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Truck Drivers Stranded As France Closes Border With U.K.; U.K. Faces Dual Crises: New COVID Variant & Brexit Turmoil; House Conservatives Strategize With Trump In Bid To Overturn Election As Some GOP Members Push Back; Biden Gives Year-End Speech. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired December 22, 2020 - 14:30   ET

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

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[14:30:37]

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: All right. Live pictures of Wilmington, Delaware. We're waiting to see President-Elect Joe Biden speaking at the year-end speech. He may take questions. And we'll bring that to you live soon as we see him step behind the podium.

Gridlock doesn't begin to describe what's happening on the English channel right now. We'll you some pictures. Here you go.

A long line of freight trucks backed up from the port of Dover linking Britain and France and really the rest of Europe.

The critical port is closed because of that fast-spreading COVID variant in the U.K. that has dozens of countries shutting their borders to Britain.

And 10,000 trucks a day usually travel between Dover and France at peak times like Christmas. But not now.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is in Dover for us.

Salma, you were showing pictures of truck drivers asleep. What's the story there tonight?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Brooke, you mentioned gridlock. I would use the words chaos and confusion.

All of those truck drivers, thousands of them, have been scattered all over the city today. And some of them, a lot of them, 3,000 of them have been instructed to come here.

I'm going to start showing you around me. This is essentially an airport. Just have my cameraman pan around. Look there, you can see, that's a huge hangar.

And 3,000 drivers were instructed to come to this location. And they've turned this massive air strip into a parking lot essentially for all of these drivers.

Drone footage, overhead drone footage earlier today to give you a sense of the scale and size of this.

BALDWIN: Wow.

ABDELAZIZ: And 3,000 truck drivers stuck on an air strip sitting in vehicles waiting.

Brooke, I want to point something out. You see the trucks in those drone pictures viewers are looking at. But what do you not see? You don't see bathrooms, kitchens, facilities in which they can sleep in.

Where are they staying? What sort of living conditions are they under?

We understand there's a coronavirus testing center there. And that may be why the authorities asked them to come here.

We just heard last hour that you will be allowed back into Europe, back into France, back into the E.U. if you have a negative coronavirus test. That might be part of the reason they've been brought here.

But this is still a logistical nightmare. Again, 3,000 drivers inside there. How are you going to test them all? Who's paying for the testing? How long will results take to take? Are they expected to sit essentially on an air strip until the results come?

If you test positive, where do you self-isolate? Again, sitting in a disused airport?

Just a few days away from Christmas, Brooke. I wonder, what will Christmas meals be like if they're still sitting on that air strip?

BALDWIN: Selma, asking all the right questions. And those drone photos are stunning.

Do we expect a resolution anytime soon?

ABDELAZIZ: That's such an interesting question you ask, Brooke.

I was here earlier today. Spent two hours almost on the side of this highway asking every driver who came past, do you know what's going on. Why you're coming here?

Every single one, not lying when I say every single one of them was confused. Didn't know. Many didn't speak English. They come from Romania, Poland, Spain. All of them waiting to get information they simply don't have.

As we left, we heard a very loud honking sound, like thousands honking at once. I wondered if it was a form of protest -- Brooke?

BALDWIN: Selma Abdelaziz, thank you so much for reporting there in Dover. I cannot imagine what that is like for all of those hundreds of trucks.

Now, as Salma mentioned, that's all happening three days before Christmas amid major changes due to Britain's exit from the E.U., Brexit kicks in on January 1st

I want to bring in CNN's Richard Quest who has been reporting on all things Brexit for months and months.

I mean, the pictures Salma just showed of all of those trucks, days from Christmas. What effect is that having on people in the U.K.?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE & CNN HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": It's a highly and extremely depressing effect, Brooke.

I talked to friends, families, my sisters. You saw the fact of the prime minister saying last week, I am not canceling Christmas. I don't care what you say, how we do it, we are not canceling Christmas."

[14:35:01]

Three days later, he put 16 million people into lockdown and essentially canceled Christmas. The same way in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Then on top of that, you have this worry about this cliff, this Brexit cliff at the end of the month.

And people are saying, well, what you're really seeing, even though these trucks, we know it's because of COVID today.

What's really behind it is the French being difficult, trying to prove what it will be like if Britain doesn't sign up.

So take all of this together, along with some appalling weather and gray skies, and you've got people in Britain tonight saying: What's going on? Has the government lost control? That's what people are saying.

BALDWIN: You've been reporting on this, this U.K. coronavirus variant. And I know the European Commission is advising all 27 member states to discontinue bans on flights and trains from the U.K.

And the governor in New York is pushing for airlines to require negatives tests for people arriving from the U.K.

What discussions are happening now in terms, and what, six flights coming in from the U.K. to JFK, for example? What are the discussions?

QUEST: The discussions are, why hasn't the U.S. done anything itself? Remember, Canada stopped all flights. The E.U. is saying start flights again but have some sort rules and restrictions.

Dr. Fauci said to CNN he didn't believe that travel should be stopped. That's a view that is always taken by the health experts. They say it really doesn't make any difference if you stop travel. What they want to see is some sort of policy.

Governor Cuomo doesn't want to see travel stopped. He wants to see travel safely done. That's why it's interesting. To be frank, we've heard nothing from the federal government of any

importance on this subject. We've had no direction from the federal government.

It's been up to states like New York, with Governor Cuomo, to do their own deals with British Airways, American, Delta and Virgin.

And you're left saying, what is the policy as it relates to the United Kingdom if you're not going to have a ban?

Bans are a bad idea but they need to be replaced by something else. That's being tested at the moment.

No one likes talking about this, Brooke, during the week of Christmas. For goodness sakes.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: I know. I'm sitting here thinking, I know you, and we talk about not being able to go home. Issues with you and flying.

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QUEST: Yes, yes, yes. But just the -- a situation, a bad situation has been made a great deal worse on both sides of the Atlantic by the way politicians have acted. That's the real truth of the subject.

BALDWIN: Thank you for saying that.

Richard Quest, thank you, friend.

As Donald Trump enters his final days in office and spreads conspiracy theories about the election, some members of the president's party are finally saying "enough."

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[14:42:22]

BALDWIN: There's a new and troubling development in the president's baseless obsession that the election was stolen from him. CNN has information about a meeting that happened Monday where the president strategized or plotted with a group of House conservatives on how to disrupt the transfer of power.

Meantime, "Politico" reports House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said this about Trump leaving office, quote, "I am counting down the hours until he's gone," Pelosi told her leadership team as they strategized this weekend.

"I plan to pull him out of there by his hair, his little hands and his feet." Speaker Pelosi.

CNN Senior Congressional Correspondent, Manu Raju, up on Capitol Hill.

Manu, I know you've talked to some of these Republicans who are pushing back. What are they telling you?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Mostly Senate Republican leaders who are uneager to see their party join the House conservatives in this ultimately futile effort that could put them in a difficult spot.

Remember, it what will happen on January 6th. The House will meet. Congress will meet in a joint session of Congress in the House chamber. They will count electoral votes by state.

And if a House member, joined by a Senator, objects to a state's results, then two hours of debate in each chamber. And ultimately, each chamber would have to cast a vote on this -- this objection.

And essentially, it could put Republicans in the decision-making process of choosing whether to side with Trump or whether to choose with the will of the voters. That's a choice that most Republican leaders do not want to go near.

But House conservatives are still pushing ahead. Several of them did meet yesterday with the president, including Congressman Mo Brooks, Congressman Jim Jordan, Congressman Jody Hice, among several others.

What Mo Brooks told me afterwards if they do plan to object to six states, at least. That would mean at least 12-hours-worth of debate on the floor.

He said there would be a Senator who would support them. There are incoming Senators who have kept open the option of pushing ahead on this, including Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.

Another one, Kansas incoming Senator Roger Marshall told me he wouldn't rule out the possibility of joining the challenge.

And several sitting Senates also have not ruled it out, including Rand Paul, Josh Hawley.

But Republican leaders are saying, don't do that, including Senator John Thune, who told me yesterday -- he said, "I think you have to remember it's not going anywhere. In the Senate, it'll go down like a shot dog. I think it makes a lot of sense to not put everybody through this when you know the ultimate outcome will be."

You see the see the tension and tone playing out. But ultimately, Brooke, Joe Biden will be sworn in January 20th.

[14:45:05]

BALDWIN: Like a shot dog. Quite a quote you got.

Manu Raju, thank you very much.

From peanut farmer to rock in the White House, see how America's 39th president used his passion for music to win the 1979 election. CNN film, "JIMMY CARTER, ROCK 'N' ROLL PRESIDENT," premieres Sunday, January 3rd at 9:00 p.m., here on CNN. Even though Americans are being warned against it, holiday travel is

already setting a record for the busiest weekend of the entire pandemic. And now there's talk of new flight restrictions.

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[14:50:05]

BALDWIN: Welcome back. Coming back, live pictures. Here's the podium. We are waiting to see the president-elect any moment now giving his essentially year-end speech. This will be the last time.

There he is on cue. President-Elect Joe Biden.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good afternoon, everyone.

Before I take questions, I'd like to wish everyone a merry Christmas and happy holidays.

This has been a -- one of the toughest years we've ever faced as a nation. The pandemic, economic crisis, calls for racial justice, historic and punishing wildfires and storms.

So this season of reflection carries a much deeper meaning than it usually does. Over 320,000 lives lost to this virus.

And Jill and I send our prayers, as I'm sure all of you do, to all who are facing this dark winter with an empty seat at the dinner table where a loved one used to sit and talk and laugh had, reminisce.

Our hearts go out to all of you who have fallen on hard times through no fault of your own, I might add. Unable to sleep at night, weighed down with the worry of what tomorrow will bring for you and for your family.

We're especially grateful for the health care workers on the front lines, the scientists, the researchers, the clinical trial participants on the front lines of the vaccine who deserve our thanks and who delivered a scientific breakthrough.

And for all of you who have deployed family, deployed family members in the military, we know what it's like. We know what that experience is like, how difficult it can be, especially at this time of the year. Our family knows your sacrifice, and our hearts are always with you.

But keep the faith. Throughout this year, we had to forego many of our favorite holiday traditions. We have, as families, as communities, and as a country.

For the Bidens, we usually have 20 to 25 family members over for Christmas dinner, and then the immediate family, 14 of our kids and grandkids and their spouses coming down the stairs Christmas morning. But not this year.

Like we did over Thanksgiving, we all have to care enough for each other that we have to stay apart just a little bit longer. I know it's hard. We have a long way to go.

But we're grateful that we've got the vaccine. And yesterday, in an effort to instill some confidence in the vaccine, I had my shot administered in public.

I got a chance to thank all of those nurses and docs at Christiana Hospital for putting up with what they've been doing for so long. I look forward to the second shot. And I have absolute confidence in the vaccine.

But we're in short supply. Taking the vaccine from a vial into the arm of millions of Americans is one of the biggest operational challenges the United States has ever faced for 300 million people. And we're going to take many more months for that to happen.

In the meantime, this pandemic rages on. Experts say things are going to get worse before they get better, notwithstanding the fact we have the vaccine.

As you all know, we're averaging a death rate of close to 3,000 people a day. That means we're going to lose tens of thousands more lives in the months to come. And the vaccine won't be able to stop that.

So we'll still have to remain vigilant. We need everyone to mask up, stay socially distanced, avoid large gatherings, particularly inside.

We need to work in a bipartisan way. That's the only way we're going to get through this in tough times.

We have our first hint and glimpse of bipartisanship. I applaud the Congress for their economic relief package and included funding for vaccine distribution, relief for workers and small businesses.

In this election, the American people made it clear they want us to reach across the aisle and work together on matters of national concern to get something done.

And I believe that to be the case from the very beginning of my campaign. And I'm happy to see members of Congress heeding that message as well from their own constituents.

Leaders in both House and Senate, both parties, deserve credit for making the hard compromises to get this done.

Like all compromises, it's far from perfect. But it does provide vital relief at a critical moment.

[14:54:59]

However, as I've said all along, this bill is just the first step, a down payment, in addressing the crises, more than one, that we're in. There's a lot more work to do.

Early next year, I'm going to put forward to the Congress my plans for what comes next.

We'll need more help to fully distribute the vaccine. We're going to need more testing in order to be able to open our schools.

We're going to need more funding to help firefighters and police, many of whom are being laid off as I speak. And the same with nurses, risking their lives on the front lines, the same for millions of hurting families who are unable to put food on the table, pay rent or the mortgage.

Unemployment is extended for another 10 weeks. It's going to take a lot longer than that.

But Congress did its job this week. And I can and I must ask them to do it again next year.

But even with the changes in approach, I'm going to put in place in late January, people are still going to be getting sick and dying from COVID.

One thing I promise you about my leadership during this crisis. I'm going to tell it to you straight. I'm going to tell you the truth.

And here's the simple truth. Our darkest days in the battle against COVID are ahead of us, not behind us. We need to prepare ourselves, to steel our spines.

As frustrating as it is to hear, it's going to take patience, persistence and determination to beat this virus. There will be no time to waste in taking the steps we need to turn this crisis around.

My administration will start to do its part on our first day in office with masking requirements, a new strategy for testing, accelerated protection, protective gear.

And we're going to challenge Congress and the American people to step up immediately as well to do their part.

As to the relief bill passed by Congress, there's another challenge my administration will confront on a bipartisan basis. A massive cybersecurity breach against the U.S. companies, many of them, as well as federal agencies.

And there's still so much we don't know, including the full scope of the breach or the extent of the damage it has caused.

But we know this much. This attack constitutes a grave risk to our national security. It was carefully planned and carefully orchestrated. It was carried out by using sophisticated cyber tools.

The attackers succeeded in catching the federal government off guard and unprepared.

Foreign actors have been working this breech since late last year, at least last year. Setting the landscape to compromise our systems, scraping up sensitive information from our world class tech sector and from private businesses and from United States government agencies.

The truth is this. The Trump administration failed to prioritize cybersecurity.

It did that from eliminating or downgrading cyber coordinators in both the White House and at the State Department, to firing the director of Cyberspace and Infrastructure Security Agency, to President Trump's irrational downplaying of the seriousness of this attack.

Enough is enough. In an age where so much of our lives are conducted online, cyberattacks must be treated as a serious threat by our leadership at the highest levels.

We can't let this go unanswered. That means making clear and publicly who is responsible for the attack and taking meaningful steps to hold them in account.

Initial indications, including from Secretary Pompeo, secretary of state, and Attorney General William Barr, suggest that Russia is responsible for this breach.

It certainly fits Russia's long history of reckless disruptive cyber activities.

But the Trump administration needs to make an official attribution.

This assault happened on Donald Trump's watch when he wasn't watching. It's still his responsibility as president to defend American interests for the next four weeks.

Rest assured that even if he does not take it seriously, I will.

While I'm disappointed by the response of President Trump, I was pleased to see leaders in both parties in the Congress speak out loudly and clearly on this attack.

[14:59:05]

Again, I want to thank prominent Republicans in the Senate, particularly, for speaking out.