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U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Tops 277,000 with 14.2 Million Cases; Biden: Future "Very Bleak" without Another COVID Relief Package; Sources: Trump Blasted Georgia Governor as "Moron" and "Nut Job" in Recent Phone Call; Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) Is Interviewed About Pelosi Defiant Over Handling Of Stimulus; NJ Gov On Virus Surge: It's Bad And It's Going To Get Worse. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired December 04, 2020 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:15]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. We are following breaking news.

The U.S. coronavirus death toll has now topped 277,000 people and there are now more than 14.2 million confirmed cases here in the United States. COVID-19 killed almost as many Americans just yesterday as died on 9/11, nearly 3,000. It's the leading cause of death in the United States this week.

Those grim numbers prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to put out new guidance on masks calling them critical to stopping the virus and saying, in some cases, masks should even be worn at home.

President-elect Biden just took questions about the pandemic and said his team has not yet seen any detailed plan from the Trump administration on how to, quote, "get the vaccine out of the container into a syringe and into somebody's arm."

He also pressed Congress to pass a new stimulus bill to help Americans whose benefits are about to run out and he is warning, I'm quoting him now, he is warning of a "very bleak" future unless there is more relief and more relief very quickly.

Let's begin our coverage this hour with the unfolding coronavirus crisis which is getting worse and worse by the day. Our national correspondent Athena Jones is joining us from New York right now.

Athena, we are just learning about new stay-at-home order from millions of Americans. What are you learning?

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, that's exactly right. This came out just a short while ago. The San Francisco Bay area is getting ahead of California's new statewide restrictions issuing a stay-at-home order for nearly 6 million people in five counties and the city of Berkeley. Under these new health orders, outdoor dining is no longer allowed, and hair and nail salons must close. The restrictions going to effect Sunday and last until January 4th.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE DEAN, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: We are seeing numbers that none of us believe it was possible to see with this pandemic right now.

JONES (voice-over): It's never been this bad. And it's only getting worse. The U.S. setting records for new coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths Thursday. Some 14,000 people losing their lives to the virus just since Thanksgiving. Now an influential model predicting the death toll will nearly double to almost 539,000 people by April 1st. That is more people than live in Atlanta and Sacramento or in Kansas City, Missouri. Experts warning there is more trouble ahead.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: So, I think we have not yet seen the post- Thanksgiving peak, that it is likely we will see more of a surge as we get two to three weeks past the Thanksgiving holiday.

JONES: That peak putting more pressure on already struggling hospitals and 911 systems.

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: What lies ahead for the next few months is actually our worst-case scenario in terms of overwhelmed hospitals, in terms of the death count that is occurring.

JONES: Ohio's governor warning the state's hospitals are already in crisis.

California, which hit another single day high for new cases Thursday, with more than 21,000, pulling the emergency brake with new restrictions tied to hospitals ICU capacity.

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): The bottom line is if we don't act now, our hospital system will be overwhelmed. If we don't act now, we will continue to see a death rate climb, more lives lost.

JONES: With hospitals in the golden state treating a record number of COVID patients in the ICU, the new stay-at-home orders will go into effect 48 hours after a region's ICU units fall below 15 percent capacity. 4 out of 56 regions expected to reach that threshold quickly.

Meanwhile, states are preparing to distribute thousands of doses of a coronavirus vaccine as soon as possible after the FDA signs off which administration officials say could happen within the next couple of weeks.

GOV. NED LAMONT (D-CT): We're going to get the most vulnerable and our essential workers all vaccinated within three or four months. That takes us say to mid-spring. That doesn't mean we are out of woods, but it does mean we're beginning to turn the corner. Then we work broadly, get the vaccine out there. JONES: The doctors say mitigation efforts are still essential, a message echoed by a 23-year-old in Arizona who suffered a stroke during a bout with COVID.

RILEY BEHRENS, SUFFERED STROKE DUE TO COVID-19 COMPLICATIONS: I thought if I get sick, if I test positive, I'm just going to have a little bit of trouble but I'll be OK. And I was not OK. And so, I would just say it's time to start taking this more seriously than I think a lot of people have. It's like wear your mask and social distance.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES (on camera): Wear your mask and social distance. The CDC said today masks are critical to controlling this spread and that includes wearing them at home sometimes.

[17:05:02]

The agency says some communities should consider handing them out. And an influential model said that while a rapid vaccine role out would reduce COVID deaths by April by 11,000, universal mask wearing would save 66,000 lives. Wolf?

BLITZER: Just wear a mask. It's so simple, yet so important. Athena Jones, thank you very much.

We just heard President-elect Joe Biden speaking about the pandemic and the challenges of getting vaccines out there. Our political correspondent Arlette Saenz is in Wilmington, Delaware, for us. Arlette, Biden says, so far, he hasn't seen any detailed plan by the Trump administration to get those vaccines out to people. What else is going on?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, President- elect Joe Biden's team has been working with the Trump administration to learn of what their distribution plans are for that vaccine. And I asked Biden whether he is satisfied by what they have learned so far about the federal government's plans. And he told me that there are still questions about what these plans will look like to actually get them in the hands and in the arms of Americans across the country.

And Biden also talked about the need for Congress to take immediate actions when it comes to coronavirus relief. He warned that if Congress does not act, it will be a very bleak future.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAENZ (voice-over): After November's jobs report showed fewer gains than expected, President-elect Joe Biden acknowledged the hardship facing many Americans amid the pandemic.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Jobs report was released, and it was grim.

SAENZ: As negotiations are ongoing on Capitol Hill, the president- elect pressed Congress to act. On a bipartisan coronavirus relief deal.

BIDEN: I'm talking about the folks out there aren't looking for a handout. They just need help. They are in trouble through no fault of their own. We are in a crisis. We need to come together as a nation. We need the Congress to act and act now.

SAENZ: With the FDA on the brink of approving a coronavirus vaccine, Biden vowed planning for its distribution is a top priority while also signaling concern about the state of plans under the Trump administration.

BIDEN: They have included us in on their planning on how they plan to distribute the actual vaccine to the various states, but is there no detail plan, that we have seen any way, as to how you get the vaccine out of a container, into an injection syringe, into somebody's arm.

SAENZ: In an interview with CNN, the president-elect revealed the ask he'll make of Americans when he takes office as he looks to curb the spread of the virus.

BIDEN: I'm going to ask the public for 100 days to mask. Just 100 days to mask. Not forever. 100 days. And I think we will see a significant reduction if we incur that.

SAENZ: Biden is also building out the team that would lead his coronavirus response. Including asking Dr. Anthony Fauci to remain involved.

BIDEN: I asked him to stay on the exact same role he's had for the past several presidents and I asked him to be chief medical adviser for me as well and be a part of the COVID team.

FAUCI: Oh, absolutely. I said yes right on the spot.

SAENZ: With Biden's inauguration 47 days away, there are questions about whether President Trump will attend the traditional ceremonies as he refuses to concede.

BIDEN: The protocol of the transfer of power I think is important but it's totally his decision and it's -- of no personal consequence to me but I do think it is for the country.

SAENZ: But as President Trump weighs possible preemptive pardons for his family and allies, Biden is expressing concern over the president, it might set and insisting he will let the Justice Department operate independently.

BIDEN: It's not my Justice Department. It's the people's Justice Department.

SAENZ: As he builds out his cabinet, Biden is also facing pressure to diversify his picks but has resisted offering a commitment on two top jobs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you commit to nominating a person of color for those positions? BIDEN: You're going to see significant diversity. I'm not going to tell you now, exactly what I'm doing in any department.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAENZ (on camera): And as President-elect Biden mulls his remaining cabinet picks, his transition team has signaled it is going to be a very busy few weeks heading into the holidays. Biden is expected to announce members of his health team early next week, as he is trying to put together that team to tackle the pandemic. Wolf?

BLITZER: Arlette, I want you to stand by. I want you to come back. We got more questions for you. But I want to bring in our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta right now.

Sanjay, you just heard the president-elect say, he has some concerns about the current administration's vaccine distribution plan because, as far as he can tell, there is no detailed plan, at least not yet, at least something that he hasn't been briefed on. We are so close. We hope to have approved vaccines but obviously it won't matter much if people can't get them, right?

[17:10:03]

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean that is the critical thing. I mean there is so much to celebrate in terms of the vaccine that looks like it's going to be authorized next week. But the whole implementation arguably, you know, one of the most complicated distribution plans that we've seen you know in this country or around the world is about to unfold.

States today, Wolf, are basically submitting their plans to the CDC in terms of what they are asking for the vaccine and how they plan on distributing it. Operation Warp Speed is responsible for getting the vaccine from the manufacturers to the states. But then after that, the states, sort of take over.

Some states say they don't have enough funds to implement the plans that they would like to implement. The vaccines are supposed to come with the syringes and needles and things like that but obviously, if you run into shortages there that could be a real problem as well, Wolf. I think what the president-elect was talking about.

BLITZER: Yes. This is a real potential problem. As you know, Sanjay, Admiral Brett Giroir says at least 20 million Americans will be able to receive COVID-19 vaccines by the end of this year, by the end of this month, specifically. Is it realistic to think that 20 million Americans will, in fact, be vaccinated this December, right now?

GUPTA: Well, you know, Wolf, I mean it's almost like part of the same issue that we were just talking about. Things have to go perfectly in order for this to work. And the plans are still being submitted by these states. You know, my guess is there is going to be hiccups here. We are about to endeavor on something we really haven't done at this scale before. Also, just the numbers. We can show you know Pfizer, for example, if the authorization occurs and it seems like it well, they would have around 6.5 million doses at the time that the shots start going into arms.

By the end of the year, they say 40 million doses but that also counts on the fact that Moderna would come online as well. So, getting all of those manufacturers to distribute it almost immediately and then distribute it to the states specifically, there's a lot there.

So, is it possible? Yes. It's audacious and everything's got to go perfect.

BLITZER: I'm hoping that eventually we will be able to get a coronavirus vaccine like we get a flu shot every year. Simply go to the neighborhood drugstore and get the shot and go home. It may be a little bit more complicated this time around, obviously.

The CDC, Sanjay, now says masks are critical to stopping the spread of coronavirus and they go one step further saying even at home. This comes as President-elect Biden says he will encourage Americans to mask up for the first 100 days as soon as he takes office.

Are we finally going to see the kind of leadership on masks that we all need that you guys, healthcare professionals have been calling for, for months?

GUPTA: You know it certainly sounds like it, Wolf. I mean, you know, whether people will listen or not I think is still an open question. About 70 percent of the country self-report that they walk out of the house with a mask on nowadays.

What the models will show if you get that number up to 95 percent near universal, that is when you start to get a dramatic impact on the trajectory of this pandemic in this country. So, you know, there are more people than not are doing the right thing but you need to improve that.

I think what struck me, Wolf, I was at the White House, say a couple of weeks ago to interview Ambassador Birx. We are in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, cold day outside. A lot of people inside. Within the White House structure, less than half the people we saw were wearing masks.

So, even if the president-elect talks about federal buildings and government buildings around the country it starts to make a difference, sets a tone in other institutions may follow. There's still going to be non-mask wearers, Wolf, because this has become such a politicized issue, but I think you can dramatically increase the percentage of people who wear masks.

BLITZER: Yes. CDC says that what, 50 percent of the people who transmit the virus are totally asymptomatic. They don't have a clue. That's why mask wearing is so, so critically important.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks very much. An important note to our viewers. Join Sanjay along with Anderson Cooper and Dr. Anthony Fauci for a coronavirus townhall answering your question about vaccines. That's tonight, 9:00 p.m. Eastern only here on CNN.

And there's more breaking news. Just ahead, a growing exodus among White House staffers and complaints. We'll have a very toxic atmosphere over at the White House right now.

We have new information. We'll share it with you when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:18:40]

BLITZER: We are following multiple breaks stories this hour, including President-elect Biden answering reporters' questions just a little while ago and pressing Congress to pass new economic stimulus bill.

There's also breaking news out of the White House right now where we are learning that a growing number of senior staffers are giving up, giving up on President Trump's attempts to try to overturn the election that he clearly lost.

Let's go to our chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta. Jim, you're learning new information from your sources. Update our viewers.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. President Trump stayed invisible yet again today, one day before he is expected to travel to Georgia to campaign on behalf of GOP senators who are battling to hang on to their seats and a tight runoff race down there.

The president's refusal to accept the election results overall has thrown those races in Georgia into jeopardy. But as you were just eluding to, Wolf, in the meantime, CNN has learned more White House staffers are beginning to plan their departures from the administration. One senior administration official told me, the White House is becoming, quote, "more toxic" by the day with people, quote, "turning on each other."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): The White House is caught in a bind. As top officials are scrambling to save two Republican Senate seats in the upcoming Georgia run-off races, President Trump is still crying foul over the election he lost more than a month ago.

PENCE: We need the Peach State to defend the majority, because the road to the Senate Republican majority runs right through the state of Georgia.

[17:20:06]

ACOSTA: The president's attacks on the election results have undermined his own party's chances in Georgia. Mr. Trump has blasted the state's governor, Brian Kemp, privately calling him a moron behind the scenes, all part of his complaints he was cheated.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They know it was a fixed election. It was a rigged election. They know it. And I appreciate their support.

ACOSTA: The result? Some Trump supporters are questioning whether they should even bother voting for incumbents Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue. That has Republicans worried.

SEN. DAVID PERDUE (R-GA): President Trump's very frustrated. I'm very frustrated. And we're going to do everything we possibly can to make sure that whatever anomalies are uncovered in November don't happen in January.

But this is illogical for any Republican to think that, oh, I'm just going to sit down and not vote and hand, as you say, the keys over to the Democrats. We know what's at stake.

ACOSTA: CNN has learned the president's refusal to concede has frustrated members of his own staff, who are heading for the exits, with one source saying some aides worry Mr. Trump is both tarnishing his own legacy and undermining voters' faith in U.S. elections.

A senior administration official described a West Wing environment that is getting nasty, saying -- quote -- "I think people are moving on because they have families or livelihoods to support, that, and the place is becoming more toxic by the day, people turning on each other, trying to settle scores while they can."

As some staffers are resigning, like White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah, other Trump loyalists are lining up influential posts, with advisers Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie be appointed to the Pentagon's Defense Business Board, the kind of deep state behavior Mr. Trump has railed against in the past.

TRUMP: Unelected deep state operatives who defy the voters to push their own secret agendas are truly a threat to democracy itself.

ACOSTA: Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, a Trump loyalist, laid out another danger in questioning the election results. It is emboldening U.S. adversaries.

QUESTION: Does the intelligence show that foreign adversaries are amplifying the voter fraud allegations?

JOHN RATCLIFFE, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: They are.

QUESTION: Who is doing that?

RATCLIFFE: I can't tell you.

QUESTION: But they are?

RATCLIFFE: Yes.

QUESTION: And what is their objective? RATCLIFFE: To undermine public confidence in our democratic processes.

ACOSTA: Another serious concern, the virus-ravaged economy, as only 245,000 jobs were added last month, 224,000 fewer than expected, as the unemployment rate dipped to 6.7 percent. The numbers showed job growth is slowing as the pandemic worsens.

LARRY KUDLOW, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: I don't think the job numbers are necessarily the end-all and be-all. I think we're way ahead of expectations. And I think the economy is still fundamentally sound.

ACOSTA: Which is why congressional leaders are finally moving toward a compromise on a relief bill, though smaller than Democrats would like.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): It is less money, but over a shorter period of time, and we need to do it to save lives and livelihood, with the hope that much more help is on the way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (on camera): And staffers who are plotting their departures over here at the White House are now ignoring warnings from a senior White House official issued last month. Johnny McEntee who threatened to fire administration employees who are looking for work elsewhere. As one White House adviser put it to me earlier today, some staffers here are just moving, it is time. And so, while the president, Wolf, is not ready to concede, there are staffers here who aren't waiting for him to do so. Wolf?

BLITZER: As you point out, you got to make a living after January 20th.

ACOSTA: That's right.

BLITZER: They have families to support so they are looking for new jobs big time right now. Jim, stand by. I also want to bring in our senior political commentator David Axelrod and CNN political correspondent Arlette Saenz is back with us as well.

You know, David, the president-elect is urging Congress to act now on an emergency COVID-19 relief bill with hundreds of billions of dollars. He says more to come after he takes office after January 20th. How far does that go with leaders up on Capitol Hill?

DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think it's helpful and it's important, but I think what is pushing them along are events here. These jobs report today, Wolf, was kind of a disaster just 245,000 new jobs that slowed down every month in recent months. That big recovery that we first saw from the pandemic recession has stalled out.

And, you know, the thing about this report was that it included the fact that hundreds and hundreds of thousands of Americans have quit looking for jobs because they can't find them. And they have been discouraged. This virus is wreaking havoc on the economy that may improve later but that's not good news for people.

Now, you hear Larry Kudlow, he sounds like Marie Antoinette there talking about how things really aren't that bad. If you own a small business that has to shut down and you lose it, it's bad. If you can't find a job and you don't have a paycheck, it's bad.

And I think both sides understand that now. Mitch McConnell is talking to Nancy Pelosi. They have got a must-pass bill, spending bill for the government that is going to be voted on Monday.

[17:25:00]

They hope to attach this to it. And there does seem to be a sense of urgency. I don't know if the White House is communicating that but on both sides of Capitol Hill, both ends of Capitol Hill and the capitol, I should say, they seem to be moving forward on this.

But on both sides of Capitol Hill, both ends of Capitol Hill and the capitol, I should say, they seem to be moving forward on this.

BLITZER: Yes. Given the millions and millions of jobs that have been lost since the start of the pandemic. If you only create 250,000 jobs a month, it's going to take at least another three or four years to get back to where we were before the start of this pandemic as those numbers as you correctly point out are very disturbing.

Arlette, the president-elect wouldn't commit to naming people of color for Defense secretary or attorney general. We heard your question to him earlier today. But he says he'll have the single most diverse cabinet in American history. He certainly is facing a lot of pressure on this front, isn't he?

SAENZ: He is, Wolf. And President-elect Biden, throughout his campaign, vowed that he would have a diverse administration that looks like America and also reflects a different viewpoint as well. But in that event earlier today, I honed in on that big -- those big four cabinet posts and looking at the Department of State, Treasury, attorney general, and also Defense secretary. Two of those people Biden has already nominated are a white man and a white woman. And you have seen constituencies like civil rights groups and also lawmakers up on Capitol Hill pushing Biden to consider and nominating some people of color to some of those top jobs.

He did not comment or did not want to commit when it came to attorney general and defense secretary. Probably not wanting to get boxed in as this process is still playing out. But it is a concerted effort that you are seeing from outside groups trying to push him to select more diverse cabinet nominees and something that he has said that his administration will implement going back to those campaign promises that he said that this would be the most diverse administration in history.

BLITZER: You know, Jim - Jim Acosta, as you know, the president is scheduled to go to Georgia tomorrow to campaign for those two Republican senators down there. But according to our reporting, your reporting, at one point he called the Republican governor, Governor Kemp of Georgia, what a moron, a nut job. How is this going to play out down in Georgia right now? Because a lot of Republican voters potentially are getting turned off even going out and voting again in early January.

ACOSTA: Right. I mean you talked to Republican operatives and I've talked to some. They are worried that the president's refusal to accept the results of the election digging in his heels may be about to backfire in the state of Georgia and throw control of the Senate over to the Democrats when the president, day-by-day, is undermining people's confidence in what is happening with the counting of the ballots. That, obviously, is having some effect and the people that he has tossed by the wayside, people like Sidney Powell has been thrown off of this legal team is continuing to rail against voting down in Georgia. And that is convincing.

You're seeing anecdotal evidence people coming out of some of these events down there saying, well, I don't know if I want to vote, I don't want to throw my vote away in an invalid election. When you know the president is the one who is cementing that point of view in their minds.

And so, Wolf, it's one of the reasons why I'm picking up you know from staffers and aides over here at the White House this deep frustration with the president that he just won't concede. But I talked to a White House adviser earlier today who said, wait a minute, don't you know who you work for? Talking about these staffers. You work for Trump. He is never going to concede. Wolf?

BLITZER: He is using that fact that he won't concede to raise a ton of money for his political campaign. More than 200 million dollars he has raised since the end of the - since the election, money that he could use over the next few years to basically for whatever kind of expenses he wants. 200 million and that is growing by the day because he is telling people this was a fraud and a fake election.

All right guys stand by. There is more news we are following.

The House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defending her handling of stimulus negotiations in a rather heated exchange. We will talk about it with Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna. There you see him. He is up on Capitol Hill. We will discuss right after this.

[17:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: There's some growing optimism up on Capitol Hill right now about potentially reaching a compromise. I'm in new desperately needed economic stimulus package. Although lawmakers say negotiations are still going slower than they had hoped for. The House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is defending her tough negotiating tactics which some Democrats, some of her fellow Democrats are blaming for delaying the much-needed deal. Listen to what the speaker told CNN Manu Raju earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: -- not to accept half of a load months ago, when you said, I'm not going to accept half a loaf, but now --

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Look, let me tell you something, don't characterize what we did before as a mistake as a preface to your question, if you want an answer. That was not a mistake, it was a decision and it has taken us to a place where we can do the right thing. The fact is I'm very proud of where we are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:35:01]

BLITZER: Joining us now Congressman Ro Khanna of California. He's one of the democrats who actually urged the Speaker, what, a couple months or so ago to compromise and try to work out a deal. What do you make of the speaker's response today to Manu, because, what, $908 billion, that's a huge amount, almost a trillion dollars, but it's not the 1.8 trillion that Steve Mnuchin was proposing to the Speaker before the election.

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Well, Wolf, there were a few of us who were saying, let's take the 1.8 trillion, obviously, we should have or at least forced McConnell to take a vote on it. McConnell wasn't willing to take a vote, we should have said, let's have the 1.8 trillion and have a vote. But that's in the past, let's move forward, let's figure out how we can get the best deal going forward. And that needs to have unemployment insurance extension that needs to have a direct stimulus check to people.

BLITZER: I want you to watch the exchange, you've seen this before, that I had with the speaker before the election, when the White House was putting forward a $1.8 trillion package. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: There are millions of Americans who have lost their jobs, they can't pay the rent, their kids need the food --

PELOSI: That's right. And that's what we're trying to get done.

BLITZER: -- $1.8 trillion. And the President just tweeted stimulus go big or go home. He wants even more right now.

PELOSI: That's right.

BLITZER: So why not --

PELOSI: That's right.

BLITZER: Why not work out a deal with him? And don't let the perfect as they say here in Washington be the enemy of the good?

PELOSI: Well, I will not let the wrong be the enemy of the right.

BLITZER: What's wrong with $1.8 trillion?

PELOSI: Well, you know what, do you have any idea what the difference is between the spending that they have in their bill and that we have in our bill?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So just to be precise, I know there are a whole bunch of Democrats in the House of Representatives who agree with you that that was a mistake on her part. She doesn't like to use that word. It was a mistake on her part not to accept that deal. I just want you to be specific. Was it a mistake not to accept the 1.8 trillion?

KHANNA: Well, Wolf, I think we should have accepted the 1.8 trillion. Now, I put a lot of the blame on McConnell as well, because as you know, he wasn't willing to have a vote and McConnell had a vote, we would have probably had a deal. So, I don't think it's useful to Monday morning quarterback on the speaker. I do say clearly that we should have said yes to 1.8 trillion. Now, the question is how do we get stimulus checks to people? How do we make sure that we're getting rent assistance to people and that the New Deal has that?

BLITZER: Yes, Mnuchin, the Treasury Secretary did say to Nancy Pelosi and others said it publicly, if you accept the 1.8 trillion, the President will squeeze Mitch McConnell, they'll get it passed in the Senate and that will be that. But as you correctly pointed out, that's history right now, let's talk about what's going on right now. Because so many people are suffering, and they desperately need help.

We're hearing from Senator Bernie Sanders, Congressman, that he may not necessarily vote for this $900 billion proposal, a bipartisan proposal, if it doesn't include additional economic stimulus checks. I know you want that, all Americans want to get that help so desperately needed. But are you worried that some Democrats could end up with nothing yet again?

KHANNA: Yes, Wolf, if I am worried, which is why my inclination is to ultimately support the deal. But right now, the deal has all of the funding for PPP or a large chunk of the funding for PPP. Now we need to have funding for restaurants. But if you look at the statistics, it cost about 250,000 to $300,000 to save a job, the money would be much better spent to have unemployment insurance extended and to have more unemployment insurance beyond March where we're going to have a recession, unfortunately, probably beyond March, and to have direct stimulus checks so people can pay the rent.

So I think what Senator Sanders is saying is let's craft this in a better way that actually helps ordinary workers.

BLITZER: Yes, I know at least what 10 or 11 of your Democratic colleagues who lost their bid for reelection. They're blaming the fact that there was no deal before the election, at least in part for their failure to get reelected. Congressman Ro Khanna, thanks for everything you're doing. We're always grateful for your joining us. We appreciate it very much.

KHANNA: Thank you Wolf for having me.

BLITZER: Stay safe up there as well.

[17:39:11]

Coming up, who gets the new coronavirus vaccine first? Will the states get enough vaccine in the initial shipments? I'll ask the governor of New Jersey. There you see him. He's standing by live. We'll discuss. Phil Murphy when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're following multiple breaking stories related to the coronavirus crisis. Today, the New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy promised the vaccines in his state will be shipped to high priority recipients within 24 hours of federal emergency use authorization.

The governor of New Jersey is joining us right now. Governor Murphy, thanks so much for joining us. So let's talk a little bit about vaccine distribution plans. I want to get to that in a moment. But I want, let's look at what's what you're up against in your state of New Jersey right now. After keeping cases relatively low over the summer, they have really exploded right now even beyond your peak at the start of this pandemic. Can you give us a sense of just how bad things are in New Jersey right now?

GOV. PHIL MURPHY (D-NY): It's bad Wolf. It's good to be with you. But it's bad. And I fear it's going to get worse. I think the next couple of months are going to be really, really tough, as you rightfully pointed out, millions of New Jerseyans came together and crushed the curve. We got it about as low as any American state and it's just sort of surged again. It's a combination of I think pandemic fatigue, private setting, transmission, cold weather, so everybody's living what they were living outside three months ago inside, holidays stacked up one after the other.

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I also think there's some amount of, hey, the vaccine is coming, it's going to work. I can let my hair down. It's only a few months. I read it the exact opposite way. Hang in there, keep your guard up. It's only a few months. And I think that's what we're up against.

BLITZER: You certainly are. You announced today that New Jersey hospitals are preparing to receive an initial shipment of some 76,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine. How will you distribute the vaccine? Who will get vaccinated first in New Jersey?

MURPHY: Yes, so Wolf, we, thankfully we established our intergovernmental COVID Task Force on Super Bowl Sunday, and the vaccine independent body that reviews equity and priorities started meeting, believe it or not as early as March. And then obviously, we've coordinated this with the CDC. But the sort of first population will clearly be healthcare workers and long-term care residents and staff, and then we will -- it'll be a series of circles that go out from there. And I believe firmly based on all the work we've done and evidence we've seen, we're going to be broadly available in New Jersey, and I think in America by April or May of next year. So, this literally is a light at the end of the tunnel only a few months away.

BLITZER: Do you have enough money, the state of New Jersey, to distribute millions of doses of this vaccine because it's going to be up to the states to do it?

MURPHY: The answer is no. So that's -- we need a robust federal partnership both from the Trump administration and their 40 odd days to go. And they've been good partners, I have to say. But we need a big, robust federal partnership, including money, and then obviously, in the incoming Biden administration. The development of these vaccines has been nothing short of a miracle if you believe everything we hear, it's really impressive. But the complexity of the distribution that's still ahead of us cannot be underestimated. And as you rightfully point out, the expense associated with it can't be underestimated.

BLITZER: Good luck, Governor Murphy, you and your fellow governors out there, are going to have a tough time doing this. And hopefully, there will be federal money that will be sent out to all these states to make sure that people get the vaccine. Appreciate it very much. Thanks for joining us.

MURPHY: Thanks for having me, Wolf.

BLITZER: Thanks, up next, remembering the lives lost or forever changed by the coronavirus.

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BLITZER: The numbers you see on your screen tell only part of the story of the coronavirus pandemic. Each number represents a real person, someone who had a family and a story that shouldn't be forgotten. CNN's Brian Todd has more on the faces of the pandemic.

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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lizanne Jennings, a seasoned nurse and instructor in Oklahoma, lost her husband Dennis and her mother to coronavirus in the span of three days. She describes the moment she got in her husband's ear and told him he was about to die.

LIZANNE JENNINGS, LOST HUSBAND & MOTHER TO COVID WITHIN 3 DAYS: They started giving him morphine out of it and I turned him over. I wrapped his back and I said I love you. She said I love you. And I said you're going to go now, OK, you can finally be at peace. And he said, and then he took his last breath about 30 minutes later. And I bathe them, and I cut his hair and I put clothes on them. Even I left him, there's nothing else I could save either one of them.

TODD (voice-over): The staggering figures on coronavirus casualties don't illustrate the pain of people like Quincy Drone and Anastassija White, who lost their five-year-old daughter Tagan just hours after she tested positive.

QUINCY DRONE, LOST 5-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER AFTER COVID INFECTION: As parents, you never expect to see your daughter in a coffin. You never expect to see your daughter and in the emergency room with her eyes wide open staring at the ceiling dead.

TODD (voice-over): Comedian Joe Luna who went by the stage name Joe EL Cholo chronicled his own battle on social media.

JOE LUNA, CHRONICLED HIS OWN BATTLE WITH CORONAVIRUS: I'm in a battle where I know that I will win unless I knock it out unless I get lucky.

TODD (voice-over): As his condition worsened, Luna, struggle to speak on a breathing apparatus.

LUNA: God bless you guys, much love, (inaudible), and good morning, you know, God bless.

TODD (voice-over): Luna died just hours after delivering that message. The toll on frontline health care workers devastating.

DR. SHANNON TAPIA, GERIATRICIAN: I don't want to say it's been harder for us than it has for everybody else. But the truth is it has. It has. It's not the same. It's not the same when you feel responsible for people's whether it be their life or their quality of life because you care.

ALLISON BOERNER, ER NURSE, CENTURA-PARKER ADVENTIST HOSPITAL: We are treating that person dying like our loved one dying because they don't have anyone else and they need that grace and they need that human touch and they need someone to be there when they're taking their last breath.

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MARVIN O'QUINN, PRESIDENT & COO, COMMON SPIRIT HEALTH: You've got to wonder if people will have, you know, having gone through this type of trauma of what their empathy levels are going to be like in the future.

TODD (voice-over): Dr. Joseph Varon, found that empathy on Thanksgiving Day at his Houston hospital, this photo of him comforting an elderly patient who was crying because he couldn't see his wife went viral.

DR. JOSEPH VARON, CHIEF OF STAFF, UNITED MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER: Some of my nurses will start crying in the middle of the day. I mean, they see one patient die. And then soon thereafter, we see another one. And the problem is, we don't see it in inside.

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TODD: And there are serious concerns tonight about the long term effect this pandemic will have on health care in America decades from now because my CNN colleagues and I have spoken to two hospital executives in recent days, who say they are really worried about doctors and nurses leaving the profession because they're so burned out, and they're worried about the difficulty they may have in recruiting people to come into the profession in the future, Wolf.

BLITZER: So sad indeed. All right, Brian Todd, thank you very, very much.

There's more breaking news here in the Situation Room, record numbers of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, as the coronavirus prices reaches alarming new levels across the U.S.

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