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Biden Poised To Announce W.H. Chief Of Staff As Early As Thursday; Trump Meets With Advisers To Discuss Path Forward As Some Say Privately There's Almost No Chance Legal Challenges Will Succeed; Interview With Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT); GA Secretary Of State Orders Hand Recount Of Ballots; U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Tops 240,000 With 10.3 Million Cases; Country Sets Another Single-Day Record For New Cases; New CDC Guidance: Masks Protect Both Wearers & Those Around Them. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired November 11, 2020 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: His family says he was rushed to the hospital with the high fever but sent home after it calmed down. He did die alone in his home three days later. Horace Saulsberry (ph) leaves behind his daughters and five grandkids.

I'm Pamela Brown in for Jake Tapper. Our coverage on CNN continues now.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: We want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.

And we're following the presidential transition. President Trump and President-elect Joe Biden both marquee Veterans Day today, sources are now telling CNN that the President-elect is likely to name his White House Chief of Staff soon, with cabinet nominations being announced next month.

President Trump meanwhile continues threatening U.S. democracy with baseless claims of voting fraud. CNN has learned that the President met with political advisors today to discuss a path forward. But sources tell CNN that some Trump allies are now saying privately there's almost no chance, no chance the President's legal challenges will succeed.

We're also following breaking pandemic news. The U.S. coronavirus death fell now topping 240,000 people and more than 10.3 million Americans have been infected. Yesterday alone, the country saw a record 136,000 new cases and more than 1,400 Americans die.

Let's start our coverage this hour with more on the presidential transition here in the United States. Our senior Washington Correspondent Jeff Zeleny is covering President-elect Biden for us. Jeff is joining us from Wilmington, Delaware.

Biden started his day by honoring service members, Jeff, who were killed during the Korean War, but he also planned to meet with this transition advisors today. What are you learning about the timeline, first of all, to fill all the top cabinet and other senior positions in the administration?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, tonight we are learning that the President-elect is moving forward with his senior staff who will serve him inside the West Wing of the White House, beginning with announcement as early as tomorrow on his White House Chief of Staff I'm told.

I'm told the leading contender for that position is still Ron Klain. Ron Klain, of course, is well known in Democratic circles. He was a chief of staff to Vice President Biden in the Obama administration. Of course, he also led the Obama administration's response to the Ebola crisis back in 2014. So he'll be a central player in the coronavirus fight as well.

Wolf, we were told this announcement could come as early as tomorrow, it could always possibly slide back to Friday. But I'm also told that other senior advisors in the White House also could be named this week.

Now all of this is coming before any announcements for people to serve in his cabinet. I am told by several officials that these cabinet nominations will not be announced until after Thanksgiving, likely early December. Now that is a normal schedule for this.

In fact, 12 years ago, during the Obama administration, they did not name any cabinet members until that period as well. So the focus on those cabinet members are secretaries with an economic portfolio, with a health portfolio with a defense portfolio, I'm told and others could be a name to later in January, of course, after those run offs in Georgia, that is so important.

If Republicans maintain control of the Senate, of course, all of his nominations will have to be approved by Republicans. But for now, at least Wolf, the White House Chief of Staff is first out of the gate that's coming as early I'm told as tomorrow.

BLITZER: I will watch that. As you know, the President-elect is clearly focused in on the COVID crisis, which seems to be exploding, getting worse by the day. But he's also discussing, Jeff, climate change in conversations with world leaders. So what does that signal?

ZELENY: Wolf he is indeed, and this has several conversations with world leaders yesterday, and namely, a French President Emmanuel Macron. Mr. Biden did talk directly about rejoining the Paris Climate accords, and did talk about climate change with other world leaders as well.

This is going to be a central focus of the Biden administration. No surprise, of course, he's talked about this on the campaign trail. This is one of the things that Democrats have watched in horror during the Trump administration, what they believe has been really a lack of recognition of the climate challenge here in the U.S. and indeed around the world. So look for the U.S. to join that the Paris Climate accord, as well as having a very important climate proposals across the breadth of the government from the Transportation Department, and from the Health Department and other matters. So this is something that will be a central focus, and certainly he was talking about that with world leaders this week.

BLITZER: All right, Jeff Zeleny in Wilmington for us. Thank you.

Let's go to the White House right now. Our White House Correspondent Jeremy Diamond is joining us.

Jeremy, we know the President met with political advisors today as he still denies losing the elections. Give our viewers an update.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. The President's as he did yesterday, meeting once again today with advisors to try and find a path forward to contest this election.

[17:05:03]

Sources are telling us that the President is showing no signs of being willing to concede this election instead encouraging his advisors to move forward with these legal efforts. And these recounts in an attempt to contest the results of this election. But Wolf, even as those advisors are moving forward with those plans, privately, I'm being told that many of the advisors around the Presidents acknowledge that it is all -- going to be all but impossible to overturn the results of this election.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZELENY (voice-over): With just 70 days until inauguration, President Trump is continuing to deny reality, refusing to admit defeat even as his advisors privately acknowledged he cannot reverse the election results.

After attending a Veterans Day ceremony, Trump huddling with advisors again today to discuss a path forward to contest the election, offering no signs he plans to concede. Instead, he has told aides to continue pursuing lawsuits and recounts in key battleground states.

Publicly his advisors are on the same page.

RONNA MCDANIEL, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIR: It's been rigged from the beginning rigged from the laws that were being passed in the name of COVID to create a porous election.

ZELENY: But privately sources telling CNN the President's allies see almost no chance their legal challenges will succeed, and they expect those legal avenues will be exhausted by next week.

While Trump focuses on dead end legal fights the coronavirus pandemic is worsening across the U.S. and continuing to spread inside the White House. The White House political director joining the list of a half dozen Trump aides who have tested positive in the last week. Powerless against the will of the voters and unwilling to tackle the pandemic Trump is imposing his will at the Pentagon, firing the Secretary of Defense and replacing three other senior defense officials with loyalists. A defense official calling the purge scary and unsettling. Telling CNN, "these are dictator moves."

Sources telling CNN that FBI Director Chris Wray and CIA Director Gina Haspel could be next. Meanwhile, election officials across the country say they have found no evidence of fraud or irregularities that could swing the presidential race, including Philadelphia's Republican City Commissioner Al Schmidt.

AL SCHMIDT, (R) PHILADELPHIA CITY COMMISSIONER: I have seen the most fantastical things on social media making completely ridiculous allegations that have no basis in fact at all and see them spread.

One thing I can't comprehend is how hungry people are to consume lies.

ZELENY: Minutes later, the President taking aim calling Schmidt a so called Republican who refuses to look at a mountain of corruption and dishonesty. The reality a resounding victory for Biden, who was ahead by more than 5 million votes nationally and winning the three states that handed Trump the presidency in 2016 by a margin of victory nearly three times greater.

And while just four Republican senators have acknowledged Biden's victory, the rest of the world is moving on.

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I had and have a good relationship with the previous president. I am delighted to find the many areas in which the Biden, the incoming Biden-Harris administration is able to make common cause with us in particular. It was extremely exciting to talk to President Biden.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZELENY: And Wolf, while the President continues to deny that he has lost this election, he is also ignoring another reality and that is the coronavirus pandemic.

Wolf, today is the ninth consecutive day that we have seen cases in the United States more than 100,000 new cases in the United States in a single day. And so it's clear, Wolf, that despite the fact that this crisis is worsening, whether it is by cases, by hospitalizations, or by deaths, we are seeing no leadership, no action from the President of the United States or the White House. Wolf.

BLITZER: More than 1,400 Americans died yesterday from the virus, Jeremy, 1400, almost 1000 every single day. All right, thanks very much.

Let's get some more on all of this. Our Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash is with us. And our CNN Political Correspondent Abbey Phillip is with us as well.

And Dana, great surprise, Ron Klain, who's been a longtime aide and advisor to the now President-elect of the United States is likely to be the White House Chief of Staff, is it?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: No, it's not First of all, he was then Vice President Biden's chief of staff in in the White House during the Obama-Biden administration. He has known Joe Biden since their days in the Senate. They've been -- they've known each other for decades, really.

Ron Klain was the chief counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee way back when Joe Biden was on that committee, and it goes on and on and on.

And you know, there are a few people who have the breadth of experience and that says a lot because Joe Biden has a lot of people around him with a lot of experience from getting nominees through Congress, to again, being a chief of staff in the White House. You remember the recount, he was leading the charge for Al Gore there. And of course, most recently, the Ebola advisor, czar, if you will, during the Obama administration.

[17:10:14]

So to have someone like that come in as a chief during a pandemic makes perfect sense.

BLITZER: You know, Abby, everything I'm hearing from Biden associates is that a lot of familiar names are going to be coming forward. He was vice president of United States for eight years, of course, during the Obama administration. A lot of those people who serve then are going to be brought back now. That's -- I assume that's what you're hearing as well.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely, Wolf. I mean, look, Joe Biden has a deep bench to choose from. He has a lot of people who have a lot of experienced as he does.

And similarly to Ron Klain, the Vice -- former vice president is going to want to surround himself with the most experienced hands.

I remember just many months ago as we were discussing even who Joe Biden would pick as his vice president, people close to Biden were telling me that one of the most critical things about his decision making process is making sure that the people around him have the experience to deal with what he knew was going to be a major crisis that he would have to face if he were to take office. And I think that that is exactly the way that they are looking at it.

It's almost like how he came into office as vice president after the 2008 election, a major economic crisis. Now the country is facing both a health crisis and an economic crisis. And I think you're going to see the Biden campaign, really leaning on the most -- some of the most experienced hands in Democratic politics to come into the White House to deal with both of those problems.

BLITZER: Yes. I'm sure Tony Blinken will be coming back and in some real. Susan Rice will be coming back. A lot of people that we're all very familiar with. You know Dana, aside from a very important visit to Arlington National Cemetery on this Veterans Day today, the President has had no public events on his schedule in recent days. It's been almost a week since we heard him speak at all, he's been thunderously silent.

We know he's been huddling with his advisors over the weekend on Saturday and Sunday, played some golf. But is this really acceptable behavior for still a sitting president of the United States while this deadly pandemic is raging? And for so many people out there faith in the U.S. democracy is at risk right now, given the President's attitude toward the fact that he lost?

BASH: Well, I think those could be two different questions, Wolf. Let's just start with the job that he still has, which is the President of the United States and there is still a pandemic raging. It is very surprising that any president doesn't come forward and address -- the country address reporters in any way shape or form about what is going on in a very dire way right now.

The question about his campaign and the question about a peaceful transition of power, any notion of conceding, that's a different question. Because we all know, Donald Trump and what he's doing right now behind the scenes is, a, stewing and, b, looking for any path with his legal advisors to find votes in any of the four states that he is -- he's considering.

The answer, by the way, everybody knows is no, but they're trying to get him there. So the feeling inside the Trump orbit is, you know, better for him not to talk in public right now, because it could only make things worse with regard to a very jittery public. And it's actually surprising to me that they've been able to, you know, keep him at bay as long as they have, aside from his Twitter feed, which is obviously its own story.

BLITZER: Yes. The only statements he's been making basically have been on Twitter.

You know, as the President-elect, on the other hand, appears undeterred as he's pushing ahead with his transition, taking steps, for example, to address the coronavirus pandemic. So what does that tell you?

PHILLIP: Well, I mean, they know that this is a part performance art and part, the president needing to be walked through a process because he's not really used to losing. So, I think they're trying to be patient.

Everything that I've heard from the Biden campaign is that they believe that this is ultimately going to resolve itself, whether in the near term or in the long term one way or another. January 20, they believe Joe Biden will be sworn in.

And in the meantime, I think their attention is really being placed on trying to stand up their transition, and also trying to convey to voters. I think this is an important part. Convey to voters, given the pending Georgia cases -- the Georgia races to Senate races that are undecided, convey to them that Joe Biden is going to lead as a unifier, as a moderate, a moderate force in this political environment. And so I think they're trying to avoid doing anything rash or getting into any kind of disputes with the President over this issue knowing that it's going to be resolved one way or another.

BLITZER: Yes. And with 96 percent of the vote now counted. Trump is losing big time to Biden by more than 5 million votes right now in the national popular vote.

[17:15:07]

All right, guys, thank you very much.

Up next, we'll go one on one with Senator Bernie Sanders. He's standing by to talk about this unprecedented, unsettling transition.

We'll also talk to Georgia's Secretary of State, who has now ordered a hand recount of ballots in this state, even as he's come under attack from Georgia's two senators, his fellow Republicans.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Our breaking news President-elect Joe Biden is moving ahead quickly with his transition. He may name his new White House Chief of Staff as soon as tomorrow.

[17:20:04]

Joining us now to talk about all of this historic transition that's underway, the new incoming administration, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont is joining us.

Senator Sanders, thanks so much for joining us.

I want to begin with your thoughts on where we as a country stand right now. Biden has been elected President of the United States, the President is choosing to disregard our democracy right now. Ignore the will of millions of Americans. What's your reaction to what's going on?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): It is outrage. Look, people lose close elections, Hillary Clinton lost a close elections. Other people have lost close elections.

And what you do in America historically, is you say, hey, I fought as hard as I could, I want to thank my supporters, I congratulate the winner. Let's go forward with a transition. We all love our country, and we want the best for America.

What he is doing right now is delegitimizing our electoral process and American democracy. What he is saying to his supporters is, we really didn't lose the election. Yes, maybe the other guy got 5 million more votes that we didn't actually, we really didn't lose it. It's fraud, fraud, fraud.

And millions of people, Wolf, are going to believe that, that is an outrage. You got to have the guts to sometimes say, you know what, I put up a fight, I lost. Congratulations to the winner. Let's go on.

BLITZER: Have you ever seen anything like this before?

SANDERS: No. It's not that I have not seen, nobody has ever seen this. This really is an outrage.

And this is why I worked so hard, the progressive community worked so hard in this election, because what we knew this campaign, this election was about, you know, it's not just climate change or criminal justice reform with the economy. It is whether or not we continue to have the president in Donald Trump who is a pathological liar, who really is trying to move this country beyond the rule of law. And that is something that we cannot accept. And thank God we were able to defeat them.

BLITZER: Your colleague, Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, told CNN he's hearing from some of his Republican colleagues who wish to congratulate President-elect Biden but say they can't do that publicly yet. Are you having similar conversations with Republicans behind the scenes?

SANDERS: Look, absolutely. You know, the average Republican senator is not an idiot. They understand that, you know, that Trump has lost.

But one of the other things that we should all be nervous about and fearful about is the degree to which Trump intimidates and scares the hell out of Republican members of Congress, they are afraid to stand up to him. So you've got a party, not of individuals, but almost a cult type party where members of the Senate who know better not just on this issue on many other issues.

They'll come up to you privately and say, yes, Trump's a little bit crazy, but, you know. So, you know, I think I would hope, I don't -- the Republicans won't take my advice, anyhow, I know that, but I would hope that they get the courage to stand up as individuals, represent their constituencies and to not live in fear of Donald Trump. It's not a good thing.

BLITZER: Yes. So far, four out of the 53 Republican senators have done so.

You and other progressives, Senator, you've stepped in line over the past few months to put forward a very unified United Democratic Party to get Biden elected. But as we all know, there are some significant policy differences, let's say between you and the President-elect, do you expect Biden's agenda will move toward your direction or move, let's say, towards the center?

SANDERS: Well, this is what I think, as you know, Wolf, early on in the campaign, members of the Biden team and my team sat down on some of the major issues facing our country, the economy, health care, education, climate, et cetera, to see how we can work together to come up with proposals that, you know, neither side necessarily agreed with, but which made sense for the American people, especially the working families of our country today who are suffering more than probably at any time since the Great Depression. And we have an out agreement.

So, if your question is, do I expect that the Biden administration will do everything that Bernie Sanders believes? No, I don't. But do I expect that they will come forward and keep their word in maintaining and legislating on the proposals which we agree to? Yes, I do.

And some of those proposals are very, very significant. You know, it means expanding health care to all Americans. It means lowering the Medicare age from 65 to 60. Means raising the minimum wage to at least 15 bucks an hour.

It means making it easier for workers to form unions, equal pay for equal work. Investing $2 trillion in combating climate change and creating millions of jobs as we move away from fossil fuel to energy efficiency and sustainable energy.

[17:25:16]

So what I have gone further? Yes. Are those significant proposals that will protect the needs of working families? Yes, they are.

BLITZER: We'll see if that unfolds.

Now, before I let you go, Senator, let me ask you about these reports, and I'm sure you've seen them that potentially you might be eyeing a position in President-elect Biden's cabinet labor secretary, for example. Is that true?

SANDERS: Well, what's true is I want to do everything I can to protect the working families of this country who are under tremendous duress right now, whether that's in the Senate, whether that's in the Biden administration, who knows? Well, let's see how that unfolds.

BLITZER: But if he asked you to join the cabinet as labor secretary, would you say yes?

SANDERS: If I had a portfolio that allowed me to stand up and fight for working families, would I do it? Yes, I would.

BLITZER: All right, Senator Sanders, maybe I'll call you Mr. Secretary one of these days, thanks so much for joining us.

SANDERS: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Coming up, Georgia on everybody's mind right now, will Joe Biden's lead survive a hand recount? Will Republican infighting in the state jeopardize its Senate run offs?

Georgia's Republican Secretary of State, he's in the eye of the political storm right now. He's standing by live. We'll discuss when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:31:21] BLITZER: We're following breaking news in Georgia right now. In just a moment I'll be speaking live with Georgia's Secretary of State who just ordered a hand recount of the ballots. But let's get an update from CNN's Phil Mattingly, who's joining us right now. So, Phil, what's the state of the race in Georgia?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, if you look broadly at the map, there's three states that currently have not been called by CNN. And, obviously, all eyes are on Georgia. There's a big run off headed there for two Senate races. But we are focused right now on the presidential. And as it currently stands, Joe Biden is ahead by over 14,000 votes.

Now, what's going to happen over the course of the next several weeks is a hand recount, essentially an audit by the state going county by county counting every single vote by hand. Here's the reality when you look at this map right now, unlike maybe a few days ago, when Joe Biden was up by 1,000 or 2,000 votes. As his lead has grown, as more of the votes have been counted, processed and reported, he has got a much more comfortable cushion.

Wolf, if you've covered recounts before, you know how this works. Occasionally, you will have a couple hundred votes flip at most, maybe there'll be some errors that will cause some changes. But the reality of a 14,000-vote lead in the state of Georgia, the Biden campaign feels pretty comfortable with that, should feel pretty comfortable with that based on historical precedent. But, obviously, the recount is happening, the recount has been ordered and we'll see how things play out.

One thing to keep an eye on, November 20th, that is when the state has to certify, that is when the recount is expected to be complete. But for right now, heading into that recount county by county by hand every single vote, Joe Biden ahead by 14,000 votes.

BLITZER: With 99 percent of the vote reporting 16 electoral votes in Georgia. All right, Phil, thanks very much.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is joining us now. Mr. Secretary, thank you so much for joining us. Tell our viewers why you ordered a full state recount by hand.

BRAD RAFFENSPERGER, GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, we ordered a risk limiting audit. That's a bill that we passed in 2019 when I first got in office. So we're conducting a risk limiting audit, which will trigger then a statewide recount.

BLITZER: And what was -- why did you decide to do that?

RAFFENSPERGER: It's in state law that we had to do a statewide audit this year. We have new voting machines with a verifiable paper ballot. Prior to this year, we had the old DRE electronic voting systems without a paper ballot. So this was one of the things that was in House Bill 316. So we're doing a statewide audit. We had to pick a statewide race. And we chose the presidential race. We understand the national significance of this race. And it's also very close within 14,000. We thought this was the most objective way of really picking -- doing an audit for -- a race that really mattered.

BLITZER: As you know, President Trump predicted, in his words, that Georgia will be a big presidential win as it was the night of the election. But as you know, thousands of ballots have been counted since then, President-elect Biden leads as you know, by more than 14,000 votes. Are you aware, Mr. Secretary, of any recount in Georgia's history that overturned a margin that large?

RAFFENSPERGER: I'm not aware of any. But we will, you know, do our statewide recount.

BLITZER: Have you seen any evidence of a widespread fraud or anything along those lines?

RAFFENSPERGER: We have ongoing investigations. But we've not seen something widespread of a large nature, nothing in the order of over 10,000.

BLITZER: So, what does that mean nothing in the order of 10,000?

RAFFENSPERGER: We have ongoing investigations, but there -- we haven't seen enough at the present time that it would lead me to believe that the risk-limiting audits shows what we have right now with our electronic voting, that the results will be confirmed.

BLITZER: So you suspect, even after this recount by hand, that 14,000 basically will remain in effect, is that what I'm hearing?

[17:35:06]

RAFFENSPERGER: We believe that the ballots were counted accurately with the machine count and the risk limiting, that with the hand counting of the statewide recount will confirm that.

BLITZER: Has anyone, Mr. Secretary, contact you on behalf of the President, of the White House, or the Trump campaign to push for this recount?

RAFFENSPERGER: No, they haven't called me.

BLITZER: As you know, both of Georgia's Republican senators are actually, and this is extraordinary, calling for you or another Republican, to step down and you've said publicly, that is not going to happen. You've been democratically elected by the people of Georgia. Have you spoken to either of these two senators, Senator Loeffler, Senator Perdue? Has either of them provided you any specifics of any serious allegations to this vote count?

RAFFENSPERGER: They haven't proposed me anything.

BLITZER: So why do you think they're doing what they're doing? It's an extraordinary moment. Are these two Republican senators they're up for re-election, they've got an election coming up in early January? And they're making these accusations against you, a Republican Secretary of State, democratically elected by the people of Georgia, why are they doing this?

RAFFENSPERGER: Well, Wolf, you'd have to ask them directly, but I'm focused on making sure that we can finish up this election and get our results certified by November 20th.

BLITZER: But has anybody told you what they're accusing you of doing wrong? Why they're actually calling on you to resign?

RAFFENSPERGER: No. Obviously, this is a very close race. And people that were on one side of the aisle are -- don't like the results. And I get that, I'm a Republican, conservative Republican. But the results will be the results. But we are doing a risk-limiting audit, which will include a hand count of every single paper ballot we have. And then those results, obviously, we'll have plenty of observers, and we'll have those results done. And then we'll certify the state election.

BLITZER: How long is that audits going to take that hand recount?

RAFFENSPERGER: Our goal is to be done November 20th.

BLITZER: November 20th. And this will be very transparent, Democrats, Republicans, Liberals, Conservatives, the public will be able to see what's going on, is that what I'm hearing?

RAFFENSPERGER: Absolutely. If we don't have transparency, then we wouldn't restore trust, you know, with all of our voters. So, it'll be a transparent, open process, to make sure that we have -- can rebuild any confidence that some voters might have in the system.

BLITZER: Earlier today, President Trump on Twitter took direct aim at a Philadelphia election official, another Republican, not a Democrat, another Republican for confirming, simply confirming in an interview here on CNN, that he has not seen any evidence of widespread fraud. Are you worried, Mr. Secretary, you could be next, if you say something that the President doesn't like, he doesn't like the fact that the people of Georgia have spoken. And he's losing right now by more than 14,000 votes.

RAFFENSPERGER: I have my job to do. And I'll follow it faithfully. I think that integrity still matters.

BLITZER: Have all the ballots, by the way, already been counted? How many ballots are still left to be counted, do you know?

RAFFENSPERGER: Very few, just a few thousand. We have about 100 counties of the 159 counties have already certified their results. And the other counties are working diligently on getting that done. Their deadline is November 13th, this Friday.

BLITZER: And as far as you know, these ballots are all legitimate, right? RAFFENSPERGER: All the ballots have been -- particularly ones with in- person voting, but we go through a process that counties do have accepted the absentee ballots, they've been verified. And then they're also, if the marks aren't made clear that they are adjudicated by three-person panel, one Republican, one Democrat, and then the county election official. We make sure we verify the intent of every voter to make sure that we have a lawful process and those are legal ballots.

BLITZER: I'm just curious. Mr. Secretary, how long do you think this can go on with President Trump refusing to concede that he lost the election because he wouldn't just have to flip the results in Georgia, he'd have to flip other states as well. And we know that's simply not going to happen. So, step back and give us your analysis.

RAFFENSPERGER: Well, Wolf I'm the Secretary of State, the state of Georgia. And this is my focus. I was elected by Georgians, and so, that's my focus is. I'm just going to focus on that. And there's a lot of states, we have 50 states, lots of other Secretaries of State, and they're all focused on their states. And we'll leave the rest to other folks, but I know I'm focused on right now is Georgia.

BLITZER: Well, we're grateful to you, Mr. Secretary, for focusing in on Georgia doing this recount. I'm sure we'll get the results, as you say, by November 20th and we'll see what happens.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, thank you so much for joining us. Good luck. Stay safe out there.

All right. We have more breaking news coming up here in THE SITUATION ROOM. The U.S. sets another daily record for new coronavirus cases.

[17:40:05]

Will Thanksgiving get togethers make things even worse? We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The breaking pandemic news this hour, the U.S. coronavirus death toll now topping 240,000 people and more than 10.3 million Americans have been infected. CNN's Nick Watt is in Los Angeles with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[17:45:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He went to work. It was the last time we saw him. That's the last time his children saw him.

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Daniel Mirallas (ph), a 39- year-old nurse among El Paso's COVID dead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He never recovered.

WATT (voice-over): This city is in trouble, nearly 30,000 active cases, more than some entire states have had all year. Another local nurse who helped out in New York in the spring says this.

NICK ROSE, REGISTERED NURSE: It's been a little bit more rough for me here than it's been for me in New York. I've done compressions on more people in the last three weeks than I had a year.

WATT (voice-over): Nationwide, we're now in old time record territory. More than 136,000 new COVID-19 cases confirmed yesterday. Nearly 62,000 patients in the hospital infected with this virus.

DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE DEAN, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: I'm just terrified. We are entering a very dark phase in this pandemic, the numbers are going up.

WATT (voice-over): 1,415 people confirmed killed by COVID yesterday, the highest daily toll since mid-August. Meanwhile, the President appears to have lost whatever interest he had in the pandemic and the President-elect doesn't take power for another couple of months.

DEL RIO: We have a vacuum of leadership and I think the vacuum of leadership is the biggest problem we have right now in our country in confronting this pandemic.

WATT (voice-over): That promising vaccine? Its impact also still months away and the holidays are on the horizon.

United now adding 1,400 flights to its Thanksgiving week schedule, anticipating high demand. Some governors are worried.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do not have people outside of your household over for dinners, parties, rather gatherings.

GOV. TONY EVERS (D-WI): It's not safe to go out. It's not safe to have others over. It's just not safe. Our economy cannot bounce back until we contain this virus.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT: Now, the President might not listen to his own Coronavirus Task Force much but they do still put out reports. Last week, they warned of significant deterioration in the Sunbelt that continues this week. There warning of continued accelerating spread across the top half of the country. Wolf?

BLITZER: Nick Watt reporting for us, thank you.

Coming up, new CDC guidance on masks and which ones offer the most protection information you need to know.

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[17:52:22]

BLITZER: There's new guidance out from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on masks and how they help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. CNN's Brian Todd is working the story for us. Brian, health experts are learning more about which mass actually work best. BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf, there's a lot of ongoing testing regarding which masks are most effective and which aren't. And that new CDC guidance really reinforces the idea that all of us need to keep wearing masks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): Just in time for the predicted winter surge of coronavirus, new guidance from the CDC saying, if you wear a mask, you're not just protecting those around you, you're protecting yourself from other people's droplets.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Recent data is now shown that as a matter of fact, there's also the added benefit to protect you from droplets and virus that's coming your way.

TODD (voice-over): As this New York Times illustration shows, masks not only stop many of the droplets exhale by the woman on the left, but also filter out many of those particles which still reach the man on the right.

DR. SEEMA YASMIN, FORMER CDC DISEASE DETECTIVE: It's putting a barrier over your nose and your mouth so that if people are in close proximity to you and they're talking or they're laughing, then those infectious droplets from them are less likely to cross your mucous membranes by your mouth or your nose.

TODD (voice-over): A study from researchers at Duke University in August demonstrated the efficacy of some masks in blocking droplets. They found some that worked well, others that didn't. They say, gators, those stretchy bands of fabric that cover the nose, mouth and neck and fleece masks didn't work quite as well unless the material was reinforced with more layers added.

PROF. MARTIN FISCHER, DUKE UNIVERSITY: It's a combination certainly off stretchiness of the material and the material potentially being very thin.

TODD (voice-over): The bandana they tested which was made from thin cotton material may look cool, but didn't work very well.

FISCHER: The material itself that is just, I mean, a little bit more transparent, a little bit more transmissive to these droplets. In addition, there's, of course, lots of gaps.

TODD (voice-over): The Duke researchers tested 14 different kinds of masks. A researcher put on each mask then spoke into a dark box to create droplets.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay healthy people, stay healthy people.

TODD (voice-over): They shined iridescent light from a laser to light up the droplets so they could count how many droplets were let through by the different masks. The ones that work well, they say, N95 surgical masks are the best, letting out very few if any droplets. While a woven cotton mask can block many of the droplets trying to pass through and N95 masks stops more of them because it's got synthetic fibers of random size and spacing.

Those standard three-layer surgical masks, the light blue ones that many of us can buy at stores, also work well, they say. And --

[17:55:06]

FISCHER: All the cotton masks we've tested, they work great.

TODD (voice-over): The fleeces gators and bandanas, the Duke researchers tested were problematic, they said, partly because of the size of the droplets they let through.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Little particles that get generated from big particles, they tend to hang around longer in the air, they can get carried away easier in the air.

TODD (voice-over): But the Duke researchers stressed this was just one test. And the performance of the gators, fleeces, and bandanas did improve with thicker material and more layers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: So, whether you wear these effective N95 or cotton masks or whether you wear those thinner bandanas or gators and double up the material, experts say, it's more important now that you wear something as we head into that expected winter surge of cases. Dr. Seema Yasmin says, we're on track right now to rack up more than 1 million new cases of coronavirus in the U.S. by the end of the year and wearing these might help head off that worst case scenario. Wolf?

BLITZER: It's an awful situation. Brian Todd, thank you.

There's more breaking news. The President-elect possibly announcing his White House Chief of Staff as soon as tomorrow.

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