And good evening. We start this hour with the breaking news that 250,000 people in the United States are now dead from the coronavirus. A quarter million americans. We cross that threshold, that horrible threshold, as deaths from the virus are rising rapidly. On tuesday, the u. S. Reported more than 1,700 dead. The highest reported deaths in a single day since may. 50,000 dead by april. 100,000, by may. 150,000, by july. 200,000, back in september. A quarter of a million, now, dead. And publichealth officials cannot speak with the incoming president to the United States, president elect joe biden. The only reason they cant speak to him is because the current president s baseless attempts to prove voter fraud. And behind those baseless attempts and lies is, probably, anger and shame at losing. Desperation to hold onto power. Maybe, fear. What life as a oneterm president will be like, outside the white house. Doesnt really matter what he thinks, what he feels. Its what hes doing. And he is harming this country and the transition to power. Just moments ago, usa today released an interview with dr. Anthony fauci who would, also, like to speak with the incoming administration. According to dr. Fauci, that would be helpful. As of this moment, President Trump has said nothing about the quarter million of americans dead. But, of course, he hasnt. By the way, he had nothing on his schedule, today, again. Nothing. I imagine, most of you had a lot on your schedules, today. Well, the president of the United States did not and he has spent a good deal of time rage tweeting, again. This is the 11th time. The 11th day he hasnt had anything on his schedule, since the election. 11 out of 15 days. Its not to say hes not doing anything. Hes finding time to fire people, who he doesnt like. First, it was secretary of defense, mark esper. Last night, chris krebs for saying, quote, the november 3rd election was the most secure in american history. He would know if election if the election was secure, of course, it was his job. But what he said didnt fit the losingpresident s narrative. So, he was fired. Today, republican reaction to the firing was hardly surprising. A few disagreed. But others preferred to defend the president s right to fire krebs. And, of course, he does have that right. Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell just ignored reporter questions. Walked on by. They were mostly silent, too. When the president did the same to other people who stood up to him over the past four years. There will be more firings, no doubt. Perhaps, more outrage to come. And the president has 63 days left and he has no shame and a lot of time on his hands. We have breaking news, now, with cnns jeff zeleny who is following joe biden in wilmington, delaware. So, you have reporting tonight on reaching out to the biden team. What have you learned . Anderson, we are learning of a handful of Trump Officials and former appointees who have left the government who have, indeed, taken it upon themselves to reach out to the bidentransition team. I am learning this with my colleague, evan perez. They are beginning to, at least in some small ways, you know, extend an olive branch. Open their door to bidentransition officials. Not in any big ways. Not sharing classified information or anything inappropriate. But simply, making the overture and making a bigger point. They know that President Trump is not going to serve a second term. And they are putting country over partisan interest here and beginning to reach out to bidentransition officials, to share some just, you know, small pieces of of government business about what they should do to keep the lights on. And, you know, to continue the continuity of government. So these are just, again, a handful of examples. But its clear, we talked to one, trump official who said, look, i didnt vote for joe biden. But he believes that this is necessary to, you know, really keep things going here. So, its extraordinary that its, you know, so small in nature. But in these days, its something. Im sorry. So are these people who are currently serving in the administration . Are these people who did serve and are now out . Its its a mix, anderson. Some are currently serving in this administration, at various levels of the government. Its no one whos in the direct, you know, inner circle of the president. No one whos in the west wing. But people who are operating the u. S. Government, who are, you know, seeing that they need to have a transition of power. Some have worked in previous administrations. They know how this goes. Most people in washington know how this goes, except, of course, the man in the oval office. So, its a mix of people who are currently serving and who have recently left, who are trump political appointees. And again, not necessarily fans of joe biden but they know he won the election. Again, this is normal. Its how transitions should go. And whats the biden team saying about this . Weve talked to a variety of biden advisers who say, look, they welcome the cooperation. But this does not replace what should be happening. And thats the gsa giving funding. But more importantly, opening the doors to information. Particularly, on covid19. On the vaccines. On the data. That is what they want. So, yes, they are happy to have these overtures. But it does not replace, in their view, what should be happening from the gsa. And theyre simply being blocked from that, day after day. Almost, coming up on two weeks, anderson. Jeff zeleny, appreciate it. Thanks. Perspective now from cnn political analyst gloria borger. David chalian. And ben ginsburg. So, david, President Trumps never had a healthy relationship with the truth. Looking what hes been doing since he lost the election. Firing firing people. Rage tweeting. All all the rest. His legal maneuverings. I mean, is there an actual strategy here . I dont see a strategy. I think applying strategy to donald trump is always a little dangerous because i think that theres real just grievance on display. I i think this is a throwing as much as they can against the wall to see if they can delay some certifications of the votes. In hopes that, somehow, theyre going to be able to have state legislatures change the slate of electors that vote in the Electoral College. It is so farfetched, anderson. What is going on here is the sitting president of the United States of america acting like a dictator. Trying to steal an election, before the eyes of americans. An election, where he lost and significantly so. Both, in the Electoral College and in the nationalpopular vote. He is aggressively acting against the will of the american people. Gloria, i mean, the facts are clear. President elect biden won the election. At this point, he is leading President Trump by almost 6 million votes, and counting, in the popular vote. You have minority leader, Kevin Mccarthy, saying that 70 of republicans think biden won because he cheated. How much blame do President Trump and his republican allies. I mean, isnt it the president who is leading that charge . Sure, the president is leading and theyre following. And, you know, as david was saying, this is the president s goal, all along. He wants to convince the american public, and he certainly convinced 70 of republicans, as mccarthy says and the polls show it, that this election was rigged because, otherwise, he could not possibly have lost. And then, he will take that and do with it what he can. Hes going to try and convince electors. If that doesnt work, hes going to use it for whatever career he has next, to monetize that. Or to run for election, again, in 2024. But, the bigger problem here is that, you have a sitting president of the United States who is promoting something that is truly antidemocratic. Which is to say that, your vote doesnt count. No matter what you voted, you cant depend on it. And that is antithetical to everything we know about the democratic process, and if the president has to delegitimize the democratic process so he can say that the election was rigged, hes certainly willing to do that, as were seeing. So, ben, let me ask you. Just on the idea of a strategy, i mean, you know, Maggie Haberman says the president s just kind of living in in increments of time. And wanting to win those increments of time. And then, hes, suddenly, in the next increment of time. Just legally, where are they now in their in the legal strategy which is, i guess, now being led by, you know, Rudy Giuliani, of all folks. Well, this is really the beginning of the end of their strategy. Theres nothing thats been done that is actually going to hold up the certification dates in any of the states. So that, if theyre actually counting on that, so far, theyve theyve offered no proof that is going to make a state do that. The michigan example, last night. The wisconsin recount is going to get done on time. Its its a prettyeasytodo process. Georgia has completed its recount. So, the certification dates, all of which are completed by december 1st, are going to be here in the next couple of weeks. And after that, hes got no second act. And the problem with what hes doing now is, you know, he he considers himself a master brander. But everything that the legal strategy has led him to is loss after loss after loss. And ive been a part of campaigns that have lost recounts, and thought they were gipped. And the revenge motive, of candidates coming back afterwards, doesnt work. People get tired of this and he will be remembered for losing all these challenges that are hurting the system. Thats interesting. You dont think the revenge motive, which may be very much alive within the president , four years from now, you dont think that translates to to voters feeling he was gipped and, therefore, wanting revenge . I dont wan, at all, because think that when this process is done and he has lost in this process. People even his most devout supporters get a little bit weary of it all. And a candidacy based on, i got ripped off four years ago, so i should be president now, has just not worked, historically, in american elections. And you can argue that donald trump is a transformational and different figure, but not when it comes to something this fundamental, where hes put no points on the board, no evidence in the record, to support what hes doing. Anderson, he may sorry he may never test that theory, right . Because, what he may do is just hold open, the possibility of a run again in 2024. For two years, freeze the field. Keep his clout in the party. But actually, never have to test bens theory about what voters would weigh in, on that prospect. Right. And thereby, crush the hopes and dreams and ambitions of numerous republicans who are now serving. To say nothing of a legislative agenda that would help the Republican Party. Exactly. That could be very damaging for the republicans, gloria. Sure. But, heres the thing. He he the republicans. Most of them, except for a handful, are willingly going along with this, anderson. And the reason theyre doing it is because they believe that donald trump has a tremendous amount of power. He got over 71 million votes, and power is what theyre about. Its not about courage. Its not about doing the right thing. Its not about saying this is ridiculous, out loud. You know, they they kind of elbowed and said hi to, you know, Kamala Harris when she went on to the hill, wink, wink. But theyre helping. They are aiding and abetting the president in this process. So theyre holding somebody hostage. I mean, theyre trying to like figure out a way to get him out without, you know, shooting the shooting the hostage. But, anderson, the inflexion point comes when the states certify the results. Thats when Mitch Mcconnell says he gets the chance to get to that point. But, ben, let me ask you about that because we saw what happened in detroit yesterday. With two republican, i guess, canvassers theyre called. You know, not moving to certify. Its going to go up the food chain. But can i mean, is that a it seems like thats kind of, maybe, Rudy Giulianis strategy now. You know, try to sow enough confusion and doubt that they can start to whittle away at some of these republican, you know, i guess, what, canvassers . Is that an actual strategy that could work . Well, it may be an actual strategy but it wont work. I mean, lets remember, it worked for all of a couple of hours last night. The Trump Campaign may have sent out happydance tweets. But it got reversed and they looked even sillier for the for the tweets that they did. Michigan, among the states still at play, has a unique system of canvassers. Where you have two democrats and two republicans. So, this michigan, in the sense of who actually certifies the election, is their best shot. You know, david, you know, the endless question, of course, is what happens to the Republican Party, you know, assuming donald trump has a, you know, tv network or a podcast or whatever it is out of maralago. And hes, you know, holding big rallies that maybe he pays and sells tshirts at and, you know, has a big book. But has a big megaphone. Is there any kind of reckoning, david chalian, in the Republican Party . I dont know. I mean, we weve been looking for a reckoning in the trump era, and it didnt happen in any way. And, anderson, i i have never covered a politician who has as strong a bond with his supporters, as donald trump does with his. And i think, just Kevin Mccarthy and other, Republican Leaders are keenly aware of that. I think donald trump is going to be a force, as an expresident , inside the Republican Party for some time to come. And i think the idea that, on january 20th, when he leaves that, somehow, the party can reconstitute itself, instantly, into a posttrump era. I dont i dont suspect that thats where the party is going. I think its going to be grappling with donald trump as a looming figure, as an expresident. Yeah. David chalian, ben ginsburg, gloria borger. 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Thank you, thats great. Shiori in japanese there you go. Yeah. in japanese wow, it looks beautiful in japanese really . i really like it. Repeating our breaking news tonight. Sources are telling cnn a handful of Current Trump administration officials, as well as some political appointees who left in recent months, have quietly started to reach out to members of joe bidens transition team. May be a sign President Trumps refusal to concede the election. Still, many electoral republicans giving the president cover for his actions, when possible. The interview we mentioned earlier from the new york times. The times said mccarthy discussing what role President Trump would play in the coming years. Kevin mccarthy responded, it depends how it turns out. If you have 70 of republicans who thought he cheated, hes still going to have a hard time. Joining me now, van jones, former special adviser to president obama. Mike shields. Both, cnn political commentators. Mike, at a certain point, as has been happening, the president continues to lose and the president leaves. I mean, at some point, dont republicans in the senate and the house have to at least acknowledge or do you think they will just continue saying, well, you know, a lot of republicans dont believe he is legitimate, and not not say, you know, loud and clear, you know, joe biden was elected, fair and square . Well, look. We this is the polarized nature of our politics, and we went through two years of democrats saying that donald trump wasnt legitimate. And that russians elected him. And having people like the chairman of the houseintelligence committee, who gets intelligence briefings, saying i have certifiable evidence that he committed collusion. Only to find out that it was all not true. And so, this is the era of politics that have been ushered in. Which is that, one side is going to treat the president legitimately. And the other side isnt. And then, its going to happen again when someone else wins, and thats sort of where we are. Right. If the bidentransition team has shady meetings with, you know, people carrying ballot boxes, i could understand that. You know, the trump team had, you know, contacts with russians and flynn, you know, people actually sent to priso