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Trump Attacks Philly's GOP Election Official for Saying No Fraud; GOP Escalates Enabling of Trump's Denial of Election Loss; Georgia Announce Recount By Hand; Trump Projected to Win Alaska; Biden's Popular Vote Lead over Trump Passes 5 Million; Parents Lost Only Child to COVID-19 & Have Message for Other Parents. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired November 11, 2020 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST, "NEW DAY": Election officials who say they are conducting the most transparent and secure election in the history of Philadelphia.

Al Schmidt made crystal clear he has seen no evidence of fraud at all.

They are working as hard as they can to count the votes as securely and as transparently as possible.

Not only that, he says the efforts by the president and the people that work for him are getting in the way of that.

They took a break from what they're doing to investigate these absurd claims, that long list of dead people voted in Philadelphia. Al Schmidt, the commissioner told me not a single one of the claims was true.

I think he describes what's really a toxic cocktail going on here.

Yes, he blamed the president dead on. I asked him, do you have a message for the president. He told me and told the American people, "There are bad actors who are lying to you." Those were the words from a Republican city official.

But he also said he's been surprised by the willingness of so many people to consume lies.

So you really get it at both ends. There are people who want to be in a way lied to about this.

The problem is you have leaders like the president who are more than willing to abide and tell those lies.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: I also thought it was interesting in his interview with you that he really brought into relief something that gets lost in all of this, which is just how much election workers have toiled.

Look, that's at risk to themselves. There's no way around it. They are indoors. They are practicing some safety measures when it comes to COVID but there's a risk.

They are doing this to bring an election that is transparent to the American people.

He really seemed to be -- I don't want to detail what his emotions were but that's certainly something he wanted to talk about.

BERMAN: These people are volunteers. They are trying to get the election results for the American people. And they are doing it in the middle of a pandemic.

So, yes, we know examples of people getting sick around the country, election workers.

On top of that, you have death threats. People have been arrested in Philadelphia because they showed up with weapons. These people's lives are at risk.

Al Schmidt, on "60 Minutes," the other days, was talking about someone he works with who happens to be Jewish who has been -- his mailbox has been riddled with antisemitic slurs.

These people are at risk because of rhetoric and lies being told.

The minute this interview is over, as you said, what did the president do? He went on the attack again.

KEILAR: They are doing a service.

Right now, we're seeing Republicans who are allies of the president and also folks in Congress who are not acknowledging that Joe Biden is the president-elect.

How do you see this playing out? Is this kind of just theater? Do they really believe the president won? How do you see this?

BERMAN: Look, I am sure -- like you, I've been on the phone with a lot of Republicans over the last few days.

To a person, they all tell me -- I haven't had one person tell me, oh, no, we believe there was fraud and the election will be overturned. I haven't had a single person who told me that on the phone.

What they all say they are letting it play out to placate the president to an extent. Sooner or later, it will be resolved.

Then I push. And I think this is the real question: How long are they willing to let it go on? How long?

Will it be when these states certify the elections, which is in some case November 20th, November 23rd? Will it be when the electors meet to vote, the 23rd. Will it be when

the vote of the electors is presented to Congress, which is the first week of January?

I think that elected officials need to be held accountable. What do you need to see before you say this election has been over? I think it will be interesting to hear them try to answer that question.

Or maybe it's the lawsuits. When the lawsuits play out and, in all likelihood, are thrown out in the next several days, is that going to be enough? They need to answer for that.

When will it be enough for you to say the election is over?

KEILAR: Or keeping an eye trained on the White House and the president's Twitter account, instead. Is that perhaps the indicator?

BERMAN: Yes.

KEILAR: John Berman, thank you so much. It's great to see you. Great interview.

BERMAN: Nice to see you. Thanks.

KEILAR: Just in, Georgia says it will recount all votes by hand, which is something the Trump campaign pushed for.

Plus, as John just mentioned, why Republicans keep focusing on elector voting days, as if it might change the outcome.

[13:35:30]

And a FOX host and the president's science-denying task force member mocked Dr. Anthony Fauci in a very bizarre interview. We'll take a look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: The state of Georgia is still counting votes and they are about to do it all over again in a recount done by hand. That is the word today from Georgia's Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

The president and incoming GOP Senators are criticizing the Republican secretary of state's handling of this election.

They have been spewing baseless allegations of voter fraud to explain the tight statewide margin.

CNN has not projected a winner in the Georgia presidential race. But right now, Joe Biden is currently in the lead by more than 14,000 votes.

[13:40:01]

The Republican candidates in the Senate race in Georgia, they are heading for runoffs. And these results could tip the balance of power in the Senate.

Now to other race results. CNN is projecting President Trump will win the state of Alaska. This gives the president three more electoral votes, which brings his total to 217.

That, of course, is not enough to catch up with President-Elect Biden who has 279 and an unprecedented of popular votes.

CNN political director and co-host of "POLITICALLY SOUND" sound podcast, which is wonderful, David Chalian, with us now.

David, which states could add to those votes?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Those electoral votes you gave to Joe Biden, 279 over that 270 mark. That's why we call him president-elect because he run.

Donald Trump, now with Alaska, at 217. That leaves us with three states we haven't yet called.

One is where Donald Trump is currently leading in North Carolina. He's got a 73,000-vote lead, 50 percent to 48.7 percent.

The final day for ballots to be received and still counted, if postmarked by Election Day, is tomorrow. So perhaps we'll see what this finally looks like in terms of the total vote count tomorrow, Brianna.

The other two states that aren't called are where Joe Biden is leading.

Arizona, he's got a 12,813-vote lead. That lead has been shrinking as votes coming in. But there's still 50,000 or so votes to be counted, 49.4 percent to 49.0 percent for Donald Trump.

Joe Biden's camp feels confident they are going to be able to hang onto this lead and win the state of Arizona.

Finally, as you noted, in Georgia, there's a recount now under way, announced by secretary of state. But Joe Biden does, indeed, lead by 14,112 votes, 49.5 to 49.2.

Brianna, I know of no recount that has overturned that kind of substantial vote lead.

KEILAR: That's huge.

So when are these votes going to be certified in these states?

CHALIAN: That's an excellent question.

I just want to note you did note national popular vote, 77 million now. He's got five million-plus, Biden does, lead over Donald Trump in the national popular vote. Just astonishing to see that massive turnout.

The certification deadlines you asked about, here you go. Georgia up first with November 20th as the certification deadline.

Pennsylvania, Michigan November 23rd. Nevada on the 24th. After Thanksgiving, you have Arizona and Wisconsin.

So those are some of the key states.

As you know, the Electoral College will gather December 14th in the various state capitals, once all these states have certified the vote to cast their ballots in presidential election.

KEILAR: All right. David Chalian, thank you so much for taking us through that.

CHALIAN: Sure.

KEILAR: The country right now is hitting some grim coronavirus milestones day after day. There are more than 1,400 Americans dead in one day alone. I'm going to speak with the family who lost their only child to the virus. Their message for other parents.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:47:34]

KEILAR: Texas surpassing one million coronavirus cases. This is especially difficult for one young couple from Amarillo to absorb.

The Drone family lost their only child, their daughter, named Tagan, after she tested positive for the coronavirus. She was just 5.

Her mother said her little girl was, quote, "perfectly healthy," and yet she passed away hours after testing positive for COVID-19 after the hospital sent her home and assured her parents that she would, quote, "be fine."

The family said Tagan's death did not need to happen. They say she could have been saved.

Tegan's parents, Lastassija White and Quincy Drone, are joining us now to talk about this.

I am so sorry for you two that your daughter has been taken from you. And I'm so thankful you're here to talk with us about it.

Lastassija, I was hoping maybe first, we see photos of Tagan. She's a beautiful little girl, so full of light. She looks like a lot of fun.

I was hoping maybe you could tell us a little bit about her.

LASTASSIJA WHITE, MOTHER OF CHILD WHO DIED OF COVID-19: Well, her birthday was April 21st. She loved riding her Hover Board. She loved to read. She loved watching roadblocks like any other five-year-old and playing the game, the tablet.

She's very athletic. She ran super, super fast. She loved music. She's very talkative. She liked to dance. She was super sweet. She'd give you anything.

She might tell you no at first, but in the end, she'd be like, you can have it.

(LAUGHTER)

KEILAR: No, then yes.

WHITE: Yes.

KEILAR: Quincy, can you tell us a little about her?

QUINCY DRONE, FATHER OF CHILD WHO DIED OF COVID-19: She had a personality that was just different. Tagan was young, but I kind of felt like she had been here before. Her soul was just different.

She would always tell us Lastassija she was going to grow up. She wasn't going to be the kid you could easily influence. My daughter wasn't going to be the kid that did what other people in the crowd did.

She had a mind of her own even at five, which I thought was pretty unique about her.

If she didn't want to do it, she didn't do it. If she didn't feel it was right, she didn't do it. She was beyond her years even though she was only 5. She was just a light in a dark room for us.

[13:50:00]

KEILAR: And I think -- you can almost see that independence in the photos that you provided I think.

Lastassija, you two have -- you are here to tell people what happened. I know you don't want this to happen to other people.

So tell us what happened. This all unfolded over a very short period of time.

DRONE: Yes, she took her to the doctor October 29th, maybe 10:20, 10:25 in the morning. They seen them. They tested her. Her diagnosis was she was positive for COVID.

They basically told Lastassija to kind of treat it like the flu, she would be fine, it doesn't really affect children.

WHITE: Keep her away from other people.

DRONE: And the sickly people.

Just kind of like take her home, quarantine her. We thought it was weird, because they never tested Lastassija that morning either, knowing Tagan had tested positive, but.

WHITE: They just told me I might have it, so quarantine with her.

DRONE: And they sent us home.

KEILAR: So, Lastassija, she was vomiting, struggling to keep fluids down. But the doctors had eyeballs on her, you say, and then she came home.

It sounds like, as you recount this, they were emphasizing to you that it's rare for children to die from COVID, just keep an eye on her.

Did they mention any other health condition, any underlying health issues she had that might have put her at risk?

DRONE: No.

WHITE: No, and they didn't go far -- they didn't do too much to us when we went. They did the basics, weighed her, checked her temperature. And just swab her and --

(CROSSTALK)

DRONE: They never did like x-rays, blood work

WHITE: Or blood work, any of that.

(CROSSTALK)

DRONE: It was kind of like --

(CROSSTALK)

DRONE: -- she tested positive for COVID and it was, like, get out of here.

WHITE: Yes. Go home. That's what's wrong with her.

KEILAR: Look, CNN has reached out to health officials there in Amarillo. We did not hear back.

I do want to read a statement from the public health director in Amarillo, obtained by our affiliate, KAMR.

And it said they "are heartbroken and our thoughts and prayers go out to that particular family" -- meaning you guys - "and any family who has lost someone in our community."

What is your reaction to hearing that? And what is your message that you want other parents to know?

DRONE: I mean, We just buried our daughter Saturday, so we're just kind of discombobulated.

I mean, our message would be -- I mean, we don't want any parents to feel what we're feeling.

And again, I'll say it again, we don't even know what it is we're feeling. We wake up everyday kind of dry. We're just so lost.

Life isn't the same. We don't know what that do without Tagan. That was life for us. She was our kid. That was every day for us.

We're just advising that parents, take it serious.

WHITE: Not only the parents, the doctors.

DRONE: Yes, the physicians, the doctors have to take it more serious.

I mean, you -- hey, if you're at home -- they're probably going to send you home. We feel like something ain't right with your kid, maybe go back.

No, we're kicking our tails for a lot of things we probably should have done better I guess.

But we still feel like the doctors and the physicians have to take it more serious, as well as the public.

WHITE: They honestly don't know about this virus. I couldn't tell you how it affects kids, because if it wasn't going to affect my kids, my daughter would probably still be here.

DRONE: Right.

KEILAR: And you thought, Lastassija, that she just -- it seemed like -- explain it this to us. You brought her home and she seemed like she was getting over a cold or flu. But eventually, she became nonresponsive.

WHITE: Yes. Throughout the night, it was like she was getting weaker, like she was just sleeping. That's just what she was doing sleeping.

I was checking on her throughout the night, still breathing. She told she had to get up and go pee, and I took her. And then when I woke back up, I checked on her again. That's when I found her nonresponsive.

KEILAR: I know, Lastassija, you have mentioned her memorial service is about the toughest thing you've been through.

WHITE: That night was the toughest things I've ever been through.

DRONE: I mean, you bring your child into the world -- I can remember the day Lastassija pushed Tagan out.

As parents, you never expect to see your daughter in a coffin. You never expect to see your daughter in an emergency room with her eyes wide open staring up at the ceiling, dead.

[13:55:03]

We just -- we just young parents. No one can prepare for it. But we weren't prepared for this in our hearts.

We're not just saying this because this is our daughter, or this happened to us. We're not looking for anything.

We're just trying to bring, shed some light to something that they're not talking about.

Also, we do feel like our daughter could have been saved. I mean, we're always going to feel that way.

We don't care how no one else feels. This is just the truth. It's not just because we're her parents, but we know she could have been saved.

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: I want to thank you -- sorry, Lastassija, please go on.

WHITE: It's like they tell us to take it serious as adults. But when it comes to the kids, just to blow it off. That's not OK to me.

These kids are our future as well, and they matter, too.

KEILAR: They do. And --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITE: -- to me.

KEILAR: She matters. And we're so sorry for your loss. I'm so thankful that you have come on to talk about this.

I think that you're right. There are a lot of people who are focused on this not affecting kids.

But I think listening to both of you, maybe they can see themselves in you. You know, people who are parents can see themselves in you and take to heart what you have said.

I just want to thank you, Lastassija and Quincy, for coming on.

DRONE: Thank you for having us.

WHITE: Thank you.

KEILAR: We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)