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The Situation Room

Interview With Los Angeles, California, Mayor Eric Garcetti; Trump Vetoes National Defense Authorization Act; Trump Sabotaging COVID Relief Bill?; CDC Says, Over One Million COVID-19 Vaccines Administered; Trump Leaves White House For Florida After Unleashing New Chaos, Vetoes Defense Bill, Threatens COVID Relief, Issues Pardons; Trump Pardons Contractors Convicted Of Civilian Massacre. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired December 23, 2020 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: We're following breaking news on the chaos President Trump has left behind here in Washington, as he's now heading to Florida for Christmas and New Year's.

Just before he walked out the door, he vetoed a huge defense bill that has wide support among his own party in the House and Senate. That followed back-to-back bombshells when he threatened to upend the newly passed coronavirus relief bill and granted a series of very controversial pardons.

The president ratcheting up his scorched-earth exit strategy, as the coronavirus crisis grows deadlier and deadlier by the day, the U.S. death toll now topping 325,000, with more than 18.3 million confirmed cases, after the second deadliest date of the pandemic yesterday. Some 3,500 Americans died from the virus yesterday.

Tonight, the CDC says more than a million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. That's a hopeful sign amid concerns about a new strain of the virus that may be present, but undetected so far here in the United States.

Let's start our coverage this hour with our White House correspondent Jeremy Diamond.

You're there in West Palm Beach, Florida. The president is heading to Mar-a-Lago, his resort there. He's going there for the holidays, Jeremy, as you know, after causing major disruptions here in Washington.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf.

President Trump is set to arrive here in Palm Beach in -- within the next hour, and the president is arriving here after setting several fires in Washington, the president vetoing one major piece of legislation, appearing to threaten to veto another, and issuing a slate of controversial pardons.

Wolf, it seems that the president on his way out, as his presidency is quickly slipping away, is intent on using every ounce of power he still has.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIAMOND (voice-over): The lame-duck president is trying to convince America he is anything but, vetoing a defense bill, threatening to upend coronavirus relief, and issuing a wave of controversial pardons.

Today, Trump vetoing the annual defense bill after lawmakers refused to kill a provision renaming military bases named after Confederate generals. But instead of a win, Trump is likely to suffer the first veto override of his presidency.

That move came after Trump also appeared to threaten to veto the coronavirus relief bill just passed by Congress, putting $900 billion in desperately needed financial stimulus and vaccine distribution funds at risk.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Send me a suitable bill, or else the next administration will have to deliver a COVID relief package.

DIAMOND: Trump's thread coming as another 803,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment just last week. Attacking the bill as a disgrace, Trump undermined his spokesman, who said he would sign the legislation, his Treasury secretary, who negotiated on Trump's behalf, and the majority of Republicans, who voted to pass the bill, including the Republican senators running in Georgia's special election.

SEN. DAVID PERDUE (R-GA): We voted on this next round of COVID relief, and I'm so proud to be able to bring that right back to Georgia.

DIAMOND: The president objecting to a slew of funding provisions that are actually included in a separate government spending bill and which the president requested in his annual budget to Congress, like the $1.3 billion in aid to Egypt, $25 million to support democracy and gender programs in Pakistan, and $40 million for the Kennedy Center.

Trump also calling on Congress to triple the stimulus checks to Americans.

TRUMP: I am asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000 or $4,000 for a couple.

DIAMOND: Democratic leaders pouncing on that idea, which many Republicans oppose, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeting: "Democrats are ready to bring this to the floor this week by unanimous consent. Let's do it!"

Trump's threat to upend the legislation even blindsided White House officials, who are scrambling to determine if Trump was actually threatening a veto. Meanwhile, the president doling out a slew of pardons fit for the last gasps of a presidency, even as he refuses to accept defeat.

Pardons for George Papadopoulos and Alex van der Zwaan, who both pleaded guilty to lying to special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators, Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter, who was convicted of misusing nearly a quarter-million dollars in campaign funds, and Republican Congressman Chris Collins, the first lawmaker to endorse Trump, who pleaded guilty to securities fraud.

Trump also pardoning for Blackwater security guards who were convicted of murder and manslaughter charges after killing 17 people at a Baghdad traffic circle in 2007.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): When you look through all of them, what ties them together is corruption. It is corruption. He's literally burning down the house of justice as he walks out the door.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[18:05:00]

DIAMOND: And, Wolf, the -- forgive me -- a GOP official is telling my colleague Jake Tapper that the reason why the president is threatening to upend this coronavirus relief legislation has nothing to do with the substance of the legislation itself.

Instead, this Republican official saying that this is about Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and John Thune, another top Senate Republican, the fact that they have acknowledged reality, acknowledging Joe Biden as the president-elect of the United States, this official telling Jake Tapper, his ego always comes first, as it relates to the president -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, that's important.

Jeremy, stay with us.

I also want to bring in CNN Congressional Correspondent, Phil Mattingly and CNN political analyst Seung Min Kim, White House reporter for "The Washington Post."

Seung Min, these negotiations have been going on for months and months, but could President Trump simply blow all this up at this last minute, given the desperate need of a lot of folks out there?

SEUNG MIN KIM, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: That's clearly the danger that we're facing right now.

And the president has had ample time to inject himself into these negotiations. But he clearly, especially after he lost the November 3 elections, stayed out of it, very much so, and left the negotiations to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who had carefully crafted this agreement with congressional leaders, this deal that passed with broad bipartisan majorities in Congress.

And we don't have a lot of -- I mean, there is not a lot of time for the president to kind of reverse course and sign this legislation. You have -- Jeremy talked earlier about the government funding package that was paired with the COVID relief package.

Current government funding runs out after this coming Monday. So, if there is no agreement, if the president does not sign this bill, we could be in for a government shutdown, not to mention these direly needed stimulus checks, which Mnuchin said earlier this week that could go out as early as next week.

Those get delayed. Extended jobless benefits get delayed. There's so much in this bill that Americans need right now that is being held up because the president is refusing to sign a bill that his own administration negotiated.

BLITZER: Yes, that's absolutely true.

Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, and Steve Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, they were very much involved with their Republican colleagues up on the Hill.

Phil, how blindsided were so many of these Republicans in the House and the Senate when the president issued that statement last night?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Totally. They were totally blindsided.

And, look, I think everybody's been through the last three-and-a-half, four years, both on the reporting side and on the congressional member and staff side. And they know anything is possible. And we have done this with spending bills before in the past. We've done it with another omnibus the president threatened to veto and then ended up signing.

However, I think the reality here is, everybody was aware of just how long it took and how arduous it was to reach this deal. Everybody recognized that, both on the government funding piece and on the COVID relief piece, this was kind of it, the time was running off the clock, they needed a deal now. And once they got a deal, there wasn't any time, as Seung Min said, to do anything else.

I think the most interesting element of the last 24 hours that at least I have been struck by is, a lot of my good Republican sources on Capitol Hill are still very, very much in the dark. There was a conference call between House Republicans earlier in the day, a private conference call.

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy told his members, according to a person the call who relayed it to me, that he had spoken to the president, that the president wasn't committed to vetoing this legislation, but that he obviously had problems with it.

Beyond that, Wolf, there has been no intelligence flying around Capitol Hill. People have been trying back channels. People have been trying staffers they know at the White House. Nobody knows what's going to happen next.

And I think that's the most unsettling element about it, both, as Seung Min points, to the government shutdown. But, also, December 26, two crucial federal unemployment benefit programs expire; 12 to 13 million people will lose benefits if that program is not extended. Both those programs were extended in this package, both of them now very much at risk of expiration the day after Christmas.

BLITZER: Yes, let's not forget another 800,000 Americans lost their jobs and filed for first-time unemployment benefits just last week. These numbers are horrendous. More than 20 million Americans are still trying to get some form of unemployment benefits.

Jeremy, the president's on his way to Florida, where you are right now. He's going to be hanging out over the next several days at Mar-a- Lago at his resort in Palm Beach.

So, where does this leave millions of Americans right now who are in desperate need of this COVID relief money simply to put food on the table and pay the rent?

DIAMOND: It leaves Americans in a very precarious and uncertain situation.

Yesterday, before the president issued this, millions of Americans were beginning to expect that they could see in the next week or two $600 stimulus checks. Now, that may not have been the $1,200 or the $2,000 that they were hoping for, but it was something, especially as we are seeing the number of Americans in poverty rapidly rising during this financial and health crisis that the United States is -- going on.

[18:10:02]

And another thing, Wolf, to point out is that, as the president is arriving here at Mar-a-Lago, look for signs that the president's behavior may grow even more erratic.

This is a place, Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida, where the president really is in his element, surrounded by people who are telling him what he wants to hear. And this is the time when we see the president issue some of his most erratic tweets. Some of his biggest controversies have erupted from here, including that baseless allegation, for example, that President Obama was responsible for wiretapping Trump Tower during the 2016 campaign.

Those things happened here in Palm Beach, Florida. And so, at a time when the president is in such a volatile state, I think you can expect that there will be a lot of aides to the president and advisers who are going to be concerned about what they may see from the president over the next coming days. And, certainly, it will keep us busy here at CNN.

BLITZER: Seung Min, clearly, Jeremy is making an important point. The president is very upset with a lot of the Republican leaders, especially in the Senate, over the election results, because they have now acknowledged the truth that Biden is going to be the president of the United States on January 20.

Are they bracing for just more erratic behavior for the president during his final 28 days in office?

KIM: Certainly. And a lot of Republican sources were floored, obviously, at the video message castigating this COVID relief package last night. And they are bracing, particularly as we head to January 6, that critical joint session day in Congress, where there will be a formal tabulation of the Electoral College vote.

They will certainly be kind of on their toes, on the edge regarding the president's behavior, because Mitch McConnell, who had been -- had this unusual working relationship, has been such an ally to the president in so many of the president's accomplishments in his four years, has really been on the outs with the president over the last week after his floor speech declaring Joe Biden as the president- elect.

And his top deputy, John Thune, has been one of the most vocal Senate Republicans urging other Republicans not to join in this longshot challenge in this January 6 joint session. He had pretty vivid imagery to reporters late Monday night, telling us it's going down like a shot dog.

And I presume the president saw those comments, and that's what really angered him and threatened a primary challenger to the second-ranking Senate Republican last night.

BLITZER: Yes, it's really amazing what's going on.

All right, guys, everybody, stand by.

There's more news we're following right now.

While President Trump is blowing things up, president-elect Biden is moving forward with the transition.

Let's go to our senior Washington correspondent, Jeff Zeleny. He's covering the Biden transition in Wilmington, Delaware, for us.

So, Jeff, the president-elect, he introduced another key member of his Cabinet today.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, he did.

President-elect Joe Biden introduced his education secretary, at least the nomination for that post. It's Miguel Cardona, who is the head of schools in Connecticut, of the public school system there. And this is a key post, particularly given what is happening to schools across the country.

Now, he is a product of public schools. He was an elementary school teacher and then a principal. And that is one of the requirements that president-elect Biden has long talked about, putting a schoolteacher leading the Department of Education.

But, clearly, this is someone who has his work cut out for him, as there certainly are disputes between teachers unions and parents and others wanting to reopen schools. But that is a central goal of this administration. In fact, the president-elect has said he wants to reopen schools within the first 100 days of taking office.

Now, Wolf, it is so interesting. As we are just 28 days now from Joe Biden becoming the 46th president of the United States, there are certainly -- most members of the Cabinet indeed are filled. He's been doing this over the last month-and-a-half or so here in Wilmington.

But there are about five key posts that are not yet filled, chief among them, of course, attorney general and the director of the CIA. We are told likely now that those decisions may be made over the holidays, but likely will not be announced until after the holidays, likely early in the new year, but, Wolf, then not much time left to have some of these nominees confirmed.

And the open question is, what type of Senate will be confirming them? Will it be controlled by Democrats or Republicans? All eyes over this holiday break will be on Georgia and those run-off races. If Democrats win those two seats, Democrats will control the Senate. If they do not, Republicans will control the Senate.

So, so much of that will dictate how Joe Biden's agenda and the first opening months of his presidency unfold.

BLITZER: Yes, those Georgia Senate run-off elections January 5, not too far away at all, those are really, really important.

Jeff Zeleny, thank you very much.

Just ahead: Is the push to vaccinate Americans on track? We're going to tell you what we're learning about the timetable, as more than one million shots have already been administered here in the United States.

[18:15:03]

And more dire predictions about the misery ahead, as Americans insist on traveling for the holidays, as the pandemic worsens.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Tonight, the push to vaccinate Americans against COVID-19 is intensifying.

The CDC reports more than one million doses have now been administered here in the United States. But there are growing questions about whether those vaccines will be fully effective against a new strain of the coronavirus.

CNN's Lucy Kafanov is covering all of this for us.

So, Lucy, what's the latest?

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it's normal for a virus to mutate. There are thousands of different variants of COVID-19 out there, but these two specific strains do appear to be more contagious.

And there's simply not enough research yet to know whether the existing vaccines are as effective against them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAFANOV (voice-over): It's a holiday gift no one wanted, the U.K. detecting two cases of yet another variant of COVID-19, this one originally identified in South Africa.

MATT HANCOCK, BRITISH HEALTH SECRETARY: This new variant is highly concerning because it is yet more transmissible and it appears to have mutated further than the new variant that has been discovered in the U.K.

KAFANOV: Experts say the current roster of vaccines should work against it. And across the pond, the Trump administration buying 100 million more doses of Pfizer's vaccine.

DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, DEPARTMENT OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE CHAIRMAN, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY: The more vaccine we have, the more quickly we can protect more people.

KAFANOV: Nearly 9.5 million doses distributed so far and just over one million administered.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It may take months for us to get that supply.

KAFANOV: And more concerns about that new variant.

DR. FRANCIS COLLINS, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: It appears to be more transmissible.

[18:20:00]

KAFANOV: The director of the National Institutes of Health warns that, because the U.S. doesn't have a rigorous enough surveillance system, health experts face greater obstacles when attempting to identify new variants of COVID-19.

COLLINS: It would be surprising if it has not arrived on our shores.

KAFANOV: At least 40 countries have now halted or restricted travel from the United Kingdom. Some states are taking action, but want the federal government to do more.

BILL DE BLASIO (D), MAYOR OF NEW YORK: Effective immediately, all travelers, literally every single traveler coming in from the United Kingdom, will receive a Department of Health commissioner's order directing them to quarantine.

KAFANOV: New York's mayor announcing the city will enforce a quarantine order with home visits.

DE BLASIO: If you don't comply with a quarantine, that's a $1,000 fine.

KAFANOV: Despite warnings, nearly a million passengers flew through U.S. airports yesterday, a recipe for a holiday disaster. DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR NOMINEE: We have been saying loud and clear to the entire American people we need to be limiting our mobility, period.

KAFANOV: Staying home is the safest bet, cases on the rise across nine states, nationwide, more than 195,000 new cases reported yesterday and more than 117,000 hospitalizations, yet another new record, in California, too many coronavirus patients, not enough resources.

CLIFF RESURRECCION, NURSE, HARBOR-UCLA MEDICAL CENTER: Very exhausting. It's really like a never-ending struggle. And it's really tough right now.

KAFANOV: Southern California has run out of ICU beds.

NANCY BLAKE, CHIEF NURSING OFFICER, HARBOR-UCLA MEDICAL CENTER: It's the worst I have ever seen. I have been a nurse for 40 years, and it's the worst I have ever seen. And some of the things these nurses are seeing, where their patients are dying, there's no family member, so they're holding that patient's hand, or they're on the other side of an iPad, where the family's crying.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAFANOV: And, Wolf, so many doctors and nurses told me the same thing. This is the worst crisis they have seen in their entire careers.

Yes, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The head of Operation Warp Speed says the U.S. will finish delivering 20 million doses of the vaccine in the first week of January.

But here in Southern California, ICU beds are already at complete capacity. And that's just from the Thanksgiving surge. We have Christmas, we have New Year's coming up. We have not yet turned the page on this vaccine. This is not the time to let our guards down -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Lucy Kafanov in Los Angeles for us, thanks very much.

California is nearing two million total cases, and intensive care units at so many hospitals around the state right now are nearly full.

Let's bring in the mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti.

Mayor Garcetti, thank you so much for joining us.

As you know better than anyone, California was an early leader in combating this very deadly virus. How did it get to this point?

MAYOR ERIC GARCETTI (D), LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Well, here in Southern California, we know that we were always among the most vulnerable.

Los Angeles is the most dense metro area in America with a lot of preexisting health conditions. So, we have saved thousands of lives because of early action. But this virus doesn't care what you did yesterday. It only cares about today.

We don't have any snowstorms keeping people at home. We do see data that shows people are not moving much. But even if 95 percent of people are doing the right thing, it's still dangerous. And if only 80 percent of people are doing the right thing, it can be disastrous.

So, we're doing the same research. We believe there probably could be some strains that are more contagious that have come here as well already. So, we're doing that medical laboratory work already.

And we always knew the most severe months would be December and January. The good news is, we prepared better for this. We're surging up more spaces, more ICU beds. But my message is loud and clear. Our doctors, our nurses, they're not going to be celebrating Christmas, they're not going to be celebrating New Year's, they're going to be working shift after shift after shift saving lives and watching people die.

Please stay home. There's too many people still nationally -- and, certainly, we're experiencing it here -- who are moving between households or even moving between cities.

BLITZER: And we are so, so grateful to all of them for doing what they're doing, risking their lives to save other people.

Hospitals, though, in Los Angeles -- and correct me if I'm wrong, Mayor -- are at capacity after that Thanksgiving surge.

So, what's the worst-case scenario if people get together in huge numbers for Christmas and New Year's? They're traveling, as we know, big time right now.

GARCETTI: Yes.

I was very disappointed to see over a million people move earlier this week each day through TSA checkpoints. That's a record for this year. We should be having the lowest number of people.

And I think people still think: I'm the exception. I got a test. I'm just going to see my parents. I'm just going to see my child.

Don't travel. Cancel those plans. It's not too late. Give the gift of life this Christmas. Stay home and celebrate that we will be able to be together by not going out on New Year's or inviting a friend over.

Our hospitals are at capacity. We're able to surge up. And we're doing that in our hospital spaces, conference rooms, ICU beds being converted or non-ICU beds being converted to ICU beds.

But we might have the ventilators now, we might have the PPE, because of our pre-planning, but we don't have the people. There are simply not enough professionals, as nurses and techs and doctors, to deal with this.

[18:25:07] Keep them in mind, and think about what they're going through and who they have lost, when you're making that decision about the holidays. We can't afford another bump.

BLITZER: I know, Mayor, you're not ruling out more restrictions in L.A., but you say there's not a lot more that you can close.

So, what is on the table?

GARCETTI: So, I will always follow the public health professionals.

I have never once undercut them. Our county makes those decisions and our state, but I have certainly backed them up. And if they say there's something else to close -- but most of what we're seeing, the spread is community spread. That means in the household.

If you know somebody who has been infected in your household, everybody inside should be wearing those masks. Too many people still mixing. I know Christmas, if you live on your own, by yourself, seem cruel, but what's crueler is getting sick or passing that on to somebody who might die, or even yourself.

So, we're looking at everything that we can do. Our enforcement continues. We have stopped a lot of the house parties, underground parties that we saw. We have arrested people. We will prosecute them. And people need to know they will go to jail for those things. It's not just a slap on the wrist.

So we're continuing to do everything we can, ramp up our testing and prepare our hospitals. But now this really is about our individual acts. It's about what we decide to do.

And, like I said, we have to tighten up our bubbles. And if people don't do that, and if they continue to share their air with other people, this will continue unabated, and we will get past the point of breaking.

BLITZER: I know, Mayor, you went into quarantine after your daughter tested positive for the virus.

First of all, how is she doing? How are both of you doing, for that matter?

GARCETTI: Thank you.

Well, my wife and I remained negative. We're on the last day of quarantine now. My daughter just came home with a negative, and I got to hug her for the first time in 10 days. To look at my child's eyes when she teared up when she heard she was positive -- thank God she's young and she's strong.

I know, for many families, it creates so much worry with somebody with a preexisting condition or a vulnerable age. And so many people have lost folks.

So, thank you for asking. We have gone through what so many families did. We did everything right. There wasn't a single order that we disobeyed. Maya has barely been out of our house.

But she's strong. She will be OK. And thank you for asking.

But so many other families, I know, are hanging on right now.

BLITZER: Well, please pass along our best, best wishes to her, to the entire family.

Good luck to everyone in L.A. I got a lot of friends out there. I know they're very, very nervous right now, which is totally understandable.

Mayor, enjoy the holidays. Good luck in the new year. We will stay in touch. Thanks so much. Stay safe out there.

(CROSSTALK)

GARCETTI: Thank you. Strength and good health to you. Thank you.

BLITZER: Thank you. Same to you.

Just ahead, we're going to break down the threat from that new variant of COVID-19 and who may be most vulnerable to it.

And is President Trump threatening crucial legislation in hopes of punishing members of his own Republican Party?

I will get insight from the former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton. He's standing by live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

BLITZER: We're following breaking news on the drive to vaccinate Americans against COVID-19, as a new strain of the virus is spreading overseas and may -- repeat may be in the United States right now.

We're joined now by Dr. Peter Hotez, the Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. Doctor Hotez, thank you so much for joining us.

How worried should we be right now about this new variant of the COVID virus, the one that's in the U.K., the one in South Africa, particularly when it comes to children?

DR. PETER HOTEZ, DEAN, NATIONAL SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AT BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: Yes. Both are a little different, but they have sort of similarities, especially in the mutation that's in part of the virus that binds to our host receptor, called the receptor-binding domain. There are some findings in South Africa, but still preliminary, that may be people with this variant of higher amounts of virus and there's some speculation that it could be better transmitted among children, but there's still a lot we don't know.

Remember, this is all based on genomic sequencing, and modeling predictions. We don't have a lot of experimental evidence actually confirming the higher levels of transmissibility or the higher loads of virus for the South African one in particular, but there's enough of a concern that it's given us pause to say, okay, what are the implications for the United States both for the virus and for the vaccine.

And for the virus, one of the real disappointing aspects of this, we now realize that the amount of genomic virus surveillance being conducted is the United States by the CDC's SPHERE surveillance program is disappointingly low. So, for instance, in the U.K., they have sequence now a 157 viral genomes from the COVID-19 virus from the SARS-coronavirus type 2 in the U.S., which, of course, is a far larger nation by three, four or five, only 50,000. So we're basically performing a sort of one-tenth of the level of the U.K. in terms of number of virus genome sequence.

So we could miss either the South Africa variant or the U.K. variant or there might be new variants arising within the U.S. that we're not even aware of. So it's very concerning that we just have not even now, ten months into this epidemic, gotten our act together on this aspect.

BLITZER: That's very disappointing. What does this mean, Doctor Hotez, for the effectiveness of the vaccine, of both of the vaccine, the Moderna and the Pfizer vaccine?

HOTEZ: Well, you know, when I look at vaccines, we have a vaccine also that we're accelerating. You look, I look particularly at that receptor-binding domain component of the spike protein, and it looks like there is at least a single mutation there.

[18:35:07]

I don't think that's enough to affect the binding of the virus to antibodies made to the vaccine. So I think at least on this one, we'll likely be okay on the vaccine front. We're doing some confirmatory experiments, look at that, as I'm sure Pfizer, Moderna and the others are doing. So I don't think for these particular virus variants were so worried about the vaccine.

But, remember, these viruses do mutate, or any viruses mutate, including coronaviruses, so that we have to really step up our game and monitor it. So even though I think we'll be okay in the coming months, and maybe even for the next year or two, who knows, maybe three, four years from now, a new variant could emerge.

And so this is why we really need to be vigilant and have a more robust program in place both for genomic sequencing, as well as well as getting ready for the possibility not right away but in the out- years that we'll have to modify our vaccines.

BLITZER: I'm really worried about the travel that's about to take place, that's already taking place. 3,400 Americans were reported dead from coronavirus just yesterday, one day. But about a million people are traveling through American airports every day now.

Is there anything that could be done now to try and contain transmission from that travel, or do you fear a new holiday surge after Christmas, after New Year's, the first or second or third week in January?

HOTEZ: Well, this whole fall and winter is just really one big surge. So, yes, it will likely increase the level of transmission and the number of people who will get sick and be hospitalized and lose their lives. The problem is we're at such a screaming level of virus transmission now. It's going to be hard to monitor it.

And, you know, those of us who are in the scientific community have been pleading with the American people, hold off on travel right now. This is not the time to do it. We're trying to get everyone to the other side to get them vaccinated. Just try to stay disciplined for a few more weeks, and vaccines are coming.

We're going to have not only the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine, additional doses of the Pfizer vaccine, but we'll have, I think, a new Johnson & Johnson, an adenovirus-based vaccine, an AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine, we're going to have particle vaccine from Novavax., maybe our vaccine.

So these are all rolling out. We're going to be able to vaccinate a significant percentage of the American people. Please don't allow your loved ones to lose their lives now unnecessarily.

BLITZER: Yes, it's been so long. Just be patient a bit longer because it's an awful situation right now.

Dr. Hotez, please enjoy this holiday season. Happy New Year to you. We will stay I stay in touch. Thanks for everything you're doing.

HOTEZ: Thank you, Wolf, and have a great holiday season.

BLITZER: Just ahead, President Trump vetoes hundreds of billions in U.S. defense spending. I'll ask his former national security adviser, Ambassador John Bolton, if he thinks the president's erratic behavior is putting the United States at risk right now.

We'll also have more on the president's controversial pardons of military contractors convicted for a massacre of civilians in Iraq. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BLITZER: This afternoon's breaking news, President Trump vetoed a $740 billion defense spending bill just before heading to Florida for the holidays.

We're joined now by the president's former national security adviser, Ambassador John Bolton. He's the author of the bestselling book, The Room Where It Happened. There you see the book cover. Ambassador, thanks so much for joining us.

As you probably know, the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, says the president's veto of what's called the National Defense Authorization Act, is an act, she says, of staggering recklessness. I know you don't agree with the House speaker on a lot of issues, but do you agree with her on this?

JOHN BOLTON, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I think it's absolutely right. It's very destructive, it's terribly harmful to the national security and I think -- just to make a philosophical point, I think this is a very compelling piece of evidence why Donald Trump is not a conservative. Nobody in House or Senate, Republican or Democrats, likes every provision of this bill. But for 59 straight years, our parties have compromised their differences to give clear policy direction on defense for the full year.

And what Trump's veto does here potentially is put that in jeopardy at a time when we're suffering from one of the worst computer attacks in our history, when we see threats all around the world continuing to grow from China and elsewhere, to do this, because he doesn't like this provision or that provision. Nobody in Congress would have written this bill exactly this way but they legislate it, which is actually what they're paid to do, and for the 60th year in a row, we've got a bill. It's an active gratuitous -- purely gratuitous action by the president.

BLITZER: Yes, if he's not a conservative, what is he?

BOLTON: He's Donald Trump. And this is part of the problem. This is all about Donald Trump. And I think it's part of his continuing 2020 presidential campaign and laying the basis for what he knows is going to happen on the 20th of January when he's out of the White House. It's selfish and self-centered.

[18:45:00]

And really I think this is -- I keep waiting for Republicans in Congress to stand up and say they're going to break with the president. Voting to override his veto I think is critical for our national security, and I hope we get -- I hope near unanimity in both the House and the Senate to show that.

BLITZER: We will find out next week.

The president also blindsided a lot of Republicans, almost everyone, including a lot of his own senior staff, by railing against the COVID relief bill at the very last moment? Is it about policy? Is it about punishing Republicans to not give more support at his attempts to overturn the democratically held election?

BOLTON: Yeah, I think this is another appeal by Trump to this base that he sees out there. He has now embarrassed many, many Republicans, including the two Republicans running in the runoff election in Georgia on January the 5th, who supported the bill, after signals from the administration that it would support the compromise.

And again, it shows why Trump is not a conservative. Just to come out and say, let's go to $2,000 payment per person, $4,000 for a couple -- look, Trump doesn't care what it does to the national debt. It's not his money. It's like the socialist formula, giving away other people's money. It's a stunt. And he hasn't actually said he would veto yet. Maybe he

can be talked out of it, but it's the kind of destructive action on his way out of the presidency that shows why he was never fit for it to begin with.

BLITZER: The last time you and I spoke over the weekend, it was clearly obvious the president of the United States was watching, because immediately after the interview, he started tweeting awful things about you. If the president is watching right now, what would you say to him?

BOLTON: I'd say you -- there's very little you can do to repair your reputation, but for God's sakes, get out of the way of the national security of the United States and get out of the way of our efforts to overcome the coronavirus pandemic.

BLITZER: You know, it's really amazing, when you think about it, one of the main reasons he vetoed the $740 billion defense authorization bill was because it mandates removing the names of Confederate generals from U.S. military bases. What do you say about that?

BOLTON: Well, I think that's totally uncalled for. I've said this years ago, I'm happy to say it again today, the Confederates who seceded from the Union were traitors. It's just that simple.

We didn't think before about removing the names of Confederate generals from many of our historic military bases, but I don't have any trouble doing it.

BLITZER: Yeah, well, clearly, the president does.

Ambassador Bolton, thanks very much for joining us.

Let me remind our viewers. The book is called "The Room Where It Happened."

I want you to have a merry Christmas and happy New Year. Stay safe out there. We appreciate it very much.

BOLTON: Thanks. Same to you, Wolf. Thank you very much.

BLITZER: Thank you.

Just ahead, why President Trump's pardons of some military contractors are so controversial. We'll update you on new information when we come back.

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[18:53:00]

BLITZER: President Trump issued a series of controversial pardons on Tuesday. Four of the people he pardoned are former military contractors involved in a massacre of civilians in Iraq.

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has a closer look at why it's creating such a stir.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is one of the darkest episodes of the U.S. war in Iraq. Seventeen unarmed Iraqi civilians were shot to death in 2007 in a Bagdad traffic circle, including 9 and 11-year-old boys.

A team of Blackwater private security contractors later convicted in the killing of 14 of them. The group had been notified of a nearby car bomb as their convoy moved into a traffic circle. Witnesses said they then opened fire on men, women and children.

President Trump last night turning the page by pardoning four of the contractors.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I was absolutely disgusted to hear about the pardons because the work that we had done in Iraq was so important, especially when it came to dealing with the local population.

STARR: The full pardon went to Nicholas Slatten, who was serving a life sentence for murder, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Justin Heard were serving sentences between 12 and 15 years for manslaughter.

REP. ADAM SMITH (D), CHAIRMAN, ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: This is a reprehensible decision that basically throws the rule of law out the window on a presidential whim.

STARR: The Iraqi foreign ministry saying the president's pardons ignored the dignity of the victims and the feelings and rights of their families. Many Iraqis have long felt that Americans do not value Iraqi lives. Among those killed were a doctor, a used car salesman, a truck driver, a businessman, an Iraqi soldier, a gardener, a taxi driver, and an aspiring doctor taking his mother to an appointment, according to prosecutors.

[18:55:05]

Getting the convictions took years. In 2009, the federal judge dismissed the case due to misuse of statement, but then-Vice President Joe Biden renewed the commitment to prosecute.

JOE BIDEN, THEN VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A dismissal, I want to make clear, is not an acquittal. And today, I'm announcing that the United States government will appeal this decision.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (on camera): In the eventual trial that did take place, several Iraqi witnesses came forward. And their testimony was harrowing, one of them saying, quoting, they shot everyone -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Awful situation.

Thanks very much for that report, Barbara Starr. We're going to have more news right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Finally, tonight, we share more stories of people who died from the coronavirus.

Harold Miller of Pennsylvania was 93 years old, a World War II veteran, and devoted husband, father and grandfather. His daughter Bonnie says he was a voracious reader and historian and an avid do-it- yourselfer whose creativity amazed his family.

Marvin Delgado of Florida was 66. Originally from Nicaragua, he owned a small business with his wife of 40 years. His daughter Ivanya (ph) says he worked every day of his life, was funny, opinionated and never hesitated to help someone in need.

May they rest in peace and may their memories be a blessing.

Thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. You can always follow me on Twitter and Instagram @WolfBlitzer. Tweet the show @CNNSitRoom.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.