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Operation Warp Speed Acknowledges Slow Vaccine Rollout; Interview with South Carolina Congresswoman-elect Nancy Mace (R); Nashville Police Warned About Anthony Warner in 2019. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired December 30, 2020 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:00:50]

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: We continue on, top of the hour, I'm Brooke Baldwin, you're watching CNN. Thank you for being with me.

We start with this, a new promise from a Republican senator to protest the Electoral College results next week in Congress. That assures a messy floor fight over an outcome that has never been in doubt: Joe Biden will be the next president. More on that in just a second.

But first, another day of brutal pandemic headlines. The U.K. greenlights another coronavirus vaccine while the U.S. is stuck in neutral, its vaccine rollout moving much slower than promised. The president blames states for botching the job. Operation Warp Speed's top adviser says yes, that they need to do better: Speeding the pace of vaccines is the critical task of 2021.

The U.S. ends 2020 by breaking pandemic records of the worst kind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM HASELTINE, FORMER PROFESSOR, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL: Over 3,700 people dying yesterday, that number could easily go up to five, to 7,000 people a day if we're not careful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The number of new cases is also back up. And today, a man in Colorado tested positive for a new, more transmissible variant of COVID-19. CNN's Kristen Holmes and CNN's Stephanie Elam both join me now.

And, Stephanie, let me start with you there in Colorado. The confirmed case of this COVID variant, they're now watching this potential second case. We have learned both men were members of the National Guard. What else do you know?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. And so this is what's really interesting because it explains why they're both not in the county now. But what we understand is that both men were deployed to work here at this assisted living facility because there had been an outbreak of the coronavirus here. And so they were short-staffed, they needed more hands on deck here, that's why both of these men were here.

Now, the one is confirmed, the other one is not confirmed yet. But they did say that there were six of the Colorado National Guard that were deployed here, and that these two came back testing positive and one of them confirmed for sure.

So they're now both in separate counties in Colorado, isolating and recovering. But obviously what they're looking to do is flag any other cases that come out, that look like they may have the sequencing of this genome, and be able to then tell whether or not they are infected.

However, so far, looking at what they've seen so far, they do not believe that it has spread. But they are still in the middle of testing at this point, so that's not a definitive answer right there.

But they did say that the state came through yesterday and tested the residents -- all 26 of them -- and that today, that the state would be here testing the people that work here as well. Obviously, all of that very important for contact tracing and finding out where this virus came from in the first place -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: All right. So as they're working on all of that there in Colorado, Kristen, to you in Washington. You know, Operation Warp Speed -- we talked about this the last couple of days, how the vaccine rollout -- first it was like 100 million vaccines, you know, promised; and then 40 and then 20, and now we're just above two. Why has it gone so slowly?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we just had a briefing from Operation Warp Speed, and they addressed this point-blank. They said essentially that there is a big learning curve when it comes to a national rollout of a vaccine like this, particularly one like the Pfizer vaccine, like the Moderna vaccine, which has so many intricacies when it comes to storing and transporting.

Now, they didn't give any sort of specifics as to what exactly was making that learning curve so incredibly steep, but they did acknowledge, for the first time that I've heard, that this was not where they hoped to be. They said that they really knew that the numbers as they stood right now -- remember, 11 million doses have been distributed, 2.1 administered -- was not where they had hoped to be at this time.

Now, General Perna -- who is the chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed -- said he was going to address that lag time. Brooke, this is something you and I have discussed, it is what senior administration officials have been calling me about for days, talking about how this 2.1 million number, they don't believe it's accurate, they believe it's just a delay in states reporting to the CDC. Now, Perna said that he is going to directly address this and try to make sure that it's tighter as we move forward.

And I do want to note, the CDC is in the middle of a briefing right now and they said that they're going to possibly be updating their vaccine website -- the dashboard we've all been watching over and over again every day in January -- but we've have to wait and see how that goes.

[14:05:12]

BALDWIN: All right. Kristen, thank you; Stephanie, thank you.

I want to jump to politics now, and a public service announcement. There is no evidence of election fraud, there is nothing to suggest that Joe Biden is not the next president-elect. Any assertion otherwise is fantasy or an attempt to placate a president unable to come to grips with his clear election loss.

Now, some Republican House members have said that they will contest the certification of those results next week, and now they have a Republican accomplice by the name of Senator Josh Hawley. CNN's congressional correspondent Phil Mattingly is live on the Hill.

And, Phil, why is Senator Hawley -- why is he doing this?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, let me start with a couple points here. First, Joe Biden is the president-elect of the United States, the electors have been certified. And by the time Congress is done with its role in counting those electoral votes, Joe Biden will still be the president-elect of the United States and he will be inaugurated on January 20th.

Now, why Josh Hawley, the senator from Missouri, joining with House Republicans in deciding to object to the certification on January 6 matters, is because House members can't object on their own and create any kind of drama, they need to pair it up with a senator. And so a senator -- in this case, Josh Hawley -- saying he will join House members, triggers actual action in the House and the United States Senate.

Now, why Hawley is doing this, according to his statement, is twofold. He said he has problems with how some states changed their voting rules -- most states because of the pandemic -- and he notes Pennsylvania specifically, and he said that was against state law.

Now obviously, Brooke, this has been litigated as nauseum over the course of the last several weeks, and the Trump campaign, Republicans have lost every single one of those cases. I would also note that a lot of states that President Trump won also changed the rules of how they were voting in order to make it more possible for people during the pandemic.

The second issue Senator Hawley raised was that he thinks technology companies like Facebook and like Twitter censored certain content to favor Joe Biden.

Now, what Hawley says in his statement is not that he's doing this to overturn the election, not that he's doing this to make President Trump president again, but instead to raise the awareness of these issues. And he cites a Democratic precedent, 2005, Barbara Boxer and a group of Ohio Democrats in the House did the same thing on Ohio issues as well, Brooke.

However, this is going to make January 6th a very long process, it will not change the end result but it's very clear Josh Hawley has joined House Republicans and it's likely there may be other senators as well.

BALDWIN: Phil, thank you. Phil Mattingly on Capitol Hill.

Joining me now is Republican Congresswoman-elect Nancy Mace of South Carolina. Congresswoman-elect Mace, welcome and congratulations on your win, I haven't had a chance to say that to you so congratulations.

Got a couple questions on politics and then I want to get to you --

(CROSSTALK)

NANCY MACE (R), SOUTH CAROLINA CONGRESSWOMAN-ELECT: Yes, thank you so much.

BALDWIN: -- you got it. Joe Biden, you know, definitely won the election, so are you comfortable with what Senator Hawley is doing here?

MACE: Well, I guess -- you know, I do question why there are no U.S. senators or House members from these battleground states, where these folks want to have these objections. And so I think that is problematic from the get-go. But also, no single member of Congress has the authority to upend the Electoral College, those decisions are made by the states. Election law is also made by the states.

And I look at South Carolina, our state changed temporarily, our own election laws, because of COVID-19. So we're going to upend the Electoral College voters who overwhelmingly voted for the president this election cycle? I mean, I hope not. I know that voters in South Carolina, they don't want California or New York or any other state to determine the results of the election.

And if we vote to overturn the Electoral College, what we're saying is that Congress knows better than the states and knows better than the voters in that state. And so I think --

BALDWIN: You got it.

MACE: -- these are all questions we're going to have and things that have to be vetted out on January 6th.

BALDWIN: You got it. Let me ask you about this COVID relief bill. You know, your future colleagues in the U.S. House voted in favor of those $2,000 checks going to American families in need including, you know, 44 Republicans.

MACE: Right.

BALDWIN: Do you agree with both -- you know, talk about strange bedfellows -- do you agree with both President Trump and Senator Sanders, who agree that, you know, the Senate should do the same?

MACE: Yes, first off, while we're on the topic of COVID-19, I do want to acknowledge that Congressman-elect Luke Letlow out of Louisiana passed away last night due to complications from COVID, and I had COVID-19, it's a very serious illness. He leaves behind a wife and two very small children. And so I was just horrified that this has happened and hope that every American takes the virus seriously.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Thank you for saying that, I was going to get to that, I was going to ask you about him.

MACE: When it comes to the stimulus checks -- yes, I just -- I'm heartbroken, I'm a single working mom with two kids and I cannot --

BALDWIN: Yes, yes.

MACE: -- imagine what his wife is going through with those two small children right now, during an enormous time of need. And it was a shock to everybody in Congress, Democrat and Republicans alike.

But the one thing I want to say about the stimulus checks that I have a real problem with, whether it's $600 or $2,000, that these checks are going to people who don't necessarily need it. I qualify for a stimulus check, but my income was not affected by COVID-19. My income was down this year because I ran for Congress, and that was -- that's what I did.

[14:10:10]

But for people whose income or their businesses haven't been negatively impacted by COVID-19, if you're making 75 grand a year and you've made that all year, you're still getting a stimulus check. And that's the problem I have with it.

The stimulus should --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Would you have voted for it, Congresswoman-elect? Given -- just given what you're saying.

(CROSSTALK)

MACE: -- really be focused and targeted -- I would not have because I --

BALDWIN: You wouldn't have?

MACE: -- yes, given what I'm saying. Because when you look at checks going to dead people, checks going to people who are not citizens of our country, checks going to people who make a great income and whose incomes who have not been negatively impacted by COVID-19, those checks, they need to go to people who have lost work, who have lost income, lost wages, lost their jobs, lost their businesses. That's where that money should go, and it shouldn't be going to foreign countries who hate us.

We really need to focus on those who are most in need, and those who have lost wages, their jobs, their businesses. And that's not what the stimulus checks are doing, because they're essentially going to everybody regardless of need.

BALDWIN: Congresswoman-elect Mace, I want to talk about you. Listen, I'm a big believer in representation, I'm a big believer in more women being elected to --

MACE: Right.

BALDWIN: -- Congress on both sides of the aisle. You know, your party had quite a number of victories in November, so again, congratulations to you. Your back story --

MACE: Thank you.

BALDWIN: -- you dropped out of high school at 17 --

MACE: Right.

BALDWIN: -- you go -- as a fellow Southerner, I appreciate the Waffle House story, you know, you go, you wait tables at Waffle House.

MACE: Yes.

BALDWIN: How did you get from the Waffle House to the U.S. House?

MACE: Oh, it's been one big rollercoaster, I've had as much failure as I've had success. And the story I told on the campaign trail is that my life has been, really, a series of second chances.

I dropped out of school at the age of 17, I had no intention of ever going back. And my very first job was as a waitress at a Waffle House on the side of the interstate. And when I had my acceptance speech for Congress on November 4th, I did it in the parking lot of that very same Waffle House.

I learned some very tough lessons during some very tough times in my life, but I learned about the value of hard work. And you don't have to be the smartest person in the room, but if you want to be successful you certainly have to be the hardest working one. And I've just worked hard all my life to get to where I am today.

And when the wheels of the plane touched down in D.C. for freshman orientation just a few weeks ago, I cried. My little Mace mask, embroidered with my name on it, had -- were soaked in my tears because I was overwhelmed with how humbled I was by the win. I plan to work hard, harder than anyone, in South Carolina's First Congressional District, to represent the folks who sent me to Washington and beyond. BALDWIN: Listen, I wish you well, you've got a big job ahead of you

--

MACE: Thank you.

BALDWIN: -- come back any time --

MACE: Thank you.

BALDWIN: -- Congresswoman-elect Nancy Mace. Thank you.

MACE: Thank you so much.

BALDWIN: You got it.

Coming up, new details out of Colorado where health officials suspect a second case of a coronavirus variant, a variant some experts believe may be even more contagious.

Plus we have breaking new in Nashville on the bombing case there from Christmas Day, what the frightening 911 calls reveal about that Christmas morning attack.

And turning up the heat in Georgia, former President Barack Obama delivers the closing argument in this latest campaign ad.

[14:13:10]

You're watching CNN, I'm Brooke Baldwin, we'll be right back.

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BALDWIN: We are back, you're watching CNN, I'm Brooke Baldwin. The first confirmed case of this new coronavirus variant has been detected in the United States, so what do experts say we should learn from this? Take a listen to what Biden's coronavirus adviser Rick Bright told CNN just this morning.

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RICK BRIGHT, MEMBER, BIDEN CORONAVIRUS ADVISORY BOARD: It is not a surprise at this point that the virus is already in the United States. You know, it's been spreading in the U.K. and other areas since at least last September, we've learned.

What's really concerning is it's taken so long to detect it in the United States. It tells us, once again, if you're not testing for something, you're not going to find it. And now that we tried (ph) to intensify our testing, of course, it's here. We need to really bolster our genomic surveillance systems in the United States to watch for these types of variants.

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BALDWIN: Joining me now is CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen, she is the former Baltimore city health commissioner. Dr. Wen, welcome. Speaking of what's happening in Colorado, they're --

officials are monitoring the one confirmed case, they are also watching another suspected case of this new COVID variant. Both instances involve men who were working at this assisted living facility, and we've just learned that both of these men were members of the National Guard who had been deployed to this nursing home.

So just with those details coming out, what does that tell you?

LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: What we understand so far, Brooke, is at least for the one person who is the confirmed case of this new variant, is that he did not have travel to the U.K., which means, by definition, that there is community transmission already happening in the U.S. because this individual had to get this variant from someone.

And this actually hearkens back to what happened earlier in the pandemic, back last winter, when we were doing testing and every case that we found was basically the canary in the coalmine. It meant that there were dozens, maybe hundreds or thousands of other cases that we're not picking up on.

And so I very much agree with what Dr. Bright had said, that this illustrates the true Achilles' heel of our entire COVID response, which is lack of testing.

BALDWIN: What about -- let's move to vaccinations, CNN's Elizabeth Cohen is reporting that the United States is woefully underperforming in its vaccination effort when you compare us to other countries. Look at that, we're 46 compared to Israel at 608. I mean, what is the U.S. getting wrong?

WEN: Several things. First is that we overpromised. We had rosy projections that, unfortunately as we're finding out now, were not actually grounded in reality. Second is a lack of a national strategy.

[14:20:06]

Basically, the federal government had said their responsibility is getting the doses to these depots, and after that it's up to the states to figure it out. But the third problem is they didn't provide the funding and the guidance that's necessary for state and local health departments to do this work.

But I want to put a positive spin on this for a moment and say that I believe we can do this. Other countries have been able to, we certainly have the ability and the infrastructure to actually do it but we just need the guidance and the national leadership to get us there.

BALDWIN: That's the difference, it sounds like, between how the Trump administration has approached it, to your point, saying, all right, states, up to you. Versus the Biden administration really having the federal government take the lead.

You wrote another "Washington Post" op-ed, and so you break down some of the Trump administration's broken promises. So I'll read part of your words to everyone.

You wrote in part, "-- more fancy wordplay that's cause for concern: Instead of vaccine distribution, the administration promises 'allocation' in December. Actual delivery for millions of doses wouldn't take place until January, to say nothing of the logistics of vaccine administration."

What do you mean by fancy wordplay?

WEN: Well, we heard a lot of promises. First it was 100 million doses that President Trump promised by the end of the year, then it was vaccinating 20 million people, which is actually 40 million doses. And then maybe they thought we wouldn't notice when they then downplayed it, halved the estimate to 20 million doses. Then it became 20 million allocated and not distributed. "Allocated" means states can actually order it, but it's not going to be delivered to the states.

I mean, I think at this point what we need is honesty and transparency. I think the American people understand that vaccine distribution is going to be extremely complicated, and they'll understand missteps.

But we at this point want honesty, we want for the federal government to say, hey, these were the barriers that we encountered, here's how we're going to go about fixing them, and course correcting. And I think it's that humility combined with urgency that's been missing.

BALDWIN: Lastly, Dr. Wen, what about the news that the U.K. has authorized the AstraZeneca vaccine? The U.K. health secretary says he thinks it'll get the U.K. in a good place with COVID by the spring, and also this vaccine -- it's my understanding it's much less expensive, the way in which you administer it is -- doesn't have to be freezing cold. So how much of a game-changer might this vaccine be?

WEN: I mean, I think it could be a game-changer in that --

BALDWIN: Could be, I hear you.

WEN: -- it's easier to -- it could be. It's easier to distribute, I think, for many low- and middle-income countries, it's something that could be extremely helpful.

We in the U.S. still need to look at the data. Just because it's been authorized in the U.K. doesn't mean that it will necessarily go through -- it will get the same stamp of approval here. We need to carefully examine this because vaccine hesitancy is real, and we need to make sure that the science is there.

But I do hope that the U.K. is right, that they'll be able to get the millions and millions of this and other vaccines distributed to their citizens quickly. And maybe we can learn from other countries in how they are doing their vaccination programs, and learn those lessons here too.

BALDWIN: Dr. Leana Wen, as always, thank you.

WEN: Thank you, Brooke.

[14:23:13]

BALDWIN: New details in the Nashville bombing: Just-released records show the suspect's girlfriend actually told police that he was building bombs in his R.V.

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BALDWIN: New developments in that Nashville Christmas Day bombing. In this briefing moments ago, Tennessee's governor today says that he spoke with the president and believes Trump will sign off on a disaster relief declaration for the state, he just hasn't done so yet.

Also developing today, CNN has learned that police were warned about the Nashville bomber as far back as August of 2019. CNN's Martin Savidge has more from Nashville -- Marty.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: August 2019, Brooke, is when authorities get a phone call from a person who's concerned that a woman may be suicidal. They go to her home and they find that she's got two unloaded handguns next to her.

Now, she says the guns belong to her boyfriend, Anthony Warner. She also, according to the police report, tells police that Anthony Warner is building bombs in the R.V. behind his home.

Also present for that conversation is the attorney that represents both that woman and Anthony Warner, and he too says that Warner talks a lot about bombs and about the military, and says it in such a way that this attorney believed that Anthony Warner had the expertise and the ability to make the bombs.

The police then go over to Anthony Warner's home. They knock on the door but don't get any response. They do see the R.V. behind a fence in the backyard; they can't see into it, and there is no crime they see being committed. They don't have a search warrant, so they don't go in.

They do report this, though, to the local bomb squad, and then inquiries are eventually made to the FBI to inquire whether they had anything on Anthony Warner, and whether he may have served in the military. The answer to both questions came back no.

So essentially, everything gets dropped until of course the explosion that occurred on Christmas Day. And then suddenly everybody wants to find out about Anthony Warner.

The head of the TBI, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, says there was nothing to indicate that Anthony Warner was on anybody's radar, yet it's clear by police reports, records that were made and official inquiries on the federal level, they were asking about Anthony Warner, about bombs and about whether he may have any interest to federal authorities. Many clearly believe there was a ball dropped early in the investigation, long before the blast -- Brooke.

[14:30:05]

BALDWIN: Sounds like it. Martin, thank you, Martin Savidge in Nashville.