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Interview with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA); Vice President Pence and President Trump to Travel to Georgia; Interview with Riley Behrens, 23-Year-Old With COVID-19 Complications. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired December 04, 2020 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: The figure is about $900 billion here, and that involves Republicans coming up, Democrats coming down on the desired figure. But so far it's just a framework. Will you have a detailed plan for folks to look at and vote on by next week?

TEXT: COVID-19 Relief Proposal: $300/week in enhanced federal unemployment benefits; Continued pause on student loan payments; Eviction moratorium; Additional funding for Paycheck Protection Program; $16 billion for vaccine development/distribution and COVID testing/tracing; Allow gig workers to file for unemployment insurance; Extend unemployment insurance to 39 weeks

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): Yes we will. We're working on that today and all weekend to see if we can get a move beyond the framework into something which is actually more legislative language. Now, it may not be voted on next week, but it is our goal that my Senate and House colleagues will be able to look at this and say, OK, maybe a detail or two more to work out, but we move beyond a framework into kind of a fleshed out. We anticipate having that ready.

SCIUTTO: Because folks watching right now have heard similar hope before -- and that's been dashed, sadly -- can you make a commitment here that you and your colleagues will pass something before you leave for the holidays?

CASSIDY: So I'm only one of 100 and I'm not in the House. So I can't tell you what bill -- we're not a dictatorship. But we do think the way we have framed this is the way our founding fathers expected us to. Party is not the issue, it is the needs of the American people. With bipartisan groups in the House and the Senate working first with ourselves in good will and then with our leadership including the president. Now, that's how we anticipate doing this.

I will also say that we've got a delicate balance. I call it the see- saw or the teeter-totter. Both sides have given, and both sides have received. And neither has received everything, but both received much of what we think the American people need. If we can keep that balance, we'll get it through.

SCIUTTO: Yes. I think people would welcome compromise. Let's talk about COVID if we can. You're, of course, a doctor,

yourself were infected. You know this personally. The sad fact is that the numbers are spiking here, and it's not -- you know, taking into account party, red state, blue state, it's happening across the country right now.

But we are still not seeing the president focusing on this. Again this morning, he's tweeting election fraud claims that just don't have basis. Does the country need the president to speak up now, to lead now in your view?

CASSIDY: I don't know if -- Jim, I guess we're just going to have to disagree on this. Vaccine is shipping on December 14th. No, vaccine has already shipped, it'll be approved on December the 14th and probably administered in the first patient on the 14th, certainly on the 15th. That's what we need: widespread deployment and acceptance of immunization, that's the focus.

In the meantime, individual Americans, sneeze into your sleeve, wear your mask, wash your hands, do socially distanced, do all the things we know that can decrease transmission. I think it's more to do with individual responsibility than somebody hectoring me from on high.

SCIUTTO: I understand. Well, I'm talking about what gets us from today to the point where hundreds of millions of Americans have this vaccine, which is still many months off. You heard the president-elect call for asking Americans, when he takes office, for 100 days to wear a mask. You're a doctor, would you support such a call?

CASSIDY: Well, it depends. I mean, yes, in general speaking, wearing a mask is a good thing to do if you're in certain areas of transmission, absolutely. If you're on the beach and there's a nice breeze blowing off the ocean, do you need to wear a mask? Your risk of transmission's incredibly low. If you're walking down the street and somebody is, you know, across the street, they're not wearing a mask, it poses no risk to you.

So as a physician, I have to admit I have to just pause on rhetoric and say, well, what exactly do you mean? If you're in a restaurant and you're not eating, absolutely wear your mask.

SCIUTTO: Right.

CASSIDY: So I want to move beyond what has almost become hysteria in some points, into a little bit of, OK, American people, let's be straight.

SCIUTTO: Let's talk about the election. Joe Biden told my colleague Jake Tapper last night that he's received calls privately from several GOP senators. You're among the few -- to your credit -- who have publicly acknowledged Biden's victory, but the leadership of the Senate has not. We're more than a month after the election, is it time for Republican leaders to say Biden won this election, he's the president-elect?

CASSIDY: I can't speak for the leaders, but I can say the most important thing is that President Trump ordered the General Services Administration to begin the transition. I know that McConnell has acknowledged that Biden is most likely going to be the next president and has begun that sort of transition, if you will, in terms of how we get there.

So I can't speak to, you know, what people's public comments are. I can speak to what their actions are, and I do think that transition is taking place.

SCIUTTO: Most likely though, come on, the results have been certified, there have been recounts in Georgia. What do you mean -- the Republican leaders congratulated President Trump within days of his victory in 2016. Why don't you see the damage of feeding this false sense that this election was stolen?

[10:35:04]

CASSIDY: As you mentioned, I am somebody who has said that based upon the results in Michigan, Biden was over 270, and so we should acknowledge that victory. I can only speak for myself, I can't speak for others but I have spoken on the topic.

SCIUTTO: Well, that's to your credit, Senator Bill Cassidy, we appreciate it and thanks for joining the program this morning.

CASSIDY: Hey, thank you.

SCIUTTO: Well, the eyes of the political world will be on Georgia as the president heads there tomorrow for two Senate runoff races. But among Republicans, some fears the appearance could do more harm than good? We'll check in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:00]

SCIUTTO: Welcome back. Vice President Mike Pence will be in Georgia this afternoon to campaign for GOP Senate candidates Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue.

President Trump will head there tomorrow for his first post-election rally, but the president's visit to that state has some in his own party on edge. There are fears that the president's constant attacks against Republicans in Georgia as well as the election there at large could discourage turnout in those key Senate runoff races. The balance of power in the Senate is at stake there.

Joining me now is Greg Bluestein, he is a political reporter for the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution." Greg, good to have you on.

GREG BLUESTEIN, POLITICAL REPORTER, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: Thanks for having me.

SCIUTTO: So there is some nervousness among Republicans as to what exactly the president's going to say because he's been attacking not only Republican leaders there, but the process there as being fundamentally unfair. Do they think the president can walk that tightrope?

BLUESTEIN: Yes, that's the big question here in Georgia for the president's first major rally since his election defeat, which is going to be tomorrow in South Georgia, is that will all his conflicting messages, on the one hand saying that it was a rigged election, but on the other hand encouraging Republicans to go back out and vote January 5th for all-important runoffs to determine control of the U.S. Senate? How he balances those two.

The two Republicans want him to come here and say a vote for them is like a vote for him, but what he could do is focus more on the past and his grievances over his election defeat rather than looking toward the future.

SCIUTTO: Yes, I mean is (ph) it (ph) fundamentally irreconcilable, right? To say vote in the election, but (ph) the whole system is skewed.

So there was another step -- so we should just remind viewers that there have been -- really, there's already been a recount in Georgia, a hand-recount, confirmed the results, Biden won, Trump lost.

But now, the governor is talking about a signature audit under attack from the president, but the secretary of state has said that would need to be ordered by a court and there would need to be cause, you can't just do it because you don't like the results. How is that going to pan out, or is this just politics?

BLUESTEIN: I think it's just politics. And really, there's actually been two recounts. There's going to be the results of a second recount that'll be announced probably today and elections officials expect that to also confirm Biden's victory in Georgia by about 12,000 votes.

But you know, the governor said this multiple times, he's wanted an audit of the signatures on the back of absentee ballots, the match back to a signature registry. But what Republican secretary of state's office has said to all those demands is that there needs to be evidence in order to call for something like that. There's just no evidence of any widespread irregularities that would warrant such an investigation.

SCIUTTO: So there was an interesting moment for Senator Perdue of course, running in one of these runoff races. He seemed to acknowledge that President-elect Biden is the president-elect. Have a listen, I want to get your thoughts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DAVID PERDUE (R-GA): If we can keep the majority in the Senate, we could at least be a buffer on some of the things that the Biden camp has been talking about. In the last administration between Pelosi and Trump, that was just a bridge too far to think that we were going to get them to negotiate.

But here, we have Biden and McConnell who are ex-colleagues in the Senate, who are known negotiators -- (END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: I mean, he's basically saying he won while saying -- not wanting to get on the wrong side of the president. I mean, are the candidates managing that, the Republican candidates there?

BLUESTEIN: Yes, I mean, as you've said, neither of them have publicly acknowledged that Joe Biden won the election, which deprives them of one of their most important arguments they can make, which is that Republican victories in these runoffs would serve as a check on a Biden administration. Instead, they're either saying it privately or they're saying it very tacitly, they're saying if Biden wins.

And that's going to be interesting to see later on today, when Vice President Pence comes to Savannah, how they navigate that balancing act.

SCIUTTO: Yes. All right, you've reported on how a huge surge in minority voters helped lead to Biden's victory in Georgia. What is happening on the other side of the ledger here? Because I mean, turnout seemed to make the difference in November. Do they have a similar turnout operation, the Democrats, in these runoff races?

BLUESTEIN: Both campaigns are spending -- a lot of that attention's going to the TV ads because $300 million has been spent on TV ads alone in Georgia, a staggering amount. Both campaigns are much more quietly focusing on the get out the vote efforts.

Both of them have a pool of 2.5 million voters in Georgia who showed up in November, and if they can get, you know, a big chunk of those voters to come back out in January, well, they've won this thing. That's why this is all about base turnout, not about trying to persuade undecided voters.

SCIUTTO: Greg Bluestein, thanks so much.

BLUESTEIN: Thanks for having me.

SCIUTTO: Well, be sure to join for "DEBATE NIGHT IN GEORGIA," Senator Kelly Loeffler and Rev. Raphael Warnock, they will debate each other live here on CNN. It airs Sunday night, 7:00 Eastern time.

[10:44:56]

Well, a 23-year-old man is sharing a harrowing story after a mini stroke due to COVID complications landed him in the hospital. Now he's warning people his age about the dangers that anyone could face from the virus. He's going to join us live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Back now with a story so many Americans -- particularly young Americans -- really need to hear. This is 23-year-old Riley Behrens. Just last week, he was a young, healthy rugby player, but then COVID hit. A few days ago, doctors say that Riley suffered a mini stroke stemming from COVID-19 complications. And when Riley shared his story this past Sunday from his hospital bed, within days, hundreds of thousands of people saw it.

[10:50:01]

Well, Riley Behrens joins me now. Riley, it's good to have you on the show and I'm sorry you've been going through this for sure. Tell us, first of all, how you feel today.

RILEY BEHRENS, 23-YEAR-OLD COVERING FROM COVID-19: Hey, I feel a lot better. I feel better than I did this weekend for sure, but still pretty weak in my left side.

SCIUTTO: I mean, it's -- you must have been amazed. I mean, you're 23 years old, you're healthy. When the doctors told you you had a mini stroke, what was your reaction?

BEHRENS: I really did not believe it at first. I called my dad and was like, Dad, I'm 23, there's no way that this is real. And both of my parents were like, you have to take this seriously, Riley, COVID does things that are so unpredictable.

SCIUTTO: Listen, you're young, you were doing everything right but you still contracted the virus. I wonder, do you know how you got it?

BEHRENS: Yes, it traces back to a wedding that I was not at but somebody that I know attended. And so several people from that wedding have gotten sick.

SCIUTTO: Yes, it's such a lesson there, right? Because that's the thing about these outbreaks, you don't have to go somewhere. It's who those people then come into contact with, or even you know a couple generations out from that.

I wonder what you say to young people who might be watching here, because you've heard this, I mean you even heard it from the president, who say, young people are fine. If you're not old, if you're not really sick, don't worry about it. What do you say to those people?

BEHRENS: Yes, I mean, that's what I thought at the beginning too, like I thought if I get sick, if I test positive, I'm just going to have a little bit of trouble but I'll be OK. And I was not OK. And so I would just say it's, like, time to start taking this more seriously than I think a lot of people have. So, like, wear your mask and social distance.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Do doctors tell you what you need to do now, right, and what the prognosis is now? How quickly you get over this?

BEHRENS: Yes, I don't know how quickly I'll get over it. I have several follow-up appointments with like a neurologist and an ophthalmologist. But they do expect me to fully recover.

SCIUTTO: Well, that's good to hear because I know there's a lot of concern about that long-term effects.

All right, so the way we found our way to you is because you shared your story and it went viral. I mean, tens of thousands of people saw this. Why do you think your message, to see you there, a young person, otherwise healthy from their hospital bed, sort of sending out this warning, why do you think that resonated so much?

BEHRENS: I'm not sure. You know, when I first tweeted it, I only had like 200 followers and I thought, OK, like, the point in tweeting this is to get the people that are closer to me to kind of wake up and put on their masks because I had friends that still weren't wearing masks.

And then I just woke up the next day and it had gotten so much attention. And I think it was partially because most people don't think about young people, young healthy people getting this sick, and so they had a story to latch onto and kind of use as, like, hey, this is an example of what happens or what could happen.

SCIUTTO: Sure. Do -- what kind of reactions have you gotten? I mean, have you convinced people do you think? Because the sad fact in this country is there's still an enormous amount of denial, you know, and often among young people, to say, hey, I'm bulletproof from this. I mean, have you changed minds, do you think?

BEHRENS: I think maybe a few, I'm not sure. I've gotten a couple of D.M.s on both Twitter and Instagram of kids my age, like, 20- to 30- year-olds, being, hey, I suffered a TIA too, six months ago or four months ago, and my doctors say it's because of COVID. So I think if anything, I'm hearing more and more stories about people my age going through the same thing, but not a lot of people saying, hey, I wasn't wearing a mask and now I will.

SCIUTTO: Well before we go, I wonder if you have any words of warning -- if that's the right way to describe, Riley, just how you want your experience to make a difference for others.

BEHRENS: Yes, I would just say that I think there's a lot of people still not taking this seriously, and now is the time to do that. I never thought that -- one, I never thought that I would get COVID in the first place. And then two, didn't think that it would be that bad when I first tested positive. I thought, OK, I'll be sick for a couple days, I'll get over this.

And so I think it's just so important to kind of realize how unpredictable this virus is and just start taking it seriously.

SCIUTTO: Well it's wise advice. And, Riley, we're sorry that you had to go through this to kind of learn that lesson. We wish you a quick recovery.

BEHRENS: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Well, take care, Riley.

[10:54:39]

And thanks so much to all of you for joining us today. I'm Jim Sciutto, NEWSROOM with Kate Bolduan will start right after a short break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: Hello everyone, I'm Kate Bolduan. Thank you so much for joining us this hour.

More Americans died from the coronavirus yesterday than any other day during the pandemic, 2,879 people, which means that one American died every 30 seconds from the virus. It's just hard to grasp this at this point.

And now, a new influential model is predicting by April, just four months from now, there will be almost double the amount of deaths in the country, now predicting 539,000 people will die.

[11:00:03]