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Erin Burnett Outfront
First Case Of Highly Infectious COVID Strain Found In U.S.; Biden: Trump Admin. Falling "Far Behind" On Vaccine Distribution; Mnuchin Says $600 Stimulus Payments Could Start Tonight As McConnell Blocks Dems' Bid To Boost Payments To $2,000; Interview With Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT); Vindman: Esper "Probably Misrepresented" Support I Received From Military; Trump Lashes Out At GOP, Calls Party Leadership "Pathetic"; Interview With Rep. French Hill (R-AR); Police Bodycam Footage Shows Chaos Before Nashville Bombing. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired December 29, 2020 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: Beautiful picture there of that family. So many families going through that sort of thing this time of year, may they rest in peace. May their memories be a blessing.
I'm Jim Acosta. Thanks very much for watching.
"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next breaking news, the first case of a highly infectious strain of coronavirus has been found in the U.S. And it comes as the President-elect is warning that the U.S. is way behind when it comes to vaccinations.
Plus, Trump at war with his own party now attacking the Senate Majority Leader after he blocked an effort to fast track $2,000 stimulus checks to millions of Americans.
And could a conspiracy theory about 5G cellular service have motivated the suspected Nashville Christmas Day bomber? Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening, everyone. I'm Bianna Golodryga in for Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight breaking news, the U.S. tonight is reporting the first case of a highly infectious strain of coronavirus that has been linked to a recent surge of cases in the U.K. That first case of the COVID variant reported in the State of Colorado. Health officials there say the case involves a man in his 20s with no travel history.
This comes as President-elect Biden is warning that the United States is woefully behind when it comes to vaccinations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Trump administration's plan to distribute vaccines is falling behind, far behind. A few weeks ago, Trump administration suggests that 20 million Americans could be vaccinated by the end of December. With only a few days left in December, we've only vaccinated a few million so far.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: According to the CDC, only 2.1 million doses have been administered so far and just over 11 million doses have been distributed. That's not even close to the goal of 20 million doses that Operation Warp Speed set. And just a short time ago the President responding on Twitter he said, "It is up to the states to distribute the vaccines once brought to the designated areas by the Federal Government."
Trump passing the buck as the President-elect gives this great warning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: The next few weeks and months are going to be very tough, very tough period for our nation. Maybe the toughest during this entire pandemic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Today, at least 2,600 Americans are reported to have lost their lives to coronavirus and Biden warns that worse is still to come. Yet, this is what the President was doing. He was back on the golf course for the fifth time since he arrived at Mar-A-Lago for Christmas six days ago. He has time to golf.
But when it comes to the alarming number of cases and deaths, which Biden warns could get worse, nothing for him. For months, this is all Trump had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're rounding the corner on the pandemic.
We're rounding the quarter. We're rounding the corner.
By the way, we're rounding the corner.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: We're not rounding the corner and he's been saying that since late August. Biden and Trump also a universe apart tonight when it comes to masks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I hope the President will also clearly and unambiguously promote mask wearing. It's not a political statement, it's a patriotic duty.
TRUMP: I don't wear mask like him. Every time you see him he's got a mask.
(END VIDEO CLIP) GOLODRYGA: Biden also tonight urging every American to get the vaccine
like he and Mike Pence did. And today Kamala Harris as well. Biden saying it would help if the President himself would get vaccinated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: When the President's doctors recommend it, President Trump should take it and it's still the same degree of confidence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Yet the President is not committing to getting vaccinated only saying, "I am not scheduled to take the vaccine, but look forward to doing so at the appropriate time."
Kaitlan Collins is with the President. She's OUTFRONT live in West Palm Beach, Florida. And Kaitlan, what has the President been doing today as we learned this new strain is now here in the U.S. and his vaccine rollout is coming under increased scrutiny?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we haven't seen the President really that often since he's been here for this vacation down in Palm Beach. The only time we've really seen him is when he is in his motorcade on the way to his golf course where we've often seen him on the golf course as we did again today. CNN cameras captured the President golfing once again with allies and old friends of his.
And so that's really been the main aspect of the President's day beyond the tweets that we've seen, including that one just a short time ago about vaccine distribution, given the criticism and the scrutiny that his administration is facing over the promised rollout and what we're actually seeing when it comes to people actually getting vaccinated and how the numbers are falling far short of what they were expected to be.
And so in that tweet, the President was blaming it on stage which it is true that the federal government is giving them to states, letting them make the decisions about distribution.
[19:05:05]
But as we've also noted, the states don't have a lot of money for this and these departments of health have been pretty strained and overwhelmed by what they've already been taking care of with contact tracing and with testing, and now they've got the vaccine distribution as another responsibility of theirs. And then at the end of the President's tweet, he lashes out at Joe Biden for the swine flu handling and the response there, often a criticism that the President has turned to when he's been faced with his own criticism for his handling of the pandemic.
And so I think it's just raised a lot of questions and we are not getting a lot of answers from people in the administration so far on what is going on with this vaccine rollout. And a lot of people have raised concerns, Bianna, that is similar to what we saw with the testing where the President said anyone who wants a test can get a test. And, of course, that's still not true to this day. And then with PPE they said, well, all of these hospitals have it or they would say, well, it's up to the states to make sure that their hospitals and their health care providers have it.
And so we did just find out moments ago that the senior members of the Health and Human Services Department and the Department of Defense, which of course had been handling the two parts of this vaccine rollout are going to do a briefing with reporters tomorrow. And they say they're going to take questions on vaccine distribution.
So hopefully, we will get more answers from them on what's going on and what the updated numbers are tomorrow when they have that briefing.
GOLODRYGA: And meantime, the President, as always, deflecting any blame. Kaitlan Collins, thank you so much.
And now, I want to bring in Dr. Atul Gawande, a member of Biden's coronavirus advisory board. He's also a surgeon at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital. Dr. Gawande, great to have you on. We want to talk about vaccines in just a moment, but first let's talk about the news of the day, the news of the U.K. variant reported here in the U.S. in Colorado.
Health experts have been warning that it was already likely here for months, but we're learning that the person infected had no known travel history. So how widespread should we assume this is at this point?
ATUL GAWANDE, MEMBER, BIDEN-HARRIS TRANSITION COVID-19 ADVISORY BOARD: Well, no known travel history means that this person picked it up in the community. It is almost certainly in multiple states and I think we will be seeing evidence of that in the days to come. Exactly how prevalent it is, is the real question. If it's been spreading, how dominant is it.
We know it is a more contagious variant and that's a serious concern if it is only just now beginning to spread, given that our hospitals and ICUs in particular are already being filled.
GOLODRYGA: Also, talk about that because we had Dr. Fauci on air this morning saying that he fears that January could be even worse than December in terms of cases, in terms of hospitals being inundated. If this variant appears to be more transmissible, does that make it even more alarming for you as a medical professional in terms of what could happen at hospitals across the country?
GAWANDE: Absolutely. We're in a situation where we know things are going to get worse before they begin to get better. It will be weeks, a couple of months to begin to catch up on where we've fallen behind. And then if this mutation, this mutated virus, which is more contagious is not widespread yet and beginning to spread. That means it will be even more important to follow the approaches we know work.
And the reality from my talking to colleagues in the U.K., in their hospitals is that the hospital workers who are working around the virus are wearing a mask, distancing, washing hands, doing all of the standard things and that's working to keep it contained. It's just that it's even more contagious than we've seen. And so we need everybody else to come along.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. The U.K. remains on lockdown and yet their numbers continue to rise. But the federal government here only yesterday enacted restrictions for U.K. travelers requiring proof of that negative COVID test 72 hours before boarding a flight. But CDC researchers say showing a negative test three days before a flight reduces spread by only 5 percent to 9 percent. What do you make of the U.S. response to this?
GAWANDE: Well, at this point, I think, we found that the virus is already here and been circulating for a while. So the travel restrictions become less powerful, but it is a week travel restriction and much more timely fast testing before people get on board, quarantine after they get on board and having a real quarantine would be stronger measures.
Look, the biggest thing we need to do now is we really need to double down on our mitigation measures that we have not fully enacted. We need everybody to be masking. We need to maintain social distancing. We need resources to get out so that places where people are gathered indoors, like bars and restaurants, need to be able to pause on getting those crowds indoors. These are these critical drivers of the infection.
[19:10:02]
GOLODRYGA: And it's happening as the TSA's reporting record travel for the year obviously no surprise given the holidays, but that's alarming in and of itself. The CDC is also reporting that 11.4 million vaccines were distributed, 2.1 million people were vaccinated. That is well short of the goal Operation Warp Speed had of 20 million vaccines by the end of the year. That's over two days from now, so it's clearly not going to happen.
What do you think is the reason why we have fallen so far behind?
GAWANDE: Well, first of all we've had a pattern of consistently underestimating the virus and over promising what's going to happen and that has to change. And what I think we are seeing signaled from President-elect Biden is that in the next administration, which is to come in a few weeks that he will be upfront about what the challenges are, being transparent of where the bottlenecks are, I'd say we're still not at the bottom of why all of the problems are there.
But I think the second part is, as your correspondent alluded to, there has not been the advanced planning and then the resources to stand up the vaccination sites and capabilities required. I'm very involved in standing up vaccination sites in Massachusetts and it's been a big problem that there weren't the resources to get them going weeks ago.
And then the protocols and transparency about who's being prioritized when all of that came down just in the last couple of weeks and that's not enough time to expect that all of the distribution to already be happening already.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And we heard President-elect Biden say that he would enact the Defense Production Act to help speed things up as well. Dr. Gawande, thank you so much for joining us. And thank you for all the work that you're doing. We appreciate it.
GAWANDE: Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: And now I want to bring in Dr. Jonathan Reiner, an advisor to the White House medical team under President George W. Bush. Dr. Reiner, thanks for joining us.
So you just heard the Biden team's coronavirus advisor laying out his concerns about the variant already being here in the U.S. Obviously, there's likely community spread and more widespread, obviously, than we had known early on. Is this worrisome for you, especially given that testing is still not where it needs to be in this country?
JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, Bianna, I think this variant has been here for a while. You only find what you've searched for and we're only really looking for it now. So we may even learn that this variant has potentially been one of the causes of the surge in the United States. I won't be surprised if we learn that in coming days.
But we also know as Dr. Gawande said so clearly that everything we know about mitigation of this virus works for this variant: masking, avoiding crowds, staying in place, avoiding indoor spaces. All of that works to prevent a spread of the variant as well.
So it shouldn't be frightening to the public, it should just steel everyone's resolved to do everything that we know we can do to prevent further spread.
GOLODRYGA: And yet we heard President-elect Biden today once again call on masks to be worn and saying that he would implement mask wearing when possible when he's going to be president. And this has turned unfortunately into a political issue. We still have millions of people not wearing their masks regularly.
But in terms of vaccine distribution, we know that's woefully behind as well and the President-elect and members of his COVID task force say that they can ramp this up to a hundred million doses in a hundred days. That's 1 million doses a day. Is this overly optimistic?
REINER: I hope not because I think it's not ambitious enough. Let's do the math. Dr. Fauci believes, ultimately, we need to vaccinate about 80 percent of the country to achieve vaccine-induced herd immunity. So 80 percent of 330 million people is about 260 million people. Right now, the vaccines available require two doses, so that's 520 million vaccinations. If we don't get a vaccine like the J&J vaccine that only requires a single dose.
So 520 million vaccinations at 1 million shots a day is a year and a half, not good enough. We need to be doing at least 10 million vaccinations a week, so that's about a million and a half vaccinations a day. And that'll get us to about that number in a year.
GOLODRYGA: Wow. Well, hopefully it will help when we have more vaccines on the market as well and getting FDA approval, which we should have in the coming months. Dr. Reiner, always great to hear from you. Thank you. We appreciate it.
REINER: My pleasure. Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: And up next, is Sen. Mitch McConnell plotting to kill efforts to give Americans a $2,000 stimulus check?
[19:15:00]
Plus, what early voting numbers are telling us about the crucial runoff election in Georgia that will determine the entire balance of power in Washington.
And what did Melania Trump do at Mar-A-Lago that has the President so upset?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:17:50]
GOLODRYGA: And breaking news, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin announcing that the government could start to deposit $600 stimulus payments for Americans as soon as tonight. This as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocks an attempt by Democrats to increase the payments for Americans struggling to get by to $2,000.
President Trump who supports the increase slamming McConnell's move on Twitter saying, "Unless Republicans have a death wish, and it is also the right thing to do, they must approve the $2,000 payments ASAP, $600 IS NOT ENOUGH. Also, get rid of Section 230 - don't let big tech steal our Country, and don't let the Democrats steal the Presidential election. Get tough." A bit confusing there.
Phil Mattingly is OUTFRONT on Capitol Hill. Phil, McConnell reacting very quickly to Trump's tweet, being a bit creative as well, what is he saying?
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no question about it. Look, the Senate Majority Leader is obviously stuck between a number of different competing elements right now. You obviously have the Georgia runoff, two Republican senators endangered who have backed the $2,000 payments, who McConnell needs to remain as Majority Leader.
He's got the President, obviously, who he's upset because he accepted the fact that, as reality, Joe Biden is the President-elect of the United States, and he has a large majority of his conference of the Republicans in the United States Senate who were actually opposed to the expanded direct payments.
So Bianna, the question is what is McConnell going to do. We got a first hint of it tonight. McConnell introduced his own legislation. And what he did is he combined all three elements of what President Trump said he needed in order to sign off on that COVID relief and government spending package earlier in the week. There's the $2,000 payments, but there's also a repeal of the online liability protections known as Section 230 and a voter fraud commission.
These are all things the President demanded. These are all things McConnell is now giving him.
Here's the rub, with those things that bill is dead on arrival. Democrats will never vote for any of those things. And I think the recognition up here right now is if you were looking at whether or not today was a day where things got closer to resolution, closer to an outcome in terms of actually sending out $2,000 checks to individuals in the country.
The answer is no. Mitch McConnell either has an alternative the Democrats won't vote for or may just let the clock run out entirely on this Congress, Bianna.
[19:20:04]
GOLODRYGA: Yes. They've just got days left until Sunday for this Congress so that seems to be one of his tactics. Always great to have you on, Phil. Thank you.
Well, one senator who made a passionate plea to his Republican colleagues on the Senate floor today to support the $2,000 stimulus checks straight up is Democratic Senator Chris Murphy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): There are 52 of you. In the next 24 to 48 hours, you get to decide do you protect the billionaires or do you choose to feed that 11-year-old kid. The only thing that can stop $2,000 payments to struggling Americans right now is 52 Senate Republicans. Some things in Washington aren't that simple, but this is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: And Sen. Murphy is now OUTFRONT with us. He sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Senator, always great to have you on. So is this a non-starter for you if McConnell combines these three issues in this bill?
MURPHY: Well, McConnell is intentionally trying to kill the $2,000 payments by lumping them in with a voter fraud commission that presupposes there was some massive mail-in voter fraud and this repeal of liability provisions for internet companies that's completely half baked. There's an easy path here.
There is a bill to increase the payments to $2,000 that has passed the House of Representatives with a lot of Republican votes. The President will sign it and it's pending before the House. We could vote on it tomorrow and send it to the President's desk and everybody in this country making less than $75,000 would get $2,000. That would save a lot of lives in this country. We have four days left in the legislative session. We are not going to
be able to pass a new piece of legislation with massively complicated internet reform and a voter fraud commission in it. So McConnell, if he moves forward with that proposal, he's making it clear that he wants to kill the $2,000 checks.
If he brings up the House bill, then we have a chance to pass it, get it signed into law and help a lot of people in this country during a very tough holiday.
GOLODRYGA: So ultimately, he may be getting what he wants and that's not passing any bill that's going to be sending $2,000 checks out to families. But given that Republican senators, now Perdue and Loeffler, have embraced the $2,000 checks, do you think it could help give them an edge to win in these crucial runoffs that will decide who controls the Senate in Georgia?
MURPHY: Well, listen, I don't know how this plays out in Georgia. All I know is that my folks in Connecticut desperately need this help. Right now folks are getting evicted as we head into January. Moms and dads are having a tough time putting food on the table. They need that help.
I mean, listen to ultimately, people in Georgia are watching what Mitch McConnell is doing. I mean, he is playing games with the lives of Americans by coming right up to the zero hour before he tells us what he's going to do with this $2,000 payment. And I think folks in Georgia who want to give Joe Biden a chance to succeed, who don't want Mitch McConnell to continue to play these games.
They know that a vote for Jon Ossoff and a vote for Raphael Warnock is a vote for much better, much more efficient, much more compassionate government. Let's see what happens in the next few days.
GOLODRYGA: And, of course, I don't have to tell you what happens in Georgia really sets the balance of power in the Senate going forward. But Sen. McConnell also announced that the Senate will begin to proceed tomorrow on overriding President Trump's veto the National Defense Authorization Act. The House overwhelmingly voted to override the veto last night including 109 Republicans. Do you think there are enough votes in the Senate now to override it?
MURPHY: I do. I think there's no doubt there'll be enough votes in the Senate to override the President's veto here. There's a pay raise in that bill for our troops. There's a provision that the President really doesn't like that renames bases in the country that were named after confederate generals. This is a really important piece of legislation for the country's security.
But I also think there are 60 votes there for the $2,000 payment bill. It's true, as Phil said, that it splits the Republican caucus. There's probably a good number of them that don't want those $2,000 payments and that group may include Mitch McConnell, but I think there are 10 to 20 Republicans that will vote for the $2,000 payments. And so if that bill came to the floor, it would easily get 60 votes. GOLODRYGA: Interesting. Before you go, I want to ask you about a
conversation I had last night with retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman. He was a key witness in the President's impeachment probe, as you know, a highly decorated Army veteran who you have called a patriot. He told me that he has no regrets about coming forward to testify, but listen to what he told me when I asked him if he believed the military did all it could to defend and protect him from retaliation.
[19:25:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. COL. ALEXANDER VINDMAN, FORMER DIRECTOR FOR EUROPEAN AFFAIRS FOR THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: The bottom line is no, they haven't. And I think in certain ways they probably have misrepresented the former Secretary of Defense Esper, probably misrepresented the amount of support I was receiving. At no point did any senior leader, civilian or military attempt to contact me, and indicate that I was still in good standing in the military.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: He retired shortly thereafter, this past year, after 21 years in the military. But in terms of what precedent that could set for others who want to come forward and do the right thing and tell the truth when they see what happened to him in terms of what lawmakers could do, should they look into that?
MURPHY: Well, that's heartbreaking to hear from Col. Vindman, but it's unsurprising not only did he not receive any support from the military chain of command privately, but he didn't receive that support publicly. And frankly, we should expect that our military leaders are going to publicly speak out in defense of whistleblowers, because they should be just as interested as citizens or members of Congress in getting to the bottom of wrongdoing when it happens on their watch in their own administration.
What this President has done to make it hard, impossible, maybe for future whistleblowers to come forward, that has real serious consequences for the country. And I do think that Congress is going to have to figure out how we can better protect whistleblowers.
There's a pretty strong statute on the books right now that the President just ignored. But we may have to look as to how we can apply that to others in the military chain of command to try to require better behavior by folks who could be in a position to protect people like Alexander Vindman.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. I don't have to remind our viewers the hell that he went through in the past year and a half of following that impeachment trial. Senator, thank you so much for joining us. Happy holidays.
MURPHY: Thanks, you too.
GOLODRYGA: And OUTFRONT next, just a week before Georgia voters go to polls in a race that will determine the balance of power in Washington. Will Trump's upcoming visit help or hurt Republicans?
And a Republican who defied the President on not one but two votes last night is my guest and he wasn't the only one. Is Trump losing his grip on the party?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:30:46]
GOLODRYGA: Tonight, Georgia's Republican senators heaping praise on President Trump and standing by his call for Congress to pass $2,000 COVID relief checks, after they supported the smaller $600 checks that were already passed. It comes just one week from the state's crucial Senate runoff elections that will decide the balance of power in Washington.
And OUTFRONT now, two reporters who have been covering these races for weeks. Kyung Lah live from Atlanta, and "New York Times" national political reporter, Astead Herndon.
Thank you so much both of you.
Kyung, let's begin with you. You spoke with voters today at a campaign event for Senator Loeffler, what are they saying about these relief checks?
KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's really important, Bianna, remember that the people I was speaking with are the ones who show up for an event, Senator Kelly Loeffler's event.
So, these are the Republican faithful. These are the ones who have a showing up to these runoff rallies, wearing red hats, waiting Trump flags. They are the Republican base here in Georgia.
And we've talked to them specifically about these stimulus payouts, they say they care less about policy and more about whether Senators Loeffler and Perdue agree with President Trump. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He didn't think that $600 was enough. I mean, it's a slap in the face to the American people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Personally, as a retired citizen, I don't need a $2,000 stimulus check.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAH: Yeah, he saying he doesn't need it so what we're seeing here is that there is a political reason, that makes political sense, Bianna, for them to fall in line with what the president says, because that's what the base wants.
GOLODRYGA: Clearly, they want those senators to follow whatever the president is, during which is why they switch this past week into those $2,000 checks. Astead, the president has loomed large in the runoffs from his
baseless claims of voter fraud to now these stimulus checks. And now, he's coming back to Georgia for a big rally on the eve of the election on Monday. Is this a good or bad thing for Republicans?
ASTEAD HERNDON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It's really the Republicans' best hope. We know that President Trump is a driver of the Republican base, and this is going to be a turnout election. This is going to be something where both sides are really trying to push for their baseline of voters to really be the ones that carries them over the top. And we have seen the Democrats have had strong showings in early voting, that Democratic districts are coming out at near or above presidential levels.
We have not seen from the Republican side. Republicans they're making that they make that grounds up and in person voting on January 5th, but that requires huge turnout. That's why they're hoping President Trump can be the difference maker particularly in these rural counties, in west Georgia, the Republican strongholds, that's what they're looking (AUDIO GAP) to take them over the top. Frankly, they need that to happen to make up what Democrats have already done in the early voting.
GOLODRYGA: Well, Kyung and Astead, thank you so much for your insight, I know you spent a lot of time down there on the ground there in Georgia. We appreciate it.
And now I want to bring in Harry Enten, senior writer and analyst for CNN Politics.
Harry, President-elect Biden won Georgia, but you say the Democratic candidates still have ground to make up here. Explain why?
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL WRITER AND ANALYST: Sure, just take a look at the results back in November. Remember Joe Biden did carry the state of Georgia. He won it by two tenths of a percentage points.
But in both the Senate regular election at the Ossoff-Perdue race and the Senate special where there is all those Democrats and Republicans running back in November, what you see is that the Democrats actually ran behind the Republican candidates. The Republican candidates won in that regular election by 1.7 points and the special by one point.
So, the Democrats need to get more voters come January if they want to win in those Senate elections.
GOLODRYGA: So, where's the most likely place the Democrats should be looking for votes to make up for that lost ground?
ENTEN: The Atlanta suburbs. That's where they should be looking, Georgia's 6th congressional district. Remember, although Biden ran ahead of both Ossoff and the Democrats in the special state wide, it was especially large in the 6th congressional district. In those Atlanta suburbs, a lot of white college-educated voters, anti-Trump voters but were willing to pull the lever of the Senate Democratic candidates, let's see if they're willing to do so in this runoff. [19:35:00]
If they do, then both Ossoff -- and both the special and the regular, the Democrats will be in much better shape.
GOLODRYGA: And we know Democrats have raised a boatload of money leading up to these runoffs elections. But are you seeing anything in the early vote to suggest that there could be a change in turnout from what we saw in November?
ENTEN: Yeah. African-Americans are making up larger share of the early vote right now as compared to where we were in the elections leading up to November. You see this right here on your screen. They're making up three percentage more of the vote right now that could be because of Warnock, obviously, an African-American running in that special.
Right now, Democrats have to be very, very happy that black voters are turning out in large numbers, at least so far.
GOLODRYGA: A lot of credit goes to Stacey Abraham's way as well --
ENTEN: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: -- leading up to this runoff and, obviously, the election in general in November. But it took ten days before we knew Biden won Georgia. Could we be waiting for awhile until we know who won these races?
ENTEN: Absolutely! I mean, it should be --
GOLODRYGA: Say no. We'll find out right away.
ENTEN: No, you know, we have to be patient. It wasn't just in that presidential race it was also in the Senate regular election. We did not know that was going to runoff until that Friday. We had to wait three days!
And in that presidential race, we had to wait ten days. Patience, patience, patience. It's better to get it right than it is to get it fast.
GOLODRYGA: Oy. We're running out of patience. We have given so much patience in the past few weeks for elections.
But when the president comes Monday, the big question, you know, we've been asking you and you heard it in the previous segment, will he help Republicans or are they nervous about what he could possibly do and what he's going to be prioritizing and focusing on? What is your take on the eve of the election?
ENTEN: The turnout -- look, the Republicans want that election day turnout, especially in the rural counties, for sure, that are running behind so far in the early vote. But at the same time, you know Georgia's sixth congressional district, there are a lot of swing voters there. Does he turn the voters against the Senate Republican candidates? It's sort of the iffy equation. I'm not quite sure, but that voters will ultimately have the say on Tuesday and I'm looking forward to it.
GOLODRYGA: And Warnock and Ossoff have stayed on message throughout the runoff. Obviously, we saw that hurdle from the president really make Loeffler and Perdue change their views and support the $2,000 checks even though they said the $600 checks were appropriate at the time.
Does this impact them at all do you think?
ENTEN: I mean, it could. You always want to stay on message, right? In any division that Republican base can be very, very bad, the Democrats on message. Better for them. Of course, we'll have to wait to see. Tuesday will be the ultimate arbiter.
GOLODRYGA: And I know you'll be following it closely.
ENTEN: I will be.
GOLODRYGA: As always, get some rest. Good to see you, Harry.
ENTEN: I'm going to try.
GOLODRYGA: Bye.
And OUTFRONT next, new body camera videos show the chilling moments just before the Christmas day explosion in Nashville.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POLICE OFFICER: That's so (EXPLETIVE DELETED) weird, that is like something out of a movie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: And President Trump apparently not happy with Melania Trump and what she did to Mar-a-Lago. More on that coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:41:32]
GOLODRYGA: Tonight, a growing number of House Republicans defying President Trump during his final days in office. One hundred and nine Republicans joining Democrats to override his veto of a key defense spending bill that would give U.S. troops a raise, but a bill Trump opposed because it didn't repeal a law that protects big tech companies.
And 130 Republicans voting against $2,000 stimulus checks that President Trump has called for repeatedly.
Earlier today, Trump tearing into Republicans over the defense bill, tweeting: Weak and tired Republican leadership will allow the bad defense bill to pass, a disgraceful act of cowardice and total submission by weak people to big tech. Negotiate a better bill or get better leaders, now. Senate should not approve NDAA until fixed. OUTFRONT now, one Republican who went against President Trump on both
of those votes, Republican Congressman French Hill of Arkansas.
Congressman, thank you so much for taking the time to join us tonight.
Let's start with that defense bill. What do you say to President Trump calling this a disgraceful act of cowardice and total submission by weak people?
REP. FRENCH HILL (R-AR): Well, Bianna, thanks for having me on.
Well, this is President Trump's defense authorization bill. It contains his strategy for changing our national security strategy. It contains all the authorizations for new platforms, pay raises for our troops. It contains over 40 recommendations to change our strategies that relates to China, particular something that he's been very concerned about.
So, in my view, this is a key bill, a bill that supported and you saw that on both sides of the Capitol, with the vote for the NDAA, the National Defense Authorization bill, and the vote in the House to override the veto.
He's right about concerns about Section 230 as it relates to immunity for big tech companies, but it doesn't belong in this bill.
And I was very pleased to hear Mitch McConnell in the Senate -- our Senate leaders say today that he thought it should be taken up and dealt with. I know in the House, on both sides of the aisle, we want to look at Section 230, how it can be amended, and how it can be rectified.
GOLODRYGA: I know many referring to Mitch McConnell's proposal as a poison pill right now at this point, really putting Democrats up against the wall even though they had been the ones who have been pressuring Republicans over the past few days.
I also want to ask you about President Trump's repeated calls for Americans who receive those $2,000 stimulus checks. Not the previously agreed to $600, that his own treasury secretary put forward.
Today, he tweeted in part, quote: Unless Republicans have a death wish, and it is also the right thing to do. They must approve the $2,000 payments ASAP, $600 is not enough. This, of course, is a popular measure with American struggling to get by, are you worried that President Trump is right? And that opposing it is a, quote, death wish for the party?
HILL: Well, look, during the course of the year, Republicans and Democrats came together in the CARES Act provided immense relief in the face of the pandemic, particularly in the spring, and we didn't know how it would affect the economy, how it would affect our individual families. And during that time, a family of four with one person out of work has gotten over $20,000, in direct support in 2020 from the federal government, on top of their state unemployment. So, in my view, the $600 additional economic stimulus checks for
families combined with rental assistance, the Paycheck Protection Program to bring more people back to work, the enhanced weeks of unemployment, all that should be looked at together.
[19:45:14]
And I got 60 votes in the Senate, and I'm not sure the $2,000 threshold will get 60 votes in the Senate, and I believe that's why Treasury Secretary Mnuchin was able to craft the bill that he did, that we voted on that President Trump is now signed into law.
GOLODRYGA: I guess the big question here is the president could've pushed for this months ago. And who knows? He is convincing -- he may have even been successful at it. Why do you think he is putting your party, his own party, in such a bind right now?
HILL: Well, I think the president always advocated for more economic stimulus payments in the summer. Of course, Speaker Pelosi delayed bringing COVID-19 relief to the floor for politics, in my personal view, before the election. She didn't want President Trump to have that victory of COVID-19 relief before the election.
So, she foot -- she was a foot dragger on this measure as well. So, President Trump has advocated for bigger checks, for families, he's had that consistent view, but he should've pressed harder before the bill came to conclusion with Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, Speaker Pelosi and Leader McCarthy in the last three weeks. And we didn't hear that vociferously statement at that time.
GOLODRYGA: Congressman French Hill, thank you so much for taking the time. We appreciate it.
HILL: You bet. Thank you. Happy New Year.
GOLODRYGA: You too.
And OUTFRONT next, business owners trying to make their way to the side of that massive explosion in Nashville and we're there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you angry?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hurt more than it is anger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Plus, what Melania Trump did that sources say has put the president in a foul mood.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:50:03]
GOLODRYGA: Stunning bodycam footage capturing the Christmas Day blast in Nashville, revealing what police say were just moments before the explosion. This, as the FBI agent in charge of the investigation is saying tonight that the agency is looking at all and any possible motives.
Martin Savidge is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Investigators in Nashville won't say if they are specifically looking at whether online conspiracy theories regarding 5G cellular service may have motivated bomber Anthony Warner. But CNN has learned of a joint intelligence bulletin sent out to law enforcement agencies across the country warning of such potential attacks. The bulletin issued May 14th warns, online calls for targeting have focus particularly on those facilities believed to be equipped with 5G wireless technologies.
The bulletins says there have been dozens of arson attacks on cell towers in Europe and says there have been at least 6 reported attacks in the U.S. The explosive filled RV which authorities say belong to Warner was parked next to a facility owned by AT&T, CNN's parent company. And one of a number of communication companies rolling out the new 5G service. The RVs location can clearly be seen in this police bodycam video released by Nashville Metro PD.
On the recording, a voice can be heard even commenting on the significance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The building that it's next to is the building that houses all the hardlines for phones. It sucks that you are building all the hardline for phones throughout the Southeast.
SAVIDGE: The subsequent blast knocked out cellular and Internet service across a wide swath of the region, as well as impacting 911 call centers. Even affecting air traffic control at Nashville's international airport.
The same body camera video captured other chilling in terrifying moments about Friday's blast. It begins at 6 14 am, 16 minutes before the explosion. As police go door to door warning people about the threat. Then moves to officers as they approach the RV. The blaring of a mechanical warning to evacuate can clearly be heard over Christmas music.
The officers comment on the surrealists of the scene.
POLICE OFFICER: That's so (EXPLETIVE DELETED) weird, that is like something out of a movie.
POLICE OFFICER: Like the Purge.
POLICE OFFICER: Yeah.
SAVIDGE: A short time later, a block away, as the officer opens the trunk of his car comes the shattering blast.
(EXPLOSION)
SAVIDGE: Followed by frantic calls across police radios, announcing what happened and calling for additional help.
POLICE OFFICER: Command, I need all resources out on this call.
SAVIDGE: The video also shows officers rushing in, directs done victims of the bombing.
POLICE OFFICER: Are you guys okay? Where is your car? OK, go to your car.
SAVIDGE: While radio traffic warns of additional explosion dangers.
POLICE OFFICER: We're hearing secondaries. There could be ammunition inside the vehicle. Do not get out in the open. Do not get out in the open on Second Avenue.
SAVIDGE: Four days after the explosion, some business owners were allowed into the affected area to survey the damage firsthand.
But Demetrius Kelley was turned away, told his two restaurants were too close to the blast epicenter which is still a crime scene.
But security cameras have already told him the devastation is significant, leaving his 130 employees out of work, indirect victims of a man's violent actions whose motive is still a mystery.
DEMETRIUS KELLEY, MANAGING PARTNER AT TWO RESTAURANTS IMPACTED BY THE BLAST: It's 6 30 in the morning and just instant like, you know, dust and debris.
SAVIDGE: Are you angry?
KELLEY: It's hurt more than anger well. But, you know, it is what it is.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE (on camera): Whether or not that blast was targeting AT&T or even 5G, experts say one to point out is the vulnerability of America's communication systems, the fact that one blast could take out so much as far as civilian, government communication, even disrupting retail business for days on end, shows that many companies going forward now are going to have to hard in their facilities, have to think about security and redundancy.
In other words, the impact of the blast here in Nashville is going to be felt far beyond central Tennessee -- Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Such an important point. Martin Savidge, thank you so much for that reporting.
And OUTFRONT next, President Trump can be seen smiling while playing golf but behind closed doors, he is acting out and it's not just because of the election. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:57:57]
GOLODRYGA: Tonight, President Trump upset with the renovations at Mar- a-Lago. Sources telling CNN the president was upset about changes to his private quarters, many of which were overseen by the first lady, asking for white marble and dark wooden decor to be hauled away.
Kate Bennett has more and she joins me now.
Kate, this is so juicy. Sources telling the Trump's mood darkened when you saw the changes and that he's been moody spending Christmas vacation at the club, what else are you hearing?
KATE BENNETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think there's two things going on here, one he didn't like the renovations, right? The president has a very specific aesthetic. We've seen it before at his properties. We've seen it before showcased in Trump land.
It's gold. It's gilded. It's Louis the 14th. It's very heavy on this stuff. And, apparently, he just didn't particularly like some of the renovations, not only in the private quarters, but also elsewhere at the club, which has been undergoing, you know, updates here and there.
As the first lady looks forward to life after the White House, she has been involved in spearheading some of these changes. And when the president got down there, things were not to his liking and it's sort of set the tone. There are certain other sources who add that the president has been moody, and the vibe has sort of been off. This is certainly his last holiday there as president of the United States, things in the country are completely out of whack.
So, certainly that mood is being reflected.
GOLODRYGA: Yes, and clearly, these are high class problems whether it's dark or light marble. As you mention what's transpiring in the country, soaring COVID cases and record hospitalizations in the U.S. And the president appears to be quiet, not saying much at all about this, and as hospitalizations continue to rise in hot hard-hit states like California, what more can you tell us about what he's been doing and what he's planning for New Years?
BENNETT: Well, as we've seen the president continues to golf every day, that seems to be the one consistency with his trip there. He's been around the property. He's popped up at various events. Some guests have seen him.
However, the big event that they're still planning at Mar-a-Lago this year is the New Year's event. It is a ticketed party. It is black tie. It is typically very well-attended by club members and local Palm Beach members as well.
And this year, it will be no different. I'm hearing that approximately 500 reservations have been made, for Thursday night's party. As we've seen at the White House, here with these holiday parties, they're particularly not necessarily masked people who attend. There is not a lot of social distance.
So, certainly, we may expect to see that at Mar-a-Lago, certainly avoiding the rules of --
(CROSSTALK)
GOLODRYGA: Well, it must be nice. I hope they at least wear masks and social distance.
Kate, always good to have you and your reporting. Thank you.
And thanks so much for joining us tonight.
"AC360" starts right now.
