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Azar Attends Christmas Party As Task Force Warns Against Parties; Supreme Court Rejects GOP's Attempt To Overturn Pennsylvania's Election Results; Texas A.G. Sues Swing States To Block Biden Win; Can Companies Mandate Vaccinations For Employees?; Melania Trump "Just Wants To Go Home". Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired December 09, 2020 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:30:00]
DR. ROB DAVIDSON, EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN: Right. For our leaders, I would expect them to model the perfect behavior that we are asking knowing that we will never achieve perfection among all individuals.
But we can expert it of our leaders to then -- hopefully, then most individuals will follow their lead.
So, you know, I love Christmas parties at works and other organizations. We are doing them remotely. It's just how we're doing things this year so we can do them next year safely.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: A little hot toddy in front of the Zoom.
We're all in it together. Hey, take those photos when you get the vaccination and let's talk about on the other side, all right?
Dr. Rob Davidson, the best.
DAVIDSON: For sure.
BALDWIN: Thank you very much.
DAVIDSON: Thanks.
BALDWIN: The Supreme Court has already handed down its decision, but President Trump has not stopped his attack on the election, still. We will talk about whether his interference might still have an impact.
And answers to your questions about the vaccine, including: Can your employer force you to get the shot?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:35:34]
BALDWIN: In a single sentence, the Supreme Court denied a request from Pennsylvania Republicans to block certification of Joe Biden's win while President Trump continues his efforts to overturn a free and fair election.
For months, he has very openly penned his reelection hopes on the highest court in the land coming to his aid.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think this will end up in the Supreme Court. And I think it's very important we have nine justices.
We'll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court. We want all voting to stop.
It's going to end up perhaps at the highest court of the land. We'll see.
(voice-over): We should be heard by the Supreme Court. Something has to get up there. Otherwise, what is the Supreme Court?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Well -- Ron Brownstein, CNN senior political analyst. Ron Brownstein also the senior editor at "The Atlantic."
Well --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: -- the Supreme Court, where three of the justices that, you know, the president himself appointed --
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.
BALDWIN: -- gave one sentence with no noted dissents.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
BALDWIN: How much of a setback is this for Trump?
BROWNSTEIN: It's a setback and continues the pattern of him basically having the evidence, quote/unquote, "laughed out of courts" all over the country.
They simply don't have evidence of large-scale fraud. Because large- scale fraud, by all indications, did not occur.
He's got one more bite at the apple at the Supreme Court with this strange lawsuit from Texas, potentially joined by other states, trying to invalidate votes from other -- Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, which the court can decide whether to hear. I think tomorrow.
But one thing, Brooke, amid all the court defeats the president is suffering, it's easy to lose sight of how many Republican officeholders, almost by magnetic pole, are joining this effort to subvert and overturn the election.
You can lose sight of it because it's failing. But it's pretty ominous how many state legislators, attorneys general, and members of Congress are going along for the dangerous ride? BALDWIN: You brought up Texas so let me ask you about that, with the
Texas A.G. -- Ken Paxton is his name.
BROWNSTEIN: Right.
BALDWIN: He's suing, as you pointed out, these four battleground states, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, to block him from casting, as he puts it, quote, "unlawful and constitutionally tainted votes."
Again, we have heard from all the way up to Bill Barr, as we have discussed --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
BALDWIN: -- saying there's no evidence of widespread voter fraud.
My question to you is what's the motivation for the Texas A.G., a man who has been indicted on securities fraud?
BROWNSTEIN: He has been, and he has been a frequent antagonist of Democrats. He led many of the lawsuits against Obama initiatives, for example, the DACA program, for Republican attorneys general.
Look, I look at this as just another indication of how many Republicans are kind of folding to this effort by the president to overturn the election.
I mean, we had the Arizona -- you probably discussed it -- the Arizona state Republican Party retweeting, "Are you willing to die to overturn the result?"
We've had, what, 60-some Republican state legislators in Pennsylvania saying, while they can't throw out the votes, they want Congress to throw out their own state's votes.
And most shocking of all, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, the two Republicans in Georgia, have endorsed this lawsuit from out of state to disenfranchise their own voters and throw out the votes in Georgia on completely spurious grounds.
Which have been rejected even by the Republican officials like the attorney general and the secretary of state.
So I look at this as part of something that's bigger than we're kind of covering it, as he is failing. But it is shocking how many Republicans are going.
BALDWIN: He's failing -- I just have to ask. He is failing legally.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
BALDWIN: But you point out all these Republicans who are drinking the Kool-Aid, so to speak, and he wants to be the kingmaker of the party, long game here, 2024, just the kingmaker. Is he winning at all? BROWNSTEIN: Yes, long game or near game. And your polling is very
consistent. Again, out today that the vast majority of Republican voters, without evidence, with evidence that is being, as we say laughed out of court, now believing the election was stolen.
Long term, that increases his influence over the party. All of those Republicans in Congress are being silence, who are essentially abetting him, as he seeds this very dangerous and corrosive fantasy that the election was stolen in heavily African-American cities in particular.
[14:40:08]
Are basically consigning themselves to giving him more influence over them in the years to come.
And it's not only that. In the near term, you're seeing the effect as well.
Yesterday, the Republican majority in the Georgia state senate said, when they reconvene in January, they will work to eliminate the state's law allowing a voter to request a mail-in ballot for any reason. They're going to work to eliminate drop boxes.
BALDWIN: Stunning.
BROWNSTEIN: And so it's entirely possible, as you see from Republicans Dan Crenshaw and Rick Scott calling for similar efforts at the federal level, that the Republicans will use these unfounded claims as the basis for a new round of voter suppression.
BALDWIN: It's stunning.
BROWNSTEIN: I mean, this is a very fraught moment.
BALDWIN: Yes.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
BALDWIN: Ron, thank you. Ron Brownstein, thank you for all of that.
BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.
BALDWIN: Appreciate it.
Coming up next, we're going to talk about vaccine mandates. Can your boss make you get the COVID vaccine?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:45:04]
BALDWIN: Now that the U.S. is poised to use an emergency use of coronavirus vaccines, a number of companies who sent their employees home to work nine months ago now want to know if they can legally mandate workers to get a vaccine when it's available. Many employment attorneys say they have seen quite an increase in
legal inquiries.
Including, I'm sure, Brett Coburn. He is a partner with Alston & Bird and works with the Labor and Employment group.
Brett, thank you so much for being on with me.
What is the answer? Once this thing is approved, can employers mandate that the employees get the vaccine?
BRETT COBURN, LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAWYER & PARTNER, ALSTON & BIRD, LLP: Good afternoon, Brooke.
Yes, as a general matter, yes. Under employment law, employers can require employees to get vaccines. Some employers have required flu shots for a long time now.
There are very important exceptions to that. Most importantly, employers have to have a system in place where they can consider and grant accommodations to employees who cannot get a vaccine because of some other medical issue or because of a sincerely held religious belief.
And also for companies that have unionized employees, the company will need to be thoughtful about the way it engages with the union regarding any issues relating to a vaccine.
BALDWIN: So what if you have an employee who doesn't fall in those categories, whether it's, you know, a special disability issue or a religious belief, and just as like, uh, I don't want this thing?
COBURN: Well, that's --
BALDWIN: What rights do they have? COBURN: They -- unfortunately, for the employee, not a ton.
That being said, you know, the advice that I've been giving to a lot of employers is you need to be very thoughtful about whether you're going to require a vaccine.
While there may be some obvious benefits to having your whole workforce vaccinated, employers have to be cognizant of the reality that a lot of people will be reluctant to get the vaccine, whether it's because they generally don't get vaccines or they're nervous about this one in particular since it was developed on such an expedited basis.
And employers need to think about the reality that a lot of employees saying, no, I'm not getting this. If that happens, there could be an impact on the workforce very significantly.
(CROSSTALK)
COBURN: Companies need to balance those issues. BALDWIN: As you are encouraging these companies to be thoughtful, one
concept that was floated, maybe instead of saying you have to get this vaccine, it's, if you get this vaccine, I'm going to give you X incentive, X prize.
COBURN: Yes.
BALDWIN: Such as what?
COBURN: Well, it could be money. It could be a gift card or something smaller like that.
It could be run through an existing wellness program. That's definitely an option that some employers are going to want to consider.
Not requiring it, but simply incentivizing employees to do it.
BALDWIN: I think as these vaccines get green lit and once it comes out to the general population, these are questions that everybody is going to want answers to.
Brett Coburn --
COBURN: Absolutely.
BALDWIN: -- at Alston & Bird, thank you so much.
COBURN: Thank you, Brooke. Have a great day.
BALDWIN: You got it. You, too.
There's at least one person in the White House ready to move on after this election. Her name, Melania Trump. Apparently she says, and I quote, she "just wants to go home." That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:52:55]
BALDWIN: President Trump may be trying to stay in the White House, fighting to try, but it is a different story for his wife, the first lady, Melania Trump.
Sources tell CNN that she is privately already making post-White House plans and is, quote, "just ready to go home."
Kate Bennett is with the scoop. She's our CNN White House reporter with this quote.
And, Kate, so she is ready to leave the White House, huh? Why?
KATE BENNETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, that's a source talking to me about her sentiments. I think the thing is, as the president is trying so hard to stay in the White House through all sorts of means, the first lady is making moves to head home shortly after the election.
Someone from her office put out feelers to see whether or not there was a budget available for her to establish an office, an official office, after the White House.
There's not for first ladies. There is for presidents, not for first ladies.
So certainly, well before the president was able to come to terms, although the first lady was publicly by his side, has privately been packing up, determining what to send to Mar-A-Lago, what to send back to New York, what stays at the White House, et cetera.
It's quite a contrast with her moving forward as her husband tries to stick to it and stay another four years.
BALDWIN: I was curious, when she says she wants to go home, is it Mar- a-Lago? Is it New York? And what does she want to do post-White House?
BENNETT: It looks like it will be Mar-a-Lago. This is where she wants to spend the bulk of her time. It's where the president -- they both changed their residences to Florida. She's having some renovations and updates done there.
It's not clear what she'll do. She may establish a small office. She may continue some of her Be Best work. I haven't heard from an authority that she is determined to do that.
But she is looking to writing a book, not a memoir, as most first ladies do, but likely something about the history of the White House, the changes she made in design or decor.
As we know, first lady memoirs are very big sellers. Michelle Obama's was. Laura Bush's was. But that does not seem to be something Melania Trump is interested in doing.
[14:55:06]
BALDWIN: Kate Bennett, on the Melania Trump watch, post-White House.
Kate, good to see you. Thank you very much.
BENNETT: Thank you.
BALDWIN: Ahead on CNN, as the U.S. prepares to roll out vaccines to keep all of us healthy, we have details on the latest challenges to a relief deal to help them financially.
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[15:00:06]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
