Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Biden's Inauguration To Be At Capitol With Small Crowd; Despite Attacks, Barr Lavishes Praise On Trump In Exit Note; Doctor Shares Story Of Being Among First To Be Vaccinated; California Nurses Threaten Strike On Christmas Eve Over Poor Work Conditions; Clock Ticking For Congress To Fund Government, Pass COVID Relief. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired December 15, 2020 - 14:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:30:00]

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: 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.

However, every inaugural, new kind of lore comes out of it. George Washington's inaugural address was only 135 words long.

And somehow or another Biden will probably have maybe a poet, like the way that Bill Clinton had Maya Angelou read something that's powerful or there may be some way to get some young Americans involved with the festivities, which might dominate.

I'm going to miss some of the parade activity. There's always oddities that go on and great patriotic moments.

When Dwight Eisenhower sat in the stands watching the parade, a cowboy came and lassoed him. And to surprise of everyone.

Grant's parade, they released canaries in the air. It's always been kind of a carnival and something festive. But this it's going to have a more, a somber tone.

But Biden, I'm sure, will give a good inaugural speech. And there will be some, if you like, treats for the television audience to watch, along with the speech.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: We still don't know, though, if President Trump is going to attend. I wonder if you think he's going to. And if he does not attend, what that is going to signify?

BRINKLEY: He would become the fourth president not to attend an inaugural. But the first in 152 years.

It was Andrew Johnson, in 1869, an impeached Andrew Johnson, like Donald Trump was impeached, who was embarrassed, didn't show up. Went back to Tennessee and ran for the Senate from Tennessee to kind of get back at Washington culture. You might see Donald Trump hold a -- I don't want to call it a counter

inaugural, but he might very well be in Florida and do some sort of event to step on Biden's message that day.

Donald Trump is a media maven. He knows a lot of eyeballs will be on television for the inaugural. I'm sure he'll want to disrupt it in his own special way. And he can do that by not being in Washington, D.C.

But the idea he's going to be a big boy and go shake the hand of Joe Biden and say, you're the president, seems unlikely at this juncture.

KEILAR: Doug, thank you as always. Great to have you on and talk about this.

BRINKLEY: Thanks, Brianna. Take care.

KEILAR: Next, Attorney General William Barr used his resignation letter to lavish praise on President Trump. We're going it read between the lines.

Plus, the clock is still ticking for Congress to get some kind of relief to Americans struggling in this pandemic. We are live from Capitol Hill just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:36:51]

KEILAR: CNN caught Bill Barr on camera leaving the White House Monday presumably after the, quote, "very nice meeting" that President Trump referred to as he announced Bill Barr's resignation as attorney general.

Even on his way out, Barr is getting praise -- he's getting in praise for the president.

His resignation letter speaks of Trump's, quote, "many successes and unprecedented achievements."

It touts the false superlative that the president built, quote, "the strongest and most resilient economy in American history."

And he writes the president did all of this amid a, quote, "bipartisan onslaught."

Sources say the attorney general was not fired but it's no secret Trump had been weighing terminating Barr for not backing baseless claims of voter fraud and for not revealing sooner Joe Biden's son, Hunter, is under federal investigation.

Harry Litman is a former deputy assistant attorney general.

Harry, when you read the letter, what were your first thoughts?

HARRY LITMAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I was struck with the slavish praise, things that have nothing to do with the DOJ, like the economy. But I was more struck, Brianna, by how indignant he waxed about all of

the president's enemies.

I think the final chapter for Barr will feature his great outrage at the Mueller probe, all the investigations of Trump, which I think, from way back, he's thought were meritless and politically motivated, even though the facts seemed to be otherwise.

So, yes, he really lapped it on pretty thick there, didn't he?

I also thought, reading between the lines of the letter, that he maybe was given his options for how to leave, but it was made clear to him at the meeting that he needed to leave.

KEILAR: That he needed to leave.

I mean, he's going. As he points out in the letter, he talks about wrapping some final things up and finishing up December 23rd.

LITMAN: Right.

KEILAR: That takes him to less than a month from the end of this administration. Why depart when there's just days to go?

LITMAN: I think because, you know, he wouldn't take that one hill -- it was untakable -- the election fraud claims of the president.

And he, moreover, even more galling for Trump, hid the news of Hunter Biden's investigation.

Remember, this is what Trump got impeached over. He just wanted to get the talking point from the president of the Ukraine that there was investigation.

And all the while, it was back at home in the person of his supposedly very loyal A.G.

I think that made him livid, in the words of the "New York Times," and he didn't want Barr to have the dignity to stay through the end. Which, Barr, by the way, had been telling people he was going to do.

That's the connection I make. He was really peaked that this most loyal of all servants wasn't loyal enough in the end.

KEILAR: But when you think about Barr's legacy, I wonder how you see it Harry.

Because, on one hand, we look at this letter and the first thing out of the gate in the letter is that he appreciates the opportunity to update the president when it comes to a review of voters fraud allegations. And he talks about how these allegations will continue to be pursued.

[14:40:06]

So in his words, he's kind of breathing some air onto the fire. But then, when it comes down to some of his actions -- you said he didn't take the hill in the end.

So how do you kind of square those things. And what does that do for Barr's legacy, for what he is saying here, but for what actually he may not have done?

LITMAN: That's going to be the big question on both sides for Barr scholars. There's no getting around the record, the fairly disreputable record of having gone along and even bent the norms, bent the facts even for Trump.

Yet, it's significant, it seems to me, more than some are making it, that he parted company at this very last end to Trump, most important kind of ultimate battle, sort of Armageddon.

So I don't think there's no getting around he leaves office with a tarnished reputation from how he had assumed it based on his previous service.

But this last little gesture of, doing what? Just playing by the rules, but rules that Trump really, really, really wanted him to break by revealing the investigation of Hunter Biden. He didn't do it.

People are going to have to grapple with that, both those who thinks he's a sort of demon and those who think he's a straight-up shooter from the start. There are few in the second camp at this point.

KEILAR: Harry, thank you so much. Harry Litman, we appreciate it.

LITMAN: Thank you.

KEILAR: And next, nurses at three Los Angeles hospitals say they're fed up with poor work conditions and they are threatening to strike on Christmas Eve. We'll have details on where negotiations stand.

Plus, I'll speak to a doctor in North Dakota, who just received his COVID vaccine, about what this moment means for him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:46:18]

KEILAR: This week, the FDA's advisory board reviews data on a second vaccine, this one from Moderna, as they consider emergency authorization for as well.

The released a statement today on what they've seen so far, saying they don't see any specific safety concerns that could derail giving the green light to this vaccine.

The head of the government's "Operation Warp Speed" vaccination effort says they're ready to ramp up delivery as soon as they get the go- ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MONCEF SLAOUI, CHIEF SCIENTIFIC ADVISER, OPERATION WARP SPEED: This time, the vaccines will be shipped to a little bit over 3,200 sites compared to the 636 sites being targeted in these three days, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. And, but a little over six million doses of vaccine.

So we're ramping up to distribute more vaccines both from the Pfizer and the Moderna stable, I would say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: In the meantime, the Pfizer vaccine is being rolled out across the country.

Let's we get the view from somebody who's already received the shot.

Dr. Rishi Seth is with us. He's an internal medicine physician with Sanford Health in North Dakota.

Tell us how you feel after taking this vaccine.

DR. RISHI SETH, INTERNAL MEDICINE PHYSICIAN, SANFORD HEALTH: Well, good afternoon.

And I feel great. I had a little bit of a tingling in the arm here, but nothing that can't be too -- nothing that's too tough.

KEILAR: OK. Just a little bit of pain at the injection site, or odd feeling at the injection site.

But I know, Doctor, you see COVID patients every day. So is this something that gives you more confidence now? Look, I know you're going to have to take the second dose. Right?

SETH: That's right.

KEILAR: But as you look towards that date when you know that this is effective for you, is that going to give you more confidence as you treat patients?

SETH: Yes. Definitely. Definitely. This is a -- this is significant. Humongous.

And in March, you know, we were -- and since March, we've been fighting a war, a battle, and this is just an amazing ability for us to see some -- some sunshine on the horizon. So this is a great opportunity for us right now.

We are looking forward to seeing patients, not so much in the hospital as much as -- we're very excited about this.

KEILAR: Once you've had your second dose, do you think that you will change the way you prepare for your day, for your duties, with PPE or even in your personal life? You know, some of the things that you can do that maybe you would have been worried about before?

What are your expectations?

SETH: That's a great question. You know, I think after the second vaccination, I will still likely continue to participate in wearing a mask, hand hygiene and social distancing, until the overall -- until the overall pandemic is at least addressed on a lower number.

I think it's the least I can do as a good citizen of my town here to make sure that I'm leading by example as well.

KEILAR: And I know you said that you thought of your patients as you got the vaccine. Tell us about that. Tell us, you know, what you're seeing day in and day out that much of the country isn't?

SETH: Well, you know, we've had the opportunity of taking care of a surge a few months ago. So when things were not going well, you know, there's a lot of fears and a lot of worries.

[14:50:07]

And when you're taking care of these patients, not only are you concerned managing these patients, but you're also hearing the fears and worries of your patients.

You get to listen to their insights. You get to listen to their dreams and fears and worries about the future.

And I think one of the really amazing things about what happened in the past 24, 48 hours, if not longer, is that there's much hope. There's an ability to look into our patient's eyes and hold their hands and say, things will become better.

KEILAR: You know, that is -- it's so wonderful to hear you say that, because I don't think that we can underestimate not just on patients but to doctors and colleagues. You guys have been through so much and so it is wonderful to have this ray of hope.

Thank you very much, Dr. Seth.

SETH: Thank you very much.

KEILAR: With hospitalizations surging to record levels in California, thousands of nurses are threatening a Christmas Eve strike at three hospitals in southern California.

CNN's Dan Simon has more on why these nurses are ready to walk off the job.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, nurses around the country and here in California have never been so critical. Yet, nearly 2,500 of them are scheduled to go on strike next week, on Christmas Eve, impacting three southern California hospitals.

The union that represents these nurses, the Service Employees International Union, Local 121, says in a statement that the conditions have been unsafe and that these hospitals have been ill prepared during the pandemic.

The impacted hospitals are the Mt. Robles Medical Center, the Riverside Community Hospital and the West Hills Hospital and Medical Center.

These facilities are part of the Hospital Corporation of America. And in a statement to our affiliate, KNBC, a spokesperson said, quote, "It is unconscionable that the union would urge nurses to abandon the bedside given the current COVID-19 surge."

But once again, in a statement, the union says that these hospitals have been unsafe and it's been unprepared during the pandemic.

But it also notes that they've engage a mediator during the process and negotiations would continue before the strike would take place.

Ultimately, it's unclear if the strike will move forward -- Brianna?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Dan Simon, thank you.

We are following breaking news that President-Elect Joe Biden has nominated one of his former rivals, Pete Buttigieg, to a cabinet position. We'll talk about that.

Plus, we are live from Capitol Hill as lawmakers scramble to pass some former of COVID relief. Stand by.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:57:29]

KEILAR: The clock is ticking as lawmakers scramble to release and pass a $1.4 trillion relief package before government funding expires on Friday. And today could be a make-or-break day for a deal.

CNN national correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, is on Capitol Hill.

Suzanne, tell us where things stand right now.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, we're in a hurry up-and-wait mode, if you will.

But the good news, and it's encouraging, is these meetings continue, the talks continue. Nothing has broken down so far, so it does give us some optimism.

Many of the Senators I'm speaking to today are optimistic that a deal could come.

What's happening, in about an hour and 10 minutes away, Speaker Pelosi in her office will have a meeting with the leadership, the Republican counterparts, Schumer as well as McCarthy and McConnell.

They'll sit down and try to hash out how to first introduce this big spending bill, $1.4 trillion spending bill, to fund the government until September 2021. And attached to it this COVID relief package.

The last couple of weeks, we've seen a bipartisan group come up with this package. They've split it into two. One is $749 billion. Of things that many of them already agree on, including COVID relief, unemployment relief, food aid, vaccinations, that kind of thing.

Then put aside, set aside $160 billion. That would be for liability protection, something the Republicans want, and aid for state and local governments, something the Democrats want.

So many Senators saying, look, let's just put that aside. There will be a second bite of the apple under the Biden administration and just go for what we can agree on now.

That is something that we just heard from Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, saying that is his emphasis as well, to at least get something done before the Christmas holiday.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): I've been saying for weeks -- and you've been listening to me say it for weeks -- let's put aside the things we can't agree on and do the things we can.

That's just another good argument to get it done, get it done now. And we're not leaving -- I assure you, we're not leaving until we finish this package.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Brianna, they have until the end of the week.

There's a maneuver that would allow the House to introduce this big spending bill and then the House Rules Committee to introduce that COVID relief package later on in the week to give them more time to negotiate -- Brianna?

KEILAR: Nothing strikes more fear into the heart of Congress than being told they might not be able to go on vacation. We'll see if that's an incentive for them.

[15:00:01]

Thank you for the report, Suzanne.

Our special coverage continues now with Brooke Baldwin.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Brianna, thank you, friend.

Welcome back. Hi, there. I'm Brooke Baldwin. You're watching CNN.