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Trump Skips Virtual G-20 Session On Pandemic To Play Golf; Donald Trump Junior Tests Positive For COVID-19; Rudy Giuliani Self- Isolating After Son Tests Positive For COVID; GOP In Michigan Seeks To Delay Election Certification For Two Weeks, Seeking Audit Of Wayne County Votes; Secretary Pompeo Meets With Taliban To Discuss U.S. Troops Withdrawal. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired November 21, 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]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST, CNN NEWSROOM: --this as we have learned the virus has once again infiltrated the president's inner circle. President Trump's son Don Jr. and the son of his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani both were revealing positive test results that news now sidelining Giuliani from the president's baseless voter fraud case. He is now self-isolating.

Meanwhile, a vaccine could be headed to Americans very soon. The FDA is set to review pharmaceutical company Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine and could make a decision about early use authorization by December 10th. News of a vaccine could not come at a more urgent time.

42 states are seeing rising cases with several facing the highest daily totals they have ever seen. And that's leading to a wave of new restrictions announced by Governors trying to get a handle on the spread of COVID ahead of the holidays. Here's CNN's Tom Foreman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): From coast to coast, the exploding pandemic is driving states to take action.

GOV. LARRY HOGAN (R) MARYLAND: We are in a war right now. And the virus is winning.

FOREMAN (voice over): In Iowa, the Governor once called mask mandates feel-good measures. Now she's ordering one and sharply curtailing social meetings.

GOV. KIM REYNOLDS (R) IOWA: This includes wedding and funeral receptions, family gatherings and conventions.

FOREMAN (voice over): North Dakota has a mask mandate now, too, after COVID has killed 1 out of every 1,000 people there but not South Dakota, one of the hottest hot spots in the world where John Bjorkman spent 30 days in the hospital.

JOHN BJORKMAN, COVID VICTIM: No energy, no drive.

FOREMAN (voice over): Then died leaving his wife Chris to plead.

CHRIS BJORKMAN, LOST HUSBAND TO COVID: I want people to care enough about their neighbors, their family that they wear a mask.

FOREMAN (voice over): Idaho is tightening restrictions so are Utah and California. Oregon has ordered a two-week social freeze. Restaurants and bars cut down to takeout and delivery, grocery stores and pharmacies at 75 percent capacity.

GOV. KATE BROWN (D) OREGON: I put on aggressive and immediate restrictions because we still have an opportunity to curb the virus and ensure that we have adequate hospital bed capacity.

FOREMAN (voice over): And on it goes. While some states are still pushing forward with reopenings despite the fearsome toll in human life, more and more states are cracking down, heeding the cries of health officials.

DR. PETER HOTEZ, PROFESSOR AND CO-DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR VACCINE DEVELOPMENT, TEXAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: We're not asking Americans to do this forever. We're talking about three months and then get them vaccinated. So we have this very time limited request in order to save lives.

FOREMAN (voice over): The surge in state restrictions just underscores how, from the start of this pandemic, there has never been a comprehensive national plan to deal with it. And there still isn't. Tom Foreman CNN, Bethesda, Maryland.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And today, world leaders are meeting for the first day of this year's G-20. It's happening virtually because of the pandemic. The Coronavirus is the major focal point of the summit but today, President Trump skipping a meeting addressing the global health crisis.

CNN's Kevin Liptak has more from the White House. So Kevin, what more do we know about this meeting taking place, the president not being part of the conference call after all?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, so the president did attend the early morning opening sessions of the G-20 where all 20 leaders gathered on something like a global zoom call. But when it came time for what they're calling a side event on pandemic preparedness, the president was at his golf course.

I watched the event. It just included remarks from the French President Emmanuel Macron, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Presidents of South Korea, South Africa but no Trump. And I think that this is - it's a sign that the president is ready to move on, both from the Coronavirus, which he has been ignoring for months, and from this idea of global diplomacy.

When you look at the leaders who are - who form the G-20, almost all of them have congratulated Joe Biden on becoming President-Elect. There are a few holdouts. Notably, Russian President Vladimir Putin, but by and large, the president's influence on the global stage is at an all-time low because he lost the election.

The influence of the G-20 has always been a little bit questionable. There were not great expectations for this year's summit in terms of how to address the Coronavirus pandemic? There has been a lack of global leadership not just in the United States but in other countries as well on how to collectively handle the Coronavirus pandemic?

But the president's absence there was certainly notable, particularly as Coronavirus cases continue to pop up in his inner circle. That's included the son of his Personal Attorney, Andrew Giuliani; he is the son of Rudy Giuliani who has been leading the president's efforts to overturn the election.

And it also has included the president's own eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. His spokesman said that he tested positive for Coronavirus earlier this week. He has been asymptomatic so far. He's isolating at his cabin.

[12:05:00]

LIPTAK: That's where he taped this little video explaining his situation. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP JR, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S SON: You wouldn't know it based on anything that I felt or have seen or, I guess I've been totally asymptomatic. But out of an abundance of precaution, I'll quarantine. I'll follow the regular protocols. I only got tested because I was supposed to do a father/son trip with my son after basically being on the road nonstop for a few months.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: No like his father, the President, Donald Trump Jr. Has also downplayed the Coronavirus pandemic in the past. At one point saying during a Fox News interview that deaths were almost nothing when on the day he said that, they had topped 1,000.

So the president today, as I said, he's at his golf course now. He's expected to participate in the second day of the G-20 tomorrow morning. It's unclear how interested he'll be this morning during the sessions that he did participate in. He was sending out tweets throughout.

WHITFIELD: OK. So Kevin, yes, a lot of the president's choices are sending confusing messages from that golfing, you know, not necessarily involving himself in all the G-20, mixed messaging on Coronavirus and then now fundraising. Fundraising for what? LIPTAK: OK. So this is an onslaught of fundraising from the president

through emails, through texts, sort of riling up the people on his list around these recount efforts. The latest or one of the latest used that sort of deranged press conference from Rudy Giuliani at the Republican National Committee this week. The president said did he watch my legal team's press conference yesterday? They were spectacular. What's really important to look at the fine print of these fundraising emails? The latest one says 75 percent of the donation goes to this new Pac that the president has established. That's up, actually.

It used to be 60 percent. Now it's 75 percent of those donation goes to the president's Pac. And what this Pac is, it's really establishing the president's post White House political influence. It allows him to funnel this money to his preferred candidates, and it sort of cements his influence on the Republican Party going forward.

A lot of people are looking at this, at these fundraising emails which are all about the recount and contesting the election and in staying in the fight and staying. Well, this looks like a bait and switch because not all of the money is going to these legal efforts. Most of it is going to the president's Pac.

WHITFIELD: All right, fascinating. Thank you so much, Kevin Liptak I appreciate that. Meantime, President Trump and his legal team do continue to try to overturn the results of the election. And CNN has just learned that the RNC and Michigan Republicans are asking for a two-week delay in certifying that state's election results.

The Trump Campaign had three more election lawsuits rejected late this week. The president suffered more setbacks Friday after Georgia certified Biden's win in that state. And now Michigan Republicans want to delay the state certification which was set for Monday.

For more on these developments, let's bring in CNN Justice Correspondent Jessica Schneider. Last time you and I were talking, we were talking about how the Michigan leadership that visited the White House said we're going to follow the law, and we initially went to the White House to talk about Coronavirus and now we're learning there might be this effort to try to delay certification which would have - should have happened on Monday?

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I mean, Fredricka you said it right there. The Michigan lawmakers who went to the White House yesterday they gave no indication of any potential delays with certification.

But we've just learned that Michigan Republican Party and the Republican National Committee, they are now asking for a 14-day delay in certification. So they've sent this letter to the state board of canvassers who are set to meet Monday, and they're asking them to delay two weeks. And they're asking for this because they say they want an audit to be done in Wayne County.

An audit of the election results there of course, Wayne County, home to heavily Democratic Detroit. This letter is out there. It's just gone out, but a spokesperson for the Secretary of State said that, no, the certification vote it will happen on Monday. This is what the spokesperson is saying, saying, we have no reason to doubt the canvassers will carry out their duty to certify. Every one of Michigan's 83 counties has done so. Republican and

Democratic clerks have confirmed that there is no evidence of widespread irregularities and that's really key here. All of the counties have certified their vote. This goes to the state board of canvassers on Monday, or at least it's scheduled to, and this is just a formality.

We've heard from election lawyers throughout Michigan they say that really this is just four board members, two Republicans and two Democrats, putting a rubber stamp on these results. They've already been certified in all of the counties.

There is some concern that even if this isn't delayed and if it goes forward on Monday as scheduled that perhaps these two Republican members of the board could sort of go rogue and not vote to certify.

[12:10:00]

SCHNEIDER: If that happened there would be a race to the courts to get some sort of order that could hold these members in contempt if they don't vote to certify. Or Fredricka the other avenue is that the Governor here, Governor Whitmer, she could step in and she could replace these Republican board members, replace them with someone else who will vote to certify.

But the message that we've heard from the election lawyers in Michigan is that this is really just a formality. These board members don't have a lot of power here. This vote has been certified in all of the counties. They just need to do the final sign-off. We'll see if it happens now that they've requested this two-week delay Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, that's extraordinary and new developments. Thank you Jessica Schneider we'll check back with you. I appreciate that. All right, coming up a Coronavirus curfew is about to take effect in parts of California. Congressman John Garamendi joins me to talk about that and much more straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:15:00]

WHITFIELD: California's enacting a curfew starting tonight that will go for the next month as cases - COVID cases surge there. Most people will have to stay in their homes between 10:00 pm and 5:00 am. With me now is Congressman John Garamendi, he is a Democratic Representative from California, and a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee Congressman, good to see you.

REP. JOHN GARAMENDI (D-CA): Good to be with you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And before I ask you about COVID, I do want to ask you about this information we're just learning about the Michigan State Republicans and the RNC sending a letter to the State Board of Canvassers in Michigan asking for now a two-week delay to certify the election results, primarily to try to get an audit of Wayne County, heavily Democratic area. Certification was scheduled to take place Monday this also coming a day after Michigan Republican leadership meeting with the president yesterday. What are your thoughts on this?

GARAMENDI: I am heart sick. I am really, really heartsick. This is America. This is not a banana republic. This isn't Russia. This isn't Turkey. This isn't where we have a strong man a dictator basically attempting to overthrow the vote of the people.

The RNC is the Republican National Committee, totally under the control of Trump. Trump is trying to seize this government illegally, throwing out the vote of the people of the United States. I do not understand where the Republican leadership is in the Senate and the House. How in the world? How in the world can we allow this to happen in the United States?

Enough. Enough already stop this. This is all a ploy to try to get through the Michigan legislature so that they can put their own Republican Trump loyalists in as electors and somehow overturn the votes of Americans. 5 million Americans, 150,000 more votes for Biden in Michigan than for Trump this is not a close election. This is really an attempted coup by the president to maintain power in the United States, and it has got to stop enough already. This is America.

WHITFIELD: A handful of elected Republicans have said something against this, speaking out Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse and now Susan Collins. But the silence is deafening. And how influential might that Republican leadership be if it were to say something more vociferously to stop the president from behaving in this manner?

GARAMENDI: If they are true Americans, if they believe in democracy, if they believe in the power of the vote, then they must. If they don't, well, their oath, when they took office to defend the constitution is just thrown out. I have never seen such weakness.

I've never seen so many people just putting aside their fundamental oath of office, their fundamental belief in Americans' democracy and sitting on the sidelines. You named three. 3 out of 53 the present vote count of Republicans in the Senate and the House of Representatives is every bit as bad if not worse. It is enough already.

The election was two weeks ago. The votes have been counted. 150,000 more votes for Biden in Detroit excuse me, in Michigan. It's not going to change. But what they want to do is plain and simple. They want to use the obscure sections of the Electoral College that allowed the - that could allow, although this is debatable, could allow the legislature to replace the appropriate electors who were selected by the voters in Michigan with a slate of electors who are appointed who are nothing but Trump cronies. It has got to stop. This is outrageous. Around the world, the rest of

the world is going, what in the hell is happening in America? Is it no better than a banana republic, apparently? The RNC and the Republicans seem to think this is some sort of a system where you can gain control out of raw power of the presidency, the raw power of the dictator enough already. WHITFIELD: It's quite extraordinary and we understand the president is golfing and clearly--

GARAMENDI: Oh, don't get me started on Coronavirus. Don't get me started on the total abject failure of this administration. People are dying. 250,000.

WHITFIELD: Right. And that's what I want to ask you about. It seems the president's priority is trying to undermine the election. Meantime, COVID, Coronavirus cases are just exploding right now. This holiday week, people want to get together. CDC recommendations are stay put.

[12:20:00]

WHITFIELD: Stay where you are. We're seeing lines that are blocks and miles long at food banks across the country and now in your state, parts of your state, a curfew asking people, demanding people stay put from 10:00 pm until 5:00 am.

Talk to me about your concerns, particularly this holiday week and the efforts, at least in your district and the efforts in other places to try to contain as best it can, these numbers from climb anything higher.

GARAMENDI: Let's be very clear here. We've known for seven months what to do. We've known you had to wear a mask, you had to do social distancing and you had to avoid crowds. The super spreaders that the president placed upon the United States during his last three weeks of this campaign it's coming home now. It's coming home with people dying.

It's coming home with lockdowns in every state across this nation. And California, yes, what are we to do? What are we to do? We're going to have to do the very best we can. We're going to have to take steps that are going to be extremely disruptive to not only to individuals and families.

Yes, I've got seven different families in my family. We're not getting together this Thanksgiving. Nor will many, many other families and those that do are going to have serious outcomes when they do it. It is no good. We have no choice. We have no choice but to do these very difficult lockdowns.

Yes, 10:00 to 5:00 at night, OK so we can stay home. Hopefully there will be some good TV on. Maybe we can do the replays of your show. I don't know. It is something we have to deal with. We will have a virus, but this is precisely what Trump and his medical advisers wanted to have happen.

And that is for this pandemic to spread throughout the entire nation, infecting perhaps 60 percent, 70 percent of the population so we would have community immunity. Well, the community immunity means we'll have 300,000 Americans dead by Christmas. That's what community immunity means. That's what the president said he wanted. That's what he is giving to the American public. It is sad. It is outrageous. And in the last days of this presidency, he is locking in policies that the Biden Administration is going to have to deal with, the Pentagon. Good God, now we have the Secretary of State negotiating directly with the Taliban?

WHITFIELD: In fact, I want to ask you about that.

GARAMENDI: What is that about?

WHITFIELD: So the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meeting with the Taliban negotiators to talk about U.S. troop withdrawing - troops withdrawing from Afghanistan. I mean, what--

GARAMENDI: Yes, exactly. I mean what--

WHITFIELD: What are your concerns here?

GARAMENDI: I've been on the Armed Services Committee 11 years. 10 years ago, one of the wise people that had been in Afghanistan came in and testified. He said we need to understand that the Americans have a watch. The Taliban don't have a watch. They have all the time in the world.

And what this administration is doing with the pull down of American troops is totally pulling the rug out from under any reasonable settlement of the war. It is waving the white flag and leaving and probably leaving behind a country that is in total disarray, a country in which we are absolutely certain that we will see the rise of ISIS and Al Qaeda once again in Afghanistan.

That's where we're headed. I have absolutely no idea what Pompeo is doing, but we do know this. That in the agreement, nearly a year ago, nine months ago with the Taliban, there were secret provisions that have not yet been made public. Those secret provisions have not been made known to the Biden Administration which is just 60 days away from having to deal with the mess left behind by the Trump Administration.

WHITFIELD: And you see the like of it - it sounds like you believe this is intentional for this administration, the Trump Administration, to cause such disarray for the incoming president that it is intentional, whether it be negotiating with Taliban or undermine COVID efforts, refraining from releasing any kind of funds or assistance, information in the transition. You see this is all intentional to undermine the incoming president?

GARAMENDI: Absolutely. Absolutely it's intentional. We know that. Keep in mind that Mitch McConnell, when Obama came into office, pledged he would do everything he could to see that Obama was a one-term president. Didn't work out that way, but he spent eight years undermining it.

[12:25:00]

GARAMENDI: And we've seen four years of President Trump's Administration total absolute chaos. Corruption beyond anything we've ever seen in the United States. We've seen the emolument clause which prohibits the president from receiving money from foreigners, foreign countries and so forth.

We've seen his Mar-a-Lago, the Trump Hotel in Washington, all of them patronized continually by foreigners. Corruption is unbelievable. And it's gone on, and now what is he doing? He is putting road mines along the path that Biden has to tread.

It is going to be a very, very difficult situation out ahead. Afghanistan is one, the Pentagon, total disruption in the Pentagon. God knows what's happening there in the Pentagon because they are all acting?

WHITFIELD: Not just potentially undermining the incoming president but potentially undermining this entire nation. Congressman--

GARAMENDI: National Security. National security is at risk. Fredricka, we've got a problem. We've got a serious problem. God-willing, we'll survive the 60 days and we'll have a new administration that will be honest and decent. We've not had that for four years.

WHITFIELD: Congressman John Garamendi, thank you and all the best to you and your family this Thanksgiving holiday.

GARAMENDI: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Still ahead hospitals in Texas bursting at the scenes doctors, nurses struggling to keep up with the surge in Coronavirus patients, the toll that it's taking on staff there. Plus, she was a born leader a fearless adviser a political force. The CNN Original Series "First Ladies" profiles Hillary Clinton tomorrow night at 10:00 pm.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:31:21]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: The U.S. reported more than 195,000 new coronavirus infections Friday, the most cases in a single day since the start of the pandemic. The record surge beginning to overwhelm healthcare workers with more than 80,000 people expected to spend Thanksgiving in the hospital. Texas is one of the state's hardest hit by the pandemic. And now two hospitals there are on the brink of capacity. CNN's Omar Jimenez visited both facilities to see the toll that it's taking on staff.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's a reality this part of Texas has only seen in its nightmares. The ICU at Odessa Regional Medical Center in Odessa, Texas is that its capacity with COVID-19 patients.

(on camera): Even this hospital at maximum capacity, they're still trying to find places to put COVID-19 patients. All of the beds that you see in this section, curtained off at the moment, did not exist before the pandemic. Now, it's filled to its absolute capacity while patients here, literally, are fighting for their lives.

ROHITH SARAVANAN, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, ODESSA REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER: We lost about 10 patients last week and one of them had been on ventilator for a month. The ones that are here now, on average they've been on a vent for about a week or so.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): Denise Mourning --

DENISE MOURNING, ACUTE CARE NURSE PRACTITIONER, ODESSA REGIONAL MEDICAL CTR.: We're getting closer, OK?

JIMENEZ (voice-over): -- is an acute care nurse practitioner.

MOURNING: There's only a few times in the summer where we were really pushed to the extreme but now for the last few weeks, we're busting out at the seams.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): But she and everyone else remain at war with the virus, even as some patients begin to take a turn for the worse.

When you first have to make that declaration, what is the first thing that those goes through your mind?

MOURNING: Please, not another one, you know? It's a prayer. It's inevitable. I mean know it's going to happen, but the probability of it being a good outcome is very, very low.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): But most are able to fight it off.

UNKNOWN: Look at you.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): And turn the corner. Ruben Romero is feeling better after two weeks in the hospital, and says, this isn't a game. I asked why.

(SPOKEN IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

JIMENEZ (voice-over): Because this is really serious, he says. This virus is not for people to be playing with. It's very dangerous. It attacks your entire body. I'm living it, he says.

And it's become life for so many in this part of the state. Hospital officials in Odessa say anywhere from 35 to 40 percent of the people getting tested are testing positive for COVID-19. They fear becoming what El Paso has become, mobile morgues for the dead, hundreds in the ICU amid record hospitalizations, and roughly one in every 24 people actively with COVID-19. It's required a regional coordination like never before.

WANDA HELGESEN, EXECUTVE DIRECTOR, BORDERRAC: In a relatively short period of time, our hospitals have added over 600 beds.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): Wow.

HELGESEN: Even with that, we have flown out about 84 ICU patients to other communities in Texas. JIMENEZ (voice-over): In smaller towns, once thought to have escape the viruses grip, find themselves right in the crosshairs. Towns like Lamesa, Texas near Odessa. Shelley Barron was hospitalized twice with COVID-19. A diagnosis she has hearing more and more in her community.

SHELLEY BARRON, 70-YEAR-OLD LAMESA, TEXAS RESIDENT: The scary word is positive. I'm positive. You know. I tested positive. We've got two more right now. And we experienced a death in our church yesterday. And this stuff is real. It's scary.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): Medical Arts Hospital where she was mostly treated now has an entire wing dedicated to COVID-19 patients. Transformations that have become shared experiences.

[12:35:04]

SARAVANAN: We are actually sending home patients on home oxygen to recover at home. That's not something we would normally do. But there's no space.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): All for a months' long fight with no clear sign of an end.

MOURNING: People aren't taking the precautions that they need. Yes, we are frontline here in the hospital, but the real frontline is on the streets, in the grocery stores. Wash your hands, wear your mask, stay away.

I promise that a little bit of time, and a little bit of effort it takes outside of here is worth it. Because once you're here, wearing a mask is better than having a tube down your throat. I promise.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): Omar Jimenez, CNN, Odessa, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, let's bring in Dr. Pritesh Gandhi, an internist and a primary care physician and pediatrician in Austin, Texas, Doctor, good to see you. I mean that that hits home that is serious. It is really bad if anyone is trying to kind of not believe, not believe the words and the pictures. So how concerned are you about these rising numbers in Texas?

DR. PRITESH GANDHI, PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN: Thanks for having me on today. That piece was just devastating. I'll tell you that my heart rates gone up just hearing those stories. I feel for those hospital workers and for patients. We are deeply concerned down here in Texas. Look, statewide, we've had a 20 percent increase in the number of daily cases over the past week, a 20 percent increase in the number of hospitalizations due to COVID. We've got hospitals in West Texas and South and North Texas where over 20 percent of their beds are filled with COVID patients and that's spreading across the rest of the state.

And so an increase, an positivity, an increase in hospitalization, an increase in cases, and an increase in fatigue with healthcare staff and workers. It is a recipe for disaster and it is devastating. WHITFIELD: And then how hopeful is that when you've got Pfizer which has now submitted its vaccine for emergency use and Moderna expected to apply for emergency use authorization in the coming weeks. The FDA could make a decision about whether to issue an emergency use authorization for the first coronavirus vaccine as soon as December 10th. Do you see that bringing some relief potentially to these Texas hospitals?

GANDHI: Fredricka, look, we -- this is a very long tunnel. And I'll tell you that at the end of this very long tunnel there is this light now because of Pfizer and other companies that have worked diligently to put out a vaccine that seems to be highly effective, that at least from the early data seems to be safe. Now there's some work to do, right? There will be groups that will be looking at this data. I think about two days prior to December 10th, a staff report will be put out on how they see the data.

But if all goes well, by the end of the year, we could start to see vaccines were allowed to folks that are at the highest risk of complications from COVID. And so, yes, there is a light at the end of this tunnel. But we have got a long way to go.

WHITFIELD: You and your colleagues are urging Americans against traveling for Thanksgiving to slow the spread of coronavirus. But that necessary advice will likely mean, you know, many people will miss out on valuable family time. So how do you impress upon people, you know, to take precaution during this holiday season, particularly when this is the time people customarily want to get together with their friends and family.

GANDHI: I recognize that this is hard. I think that the American people understand that their livelihood and the livelihood and well- being of their neighbors matter. And that the American people are able to push past the politics and to make right choices to safeguard their health and well-being. And so I feel good about that.

I think why I am particularly worried though is that mental health continues to be a struggle for people. I'll tell you just to bring people to what I'm seeing in the exam rooms, you know, a few weeks ago I was in a room, and first we talked to our patients via iPad. And so I'm in full PPE and I'm talking to this patient, and they're telling me that they're through tears. They were -- their partner was deported. They're working two jobs, got young kids at home, such a burden of mental health struggle. And Texans have nowhere to go. Twelve million Texans live in designated mental health shortage areas here in the state.

Forty percent of people of color nationally and statewide have experienced anxiety and depression symptoms. What do people do? How can I reach out to her? What kind of hair can this patient get? So I'm concerned because the social and economic institutions that are supposed to be supporting people in the state of Texas are strained by decades of underfunding. And where do people turn? We've got a $10 billion rainy day fund that could provide immediate assistance to Texans who are struggling right here in the holiday time. And where is the political courage to help people out. It's too much. It's too much. And I know you're seeing it, you're seeing it in that story. I'm seeing in the eyes of my staff that I work with, of the patients that we take care of, of the one in four Texas children that are hungry every day without any relief in sight. I think health care workers and those on the frontlines are demanding that politicians get to work and provide care for people. The struggle is very real here.

[12:40:23]

WHITFIELD: Yes. The toll is immeasurable physically and mentally. Dr. Pritesh Gandhi, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

GANDHI: Happy to be here. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, next business is about to take another hit during the middle of this pandemic Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin pulls the plug on several emergency lending programs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is cutting off critical Federal Reserve lending money as the coronavirus continues to ravage the economy. The $455 billion in unused funding was set aside in March as part of the CARES Act, and is supposed to help struggling businesses stay afloat. The move was met by a rare rebuke by the Central Bank, which typically steers clear of political issues. CNN's Matt Egan has been reporting on the developments. And he's joining us right now. So what about the timing of this move? Why now?

[12:45:21]

MATT EGAN, CNN BUSINESS LEAD WRITER: Yes, Fred. The timing is pretty bizarre. We're basically in the middle of a hurricane right now, the pandemics getting worse, the economy is getting weaker. So this move by the Treasury Secretary would be like onboarding your windows and throwing away your flashlights and extra batteries before the storm even hits. So that is what is so unusual here.

The risk is that the Federal Reserve doesn't have all the tools it needs to fight this crisis, just when it needs those tools the most. Now, the Treasury Secretary said that he could put this money to use rather Congress can put this money to use to try to stimulate the economy. But we know Congress really hasn't been able to agree on much of anything. For months, they failed to agree on a fiscal stimulus package. So there's no reason to think that that will necessarily change anytime soon.

What's so telling is that not only did the Fed put out that rare statement, but the Chamber of Commerce, which is you know, typically pretty supportive of Republicans put out this statement that I'll read in part, and they said that the surprise termination of the Fed's emergency liquidity programs, risk prematurely and unnecessarily tying the hands of the incoming administration, and it closes the door on important liquidity options for businesses at a time when they need the most. Now, we do know that the economy bounced back strongly in the summer as businesses reopened. Unfortunately, that recovery is showing signs of losing serious momentum. Not only do we not have that stimulus package, but we have coronavirus infections at all-time highs. And we've seen a lot of those health restrictions. We have Ohio and California. They've issued statewide curfews, public schools in New York City have shut down again, even the National Zoo is closing.

We heard from J.P. Morgan just yesterday. And they warned that they think the economy is going to contract again during the first quarter because of this pandemic. The good news, Fred, of course, is that we do have positive, encouraging signs on the vaccine front. Both Pfizer and Moderna have these highly effective vaccines. Once they get distributed, that should be a really big positive bring relief to workers who are in the airline industry, hotels, restaurants, small businesses. But, Fred, as you know, it will take time and until that economy is probably going to stay kind of weak.

WHITFIELD: All right, that's helpful down the line. But there's so many businesses right now restaurants, you know, small shops, et cetera, they are dying and they need a lifeline like now, yesterday in fact. Matt Egan, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

EGAN: Thank you Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. And we'll be right back.

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[12:52:30]

WHITFIELD: Since losing the election, President Trump has taken part in precious few public events. His virtual participation at this weekend's G20 Summit could be his last official appearance on the world stage. CNN's Nic Robertson is at the Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. So, Nic, we know the President did take part in at least some of today's early morning G20 Summit meetings, but not this afternoon. We understand he's on the golf course. What is he missing? How important is it that the U.S. representation, the President would be part of this Summit?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You would expect any country to want their leader to be a big part of the discussion. And as this is all about the sort of world's leading economic powers, and the United States is the leading economic power, you'd expect the President to be front and center. And that's kind of what we've been hearing here.

It's almost as if you get the sense that the leaders here are essentially saying to Donald Trump, you know, goodbye and don't let the door hit you on the way out. We heard from the Saudi investment minister earlier saying that, you know, when the word look for leadership on the pandemic, there was no leadership to be seen. And that's what the G20 did. He said leaders clearly pointing a finger at President Trump. We're looking internally and turn nationalistic. And it was very interesting to hear the King of Saudi Arabia, who's clearly leading this G20 Forum saying, one of the important things to do now was to build the World Trade Organization so that it can be stronger and withstand another global pandemic like this in the future, which again, is a direct bomb that President Trump who has, you know, doesn't trust and value the World Trade Organization.

So you really get that sense here that President Trump as far as these leaders are concerned, have already talked to, many of them already talked to President-elect Joe Biden, President Trump is done and gone. And their message is we're moving on and not in the direction President Trump have been trying to go previously.

WHITFIELD: And so, Nic, were there any leaders who have allowed, you know, expressed what their expectations are in terms of relations with the U.S. with a new administration?

ROBERTSON: Well, I've been talking to the Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Adel al-Jubeir. And he said, look, you know, we can work with any country because I said to him, you've had such a good relationship with President Trump. How would you change track when you have a President Biden coming, President-elect Biden, as he has right now, who's already said on the campaign trail that he'll be tough on Saudi Arabia. And Adel al-Jubeir said, look, you know, it isn't always what people say on the campaign trail. They don't always follow through with that.

[12:55:12]

He said President Trump was the same. So would judge President-elect Joe Biden when he gets into the White House and when he's in the Oval Office. But he says Saudi Arabia can work with them, because they work in a bipartisan way. They work with Democrats and Republicans in the past. They have multiple common interests, security, many, many issues in the Middle East have common interest. So I think the message from the Saudis is, the presidency is changing, somebody different will be coming in. It may not be as good as we wanted it to be or what we wanted it to be. But we can work with Joe Biden, that's the message from here.

WHITFIELD: All right, and some of them did already when he was vice president, so for some that might be familiar territory. All right, Nic Robertson, thank you so much at the G20 in Riyadh.

All right, more news in a moment, but first this year is CNN Heroes an all-star tribute will celebrate people from around the world who are fighting coronavirus and fighting for racial equality. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When the call rang out for masks, gloves, face shields, and protective suits to keep our frontline worker safe, Americans responded with great generosity. And he simply turned in what little they had. But the workers at Braskem America did something extraordinary. They moved in and quarantine in two of their manufacturing plants for nearly an entire month. What they made every day was the material needed to make life saving protective gear. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where can we resource to actually help during this crisis. And we found very quickly that our role in this is keeping that plant running safe and secure. So for four weeks, no one left, they ate, slept, worked, and played together.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here's the team, the boys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When they needed a morale boost, family and friends formed a massive parade to say hello and send their love.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Awesome, awesome, thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And when the month ended, they'd produced 40 million pounds of product, enough to make 1.5 billion surgical masks. They walked out together a sign of determination and resolve to save lives in desperate times. And if you were wondering, yes, they got over time and much needed time off with their families because of their heroic act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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