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Biden Preparing to Roll Back Several Trump Policies; Melania Trump Tweets Farewell Message, Urges Kindness; Interview with Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL), Why There Should Be an Impeachment Trial After January 20th; New Cases in U.S. Down 11 Percent for Coronavirus from a Week Ago; Poisoned Opposition Leader in Russia Detained. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired January 18, 2021 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: And the president-elect will also be issuing a hundred day masking challenge. And while he cannot require and mandate masks nationally, he can mandate them in federal buildings and interstate travel, and that is just the start of what he plans to do.

Over the course of the first ten days of his administration there will be more executive actions to come, and, of course, there are also big- ticket items he wants to work with Congress on to push through in the early months of his administration, and that includes that $1.9 trillion COVID relief deal.

But one issue that has the potential to dominate the early days of the Biden presidency is that looming Senate impeachment trial, and his advisers have said it's imperative that the Senate find a way to work on both the legislative business and that trial at the same time.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: We'll come back to impeachment with a Congressman waiting in the wings in just a second. Arlette, thank you.

But let's stay with what's happening with Joe Biden and Jill Biden. When they arrive at the White House this Wednesday, they will be not be greeted by President Trump and first lady. Instead a source says the White House chief usher will be the ones greeting them. It's all part of this monumental snub of the Bidens by the Trumps as they leave Washington.

So let's go straight to CNN's Kate Bennett, she has a little bit more of the scoop here. And so a former White House official who worked in the Trump administration called this abhorrent. What are you hearing?

KATE BENNETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, I mean, that's, you know, the simple fact is this is a tradition that should be done not necessarily because it looks good or it should -- it's part of what usually happens but because it's the right thing to do.

The first lady, Melania Trump will be the first first lady in modern history not to give a tour to her successor Dr. Jill Biden. I think people may expect things from the president and Joe Biden. He's demonstrated this sort of temper tantrum. But to not have the first lady there, to not have that iconic moment of the incoming president and his family and the outgoing president and his family greet each other on those north portico steps is very interesting.

The first lady actually, Brooke, just made a statement on Twitter, she recorded some final thoughts. And ironically, she talked a lot about kindness, and she also discussed how Americans should not resort to violence.

Again, this is a first lady who waited five days after the insurrection to make any kind of comment. Here we are 12 days later, and I should note we see her here on camera. Have not seen her in person in public since December 31st so let's take a listen to what she had to say today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELANIA TRUMP, FIRST LADY: Be passionate in everything you do but always remember that violence is never the answer and will never be justified. When I came to the White House, I reflected on the responsibility I have always felt as a mother to encourage, give strength and teach values of kindness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: You've got to be kidding me!

BENNETT: So that's what's on her mind against this sort of bait and switch and the actions.

I will say though, Brooke, the Bidens are excited to move in. They luckily don't necessarily need a big deal tour. They have been to the White House many times.

Part what is going to be moved in and different in the White House residence is that Bidens will I hear will share a bedroom. The Trumps, of course, had separate bedrooms so this will be switched, all the mattresses will be refreshed. This is part of the overhaul cleaning that the resident staff does, new bedding, new mattresses and top-to- bottom cleaning worthy of this pandemic. So despite the Trumps' snub, and it is historic, and we should be talking about it, the Bidens will move in on January 20, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Clean it up and roll them in. Kate Bennett, thank you.

BENNETT: Thanks.

BALDWIN: And please join us for our all day live coverage of the inauguration of President Joe Biden, history making event in unprecedented times. Special all day live coverage starts Wednesday right here on CNN.

Senators Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer closer to a deal now on how to handle the new administration's business while conducting President Trump's second impeachment trial. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:35:00]

BALDWIN: Well, we are nearing the final hours of President Trump's term but there is still a significant act even after he leaves office. His impeachment trial in the Senate. Talks between ingoing Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer and current majority leader Mitch McConnell they're ongoing about what makes the most sense for the timing of this trial and how to keep it from just totally consuming then President Joe Biden's first days in office.

The top two Senate leaders are also nearing a power sharing agreement to hash out how the evenly divided chamber will operate.

So with me now Democratic Congressman Ted Deutch of Florida. Congressman Deutch, good to see you. Welcome.

REP. TED DEUTCH (D-FL): It's great to be with you, Brooke, thank you.

BALDWIN: Listen, obviously, your party, you support impeachment. We keep hearing this argument from Republicans that, you know, by the time of the trial Trump will be out of office. He'll no longer pose a threat because he'll be gone. What's your response to that?

DEUTCH: Well, first of all, it's not just Democrats, remember. This was a bipartisan impeachment. We've heard from Republicans not just in the House, we've heard from conservative leaders.

[15:40:00]

We've heard from commentators and conservative editorial pages all of whom believe that the president should leave office.

So after what we saw on January 6th when the president incited a violent mob to go to the Capitol and then launch this insurrection against the symbol of representational democracy in our country, that's why we impeached for incitement to insurrection. And --

BALDWIN: Yes, but there are Republicans -- Congressman. I hear you. There are Republican in the Senate who are going to say what's the point of this? Waste of our time. He's gone. Nothing to see here and let's move along and not let the record reflect that he's been convicted. That's my point.

DEUTCH: You know I understand, I think you made the point, Brooke, that the record has to reflect that he was convicted. It has to reflect that this was serious enough. If this was a serious enough offense for us to impeach in a bipartisan way, then it's a serious enough offense for the Senate to go forward. And I believe the president ought to have -- soon-to-be ex-president -- ought to be able to try to defend himself. But for those of us who spent the weekend or even today watching that "New Yorker" video with one person after another saying we're here because Donald Trump sent us here. Let him try to defend that, but let's have accountability for this horrific breach of security and attack on our democracy incited by the president. BALDWIN: You brought up the video so I'm going to jump to that. Because, yes, you hear that shaman guy with the fur and whatever he's standing you know there at the dais sitting there saying, you know, we're doing this because we believe this is what Trump would want.

But it's also they say that they are following what they believe several members of Congress would want and so I just want to play this clip for you, and we'll talk on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[crowd yelling and chattering]

UNKNOWN: This a good one.

UNKNOWN: Hawley, Cruz --

UNKNOWN: I think Cruz would want us to do this, so--

UNKNOWN: Yes, absolutely.

UNKNOWN: I think we're good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So you know we have -- we know that neither Ted Cruz nor Josh Hawley, you hear them name check them, you know, have denounced this video. I'm curious what you think of these Senators' silence, and if you think that they should face consequences?

DEUTCH: Well, it's shocking. And accountability doesn't just stop with the president obviously. This is -- here's what happened, Brooke, and we know this. We've seen it from the beginning. The president has tried -- spent his entire presidency trying to undermine the American people's faith in our democracy and then this election happened.

Even before it happened, he said I'm only going to lose if there's fraud and then he advanced these conspiracy theories and he lied about it and guess what. Senators like Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley were right there to back him up.

BALDWIN: What should happen to them, Congressman?

DEUTCH: Well, I don't know what should happen to them. I know there needs to be accountability. My focus right now is on the president of the United States. But it is shocking that we've not heard from them standing up and decrying this video and in the clearest terms saying -- which is the problem here, right, all along here is we've not heard from them. We've not heard from so many of my Republican colleagues. Dozens and dozens. Over 150 who tried to overturn this election.

We haven't heard them stand up and say, you know what, the president lied about the election. Joe Biden won the election. He won it overwhelmingly. The president has been lying to the people over and over again. That too, would be a significant step towards turning the page. But regardless, the president is going to be gone and there's a whole lot of work that we're going to do even as the Senate moves forward with the impeachment trial.

BALDWIN: Speaking of the one version of the work, you know, just specifically on the insurrection itself. We know that authorities are investigating whether anyone in Congress was complicit and your Democratic colleague Steve Cohen, he said this earlier. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STEVE COHEN (D-TN): We saw Congressman Boebert taking a group of people for a tour sometime after the 3rd and before the 6th, don't remember the date, we were walking in a tunnel. We saw her in (INAUDIBLE) who she was, and she had a large group with her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Congressman Cohen said he didn't know if any of those specifically in the Boebert tour were among the rioters, but I'm curious as we've heard other reports from other members saying that they saw a lot of MAGA hats, a lot of Trump supporters on tours in the days before, did you see any of those tours?

DEUTCH: I didn't see any of those tours, but I respect my colleague Mr. Cohen. I know some of my other colleagues said that they saw the same thing. That's the reason, one of many reasons that we need a full and thorough investigation.

[15:45:00]

Again Brooke, ultimately there has to be accountability and if it turns out that the only reason that some of the -- some of those insurrectionists, some of the people who attacked the Capitol of the United States knew where to go and set about to going to see the Speaker and the Speaker's office and intentionally looked for Jim Clyburn's office.

If that was all set up ahead of time, and it was all part of a -- of a plan that was coordinated with members of Congress, then clearly there will be -- there will be accountability to follow.

BALDWIN: Congressman Ted Deutch, thank you so much. Good to see you.

DEUTCH: Good to see you as well, thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: America prepares for another tragic milestone in the pandemic. Half a million people dead by the middle of next month. What to expect in these darker weeks ahead.

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[15:50:00]

BALDWIN: In terms of the coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in the U.S. are down but the U.S. just surpassed 24 million cases. And this new variant could lead to more deaths. The incoming director of the CDC warns of quote, dark weeks ahead, and a COVID death toll of a half a million in the next month.

All of this as the bottleneck over the nations' vaccine woes is only getting worse. Erica Hill, CNN anchor and national correspondent, brings us up to date.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERICA HILL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): First, the good news, testing is up. The daily average of new cases is down in 35 states over the past week. Hospitalizations also on the decline.

DR. JONATHAN REINER, PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: All of those metrics point to the conclusion that we may have passed the peak.

HILL (voice over): But could a more transmissible variants of the virus soon fuel a new peak?

DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORMER FDA COMMISSIONER: In about five weeks this is going to start to take over.

UNKNOWN: It's going to take a while to turn this around.

HILL (voice over): The pace is already increasing. 60 percent of all COVID cases in the U.S. have been added since election day. 40 percent of the nation's COVID deaths reported in that same period.

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, NOMINEE, CDC DIRECTOR: By the middle of February we expect half a million deaths in this country. I think we still have some dark weeks ahead.

HILL (voice over): In Los Angeles County air pollution rules temporarily suspended to allow for more cremations to, quote, assist with the backlog caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. On the vaccine front continued frustration.

GOV. TIM WALTZ (D-MN): They were lying. They don't have any doses held back.

HILL (voice over): Pfizer telling CNN it has those critical second doses noting the government only recently asked the company to send them. Dr. Anthony Fauci batting cleanup over the weekend.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I think there was just a misunderstanding.

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I just don't understand how no one is able to give a straight answer to the question of how many doses are out there, that are ready to be distributed and at what point?

HILL (voice over): What we do know of the more than 31 million doses distributed, just 39 percent have been administered.

WALENSKY: Our job is to make sure that with the entire support of the federal government that we get -- we address all of those bottlenecks wherever we are so we can get vaccine into people's arms. (END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL (on camera): Brooke, as we're following these vaccinations across the country and state by state, Florida has just started highlighting the number of people who are overdue now for that critical second dose of the vaccine. As of today that's about 40,000 people which accounts for about five percent of 916,000 people in that state who have received their first vaccine.

We should also note Dr. Fauci asked again today about whether it was really important to get that second dose and he said yes, you should follow that regimen -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Here is hoping the Biden administration has better luck in handling this in a matter of days. Erica Hill, thank you so much for all of that.

Let's talk about the first big test for Joe Biden in Russia. It is already here. Biden's incoming national security adviser is demanding Russia release this outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin. Opposition leader Alexei Navalny is back behind bars in Russia after being poisoned in August.

He had been in Germany, he'd been recovering after nearly dying from this military-grade nerve agent and all fingers point to Russia on that.

But Navalny still decided to return and was immediately arrested. CNN's Frederick Pleitgen is live in Moscow. And Fred, first just on the Biden front, can you just tell us why this is going to be such a huge foreign policy test for Joe Biden?

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it certainly is going to be a huge foreign policy test for the

incoming Biden administration. Because this is one of those topics and Alexei Navalny with those figures where the international community is really looking for U.S. leadership in all this.

And you just mentioned part of the reason why. I mean this man is one of the opposition leaders here in Russia. He was poisoned by a chemical-grade banned nerve agent and, of course, it was a CNN- Bellingcat investigation that identified large parts of the Russian intelligence unit that was behind all of this. And of course, our own Clarissa Ward even managed to confront on the agents allegedly that was part of all of this at his own house.

So certainly as you said, all fingers pointing to Russia in all this, and now Alexei Navalny is back in the custody essentially of the people widely believed to have poisoned him in the first place and he says that right now what's going on here in Russia is a mockery of justice.

He was put in a trial earlier today, in a hearing earlier today, sentenced to remain in jail for another 30 years -- days, and there are grave concerns about his safety. Nevertheless he is calling on his supporters to come out for nationwide protests here in Russia in a couple of days. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:55:00]

ALEXEI NAVALNY, DETAINED RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER (through translator): What is this toad afraid of? What are these crooks sitting in their bunkers most afraid of?

You know very well. People taking to the streets. That is the political factor you cannot ignore. That's the most important factor, the essence of politics. So come to the streets. Not for me but for yourself and your future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: So Alexei Navalny there. And one last word, Brooke, the jail he's being kept in right now is an

extremely tough place, also really very much known here in Moscow. Certainly, there is a lot of concern about Alexei Navalny's safety. With a lot of people looking towards the U.S. took take a strong stance on this -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: I'm sitting here just wondering is he even safe behind bars there now that he's back in Russia. Fred Pleitgen, we'll be following your reporting every twist and turn. Thank you so much in Moscow.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for being with me. Special live coverage continues. President Trump faces his final hours in office and President-elect Joe Biden faces an America struggling with death and division. We'll be right back.

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