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Michael Flynn Encouraging Martial Law; Moderna Vaccine Rollout Begins; Food Bank Demand Doubles Over Last Year. Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired December 21, 2020 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[10:32:08]
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we're monitoring live pictures from the Justice Department, where Attorney General Bill Barr is set to appear at one of his last news conferences -- this is before he leaves that role -- he's expected to announce new criminal charges against an alleged bombmaker in the 1988 terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Today is the 32nd anniversary of the attack, which killed 270 people.
President Trump announced Barr's resignation last week as the Electoral College confirmed President-elect Biden's victory. Barr's last day as A.G. will be this Wednesday.
As for the president, once again, he has no events on his public schedule today. This, as he keeps focusing on the final days of his presidency, attempting to overturn the election that he lost. And those efforts reportedly led to a screaming match in the Oval Office and martial law was even brought up. Let's go to our colleague John Harwood, he joins us again at the White House this morning.
Good morning to you, John. Invoking martial law? That was actually discussed as a serious possibility?
JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I don't know how serious the discussion was. Michael Flynn, the retired lieutenant general who was Trump's national security adviser before he was fired for lying to Vice President Pence, lying to the FBI, he pled guilty to a felony, which regarded conversations with Russians. He then was recently pardoned by the president.
He was on television, saying the president could invoke martial law to re-run elections in swing states that the president has lost. This is a crazy idea, and the president was -- had Michael Flynn to the White House along with Sidney Powell, the conspiracy theory lawyer who has been advancing other crazy ideas. There was discussion of Sidney Powell being named the special counsel to investigate voting fraud.
Of course, Bill Barr, who must be delighted now to be leaving the scene of this crazytalk, has himself said there is no evidence of systemic fraud that would affect the election. So this is all evidence of a president who psychologically is having a
lot of trouble processing the fact that he lost, and he's spending his time lying about it, pretending that he didn't lose, raising money from his supporters and entertaining these kooky ideas for what he might do about it. I think nothing's going to come of those ideas, but the president's going to make some noise over the last 30 days.
HARLOW: Wow. John Harwood, I can't believe that conversation actually happened but thank you for the reporting.
[10:34:47]
Still ahead, we're going to speak with a doctor whose team helped enroll more than 1,000 participants in the vaccine trials, but he didn't get the vaccine himself until last week. He'll join us.
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HARLOW: Welcome back. As a second vaccine rollout begins today across the country, many of the doctors and nurses who have worked tirelessly during this pandemic, they are starting to get vaccinated. Dr. Paul Bradley helped enroll more than a thousand volunteers in COVID vaccine trials this year, all while strictly adhering to COVID restrictions in his personal life. But just last week, he finally got a vaccine, he got a dose of the Pfizer vaccine, and he joins me now.
[10:40:07]
I bet that felt pretty good, didn't it?
PAUL BRADLEY, INTERNAL MEDICINE PHYSICIAN: Oh my God, it felt fantastic. It was just culmination of all the hard work and -- and relief. We're seeing (INAUDIBLE), it's scary.
HARLOW: It's very scary. it must be weird to be in your seat, and see the hope and the light at the end of the tunnel with these vaccines rolling out and being administered. But at the same time, seeing the tragic numbers and seeing, like, what's happening in the state of California, right? The hospitals on the brink. I just wonder what that's like from someone on the frontlines.
BRADLEY: I do both. I do the research side and at the same time I'm an internist, I still see patients every day. And you're right, it's -- I feel like I'm in this race. And I felt that way even when most people seemed to still be thinking this is the flu, this is a bad case of the flu. But it's not, I mean, people are dying and it's really bad.
And so very quickly, as soon as we can, we've got to vaccinate everyone before everyone gets sick.
HARLOW: You've said before that you feel like you work in a petri dish every day, and that's true. And so now obviously you've got to feel a little bit more protected -- not fully. But you also got this vaccine with your daughter, I believe, right? She's a doctor? BRADLEY: Yes, yes, that was amazing. A new internist, and I've been
waiting high school, 14 years ago, she said, Daddy, we're going to work together. And she never detoured (ph). And so the fact when the two of us got to go, arm in arm, to get our first shot was just -- it was fantastic.
HARLOW: I bet. But you've also heard from some of your colleagues, texting back and forth with you -- your doctor buddies, as you call them -- that were asking you before you got the vaccine, like, really, are you really going to do it? Is there mistrust within your medical community about these vaccines?
BRADLEY: It's not as bad, and I'm glad to say that when I stood in line, the doctors were definitely there. And during the clinical trials, even though they all certainly didn't want to sign up, lots and lots of them were anxious to get a vaccine. We're seeing it. It's not a mystery, the patients are coming in sick, the patients are calling, I'm exposed, I don't feel well, and then there's the disastrous (ph) -- the ICU and the ones that are dying on us.
HARLOW: Yes. You talk about the real heroes. I was reading something you were quoted in, and you said, look, you know, the real heroes are the thousands of those who volunteered to be part of these clinical trials. What's your message to them, now having reaped the benefits of their willingness to volunteer?
BRADLEY: Yes, that's (ph) great (ph). I tell them (ph), for months I called them heroes, now I'll call them geniuses, right? Because everyone else gave them a hard time, everyone else -- oh, can't believe you did that. And now it's kind of funny because the same people are, wow, you're already vaccinated, wow, you're already immune. I -- where do I go, where do I get mine? How do I get mine? So yes, they're heroes (ph) and geniuses.
HARLOW: We have some pretty adorable pictures that we think will bring smiles to the faces of some of the folks watching. Here you are with your family and your grandchildren, we've got some more adorable pictures of your little grandkids there.
I wonder what it's like for you to see those pictures and realize that soon enough, you know, a month from now when you're fully vaccinated, you know, you might be able to cuddle them just like old times.
BRADLEY: Like new times, because this will be a first -- it's oh my God, yes, I'm so excited because I don't want -- all (ph) day long, in practice and in real life, I don't want to give anybody COVID. I have my mask, I wear it religiously and it's -- you know, it's catch-22. My daughter and I, as I said, we're potentially Typhoid Mary, right? And we don't want to be spreading it.
But the opportunity finally -- you know, the cool part, to everybody who's contemplating, do I want a vaccine, whatever, it's really neat. At least Pfizer released their data. One week after the first shot, you basically have around a 55 percent chance of not getting COVID. And then incredibly, 28 days later, you know, you are 95 percent likely not to get COVID. And even the five percent that get COVID, at least in the Pfizer data,
do not have a serious illness. In fact, it was almost like the sniffles.
HARLOW: Well, thank you for doing what you do every day and for being with us. And I am just very happy for you, getting to hold those little babies very soon. Thank you, Dr. Paul Bradley.
BRADLEY: Thank you for helping spread the word. We want to line everybody up.
HARLOW: Of course.
Well, this year, as you well know, the holidays are unlike any other. Especially this: Food insecurity has risen dramatically since the start of the pandemic, and many people are finding it hard to feed their families. My colleague Rosa Flores joins us this morning from Florida.
[10:45:09]
Rosa, I'm so glad you are highlighting this. In South Florida, one in five people don't know where their next meal is coming from?
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Poppy, it's heartbreaking because the need for food is skyrocketing. It has doubled here in South Florida since the pandemic began. The loading dock that you see behind me, they're loading food right now to deliver to families in South Florida that are in need.
Look, one in five people in South Florida need the food that you see here to feed their families, that's more than a million people including 300,000 children. That is why we're seeing moms, dads, grandparents, neighbors standing in food lines for hours for a box of food.
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FLORES: Before dawn, people waited at a South Florida mall on the weekend before Christmas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are we sleeping? Ho, ho, ho.
FLORES: But they're not here holiday-shopping, they're in line for free food.
DEBORAH HIGHTOWER, MOTHER OF THREE: Always been hesitant about coming because I -- I'm sorry, I would hate for the first -- me to get the last of something and the person behind me be in a worse position than I am.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Melon, can I have two melons here, please?
FLORES: It's a scene replayed across the country, from Los Angeles, where one food bank says distribution of groceries has doubled since the pandemic began, to the suburbs of Atlanta, where 500 cars waited for an hour and a half before distribution started.
MICHAEL THURMOND, CEO OF DEKALB COUNTY, GEORGIA: This is another indication of the pain and the suffering that's being felt all across our nation.
FLORES: Since the pandemic began in March, hunger in the United States has skyrocketed. Feeding America, the nation's largest food bank network, reports a 60 percent increase in the demand over last year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Merry Christmas, God bless you guys.
FLORES: In South Florida, one in five people need food assistance and a quarter of children go to bed hungry, according to Feeding South Florida.
Deborah Hightower is an accountant.
HIGHTOWER: So yes, this is hard for me, to come here.
FLORES: The mother of three teenagers was recently hospitalized, and says she has lost her job twice since the pandemic started.
HIGHTOWER: I'm very independent and do not like to ask for help, but sometimes you just have to do -- God humbles you.
FLORES: Some people, like Larry Battisti, waited for hours not to get food for himself, but for three members of his church who are unemployed or can't leave their homes due to COVID concerns.
LARRY BATTISTIC, HELPING UNEMPLOYED MEMBERS OF HIS CHURCH: You certainly get a lot of smiles, and you can't hug them anymore.
FLORES: Leonard (ph) and Julie (ph) Thompson (ph) delivered the food they received to seven neighbors and friends.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Appreciate you, appreciate you sharing with me as usual.
FLORES: As the pandemic surges, demand for food --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Merry Christmas.
FLORES: -- is expected to grow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll see you soon! Ho, ho, ho.
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FLORES (on-camera): Feeding South Florida has delivered more than 150 million pounds of food since the pandemic started in March. And, Poppy, there is this misconception that the poor want free food, that they want free things. It couldn't be farther from the truth. There is dignity in work, but so many Americans right now are stripped from that dignity because of the surging pandemic and because of the current economic situation -- Poppy. HARLOW: You're exactly right. And that woman at the beginning of your
piece just said it all, like, trying so hard to fight back those tears. Rosa Flores, I'm glad you're highlighting this. Thank you very much.
[10:48:51]
And we will be right back.
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HARLOW: Welcome back. Well, the balance of power in the Senate hinges on two Senate runoffs in Georgia next month. Early voting under way in the state today; also both Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and Ivanka Trump are campaigning in the state of Georgia. Let's go to Jessica Dean covering the Biden camp.
Good morning. Obviously it's Georgia, Georgia, Georgia through January 5th. How much of the president-elect's agenda depends on if Republicans hold those seats or if they go to Democrats?
JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So much of it, Poppy, and he's said so in the past. He's acknowledged that he's probably going to have some -- what he called brick walls to run through, especially if Republicans maintain control of the Senate.
Biden has a very aggressive agenda that he wants to push through with big infrastructure packages, things like that. And it's going to hinge on how the balance of power plays out there in the Senate, so you can see why so many people are focused on Georgia and the two runoff races there.
You mentioned Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is traveling to Georgia today to campaign for the Democratic candidates in that runoff. She had planned to do two events, but because of the vote in D.C. on the COVID relief bill, they had to do some rescheduling so she'll only do one event.
Ivanka Trump, also traveling down to Georgia, she had also intended to do multiple events but with two sitting senators involved, they're going to need to be in D.C. for that COVID relief bill vote as well, so they're just going to do that one event.
But, Poppy, to your point, this is going to be so critical to both sides, who emerges victorious in these runoffs. If the Democrats win, that will put them at a 50-50 split with Kamala Harris being the tiebreaking vote, so that shows you just how tight it is -- Poppy.
[10:55:05]
HARLOW: OK. Quickly before you go, Jess, what else do we know? Anything more on the update on when the president-elect and the incoming first lady get the COVID vaccine today?
DEAN: Yes, we just know it's later this afternoon, Poppy. We're still waiting on an exact time, but we also know that will be done publicly so you will all see as it happens, as the president-elect gets that vaccine, wants to get that message out there that the vaccine is safe and effective -- Poppy.
HARLOW: OK, Jessica Dean, thank you very much for the reporting.
Thanks to all of you for joining me today, I'll see you back here tomorrow morning. I'm Poppy Harlow. NEWSROOM with Kate Bolduan is right after this.
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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone, I'm Kate Bolduan. Thank you so much for joining us.
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