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Biden Unveils National Security Team; Millions Traveling for Thanksgiving Despite Warnings; Trump Issues Traditional Turkey Pardon; U.S. Futures Up After Dow Crosses 30,000; Countries Prepare for COVID- 19 Vaccine Distribution; Germany Records Its Highest Single-Day Death Toll; U.K. to Ease COVID-19 Restrictions for Christmas; France to Start Easing Restrictions This Weekend. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired November 25, 2020 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:23]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world, you are watching CNN NEWSROOM, and I'm Rosemary Church.
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CHURCH (voice-over): Just ahead, President-elect Joe Biden's transition to power now moving quickly as he asserts America is back and ready to lead. But despite cooperating with the Biden team, President Donald Trump insists he's not conceding. We have learned he will appear in Pennsylvania today with his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
And as millions of Americans travel for Thanksgiving, health officials warn a single negative test does not guarantee a safe holiday.
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CHURCH (on camera): America is back. Those were the words from President-elect Joe Biden as he announced key cabinet picks and a promise that the United States is ready to lead. Biden making moves as the formal presidential transition finally gets underway. He says communication from the Trump administration to help with his transition has been, quote, "sincere," and the White House has now signed off on a major step in that process, Presidential Daily Briefings for the president-elect.
All this comes as Biden became the first presidential candidate in history to get more than 80 million votes as ballots are still being counted. Earlier he spoke about the nominees for his administration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: This is not a third Obama term because we face a totally different world than we faced in the Obama-Biden administration. The president -- President Trump has changed the landscape. It's become America first, which means America alone. We find ourselves in a position where our alliances are being frayed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And the president-elect is expected to give a Thanksgiving address in the coming hours ahead of the holiday on Thursday.
CNN's Jessica Dean is tracking all the developments from Washington.
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JESSICA DEAN, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: President-elect Joe Biden making it official.
BIDEN: America is back.
DEAN: Formally introducing his first round of cabinet nominees and appointees.
BIDEN: It's a team that will keep our country and our people safe and secure. It's a team that reflects the fact that America is back.
DEAN: The National Security and foreign policy picks are all heavy on experience, and if confirmed, some will make history.
ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY NOMINEE: Thank you for placing your trust in me to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
DEAN: Alejandro Mayorkas, the son of Cuban immigrants, would be the first Latino and immigrant to serve as Homeland Security secretary.
MAYORKAS: My father and mother brought me to this country to escape communists. They cherished our democracy and were intensely proud to become United States citizens.
DEAN: Avril Haines would be the first woman to serve as director of National Intelligence.
AVRIL HAINES, NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE DIRECTOR NOMINEE: I have never shied away from speaking truth to power.
DEAN: Secretary of State nominee Anthony Blinken spoke specifically of his late stepfather who escaped the holocaust as a child, finding safety with American forces.
TONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE NOMINEE: He ran to the tank. The hatch opened. An African-American GI looked down at him. He got down on his knees and said the only three words that he knew in English that his mother taught him before the war -- God bless America. That's who we are.
DEAN: Louisiana native Linda Thomas-Greenfield nominated to be ambassador to the United Nations, promised to bring people together using what she calls gumbo diplomacy, a strategy she deployed in her 35 years in foreign service.
LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N. NOMINEE: Wherever I was posted around the world I'd invite people of different backgrounds and beliefs to help me make a roux and chopped onions for the Holy Trinity and make homemade gumbo. It was my way of breaking down barriers.
DEAN: The nominees were clear. Their message to the world is very different than President Trump's America first approach.
BLINKEN: We need to be working with other countries. We need their cooperation.
JAKE SULLIVAN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER NOMINEE: And perhaps most importantly you've tasked us with helping unite America.
DEAN: The Biden transition is now fully in motion with the General Services Administration signing off on the official process Monday night.
BIDEN: I think we're not going to be so far behind the curve as we thought we might be in the past and there's a lot of immediate discussion, and I must say the outreach has been sincere.
[04:05:12]
There has not been begrudging so far and I don't expect there to be. So yes, it's already begun.
DEAN: The Biden team has already been in communication with several key government agencies like the Department of Defense, Treasury, State Department, and Health And Human Services.
(On camera): We now know that the Biden transition team has been in touch with all federal agencies. We also know that the team has had informal conversations now with Dr. Anthony Fauci who says that he looks forward to more substantive conversations with them in the days to come and that he hopes he stays on to help the Biden administration.
Jessica Dean, CNN, Washington.
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CHURCH: The coronavirus pandemic is getting worse across the United States. More than 172,000 people were infected in the last 24 hours with more than 2100 dead. And hospitalizations are also on the rise. 88,000 people are currently in the hospital. That's a national record. And those numbers are only expected to rise with millions of people traveling for Thanksgiving. Many are getting tested prior to travel, but health officials warn that is not always the wisest option. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRETT GIROIR, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH: What I think I want people to understand more importantly is that a test that's negative today doesn't mean you're going to be negative tomorrow or the next day or the following day and what we really want people to do is follow those CDC precautions like limiting your gatherings if you can, distancing even in the household, wearing a mask when you can. That negative test is not a free pass to do risky behaviors. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: But despite all the warnings, air travel is at its highest level since the pandemic hit with millions flocking to airports nationwide.
CNN's Pete Muntean reports.
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PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Caroline Osler says she could not stay home anymore so she took a coronavirus test and boarded a flight home to Kentucky for Thanksgiving.
CAROLINE OSTER, TRAVELING TO KENTUCKY: I think at some point it's just too hard to stay away from families especially during the holidays.
MUNTEAN: It is the rationale of 50 million Americans according to AAA who will travel by plane, train or car this week. The new forecast is only a 10 percent decrease from last year's pre-pandemic levels. AAA thinks the actual number could be even lower as coronavirus cases surge. Last week the Centers for Disease Control said to cancel holiday travel.
YASMINE DEHGHANI, TRAVELING TO CONNECTICUT: I understand the risk but I want to see my family.
MUNTEAN: Passenger levels are already starting to rise again and set a new record of the pandemic on Sunday. This past weekend was the busiest three days at airports since travel cratered. Major airlines are gearing up for more passengers and adding new flights for the first time since March. Airline industry groups say they are not encouraging travel but they're not discouraging it either.
NICK CALIO, AIRLINES FOR AMERICA: I think it's perfectly ethical. We would not fly people if it were not safe.
MUNTEAN (on camera): Airlines feel empowered by new research that says cleaning like this plus heavily filtered air on board an airplane and everyone wearing masks keeps virus transmission rates low.
DR. LEONARD MARCUS, HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: It's a layered approach.
MUNTEAN (voice-over): Dr. Leonard Marcus is on the team of Harvard virologists who studied the air inside airliners. Their findings that being in a passenger cabin is maybe safer than a grocery store. But Marcus cautions travelers to plan every step of their trip to reduce risk door-to-door.
MARCUS: Everyone has to make a decision about their own personal risk. It's a very personal decision.
MUNTEAN: Airlines are starting programs to test passengers for coronavirus but only on limited international routes. For Caroline Osler, that means taking another coronavirus test before gathering around the table for a Thanksgiving like no other.
OSLER: I think it reaches a point where you have to decide what's best for yourself and how you can best protect yourself and those around you as well.
MUNTEAN (on camera): The TSA thinks not many people are canceling their trips meaning Wednesday could set a new air travel record of the pandemic, one that could be broken come Sunday. That's when the TSA thinks everybody who left for the holiday could be coming home all at once.
Pete Muntean, CNN, Reagan National Airport.
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CHURCH: And President Donald Trump is expected to take a trip of his own later today. Sources say he is expected to join his attorney, Rudy Giuliani, in Pennsylvania. They'll be in Gettysburg for what's being called a hearing on voter fraud allegations. Pennsylvania has already certified the votes giving Biden the win, but Trump's visit signals he is not ready to concede or abandon his allegations about election fraud.
[04:10:09]
And while the president has largely avoided public appearances since losing the election, he did appear before cameras twice on Tuesday.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins reports.
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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While refusing to commit to the tradition of conceding the election, President Trump took part in another tradition at the White House.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Corn, I hereby grant you a full pardon. Thank you, Corn.
COLLINS: Trump granting leniency to two turkeys in the Rose Garden ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday while making only a veiled reference to the presidential transition now underway.
TRUMP: And as I say, America first. Shouldn't go away from that. America first.
COLLINS: It was his second appearance in front of cameras after the White House gave reporters a two-minute notice for this one-minute presidential statement.
TRUMP: The stock market has just broken 30,000. Never been broken. That number. That's a sacred number, 30,000. Nobody thought they'd ever see it.
COLLINS: In the briefing room Trump touted the milestone for the Dow and attempted to take credit for it before leaving the room designated for questions without taking any for the third week in a row.
TRUMP: Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. President --
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. President --
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: It was the president's first appearance in front of cameras since the General Services Administration announced the transition to the Biden administration can now formally begin, including coordination between officials like HHS Secretary Alex Azar and the incoming pandemic team.
ALEX AZAR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: We are immediately getting them all of the pre-prepared transition briefing materials. We will ensure coordinated briefings with them to ensure they're getting whatever information that they feel they need.
COLLINS: The move was seen as possibly the closest Trump could get to a concession, though he later tweeted, "What does GSA being allowed to preliminarily work with the Dems have to do with continuing to pursue our various cases? We are moving full speed ahead."
Even with the Biden transition now underway, the president is continuing to fundraise off his own efforts to undermine democracy, sending multiple e-mails overnight. The e-mails claimed the funds are to fight the election results but the fine print shows Trump's new fundraising arm gets the first cut.
(On camera): And for three weeks since the election the White House has blocked Joe Biden from getting that president's daily brief, that intelligence assessment that is afforded to anyone who has won the presidency, that really updates them on the national security threats that are facing the world right now and that are going to face them when they take office. And now we have learned the White House has signed off on Joe Biden, the president-elect, getting that president's daily brief. He said he has not gotten it yet but he does expect to start potentially as soon as today.
Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.
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CHURCH: And as Kaitlan mentioned there in her report, Wall Street continues to thrive and set new records. Right now the Dow is in unprecedented territory after reaching 30,000 points for first time ever on Tuesday.
CNN's John Defterios joins me now live to talk more about this.
Good to see you, John. So from an historical perspective, did reaching 30,000 come much faster than hitting 20,000? And why the sudden burst in this latest rally? JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Yes, this is a
market that's almost on steroids, right, Rosemary? We got to 30,000 in less than four years and it's happened during the craziest times, in 2020. Right? If you look back at the year to date here, we had the market collapse in March and April. The stimulus packages that came in, low interest rates that had induced this rally, and now the focus is on the next leg here, and that is with Joseph Biden as the president-elect, Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary, Jerome Powell still remaining at the Federal Reserve.
Can they get in another stimulus package here to smooth out the edges here in the first and second quarter? And when will the vaccines have that pervasive distribution not only in the United States but worldwide to get the growth back on pace here?
Now we have in that rally on Tuesday some interesting indications, I think, to the traditional economic indicators of those type of companies like a Boeing, a Chevron, a Disney. They would benefit from this recovery and people are able to go back outside and spend again, that's the guidance we got. And this is not just limited to the United States, Rosemary, which I find interesting. We have Tokyo at a 29-year high. Europe's up 60 percent of the March lows and that looks like it's going to continue.
Even the world indices, the MSCI is at a record. But there are some pitfalls here. We have jobless claims, for example, in the United States coming out. Last week we're above 740,000. We're expecting a similar number. And if you dig through the numbers, you have a stock market rally at a very high level. And you have 13 million Americans still on some sort of aid. So those are the perils of this recovery. The wealthiest are getting wealthier.
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CHURCH: Yes. Main street is suffering while Wall Street is doing very well indeed.
John Defterios joining us live from Abu Dhabi. Many thanks.
And up next, Europe's strategies to save Christmas. How governments are planning to make the holidays as festive and safe as possible? Back with that in just a moment.
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CHURCH: We are following breaking news. Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, wrote an op-ed in "The New York Times" entitled "The Losses We Share," where she speaks about the pain of experiencing a miscarriage over the summer. And we will have more details on this a little later here on CNN.
Meantime, COVID-19 vaccinations could start in the U.S. soon after December 10th. That is when the Food and Drug Administration meets to discuss Pfizer and BioNTech's emergency use application. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar says CVS Health is ready to vaccinate people within 48 of FDA authorization. Officials are also trying to understand data from another drug giant.
[04:20:03]
AstraZeneca's trials indicated its vaccine was 62 percent effective except for one group of 3,000 volunteers who showed 90 percent efficacy.
Well, there are dozens more coronavirus vaccines in development around the world with several showing very promising signs. And Kim Brunhuber explains how countries are preparing for distribution.
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This empty warehouse in Germany could be one of the most important fronts in the fight against the coronavirus. German officials say within the next four weeks it will be transformed into one of several sites to vaccinate residents against COVID-19 as soon as the shots made by German company BioNTech and its partner Pfizer are approved.
ALBRECHT BROEMME, VACCINATIONS-CENTER COORDINATOR (through translator): Our hope is that each vaccination center can be vaccinating one person every two minutes.
BRUNHUBER: The vaccine is already under review in the U.S. for emergency use with different versions by Moderna and AstraZeneca also showing promising results. According to the WHO 11 vaccines are in phase three trials worldwide and 37 others are in early phases of clinical trials. The news is being met with a mix of fear and excitement.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's marvelous, you know? That's the thing -- but as I said, you know, hopefully it won't take that long before we can actually get it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I will get vaccinated, but to be honest, I prefer not to be one of the first ones. I prefer to wait for the results from the people who are already vaccinated.
BRUNHUBER: Many experts say there could be several viable vaccines which should be widely available to all countries rich and poor to be effective.
TEDROS ADHANOM, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: The best way to do that is vaccinate some people in all countries rather than all people in some countries.
BRUNHUBER: Russian President Vladimir Putin said he will provide the Russian vaccine Sputnik V which is still in phase three trials to any country that needs it. The Chinese drug maker Sino pharm has almost one million have been inoculated with one of its experimental coronavirus vaccines. Under an emergency use program, students, diplomats and construction workers have received the shots. The company also says 60,000 people in countries in the Middle East and South America have had them. Even the prime minister of the UAE tweeted an image of his shot in the arm. India's Serum Institute, which is one of the largest drug makers in
the world, says it's gearing up to make mass affordable doses of the vaccine, half to keep in India and half for the developing world.
Kim Brunhuber, CNN, Atlanta.
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CHURCH: As the U.S. focuses on Thanksgiving, tomorrow Europe is bracing for Christmas, just a month away. France starts lifting COVID- 19 restrictions this weekend reopening shops and hair dressing salons. President Emmanuel Macron said further easing is expected mid-December and there's hope that people can spend Christmas with their families.
The U.K. has already promised a relatively free festive window, up to three families will be allowed to gather indoors from December 23rd to the 28th. And Germany on the other hand is considering tightening restrictions. That's because the country recorded 410 COVID-related deaths, the highest ever in a 24-hour period.
And CNN is covering every angle of Europe's COVID-19 fight. Jim Bittermann is in Gilles, in France, Salma Abdelaziz is in London, and we begin with Frederik Pleitgen who's in Germany.
Good to see you all. So, Fred, what is behind Germany's record single- day coronavirus deaths and how will the government respond to this?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, interesting, Rosemary, Germany has been really good so far in trying to keep the pandemic in check. And this is really the first time that measures put in place by Angela Merkel's government simply haven't been working. They've been putting new lockdown measures in place over the past couple of weeks. About over the past month or so they've not been as strict as some of the lockdown measures that we've seen in places like the U.K. and in places like France.
What the Germans are saying is that the numbers aren't skyrocketing like they were a couple of weeks ago but they certainly aren't going down. In fact the 18,633 new infections that Germany recorded over the past 24 hours is about 1,000 more than they recorded a month ago on Wednesday. So the Germans are saying, look, they need to extend the lockdown measures and they're also going to put new lockdown measures in place when Angela Merkel meets with state governors later on today.
So essentially what they're going to be talking about is more mask mandates, for instance, in schools. And then also further restrictions on the amount of contact people are allowed to have when they meet other folks. All this, also, Rosemary, in an effort to try and save Christmas this year.
CHURCH: Yes, absolutely. And Salma, let's go to you now and find out what the Christmas plan is for the United Kingdom.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, the 12 days of Christmas will now be five days.
[04:25:02]
What the government has announced is a special limited time, five-day Christmas dispensation between December 23rd and December 27th. Social restrictions will be eased to allow up to three households to come together and form what's called a Christmas bubble. So those three households can come together. They can go to church. They can have dinner. They can celebrate in what the government is calling a safe but limited way.
The prime minister has said that this is a cautious approach to allow people to celebrate. But of course we have criticism there, those who are calling this a carte blanche to allow people to just go on about their business for Christmas as usual. And we're also hearing from scientific advisers who say that this is like throwing fuel on the fire and could cause another spike in coronavirus cases but for many here after a tough year, they're looking forward to the possibility of being able to celebrate at least a little bit with family and friends on the Christmas holiday -- Rosemary?
CHURCH: Yes. Understood. And Jim, to you in France, a lifting of restrictions there. How's that going to work?
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, President Macron outlined in the nation last night a three- phase operation in terms of lifting the restriction. The first phase, as you mentioned earlier, is going to begin this Saturday when shops and hair dressers can open. Houses of worship can go back into session in a limited -- a very limited way. And the one-kilometer rule, which we've been operating under, one kilometer from your front door to exercise, is going to be expanded to 20 kilometers.
So that's a little bit of the easing that's going to begin right away. On December 15th if those targets -- the kind of targets are met, then in fact more things will happen. Christmas travel will be allowed to a limited extent. Cinemas, theaters, and museums can reopen. But there still will be a curfew on. And the targets seem to be something around 5,000 new cases per day just to give you an idea.
At the beginning of this month there was as many as 60,000 new cases per day here in France. It's been gradually coming down. The government wants to get it to about 5,000. And then finally on January 20th if all goes well, and the targets are met, then bars and restaurants can reopen and life can return to something resembling normal if the French behaves and the numbers come down -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: Yes. Fascinating seeing how all of the different nations are dealing with this.
Salma Abdelaziz, joining us from the U.K., Jim Bittermann in France, and Fred Pleitgen in Germany, many thanks to all of you.
And just ahead, Joe Biden's presidential transition formally begins. We will dive deeper into his cabinet picks. That's next.
And later, concerns across the U.S. as Americans travel for the Thanksgiving holiday despite rising coronavirus cases. We're back with that and more in just a moment.
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