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Millions of Americans Face Food Insecurity as Holidays Near; China's Xi Jinping Congratulates Biden on Victory; China's Xi Jinping Congratulates Biden on Victory; Senate Runoffs in Georgia will Decide Control of the U.S. Senate. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired November 26, 2020 - 00:00   ET

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

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PAUL NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: And hello, everyone. I'm Paula Newton. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM live from CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta.

Ahead this hour, two leaders, two entirely different messages. U.S. President-elect Joe Biden calls for unity as Donald Trump keeps insisting the election was rigged.

Millions of Americans hit the road and the skies for the Thanksgiving holiday, despite doctors sounding the alarm about surging COVID cases.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: It's potentially the mother of all super spreader events.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Also ahead, tributes are pouring in following the death of a football legend. We'll remember the life of Diego Maradona.

(MUSIC)

NEWTON: It is Thanksgiving here on the U.S. East Coast.

And the tone couldn't be more different than the current presidents, and the man who will succeed him. Joe Biden is urging unity and cooperation as the country faces a season of sacrifice, to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Donald Trump, on the other hand, still peddling this baseless election conspiracy, and pardoning a former adviser who admitted lying to the FBI.

Now, the president-elect is asking Americans to recommit to those very basic coronavirus safety measures. He says he will save lives this Thanksgiving,

CNN's MJ Lee has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: Life is going to return to normal, I promise you, this will happen. This will not last forever.

MJ LEE, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President-elect Joe Biden sharing a Thanksgiving message with the nation on Wednesday.

BIDEN: I know that this time year can be especially difficult. Believe me. I know. I remember that first Thanksgiving. The empty chair. The silence takes your breath away. It's really hard to care. It's hard to give thanks. It's hard to even think of looking forward. And it's so hard to hope. I understand.

LEE: Speaking from Wilmington, Delaware, Biden discussing the sacrifices Americans are making as coronavirus cases surge across the country.

BIDEN: We fought nearly yearlong battle with the virus that has devastated this nation. It's brought us pain and loss and frustration. This costs so many lives. We need to remember, we're at war with the virus, not with one another.

LEE: After weeks of delay, the Biden transition team now receiving access to classified information.

KATE BEDINGFIELD, BIDEN TRANSITION TEAM: We believe that we've been getting the information that our teams need.

LEE: And announcing Biden will receive his first presidential daily briefing since becoming President-elect on Monday. The former vice president also preparing to announce some members of his economic team next week.

Biden expected to nominate former Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen as his treasury secretary. Biden predicting that the challenges that confront his future government will be without precedent, and entirely unique from those he faced as Barack Obama's vice President.

BIDEN: This is not a third Obama term because there's -- we face a totally different world than we faced in the Obama-Biden administration. The president -- this -- President Trump has changed the landscape.

LEE: Biden also insisting that as he builds out his administration, a major focus will be bridging political divides across the country, and that he's even open to adding a Republican to his team.

BIDEN: The purpose of our administration is, once again, united. We can't keep this virulent political dialogue going, it has to end.

LEE: Every move from Biden and his transition team seeming designed to draw stark contrast to President Trump. No single national issue more top of mind than the COVID-19 crisis. Biden's transition team receiving briefings on everything from vaccine distribution, testing and PPE supply chains.

Dr. Anthony Fauci staying he has been in touch with Biden's top aides, including his incoming chief of staff. DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, U.S. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I've been in contact with Ron Klain, telling me that we're going to be talking about this very soon now that the transition is in process.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE (on camera): Now, as we head into an unusual and tough holiday season for so many Americans, Joe Biden saying that his family is no exception. He said that for many years, his family has had the tradition of traveling out of state so that they can have a big family gathering for Thanksgiving but not this year. He is staying put with his wife here in Delaware and they're only going to be doing a very small family gathering.

MJ Lee, CNN, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

NEWTON: So shortly after Biden's speech, President Trump announced his pardon of a former aide who twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.

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Now, in a tweet, the president said it was his great honor to pardon his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn.

Flynn pleaded guilty to lying about his contacts with a former Russian ambassador to the U.S., he first cut a deal to cooperate with the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. But then, he changed his defense team, claimed he was tricked, and try to withdraw his plea.

President Trump had invited Republican lawmakers in the meantime from Pennsylvania to the White House, after they held a hearing on baseless allegations of election fraud. The president had planned on appearing with his attorney, Rudy Giuliani, at Wednesday's meeting, but that was canceled. And he came after was revealed Giuliani was exposed to another person who tested positive for coronavirus.

President Trump called into the meeting, again falsely claiming he won the election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (via telephone): This was an election that we won easily. We won it by a lot. This election was rigged, and we can't let that happen. We can't let it happen for our country, and this election has to be turned around. Because, we won Pennsylvania by a lot, and we won all of this swing states by a lot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Michael Genovese is the president of the Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount University. He joins me this hour from Los Angeles. Michael, really good to see you.

We start with the pardon here, Michael Flynn not surprising to many. This was really the first one out of the gate. It will be the first of many.

What do you think about the other pardons that are still to come here, especially those involved with Trump himself? Or maybe members of his family?

MICHAEL GENOVESE, POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, you're right. This is probably the first of many. Some of the names that are being banded about, Paul Manafort, Kushner's farther, Rudy Giuliani, has some legal problems. And then there's, of course, the kind of -- the Trump family. Some things are proactive in anticipating a potential legal problem. It could be Ivanka, Jared, others.

And then there's the self-pardon, the question of whether a pardon can be issued by a president, for himself when he's not been accused of a crime. And, it's unclear we aren't certain about that. The president has wide pardoning powers. The only things he can do is, pardon people in impeachment cases or its pardons only playable to federal law and federal cases.

The Supreme Court has been pretty clear about this. The president has very wide discretion on pardons, other than those two exceptions.

But a self pardon violates two central principles of American jurisprudence. One, you cannot be a judge in your own case. That's been -- something that we have hit here too far over 200 years. The other is that no person can be above the law, and a self pardon would place the president above the law.

And there was one precedent, one precedent for this, and that was in the Watergate era. The acting deputy attorney general, Mary Lawton, wrote a memo, which is legally binding in the Justice Department, and that memo says that a president cannot self-pardon.

And so, the answer to your question is absolutely, unequivocally we don't know.

(LAUGHTER)

NEWTON: And to the Supreme Court, we go.

It's interesting to see how the super majority of the Supreme Court will come into play. We don't even know how, especially as we wait to see the final pardons in the next few days.

I want to turn now to, of course, Joe Biden, president elect. You know, his address today, so presidential, although he isn't formally the president yet.

I noted that conciliatory tone, and that is different from the scrappy Biden that we saw on the debate stage. What do you think says about how he will govern going forward, especially when it comes to getting along with the GOP?

GENOVESE: Well, it's a Biden that has gone past conflict of a campaign, and is now preparing to govern. And so he's acting very presidential.

Now, Joe Biden is not known for his soaring record. But this is I think is the best we can get here, including all the campaign speeches. It was sober, reassuring, it was realistic but quite hopeful. It was presidential, the opposite with Donald Trump did today.

He gave thanks and Thanksgiving but he also talked about being a wartime president finding a virus. And he used the line before. The enemy is the virus not one another.

Well, hallelujah for saying that, it's about time we start to believe that. We are all in this together. The COVID crisis affects Democrats and Republicans.

And beyond that, he quoted scriptures about loving your neighbor and loving yourself. He spoke of lost which he spoke about before. It was deep, it was real. It was almost Kennedy-esque.

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I think this was Joe Biden at his very best. And I think he did a lot to put Donald Trump in the rearview mirror for all of us.

NEWTON: That is such a great point Michael, because I think that a lot of the people are seeing here, look we need to move beyond what happened no matter how we voted. And part of that, as you say, is putting the current president in the rearview mirror at least when the time comes on inauguration day.

Michael, thanks so much and happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

GENOVESE: And to you. Thank you so much.

NEWTON: Now, for the 16th straight day, 16th straight day, the U.S. has set a new record for covid-19 hospitalizations. Nearly 90,000 people are being treated -- almost 2,000 more than the day before. And with millions of Americans traveling for the holidays, experts say the uphill trend will continue for weeks to come.

CNN's Lucy Kafanov has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This Thanksgiving will be one to remember for all the wrong reasons.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to go see my grandparents.

KAFANOV: COVID-19 cases skyrocketing now topping an average 174,000 a day. DR. JOSEPH VARON, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, UNITED MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER: My concern for the next six to 12 weeks is that if we don't do things right, America is going to see the darkest days in modern American medical history.

KAFANOV: Despite the CDC last week urging people not to travel for Thanksgiving, the TSA says more than 4.8 million Americans have already hit the skies.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nothing has really changed whether that way. When I go home, we're having Thanksgiving.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am going to see my elderly parents, my dad's 90, my mom's 87. And I don't know if -- getting emotional -- if in Christmas they're going to be around.

KAFANOV: Health experts warn dinner with grandma and the extended family could be more grief in the weeks ahead.

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: It's the -- potentially the mother of all super spreader events.

KAFANOV: The pandemic changing time honored traditions. The Macy's Thanksgiving parade in New York for living room crowds only this year.

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK: It will be different, it will be smaller, it will be made for TV. It is not a spectator event in person.

KAFANOV: From coast to coast, families hurting in so many ways, historic lines at food banks across the country with a pandemic shuttering businesses and sending unemployment surging.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who they runs out and them help them with this, that helps out a whole lot. I will benefit then for my family.

KAFANOV: Doctors and nurses on COVID frontlines also feeling the pain. The Mayo Clinic in Minnesota forced to bring in workers from out of state, even pulling some staff out of retirement to cope with their shortage.

DR. ANDREW BADLEY, CHAIRMAN, MAYO CLINIC'S COVID-19 RESEARCH TASK FORCE: It's troubling to a degree that that there is, in my opinion, a degree of complacency from some about, you know, how severe COVID is.

KAFANOV: But for this struggling nation, some signs of hope.

ALEX AZAR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: If all goes well, we could be distributing vaccine soon after December 10th. The American people can be confident that hope and help are on the way.

KAFANOV: Until that help is here, health officials are bracing for another COVID surge. One last plea for Americans to do their part in slowing the spread. FAUCI: The final message is to do what really we've been saying now for some time is -- to the extent possible, keep the gatherings, the indoor gatherings as small as you possibly can.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAFANOV (on camera): Here in Colorado, hospitalizations are spiking with just 25 ICU beds available in the city of Denver. That's according to the governor.

Meanwhile, the Denver mayor, in hot water on Wednesday after urging residents in a tweet to avoid holiday travel, hours later, boarding a plane himself to spend Thanksgiving with his wife and his daughter in Mississippi.

Lucy Kafanov, CNN, Denver.

NEWTON: Right now, millions around the world are morning the greatest football players ever to grace the pitch.

One who has literally and commonly been called a god. Diego Maradona died Wednesday at the age of 60 from heart failure, according to his lawyer and government sources present during the autopsy. The Argentine football player -- football legend enjoyed a glittering career but also well-known for his notorious lifestyle and struggles with addiction.

Three days of national mourning -- three days are underway now in Argentina. Its president tweeting: Maradona took us to the top of the world. Adoring fans celebrating his life.

"WORLD SPORT's" Don Riddell is with us now.

Don, we're lucky to have you tonight to really try and digest and distill all of this. But was his legacy for the sport?

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Well, he was always described as one of the greatest of all-time, and that is certainly how he will be remembered. He was an absolutely phenomenal football player Paula, an absolute joy to watch. People used to say, that they would pay to see him warm up, before the game, before the whistle even be blown, the way he would juggle the ball on the field, showing all these tricks and flakes, and making it looks so effortless.

[00:15:09]

And, of course, when he did on the pitch, was hugely significant and relevant. He is revered in Naples, where he own Serie A with Napoli, but of course it's in Argentina where he is the most beloved. Of course, winning the World Cup with Argentina in 1986, on the way to doing that, beating England in the quarterfinals with two goals the really sum up what Diego Maradona was all about.

You referred to the god, the hand of god. That was the first goal. He scored in that game. Illegally punching the ball into the back of the net, but the referee did not notice. And he cheekily referred to it as the hand of god.

And then four minutes later, scoring what has been described as the greatest goal ever scored a World Cup history. That's the yin and the yang of Diego Maradona. He was cheeky, he was cunning. He was a street kid, made good.

But he was a phenomenal talent on the football pitch, and the news of his death today really has hit football fans all over the world really hard.

NEWTON: Yeah, I should say, something that people all around the world will continue to digest, definitely in the days and weeks to come.

Don thanks so much, really appreciate it.

Now, as Don was just saying, it's Argentina, right? In the coming hours, Maradona will be lying in honor at the presidential palace and huge crowds will undoubtedly be paying their respects.

Journalist Diego Laje is live from Buenos Aires.

You know, we've been talking about him as a god, certainly he is immortal now in Argentina. What are you hearing there?

DIEGO LAJE, JOURNALIST: Absolutely, Paul, absolutely. I am at the presidential palace, the Casa Rosada, in downtown Buenos Aires. And even though the body of Diego Maradona is expected to arrive in about six hours, already hundreds of people, hundreds of people are gathering here to my left, including the hooligans, the big fans of Boca Junior, his football team, the team where he became the national star. He has become the foregoing international.

And, here is where thousands maybe up to 1 million people are expected to come and pay respects for at least next 48 hours, Paula.

NEWTON: Yeah, incredible there the scenes. We're glad you're there to bring this to us and it's something that we'll continue to keep up. As you said there, they are now and they will be there for hours throughout the night. Really appreciated, thanks so much.

Now, more countries in Europe are deciding not to lift coronavirus restrictions, at least not just yet, even if it that means making some sacrifices at Christmas. What they're doing to try and avoid a third wave.

Plus, a surge in new infections has plagued the Asian nations as well. Officials in one country say it could take a state of emergency to get the situation under control.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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NEWTON: So we're going to take a measure of this pandemic in Asia right now. Japan's government warns it might declare a state of emergency soon if the number of coronavirus cases keeps going up. Now, health officials say the medical system in Tokyo and other high infection areas is strained and they are recommending the government blocked travel to and from those hotspots.

Now officials in Tokyo are asking restaurants and bars to close early for the next three weeks and they're asking residents to avoid all non-essential travel.

Now, it is, of course, a similar story in South Korea. That country is reporting its highest number of new infections is the first day of March.

CNN's Paula Hancocks is in Seoul with the latest.

And, Paula, you have been tracking the story you're telling us about the new restriction. And yet, is their talk already in South Korea that they might need to go further?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Paula, there is no doubt that health officials are already looking at that, and weighing up the options.

But the recent level to social distancing that they brought in was only brought in a matter of these ago. So, what we are hearing from health officials is that they haven't let that play up to see if it's going to work. They expect the numbers to go up in the coming days, and it could be next week before they see whether or not the restrictions are actually working.

There's always this lag between changing the rules and actually seeing how that does affect the outbreak. But what we are also hearing from the health minister here in South Korea is that this wave is different, the third wave, in the respect that these outbreaks could happen anywhere in any place. Now what we have seen in the first wave and second wave was there was one epicenter, a religious group or a church, or a hospital, and then it spread from there.

So, in that respect, it was much easier to contact trace and to try and restrict the spread. That's simply not happening this time around in this third wave. There are outbreaks in many different places, small clusters which are all clubbing together.

So, the restrictions are in place. Clubs, bars shut, cafes can only have take out, and restaurants have to be take out from 9:00 p.m. onwards. All masks have been warned by everybody when they're inside, otherwise they will be fined. At this point, I think health officials are really seeing whether or not those extra restrictions to make any kind of impact, and then they will go from there.

They have said that they believe that this particular wave could be bigger than the first two waves. The first one in March, the second one in August. We are already beyond what we saw in August, and the numbers are already higher than we saw just a few months ago.

And we've heard from the president here as well, Moon Jae-in saying that the public cooperation is desperately needed, saying it's a precarious and worrying situation -- Paula.

NEWTON: Yeah, and it's interesting what you say that the character of the outbreaks is different this time putting out small fires and small clusters all over the country.

Paula Hancocks in Seoul, thanks. Really appreciate it.

Now to the pandemic in Europe starting in Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel is extending the partial nationwide lockdown until at least December 20th. That means restaurants and bars will stay closed. Mask requirements will be broadened. And the number of people to get together will be limited.

But Merkel added that regulations must be eased from December 23rd, right up to New Year's Day to allow for those small family gatherings.

This week, Germany reported largest single day jump in coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.

Now, the World Health Organization meantime says Europe has been the biggest driver of COVID-19 cases and deaths worldwide in the past week. But it also says stricter measures are starting to have an impact. That's why the president of the European Commission is urging E.U. members not to ease restrictions just yet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: I know that shop owners, bartenders, and waiters in restaurants want to limit restrictions, but we must learn from the summer, and not repeat the same mistakes. Relaxing too fast and too much is a risk of a 3rd wave after Christmas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NETWON: Certainly a lot of countries have learned that the hard way.

France, in the meantime, is known for its culinary scene of course. And a lot of jobs are now at stake. With a nationwide lockdown, the second one this year, keeping this restaurants close through the holidays, the question is can the country's restaurant survive?

CNN's Melissa Bell is in Paris for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Paris may be locked down, but you will find the doors of some of its restaurants open. Take Le Baratin, a bistro in the east of the city loved by the late Anthony Bourdain.

ANTHONY BOURDAIN, LATE CNN HOST: Superb, imaginative food, and fantastic wine.

BELL: These things, you can't drink and eat here as Bourdain did. Restaurants have been closed by the second partial lockdown this year. But this time around, Raquel Carena is back in her kitchen.

RAQUEL CARENA, CHEF, LE BARATIN (through translator): This time, we decided to do take away, to try to be close to the people of the neighborhood. Also to avoid sitting around and doing nothing.

BELL: Raquel says that the first lockdown saw her fall by 60 percent. The lunchtime takeaway she's put in place this time should help a little. But that isn't the only reason she's looking forward to the end of this lockdown.

CARENA (through translator): When we cook, we have to look at the people, and that's changed now. When I used to see my customers, I asked them to tell me the truth. It's little drive they would say. So I'd make something else. We've lost that luxury now.

BELL: Still, Raquel is one of the lucky ones. Union say that two out of every three establishments in France is hotel and restaurant sector could be forced out of business by the pandemic.

According to France's health minister, restaurants will not be opening in December, which means that Raquel's carefully crafted dishes will continue to be served in cardboard boxes and paper bags for a little while longer.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Still ahead, hungry for the holidays. Millions of Americans are struggling to bring food onto the table as food insecurity surges right across the nation.

Coming up, how one organization is working to help those in need.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Paula Newton.

The headlines this hour:

President Trump pardons his former national security adviser Wednesday. Michael Flynn twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia's ambassador to the United States. After initially agreeing to cooperate with the Russia investigation, Flynn claimed he had been duped and tried to withdraw his plea.

President-elect Joe Biden is urging Americans to renew their commitment to fighting coronavirus this Thanksgiving. He says the country is at war with the virus. Not with each other. Biden plans to spend the holiday at home with his wife, daughter, and son-in-law.

The U.S. has reported highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations yet. Nearly 90,000 people are now being treated for the virus, that's up from 88,000 just the day before. And it marks the 16th straight day the country has set a new record for hospitalizations.

One noted expert predicts the daily death toll from coronavirus in the United States will likely double in less than two weeks time.

Now, as the pandemic worsens in the United States, it's exacerbating another crisis: food insecurity. Millions of Americans will go hungry this year, and the struggle to provide is being felt now more than ever as families nationwide are getting as families nationwide are getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving.

[00:30:17]

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The journey to get food, through the cold and COVID-19, has been long and hard for Regina Status.

REGINA STATUS, NEW YORK CITY RESIDENT: I've got to take it one day at a time, and as long as you have for today, you save for tomorrow. When tomorrow get here, something is going to happen.

YURKEVICH: And it did. Just in time.

STATUS: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No problem.

YURKEVICH: Days before Thanksgiving, Agatha House Foundation, a local food pantry in the Bronx, New York, made a special Thanksgiving delivery, filled with everything she needs for her and her two teenage daughters.

STATUS: It is just a relief that I don't have to purchase all of that.

YURKEVICH: Over 50 million Americans like Regina won't have enough to eat in 2020, in part because of the pandemic. Feeding America, the largest hunger relief group in the U.S., projects that 8 billion meals will be needed in the next year to feed food-insecure Americans.

BABINEAUX-FONTENOT, CEO, FEEDING AMERICA: About 40 percent of the people who right now are turning to food banks for help around the country are who -- people who never before relied upon the charitable food system.

STATUS: Onions.

YURKEVICH: Regina is out of a job. Her car was totaled months ago, and she's not receiving unemployment. She now relies on a once-a-week delivery from the food pantry.

(on camera): Day-to-day, is your pantry stocked? Or what does it look like day-to-day?

STATUS: Just surviving. That's all I can say. You just have to survive it. YURKEVICH (voice-over): The 15th Congressional District here in the

Bronx has the highest food insecurity rate among children in the country. At Agatha House, they're hoping to take the stigma out of needing a little extra help.

JEANETTE JOSEPH-GREENAWAY, FOUNDER, AGATHA HOUSE FOUNDATION: We have to look and try to imagine ourselves in the position, what we would want for ourselves. Not just to give them a cardboard box, but to make them feel loved, special.

YURKEVICH: This small operation says it's seen a 100 percent increase in need.

JOSEPH-GREENAWAY: Even with the little that they get, hopefully, they're -- someone in their building or one of their neighbors, that they can invite for a plate of food.

STATUS: Yes, got to give Ms. Mamie (ph) some stuff.

YURKEVICH: Despite her struggles to bring food to the table --

STATUS: You're welcome, Ms. Mamie (ph).

YURKEVICH: -- Regina is sharing what she has with her neighbor. And remains grateful for this Thanksgiving.

STATUS: Even if we didn't get the Agatha House, or we were just having regular chicken every day, just to say that you was alive to eat it, that's a blessing in itself.

YURKEVICH: Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN, Bronx, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Matthew Barnett joins me now from Los Angeles. He's the cofounder of The Dream Center, a charity organization that provides resources to communities in need nationwide.

And Mr. Barnett, you have certainly seen need right across this country. Tell me how it is different today because so many of us, we are rooted by these long lines of people who are desperate for food.

MATTHEW BARNETT, COFOUNDER, THE DREAM CENTER: You know, Paula, I never dreamed in all my life that I would live in the United States of America and see need like this, to experience at one time 88 days in a row we were feeding people 11 hours straight, nonstop, for seven days a week. We've been feeding people 263 days in a row. And I -- the one word I can just say is "relentless." The need has no end. It just never stops.

And I think it's forced people like me who are pastors out of this hospital, this -- at the Dream Center out of this big hospital (ph) where hundreds of people live. But I think it's forced all of us, as leaders, to be food line workers. I mean, usually we do serve and prep, and now we're down there, trying to rally people for one more day to help one more person. That's just the nature of this relentless need that never ends.

NEWTON: And these are frontlines, as well, that you're manning. Tell us about some of the stories that you hear.

BARNETT: Oh man, there's people that are showing up, and some of them are showing up in literally -- in cars we've never seen before, even imagine that they would be in need. They kind of tuck their head a little bit, embarrassed to receive food. And what we just try to do is celebrate, make it a big party when they come through the line. Because it's not just what we give away that matters. It's the spirit of joy.

And some people are coming through the line and saying, Look, I'm coming to get food, because I need to survive. But I think the survival I'm getting is the hope and the joy with which people are giving it away.

So there's a crisis of food, but there's also a major crisis of hope. People are losing hope every single day. And the most important thing we can do to change the atmosphere of our neighborhood, with 45 percent unemployment, is just to keep showing up every single day. And I think that's been the secret of what we've been able to do for 263 straight days in a row, is we earned the right to be heard by staying and not leaving the community in hard times.

[00:35:13]

NEWTON: Your passion is so inspiring. And then like you say, you guys are probably just at the beginning of trying to get to some of this need, because it's going to go on for so long.

What would you say to people who are now looking at a new government coming into the United States and what can be done to help? Because one thing we know about this pandemic is it has not touched people equally at all.

BARNETT: Absolutely. It's -- it's crazy what's happening. We're seeing a lot of small businesses boarded up everywhere. I drive -- I almost cry. Every day when I pull in, I see all the different places of unemployment.

And I think the most important thing to do is for the government to look at every type of resource. I mean, and look at every person that's been -- committed their lives to the community. And really get behind those organizations. I don't think they can -- they can contain it in just one centralized system. We're going to have to just look at every single person that's been out there, serving and making a difference.

I mean, our turkey giveaway, we gave away 1,500 turkeys. It started at 11 a.m. in the morning, the giveaway. Someone just whispered that we're giving away turkeys at 8 o'clock. We had 200 cars lined in to start, three hours early.

And then we went to sundown. We were going out buying turkeys, sending interns to find five over here. We don't want to let anyone down. And I think, in 2021, as the new administration takes over, one of the

most important things to do is to look for sources that maybe they've never seen before to get behind. A lot of faith-based organizations, churches are being remodeled now in the sense of they're not living for Sunday mornings any more. They're living for Monday through Sunday. So in some ways it's been a -- it's been a good thing for the church, because it's taught us to think outside of being a Sunday morning church, and you know, 24/7.

But again, we have 88 days. We are feeding 10,000 people a day for 80 straight days, 11 hours a day.

NEWTON: Yes. You know, the services you're used to feeding the soul. This is feeding the soul, and unfortunately, it has to be a much more concrete way.

What is your fear about the need to come? Because, look, this is a charitable season in the United States. I'm going to assume that you feel like you can get through to these resources till Christmas.

When you see these cases skyrocketing, the fact that the economy is not going to recover until well into next year, if that early, what's your fear about trying to meet the need?

BARNETT: The fear is great, because there's a lack of hope. When there's lack of hope, there's nervousness. And there are these trends that go on where suddenly, you'll think that maybe we're through it, and then the cases will go up again. It's almost a news-driven type of situation, where when the cases go up, the need goes up. It's almost a direct parallel.

And we're not seeing, unfortunately, the cases go down. We just see them go up, and it's terrifying. I think to be honest with you, Paula, we're living one day at a time. We're just saying maybe we can just make it 24 hours.

We used to have game plans for two to three years down the road, what our vision is going to look like. It's now turned into how can we survive 24 more hours? And I'm afraid that's where we're headed as charitable organizations.

We've just going to have to believe for 24-hour miracles and dip into our own pockets, do whatever you've got to do. Because when you're called to people who are in need, you don't take that time off, just because it gets hard.

We signed up to be an essential service. We signed up for a difficult moment. And, you know, like so many who are willing to lay down our lives in order to reach one more person. I think that's the mindset that we're going to have to have. We can't think that we have it all figured out. We're just going to have to go day by day and trust and have faith.

NEWTON: OK. Pastor Matthew Barnett, we can certainly hear the resolve in your voice. I want to wish you a very happy Thanksgiving. And to anyone watching, it is the Dream Center in Los Angeles. And of

course, as we've just shown, the need is so great this Thanksgiving in the United States. Thanks so much.

BARNETT: Well, we've got thousands more coming for turkey meals. So it never ends. But thank you so much for being a voice of change. We appreciate you.

NEWTON: Still to come, a message of congratulations for Joe Biden from Beijing. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

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NEWTON: More than two weeks after Joe Biden claimed victory in the U.S. presidential election, he finally got a message of congratulations from Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Now, CNN's Steven Jiang is live with us this hour from Beijing.

You have been following it all. Why was there any kind of a delay here, and what do you think it says about, you know, China's relations with the incoming administration?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN PRODUCER: Paula, this delay was very much noticed around the world, because it did make Mr. Xi one of the few leaders of major countries that still hadn't congratulated -- congratulated Mr. Biden until last night.

But it was not surprising from the perspective of Beijing, of course. They simply did not see any upside in congratulating Mr. Biden before Mr. Trump was ready.

Now Mr. Trump, of course, still hasn't conceded, but at least he has allowed the formal transition process to begin, which explained why Mr. Xi sent his message. Because I think they were still very worried -- very much worried about Mr. Trump, and what he could do in his remaining days in office when it comes to having more hardline policies towards China being implemented, and that actually, has been happening.

But back to the message itself from Mr. Xi to Mr. Biden, it was actually interesting, because it was almost a copy-and-paste job from his 2016 message to Mr. Trump. A lot -- a lot of the same buzzwords. You know, promoting a healthy and stable relationship between the two countries. Non-conflict, non-confrontation, win-win cooperation.

But if that's the expectation from Beijing, that is to have a reset in this relationship, which has really reached its lowest point in decades.

They are probably going to be in for disappointment, according to many analysts, because as you know, things have changed so much in terms of geopolitical tensions and the political environment in D.C. since Mr. Biden was last in the White House. Now China has become a rare bipartisan consensus in D.C. Both parties

want to get tough on China. Mr. Biden has said so himself. And he has also said he does not want his administration to become the third Obama term. So I think this is something we are going to see very much likely when he takes office.

But if, at least in the short term, I think Beijing is probably very relieved or pleased that they don't have to find out foreign policies of the U.S. on Twitter anymore -- Paula.

NEWTON: True. True enough. Steven Jiang for us in Beijing. Thanks so much.

And I am Paula Newton. I will be back in about 15 minutes with more CNN NEWSROOM. But for now, WORLD SPORT begins after a short break.

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