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Inside Politics
Biden Wins Election, Trump Refuses To Concede; Interview With Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN); Trump's Grip On The Republican Party; Record Daily COVID-19 Infections In U.S. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired November 08, 2020 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:22]
JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to INSIDE POLITICS. I'm John King in Washington.
To our viewers around the United States and the world, thank you for sharing this very important Sunday.
Democrat Joe Biden is America's president-elect and he has laying claim to a sweeping mandate for change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: The people of this nation have spoken. They delivered us a clear victory, a convincing victory, a victory for we, the people. We've won with the most votes ever cast a presidential ticket in the history of the nation, 74 million.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: The fireworks display in Wilmington, Delaware, came four days after the polls closed and it celebrated both victory and history.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last. Because every little girl watch, tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: The president-elect's speech was short on policy promises, focusing first on the outreach to the 70 million Americans who voted for President Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I understand the disappointment tonight. I lost a couple of times myself. But now, let's give each other a chance. It's time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: That effort and unity though faces many, many obstacles. This chief among them -- President Trump is in no mood, at least not yet, to accept the results. "I won this election, by a lot," just one of the president's tweets on Saturday.
Trump attorney, an attack dog, Rudy Giuliani, promises legal actions in the week ahead, even though and this is an important, even though there's no evidence of the public record of any significant election improprieties.
The president-elect now being congratulated by world leaders, including close Trump ally Benjamin Netanyahu. But because of the president's posture and his anger, most leading Republicans are not yet acknowledging Biden's victory.
So the questions are many and they are consequential, from how Biden begins the transition of power to when the president comes to realize this fight is loss and what happens to the government's response to a surging coronavirus pandemic in the 73 days before the transfer of power from one president who ignores the pandemic to a new president who promises to tame it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Our work begins with getting COVID under control. We cannot repair the economy, restore our vitality or relish life's precious moments hugging our grandchildren, our children, our birthdays, weddings, graduations, all of the moments matter most to us until we get it under control. I will spare no effort, none, or any commitment to turn around this pandemic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: With us this Sunday to share their reporting and their insights, "Politico's" Laura Barron-Lopez, and CNN's Jeff Zeleny.
Jeff Zeleny, I want to start with you, I want to show our viewers the front pages, I'm an old print guy, sorry.
"The Philadelphia Inquirer" here, Biden wins. Pennsylvania, obviously, the state that put him over the top. It was a big event last night, Jeff Zeleny. The challenge now, though, is preparing to govern.
The former vice president, now president-elect, announce -- launching this hour his transition website. He promised to put together a coronavirus task force.
What does Joe Biden do in the next several days to send a message to the country, even as he waits to see if the president will accept the results?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: John, Joe Biden is moving forward. He's going to announce tomorrow as we know a coronavirus task force, a 12-member task force to really refocus the nation's attention on the biggest challenge at hand here. So, that is going to be the chief topic he's pursuing. And it was clear in his remarks last night here in Wilmington, as bright as his optimism was, as bright as those fireworks were, the question is, in any of this possible in this divided era.
That will be the central question hanging over all of the former vice president now, president-elect's hopes and dreams here. But he did reach out. He did, you know, echo those calls of unity.
I am told by a long-time ally of his, that he is willing to give the president and some Republicans most importantly some space here to accept defeat. The question is, how long?
[08:05:01]
But he's not waiting to move forward. You're going to will see swift action every day this coming week, holding briefs and really stepping into that role, again, first and foremost, on coronavirus.
KING: And I want to get to some of the big politics challenges. But first, there is history. I'm going to hold up the front pages of "The Arizona Republic," we have not yet called Arizona but Biden is leading there. It would add to his Electoral College win.
And I'll go through that in just a minute. But, Laura Barron-Lopez, you see Senator Kamala Harris there. You can see especially the black women in the crowd but all of the Democrats in the crowd, many of them in tears at this moment because America will have its first female vice president and its first woman of color as vice president.
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: That's right, John. I mean, we can't overstate the history of the moment that is Kamala Harris's election as vice president and something that President-elect Biden talked about last night and something that Harris herself talked about last night when she was remembering her mother, who had since passed and saying she was thinking of her last night and all of the generations of black, Latino, white, native American women who have helped push her and other women like her to this moment in history.
So, that's certainly something to be remembered and to be marked. And she's also expected to carry this roll with her as she and Biden tried to work with potentially a divided Congress. Her history in that Congress is going to be something that I think Biden leans on a lot as well.
KING: And the sweep of this impressive, Jeff. I just want to put up for our viewers just to show you, Joe Biden promised he's the best candidate to rebuild the blue wall. He did. He won Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
He flipped a congressional district in Nebraska. He's leading -- we have him gray here because we haven't called it yet, in Georgia and in Arizona. That would be flipping five states in a congressional district, flipping 74 electoral votes.
Joe Biden says that gives him a mandate, but we have an uncertain future. Democrats will likely lose a few seats in the House. We won't be sure until January which party controls the Senate. And yet you're hearing, your reporting matches up with this, from "Washington Post" this morning, he will rejoin the Paris climate accords, according to those close to his campaign, and commitments he's made in recent months.
He will reverse President Trump's withdrawal from the World Health Organization. He will repeal the ban on immigration for many Muslim majority countries and he will reinstate the program allowing Dreamers who are brought to the United States illegally has children to remain in the country.
So, exec -- do we expect in the early days executive actions to get started or is there a big Biden congressional initiative in the first 100 days as well?
ZELENY: John, we can't fully answer that question until after January 5th, those runoffs in Georgia. If Democrats happen to have a narrow majority in the Senate, it's no question that the Biden administration would like to pursue some of these things legislatively. If they do not have a narrow majority, which is probably more likely, then they will pursue more conservative actions.
So, this is someone who spent the majority of his life in the Senate, in the legislative branch. This would not be the top priority or choice for Joe Biden to pursue things in an executive way but he also spent his most recent years of service in the government in the executive branch. He knows how divided Washington is.
So, this will be a test. I'm told there are his priorities but the question is timing. It may not happen on day one but it depends on if -- Mitch McConnell is the Senate majority leader or not. And that relationship, John, will be the -- so important to everything between President-elect Biden and Mitch McConnell.
They've been friends and allies and enemies also at the same time for a long time but in this new divided era, can that work or can it not? We'll see.
KING: And one of the interesting things, Laura, as we wait, and again, as Jeff has noted, Joe Biden said let's give the president some space and we will see if that comes today. Hillary Clinton publicly conceded after she called election night the four years ago and publicly conceded the day after. We will see if this Sunday brings any changes in posture from the president.
But what has been fascinating is that world leaders are recognizing this, even the leaders of the president's own party here in the United State.
I just want to put up the screen, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And this is important, because he's such an important Trump ally. Joe, we had a warm and personal relationship for nearly 40 years. I look forward to working with both of you, to further strengthen the special alliance between the United States and Israel.
The Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the U.K., again, a Trump ally in some ways, congratulations to Joe Biden. I look forward to working closely together on our shared priorities from climate change, to trade and security.
The German Chancellor Angela Merkel, no fan of President Trump, says the American citizens have decided. Joe Biden becomes the 46th president of the United States of America. I wish him luck and success from the bottom of my heart.
World leaders saying this is over. The United States is ready to turn the page. But listen here, Steve Scalise, important member of the House leadership, says, not yet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): Why hasn't North Carolina and Alaska been called for Donald Trump as well as those Senate races?
[08:10:03]
Kind of curious there when they're both strong Trump states that aren't even included in these total.
So, look, there's a lot of game left to be played here. You look at Al Gore and George Bush. That wasn't decided until the second week of December and here we are in early November.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: The last part there gets to the possible, possible court challenges ahead. But most of the lawyers, even Republicans that looked at it, don't see anything to challenge, no widespread evidence. The first part is political posturing. He says we haven't called North Carolina or Alaska. We can give the president North Carolina and Alaska, it doesn't matter. He still loses convincingly.
BARRON-LOPEZ: And Scalise knows exactly what you said, John, which is why it is posturing, because those were added, Trump still doesn't have 270. Biden still wins. The longer it takes president Trump as well as Republican leaders to acknowledge that Biden is now the president-elect of the United States, prolongs that unity that what we were just talking about, prolongs the ability for the country to try to come together and for Trump supporters themselves to accept the results of this election.
And so, world leaders, as you noted, are already signaling that they know this is the result, that they are accepting this result. And it is in stark contrast with the Republican leaders themselves are not doing that instead are helping Trump push claims of fraud, the fact he won't accept the election outcome, and the damage of that to the American electorate's ability to move forward is something we don't fully know the ramifications of quite yet.
KING: All right. Not quite yet. Laura Barron-Lopez, Jeff Zeleny, grateful to both of you for getting a start on this Sunday. It's been a long week for both of you. I'm grateful for your time early on a Sunday. Up next for us, we'll continue the conversation, how Joe Biden changed
the presidential map and why President Trump -- unlike other candidates who came out on the short end of the count, refuses to accept it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: The people have spoken and we respect the majesty of the democratic system. I just called Governor Clinton over in Little Rock, and offered hi congratulations. We will get behind this new president and wish him -- wish him well.
AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: I'd say to president-elect bush that what remains a partisan rancor must now be put aside and may God bless his stewardship, this country. This is America and we put country before party. We will stand together behind our new president.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ): Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences and he has prevailed. These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:17:03]
KING: It took a few days to get there but America as spoken and its verdict is quite overwhelming. Remember Donald Trump's victory four years ago, Pennsylvania red, Michigan red, Wisconsin red, Arizona red, Georgia red.
Fast forward 2020, here's where we are, presidential election now, Joe Biden, rebuilds the Democratic blue wall. Haven't called it yet but he leads Georgia, a state that hasn't gone Democratic for president since Bill Clinton back in 1996. Joe Biden also flipped a congressional district in Nebraska.
This is even more compelling, Joe Biden more votes in a presidential election than any candidate in American history. He also leads President Trump in the popular vote, that's not how we pick a president, but that is a statement by more than 4 million and counting.
But the president doesn't like this. If you remember early on election night, the president was leading in all of these states because of the way America voted in this pandemic. Election Day vote, overwhelmingly for the president. Mail-in ballots, they take longer to count. That is why Joe Biden flipped Michigan, flipped Wisconsin, flipped Pennsylvania, pulled ahead in Georgia and pulled ahead in Arizona.
The results are convincing, Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States.
But listen to President Trump. He says I got 70 million votes more than any incumbent president, he's correct about that, but he doesn't want to acknowledge this map, because as the map changed, the president didn't like what he was seeing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you count the legal votes, I easily win. If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us.
We were winning in all of the key locations by a lot actually, and then our numbers started miraculously getting whittled away in secret.
There's been a lot of shenanigans and we can't stand for that in our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Joining us now with the reporting and insights, Maggie Haberman of "The New York Times", and Seung Min Kim of "The Washington Post."
Maggie, let me start with you. You've covered this president for a long time. There's no evidence of shenanigans, there's just not. What the president says, if they have something, there are courthouses across America they can go and prove it.
We do see and I see in your reporting over the past -- over yesterday essentially, there are some people close to the president coming to him and saying, sir, the math is clear, we need an off-ramp. Where do we stand on that this Sunday morning?
MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: This Sunday morning, we're still in the same position we were yesterday, which is the president as you say, is refusing to accept the results. And that does not mean -- I just want to be clear on this -- that doesn't mean he's going to barricade himself into the White House which a lot of Democrats have feared he is going to do. He will leave by everyone I have talked to, to his account.
But what he's not doing is letting his team let go of legal challenges for which he, he said, there's no clear bases of fraud that they offered up so far and judges in a number of suits have been very skeptical of what the Trump has been up to. One advisor I talked to described this basically as appeasing the president and letting him get this out of his system.
[08:20:03]
I suspect it go on several days. But will it go on into December? Probably not.
KING: Probably not.
And again, Seung Min, we'll wait. The president's, you now, lead attorney -- least the public attorney Rudy Giuliani says we're going to file all these lawsuits. We've seen them contesting this, that and the other thing. If you look at the numbers in the states and we look at history and
put up a graphic, it's just very hard to overturn the result of the election. And even if the president overturned one state, unless it's Pennsylvania, he won't get them.
But you see the president with -- 250 elections, two counts, no reversals. One reversal in the Senate race, one reversal in the governor's race. It just doesn't happen especially when you see the margins. The Pennsylvania margin is growing. The Georgia margin, we'll keep an eye on that. But, again, Joe Biden doesn't need it.
At what point does the president acknowledge the math or do you just fight it out?
SEUNG MIN KIM, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: He fights it out publicly for some time as Maggie said, to just sort of, you know, go through the motions of showing is conducting the election results. But at some point, reality will set in.
And, you know, I'm not sure we expect the president to give some sort of gracious concession speech like we've seen with presidents past. I'm not sure that you will see that traditional meeting with the outgoing president and president-elect in the White House that we saw four years ago and traditional lunch and coffee with the first ladies. But he will, you know, sort of come to terms with the results at this point. I think that's why you're seeing a lot of congressional Republicans say silent on Vice President Biden's victory. They are kind of taking their cues from the president right now.
You haven't heard a lot of Republican lawmakers, Republican officials congratulate Biden on his victory. And we'll see how much -- we'll see kind of the cues later this week when Republicans return to Capitol Hill to see if there are more kind of willing to say, look, the results are what the results are.
But it is kind of interesting to see that silence coming from the Republican Party at large.
KING: Right, and throughout the program, I just want to know, you know, America's verdict on this, this is -- I'm sorry, "Detroit Free Press." Michigan, a state obviously critical to the president's election four years ago. It flipped. It went to Biden. It went to Biden actually by a pretty overwhelming margin. Maggie elected is the verdict there.
Maggie, with your colleague Peter Baker, two of the best in the business, you write this this morning: A presidency born in a lie about Barack Obama's birthplace appeared on the edge of ending in a lie about his own faltering bid for re-election.
Look, we know this president is different. That's a polite term there. But he also can do math. So, one assumes there's a period of sulking and then a period of acknowledging.
My bigger question is what about the 73 days of governing? The country is in the middle of a pandemic that the president has been ignoring for months. What now?
HABERMAN: Right. I mean, that's an excellent question, John. I don't expect that the president is going to suddenly wake up and decide, now is the moment that he's more concerned about tending to the coronavirus pandemic as opposed to all of the months he spent minimizing it, heading into Election Day.
What somebody in government said to me they expect is going to happen is the president likely will take a trip to Mar-a-Lago, his private club in West Palm Beach, Florida, at some point in the coming days. He will not leave his job early but he will likely check out to some degree. He will not be, you know, hands on in the way we've seen previous presidents try to finish up loose ends or try to make sort of things happen in the final days.
There's the big open question, is he going to fire a bunch of cabinet officials who were appointees who signaled he was looking at before the election? I think his energy for that was a lot hotter before Election Day than certainly it is right now.
So, we have to see but I can see a world where you see Mike Pence stepping up a lot more to have to fill certain obligations and to handle certain aspects as leading with Pence world coming in the transition.
KING: Well, that, you know, somebody acknowledging the science and facts in the country would be nice, whoever that is.
And Seung Min, to the point you made earlier about Republicans giving the president space, I get it, I get it, he has a firm grip of the party. He got 70 million votes, many of them are afraid of him.
But at what point, or will there come a point -- let me put it this way, because we all live for the last four years, will there come a point before country comes before a party? And if the president, let's say, 24, 48 more hours past still won't acknowledge the math, will leaders step forward and show a little spine?
KIM: There will come a point for some of the party. I mean, people, for example, Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, has not said anything yet except for somewhere comments on Friday morning saying he believes the votes should ton to be counted. But people close to McConnell tell us once it becomes clear, once the legal challenges fade away, once it becomes clear that the president's team cannot produce evidence of fraud, McConnell will make it clear that, you know, Trump has lost the election and go from there.
But you also have to look at the other wing of the party too, who are vying for the presidential nomination in 2024. You saw how so many mobilized so quickly when Donald Trump Jr., the president's son, said he's looking for support from people who are seeking the national spotlight in four years.
[08:25:11]
And you see members of the conservative members of Congress rallying behind him, you know, donating to his legal fund, echoing the president and president's team rhetoric about potential fraud for which there is no evidence. So, you see that split in the party and how vocal they will be in the coming days will be interesting to watch as well.
KING: And it's fascinating, fascinating moment.
Seung Min Kim, thank you very much.
Maggie Haberman will come back with us a bit later in the program as we discuss a little bit more of the road ahead for the president-elect and Republicans.
Up next for us, though, progressives say Joe Biden knows them. Republicans who back say he owes them.
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar joins us with her take on the Biden governing challenge.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:30:12]
KING: Joe Biden is already at a crossroads. Progressives want credit for biting their tongues about policy differences and for pushing Democratic turnout. And they are closely watching Biden's choices.
This is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to "The New York Times". "If the party believes after 94 percent of Detroit went to Biden, after black organizers just doubled and tripled turnout down in Georgia, after so many people organized Philadelphia, the signal from the Democratic Party is that John Kasich won us this election? I mean, I can't even describe how dangerous that is.
And this is John Kasich, the former Republican governor of Ohio, who endorsed Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KASICH (R), FORMER OHIO GOVERNOR: The far left can push him as hard as they want and frankly, the Democrats have to make it clear to the far left that they almost cost him this election. That people in this country are basically center, center right, center left. They're not far left and they're also not far right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: With us this Sunday, Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. Congresswoman, first congratulations on your own re- election and victory in Minnesota.
The president-elect and your party face a choice here, Joe Biden campaigned as someone who would be an American president. He has reached out to Republicans and says he will continue to do so. But people from your wing of the party, the progressive wing of the party, and I know you worked hard in Minnesota for Joe Biden even though you had disagreements say we won this election for you, sir. Listen to us first.
How will you judge the president-elect and what are you looking in these next days, in the early days of this transition?
REP. ILHAN OMAR (D-MN): Well, good morning to you, John. And thank you so much.
You know, I think for us right now we're all relishing in the fact that darkness over our country has been lifted. What Joe did was invite the better angels of this country to come and participate.
We were all very clear-eyed about what the task was. We wanted Trump out of office, all of us not only wanted the decency back but we wanted the opportunity to govern with somebody who would listen and respond.
And I believe he made it clear yesterday or last night in his speech that he's looking forward to governing with all of us.
KING: So let's listen to a little bit of that because Joe Biden at the beginning of the campaign, a lot of progressives thought this is not the guy. This guy does not represent the energy in our movement. This is not the guy who's going to turn out people to get Trump.
But in the end, he was consistent on his message and he's now the president-elect of the United States. So he thinks he proved something. And this message last night was, at the end of his campaign, was just the same at the beginning. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let this glimmer of demonization in America begin to end here and now.
Refusal of Democrats and Republicans to cooperate with one another is not some mysterious force beyond our control. It's a decision, a choice we make. And if we can decide not to cooperate, then we can decide to cooperate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: So when it comes to progressives like yourself, what are you looking for in the sense that if we show the president-elect's top priorities, everybody hopes, I believe the whole country hopes, I hope Republicans do as well that we do a better job taming the coronavirus. So that will be a certain priority number one.
He says that he wants the new stimulus package to help people not only deal with the coronavirus but the economic fallout from it and the like.
But on big issues, the president-elect already disagrees with you on health care. He is not a fan for Medicare for all. He says he wants to build on Obamacare. He believes your post to climate change is too ambitious and he wants to address it and he says it's urgent but it's a more moderate proposal. I guess, what is your test? What are you looking for to see from Joe Biden that he understands how important your piece of the party was to his victory?
OMAR: I mean so last night we not only celebrated a historic win of, you know, the first black woman, South Asian daughter of immigrants who will become our next vice president. But we also celebrated the message that he sent in putting her on the ticket as the co-sponsor of the Green New Deal and Medicare for all. And her being on top of that ticket did not cost us the election. It actually won us the election.
[08:34:49]
OMAR: You know, every swing candidate who got the majority in the red- to-blue victory that we had in 2018, who sponsored Medicare for all, won or is on track to win their face. And all of those members who are part of the Progressive Caucus who are also in those swing districts won their races or on track to win their races.
That tells us that this -- that the Republicans are using to develop a narrative to start to create a wedge between Democrats really is something that we can't allow to stick and that narrative to get hold.
What we understood in this election was that we had one job. That one job was to get rid of Trump and to give ourselves the opportunity and the privilege to lobby new administration on the policies that we know resonate with so many people.
Fox News themselves did an exit poll and it shows 70 percent of Americans wanted government-run health care. It showed 70 percent Americans wanted the climate crisis to be addressed. We've seen things like increasing the minimum wage win as a ballot measure in Florida, while some Democrats lost.
We've seen policies like legalizing marijuana win in Montana and other places. And so to me this sends a message to that collaboration to the full governance to this upcoming administration that our policies are resonating with the American people.
And if our big tent Democratic Party wants to govern on behalf of all Americans, we should have a seat at the table.
KING: You mentioned that you called it a Republican narrative. As you know inside your own family there are some Democrats who disagree with you. Some of the more centrist Democrats, a few of them lost their seat.
I want you to listen to your colleague, this is Abigail Spanberger, one of the centrist Democrats, who said she believes it's hard for those kind of Democrats who live in those kind of districts where there's enough Republicans and where President Trump might be popular. It's hard and if you listen to this, she seems to be saying it's hard because of people like you. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. ABIGAIL SPANBERGER (D-VA): I think we need to be pretty clear about the fact that just from a congressional standpoint it was a failure. It was not a success.
If we don't mean we should defund the police, we shouldn't say that. We need to not ever use the word "socialist" or "socialism" ever again because while people think it doesn't matter, it does matter and we lost good members because of that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: How big will the fight be? Your colleague Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez, your friend says it's time for a ruckus. Progressives should have that ruckus now that Biden has won and Trump will be gone, let's have that fight. How big of a family feud is coming?
OMAR: I mean the reality is that there are, you know, some of these candidates who went out and rallied with Black Lives Matter and thought that it was convenient or even cute. You know, some of them even took pictures with protesters who had signs that says "defund the police". And, you know, when those pictures went viral, it complicated things for them.
This message that they are sending that we stand with you when we think you are going to be helpful to us and we are going to condemn you when there is a challenge really isn't the message that we should be sending to our base that delivered us the White House and allowed us to maintain governance in the house.
I mean, I just think about even my own state, you know, Tina Smith, who just won her re-election in the Senate, and Angie Craig (ph) both had candidates who ran ads against them, really awful, violent ads against them. And they both prevailed.
When you are disciplined, when you have built trust with the people that you serve. You will withstand every attack that comes against you. For us it's about figuring out what our message should be, how we should be disciplined in that message, the message shouldn't be to attack one another and to allow the Republicans who benefit when we are a divided house to have the last word.
KING: Let me ask you in closing. It's not my job -- you know, I watch the political fight. It's not my job to take sides so I'm not going to get into policy issues.
But your personal story is compelling, incredibly compelling. The president tried to make issue of that saying you were part of the problem, that you didn't belong here. That you shouldn't win your election that you were part of the problem.
[08:39:56]
KING: You mentioned Senator Harris last night, America will have its first female vice president. The first woman of color as vice president, somebody whose family has an incredibly diverse background. How do you see this moment? You mentioned getting rid of Trump as your
number one priority. But we're also getting history in the West Wing. How do you see the moment?
OMAR: It's such a hopeful moment.
I watched her come to give (INAUDIBLE) to give her speech with my little daughter who's eight years old. And the first thing Isra (ph) says to me was this is someone who looks like me, mama. And you know, we can't lose sight of the fact that, you know, representation is powerful, that she has now allowed so many little girls, not just in our country but around the world, to see themselves as somebody who could ascend to one of the highest offices in our nation.
And as she said, that anything can be possible if you're willing to work for it. I mean, I remember in 2018 so many people were hopeful because a lot of us brought diversity to the house. I remember I was hopeful when she won her senate race. And I think, you know in a time where we have all seen what Trump's darkness has done to our nation, the loss of hope and devastation, the humiliation that many of us have felt to have someone like him represent us as our president, to now have people who are hopeful, who talk about optimism, who will govern with respect and decency and compassion and empathy, really is an example of the kind of America that my dad wanted to bring me to and the kind of America that we all want to raise our children in.
KING: Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, appreciate your thoughts and your upbeat perspective today. Let's keep in touch. I suspect there will be a few bruising battles ahead but we'll get to those in due course. Appreciate your time today very much. Thank you.
OMAR: Thank you.
KING: Thank you.
Up next for us, the president lost not only the election but his -- not his grip on the Republican Party. And guess what? That complicates everything.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: The colors and the numbers here speak for themselves. Joe Biden, more than 74 million votes. He's more than 4 million votes ahead in the popular vote. That's a big message.
Not how we pick presidents, of course, but Joe Biden on track to win 25 states plus the District of Columbia, perhaps 326 electoral votes. That is a stunning rebuke, a loss for President Trump.
But even if you look, Pennsylvania did decide the election. When Pennsylvania was called for Biden, that was it for President Trump, it put Biden over the top.
[08:44:54]
KING: Yes, Joe Biden is winning the state. But look at that number 3.3 million votes for President Trump. Go back to 2016, the president won but with fewer votes.
So if you look at the map, if you pull it out to the fullness of the map, and you come at 2020, this is a defeat for the president and yet he still proved, among Republicans he's a powerhouse. He turned out more voters across many places in the country, even in defeat which is why even though he will have to leave the White House in 70-plus days there are many around him who think he might be back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICK MULVANEY, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Folks are starting to realize wait a second, if Donald Trump loses he might be the guy and I'm telling you I absolutely, I would absolutely expect the president to stay involved in politics. And would absolutely put him on the short list of people who are likely to run in 2024. He doesn't like losing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Maggie Haberman of "The New York Times" is back with us, along with Republican strategist and former Bush White House aide Scott Jennings.
Scott, to you first on that question, so this is one of the complicating factors right now. This is one of the reasons Republicans won't say "Mr. President. acknowledge the results and lead."
It's also going to be a giant complication for Joe Biden if Donald Trump every day is tweeting. Mitch McConnell don't do this, Mitch McConnell, don't do that, et cetera. What is the state of Republican Party right now with this president perhaps out of the White House but omnipresent?
SCOTT JENNINGS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, I mean the Republican Party is going to come to grips with the fact that he has actually changed the composition of the party, brought in new people and they're going to want to hold on to those people while rekindling a relationship that he also -- relationships that he's also driven away. So it is a hard thing.
But the reality is he got 93 percent of the Republican vote. He ran a much closer race than a lot of people thought was possible based on the national polling. And Republicans really do like his attitude even if his policy influence will be waning once he leaves the White House.
My advice for Donald Trump frankly is you have a chance to bounce back immediately. The next couple of big things that are going to happen in this country could happen on his watch. The next coronavirus relief package, if he wants to get engaged could happen. And a vaccine could come to pass before he leaves office. Or at least another step down the road.
And the economy bounced back but a lot of (INAUDIBLE) didn't cover the numbers Friday but the economy also bounced. He has a chance actually to leave office on an upswing, in a political upswing if he gets engaged in Georgia and help the Republicans hold the Senate majority. So he's got a lot of influence and a possibility of some bounce-backs here that do make him really relevant.
KING: And yet Maggie, he also some uncertainty ahead. His family faces potential legal peril. There are investigations in New York. There are other questions as well. He will lose his immunity as President of the United States so the ability to bring a case against a sitting President of the United States.
And we know his family is quite active. Already you see his son Don Jr. Tweeting "The total lack of action from virtually all of the 24 GOP hopefuls is pretty amazing." Eric Trump saying "Where are the Republicans? Have some backbone."
The Trump family wants Republicans to help him fight to hold office. It's just -- to me it's just a fascinating question. He's going to have to leave the White House, that is inevitable. But what does he do?
HABERMAN: That's a great question, John. And I think we still don't know the answer. Some of it as Scott said is going to depend on I think how he handles the next two months. Does he try to get involved in the coronavirus relief package? I don't see how his involvement is necessarily going to help things because he was not seen as an additive in previous discussions. But it's certainly possible that he could see a benefit in trying to do that.
It's going to depend on what he wants and how involved he wants to be in the next two months. There's a coming runoffs in Georgia Senate races. He could try to get involved in those. There are going to be elections in 2022 that he could try to get involved in.
I think it remains an open question of how he departs. And again I said -- like I've said before so many times, he's not barricading himself inside the White House. I do think you won't I hear a concession that is somewhat akin to how he gave a quote/unquote apology -- and I'm using that word very loosely -- for the birther lie about President Obama where he basically said, yes that wasn't true but I was right in the end -- or I was right to do this.
You're going to hear something like that. And at a certain point it's going to depend on how much Republicans, to Scott's point, they recognize he has brought in new voters but he did not get every Republican vote cast for the presidency and how much they're going to want to try to expand so that they can have a party that is more unified while the party is moving beyond him to some extent.
KING: And so Scott Jennings, from a governing perspective, you used to work for Mitch McConnell, does he listen to the former president Donald Trump or do we get some of this? Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENATOR MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Obviously, I don't always agree with him but I do trust him implicitly. He doesn't break his word. He doesn't waste time telling me why I'm wrong. He gets down to brass tacks and he keeps in sight the stakes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Can that Washington with a little trust resume or is that a relic of the past, Scott?
[08:49:50]
JENNINGS: I can't think of two better people to bring that back than Mitch McConnell and Joe Biden. If these guys really want to do it, I think they can heed the results of the election here, which is that neither party has all the power. The voters don't want either party to go too far, so they voted for divided government.
They pinned the ears back of the Democrats in the House and they gave the Democrats the White House and let Republicans have a big say in the Senate. So if you want deals and you want pragmatic people, they have proven, you know, what's the best predictor of future behavior is what you've done in the past. McConnell and Biden have done it. so I have a lot of hope actually that they'll be the pair that does that again.
KING: We shall see if that happens in the very consequential and uncertain days ahead.
Scott Jennings, Maggie Haberman -- grateful for your time and perspective on this Sunday morning.
And up next for us, the pandemic breaks records with a new daily case count above 125,000.
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KING: One giant challenge in this time of presidential transition, what to do about the coronavirus pandemic. While all of us have been focused on the presidential election, the pandemic situation is getting dire, dire and more dire.
Let's take a look at the map right now. A different map than presidential politics. 42 states -- 42 states trending in the wrong direction right now, meaning more new coronavirus infections now compared to a week ago. It's everywhere.
You see it. 42 states, eight holding steady. Zero -- no states, none of the 50 states heading in the right direction.
This chart is just depressing. You see the first peak in April, the summer surge. Yesterday another record. 126,000 plus new infections reported in the United States. And you don't need the numbers, just look at that red line heading straight up, heading straight up at a moment of crisis for the country as we await a presidential transition.
30 states hit a record in their seven-day average of new cases in this last week. Thirty of the 50 states hitting a new record in new infections in this past week. And with new cases come hospitalizations. 22 of those states reporting records in hospitalizations. The crisis is growing at a time the country now in a presidential transition.
Look at the positivity map. We spend a lot of time on maps -- red states, blue states. This is pain in lots of states. 37 percent positivity in Idaho, 34 percent, 53 percent in South Dakota, 46 percent in Iowa, 37 percent in Kansas.
You just see a lot of blue and gray. That means more people are getting tested or coming back positive which means more cases today and more infections tomorrow and it spreads.
Then sadly, as the cases go up, the death trend starting to head up as well. Since election day 5,000 Americans have died of the coronavirus.
Let's talk about of this urgent challenge ahead with Dr. Ashish Jha. He's the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. Dr. Jha, grateful for your time.
I'm troubled by this moment in the sense that President Trump frankly has just stopped paying attention to this pandemic and he'll be president for 70-plus days. Joe Biden is the president elect, who says it will be priority one on day one. But that day one is 70-plus days away.
What now?
[08:54:54]
DR. ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Good morning John. Thanks for having me on, John. We are in a difficult situation as a country. Those numbers pointed out we have hundreds of thousands of infections happening, nearly a thousand Americans dying.
If we do nothing, we are going to get to a point where I'm guessing between now and inauguration day as many as 100,000 additional Americans might die. So we do have to act and we have to act now.
The first thing I think is Congress needs to pass a bill that gets money to states. I'm not expecting a lot of action out of this White House. But states can lead and they need resources.
What Mr. Biden can do is do a lot of signaling. Instead of just him or his political leaders speaking up we need to start hearing from the scientists on his advisory committee. Clear communication to the American people about what is ahead and what they can do to stem this tide.
KING: The worst five days, I just want to show you here -- the worst five days in terms of new infections have come in the last ten days including four of them just this week -- Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. You see it right there.
What do the American people need to do if their president is not going to be engaged in this until we get a new president? What must the public do whether you're a Trump supporter or a Biden supporter?
DR. JHA: Yes. Remember the virus doesn't much care who you voted for or whether you voted at all. What people need to do is understand that the next two to three months, probably the hardest two to three months of the pandemic, people really need to be careful. They need to keep their gatherings to a minimum.
Do you know -- I think one of the major places virus is spreading is indoor gatherings. People are getting relaxed and having friends and family over. Those are causing big outbreaks. People need to really figure out how to curtail that.
Keep activities outside. Wear a mask all the time when you're outside of your home. Those things are going to be absolutely critical.
KING: Dr. Ashish Jha, grateful for your time today, sir. We will talk again in these challenging days and weeks ahead.
And that is it for us today on INSIDE POLITICS. Hope you can join us weekdays as well. We're hear at 11:00 a.m. and noon eastern.
Don't go anywhere, a very busy consequential "STATE OF THE UNION WITH JAKE TAPPER" just ahead. You see Jake's guests right there, they include Symone Sanders from the Biden campaign, Representative James Clyburn and the Utah Senator Mitt Romney.
Thanks for joining us in this Sunday. Stay safe. Enjoy your day. I'll see you soon.
[08:57:05]
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