we need to get universal mask mandates. We need to get closures of specific hot spots. Places like bars, restaurants, gyms, those sorts of places.

We also need to do cluster busting, that is prevent crowds, improve ventilation, maximize distancing. We're just not doing these things. These are so simple. This is just, you know, public health 101 and they are being disregarded. They're being defied, and that's the problem.

HOLMES: And it's being said all throughout this that there has been really a lack of a coordinated national strategy. It's even worse though now. I mean, it just seems like we're in a lame duck political period and it's become a lame duck period on coronavirus as well. Nothing's happening.

TOPOL: Right, Michael. It's not just lame duck, it's a blatant surrender. That's what we are seeing now. Just let it rip. This was the policy that Scott Atlas espoused, and President Trump basically adopted. And we are seeing it play out. And it's just, it's a horror show to see in real life, especially we know so much better than this.

HOLMES: The fatality numbers are just striking. I mean, speak to that point, speak to the public attitudes. I mean, I keep thinking back and I say to my young adult kids too, think back in April or May how concerned everyone was, how aware, how terrifying it was. And yet now people seem to be -- many of them seem to be relaxed about the risks, even though it is much worse.

TOPOL: That's right. So, there is a complacency. There is this pandemic fatigue. I mean, we are seeing it of course in Europe as well. The difference though in the U.S. is we starting without having ever achieved containment. That was achieved throughout Europe. But here, we never got below 20,000 new cases per day. And now, we're well over 150,000 new cases. So, we have a terrible situation here because of that fatigue added to the fact that we're just -- how a large proportion of Americans who don't adopt the things that we know would help.

HOLMES: And just briefly if you will. There seems to be an awful lot of hoping place on vaccines. I mean, do you think -- I mean, there are not going to be a light switch, there are going to be a dimmer, we hope, right? Does that make sense?

TOPOL: Well, it is the most exciting thing we've had since this pandemic started as far as positive news, that is this virus is going to be squashed someday through the efforts of vaccination programs. It's going to take a while, as you point, Michael.

It's a dimmer, but, you know, the point is that we didn't know until this week that we could get this virus with a vaccine. That we could get high efficacy. We thought, you know, 50, 60 percent, not 90 percent. That changes the whole equation. That means we can get there faster. That is, that dimming, as you point out. We also don't need quite as many people to get vaccinated to get there.

So, the good news is, there is light at this end of the tunnel. And maybe by mid-year, next year if we are fortunate and we can get several different vaccines with that high efficacy, we'll get there. HOLMES: We all hope for that. Dr. Eric Topol, thank you so much.

[04:25:00]

We really appreciate your time.

TOPOL: Thank you, Michael.

HOLMES: Now far too many cases of COVID end with the death of a loved one. In northern Mexico, nurse Sergio Humberto Padilla Hernandez tried to prepare his family hours before he died by recording this video as his lungs were failing, a message of love. Listen.

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SERGIO HUMBERTO PADILLA HERNANDEZ, NORTHERN MEXICAN NURSE WHO DIED FROM COVID (text translation): I will recover, God willing. We will move forward. I will see you again, friends, family. I love you. I know you will be praying for me and my health, for my well-being. And happens what happens you will always be looking out for my best interests always. I love you and you are in my heart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Almost everyone in his family contracted the virus, including his mother and father, his sister died of it. The family started a GoFundMe page to pay for their $50,000 medical debts. Grief stricken relatives say he was so dedicated to service, he worked at the very hospital which treated his family. Padilla Hernandez leaves a healthy wife and son behind. He was just 28 years old.

COVID, as we know, is a truly global crisis. Next, we'll take you to Europe which is dealing with startling new numbers of infections. Stay with us for more on how people there are coping.

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HOLMES: And welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

And U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has been fielding congratulatory.