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Trump's Long History of Baselessly Shouting Fraud, Denying Defeat; Coronavirus Cases Overwhelm Idaho's Primary Care Clinics; CNN: U.S. Military Told to Plan for Troop Drawdown in Afghanistan & Iraq in Final Days of Trump Administration. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired November 16, 2020 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:30:00]
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: This was before Trump said Senator Cruz's wife was ugly, his dad was involved in JFK's assassination. Now Senator Cruz is riding a float in Trump's fraud parade.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): Well, I think it is way premature. At this point, we do not know who has prevailed in the election.
The media is desperately trying to get everyone to coronate Joe Biden as next president, but that's not how it works.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: It would be out of character if Trump didn't call fraud. We've heard him do it in every recent election, 2016, 2018, 2020.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The system, folks, is rigged. It is a rigged system.
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: You have to understand, I'm not complaining about the states I won. Those are OK.
(voice-over): The Republican system is totally crooked. It's totally rigged. It's very hard for somebody like me to win, even though I am winning very substantially.
(on camera): The system is also rigged because Hillary Clinton should have been precluded from running for the presidency of the United States.
Folks, it is a rigged system.
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: It's a rigged system. We're going to beat it. We're going to beat it.
There are a lot of people, a lot of people, in my opinion, and based on proof, that try and get in illegally and vote illegally.
But in California, the governor said, I hear, are sending millions of ballots all over the state, millions, to anybody. To anybody.
When that starts happening, you don't have a fair -- You have a rigged system. You have a rigged system.
I don't want to see a crooked election. This election will be the most rigged in history if that happens.
Absentee is great. But universal is going to be a disaster the likes of which our country has never seen.
The only way they can take this election away from us is if this is a rigged election.
It is a fraud. And it is a shame.
This is a fraud on the American public.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: This is an embarrassment to our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: The fraud on the American public is President Trump saying there's widespread voter fraud when there isn't.
The embarrassment to the country is the president's refusal to concede, even as his campaign and its allies are losing case after case in court because there's no evidence.
His own government is saying this election was the most secure in history.
Coincidentally or not, the president seems to agree with that in the states that he won. He not claiming fraud in any of those. He is touting media-projected wins there. And Trump isn't suing in states where he won.
It is not just elections that bring out his loser limp. Anything will do. The courts, for example.
When the Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor ruled against his public charge rule for immigrants in Illinois, he said this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I just don't know how they cannot recuse themselves for anything having to do with Trump or Trump related.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: He also went on a racist attack against a judge overseeing the fraud case against Trump University.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: But I have a judge who is a hater of Donald Trump. A hater.
(BOOING)
TRUMP: He's a hater.
I have had horrible rulings. I've been treated very unfairly by this judge.
Now, this judge is of Mexican heritage. I am building a wall, OK? I'm building a wall.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: That judge is American from Indiana. So that wasn't jump Trump being a sore loser. That was racist.
For Trump, even award shows are stacked against him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: There was even a time when he didn't get an Emmy for his TV program three years in a row, and he started tweeting that the Emmy's were rigged.
TRUMP: I should have gotten it.
CLINTON: This is a mind-set. This is how Donald thinks. And it is funny but it is also really troubling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: When Trump loses, he doesn't accept defeat. He accuses others of cheating. It has been a way of life for him since he was young.
In "Trump Revealed," two "Washington Post" reporters write, quote, "For the first time, he took pride in his grades. He grew angry when his study partner scored higher on a chemistry test, even questioning whether he had cheated."
Last week, Trump's behavior invoked the image of an ex who just won't accept the breakup.
And Lloyd Dobler, from the movie, "Say Anything," standing outside of America's window with a boom box.
Bill Maher compared him to Bruce Willis in "Sixth Sense," not realizing he is dead.
But now Trump is starting to resemble Milton from "Office Space." Fired from his job, refusing to acknowledge it. The people around him just not telling him.
Milton complained ad nauseum about his missing stapler. Trump complains ad nauseum about voter fraud that didn't happen.
Milton literally burned down the office on the way out. Trump is doing it figuratively, firing key administration officials left and right.
But then, Milton only absconded with hundreds of thousands of dollars in traveler checks, a pittance compared to what Trump is taking, America's most valuable currency, faith in democracy.
[13:35:05]
And ahead, our nation is flooded with coronavirus. Hospitals, doctors offices are overwhelmed. I will speak live with a doctor on the frontlines.
Plus, schools are shutting down after students threw parties. Why your holiday plans may be next on the chopping block.
Moments from now, President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris will speak on the economy. We'll bring you that live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:40:24]
KEILAR: The coronavirus surge in Idaho is dire. Health care centers there overwhelmed.
The phones are ringing off the hook. The numbers nearly double what they were before the pandemic. And health care providers can't even pick up every call.
Dr. David Peterman is the CEO of the Primary Health Medical Group in Idaho.
Doctor, thank you so much for being with us.
DR. DAVID PETERMAN, CEO, PRIMARY HEALTH MEDICAL GROUP: Brianna, thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to talk with you and share with the national audience my concerns.
KEILAR: Tell us, first off, what you see as the cause of the increase in cases.
PETERMAN: Well, it's very obvious to us in health care that we've defined what are very straightforward measures to mitigate this disease.
And we offered that they're wearing masks, they're distancing, avoiding gatherings and, of course, washing our hands. Here in Idaho, that's just not happening. We are at the level of the
primary care clinics, particularly our clinic, we are being overwhelmed just as you describe.
We normally receive 1,800 phone calls a day. We are now receiving over 3,000. And 75 percent of the calls are for coronavirus-related questions.
The community spread is so high here. We have a positivity rate that's 25 percent. That has an impact on our staff and our doctors.
From the community spread, not from in our clinics, our own staff on a daily basis, 30 to 40 are out and five to 10 doctors.
And the third thing is because of this, and the staff not being available, we have had to close six of the urgent care clinics.
And my concern is, in a sense, we all need to see our doctors at some time, in the urgent care, you fall down, sprain your ankle.
If I can, Brianna, in your case, if your son has an earache or are you're concerned he has strep throat, you need to go to your primary care doctor or urgent care.
If we are so overwhelmed, and we cannot address those needs, then we are in very bad shape because the only default would be the emergency room.
KEILAR: That's one of the things we talk about, how the E.R. is under strain. Hospitals are under strain.
But you're talking about what it is like when you go to a primary care physician.
Yes, I don't know what I would do. I used it last week for my son. What would I do if I didn't get to the doctor?
What do you do if you can't get to an urgent care? Which is certainly, if you have an issue, a better place to go than to the E.R.
We know right now, the next couple of months things, are going to get worse, Doctor. We have cold weather upon us. You're especially feeling that in Idaho, flu season.
Will health care centers be able to handle an even bigger influx of patients? The picture you're describing sounds like one where you're already kind of tapped out.
PETERMAN: You make a good point. All of us have watched on TV and heard other experts talk about the strain on health care workers in hospitals and health care workers in intensive care units.
And I certainly feel for them having worked in hospitals myself.
I wanted to make sure that the public understand, particularly here in Idaho, now we're seeing that strain in primary care. And you're absolutely right. At some point, you say you can't see
everyone or you can't answer every phone call.
Today, right now, no, we're doing everything we can to see every patient, answer every phone call that we can.
And the answer is, is we need everyone to wear their masks, avoid gatherings, and wash their hands. That's what we need. It's very simple.
KEILAR: Thank you so much, Dr. Peterman, for coming on and talking to us about the limitations it is posing on the medical facilities that so many of us just depend on.
We really appreciate it.
PETERMAN: Thank you very much, Brianna.
KEILAR: Moments from now, President-Elect Joe Biden will be speaking live as the president refuses to start the transition of power and the pandemic gets worse.
Plus, former President Obama weighing in on President Trump's refusal to concede. And what he says worries him most about America's democracy.
[13:45:06]
And as the president keeps losing legal fights in court, he is now putting Rudy Giuliani in charge, a man who keeps pushing conspiracy theories.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, PERSONAL ATTORNEY TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: They start doing ballots like this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:50:07]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
KEILAR: We do have some breaking news. CNN is learning that the U.S. military has been told to plan for a U.S. troop drawdown in Afghanistan and Iraq in the final days of the Trump administration.
I want to bring in our Barbara Starr with breaking news on this.
Barbara, what do you know?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Well, Brianna, we are now learning that U.S. military commanders are anticipating a formal order will be given by President Trump as soon as this week, perhaps in the next 48 to 72 hours, to begin that further withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Iraq, and have them out by January 15th, just five days before he leaves office.
What the order is expected to call for it is a drawdown to just 2,500 troops each both in Afghanistan and another 2,500 in Iraq. That will be a very significant drawdown in both countries.
U.S. commanders had been very concerned about a further drawdown in Afghanistan, believing it would be become much harder for them to do their mission.
Right now, there's about 4,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, 3,000 in Iraq. Both those numbers to come down to about 2,500 now, some five days before the president leaves office.
There's still a chance that U.S. commanders could talk him out of it, but this is a political agenda that the president very much has wanted to pursue.
Many inside the Pentagon saying last week's purge, the firing of Defense Secretary Mark Esper, the putting in of Trump loyalists at the top of the Pentagon, was aimed at carrying this very decision out and making it happen.
Top military advice has been not to do it, especially in Afghanistan. To draw it down to 2,500 troops, commanders say, it's just not time yet. They want to bring the troops home, but they say it's just not time yet.
There's significant violence by the Taliban, and real concern that the government of Afghanistan, and Afghanistan security forces, might not be able to withstand that Taliban violence if those higher numbers of U.S. troops are not there -- Brianna?
KEILAR: Let's talk about what this is doing here in the near term here, Barbara. It seems like it's very bizarre to be doing this as a new administration is coming in.
This could have the effect of setting up a Biden administration for failure, if you're getting into the sprint and the peace process falters and the violence remains high, as you mentioned, with the Taliban?
STARR: That is exactly right. The U.S. signed an agreement already known as the Doha Agreement that would bring troop levels down.
But what the U.S. has been committed to is ensuring that it holds the Taliban's leadership feet to the fire, that they reduce violence, that they stop their attacks.
By doing this, you have essentially, many believe, forfeited the leverage of the U.S. military against the Taliban.
I mean, remember, President Trump, in the very early days, often talked about, don't signal the adversary when you're pulling out, you lose leverage.
And here we are. That's what he has decided to do to carry out his political promise to end the war.
It's not that these U.S. commanders don't want to end the wars. I think we need to keep emphasizing that. Everyone wants to see U.S. troops home.
But the question is: How do you do it? And what do you leave behind? And are you open -- you know better than anyone, Brianna -- Are you opening the door for having to go back someday?
Are the Taliban and al Qaeda really under control in Afghanistan? I don't anybody that would tell you reasonably that they are.
In Iraq, pulling those troops out of Iraq, you have Iranian-backed militias in Iraq that have considerable strength, power and influence. Iran is increasing its influence in Iraq.
If you don't have the U.S. troops there, are you weakening the Iraqi regime, the Iraqi government that the U.S. fought so half to put in place and have a trained and ready Iraqi military force.
In both countries, it's a question of: Is it time? Is it the time right?
Is the president taking his best military advice from the generals and commanders in charge? It does not appear that he is.
[13:55:06]
Is he making a decision based on some of his own political statements? It seems much more likely to be what he's doing.
And much more likely that this is the fundamental reason he cleared out the Pentagon leadership last week. This now leaves him the ability to do as he chooses.
KEILAR: Yes.
STARR: The orders will be followed. But as you say, Brianna, what are the ramifications?
KEILAR: Yes, the orders will be followed.
I want to bring in, Barbara, to this conversation our CNN military analyst, retired general, Mark Hertling, as well as our national security correspondent, Vivian Salama.
General, we have to be -- I want your reaction on what is happening here, what we expect to happen.
But we also need to be very clear. This is not -- certainly, look, we know the president, with some of the things we have seen him say or that we know he is considering behind the scenes, you know, that he's looking to be someone who drew down troops.
He may have an eye on running for, again, in 2024. And being the president who took troops out of these, quote/unquote, "endless wars" is part of what he wants to be about.
But let's be clear what's going on here. This is a partial drawdown. There would still be -- it's not like this is going down to zero.
You're talking about embassies still open. You're talking about bases still open. You're talking about thousands of troops still operational in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Even as dropping down by, you know, 1,500 here, 500 there, is going to create some challenges for how the military conducts itself in Iraq and Afghanistan.
LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, true, Brianna. I would also point out the initial warning order stated that it would be conducted before January 18th.
That seems to be in line with the president's incomprehensible order, which goes against condition-based operations.
That's a phrase used in the military all the time. You know that. It's what is happening on the ground in order to allow you to withdraw or conduct other operations, conditions based.
We have seen the Taliban violate every single part of the DOHA agreement, as Barbara just said. The conditions in Iraq are tenuous right now with a new government recently put in place. So both -- and a lot of al Qaeda actions.
But we saw indicators of this when the new secretary of defense, Miller, put out his welcoming letter to the troops last week, where he said the fight goes on, but we can't stay in endless wars.
It was somewhat contradictory because the intelligence says that the fight against the al Qaida and ISIS, is both those places, is actually increasing in scope and intensity.
So in my view, it's the wrong time to do this.
The other thing I'd mention is, when you talk about that limited number of troops, you not only have to weigh the combat capability, the counter-terrorism capability in Afghanistan, as an example, you also have to weigh the force protection capability.
When more troops are drawn out, they sometimes can't even protect themselves on the bases. That becomes part of the equation.
KEILAR: No, it's a very good point.
Vivian, I wonder what you're hearing and what your impression is of this news.
VIVIAN SALAMA, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, to remind you, before I started covering the Trump White House, I was the Baghdad bureau chief for the A.P. So I come with firsthand experience.
And history has shown, time and time again, that hasty withdrawals from places like Iraq and Afghanistan can backfire. We have seen this over and over again.
When I was in Iraq, we saw troops coming back, first, with airstrikes and then ground troops because of the fact of the hasty withdrawal that took place in 2011 was just too short, too early.
And al Qaeda and ISIS later on were able to regroup and become so powerful that they were able to escape into Syria and grow into a force.
So this is what we see over and over again, is that nobody wants to put U.S. troops in harm's way. Nobody wants them to be on the frontlines. But for purposes of national security, it's extremely important.
And national security advisers have been telling the president this over and over again. But he has been adamant.
It's been an essential, core promise since he took office, that he was going to a full withdraw from Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. And he has really pushed that forward, despite the warnings from so many of his senior military national security officials.
So you have to ask now, the Biden administration will inherit this issue. What position is going to put them in? What position is Afghanistan going to put them in?
Will we be forced to go back in the way we were during the Obama administration later on because of these withdrawals?
[13:59:59]
All of these issues come up. And while we may be helping troops right now, later on, we really could be putting ourselves back into another conundrum.
KEILAR: Yes, that's exactly right.
