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CNN Live Event/Special

CNN's Election Night Coverage as they Continue to Count Votes; White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has Coronavirus; Joe Biden Leading Pennsylvania 29,000 Votes; CNN's America's Choice 2020 Coverage; President Trump has Told People he has No Plans to Concede; State of the 2020 United States Presidential Election; Daily COVID Cases Hit New Record High in the United States. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired November 06, 2020 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00]

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Those are all big picture priorities for Democrats, the Democratic base. He called them out specifically tonight to send a message. And both messages at the same time, which was clearly very intentional, just signaling to people he's going to try to do both things.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Yesterday, President Trump in all caps issued a press release in which he said, if you count all the votes, the legal votes, I win. If you count the illegal votes, then they win. We discussed how the theory that he didn't tweet this, because if he had tweeted it, it would have been flagged as false election information by Twitter or Facebook if he out it there.

So he put it out in a press release. And then he came out, we didn't know what he was going to say. We're long past the point of hoping for a pivot from this president. But he started his remarks immediately with this thing that if he had put it on Twitter, it would have been flagged as false. With just a lie about the election. We didn't hear that tonight.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

TAPPER: We didn't hear Joe Biden mention Donald Trump.

BASH: No.

TAPPER: It was just about the fact that the voting was happening, the counting -- I'm sorry, the counting was happening. The numbers represents voters and we're going to get to work, we need to come together as a country.

BASH: The only slight allusion to the president was, I know how hard people are going to try to stop it. Meaning the counting. But, no, it was not about him. It was about the country and about what he's going to do. The other thing I thought was really, really telling, and I think we're going to see a lot more of this just on the politics of Joe Biden's potential win when and if that happens is if he does win.

And if he does -- looking at the screen get the first state, Georgia, and the last state there, Arizona, that's a huge deal for a Democrat, to be able to claim wins in those two states. If in fact it does happen. Particularly if you look at, when he talks about the blue wall, he talked about it tonight, rebuilding that. When you talk about the Midwest. But he's also talking about the southwest, and a totally different kind of Democratic Party that is alive there.

PHILLIP: Yes. I mean, if these gains hold on this map, this is a new map. This is a Joe Biden map, similarly to how in 2008, when Barack Obama won, you know, North Carolina and Indiana. Those were -- and solidified states like Colorado. Those were changes to the map in a Barack Obama era. This is a different era that Joe Biden is going to have to define.

What kind of mandate is he reading out of what happened? There were some mixed results for Democrats on Tuesday. But if you heard Joe Biden tonight, it sounded like he felt that -- that he could govern without viewing this as a sort of divided result.

He said he had a mandate, and I think that's an interesting but intentional choice, because obviously, you know, one could argue that even a mandate, you know, even 300 -- if he ends up with 306 electoral votes, even with that these margins in some of these states are so narrow, and the fighting was so bitter that, yes, the country remains divided.

But he's choosing to lead as if h has a mandate even with a smaller majority in the House of Representatives, even that knowing that Democrats are unlikely to take over the Senate. That's going to be, I think, an interesting -- it's going to be interesting to see how that is executed.

TAPPER: Yes, although, I mean, you know, in all fairness, when Donald Trump won the same number of electoral votes with slimmer margins, although we don't know the final result, and he lost the popular vote, he certainly claimed a mandate. He called it a landslide, which wasn't happen -- it wasn't -- which hadn't happened.

You noted that a Democrat hadn't won Georgia since 1992. And I don't think a Democrat had won Arizona since 1996. You have to go back to 1992 to find a time that an American president, an incumbent, ran for re-election and lost.

PHILLIP: That's right.

TAPPER: So, we are all looking at Joe Biden as having done something potentially quite unique in decades, but also we are looking to see what exactly Donald Trump does, how he handles himself if it's with anything close to the grace that George H.W. Bush demonstrated back in 1992. Anderson?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Jake, thanks very much. It's interesting here Dana say she felt like it was a soaring address. One of the things I was thinking is just how can a normal and traditionally presidential speech it was? Ran some seven minutes or so. And perhaps that sounds particularly soaring given what we have become used to over the last four years, just in the kind of remarks we're used to hearing.

[23:05:10]

So, also was interesting that he both talked about the human losses, the pain that exists out there because of the deaths of so many Americans. And also the economic losses, clearly it's one of the messages that I think he is going to be trying to send in the next several days. Both addressing the pandemic itself, but also trying to talk about mitigation efforts on the pandemic as a way to bridge to try to help the economic pain that is out there. Gloria?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: When you think about Donald Trump's speech last night, it was all about challenging the legitimacy of the process, undermining democracy, you know, charging falsely that, you know, votes weren't counted, et cetera, et cetera. And that the votes should stop being counted.

Biden tonight spoke about the legitimacy of democracy. And applauded democracy, and applauded democracy and praised the way it works. And he was optimistic, he was not full of grievance. This wasn't about me, me, me. It was about America, America, America. And being president of all Americans. And when I listened to it, I thought, OK, this is a speech that was kind of written by professionals who understand what it's like to be a gracious winner and to behave that way.

One thing that I noticed that he pointed out was, we're already at work. And I know our colleagues were talking about that. But I can tell you, that his transition is in full swing, as it has been. And maybe that's what he'll talk about if the race is called tomorrow. Maybe he'll give us some more indication his bipartisanship.

But they're moving, they are moving about what they are going to do, not only on COVID, but on everything. And I remember the Trump transition, where Chris Christie came in with the big transition book, and they threw it out the day after they got elected. So this is completely the polar opposite of what we're used to.

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I'm happy. I mean, I'm happy. I like the speech, I like the empathy. I like the optimism, I like it. It's just good. And you know, this guy is going to need a lot of help. OK, if he wants to do what he's talking about, if he wants to bring people together, he's going to need a lot of help, he's asking for it, and he's worthy of it. Winston Churchill said deserved victory. That's the man that deserves the help of a nation to get together. I liked the speech. When he talks about civility, that shouldn't be corny stuff. Civility, that's what we were raised by, what we were raised to be. Listen, I'm sorry -- I'm just happy.

COOPER: OK. Rick Santorum, and I want to hear from David, and we got to go back.

RICK SANTORUM, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. The only thing that I think Republicans will look at the speech as a perfectly fine speech, (inaudible) there's sort of a normal speech. You know, I don't know of any president who gets elected who doesn't say they have a mandate. But I think Republicans don't see it that way. And I think that will be the real question here.

COOPER: David Axelrod?

DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think one of the most important things he said had to do, we may be opponents but we're not enemies. We're Americans. We got to get pass the anger, we need to put anger and demonization behind us. And he promised to be a president for everyone. We don't have a minute to waste on partisan warfare.

I think, these are important messages at a time when the country is on sort of a jagged edge after a very, very rough campaign. And given the presidency that we just saw. My only question is, what is he going to say tomorrow if he gets elected? Because you expect that he's going to hit the same themes all over again.

JONES: I don't mind. Say it again.

AXELROD: But if Van is happy, I'm happy.

COOPER: All right. Let's go back to Jake.

TAPPER: Thanks, Anderson. We have some breaking news, let's go right to our White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins who has some news, some rather bad news on the coronavirus front. Kaitlan?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jake. Not election related but we are now confirming from a White House official that the president's Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, has tested positive for coronavirus. This is notable because Meadows of course is someone who works in close proximity with not only the president, but has been around several campaign officials and top West Wing aides this week, as they've been going over the post-election fallout, dealing with what the president's next steps are going to be.

And now we have learned that Mark Meadows has tested positive for coronavirus. Now, it's not clear when he tested positive, or what the situation is there. We do know that he has not been around people today, other officials today, because we are actually trying to chase down some reporting earlier about a conference call that he was on. And so now we have confirmed this.

And another interesting factor in this, Jake, is that of course, Mark Meadows was the person who was by the president's side when he went to Walter Reed, when he himself had coronavirus. And there were several instances when we were talking about the fact that Mark Meadows was not wearing a mask or he had been in the room when the president, with the president did not have a mask on and he himself was infectious. Yet at that time Meadows was tested daily. He continued to test negative.

[23:10:20]

And now, here we are as the White House is trying to navigate what exactly it is they're going to do, you know, whether or not the president is going to concede this election, if it becomes clear that Joe Biden has secured the presidency. And now they are also dealing with another twist. The chief of staff himself dealing with coronavirus.

And, Jake, this must have been really recent development. Because we've been reporting over the last several days how Mark Meadows has been intimately involved in what the next steps they are taking on. I was told that he was someone who was feeding the president's baseless claims about widespread voter fraud, and he's presidency, this election being stolen from him. So he has certainly been around the West Wing, he's been around the president, he's been around campaign officials.

And so, it not only raises questions about him obviously self- isolating, but if any other people he came in contact with are now going to have to self-isolate or self-quarantine. I should say since they came into contact with someone who was tested positive for coronavirus.

And of course we should note, Mark Meadows is not someone who often wears a mask. He was on camera at Capitol Hill and, when a reporter asked him to wear a mask, as he was answering questions from reporters a few weeks ago, he said he wasn't going to talk with the mask on because he was socially distance and then walked away. So, this is something that we are just finding out, we're going to get more details on this, but we can confirm the chief of staff has tested positive for coronavirus.

TAPPER: All right, Kaitlin Collins, thanks so much. And we should note for our viewers that today actually was the worst day in the United States in the history of this pandemic when it comes to new infections reported more than 125,000 Americans today alone tested positive for coronavirus.

This is also the third consecutive day of more than 100,000 cases, new cases each day. And this does underline, Dana, the failure of this administration to not only contain the coronavirus, the pandemic in a way that at least is comparable to the way they've been able to do it in say, Canada, north of the border. But also their failure to contain the coronavirus from the White House.

This is at least the third outbreak of some sorts, you had the president get it, you had the Vice President's staff get it, you had that event for now justice Amy Coney Barrett where a number people got it, a superspreader event, and now the White House chief of staff.

BASH: And we could've had another superspreader event at the White House this week. I mean, the president had a couple of events, including a big one on election night, on Tuesday night. I didn't see very many masks there did you? Mark Meadows was there. And so, that's number one.

I was told that he not only was at the White House yesterday, he was at the campaign. So once again, there's going to be a question of whether or not this is going to spread through the campaign, whether or not people who had already got in the first round, when the president had it in the last month. Whether they're going to have to quarantine at a time when they're still wanting to fight the fight.

You know, obviously we should say as always we do hope that he's OK and wish him well, but wearing a mask sometimes helps in 2020, now that we know what we know about COVID.

TAPPER: Of course, bad news. Yes.

PHILLIP: yes, I mean, and this is, how I count the third outbreak that we found out from the media because the White House refuses to be transparent about people who are contracting coronavirus within that organization, or that institution. They are obviously trying to keep this under wraps because it looks bad for them politically but it is irresponsible.

As Dana pointed out, they had a very large event in the east room of the White House on Tuesday night and very few people, including several White House officials you could clearly see we're not wearing masks.

TAPPER: And we should just note for anybody wondering about the situation here at CNN. We are sitting farther apart than we normally sit. We are sitting 6 feet apart. And when we go up and we go back to our offices or walk in the hall, all of us are wearing masks here. And our camera man and our crew, it's a no minimal skeleton crew here and they're all wearing masks as well.

Yes, I mean, look, it's sad obviously Mark Meadows is somebody -- that we don't wish this on anybody, we hope he gets better soon. We hope he doesn't show many symptoms, but it is once again an example of how this administration doesn't appreciate the health experts, who are telling them the best way to keep this virus from spreading is to wear a mask.

And in fact, we've heard a number of -- a few days ago President Trump was talking about perhaps firing the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Wolf?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Yes, sad, I'm not happy to hear about Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff that he has corona. He's 61 years old. So, he's not exactly a teenager or a youth or anything, so we hope and we wish him, John, only the best. We hope a speedy recovery for Mark Meadows.

And everyone who was in contact with him, they presumably will have to quarantine now for a while and hopefully nobody will get it. But it's a really worrisome development. And Biden in a statement today, he said he fears that the number of daily coronavirus cases could go up to 200,000 a day. We pointed out correctly, the 240,000 or so Americans have already died from coronavirus.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So you take that development in this sad moment and we wish Mark Meadows the best, but it's another outbreak inside the Trump White House. And you take what we heard from the soon to be most likely president-elect of the United States who has been receiving daily coronavirus updates. So almost daily coronavirus updates. Something the president doesn't do anymore. The president for months

has stop meet with the experts. So, five days this week have set the new records including today as Jake just noted.

And so, what do you take away from that? So many things. If you listen to Joe, Biden what does he say? He's trying to tell the American people I believe I have a mandate. Well, you can understand that claim. 74 million votes and counting. It could reach 75 million votes. That is the most votes any candidate for president has ever receive, so you can say whether you're Democratic or Republican, of course he can claim a mandate. He has set a record in American politics.

However, his opponents, Joe Biden says his time to stop calling each other's enemies, his opponent in the election got 70 million votes, and he has shown no signs, he is going to acknowledge the results of this election and get out of the way. He will retain a grip over the Republican Party for sure, even if he has to leave the White House. So, the challenge for Joe Biden is fascinating.

Here is his map. And he's right, if it holds up he has made quite a statement. Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin back in the Democratic fold. Georgia, a state not voting Democrat for president since Bill Clinton, a recount there but it could well end up blue as well. Arizona, a state that has not voted Democrat since Bill Clinton this one was 1992, that one was 1996. Joe Biden saying I'm changing the map of American politics because people want change.

Holding all the Clinton states in addition to that. So, there are many challenges though for Joe Biden. Now he will become president elect. He says let's do COVID, let's do the economy. Let's talk about climate change, let's talk about racial justice. He will have supported the House of Representatives, which is still Democratic but, he will also have some huge policy fights, a ruckus as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the liberal Congresswoman from New York puts it.

Liberals, smartly unify for the election, they want some big policy fights over personal and the Biden administration, and then over policy in the Biden administration, the one thing he doesn't know, Wolf, is what will be the composition of the body in which he once serve. Joe Biden a long time United States Senator. We don't know, right now, Republicans have the balance of power and the Senate still have control, but there will be two runoff elections here in Georgia. Two runoff elections that could determine it.

So, it's a long way to go. Just one last thing I want to show as we do this. Is this is with Joe Biden was talking about if you come here and you look at this, the country he will take over as president if things stand the current trajectory set a record today for COVID infections. It is everywhere. In red America, in blue America, in Republican communities, in Democratic communities. And Donald Trump is president for 75 more days. He has shown zero interest in recent days and weeks of dealing with this, he will be president for 75 more days.

BLITZER: Yes, and he says Biden that the pandemic is getting worse, more worrisome. He's clearly concerned that he wants to remain calm, and patient. But there is a lot going on. Everybody stand by, Biden only moments ago, saying it's clear he is going to win this race, as his lead expands in Pennsylvania right now. We'll take a closer look where the race stands, what is about to happen next, our special coverage continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:20:00]

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: Welcome back to CNN's continuing coverage election night in America goes on. I'm Chris Cuomo with Don Lemon. Joe Biden, not a winner yet but he just spoke moments ago to the country and D. Lemon, he says confidently, we will win this race. More about tone than content.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Right.

CUOMO: The president was obviously, he wishes maybe President-Elect Biden was trying to project calm to be patient and to respect the process. And it's good advice because we have a ways to go.

LEMON: We do have a ways to go, but I think that whole patient's thing and people are -- that I was sitting here with said, you know what, he made me feel calm in this moment. That's something that we need right now. We're talking about a lot of numbers right? All the votes are coming in. The record number of people who tested positive for the coronavirus this week. The country is dealing with a lot in this moment.

Chris, we are going to be help people get through it. We have an election, we are seeing the votes, they have been changing all day since you and I have been here. So, people want the country to come together. And that's what the possibly president-elect is saying.

And he's also talking about the worst thing in pandemic numbers. So, we have a lot that we have to deal with, its impacting families. It's impacting the economy. It's impacting all Americans.

CUOMO: I mean, look, you know, often Don and I when we are not at work will say to each other, can you believe what we're living through right now? Every once in a while it hits you right? We are living history.

LEMON: I didn't even mentioned the Chief of Staff, Chris.

CUOMO: There you go. Mark Meadows just tested positive for coronavirus. You know, another example of how the White House had become a cluster, it's a metaphor for a (inaudible), an intentional pushing away of the reality of the pandemic. We wish him well. We hope it doesn't spread to his family. We hope he's back up on his feet as soon as possible.

[23:25:05]

But this country won't be until somebody decides to take on the virus. So, the election matters, but the problems are continuing right along. Today we have the most cases we have ever seen single day in this country. So, let's get to business. The grind is the glory. As we take little steps, we'll get to the finish line together. D. Lemon you and me another night, let's get after it.

LEMON: Let's do it.

CUOMO: All right. Let's do the key race alert from where we are in the election.

Pennsylvania and Georgia, of course we are talking about four states, Nevada and Arizona, but let's start, Pennsylvania 20 electoral votes. 28,000 833. That's the margin for Joe Biden. Our vote still coming in? Yes. Will they change the state of play? Likely not. But remember, everything that happens adds a layer of doubt or certainty.

Georgia, 16 electoral votes. The margin 4,395 votes. Vote to come in there, very skinny. Recount? Almost a given. We will watch that very carefully. Arizona, it's better when you wait for it. Arizona, 11 electoral votes, 29,861 is the cushion there.

Remember the math, Biden wins Pennsylvania race is over. If before that Biden wins Arizona and Nevada, race is over. So, you got to watch it all. All right, the margin there as I said, just under 30,000. Nevada 6 electoral votes, 22,657 are there. That had been late reporting. Now, a much more comfortable situation for the president. We will take you through it on the wall in just a second for Biden not the president.

Here's the wall 253 to 213. Frustratingly inactive right? Yes. Why? Again, the grind is the glory. You have to be sure, OK? Mail-in ballots have change the dynamic. They get processed more slowly, you have to be more exacting, you have to be careful. It is better to wait.

All right. We have two reporters covering our campaigns for us tonight. Let's start with Kaitlan Collins covering President Trump of course, and we have Arlette Saenz. Actually, let's start with Arlette, in Wilmington with the Biden campaign. So, he came out, his speech seemed more about tone than text in terms of a message he wanted to deliver, you know, with information or some kind of plan. Where are they hoping for right now in the Biden camp?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Chris, Joe Biden had hoped to be delivering a victory speech that he would have been declared the president-elect by this point. But instead as the race still remains uncalled, Joe Biden turns to a message of unity. He talked about the need for the process to play out, to respect that process. Even addressing and acknowledging the fact that sometimes just watching all of these votes coming in that it could be mind-numbing. But he did note that those tallies, those counts all represent a vote from a real person.

Talking about the power of voting right now. And you also heard the former vice president speak in very stark terms about the coronavirus pandemic in this country right now. That is something he has repeatedly stressed over the course of his campaign, saying that he is going to continue getting to work on it right now, they held a briefing on it just yesterday. That he wanted to make sure that is front and center of Americans minds at this moment.

But really the speech was about unity. He talked about how politics isn't meant to be a constant warfare between people. Saying that people maybe opponents but they should not be enemies. That is something that really was a hallmark of Biden's campaign as he had talked about the need to unite the country. And tonight he is looking beyond the current race. Talking about how Americans do need to find ways to work together.

Now, Biden at the end of his remarks did say that he hopes to address the American people again tomorrow. That is a moment that he is hoping will be a moment of victory for him. Here in Wilmington Delaware, the stage behind me remains set for the time being. It's been unused for a few days since Joe Biden came out to speak on election night.

But for now, while his aides had hope that this race would had been called by this moment, they are still in this waiting game. Adhering to that patients that the former vice president has called for as he is waiting to see if he will cross that 270 electoral vote threshold, Chris.

CUOMO: You know, what should have us, what they called tender hooks is Biden going to win or not, what is going to do? How is he going to handle this pandemic? But let's be honest. We know what the biggest x- factor is right now.

[23:30:00]

CUOMO: Will President Trump if this election is decided for Joe Biden, will he accept it? And if not, what will he try to do to the rest of us?

Let's go to CNN's Kaitlan Collins in Washington right now. What is the feel, what is the word in and around the Trump camp?

COLLINS: Well, Chris, the latest we've heard is the president has not prepared a concession speech.

And even if Joe Biden's lead is continuing to grow as it has throughout the day in several of those critical states that Arlette was just talking about and you noted in the key race alert, we are still told the president does not plan to concede. And instead, they are looking to the courts and they are looking to their legal team to try to fight this and drag this out into a prolonged battle.

Even though the president has privately said that the math may not be there, he is saying that he wants to cast doubt on the result of this election as he has attempted to do ever since Wednesday morning when that lead that he had started to slip away. The president is trying to paint it as something nefarious even though election officials predicted this is what would happen.

Because the president told his reporters not to vote by mail, so, of course, they largely apparently did not vote by mail. So, we are seeing as these ballots are being counted that were cast by mail, they are increasingly for Joe Biden. So, of course, the president is looking to the courts. We are told that right now, he is actually voicing displeasure with the legal team that they've assembled, basically asking some people to get him more attorneys and questioning whether or not they are actually going to be able to make solid legal arguments in court. Of course, we have seen that they have not really been able to do so in the public eye.

Now, we have just added another twist to the drama that was already happening at the White House this week and already inside the West Wing that we were told was being described as a frenzied atmosphere today when people were realizing the president likely could lose his chance to be re-elected. His chief of staff, Mark Meadows, who often has been seen not wearing a mask, has now tested positive for coronavirus.

It is not clear, Chris, exactly when he tested positive, but we do know Mark Meadows has been in the residence this week, he has been in the West Wing this week, he has been at the campaign headquarters this week, he has basically been everywhere. As you can see from this picture, that is the president addressing the campaign staff at the headquarters in Virginia on Tuesday. You can see Mark Meadows, his chief of staff, standing behind him and not wearing a mask.

CUOMO: Mm-hmm.

COLLINS: Several other officials are also not wearing a mask. You see the campaign officials are, but people like Kayleigh McEnany, Jared Kushner -- Kayleigh McEnany has already had coronavirus. We do not know about Jared Kushner. And now, I don't think it's a really good time obviously to get COVID-19 but this is truly a worst case scenario as the president is gearing up to contest the outcome of this election, his main top deputy, his chief of staff, has now tested positive.

CUOMO: Right. Mark Meadows kind of proving his own statement correct, that we are not going to control this pandemic. He wound up getting it himself. Again, we wish him well. I hope it doesn't spread to his family. I hope that he doesn't have symptoms and he gets back.

You know, just from a simple stress perspective, if the president's best argument is to try to undermine the democracy, not a bad time not to be too close to the White House.

Kaitlan, thank you very much. Arlette, thank you, as well.

So, where are we in the state of the race? How does it look in terms of numbers and expectations? Let's get back to the magic wall. Phil Mattingly, good to see you, as well, my brother. So, what are we seeing in the state of play? How close are we?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN U.S. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Let's kind of topple on things. Just give you the full universe as we get started with our shift tonight which is seamlessly a never-ending election week. Let's explain why it is never-ending right now.

We are looking at four states, four states that could potentially all go to Joe Biden, potentially give Joe Biden as many as 306 electoral votes, but have not been decided yet. So what are we watching? We're watching state of Pennsylvania, we are watching the state of Georgia, we are watching the state of Arizona, and we're watching the state of Nevada.

The universe of outstanding ballots -- that's what everybody wants to know as it currently stands. How much is left? How long is it going to take the count? I can't give you an answer on the latter. But on the former, we are looking at about 90,000 -- a little short of 90,000 votes in the state of Pennsylvania.

In Georgia, there's barely anything left. There's about 14,000 provisional ballots expected to be counted. There could be somewhere at least -- sorry, somewhere up to 8,000 military and overseas ballots. The deadline was Friday at 5 p.m. We are waiting to get final numbers on that.

Georgia, as you know, they're probably headed to a recount. Joe Biden with pretty sizeable lead there all things considered about 4,000 votes. So, we will see how that ends up.

Moving over to Arizona, that is a race that, unlike Pennsylvania where Joe Biden has slowly pulled Donald Trump's lead back and overtaken him and then extended his own lead, Donald Trump has started to try and do the same thing over the course of the last 24 hours with Joe Biden in the state of Arizona, bringing back Biden's pretty sizeable lead right now.

What we are waiting for in the state of Arizona is roughly about 173,000 votes, the bulk of them, or at least more than half of them coming from the largest county in the state, Maricopa. We should get those in the morning. That will decide kind of how this race is going. Right now, Biden's team feels comfortable there, but we will wait and see. The margin has been dropping.

[23:34:57]

MATTINGLY: Finally, Nevada, there is about 120,000 ballots left outstanding in Nevada. Joe Biden has a fairly comfortable lead there right now all thing considered, at least compared to Georgia at this point in time, but we are waiting to see how those ballots are coming in.

The bulk of them are coming from the largest county in the state, Clark County. The batches that have dropped over the course of the last couple of days have been positive for the Biden campaign, beneficial to his lead, it has grown.

So that is the map as it currently stands. The reality, I think, Chris, we have been talking about this now for a couple of days, is this is where everybody is looking.

CUOMO: Right.

MATTINGLY: This is where everybody is looking. This is a place that Donald Trump had at one point 600,000-plus vote lead over the course of several days.

CUOMO: It faded away. But let me ask you something, Phil. One of the frequently asked questions that I see in the universe of skepticism out there is, you know, you're 96 percent here, 99 in the other one, you guys call races all the time at like 40 percent of the vote in. Why aren't these states being called? What is the easy answer?

MATTINGLY: The easy answer -- look, let's lay a couple of things out. I think everybody wants finality to this in some way.

CUOMO: If it comes along with accuracy.

MATTINGLY: That's the biggest thing. I think that is what we need to keep in mind. Our decision desk which -- I am biased here but I think it is absolutely the best in the business. We have smart people who have been working through this assiduously over the course of the last couple of days, looking at the entire universe of what is outstanding.

Look, everybody has seen the trend line. It is glaringly obvious where this has been headed over the course of the last 24 hours. Why? Election Day vote went huge for President Trump. What was left over? Mail-in ballots. Democrats have dominated the mail-in ballots. And the majority of the mail-in ballots have come from democratic strongholds.

Look at southeast Pennsylvania, still waiting for 25,000 out here in Allegheny, and it is not just because they've got big margins in these areas, but the mail-in ballots have been even bigger margins as they come in.

But, you wait and see the universe, as I said, a little shy of 90,000 outstanding, also universal provisional ballots. You can get a sense right now of where those are. Every desk is taking that into account, as well. So, we don't call the races, our decision desk does. You want to know why we not calling the races? They want to get it right. They want to make sure they understand the full universe before making a call.

CUOMO: And what makes it different than the ordinary course when they do it? Is it just that the margins are slim and when they're that small, they can move with very little votes?

MATTINGLY: Yeah. I mean, you don't -- I don't want to speak for them on this one. They're the expert. But you don't want to call a race when there's any chance that it could change.

CUOMO: Right.

MATTINGLY: Again, we have seen the trend line. We know where it is headed in Pennsylvania and it has been pretty clear. But wait and see. Count everything and we will go from there.

CUOMO: You know what we've learned? Projections can be wrong.

MATTINGLY: Can be.

(LAUGHTER) CUOMO: Let's go to Senator Bob Casey in Pennsylvania, Democrat, of course. You have that nice little map just like my fifth grader has on her desk. You got one behind you of the state. You know the state well. You've been saying for days that Joe Biden would take Pennsylvania. You've always had a high degree of certitude. I am assuming that has not changed.

SEN. BOB CASEY (D-PA): No, it hasn't. Chris, the data crunchers at the voter project, who -- their numbers are the ones I place reliance upon. But I don't it changed. And I think so far, as you've seen the margin growing (INAUDIBLE). The only question I have is, what will the number be, the preliminary number upon which some news organizations may make a determination about a call?

CUOMO: Right.

CASEY: But I think ultimately, the official count maybe two weeks from now will hover at around 100,000.

CUOMO: Wow! Well, look, the number has to be a coefficient, right, where it is -- how many votes are still left out there and what is the trending percentages for the two candidates, and can it be met or bested by that? And once they feel that certainty, they'll do it.

Now, here is the problem with time. Time is accuracy. That is good. But the biggest risk right now, let me ask, is it whether or not Biden wins Pennsylvania? Probably not. It is how will Donald Trump

respond to Pennsylvania being called for Joe Biden? How worried are you about what Trump is capable of?

CASEY: Well, Chris, I always have to be concerned when you have a president who on a regular basis is not only lying about mail-in ballots, lying about the vote that we're seeing unfold right before our eyes, but he's willing to do virtually anything to undermine our process of voting and will do anything to distract attention from what is happening, what has been happening ever since voters cast their votes.

The good news is the American people are not distracted. They voted in record numbers, none seemed to be intimidated or pushed in the direction of not voting. And I think what they're yearning for right now is a president who will lead. And I think they saw that president tonight, Joe Biden. You saw a leader who stood up and provided in a short body of a remark, unifying, respectful, empathetic comments about where we are in this country, not just with regard to voting and --

[23:40:02]

CUOMO: Right.

CASEY: -- COVID-19 but just how we relate to each other. So, they saw that tonight. I think they wish that the president would demonstrate that same leadership.

CUOMO: Well, let's take one more step down the road of what is next. Arizona, Georgia, and you, you're the vulnerable state in terms of the president's (INAUDIBLE) easier narrative. One, you got Democrats running your state. He has got a hard narrative to make at all. So this was an inside job by Georgia, which is all Republican, by Arizona saying (INAUDIBLE) doesn't make any sense.

You guys, he can target. You guys have the rule that was made by a court and not by a legislature. He is going to come at you and you've decided the election if it goes for Biden. Do you believe Pennsylvania has vulnerabilities in terms of how the balloting was done, the accuracy of the count, anything like that?

CASEY: None. Chris, this law, Act 77, is a law passed by the general assembly of Pennsylvania, controlled by Republicans, signed by a Democratic governor.

The only issue the president has raised is about a number of potentially -- a number of votes that is very small, maybe as little as 10,000 votes. In other words, the votes that postmarked on Election Day and came in Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

He cannot contest the overwhelming number of votes that have come against him. It is going to lead to a margin that means that Joe Biden will win the state.

CUOMO: OK. I appreciate it, Senator Bob Casey. Thank you very much for joining us. Let's see what happens. Hopefully it gets done completely and accurately, and then this country can find a way forward because we have the biggest challenges I have seen in a long time.

All right, let's get over to D Lemon. You know, it is amazing, Don --

LEMON: Yeah.

CUOMO: -- that today was our worst day with cases in the pandemic --

LEMON: Three days this week.

CUOMO: I mean --

LEMON: Three days this week, we have record numbers. It is really unbelievable. And it's really illustrative. It is what you said right off the top here. You see -- we are in the middle of a historic election.

CUOMO: Yup.

LEMON: And then you have an administration that is currently in power right now who have been downplaying --

CUOMO: Intentionally.

LEMON: -- intentionally --

CUOMO: Yeah.

LEMON: -- but lying about it, saying, you know, telling in public, saying one thing, but then behind closed doors admitting to Bob Woodward, that he knew how deadly this pandemic and how easily it is to be transmitted.

CUOMO: And that's the frustration you have going on right now, Don. You have President Trump trying to make people believe something that is not true --

LEMON: Yeah.

CUOMO: -- about the largest celebration of democracy we've had in our lifetime. People came out during a pandemic like we've never seen before.

LEMON: Yeah.

CUOMO: The American people showed up. And yet, at the same time, he is actually doing what he is accusing the Democrats of on a pandemic, lying to you about an inside scheme to keep it quiet --

CUOMO: Yeah.

CUOMO: -- and it is getting worse and worse.

LEMON: It is always about projection.

CUOMO: Tough days.

LEMON: Whatever he projects. And guess what -- but guess what you cannot deny when it comes to the pandemic and when it comes to this race, and that's math. It goes to the numbers. I want to talk more about it. You had Bob Casey. I got Charlie Dent. I'll raise you a Charlie Dent from --

CUOMO: It's a strong play.

LEMON: Charlie Dent is a former congressman from Pennsylvania. Thank you, congressman, for joining us. Before we get to this race, just real quickly, when you hear about the chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and possibly others around him, some aides, what have you, the reporting is still coming through, what do you make of this during the middle of a historic election?

CHARLIE DENT, FORMER PENNSYLVANIA CONGRESSMAN: Well, Mark Meadows is a friend. I wish him and his family well. But it's clear to me that so many people in the White House certainly haven't taken this pandemic seriously. Most of us travel around with our mask. We don't go anywhere indoors without a mask. We are always wearing it.

It just seems that they are not just taking this pandemic as seriously as they have. I think that is part of the reason why they're going to be unsuccessful in this election. They're going to lose this election because so many people want this issue addressed seriously. The White House has been a hot spot. Frankly, they have themselves to blame for it.

LEMON: Yeah. DENT: Again, I wish Mark Meadows well, but I'm just sorry that we are where we are.

LEMON: I think you're right about that, about wishing well. I just remember, I think it was maybe a week or two ago when he was doing an interview with Jake. He said, come on, Jake, you don't wear it in the studio. It's like, of course, we wear this. We have these masks on when we are -- when I leave this set, if I go to the restroom. Sometimes I forget it. I have to run back and get the mask. But we go, we walk around with these masks because we know the science.

DENT: Yeah.

LEMON: I want to ask you, let us talk about the election quickly, unless you want to make a point.

DENT: Sure. No, Don, I had COVID. I mean, it is a terrible thing.

LEMON: Yeah.

DENT: It is something you have to take seriously.

LEMON: So Vice President Biden is trying to set a tone. He wants people to be calm. He wants people to respect the process while the president still wants to fight right now. Listen, there is going to be no graceful departure. What does Biden do in this case?

[23:45:00]

LEMON: I feel and I think many others do, as well -- the president and the administration are signalling it -- that this is not going to be a traditional exchange of power. So what does Biden do?

DENT: Well, I think what Biden will do is what he did tonight. He was talking reconciliation, unity, and calm. He is starting to project forward and saying, of course, that he's going to win. He can't declare victory but he is projecting confidence, stability, and steadiness which are a wonderful contrast to Donald Trump, who really displays traits of chaos, disruption, and dysfunction. It's a wonderful contrast.

I think he's trying to rise above it a bit. He knows there is going to be a storm, there are going to be lawsuits, yelling and screaming, but at the end of the day, Joe Biden knows he is going to win and that there will be a transition.

All we can hope for is that Donald Trump will take the transition seriously and show some grace as George H.W. Bush, Al Gore, and Jimmy Carter, all of whom really showed us how to help with a peaceful transition of power the right way.

LEMON: Yeah, and especially with Barack Obama, considering what the current president had said about the former president, about not being born in this country and so on, the whole birther issue.

DENT: Of course.

LEMON: I want to go back to COVID. It is part of the question I am going to ask you because I know some Republicans won't think, especially strong supporters of the president, they won't think it is a mandate, but Joe Biden is also saying, the former vice president is also saying that he has a mandate when it comes to COVID, on climate change, on systemic racism. Is that how you see it?

DENT: Yeah, I think Joe Biden will have a mandate on COVID. I think there are certainly a bit of a mandate to address climate change and racial reconciliation. But I really don't think -- I think I said last night -- I really don't think there's a real specific policy mandate though for either Joe Biden or for the Republicans, who can make a case that they did well, too, last night, certainly on the congressional side.

But I really think the mandate was more of a governing mandate. It is about steadying the ship of state. Basically, you know, projecting to the world that America is back in the game and that we're going to function with some degree of normality.

I think that was really the message because I do believe that voters want to send a message. They want to get rid of the dysfunction and disruption of Donald Trump, the steadying voice of Joe Biden, but they want to make sure that the left wing of the Democratic Party wasn't going to have too much of a say in the administration.

So many people -- many swing voters, I am telling you, Don, they voted for Biden and then they voted Republican down ballot, enough of them to make a difference. They wanted a bit of check in the balance of political balance of power.

LEMON: Congressman, I have to go. I don't have much time. But I would be (INAUDIBLE). If you're watching the numbers, you're in Pennsylvania, obviously, a former congressman, as you see it now, where do you see this going?

DENT: Oh, yeah, Joe Biden is going to win Pennsylvania. We just heard Bob Casey, Senator Casey. He says 100,000. I'm going to say he will get at least 40,000. Trump won the state by 44,000. Biden will exceed that number. He may hit 100,000. But I'll say at least 50,000-vote margin.

LEMON: When do you think we'll know?

DENT: Oh, they're counting slowly. The provisional ballots are going to take a little while longer. I am hoping we will know by the end of the weekend. That is what I am hoping. But I don't want to speak for the people in Allegheny County where they have --

LEMON: I thought you're going to say I am hoping we will give nobody at the end of the night, which is about in 11 minutes or so.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Congressman --

DENT: This is government work. This is government work.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Congressman, it's always a pleasure. Thank you very much. We appreciate it. You were watching those numbers coming out of Pennsylvania and Georgia and everywhere. It could happen tonight. It could happen tomorrow. And as you heard the former congressman say, it could happen by the end of the weekend. We are going to carry it, we will be watching for you, and we will report it. We are going to be back in just a minute. Don't go anywhere. This is CNN.

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[23:50:00]

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CUOMO: All right, to figure out where we're going, we have to understand how we got here. That brings us to Phil Mattingly and the magic wall. Pennsylvania, the most recent moves, this was the number we were watching for a long time.

MATTINGLY: Yeah.

CUOMO: When the dam broke, why and where?

MATTINGLY: So I kind of want to track back. Let's just go to 24 hours ago. That's Friday at midnight. I know we've all lost track of the days right now. But if you take what's happened over the last 24 hours, Donald Trump started the day Friday up 22,000 votes, and then you can just progressively see as it gets cut down over the course of the day.

Joe Biden flipped into the lead Friday morning, by midday is up by 8,000. Where are we right now? He is up by 28,000. There are two things you needed to pay attention to if you're watching Pennsylvania. One, what came in down here? We knew. We knew last night. We knew last night the outstanding vote in bulk was from democratic strongholds, it was vote by mail, and it was going to be coming in. Not superfast but it is going to be coming in.

CUOMO: To be fair, you knew. I was not sure.

MATTINGLY: We talked about it.

CUOMO: Yeah.

MATTINGLY: We talked about it plenty.

CUOMO: (INAUDIBLE) six hours.

MATTINGLY: I gave you the information.

CUOMO: You told me --

MATTINGLY: Whether you took it was up to you. (LAUGHTER)

MATTINGLY: And then we knew -- we knew that there were about 3,600 votes outstanding in Allegheny. What has happened is we've seen the votes come in from Southeastern Pennsylvania, we've seen about 5 to 6,000 votes come in from Allegheny and progressively Joe Biden has built up his lead.

The one other thing though that I think has been most clarifying about this pathway over the course of the last 24 hours has been the vote that has come in counties that aren't deep here, that aren't blue, that aren't deep blue like Southeast Pennsylvania.

You take a county like right here, like Westmoreland County. This is deep red. This is deep red. Donald Trump. You look at that margin. It's a large margin. You put a bulk of Donald Trump's vote right here and what he picked up. And yet, and yet over the course of the day, when we saw votes come in and be reported by Westmoreland County, they were leaning towards Joe Biden.

[23:55:07]

MATTINGLY: This gets to the point of why the trend lines have been so firm, is that even in republican counties, because of vote by mail, because that's how Democrats voted, this, down here, the blue, the 35.1 percent, that is where the votes coming in. Joe Biden is picking up votes not just in strongholds. He is picking up votes in the president's strongholds.

CUOMO: All right. So what we still have to figure out is where the rest of the votes are that we are waiting on. We have information on that. And of course, we have a couple of what-happens-next context to discuss. We will, right after this.

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