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Congressional Leaders on Brink of $900 Billion COVID Relief Deal; Trump Sycophants Go Off Dee End with Absurd Election Claims; Fox Questions Expertise of Pandemic Expert Bill Gates. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired December 16, 2020 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you so much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

And thank you for joining us. Brianna Keilar picks up our coverage right now.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN RIGHT NOW: Hello, I am Brianna Keilar and I want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world.

We begin with a nation in anguish. The coronavirus pandemic worsening, more than 3,000 Americans reported dead yesterday, the third deadliest day since the pandemic began. And more than 112,000 are so sick with COVID that they were admitted to the hospital, another daunting record there, all nearly a week from the Christmas holiday.

The suffering of so many Americans making the race to authorize a second coronavirus vaccine all the more urgent, an FDA committee is meeting tomorrow to consider drug giant Moderna's vaccine candidate. And White House coronavirus testing czar, Admiral Brett Giroir, says, once authorized, it could add tens of millions of doses to the U.S. distribution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADM. BRETT GIROIR, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: We're looking at about a 95 percent efficacy on this vaccine, 100 percent at preventing severe illness. It works across the age spectrum from the 18 to 35-year-olds all the way into the elderly. And, again, side effects are very mild.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: But we begin with news that Americans have been waiting so desperately to hear.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): We made major headway toward hammering out a targeted pandemic relief package that would be able to pass both chambers with bipartisan majorities. We committed to continuing these urgent discussions until we have an agreement. And we agreed we will not leave town until we've made law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: So what is this in package? Here is what we know. It has $900 billion as the price tag, which is twice the amount the Republicans proposed and a fraction of what Democrats wanted. It is expected to include a new round of stimulus checks and vaccine distribution money. It could also include extensions of jobless benefits, eviction moratoriums and deferment of student loan payments. The deal will drop state and local aid as well as lawsuit protections.

I want to bring in CNN Economic Commentators Kevin Hassett and Catherine Rampel to talk about this. And you guys have been watching this. You know that we've heard this song more than once, lawmakers are close to a deal and then we see a stalemate.

So, Kevin, I wonder how likely you think it is that this deal is actually going to pass.

KEVIN HASSETT, CNN ECONOMICS COMMENTATOR: Well, I called around to my friends at the White House, very senior people, this morning, and I think that everybody expects that the deal is just about done. The one thing that I would add is that there will be some stuff to what you said, you summarized it very well, it that there will also be some small business relief in the package, it will be about $900 billion. And they might make an announcement today is what I'm hearing.

And the additions really that got it over the finish line, it was kind of interesting to me just sort of politically that both President Trump and AOC really wanted checks to people to be part of the deal too and that wasn't originally in there. And I think that the relief checks are going to be part of the deal as well. And that is what closed the deal, is what I'm hearing.

KEILAR: That is very interesting, Kevin. And, Catherine, in your latest article, you write that there are two main arguments for Congress to provide this generous immediate fiscal relief. So what are they that clearly you had some buy-in there from very different bedfellows?

CATHERINE RAMPELL, CNN ECONOMICS COMMENTATOR: I think the two main arguments are, one, humanitarian, and, one, growth oriented. The humanitarian is basically people are suffering. There is this threat of a major cliff at the end of the year right after Christmas that something around 7 to 12 million people might lose their unemployment benefits, people are going to face eviction, they are already facing hunger in large numbers, et cetera. It is the humanitarian argument, relieve the suffering.

The other argument is it may ultimately end up costing less in the long run, whether we're talking about general economic costs or just budgetary costs for the federal government to have a big, massive stimulus package now to prevent the sorts of permanent damage to the country's productive capacity, people dropping out of the labor force and having a really tough time finding jobs even when there are jobs to be had, businesses closing permanently that could have otherwise been viable.

So, I think you have to think about both of those arguments. One is just about helping people, the other is about, again, preserving the economic productive capacity of this country so that over the long run we can recover more quickly when there is widespread distribution of the vaccine, we can sort of flip the switch back on to the extent possible and get people back into jobs because there will still be jobs for them to have.

KEILAR: Kevin, you have said that we're about to have a crater ahead. So tell us what you mean by that.

HASSETT: Yes. Well, I think that, you know, you went into the COVID case data, the very, very troubling COVID case data at the start of this session.

[13:05:04]

And the point is that, right now, people are beginning to shut down again all around the country because COVID cases are so high, hospitals are filling up and the mortality is soaring.

And with a vaccine right around the corner, it makes especially good sense for everybody to just hunker down at home and wait until you are vaccinated to go back outside. And people -- whether governments tell them to do that or not, people are going to start doing that.

And I expect that if you look at first quarter GDP, it's going to probably be about the second worst quarter in history. It's going to be almost as bad as the second quarter from last year.

And so what this stimulus bill does, hopefully, we haven't seen the final details, is it builds a bridge to, say, March when, hopefully, 150 million or so Americans will be vaccinated and we can start to really get going again. And at that point, I expect that there will be another stimulus bill, and I think Mitch McConnell said as much.

But right now, we're looking at the first quarter that's going to be negative, it's going to be big and negative because people are rationally responding both to the fact that the light is at the end of the tunnel. And so if you are more cautious for the next month, there is a huge benefit to that, they're responding to that and to the fact that governments are also calling for more shutdowns right now.

And so there absolutely is going to be a big negative shock in the first quarter and that is, I think, why everybody understands that we need to have this stimulus right now.

KEILAR: So, Catherine, is 900 billion enough to get Americans through that?

RAMPELL: I hope so. Look, if I had my druthers, I probably would have designed this stimulus bill a little bit differently. But, you know, I don't get to wave the magic wand and decide what passes. I think getting aid out as quickly as possible, as targeted the as possible will do -- will go a long way to preventing any sort of the kind of double dip that Kevin was just talking about to preventing again this sort of longer term scarring.

But there will probably need to be the another bite of the apple, whether that's in March or sometime sooner than that because the scale of the damage so far is just so vast. And, again, the threat of people hunkering down and more layoffs coming also because state and local governments are basically broke, defund the police is going to probably be an unavoidable reality as well as defund the teachers and the firefighters and EMTs, et cetera. So I think there could be another wave of damage coming that would require more stimulus.

KEILAR: Catherin Rampell, Kevin Hassett -- yes?

HASSETT: And I can just add that -- for sure, that the two things that aren't in there, state and local aid and liability protections are high priorities for everybody in the Senate. They just disagree about the details. And that's why there is going to be another bill next year almost for sure.

KEILAR: All right. Kevin, thank you so much for that. Catherine, thank you for your insights as well. We appreciate both of you.

And frontline health care workers across the nation are continuing to get vaccinated today. CNN's Adrienne Broaddus is in Loyola Medical Center, which is in Maywood, Illinois.

And, Adrienne, I know that you are still waiting on those doses to arrive there at the hospital. How soon can the vaccine be distributed once it gets there?

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The very next day. That is what I'm told here. And even with the rollout of the vaccine, health care workers here are stressing the importance of taking care of each other. Doctors here say they will receive 16,000 doses of the vaccine, and a member on staff told me they are on track to receive that shipment tomorrow.

First in line, health care workers who come in direct contact with COVID-19 patients. And among the eligible employees here at the hospital, 400 have already registered to receive the vaccine.

A short time ago I spoke with a doctor here, Neil Gupta. He told me things are getting real and can't believe how quickly everything has come together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. NEIL GUPTA, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY: You had to ask me a year ago whether we'd be at this point with the vaccine this quickly, I would have said, no way. And I think right now, for all of us, it is a period of, yes, we're doing a lot of work, but we're really excited about doing it.

And so this probably has been the most exciting thing for myself and a lot of our team here in the past year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROADDUS: And after months of treating COVID-19 patients, this shot in the arm is a sign of hope. Think about it, we hear from the governor daily, Chicago's mayor and other top health officials, they deliver those COVID-19 updates. And those updates, they tell us about the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Never have I seen them smile during one of those meetings. I saw them smile for the first time yesterday after the first shot was administered. Brianna?

KEILAR: Such a good point, Adrienne. We're hearing that from medical professionals all over the country who, after months and months, are finally getting this important ray of hope. Adrienne Broaddus, thank you so much for that report from Illinois for us.

Just in, we have some new CNN reporting on the effort that is ramping up behind the scenes to lobby President Trump for pardons.

Also new reporting on how he has toyed with the idea of not leaving the White House on inauguration day.

[13:10:05]

And Fox T.V. decides to attack this network for having Bill Gates on to discuss the pandemic. We'll roll the tape.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: So, the president of the United States is starting to sound like white noise at this point, still ridiculously saying that he won the election after it has been confirmed dozens of times now that he lost. But the White House press secretary apparently didn't get the memo that the election is a long foregone conclusion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think that's a hypothetical and he won't get ahead of that activity actually happening, but he has taken all statutory requirements necessary to either ensure a smooth transition or continuation of power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:15:06]

KEILAR: Spoiler alert here, there is no continuation of power. She is lying. But on Planet Trump, his sycophants are going off the cliff with him more often than Wile E. Coyote, as Looney Toon episodes play on a loop all day long on the president's television.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX NEWS HOST: Challenging election results as we await today's Electoral College decision. And intel source telling me that President Trump did, in fact, win the election. (END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Now, the Trump administration's top intel official for election said the 2020 election was the most secure in U.S. history. The president fired Chris Krebs apparently for giving that accurate assessment. Attorney General Bill Barr said there was no widespread voter fraud that would have changed the outcome of the election for Donald Trump. He, of course, resigned Monday under threat of being fired by Trump.

But Bartiromo, with a straight face, quotes an intel source saying that Trump did win the election. So who is her intel source? It is not one that Fox has stood behind in any other report proving once again that hosts there can just spout conspiracy theories and still cash the check.

Another case in point --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOU DOBBS, FOX NEWS HOST: If the House or Senate cannot agree on which electors to accept, an untested constitutional procedure could result in each state being given one vote which they would allocate to either Biden or Trump.

And since the Republicans hold 26 of 50 state house, there would exist at least the mathematical possibility that President Trump could be named the constitutionally elected president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: It is like Lou Dobbs is Matt Damon at the chalk board in Good Will Hunting, furiously solving math's greatest mysteries but without math, without the facts or even Ben Affleck for that matter.

According to constitutional law expert Steve Vladeck, first, there is in no scenario in which a majority of the Senate is going to reject any Biden electors.

Second, if there was a disagreement between both chambers, the Electoral Count Act of 1887 states that the slate of electors signed by the governor of the state is controlling. So a disagreement is not enough.

Third, the procedure to which he is referring is laid out in the 12th Amendment and it's actually not untested, as Mr. Dobbs claims. It was used to resolve the 1824 election.

Fourth, the 12th amendment only comes in to play if no candidate has a majority of electoral votes, which makes this completely moot. How about them apples, Mr. Dobbs?

But over on Newsmax, it is much of the same.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREG KELLY, NEWSMAX HOST: Yes, on January 20th, I do believe that there is a significant chance that Donald Trump could be inaugurated.

Now, I do know that there are smart, informed people who are saying that Joe Biden is the president-elect. Now, I disagree with them and it is not just a hunch that I'm going on. It is the Constitution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Now, he just said that he disagrees with smart and informed people, his words. Perhaps those people are smart and informed because they actually read the Constitution and he should try it.

I do want to bring in now CNN Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger. And, Gloria, here we are six weeks after the election and the president and his allies are still in denial. So what is their angle here?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, they're going to remain in denial. I don't think there is any doubt about it. I think that Joe Biden is going to put his hand on that bible on January 20th. And they're still going to remain in denial that he actually won this election. They are just seeding the soil for 2024 and for the years intervening to say that Joe Biden is an illegitimate president.

So they are playing this game right now and the sad part about it is that, Brianna, is that we know that it is not the truth. And instead of telling people who support Donald Trump out there, really like his policies and wanted to see him reelected, what the truth is, they are promulgating these lies, these fantasies, and that's really unfortunate and shame on them. I'm sorry, just shame on them.

KEILAR: Yes, that is the even sadder part, right, is that they know they are lies that they are promulgating.

And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell finally acknowledged, Gloria, that Joe Biden won in the 2020 presidential race. He did that yesterday. And the president responded, which is not surprising, with a critical tweet, saying that it was too soon for Republicans to give up.

So the question is, which side do Republicans take, do you think?

BORGER: Well, I think it depends on who you are. I think that you are one of those 126 House members who signed on to that ridiculous lawsuit that the United States Supreme Court dismissed out of hand, you are probably going to take Donald Trump's side.

[13:20:10]

If you are Mitch McConnell who said in a phone call to his members, according to Manu Raju, you know, you really shouldn't do this because you're going to set up some votes that could be troubling for you because it might appear like you are disagreeing with Donald Trump, if it comes to a vote in the Senate, you have to vote to say, aye, you know, that this election was fair and legal, then that could be a problem. But Josh Hawley this morning, Senator Hawley, came out and said, you know, I haven't really decided what to do. So is he a potential 2024 candidate? I think so. It is pretty obvious. And so if you are a 2024 candidate and Donald Trump did have 74 million votes, maybe you're going to hang back a little.

It is all about politics. It has nothing to do with the Constitution. It has nothing to do with the law. It has nothing to do with this election, which was free and which was fair.

KEILAR: And just in, Gloria, our colleague, Kaitlan Collins, is reporting that Attorney General Barr, who is leaving his job next week, actually attended today's cabinet meeting, this according to a White House official. I wonder what you think Bill Barr's reception was like.

BORGER: Well, I'm sure he got a round of applause. Look, Bill Barr wanted to make a clean getaway. We know that. He knows these pardons are coming up. He may disagree with a lot of them. He may disagree with what some of the things Donald Trump wants to do in his last 40 odd days in office. And I'm sure he was applauded there.

The question that I have is does this turn out to be kind of the dare leader cabinet meetings that we've seen. And because it is private, we don't know until people come out and perhaps talk about it, because all the cabinet meetings have been that way. And I would think it might be the same because this is probably the last cabinet meeting Donald Trump will have as president of the United States.

KEILAR: That's right. Gloria Borger, thank you so much. Great to see you.

And next, Fox News will question the pandemic expertise of pandemic expert Bill Gates. We're going to roll the tape on that.

Plus, hundreds reportedly bailing on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's controversial holiday party which was feared to be a super-spreader event.

And see what happened when President-elect Joe Biden introduced his former rival, Pete Buttigieg, as a cabinet pick.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:25:00]

KEILAR: Over on Planet Fox, which loyally orbits Planet Trump, there is a new villain of the day, and it is billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates. The target on his back was born of this interview with Jake Tapper here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL GATES, CO-CHAIR, BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION: Bars and restaurants in most of the country will be closed as we go into this wave. And I think, sadly, that is appropriate. Depending on how severe it is, the decision about schools is much more complicated because they are -- the benefits are the pretty high, the amount of transmission is not the same as in restaurants and bars.

So, you know, tradeoffs will have to be made. But the next four to six months really call on us to do our best because we can see that this will end.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: During the largest surge of a deadly pandemic, this is the inconvenient truth even with a flailing economy. Just ask the CDC. In September, it explained that adults who tested positive for coronavirus were about twice as likely to have reported dining at a restaurant than those who tested negative.

But for Fox's sunrise trio, who criticize temporarily closing bars and restaurants despite the human cost of keeping them open when 3,000 Americans were reported dead of COVID per day, here is how they responded to that warning from Bill Gates as they broadcast from the coronavirus safe confines of their separate television studios.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's his problem?

CHARLES PAYNE, FOX NEWS HOST: Well, here is a question for Bill Gates. What sacrifice is he making?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: None.

PAYNE: He is still one of the richest people in the world because he actively engages in ways of staying in the top tier of rich people in the world. His wealth gets to grow exponentially while small business owners, maybe folks who worked for 20, 30 years saved, scraped, sacrificed, finally opened the business of their dreams, he willy- nilly says it is a sacrifice we have to make.

Here is the problem. Bill Gates is a globalist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Spoken most of that like a true liberal. And there was no way that the trio was going to let that stand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AINSLEY EARHARDT, FOX NEWS HOST: I'm not knocking because he worked hard to make that money.

PAYNE: Yes, he worked hard, but, you know what, the person who is going to come and pick up this garbage outside my house today, they work hard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Perhaps there is common ground between Fox and AOC after all since that there is actually the crux of the liberal argument in the wealth gap debate.

But back to coronavirus restrictions, people are losing their livelihoods. Kids are out of school, they are isolated, millions and millions of Americans are hungry.

[13:30:02]

So, yes, there is a will legitimate debate to be had about restrictions. Why are schools closed and restaurants open in many places?