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Kids 5 to 11 Now Eligible For Pfizer Vaccine; Supreme Court Examines Gun Rights; Democrats Suffer Defeats on Election Day. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired November 03, 2021 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:02]

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: With each party picking up a seat, that will make the balance of power in the House of Representatives 221 Democrats, 213 Republicans, still one vacancy.

Thanks for joining us on INSIDE POLITICS today. Hope to see you back here this time tomorrow.

Don't go anywhere, a very busy news day. Ana Cabrera picks up our coverage right now. Have a good day.

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

Five-alarm fire, failure to deliver, a clear message to Democrats to get the job done. Top takeaways from Democrats after their party's big election losses, most glaring, the Virginia governor's race, Glenn Youngkin giving Republicans a massive gift there last night, not just the governor's seat, but a potential playbook for the upcoming midterms.

Not only is Youngkin the first Republican to win a major statewide office there in more than a decade, but also he did so just one year after the very same electorate went for President Joe Biden. Biden won Virginia in 2020 by double digits.

Now Youngkin's victory doesn't appear to be an anomaly either. Right now, the governor's race in New Jersey is too close to call, despite the state being reliably blue, even more so than Virginia, incumbent Governor Phil Murphy in a dead heat right now with Republican Jack Ciattarelli.

Now, in what is perhaps a recalculation after last night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announcing this morning that four weeks of paid family and medical leave is back in the party's Build Back Better bill, this after a string of Democrats blamed their own legislative failures for the loss in Virginia and the nail-biter in New Jersey.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Senator, what went wrong last night? SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): Failure to deliver. Congress has to

deliver. Window's closing. We have no more time. We need to get it done.

And as one who will be running for reelection in 2022, I need results that I can show the American people that Congress can deliver.

SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D-IL): Terry McAuliffe has been saying for weeks that his fate was tied to the progress of the negotiations here on Capitol Hill. And there ought to be a clear message to my party and all those who support it to get the job done.

SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA): I mean, I'm going to be blunt. It's humbling to say it, but if we had been able to deliver infrastructure, reconciliation in mid-October, he could have sold universal pre-K, affordable child care, infrastructure, creating jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: I want to get straight to CNN political director David Chalian at the Magic Wall for us.

David, what do the numbers reveal?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes.

And it's just amazing listening to Tim Kaine, that last sound bite there, a former governor of Virginia. Take a look at what he's talking about right there. The number one issue for Virginia voters last night, according to the exit polls, economy and jobs.

That's what he's saying when McAuliffe would have had something to sell had that infrastructure bill passed; 33 percent of voters said that. And look at this, Ana; 24 percent of Virginia voters last night said education was the most important issue facing Virginia.

That is an issue that usually favors Democrats. But in this race, it favored the Republican, Glenn Youngkin, and it shot up to the second position. Now, down here, 14 percent only say coronavirus; 8 percent say abortion.

Terry McAuliffe was not running on these two issues up here. That was Glenn Youngkin. And you see that that helped him. Also, look at the assessment of Virginia voters of the Democratic Party. We asked voters, is it too liberal, about right or not liberal enough? A majority of Virginia voters in this election said, 52 percent, that the Democratic Party is too liberal; 31 percent said it was about right; 13 percent say not liberal enough.

So this is something the Democratic Party is going to need to think through if that's their best positioning, Ana.

CABRERA: David, both Youngkin and McAuliffe tried to distance themselves from their party's leaders, Youngkin from Trump, of course, and then McAuliffe, he was hesitant to have President Biden visit. Is it clear what impact Trump and Biden may have had on the race? CHALIAN: I'm not sure they did that equally, Ana, actually.

I mean, Joe Biden went into Virginia twice during the campaign to campaign for Terry McAuliffe. He didn't -- he was not somebody who was looking to keep Biden at bay. He was frustrated that stuff wasn't getting done in Washington, but, for the Trump factor, I think it's worth noting here -- in the exit polls, this is really interesting.

Among Youngkin voters, OK, did they view Donald Trump favorably or unfavorably, 17 percent of young voters had an unfavorable view of Donald Trump, but that did not prevent them for voting for Glenn Youngkin. That is how Republicans have to start thinking about how they win over voters who have an unfavorable view of Donald Trump, even though he is the clear leader inside the party, and still win them over as voters.

Joe Biden clearly had a drag, not just in Virginia, in New Jersey. And, clearly, it's affecting the national political environment. Look at his approval rating among Virginia voters last night; 23 percent strongly approved; 21 percent somewhat approve. That's 46 -- 44 percent approval.

[13:05:15]

But look here; 8 percent somewhat disapprove; 46 percent strongly disapprove. So not only is he underwater, 54 percent disapproval, but the intensity is on the side of those who disapprove of Joe Biden's job performance, Ana.

CABRERA: Wow. All interesting. Thank you for those takeaways, David Chalian.

CHALIAN: Sure.

CABRERA: David mentioned the economy was the top issue for voters in Virginia, inflation, supply chain problems, and much more.

I want to bring in chief business correspondent Christine Romans.

And, Christine, will there be any relief before the midterms?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: President Biden acknowledging that inflation will be an unwanted guest at your Thanksgiving table.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A significant reason why prices are up is because of COVID affecting the supply chain. You look to this coming Thanksgiving. We're in a situation where we find that we are in a very different circumstance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: We know that price increases are top of mind for consumers. An AP poll finds just 35 percent of Americans now call the national economy good. That's down from 45 percent in September. And it's similar to the beginning of the year, before vaccines were widely available to most Americans; 65 percent of Americans said the economy is in poor shape.

Blame the weekly pinch in the pocketbook. Inflation is a persistent problem, especially heading toward Thanksgiving, beef and veal prices up nearly 18 percent since last year, pork and eggs 12 percent more, apples almost 8 percent higher, chicken up 6 percent. And driving to grandma's House is more expensive, of course.

Gas prices are still rising, the national average for a gallon of gas, $3.40 a gallon, up from $2.12 last year. Another way to think about this, Ana, take an average 12-gallon tank. Every time you fill up, it costs $15 more this year than last year.

And that's something that voters and consumers feel. What's interesting here is that corporate profits are singing. And the stock market hit record highs again, with the Dow closing above 36000 for the first time Tuesday. Once again, it's that case of Wall Street and Main Street, what looks like a bit of a disconnect -- Ana.

CABRERA: A disconnect indeed.

Christine Romans, thank you.

So, as some Democrats blame their own failure to give Americans relief through the infrastructure and spending bills, a source close to House progressives, the ones using the infrastructure bill as leverage, is pushing back on that criticism, telling CNN -- quote -- "A state did not just swing by more than 10 points in a single year because of some bill moving through Congress."

Let's discuss all of this with White House reporter for "The Wall Street Journal" Sabrina Siddiqui and CNN chief political correspondent and anchor of "STATE OF THE UNION" Dana Bash.

Dana, Democrats agree they have a problem here, but they don't seem to agree on what the problem is.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Because all of them are likely right. There are multiple problems.

And those problems are kind of widespread, and they have different tentacles, if you will. There is the problem of the fact that -- you heard Tim Kaine and that remarkable sound bite from Capitol Hill, the former governor, the current senator of Virginia, saying that if they had passed -- the Democratic-led Congress, the Democrat in the White House had been able to deliver a lot of these promises, then it would have helped Terry McAuliffe to run on something that was done, already delivered.

At the same time, you do have, it's related to the bread-and-butter issues that the Republican in Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, and, surprisingly, the Republican in New Jersey found a lot of resonance with, and that is taxes. It's not surprising that that's a resonant issue.

But they really drilled down on that issue. And for the most part, what, especially in Virginia, you heard the Democratic candidate doing is, that guy is Donald Trump, and the voters didn't buy it, because the issues -- and also education. I can't forget education. They're all wrapped up in the same thing.

So Democrats have pinpointed different problems. And it's not one or the other. There are a lot of ways that they are going to clearly try to address those.

CABRERA: Well, obviously Republicans are claiming victory here. So take that and listen to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, how he's spinning the Democrats' loss. Here's what he said this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Democrats should listen to the voters. Drop this reckless taxing and spending spree and stop trying to ram through a socialist transformation that the American people never asked for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:10:02]

CABRERA: So, Sabrina, Democrats spinning this as backlash over their failure to deliver a progressive agenda, while Republicans are now spinning it as a rejection of a progressive agenda.

How could this impact the negotiations now over the infrastructure and the spending bills?

SABRINA SIDDIQUI, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think what it does is, it really just underscores the urgency among Democrats on Capitol Hill to get something done, as Dana said, because there isn't a sense within the party that they really have an agenda to run on and that they have successfully been able to animate core Democratic voters.

But, look, I think there's obviously this blame game that you see playing out. And the knee-jerk reaction among Democrats, establishment Democrats, is to blame progressives. But Terry McAuliffe was a centrist candidate who, when he was elected governor in 2013, only narrowly won.

And so you could make the case that he wasn't a particularly inspiring candidate to begin with. And while he had expressed some frustration that Democrats had failed to deliver on the infrastructure and reconciliation package ahead of this election, what was really core to his strategy was tying Glenn Youngkin to former President Trump.

And that's kind of what Democrats have done successfully in the 2018 and 2020 election cycles, of course, but I think he saw the limitations of that strategy when Donald Trump himself is not on the ballot. And I think Glenn Youngkin also successfully threading this needle where he did just enough to appeal to Trump supporters and prevail in a primary, and he embraced some of these wedge issues on the right around Critical Race Theory.

CABRERA: Right.

SIDDIQUI: And although he said Joe Biden was legitimately elected, he still talked about election reform, sort of a wink, wink, nod nod.

But at the same time, he kept Trump at a distance in the general.

CABRERA: Right.

SIDDIQUI: And I think a lot of Republicans are going to replicate that strategy, and it's something Democrats will have to reckon with.

CABRERA: Right. Glenn Youngkin didn't run as an anti-Trump Republican, but he did successfully distance himself from former President Trump. He didn't rally with him.

And both Youngkin and Jack Ciattarelli in New Jersey outperformed Trump in Republican counties specifically in their states. So, Dana, what's the lesson, I guess, for the Republican Party there? Does this make Trump less relevant?

BASH: No, it doesn't make Trump less relevant. But it makes it even clearer for Republicans who are running in places that are more blue statewide, like these two states, that Trump is a drag.

And they got lucky, for whatever reason, that the former president didn't insert himself more than he already did. And...

CABRERA: I wonder why he didn't.

BASH: Well, it's interesting. What I was told by somebody who is a source close to the former president, that those are two places where even he didn't think he won in 2020.

There are lots of states where he actually didn't win, but he's pretending that he did. So he didn't feel -- he didn't have the same kind of impulse to pressure Republicans to be to be like him.

There certainly was that there, but he kind of let it go. The other thing is, you can't underestimate the relief among Republicans who are the Glenn Youngkin kind of Republicans, especially the strategists, that the former president doesn't have Twitter.

I have had so many Republicans say to me last night and this morning, imagine what that race would have been like with Donald Trump pressuring him at every single turn on Twitter and getting himself into the conversation.

CABRERA: Would it really have had the same outcome is the big, big question?

BASH: We don't know, but...

CABRERA: I just wonder. And I got to wrap things up here. But I do wonder if this makes the big lie less potent within his own party, because, clearly, that wasn't how these Republicans in New Jersey are competitive or in Virginia actually ended up winning.

Sabrina Siddiqui and Dana Bash, you guys are brilliant. Thanks for being with me to help decipher what these results mean.

BASH: Thanks, Ana.

CABRERA: The Supreme Court just finished hearing arguments in the biggest gun rights case it's seen in more than a decade. It centers on a New York law requiring people to prove a special need for self- protection if they want to carry a gun in public.

CNN's Jessica Schneider is covering the case for us.

And, Jessica, oral arguments just wrapped up. Were you able to get a sense of what the judges were thinking as they heard this case?

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, it does really seem like the conservative majority on this court does seem inclined to strike down this New York law and, as a result, expand the Second Amendment here.

And, of course, that would have huge implications for similar gun restrictions currently in place around the country. Of course, the last big guns case was back in 2008, when the court determined there that individuals have that right to keep guns inside the home for self-defense.

But this is a case concerning a New York law and the question of how or if government can restrict rights to carry a gun outside the home for self-defense. So what we saw in these arguments is the conservative justices really seeming troubled by the breadth of this New York law and the broad discretion that it gives local officials to determine if individuals in fact are eligible for this gun license to carry.

[13:15:18]

Specifically, this New York law, it requires people show -- seeking a license to actually show what they say proper cause, meaning they have to detail special, specific circumstances as to why they should be able to carry a gun into public places for self-defense.

The lawyer for the two men fighting this law say that the law itself infringes on the Second Amendment, since the right to carry guns should be broad. People seeking a license, he says, shouldn't have to prove these special circumstances, while the New York officials here say history is filled with instances of government officials restricting guns in public places.

So, Ana, it will be a showdown between these two arguments here. But conservatives do seem to be on the side that this New York law might have to be struck down -- Ana.

CABRERA: All right, Jessica Schneider, we know you will be following it. Thanks.

Right now, kids ages 5 to 11 are getting their first doses of Pfizer's COVID vaccine after the CDC gave the final green light last night. We're live at a clinic where parents are bringing their kids in for shots.

Plus, day three of the Kyle Rittenhouse trial under way, and prosecutors are now showing video of the chaotic scene in an attempt to poke holes in Rittenhouse's claim of self-defense.

And Scottie Pippen unleashed, slamming his former NBA teammate Michael Jordan and the wildly popular ESPN series "The Last Dance." Details just ahead.

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[13:21:01]

CABRERA: Happening now across America, kids as young as 5 are getting vaccinated against COVID-19.

Every shot is another step closer to getting control over a virus that has caused so much devastation, the CDC director calling today a reason to celebrate. And eager parents and kids definitely are; 28 million more kids can now get a vaccine; 94 percent of all Americans are now eligible to get vaccinated.

And CNN's Brynn Gingras is at an urgent care in New York.

Brynn, you have been there all day. And you have seen a steady stream of people showing up to do this. And you're there right now with a mother and her 8-year-old son. And he's about to get a shot.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Ana.

I'm here at MyCare in Midtown. And there has been a steady flow of kids and parents, peace of mind for, honestly, both of them.

I want to introduce you to Aysin and as you said, 8-year-old son Aren. He's about to get the shot. And he's pretty excited about it. And as that happens, we're actually going to talk to mom.

But, mom and dad, like, tell me -- there's got to be some parents hesitant still today. What went through the decision-making for you guys?

AYSIN SAVATI, MOTHER: Well, first of all, we believe in science. And after the approval of FDA and CDC, we made our decision. We trust them. And here we are here today. We waited for so long. We are very excited.

And we just do it.

GINGRAS: And it's done. That was it.

Aren, you -- how do you feel? AREN SAVATI, 8 YEARS OLD: I feel really good because now I get to go

across seas to my grandparents, because when I didn't get the shot, I thought this mask was not strong enough. And, well, now I know I -- my body is strong enough, because I have the shot now.

And I think I'm resistant.

GINGRAS: I bet you cannot wait to give them a hug.

AREN SAVATI: I can't wait to give them a hug, because I have been always calling them every single day. I miss them.

I still play video games with my cousin.

GINGRAS: This is great. Aren, you're not alone. I'm sure so many kids feel the same way you do. You guys are awesome parents.

You are brave, Aren, to get that shot on national TV. And I'm so happy that you guys will get to see your family overseas.

But, honestly, Ana, that is sort of what we're seeing a lot of at least from these kids who've been coming through the door here at this clinic, is just this -- finally a sense of relief that they could do things that they were doing before the pandemic. They can go and play at playgrounds. They can go back to school, maybe take their mask down a little bit more.

So there is this comfort in that. And, certainly, that starts today with a lot of kids across this country -- Ana.

CABRERA: Give Aren a big high-five for me.

GINGRAS: I will. It's phenomenal.

CABRERA: As a parent of two children in this age group, I know how scary shots can be. And he was a champ, not to mention how articulate and mature he sounded in your question-and-answer there.

Thank you so much, Brynn, for bringing us that.

So, a ton of excitement today, but also some hesitation. Dr. Fauci had this advice this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: It's understandable. I mean, parents are always very concerned about their children. I mean, I have adult daughters, but if my daughters were in the age range of 5 to 11, I would definitely get them vaccinated.

But I would ask the kind of questions that parents should and will ask about the safety, about the efficacy, about why it's important to protect the children.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CABRERA: With us now is Dr. Leana Wen, emergency physician, former Baltimore health commissioner, and author of "Lifelines: A Doctor's Journey in the Fight for Public Health."

Dr. Wen, let's start where Dr. Fauci just left off, answering parents' questions. First, what are the possible side effects? And how do they compare to maybe older kids or adults, because we know this is a smaller dosage?

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: That's right.

And it's such an important question to answer for parents who understandably are concerned about their kids. So the types of side effects seen in children are similar to what you see in older kids and in adults. And so the most common side effects fatigue, headache and soreness at the site of the injection.

[13:25:03]

Actually, fever and chills are less common than in adults, as you said, probably because of the lower dose. Now, I think a lot of parents also are asking this question about, what about long-term side effects?

CABRERA: Yes.

WEN: I think it's important for us to say that there are hundreds of millions of people around the world who have gotten these vaccines. There are no long-term side effects.

We also have many, many years of experience with other vaccines. Any side effects that are seen are usually seen within the first two to three weeks. You're not going to see side effects years down the line.

CABRERA: OK, so that is a key point, because parents who think maybe this vaccine hasn't been around long enough to really know about those long-term side effects, you're saying not to worry there.

But are there any children who shouldn't receive a COVID vaccine just yet who fall in this new eligible group, because maybe they have certain conditions or maybe they just had a COVID infection?

WEN: The only reason to not get a vaccine at this time in this age group is if a child has a known and severe allergic reaction to one of the components of the vaccine.

Very important that there are lots of kids who may have peanut allergies or some other food allergy or maybe they had a reaction before to another type of vaccine. That is not a reason to not get this vaccine, which actually doesn't contain penicillin or eggs or peanuts or something else that may trigger allergies.

If a child recently or just in general had COVID, they probably are protected to some extent. There is a level of immunity for recovering from COVID. But, at the same time, having the vaccine adds a level of protection. And, actually, about 9 percent of kids in the Pfizer study, 3,000 kids who got the shot, 9 percent of them previously had COVID.

They had an even stronger antibody response after getting the shot and it was safe for them.

CABRERA: Dr. Leana Wen, thank you so much, as always.

Quick programming note. CNN is teaming up with "Sesame Street" again for a town hall for kids and parents. Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Erica Hill will be joined by Big Bird, Elmo, and Rosita for an important conversation on the ABCs of COVID vaccines. That airs Saturday morning at 8:30 Eastern here on CNN.

We will be right back.

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