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GOP Senators Congratulate Harris While Publicly Supporting Trump's Attempt to Undermine Election; Trump Remains Bunkered in White House, Making Policy Decisions; Illinois Governor Announces New Rules to Control Spread after 12,000 New Cases Reported Yesterday; Kentucky Bar Owners Urges Governor to Shut Down as Cases Surge; Georgia Voter Accused by Trump of Casting Vote in Dead Woman's Name Is Alive. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired November 18, 2020 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:31:04]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: President Trump is using last-ditch legal challenges in order to raise questions about the legitimacy of Joe Biden's wins -- win, I should say.

Some Republicans are not only standing by Trump but they are bending over backwards to support his efforts.

In Michigan, Republicans temporarily blocked certification of votes. This was based on dubious claims of voting irregularities in Detroit. They did reverse that decision in the face of overwhelming opposition.

Trump's allies in the Senate are sending mixed signals. They are standing by the president publicly, even attempting to interfere in state's elections.

While also greeting incoming vice president, Kamala Harris, with a peculiar level of warmth that suggests something beyond a simple howdy to another Senator. Some even congratulating her on the floor of the Senate.

Let's take a look at Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.

While they will not recognize President-Elect Biden, Republican Senators Tim Scott, James Lankford, Mike Rounds and Ben Sasse offered their congratulations to Harris.

I'm joined by CNN chief political correspondent, Dana Bash.

I should point out, Dana, in the case of Lindsey Graham, he told our colleague, Manu Raju, he wasn't congratulating Senator Harris. He was saying just basically -- he was saying hello.

But when you look -- you know this. You look at the floor of the Senate more than the average bear.

(LAUGHTER)

KEILAR: You know, while I'm sure people say hello to each other, she's being greeted with a different kind of level than she would be normally.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, there's not one Republican in that chamber that doesn't know that the jig is up, who doesn't know that when they are fist bumping Kamala Harris, they are fist bumping the next vice president of the United States of America.

That's just the reality. And there isn't anybody who would take truth serum or even talk privately who wouldn't admit that.

That is a different question than what they feel they need to do in public to manage President Trump.

I use the word "manage" intentionally because what you have seen Lindsey Graham and so many other Republicans in Congress, who have refused to acknowledge that President-Elect Biden is as such.

Because they want to be in a position that they are perceived by the president as somebody in the trenches with him so that they feel that when it is time to tell him it's over, sir, that they have credibility with him.

The question is: Why go as far as they are? Which is what you were alluding to in the lead in, I know.

Why go as far as calling on Wisconsin and Michigan, and never mind what's going on in Georgia, to change things, and not allow things to play out.

The answer I get in talking to Republicans is to have more credibility with the base and, therefore, have more credibility with the president.

But you know, history will look back on this and have a giant question mark as to whether or not they took managing the president and getting him to a place where he doesn't disrupt even more than he already has during this transition period even more.

KEILAR: Yes. They may be managing him. I think you explain it, and the calculus makes sense, but it doesn't mean it isn't also enabling some of what he's doing.

BASH: Totally. Absolutely.

KEILAR: Which is trying to delegitimatize the election, the actual election of Joe Biden.

And the president, Dana, is hunkered down in the White House. He's making policy decisions. He's stopped governing when it comes to coronavirus but he is making other decisions on other topics.

Yesterday, the acting secretary of defense announced a troop drawdown in Afghanistan and Iraq. Why is he doing this now?

[13:34:59]

BASH: Because he can. It's not as if this is a president who felt he was shackled by what is right or what is just or what is politically expedient, if he were to be the president of everybody not just focused on the base.

But even for him, who never felt that kind of pressure, unfortunately, probably, for a lot of people who felt he didn't speak for or to them, he's even more so now. That is why obviously there's a lot of concern.

And you're exactly right, Brianna. Managing is one side of the coin. Enabling is another. Obviously, a more dangerous side of that coin.

And that is why I posed the question: At what point does that go too far?

At what point does it not matter if you are preventing a temper tantrum on policy "A" if you are undermining the very core of the democratic process that people have taken for granted.

Because it relies on presidents and people who work for them and people allied with them following basic tenets and basic protocols.

KEILAR: It might preserve their political careers but it doesn't look particularly honorable, I think, from many perspectives.

Dana, thank you so much. It's always great to talk.

BASH: You, too, Bri.

KEILAR: The Midwest has become an epicenter for the worsening epidemic. This includes North Dakota where hospitals are full. And they've had to make a whole new makeshift COVID wing.

Plus, 87-year-old Republican Senator Chuck Grassley's COVID-19 diagnosis raises new questions about safety in Congress.

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[13:41:36]

KEILAR: The president has flat-out abdicated his responsibility for battling coronavirus in this country gripped by pandemic. So governors are the ones calling the shots.

At least 21 states imposing restrictions to combat the virus' spread.

The latest being Illinois, which reported over 12,000 new cases yesterday, a bigger number than any other state is reporting right now.

Let's bring in CNN's Adrienne Broaddus. She's live for us in Chicago where the governor has announced tougher new rules to control the spread. This is called the tier-three plan, Adrienne. Tell us what this is.

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, it is a plan the governor hopes will be enough to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

So starting on Friday, we're going to see some big changes. These are the things that will shut down: Museums, casinos, theaters, banquet halls.

Grocery stores will remain open but must operate at 50 percent capacity. Indoor fitness classes will no longer be allowed starting on Friday. Gyms can remain open but must reduce their capacity to 25 percent.

This, as Illinois, much like the rest of the country, is seeing a spike in deaths and hospitalizations.

Let's take Rush University Medical Center, for example, in Chicago. That hospital has transformed its main lobby to treat low-acuity COVID patients.

Back here where we are, we're in a big suburb of Chicago, Arlington Heights. We're at one the state's largest testing sites, I should say, across the state.

Here they test about 1900 people every day. And you see the line behind me is growing -- Brianna?

KEILAR: Adrienne, thank you so much. Stay warm out there. We can tell it's a windy day in Illinois where you are.

As states are launching a new wave of restrictions, I'm going to talk to a bar owner who in Kentucky who wants the governor to close bars and restaurants.

And a Georgia voter caught in the middle of the president's baseless conspiracy theory. He claimed she cast a vote in the name of a dead woman but she's very much alive.

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[13:45:16]

KEILAR: Kentucky is one of several states stepping up restrictions in order to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Governor Andy Beshear is set to announce new measures today. And the reason why is quite clear when you look at this uptick in new cases.

For one small business owner in Louisville, he's hoping that means another shutdown.

Joining us now is Jeremy Johnson. He's the owner of Meta Bar in Louisville, Kentucky.

Jeremy, thank you for coming on to talk with us about this. You are calling on the governor to, in your words, "do the right

thing." Tell us, as a small business owner.

JEREMY JOHNSON, OWNER, META BAR: Thanks for having me.

KEILAR: No, of course, we appreciate it.

Tell us, why is a small business owner -- we've heard from a lot of people who don't want to shut down. Tell us why you want to, why you feel this is something that needs to come from the governor.

JOHNSON: I think this is a two-pronged issue. First and foremost, the virus is very obviously completely out of control. We've seen a drastic rise from anything we've seen in cases.

And I understand that treatment is improving. But at the moment, we have no control over how fast this spreading. And people don't seem to be doing the right thing.

Secondly, he's got us kind of between a rock and a hard place. We've got restricted hours. We've got restricted capacity. And we're all limping along.

He's also actively asking people to stay home. He's imploring Kentuckians to stay home in red counties, which is the majority of counties in Kentucky.

What this does is puts us in an impossible position where we're limping along, making almost no money. But also we basically have to stay open because the bills are still coming.

With a mandatory shutdown, not only can we curb the spread of the virus, but we are more likely to be able to get some aid and stay alive as businesses.

[13:50:05]

KEILAR: What is it like for you, for your employees, as you are encountering people who are willing to go out in person to dine or for drinks. What is it like?

JOHNSON: Obviously, the vast majority of our guests are fantastic people. They come in, they're very cooperative. They are very -- you know, they understand the rules. We have a lot of regulars that are very, very conscientious and stuff like that.

But you also have -- you know, when you've got a governor continuing to tell people to stay home -- there are two Americas kind of right now. There are people who take the virus seriously and people who don't think it's that much to worry about.

When you have a governor imploring people to stay home, you get a lot of people who don't believe the virus is something we should by concerned about.

I'll say that at least five to 15 times a day, we'll have people walk through the door without a mask on, when there's a giant sign on the door that specifically says, "No entrance without a mask."

Just starting with that off the -- you know, that first impression can be very frustrating.

We also have people who get frustrated when we make last call at 11:00. We have people who don't take the rules seriously and wonder why we're following the rules.

It can be very frustrating, because not only when they walk through the door without a mask are we immediately more at risk but, you know, this job is a different job as it is.

All we want is for our guests to be happy and our employees to be safe. It's a very different position to be in.

KEILAR: Jeremy, we know you're going through a lot. This is a very hard time for Americans. It's such a hard time for small business owners.

I just want to say thanks for coming on and sharing your thoughts with us.

JOHNSON: Thank you so much.

KEILAR: Up next, big news on the vaccine front. Pfizer announcing their vaccine is safe, 95 percent effective, they say. And they say emergency use authorization is coming within days.

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[13:56:50]

KEILAR: As President Trump pushes baseless conspiracy theories about widespread voter fraud, he's not just attacking democracy. He's attacking real Americans, like Deborah Jean Christiansen.

Christiansen is a registered voter in Georgia. And last week, the Trump campaign and FOX News host, Tucker Carlson, falsely claimed her vote was fraudulent, saying that she died last week.

Well, there is a Deborah Jean Christiansen who passed away but it isn't her.

The vote was legally passed by a woman who is very much alive and happens to share her name. They were both born in the same year and month, but on a different day.

CNN's Amara Walker is following this for us.

Amara, CNN spoke with Deborah Jean Christiansen yesterday. Tell us what she said about all of this?

AMARA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, she said she had no idea her name was being used to spread false claims of voter fraud by the Trump campaign. But she was taking all of this in stride. Although she did say, look, this is ridiculous. And she's actually not surprised that the Trump campaign would resort to this.

She also admitted that she voted for Trump in 2016. But over the past few years, she's become disillusioned by his presidency, including his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. So, in 2020, this presidential election, she said she voted for Joe Biden.

Now, the claim from the Trump campaign is that Deborah Jean Christiansen, who lived in Fulton County and died in 2019, registered to vote on October 5th, and then allegedly voted in this presidential election.

Yes, this woman in Fulton County is, indeed, dead. But there's no record whatsoever of anyone trying to register to vote on October 5th under that name or trying to vote under that name. This has been confirmed by the Fulton County Elections Office.

Now, another woman, with the same name, and as you mentioned, Brianna, with the same birth year, who lives in Cobb County, that we spoke with, is, indeed, alive.

And she did, indeed, register to vote on October 5th and cast her ballot, early voting on October 28th.

So it's not clear if the two, the deceased Deborah Jean Christiansen, and the living, were intentionally or unintentionally mixed up.

We reached out to the Trump campaign. We haven't received any comment just yet.

FOX News' Tucker Carlson sent CNN a written statement basically admitting that they've learn some of the dead voters are FOX reported on are, in fact, alive.

But Carlson maintained that dead voters voted in the election, even though three out of the four claims of Georgians voting while dead by the Trump campaign have proven to be false -- Brianna?

KEILAR: Well, he just generally doesn't know what he's talking about.

Amara, thank you so much. Amara Walker live for us from Atlanta.

Hello, I am Brianna Keilar. And I want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world.

[14:00:55]

The president has fired his top election security official, a continuation of the president's purge and the scorched-earth policy that he's implemented since losing the White House to President-Elect Biden.

Chris Krebs gone, in a tweet, apparently for doing his job.