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President-Elect Biden To Unveil Economic Team; TX Family Warns Against Gathering After 15 Contract Covid-19; Trump Campaign Saturday In Georgia Ahead Of Key Senate Races; GOP Walks Tightrope As Trump Continues Claims Of Election Fraud; Moderna To Apply For FDA Authorization For Its Vaccine Today. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired November 30, 2020 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Could soon face for confirmation. Tell us what you know?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a center left team of professionals here who inherit a really tough position here. I mean, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have an economy that is still down 10 million jobs since the beginning of this crisis. And we're seeing the recovery very fragile, and frankly, looking like it's slowing down dramatically because of the resurgence of the virus.

So, you have Janet Yellen, who used to be at the Fed, you'll recall, she would be the first woman to ever run the Treasury Department and this kind of lot of accolades last week, when we were hearing floating, you know, a (INAUDIBLE) about this last week. She's someone who many people think would be able to work with this Fed chief, would be able to work with Congress and represent this administration and get the needed financial aid into the system that we need as a bridge until this economy can recover.

Then you also have Neera Tanden, over at OMB that is what is expected to happen here. She is the CEO of the left leaning Center for American Progress very tight, a former top aide to Hillary Clinton. And you'll see a little bit of internet traffic Twitter traffic this morning. Senator John Cornyn spokesperson said that she couldn't get any votes from Republicans. And then you also have a few people over on the progressive wing of the party who think that she hasn't -- she wasn't supportive enough of Bernie Sanders. So, you could see a little bit of chatter about that, still this morning.

And then you have Cecilia Rouse, who went over the Council of Economic Advisors, Princeton economist, a labor economist, which is really important here right now, of course, because we have such a big jobs crisis. But these are folks who share Joe Biden's view about infrastructure, they've written about inequality, which is something that could win over progressives. And this is a team that's going to have a very big job.

SCIUTTO: No question, so much to face. Christine Romans, thanks very much. ROMANS: You're welcome.

SCIUTTO: What's happening today, after weeks of waiting the president- elect and vice president-elect will receive as is normal their first national security briefing on the intelligence related to the greatest threats facing this country. With me now is Shawn Turner, he's former director of communications at the office of Director of National Intelligence.

Shawn, good to have you on this morning.

SHAWN TURNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Thanks for having me on Jim.

SCIUTTO: So, President Obama famously told President Trump when he came in at the number one national security threat, he will face this from North Korea. I wonder if you were in the room today for this briefing, what do you believe Biden will here are the number one threats or threat to this country right now.

TURNER: Well, you know, unfortunately, there's been so much focus on the President's refusal to accept that by the Vice President Biden is the president-elect. And it's really unclear what that brief might include. But if I were in the room, I would imagine that some of the rising tensions that we're seeing with Iran and Israel in that particular region of the world might be, my top a list. Certainly the president-elect will get a brief on what's happening with regards to COVID-19.

But look, there are a wide range of issues around the world that we simply have not been focused on with regard to national security, simply because we've been mired down in this discussion of the election and what actually happened. But to be clear, this brief is the most highly classified most sensitive intelligence that we have available to the United States. So, what President-elect Biden is going to get is going to get a real detailed look at some of the challenges that we're facing around the globe right now.

SCIUTTO: You mentioned Iran of course, there was an assassination a few days ago of an Iranian nuclear scientist, enormous amount of speculation as to who did this speculation perhaps it was Iran. If that were to happen, likely with it with the U.S. OK. I wonder, in the transition, are you concerned that the Trump administration is risking war or military escalation with Iran?

TURNER: Look, Jim, the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh is a major challenge for the incoming Biden administration. Look, this is -- this puts the Biden administration in tough spot because as we all know, the Biden administration is going to be eager to rejoin the accord with our European allies, that the Trump administration left in 2018, the accord that took Iran off the path to becoming a nuclear power. That's something a Biden administration is really interested in doing. So, what's happening here is you have a situation in which if Iran retaliates, and we know, they have the ability to retaliate through their proxies in Israel as certainly through a process in Syria and Hezbollah, not to mention others. If Iran is retaliates, that's going to make it very difficult for the incoming Biden administration to work with Iran.

By the same token, if they retaliate, you also risk a rising tensions in the area with risk all out war. And we know that the Trump administration for a long time has been interested in prodding and getting Iran to do something that would justify some sort of military action in the region. So, this really does put the Biden administration in a tough situation.

[09:35:01]

I think the best thing for Iran to do right now is to exercise restraint and to recognize it this is a new opportunity for Iran and for everyone in the region to get off on a new footing a better footing with regard to some sort of a peace in the region. But the important thing right now is that the Biden administration gets all the information they need in this briefing today, and that tensions are brought down in the area before this transition happens.

SCIUTTO: You mentioned the distraction, the amount of attention that the President's assault on this election is taking up in this country despite real threats from outside. In your experience, and you were an intelligence officer for many, many years. Have you witnessed a foreign disinformation campaign against this country as damaging as the one that the President himself is conducting right now?

TURNER: Well, you know, Jim, it's a really good question. You know, we talk about the disinformation campaign that the President is carrying out as something that undermines democracy. I will tell you that to your question. I've never experienced anything like this on a domestic level. And I think that I would go further and say that this goes beyond undermining democracy.

Look, in 2016, we said that what Russia did with regard to disinformation and interference in our election was an attack on our democracy. Those were the words that we use, and I think everyone now accepts that we were attacked through this if this disinformation campaign. Now, we see the very same thing from the President and his acolytes here in the United States. This is domestically generated misinformation and disinformation.

So yes, it undermines democracy. But I don't that we can say that it's any different than we saw from Russia. It's intended to sow discord, to confuse, to scare people. It's intended to attack our democracy and the very principles that we live by. So, I think it's a very serious thing. And I really do think that the Biden administration has to work very hard to swing the pendulum back in the other direction and get us back to a point of integrity in our information.

SCIUTTO: Yes, with all the attention and efforts focused on defending against foreign interference in the selection. A lot you can do about when it's coming from inside the country's own border. Shawn Turner, thanks so much for coming on.

TURNER: Thanks for having me, Jim.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): Well, the new "CNN FILM PRESIDENT IN WAITING" takes a very personal look at the role of the vice president. It airs Saturday night at 9:00 Eastern time right here on CNN.

And as the sad fact of pandemic fatigue rises in this country, one Texas families urging people to forego holiday parties this year, stay home because of what they themselves experienced.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:42:01]

SCIUTTO: Welcome back. One family in Texas is begging people to reconsider big family get togethers this holiday season. This after a COVID-19 outbreak nearly cost them a loved. Fifteen family members caught the virus in early November, after 12 of them decided to attend a birthday party. They now deeply regret that decision.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now, I'm in the hospital and Casey (ph) my family,

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I cannot hug my wife.

ALEXA ARAGONEZ, RECOVERED FROM COVID-19: Now, I can't visit my mom to share a cup of coffee or talk about our day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can't want our play with our cousins.

ARAGONEZ: When we took my mom to the hospital, our hearts broke. We feel guilty for gathering.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Well, here with me now is one member of that family Alexa Aragonez. Alexa, so good to have you on this morning. Thanks very much.

ARAGONEZ: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: So first, tell us how everyone is doing your grandmother who we saw in the video, she was hospitalized because of the virus.

ARAGONEZ: That's actually my mother. But she's --

SCIUTTO: Sorry.

ARAGONEZ: -- she's doing better. She's -- it's OK. She's at home, thank goodness. She still has some cardiovascular complications that we'll be dealing with long term. But the majority of my family is recuperating fine, they still have some fatigue, but some have even tested negative as of recently. So, they're healing and they're on the mend.

SCIUTTO: Tell us why you and your family chose to come forward. I mean, I encourage folks at home to watch this video because it's very heartfelt. And everybody from every generation right down to the youngest tested positive for this. ARAGONEZ: Yes, so my family doesn't think it's outside of the norm ynfortunately. You know, it's very common to think that a family that's taking great care of themselves and following most of the CDC guidelines, thinks it has some flexibility together. Unfortunately, there are so many of us that do the same thing. And my family came together and thought this was a message we're sharing. So, whenever my family decided that I pitched it to my team back in the city of Arlington, and they thought this was a story worth sharing, and even if it saved one life, that life makes everything worth it.

SCIUTTO: For sure. I wonder what reception you've heard there. Because the sad fact is that many in this country today, including in the state of Texas, still don't buy that this is real. I mean, it's remarkable as we watch the death toll arrives here on the screen, as you can see. Do you have the sense you've convinced anybody?

ARAGONEZ: So, I mean, we've had some positive feedback, but a lot of negative feedback as well. You know, there's some hesitancy for everyone to follow the CDC guidelines 100% of the time, by the letter, by the book 100% because we get exhausted. So, you know, there are some -- this message has encouraged some but probably it's also stirred up some negative feedback.

SCIUTTO: What is the negative feedback you hear?

ARAGONEZ: You know, it's kind of those things where people say, well, you deserved it. How could you not understand that gathering was the wrong thing to do? But you know, we -- my family takes that with a grain of salt and knows that we're not unlike many folks here in the city of Arlington and U.S.-at-large.

[09:45:14]

So it's, you know, a lesson for not only my family, but a message that everyone should listen to, at least for a little bit and understand that this family could be yours. It could be at any moment in time your world can change because of COVID-19.

SCIUTTO: No question. What do you want to hear from national state local leaders? Because you're saying something that all the health experts are saying, right, if you can avoid these groups, because it just, you know, it allows the virus to spread, but you still have other leaders just denying that it exists or that it's exaggerated? What would you like to hear from leaders and Texas leaders in the White House, about this virus?

ARAGONEZ: You know, it's all about messaging and understanding that some folks will resonate with some messages than others. It's, you know, combating disinformation and ensuring that we stick on message and we should share the plight that these families are going through. Understand that, you know, people are getting exhausted, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel. So, I am hopeful, of course, we need some more economic relief for homes and for businesses, when that all comes federally handed down and hopefully locally distributed. But there's only so much that we can do now. We just keep on keeping on. SCIUTTO: Well, listen, we wish you, we wish your family the best from grandmother to your mother right down to the kids. Please tell everybody we hope to get well soon.

ARAGONEZ: Thank you so much.

SCIUTTO: And thank you for sharing the message. Alexa Aragonez.

(voice-over): Well, two senate run offs in the state of Georgia could determine which party controls the Senate. The President Trump, he is attacking top Republican officials in the state ahead of the vote. What that means for the upcoming January elections?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:51:28]

SCIUTTO: President Trump has reserved some of his harshest criticism for the Republican governor of Georgia as he continues to push baseless conspiracy theories and they are baseless. They've been debunked about massive voter fraud. In a pair of tweets the President calls Governor Brian Kemp hapless for not intervening in the election on his behalf.

President Trump lost Georgia by 12,000 votes a result it was confirmed, by the way by a hand recount. The attacks calm as Georgia prepares for two Senate runoff elections that could determine which party controls the Senate.

Joining me now is Patricia Murphy. She's politics reporter for the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Patricia, good to have you on again.

PATRICIA MURPHY, POLITICS REPORTER, ATLANTA JOURNAL: Good morning.

SCIUTTO: So, I wonder how the President's attacks are affecting Republican interest in this upcoming in these two upcoming runoff races. Are they damaging the chances for the Republican Senate candidates in those races?

MURPHY: Well, I think they're not hurting. I'm sorry. They're not helping at all. I think this creates a serious problem for both David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler for a couple of reasons. First of all, it creates an incredible distraction for these candidates who would rather be talking about their unified Republican message. They'd rather be making attacks on their opponents, they'd rather be talking about control of the Senate. Instead, there's this incredible GOP civil war that is starting to erupt only because President Trump has raised these issues again and again and again.

And critically, it's also creating a desire on the far-right of the Republican Party among the base care in Georgia. For these two senators to work harder to overturn the election results, or else the activists are saying they won't vote for Senator Perdue and Senator Loeffler. That is nothing that these candidates should have to deal with. But it is something that they're having to pay attention to. SCIUTTO: There's been talk of a write in campaign to put President Trump's name instead of Loeffler or the Republican candidate there. Is that a serious effort?

MURPHY: I would say it's an unserious effort. But a lot of unserious things have been happening in Georgia, and they've gotten a lot of oxygen. And so, I don't know that we can predict exactly how this is going to turn out for these two Republican senators. They need every Trump voter to go back to the polls and support them. And this kind of a distraction to this kind of energy in the base that's not helpful is really -- is I think it absolutely not be helpful for January 5th and could certainly hurt them.

SCIUTTO: Loeffler and Perdue, the two candidates. The resources being poured into this race by both parties just off the charts, nearly $300 million already in ads. I mean, you know, we keep breaking records and Senate races around the country here. I wonder how Democrats are attempting to take advantage of this. I mean, the key it seemed for went turning the state blue in the presidential contest was an enormous registration effort and get out the vote effort led by Stacey Abrams. Do we see a similar effort on the Democratic side for the Senate races?

MURPHY: Absolutely. Well, there's -- there are get out the vote efforts on both sides. Republicans have been the only ones doing a lot of hand to hand face to face, get out the vote efforts leading up to the general election. Now we're seeing the Democrats get out on the streets as well and go door to door. They're plowing tons of money. Stacey Abrams is plowing millions and to get out the vote efforts, not just TV but really getting out, getting people newly registered before that December 7th deadline and also trying to get young people who have turned 18 since the general election to also register. So they think they can certainly make some more inroads with those get out the vote efforts.

[09:55:07]

SCIUTTO: And listen with 12,000 votes in the presidential election and you could imagine very thin margins in the Senate races as well. Patricia Murphy, great to have you on. I'm sure we'll have you back as we get closer to that date, January 5th.

(voice-over): Well, you can watch Reverend Raphael Warnock and Senator Kelly Loeffler face off in the Georgia Senate debate. That debate airs Sunday night at 7:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

Today, Moderna is asking the federal government to let it begin giving out start giving out its coronavirus vaccine before the FDA officially authorizes it. We're going to be following it all, just coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:00]

SCIUTTO: Good Monday morning to you. I'm Jim Sciutto. Poppy Harlow is off this week. The nation, bracing for a possible surge upon the surge.