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President-elect Joe Biden to Nominate Pete Buttigieg as Transportation Secretary; Interview with Health Care Worker James Phillips as He Receives COVID-19 Vaccine; Sen. Mitch McConnell Acknowledges Election Results. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired December 15, 2020 - 14:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And chief political analyst Gloria Borger is joining us from Washington.

Jeff, what more can you tell us about this pick?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: We do know that President-elect Biden, as he continues rounding out his cabinet, he has settled on Pete Buttigieg as the Transportation secretary. It's one of the appointments that are going to be made this week in Wilmington, Delaware.

We're told that Mr. Biden really wants to fill out several more members of the -- you know, the domestic side of the cabinet, perhaps Commerce, SBA. But Transportation is certainly key. And one thing that's also key, this is the first rival of Joe Biden's from the 2020 primary who would be nominated to join the cabinet. And that of course is significant.

You know, if you think back to the early part of last year and this year, Pete Buttigieg really, you know, he trounced Joe Biden in Iowa, in New Hampshire. He certainly gained enthusiasm in many voters, and then he dropped out of the race, he left the race after that South Carolina primary, and quickly endorsed Joe Biden.

And that was a key moment to consolidating support among Democrats, and it was a key moment that Joe Biden has not forgotten. And he went on during the general election campaign to really aggressively campaign for Mr. Biden, and he was a key surrogate on "Fox News" actually for Biden, and that was really -- earned him some support among Biden's inner circle.

The two like each other very well, I'm told, so that is one of the reasons that President-elect Biden has settled on Pete Buttigieg, really one of the newest and freshest faces of the cabinet. You know, we've seen a lot of holdovers from the Obama administration in different positions, well, Pete Buttigieg will be coming to Washington to join the cabinet -- if confirmed by the Senate -- you know, really to lead this key agency.

And infrastructure, of course, would be a key area of interest that maybe Democrats and Republicans could find agreement on. So Pete Buttigieg, if confirmed, would also be the first openly gay member of Mr. Biden's cabinet, so many historic firsts, I guess, as well.

But certainly interesting from the fact that those two were rivals a year or so ago, and certainly became friends in the process -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, certainly.

And we saw that kind of generational divide play out when they were on a stage together.

ZELENY: Right.

KEILAR: Gloria, do you think -- do you foresee any confirmation issues here?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, no, not at the outset. I mean, I think that Pete Buttigieg, if he had had his druthers, would probably rather have been U.N. ambassador, perhaps done something in foreign policy.

But I think as a former mayor and somebody who understands how to talk to people on both sides of the aisle, with infrastructure looming as perhaps one of Joe Biden's sort of big first pushes in addition to COVID-19 relief, I think that he's a very interesting and palatable choice, I would think, to both sides of the aisle.

He was a presidential candidate who, you know, no doubt has some enemies on the Republican side, but he's impressed a lot of people with his ability to talk to Republicans from the Midwest. And as a former mayor, who better understands potholes than a former mayor?

(LAUGHTER)

Right? And so I think it's an interesting choice and makes a lot of sense in many ways.

KEILAR: Gloria, thank you so much. You made me laugh, so I appreciate that.

BORGER: Well that's good.

KEILAR: Jeff Zeleny, thank you so much, live for us from Atlanta.

And meanwhile, there is a feeling of hope and optimism now, even as the country continues to see the deadly effects of the coronavirus. We are seeing scenes like this across the country, there are thousands of health care workers who are being vaccinated. This started yesterday, it continues today, frontline heroes getting their shots so that they can help others.

And joining me now to talk about this is Dr. James Phillips, who is chief of Disaster Medicine at George Washington University Hospital here in Washington. And he is actually set to get his vaccine right now. Hey, thank you so much for being with us. So how is this going to go,

Doctor? And I'm not always great at watching people get shots, but I'm going to hang in there for you.

JAMES PHILLIPS, CHIEF OF DISASTER MEDICINE, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: Well, I appreciate you having us on so we can sort of demonstrate to people how simple and easy this is, and show the importance of it for our country.

It's very similar to other vaccines that you get, it's like the flu shot, right? You come in, you sit down, alcohol swab, little pinch with the needle and then you're done. And then we'll prepare for whether or not any side effects come tomorrow, so I've got tomorrow off and looking forward to it.

Honestly, if I start to feel a little bit ill tomorrow, I'll be happy with it because it means that the vaccine's working.

KEILAR: All right, I think we're ready to go. Are you ready?

PHILLIPS: I'm ready, yes, sure.

KEILAR: All right, let's do it.

OK, so tell us a little bit about how you're feeling about this, how many of your fellow health care workers are feeling about this as they prepare to get this vaccine today. And also how -- I mean, how was it? It's over! Like any shot.

[14:05:08]

PHILLIPS: It was fine, I didn't really feel it. She's an expert.

KEILAR: Very good.

PHILLIPS: So the reality is, is that there's mixed feelings, right? As frontline health care providers, we recognize the importance of keeping our health care infrastructure in place, and that's why every model that's ever been made for a pandemic response, that first tier of people to get vaccinated are the frontline health care workers. Because if we're out, then other people can't get care.

But I'd be a liar if I said there weren't mixed feelings. You know, I have a 90-year-old grandmother who doesn't have the vaccine yet. My father's 67 with high blood pressure, I would prefer that he were getting this today than me. But it is important that we're able to keep the continuity of what's happening in health care right now, and I'm very proud to be part of this.

And you know, as a doctor and a scientist, I think that we all owe thanks to the people who have put time, energy and decades of research into these vaccines. And to those people who joined the vaccine trials, putting themselves into an experimental protocol to determine the safety and efficacy of these, so those are the folks who really deserve thanks.

KEILAR: And so how many other -- how many of your fellow health care workers are getting the vaccine today?

PHILLIPS: Well, there's going to be, you know, thousands across the United States. Here at G.W., I'm not sure of the specific numbers. But rest assured that every country -- or every hospital in the country is pushing forward to get this done in an expeditious manner, as we await the next tranche of vaccine to come out so we can start getting towards more members of the general public.

KEILAR: OK, so you've taken tomorrow off just to be safe. We've heard from someone else who got the vaccine, they said they just had muscle soreness but obviously there could be other side effects and you're just being careful there. What is your level of confidence in this vaccine?

PHILLIPS: Very high. You know, I'm not just -- well, I am just a physician, but I have a degree in molecular genetics and so these mRNA vaccines are something that have been talked about for, you know, more than a decade. And to see it actually roll out, and knowing the safety profile of mRNA vaccines, I'm very excited.

And we're all blown away with the efficacy numbers that we're hearing from both Pfizer and Moderna, and hopefully Moderna will get good news from the FDA with an EUA next week. So I'm very confident.

And again, like I said, with vaccines, you know, we tend to feel side effects. I'll feel it every year when I get my flu vaccine, but that's good because those negative feelings you feel, that -- so the malaise, the muscle aches, the soreness, the fatigue, that's your immune system kicking into gear and working. So I -- honestly I welcome those symptoms. Not looking forward to it, but I welcome them.

KEILAR: Dr. Phillips, thank you so much. And thank you for sharing this moment with us. It was -- look, it's no big deal, you're preparing to see what the day brings ahead of you. But we just -- we can't thank you enough.

PHILLIPS: My pleasure, everybody out there, you know, get your flu vaccines, it's not too late. And please listen to the science and consider this vaccine when it comes your way.

KEILAR: All right, Dr. Phillips, thank you.

There are similar scenes playing out in Chicago right now as the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine are delivered to health care workers in one of the hardest-hit areas of the city. Just take a look at this moment that one Chicago official called "the beginning of the end of COVID-19."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARINA DEL RIOS, FIRST TO RECEIVE COVID-19 VACCINE IN CHICAGO: All right, should we applaud? I think so.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP) KEILAR: CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez is at Loretto Hospital where that shot took place. You could sense the different emotions there, should we applaud, you know, just the sort of gravity of the moment there. Why did officials pick this hospital, Omar, to receive the vaccine first?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well in that moment, it seemed like nobody knew what to do because we've been in this fight for so long, I think it was hard to imagine even making it to this moment. It's why so many people here were so happy and joyous that this now begins, as Dr. Arwady, our commissioner of Public Health said, the beginning of the end of this COVID-19 fight.

But it happened at Loretto Hospital. It's on Chicago's West Side, and it's in a predominantly black neighborhood, a neighborhood known as Austin. But more significantly, it's in a neighborhood within a zip code that has among the highest death rates for COVID-19 that we have seen in this city over the course of this pandemic.

So they wanted to choose a place that would be a symbol and representative of some of the greatest impacted communities that we have seen over the course of this. Now, the vaccinations are under way. They started with five earlier this morning, but now these vaccines are being distributed to all of the hospitals here in Chicago.

And you saw some of the people that were actually getting those first vaccinations, all frontline health care workers. We actually spoke with the very first person to get that shot, Dr. Marina Del Rios, an emergency physician. And here's how she described that moment.

[14:10:02]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEL RIOS: I've been very lucky that my own family hasn't -- I haven't had any losses in my family. A lot of people have gotten sick with COVID and I've gotten anxious about it, but I did lose some friends. And I know of friends that have lost their parents or their siblings. For Latinos, one out of four know someone that has died of COVID, and so knowing that maybe there's an end to that soon is, again, it's helpful, it's encouraging, it's a reason for celebration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: And one of the things she spoke about were the disparities in how this pandemic has affected those in minority communities. She specifically said we're all riding in the same storm, but not in the same ship. And that is part of why, again, this hospital was chosen to be representative of that.

Moving forward, we do understand there are a little bit more than 23,000 doses that are here in the city, and to give you an idea of the pace, at least two hospitals say between their thousand doses combined, they plan to get through those by the time we get to Christmas -- Brianna. KEILAR: By Christmas. All right, Omar, thank you so much for that

report, live for us from Chicago.

Still ahead, a group of nurses at three California hospitals are threatening to strike on Christmas Eve.

Plus, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell finally acknowledges what we have known for a month -- for more than a month, that Joe Biden won the presidential election. So will the rest of the GOP follow suit?

And this comes as President-elect Biden in Georgia is making his first appearance for the Democratic candidates trying to win runoff Senate races there. The balance of power in the Senate is hanging in the balance.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:16:04]

KEILAR: How many licks does it take to get to the center of a conspiracy? A lot apparently. The president could have lost this election only once, but because of his penchant for self-sabotage, he keeps losing it over and over again.

Let's tick through these. He lost the Electoral College, he lost it on November 7th and then confirmed it again yesterday. He lost the popular vote on Election Night -- and every single day since, as the last votes came in and Biden's lead just kept getting larger.

He's lost multiple recounts in two states. In Georgia he lost one that he requested and another that was done voluntarily by the state. In Wisconsin, he lost a recount where Biden actually gained votes -- the president ,by the way, paid $3 million to find that out.

He's lost nearly 50 lawsuits that he or his allies have filed, baselessly claiming that the election should be overturned or votes should be tossed out because of widespread fraud. Those lawsuits have either been lost, denied or withdrawn. And in most of them, they have failed to produce legitimate evidence.

In Michigan, one judge tossed a lawsuit challenging the state's results, saying, quote, "Plaintiffs ask this court to ignore the orderly statutory scheme established to challenge elections and to ignore the will of millions of voters. This, the court cannot, and will not, do--" And she goes on, quote, "The people have spoken."

Same situation in Pennsylvania, where one judge said, quote, "Voters, not lawyers, choose the president. Ballots, not briefs, decide elections." He called the demand to take away votes, quote, "Breathtaking."

And a conservative federal judge said this about Rudy Giuliani's legal case, quote, "This claim, like Frankenstein's Monster, has been haphazardly stitched together."

In Georgia, one federal judge said of Trumpworld, quote, "They want this court to substitute its judgment for that of two and a half million Georgia voters who voted for Joe Biden, and this I am unwilling to do."

Now, the president also lost at the Supreme Court, which decided that his allies' demands to intervene in the election lacked the standing to even be considered.

And then finally, President Trump lost his own way. In "The Art of the Deal," he says, quote, "You can't con people, at least not for long. You can create excitement, you can do wonderful promotion and get all kinds of press and you can throw in a little hyperbole. But if you don't deliver the goods, people will eventually catch on."

You can count the Republican Senate leader among those who have officially caught onto the outcome of the election, Mitch McConnell finally acknowledging who will be the next president of the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MAJORITY LEADER: The Electoral College has spoken. So today, I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden. The president-elect is no stranger to the Senate, he's devoted himself to public service for many years.

I also want to congratulate the vice president-elect, our colleague from California, Senator Harris. Beyond our differences, all Americans can take pride that our nation has a female vice president-elect for the very first time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Gloria Borger is our CNN chief political analyst. Gloria, we just learned that McConnell is urging Republican senators not to object to the state electoral results on January 6th. Can he keep his party united here?

BORGER: Well, that's very interesting. According to reporting from Manu Raju, the way he put it is interesting, which is, I don't want to put you in a bad place and put you in a tough spot on the House floor because that could make you cast a vote which would seem like you were voting against Donald Trump, and that would be a tough political vote for people.

So he actually cast it in a way that said, you know, this won't be good for you if we do this because you're going to get in trouble with Donald Trump, because of course you're going to have to vote to say, yes, of course we ratify the election.

[14:20:02]

So maybe people's own self-interest will prevail and they will hold back and let the shenanigans just occur in the House, but it's hard to say. He's certainly given them permission to come out though and say, yes, Joe Biden won the election.

KEILAR: And Joe Biden says that he's actually spoken with Senator McConnell --

BORGER: Yes.

KEILAR: -- let's listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: I had a great conversation with Mitch McConnell today. He talked to -- so I called him to thank him for the congratulations, told him although we disagree on a lot of things, there's things we can work together on. We've always been straight with one another, and we agreed we'd get together sooner than later.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: You know, Gloria, if both Democrats do not prevail in these runoff elections in Georgia, Biden and McConnell, as you're well aware, are going to be talking a lot -- or you would expect that they would --

BORGER: YEs.

KEILAR: -- certainly having been Senate colleagues. What do you think that's going to look like, that relationship, if it does become a key one?

BORGER: You know, I've been asking a lot of people on the Hill about that, and the one thing they say is that both of these people speak the same language, and that is Senate-ese. They understand the way the Senate operates, they understand what it takes to make a deal.

And you know that Biden and McConnell cut deals, for example on the fiscal cliff, back in, I believe it was 2010; didn't make a lot of Democrats happy, but they didn't go over the edge.

And so there are Democrats who are optimistic, but they're more moderate Democrats. More liberal Democrats are a little worried that Joe Biden could be overrun by Mitch McConnell.

And of course the big question everybody is asking is, how is McConnell going to treat joe Biden? It's one thing that they know each other, but remember when Barack Obama became president, Mitch McConnell said the one thing we have to do is make sure that he only serves one term.

So how is Mitch McConnell going to treat his old colleague Joe Biden? Will he treat him that way? I think a lot of it depends on who's running the Senate and who's not.

KEILAR: And I imagine that President Trump was not happy when he found out about Mitch McConnell's acknowledgement. Is he responding at this point in time to it?

BORGER: I haven't looked at my phone in five minutes, but I think we might expect that he would, given how gracious he's been about everything else -- that's a joke. I think that he's not going to be happy about it.

But I think at this point, Mitch McConnell is sending a clear signal to everybody, the election is over. He's given Republicans permission to say that out loud. And if Donald Trump objects to it, the only problem Mitch McConnell will have right now is if Donald Trump goes to Georgia and says, Don't give Mitch McConnell the Senate.

And I don't think Donald Trump will do that, but then again I can never predict Donald Trump.

KEILAR: That's right. Gloria Borger with all the jokes in this last hour.

BORGER: All the jokes, what is it with me today? OK.

KEILAR: You're always funny, but especially today. Gloria, great to see you, thank you.

BORGER: Good to see you.

[14:23:12]

KEILAR: Next, day two of early voting in the critical runoff elections for Georgia's Senate seats, and President-elect Biden is making his first visit there since the election to try to give the Democrats a boost. This as we also get new details about what the slimmed-down inauguration is going to look like in the middle of a pandemic.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: So just what will President-elect Biden's inauguration look like in the middle of a pandemic? Well, we are getting some new details from the Inaugural Committee. The footprint in terms of crowd size will be, quote, "extremely limited," and they are, quote, "reimagining the typical parade."

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will take their oaths of office at the U.S. Capitol rather than on the National Mall, and we're told the Inaugural Committee has hired both a chief medical adviser to keep things safe as well as a team of production experts who have worked on events like the Super Bowl Halftime Show and the Tony Awards.

CNN presidential historian Douglas Brinkley is with us now to talk about this. You know, Doug, the committee is asking the public to refrain from traveling to Washington for the event. So I have a couple questions about that, but the first is, do you think people are going to listen?

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: I think people will listen. You know, Joe Biden has been leading the charge about wearing masks, social distancing, reminding us all that just because the vaccine has arrived doesn't mean we're not in the middle of the pandemic, one of the worst events in American history. So he's going to show his leadership that day by example. You'll have

the Biden family, the Harrises, some of the Supreme Court justices, if they feel like weathering it, and some staffers and press. But it'll be very sparse so we won't have to get into the crowd size comparisons of Barack Obama versus Donald Trump, because this is going to be a crafted event mainly for television.

KEILAR: For television? So how -- and, you know, that's what we saw with the conventions as well, but obviously this is something that more people attend. So how is that going to change the feel of the day when you have the lack of a crowd?

[14:29:55]

BRINKLEY: It changes it and it's unfortunate. It's just like watching, you know, college football or the NFL right now, when you see empty stands, it doesn't feel the same.