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Trump Out Of Sight Today As He Touts Election Conspiracies On Twitter; Trump Campaign To Seek Partial Recount In Wisconsin; Rudy Giuliani Backpedals On Fraud Allegations In PA Case; Pfizer: COVID-19 Vaccine Is Safe And 95 Percent Effective; CNN: Trump Team Aiming To Box Biden In With Foreign Policy Moves. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired November 18, 2020 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

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JOHN KING, CNN HOST: Hello to our viewers in the United States and around the world. Top of the hour, I'm John King in Washington. Thank you for sharing a very busy Newsday with us. Word today of a world changing verdict from Pfizer's vaccine trial, 95 percent effective and the company says, it is safe.

Public health experts say the United States will soon have the power to tame, if not end, this pandemic, if everything goes right. That is a big if because of a raw moment in American politics. President Trump is laying again alleging election fraud where there is none. Word just last hour the president now plans to seek a partial recount in two counties in Wisconsin.

He lost that state by 20,000 plus votes. It is his right to do that. But his refusal to allow transition cooperation with the incoming Biden team gets more consequential by the day.

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DR. RICK BRIGHT, BIDEN COVID-19 ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER: We haven't had any official contact between the transition team coming in and the current administration. It is really setting us back. We don't want to have to step back, rewrite a plan, fix the communication gap, or do anything. We want to keep running as quickly and efficiently as possible to make sure Americans can get the vaccines as they become available.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: The big vaccine news is welcome, but you can see there comes at a very dire moment. 1700 American deaths Tuesday. That is the highest single daily death count since back in May. A worrying omen as 77,000 infected Americans sit in hospital wings right now across the country.

President-Elect Biden is keeping the pandemic as priority number one holding today a roundtable with health care workers on the front lines of this pandemic. President Trump is out of sight again. No public events for the 11th time since Election Day. His Twitter feed is his voice and it is a window into his alternative reality.

The president routinely conjuring up wild election conspiracies. Yesterday he fired yet another official whose crime was this, telling a truth the president refuses to accept, the election was secure and Biden won. Results are being double checked and ratified.

The president's lawyers including Rudy Giuliani getting turned away in court after court because they offer no proof. Yet again today, this is the president in his morning tweet storm "I won the election". Voter fraud all over the country. Again, he did not win. And there's no major fraud. No evidence of it at least yet.

The president's lies will not stop the Biden Inauguration, but they do poison the well. One-third of Americans in a new poll say they believe Biden won because of fraud. Do truth tellers include Georgia's Republican Secretary of State.

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UNIDENTIFIFED MALE: Has you're ordered your investigation uncovered actual evidence of "Widespread voter fraud in the state of Georgia"?

BRAD RAFFENSPERGER, (R) GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE: We have knocked down widespread voter fraud. It isn't acute to say that there is widespread voter fraud in the state of Georgia. But coming every single ballot, all 5 million ballots, again and we're telling them by hand, because people have been throwing dispersions about the accuracy of the electronic count. And what we're seeing is at some times are no difference at all.

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KING: That the top official in Georgia, the Trump Campaign now saying it will ask for a partial recount has to pay for it in two counties in Wisconsin. Let's pop up battle ground Wisconsin. Joe Biden winning by more than 20,000 votes. The Trump Campaign says it wants a recount here.

In Milwaukee County big Democratic stronghold as you can see Joe Biden won this county by more than 180,000 votes. So the statewide lead comes out of places like Milwaukee County. The other place they are asking for the recount, predominantly Democratic, Dane County, this is home of medicine. Look at the last side at lead here. Joe Biden winning this county again by more than 180,000 votes. So more than 364,000 votes between Dane and Milwaukee.

The Trump Campaign says it will pay now for a partial recount. This news coming just last hour. CNN's Chief Washington Correspondent Jeff Zeleny is in Wilmington, Delaware with the latest on this one. Jeff, why now and what do they expect to find?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, the reason now is because the deadline was today at 5'o clock Wisconsin time, so they had to make a decision if they were going to go forward with asking for this recount. But it's so interesting, as you said; they are just asking for a recount, the Trump Campaign is, in two counties. Two of the states' largest counties, two of the state's most Democratic Counties, a Milwaukee County and Dane County as you said.

And there are no votes, there is of course the margin in the state of Wisconsin, of course, only about 20,000 or so, a little bit more than that. About the same as four years ago. And you'll remember four years ago there actually was a recount in the State of Wisconsin, and it was paid for by Jill Stein, the third party candidate.

And there actually were 131 votes found statewide for President Trump. 131 votes. The margin is more than 20,000. So even Governor Scott Walker, the longtime Republican Former Governor there said there are simply not enough opportunities to find 20,000 votes.

What the Trump Campaign clearly is trying to do is just push this narrative, continue to push this narrative that this was a fraudulent election. They are looking to these Democratic strongholds. There is no evidence of that at all, of course. John, you'll remember very well in the 2000 campaign when on the other side they only requested a recount in one county, Broward County.

[12:05:00]

ZELENY: Of course, that set off a whole flurry of issues. So if you're going to actually - if your goal is to find the results statewide, try and find every vote you can, you don't just request a recount in two Democratic leading counties. John.

KING: No, you wouldn't, unless you're just trying to run out some sort of clock. Jeff Zeleny, I appreciate the breaking news on the Trump Campaign. Joining us now to discuss CNN's Kaitlan Collins and CNN Election Law Analyst Rick Hasen, Kaitlan to you first at the White House.

The election was two weeks plus one day ago. The election was called on Saturday, ten plus days ago. The Trump Campaign has had no's in Pennsylvania, no's in Georgia, no's elsewhere in court and in the recount underway in Georgia not going its way. Why Wisconsin now?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, notice they're not doing a statewide recount in Wisconsin; they're only picking two counties. And of course as you were talking about how Milwaukee, talking about certain areas that are Democratic strongholds. But the campaign is pushing forward anyway.

I was told they didn't want to do no recount. And Wisconsin obviously, that would have cost $8 million, and that's money that the campaign based on what we've been told internally by people is just something that is obviously incredibly expensive and not something that they can really afford right now as they have been on this fundraising blitz.

So they picked these two counties. It's part of this continuing attempt by the campaign to stop the certification of votes in certain states. That's really their effort is to delay this as long as possible. Because if you talk to people who are involved with this. They understand that they are not going to be successful and actually overturning the outcome of the vote.

But what they can do by continuing to ask for recounts and continuing to go to court as Rudy Giuliani was yesterday is delay the certification of the vote and that appears to be their goal right now.

KING: And so to that point, Rick, Milwaukee County is to Wisconsin as Wayne County is to Michigan, meaning a big Democratic stronghold where if Democrats are going to win statewide, they need to run up the vote and get a huge lead. Joe Biden did that in Wayne County.

Wayne County certified its results yesterday after a little bit of a hiccup. But listen here, the Democratic Governor now we have this recounted day late requested Wisconsin, the Democratic Governor of Michigan says, we're going to keep moving on, we're going to certify the results, but I have my eyes wide open.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER (D) MICHIGAN: I have every expectation that as this goes to the state Board of Canvassers next week that the process of finalizing the results will be completed as our law requires. We had a full, free, fair and secure election. The will of the people will stand, and I think we've got to go into this, well, of course, bracing ourselves for more shenanigans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: What kind of shenanigans, Rick, in the sense that I've been at this a long time. We just watched it play out in Georgia. Couple of hundred votes change, sometimes a thousand votes change, in none of these recounts is the president likely to reverse the results in the state. So what is this really about?

RICHARD HASEN, CNN ELECTION LAW ANALYST: Well, I mean, part of this is a PR thing. It's trying to show that the president is fighting. You know, I think the end game might be to try to delay certification in the hopes that you could get state legislatures to come on board and come up with an alternative slate of electors and try and convince congress to somehow change the Electoral College votes.

It's kind of like one improbable thing after another. It's just a way of trying to delay the inevitable. And the key point is this process is pretty much on autopilot. And so far everything that the Trump campaign has tried to do to delay certification has failed. And I expect it's going to continue to fail despite the efforts they are making in multiple states.

KING: The Stanford band play is funny on the football field; it's not funny in the middle of a transition in American democracy in the middle of a pandemic. And to that point, Kaitlan, look, the president has every right to go into court and to press credible efforts.

But his own attorney, he put Rudy Giuliani in charge of this after other attorneys failed in courts. Giuliani in court yesterday "When pressed Giuliani admitted he wasn't alleging voter fraud, but he still believed in the idea that fraud could exist." No, your honor, we are not alleging fraud, Giuliani said. It's a fraudulent process. Help me. What are they doing?

COLLINS: Well, that's a good question. And a lot of people are not happy that Rudy Giuliani is now leading this effort. Because it obviously does not lend credibility to their argument. And what's important to know about Rudy is that, Rudy Giuliani is that, when he's in court he's saying this is not a fraud case, but when he's in public, he's arguing that it is a fraud case.

So you saw him yesterday coming to court and basically everything he said at the beginning in his opening statement did not reflect what this lawsuit is actually arguing. And he was contradicting himself saying that Republican poll watchers were not allowed in, then late saying they weren't allowed close enough to actually watch the votes. It's got to be one or the other.

You cannot be in the room, but also not be close enough in the room. And those are things that Rudy Giuliani is arguing. And you're seeing frustration from that play out from people like Mick Mulvaney, the Former Chief of Staff who was saying today that this is a serious issue and they should move forward with it, if this is what they believe.

But they should have credible election attorneys leading this argument. And instead, they don't. And a lot of that has to do with places like Pennsylvania. The president is on his third set of attorneys.

[12:10:00]

COLLINS: And it includes Rudy Giuliani and a Former Radio Host at this time. So that really gives you an idea of how attorneys who actually work on this kind of stuff are viewing these cases and whether or not they are actually going to be successful.

KING: And so, Rick, one of the questions is, is this just a Trump tantrum and it will be over when Joe Biden takes his hand up the Bible? Or is there some impact on trusting institutions on the capability of institutions?

Just yesterday in a tweet the president fired a gentleman who worked for the United States government, who ran the cyber part of the election, who has said repeatedly this was the most part of a report, this is the most secure election in history. He says there are no allegations of widespread fraud. Here is someone who works closely with him having the courage to say the same thing.

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BEN HOVLAND, CHAIRMAN, U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION: When you talk to election officials across the country, they are confident in the security of this election. They are confident in the outcome of the election, that this was a fair election and that Americans made their voices heard. And we've got to respect the will of the people and the public servants that helped run this election and made this all possible.

UNIDENFIED FEMALE: OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Is there lasting damage here? Or again is this - Joe Biden takes his hand off the Bible and we just forget this sad chapter?

HASEN: I think we need to distinguish between two things as all of these machinations going to lead to Joe Biden not becoming the President on January 20th? I don't think so. I think we're well on the path to that.

But in terms of delegitimizing the Biden Presidency, in terms of convincing millions of people that without evidence that the election has been stolen from Trump, I think this is going to do a lot of damage. Because when you think about what a democracy depends on, it's that the losers believe that we had a fair election and they will fight another day. When you lose that, you lose the very foundation of American democracy.

KING: You do. It's an excellent point. And just to echo that point, Brandon Monmouth's poll out today, 60 percent of Americans overall think Joe Biden won fair and square. But 70 percent of Republicans think it was because of fraud.

Ladies and gentlemen, check this out yourself. There's no evidence of this fraud, please. Thank you both Rick and Kaitlan, thank you very much. Up next for us word today, there may soon be a stay-at-home alternative to this. Look at that line right there. That for Coronavirus tests in Illinois this morning.

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[12:15:00]

KING: Details on the important new vaccine news in just a moment. But first a reminder, for most of us a vaccine is still months away and the situation across around the country right now is dire and getting worse. Let's just take a look at the state by state trends.

Orange and red are bad. Orange and red been more Coronavirus new infections now compared to a week ago. And you see it right there, 47 states. 47 of the 50 states trending in the wrong direction right now reporting more new COVID infections this week compared to the data one week ago.

The states in deep red, that's at least 50 percent more new infections this week compared to last week. 47 states going in the wrong direction, two holding steady. Only one state trending down at the moment that is the state of Hawaii. The death trend also starting to head up.

You see it there, that's 33 states. 33 states reporting more deaths this week compared to the data last week. 33 states, 8 holding steady, 9 states trending down when it comes to deaths. The case trend line is horrific, it is just horrific. Remember, the president long ago told us this would disappear in April somewhere back here.

The vice president said it would be largely behind us by Memorial Day, that's somewhere here. And we had the summer surge and now we have this, horrific, 161,934 new infections confirmed in the United States yesterday. And you see that red line. It is heading straight up.

The other lines were hills that are like a rocket, straight up in the air. And with that comes hospitalization trends again. The first hill in the spring, second hill in the summer surge, the third hill now. 76,823 Americans, that's a new record hospitalized yesterday. Eight straight days. Eight straight days of hospitalization records across the United States because of the Coronavirus.

And this the saddest trend line of all because it's starting to head back up as well. 1,707 deaths yesterday. That's the highest daily number since back in May, May 14th. And you can just see the trend line. You see the blue starting to head up. You see these lines up above here, this heading in the wrong direction as well.

Just a reminder that for many of us the vaccine is still months away, still months away. But Pfizer did have some good news today on the vaccine front. The drugmaker announcing that its final trials if this vaccine show perhaps even more promise, than it first reported with an effectiveness rate of 95 percent.

And Pfizer says there are zero serious safety concerns here. Let's get more details from our Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. Elizabeth it sounds like fascinating news, any caveats?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: One caveat is that, they haven't truly, truly finished yet. There will be more data. But still this is the lot of data and it's a lot more data that we had when Pfizer made its initial announcement about ten days ago. So more data, the better. The more statistical significance you have, the more sure that you can be that this is actually on the mark.

So let's take a look at what Pfizer has announced. So they had a group of people, about 20,000 people, who got a placebo, that's a shot of saline that does nothing. Overtime 162 of those people became sick with COVID, now to know Pfizer didn't give them COVID, they were just living their lives out in their community and caught COVID.

And nine of those cases were severe COVID. Now let's look at the folks who actually got the Pfizer vaccine. Only eight of those people, eight, not 162, only eight of those people caught COVID, and this group was the same size as the placebo group and only one of those was severe.

Also good news is that, it seemed to work just as well in elderly people as in other people. Now, the next question is all right, what's the next step. I want to show you a calendar with an important days circled.

So CNN has learned that the FDA has asked its Advisory Committee, its Vaccine Advisory Committee to hold these three dates open. December 8th, 9th, and 10th. And on the 10th, that's when the FDA may be making its decision, it's giving it a green light or a red light. There are still steps after that.

[12:20:00]

COHEN: A CDC Committee needs to look at it. But that's important that already the FDA has asked its Advisory Committee members to hold those three dates free in order to meet. John.

KING: Incredibly important, Elizabeth Cohen, grateful for the reporting and the smart context and as we watch as the calendar unfolds, hopefully some progress just ahead of us but we're still in a deep ditch at the moment. Elizabeth, thank you very much.

And many state leaders stepping up now to deal with the spikes in their states. One of the governors Ned Lamont of Connecticut is in COVID quarantine as he leads his state's efforts. He's next.

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[12:25:00]

KING: Troop withdrawals, arms sales, terrorist designations, all powers of any president, and powers President Trump is looking to use in his final weeks in office the president's plan already to drawdown troop levels and rock in Afghanistan raising eyebrows in both political parties.

And watching all this closely of course is President-Elect Biden who may well inherit some late to Trump decisions with which he profoundly disagrees. Sorry, we're having technical issues with our correspondent. We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.

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