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New COVID-19 Cases, Deaths Spike Across the U.S.; Vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna 95 Percent Effective in Trials; More U.S. Schools Closing Amid Surge in COVID-19 Cases; Source: Trump's Transition Delay Driven By Revenge; Trump Lawyers Push Bizarre New Election Fraud Claims; Georgia Recount Confirms Biden Won by 12,000+ Votes; Mexico Hits Tragic COVID Milestone. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired November 20, 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]
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: The top U.S. infectious disease expert says help is on the way with two coronavirus vaccines, but Anthony Fauci still hopes Americans heed his holiday warnings.
Then --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, DONALD TRUMP'S LAWYER: I know crimes. I can smell them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani claims the system was rigged against his boss, but he's offered no evidence and he's losing and dropping election lawsuits across the country.
And later, unprecedented moves by U.S. Secretary of State. We'll tell you what Mike Pompeo has been up to in the Middle East.
Live from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Welcome to you our viewers here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
Almost 10 months into America's coronavirus pandemic, and the U.S. has set another record high for new daily cases. More than 187,000 new infections were reported Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University, with numbers heading in the wrong direction across most of the country. An influential model has raised its projected winter death toll by 30,000.
Of course there are two promising vaccine candidates in the works, but new research indicates that factors other than effectiveness can impact how well a vaccination program works. They include distribution, the severity of the pandemic and even people's willingness to take a vaccine. But the top U.S. infectious disease expert is optimistic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Vaccines are close by. They're coming. You know, I said help is on the way, which to me I think should motivate people even more to double down because pretty soon we're going to get a heck of a lot of help from a very efficacious vaccine. Two vaccines that just two weeks ago and this past week was shown to be extremely effective. I mean, efficacious in 95 percent and 94.5 percent. You know that's almost as good as measles vaccine, which is an extraordinary vaccine that crushed measles in this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Now, expert says those vaccines won't be widely available until next year. And right now all the numbers, infections, hospitalizations and deaths are heading in the wrong direction. Here's CNN's Nick Watt in Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Classrooms closed in New York City this morning. Bars, indoor dining, gyms will likely follow.
MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: It's just a matter of time. It's very likely to be in the next week or two.
WATT: Starting Monday, every K-12 school in Kentucky will also be online only.
GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): When addressing COVID-19, action is unpopular, but inaction is deadly.
WATT: Schools are emptying, hospitals are filling up. Now, nearly 80,000 COVID patients nationwide; never been higher. Still --
DR. AUSTIN SIMONSON, INTERNAL MEDICINE SPECIALIST, SANFORD MEDICAL CENTER: I have family members that deny it exists, and it's hard to have that conversation with them.
FAUCI: Despite a quarter million deaths, despite more than 11 million infections, despite 150,000 new infections a day, they don't believe it's real. That is a real problem.
WATT: More than a quarter million people have now been killed by COVID in this country. That's a fact. So is this.
ADM. BRETT GIROIR, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: The end of the pandemic is in sight with the vaccines. That being said, this will get worse.
WATT: The CDC is now advising against Thanksgiving travel and celebrate very small.
DR. RICHARD BESSER, FORMER ACTING CDC DIRECTOR: My parents live here in town. They live about a mile from my house. They're both 90. They're not coming for Thanksgiving. WATT: Maybe 20 million vulnerable Americans might now get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine in the next few months.
[04:05:00]
MIKE PENCE: VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The day after one of these vaccines is approved, we'll be shipping vaccines to the American people. And within a day after that, we'll be seeing those vaccines injected.
WATT: This, by the way, the first White House coronavirus task force briefing in more than four months.
PENCE: America has never been more prepared to combat this virus than we are today.
WATT: Really? U.S. is now adding, on average, over 160,000 new cases a day. So hospitals will fill up. The death toll will rise. It's simple math.
DR. NATHAN HATTON, PULMONARY SPECIALIST, UNIVERSITY OF UTAH HOSPITAL: Every day you walk into work, someone is super sick. Someone is potentially dying that day, having those family meetings. And then, even as I was driving home last night, I drove by one of our parks, and there's ongoing, you know, practices for some sporting event.
WATT (on camera): Here in California, from Saturday night, the governor has said that there will be a limited stay-at-home order over most of the state. It's basically a curfew: 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. The governor says the virus is spreading here like it has never done before. They need to get a handle on it.
Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
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BRUNHUBER: Dr. Scott Miscovich, a family physician and national consultant for COVID-19 testing joins me from Kahlua, Hawaii, and he also pioneered popup COVID-19 testing in Hawaii. Thank you very much for joining us here today.
It'll be ten months since we saw the first case of COVID in the U.S. We have spiking cases, lock downs, piecemeal restrictions. We're divided on what measures or even, you know, whether to take my measures at all. It seems incredible that so many people have learned so little. Did you ever think we'd be here where we are now, ten months into this?
SCOTT MISCOVICH, FAMILY PHYSICIAN: No, I really didn't think. I thought the country would take this seriously. I thought the political leadership, whether it was the governors, the departments of health, would stand up and come to a common theme and let people know that this is serious. This is a pandemic that the world has never seen in modern times. And there's only one way we are going to stop this, by having a common voice to tell people how important testing is. How important social distancing and wearing mask is. And we still see that different no matter where we go.
BRUNHUBER: And, you know, the CDC tries to be part of that national voice. And it's recommending that Americans avoid traveling and gathering with relatives for the Thanksgiving holiday. But many in the right-wing media are saying that the warnings not to congregate over these holidays are tantamount to a war on Thanksgiving. Even the White House press secretary called guidelines limiting Thanksgiving Orwellian.
As someone in, you know, public health, I imagine it is hard enough to get people to change their behavior, to give up on, you know, cherished activities and traditions without these very influential figures, and the media and in the White House telling millions of people basically not to listen.
MISCOVICH: As we look for Thanksgiving coming up, I am always giving advice. And the advice is that take it seriously. I mean if we're not -- let's face, we are not going to stop people from getting together over Thanksgiving but put your older parents or someone with immunocompromise in a certain area, separate.
I always tell people, put a fan over their shoulder. Let the fan blow away from the person who is immunocompromised so that they're not breathing the same air. Try to go outside if you're in an area that is warm enough. Try to have ventilation that is adequate. Those are the common messages that our leadership should getting out there.
BRUNHUBER: The good news, of course, you know, the two vaccines, that so far have produced, you know, far better than expected results. But, you know, they'll be useless if we don't have a plan to get them to people.
And we heard again today that the Trump administration's vaccine distribution team hasn't briefed anyone on the president-elect's team and has no plans to do so. So how much do you think this national vaccine rollout will be affected by the chaos in Washington?
MISCOVICH: Well, I actually will tell you, I am quite optimistic about what's been happening with the vaccines. Those percentages that we are seeing in the high 90s or mid 90s are far better than we expected.
And I am also involved with a large organization who has been briefing the federal government about a plan and, I guess, you would say putting a proposal for Operation Warp Speed, which is the plan that the federal government has to have rapid vaccine distribution. So, behind the scenes, there is a process going on to create a vaccine distribution.
Now, the reality is that it is going to be mid next year before we really get it going broadly.
BRUNHUBER: Thank you so much, Dr. Scott Miscovich. I appreciate it as always.
MISCOVICH: Thank you for having me.
[04:10:00]
BRUNHUBER: An ally of President Trump tells CNN the President knows he's lost the election and has realizes he has almost no chance of remaining in the White House. So, why doesn't he concede? Well, the source tells us Mr. Trump says he's delaying the transition to punish Democrats for the Russia investigation that stained his presidency. President-elect Joe Biden is disgusted by the President's undemocratic behavior, especially at the height of a pandemic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: Let me choose my words. I think they're witnessing incredible irresponsibility. Incredibly damaging messaging being sent to the rest of the world about how democracy functions. And I think it is -- well, I don't know his motive, but I just think it's totally irresponsible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, the U.S. state of Georgia has concluded its hand recount of all ballots and confirmed Joe Biden won the state by more than 12,000 votes. The state's deadline to official certify the result comes later today.
A top U.S. election security official fired this week by Donald Trump called it the most dangerous hour and 45 minutes of television in American history. He's talking about the President's legal team and its latest claims on election fraud. CNN's Kaitlan Collins has details.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Trump's assault on the outcome of the election taking on a new intensity tonight as deadlines for finalizing results in many states grow closer while his attorneys are set on delaying it.
GIULIANI: I know crimes. I can smell them.
COLLINS: After suffering a string of court losses, Rudy Giuliani and the rest of Trump's legal team held a press conference today that went off the rails as they made a series of baseless allegations and Giuliani's hair dye ran down his face.
GIULIANI: Did you all watch my cousin Vinnie? You know the movie? It is one of my favorite law movies because he comes from Brooklyn.
JENNA ELLIS, TRUMP CAMPAIGN SENIOR LEGAL ADVISER: Your question is fundamentally flawed when you're asking where is the evidence.
COLLINS: The president wasn't at that briefing, but CNN has learned he's taken the brazen step of inviting Michigan GOP state legislators to the White House tomorrow as he tries to undermine the Electoral College process.
This week, he personally called a Republican election official in Michigan, who tried to stop the certification of the results in the democratic stronghold of Wayne County, but reversed her decision and voted yes after facing major backlash.
UNKNOWN: Shame on you.
COLLINS: Now, Monica Palmer wants to rescind her vote after getting a call from Trump, which she has no legal standing to do. The Trump campaign withdrew its lawsuit in Michigan today, claiming she could.
GIULIANI: Well they did. They decertified.
COLLINS: Rudy Giuliani told a Pennsylvania judge in court earlier this week he was not alleging fraud in Pennsylvania, just a fraudulent process. But when he was in front of cameras today, Giuliani changed his tune.
GIULIANI: The number of voter fraud cases in Philadelphia could fill a library.
COLLINS: In his last two months in office, the President appears set on doing lasting damage to the democracy that put him there. And instead of condemning him, Republicans are humoring him.
SEN. MIKE BRAUN (R-IN): Vice President Biden is talking about unifying the country. I don't think that's possible until you overturn every stone out there.
COLLINS: Utah Senator Mitt Romney is one of few GOP voices expressing concern.
SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): The consequences of what is happening during this lame duck period, I think, are potentially more severe than the consequences associated with a late transition process.
COLLINS: With the pandemic raging in the U.S., the White House Coronavirus Task Force held its first press briefing in four months today.
Coronavirus deaths in the U.S. have now surpassed a quarter of a million, despite President Trump's April projection they would not go above six figures.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are probably heading to 60,000, 70,000.
COLLINS: Many across the U.S. are left wondering where is the federal government, but Trump wasn't at the briefing today, as sources say he is more consumed by his election loss than the pandemic.
PENCE: President Trump directed us to host this briefing.
COLLINS (on camera): And that was the first coronavirus task force briefing in four months. But after all the officials went through the updated numbers and the vaccine distribution list, they refused to take a single question from reporters. The vice president closed out the session. He was making his closing remarks. He closed his binder and then turned and walked out of the briefing room as reporters shouted questions at him. Of course, that likely comes as the vice president and several other top government taxpayer-funded officials have refused to comment on the President's efforts to destabilize the election.
Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
[04:15:00]
BRUNHUBER: CNN political analyst Sabrina Siddiqui joins me from Washington. She's also a national politics reporter for the "Wall Street Journal." Thank you so much for talking to us here. Georgia's recount, it's over, Biden wins Georgia again, so, you know, case closed, right, conspiracy theories debunked, the President's doubts have been put to rest no doubt. What happens next?
SABRINA SIDDIQUI, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, what remains is for the state of Georgia to certify its election results, and the Republican Secretary of State, it's worth noting, is expected to do that by Friday. Now, the Trump campaign had requested this recount, and it was done by hand. It did not meaningfully change anything. Biden's lead was still roughly 12,000 votes and he is now the first Democrat to carry Georgia in a Presidential election in 28 years. And so this is a significant achievement for Biden and his campaign. And really the only measure left for the Trump campaign is to request a machine recount, but it's quite clear the writing is on the wall.
BRUNHUBER: Let's turn to Michigan now. The President hasn't been able to overturn that state's election results in court, just like everywhere else so far. So now he's flying the leaders of Michigan's Republican controlled state legislature to meet with him at the White House later today, presumably to try to stop the certification of the vote in that state. So what do you make of those efforts? You know, could it work, and even if it doesn't, what damage is being done here?
SIDDIQUI: It's extraordinary, really, to see a sitting president try and exert this kind of influence over state legislators. Really in a last-ditch attempt, as we've said, to overturn the results of an election where there is simply no evidence of widespread fraud. There has been no evidence to support the Trump campaign's claims of fraud and irregularities.
And what is most striking is that one of the lawyers for the Trump campaign told reporters, who asked for evidence, that it was a fundamental flaw in the question, actually seek evidence for the claims that they were making.
And so, look, I think, you know, in terms of whether or not Trump can pressure some of the Republicans in Michigan, perhaps, but there really isn't a remedy for the Trump campaign to reverse what has already been declared as the outcome in Michigan. Another state that Joe Biden carried by a significant margin. In fact, the margin is roughly three times more than what Trump's margin was when he carried the state in 2016.
So I think there is going to be a lot of ongoing tantrums on the part of the president and his campaign. But once again, it's not going to change anything. But it really does erode the public's confidence in the outcome of the election, and the integrity of the electoral process in the United States. And that is where you're the long-term damage.
BRUNHUBER: Thank you so much for speaking with us Sabrina Siddiqui, we appreciate it.
SIDDIQUI: Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: Mexico hit another milestone in the pandemic. Coming up we'll have a report from the city of Durango as it struggles under the country's highest level COVID alert. Stay with us.
[04:20:00]
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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back. The World Health Organization warns that Europe is in for a tough six months ahead coping with the coronavirus. New infections are holding steady or falling across much of Europe compared to last week as you can see here. But those nations in red and orange have increasing cases.
In India, health officials have now confirmed more than 9 million total cases of COVID-19, second only to the U.S. New infections had been declining before a recent surge in the capital of New Delhi.
And in Japan, a top government official says there's no need for a state of emergency despite setting a record of new cases for two straight days. The country added almost 2,400 new infections on Thursday.
Mexico is now confirming more than 100,000 deaths because of coronavirus. Its fatality rate is the second highest in the world. CNN's Matt Rivers is in Durango, a state at the country's COVID alert level.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we all know what's happening in the United States. Cases and deaths are rising. Some hospitals are full all over again. And there remains a president who rarely wears a mask.
And unfortunately down here in Mexico we're seeing a lot of those same things. Cases and deaths are rising. Hospitals are full. And yes, there is even a president and even a deputy health secretary who rarely, if ever wear masks.
(voice-over): This was January, people packed in together to hear Patrullo 81 and lead singer Jose Angel Medina Soto. Crowds like these will eventually come back, but COVID-19 has forever robbed these fans in Durango state, Mexico, of a favorite son.
Durango native Jose Angel died in a hospital last week after fighting the virus for nearly a month. At his daughter's home, she spoke to us as some of his ashes hung around her neck.
"It's not fair," says his daughter, Alma Medina. "He had so many plans for his life."
Before his death, his family says four different hospitals near his home in the bordering state of Chihuahua refused to accept him, because they were too full.
Officials say Mexico is grappling with a distinct second wave of cases in many parts of the country. Recent single-day case counts have been some of the highest ever. Deaths are again on the rise. Mexico City's mayor says if current trends continue, she will be forced to once again close parts of the city.
Look at this scene from just outside Mexico City. An illegal concert where hundreds are grouped close together.
The alert level in both the border state of Chihuahua and here in Durango has risen to semaforo rojo, or red level, the country's highest, as cases have soared.
The state secretary of health says, parties continue, reunions, families, social gatherings, where people easily congregated, and infections are the direct consequence.
[04:25:00]
In Durango, nonessential businesses have been forced to close once again, and alcohol sales are banned. Cases have slowed slightly, though the state's health secretary worries what happens when restrictions ease.
He says, yes, we are afraid of another wave, because we don't know how it could be.
(on camera): But the economic pain brought on by these restrictions has been brutal. Hundreds of thousands of people nationwide have lost their jobs, and Durango is no exception.
All of these people are waiting in line at a pawn shop. And while, of course, people visit pawn shops during normal times, multiple people in this line told us they're here to sell something because of tough times during the pandemic.
(voice-over): Miguel Camacho (ph) owns six restaurants across the city. Three have shut down, and he's laid off 60 percent of his staff.
He says, it hurts me a lot to see some of them on the streets looking for work. I've even seen some cleaning windshields at traffic lights.
Though Camacho (ph) says he understands putting people's health first, he says current restrictions are unsustainable. He says, with these restricted hours and no alcohol sales, we are
worse off now than in the beginning of the pandemic.
Restrictions or not, we still don't have an exact idea of how bad Mexico's pandemic truly is. The government continues to test at one of the lowest rates in the world, calling more testing, quote, unnecessary.
But from the limited data we do have, and from the testimony of those it affects most, this pandemic seems to be as deadly as it's ever been.
"My father was such a good person," says Alma Medina. "He didn't deserve a death like this."
(on camera): This is just the overall sense you get here in Mexico, is there is just exhaustion all around, on the part of health authorities over people not following the rules. Business owners' angst over the economy, and just from ordinary people who really want all of this to be over. And yet, unfortunately, we likely have many months of this ahead of us. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Still to come on CNN NEWSROOM, lines for the food banks in the U.S. grow longer as the pandemic puts more people out of work. We'll have details next.
