Transcripts For CNNW New Day With Alisyn Camerota And John Berman 20201120

Christmas. Announcer this is new day with Alisyn Camerota and john berman. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is new day. Unfortunately, your waking nightmare is not over. This morning, the United States still enduring two crisis, a Public Health crisis, as the daily coronavirus death toll again surpasses 2,000 people. And an election crisis, as outgoing President Trump refuses to accept the results and actively tries to undermine the election. President elect biden is trying to keep a calm, if exasperated tone. Its hard to fathom how this man thinks. Its hard to fathom im confident that he knows he hasnt won and is not going to be able to win and were going to be sworn in on january 20th. A source tells cnn that President Trump does know that he lost, but hes trying to exact revenge for democrats on everything that has upset him in the past four years. Senator mitt romney says he cannot imagine a quote more undemocratic action by a sitting president. Senator ben sasse has also spoken out against what President Trump is doing, but most republicans are silent, even as trumps lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, pushes wild conspiracy theories and appears to be melting down before our very eyes. And dont lose sight of the fact about when this is all happening. This unbelievable assault on democracy is happening while the country is in crisis. 215 new deaths reported overnight. The death toll now, back up over 2,000 a day. This is the most since may. We let this happen. The government let this happen. This morning, almost the entire country is seeing a rise in cases. Look at this map. Everywhere in red and orange, theyre seeing a rise in cases. And the states in beige are some of the states being hit the worst right now. Theyve plateaued or theyre Holding Steady at incredibly high case rates at the moment. More than 80,000 people are now hospitalized. Thats easily a record. Look at that graph. The situation now is causing the cdc to urge americans not to travel for thanksgiving. Dont hit the road. Stay with your immediate family. Just the people who live in your house. In just a few minutes, were going to have the first part of dr. Sanjay guptas exclusive interview with dr. Deborah birx. Shes been silent publicly for months. Sanjay landed this really interesting new interview. Okay, well look forward to that. Meanwhile, joining us now, cnn political analyst, maggie haberman, a White House Correspondent for the New York Times. Maggie, i want to start with Rudy Giuliani and whats happening. He is his statements have become incomprehensible. Theyre incomprehensible, if you try to follow the logic or anything. And that picture of him. He also i dont know, appears to be leaking black bile or black ink or something. Why does President Trump still put stock in his future or in any sort of legal credibility into Rudy Giuliani . Well, alisyn, certainly the visuals of that press conference, i cant imagine that President Trump who is concerned about things with appearances was happy with the way it looked, but the reason that he keeps turning to giuliani, giuliani is the only one who keeps doing what trump wants. Trump wants someone to go out there and say the things that giuliani are saying, never mind that these are not really the same claims more often than not than the Trump Campaign makes in court, because there are penalties for lying in a courtroom if you are a lawyer. But giuliani is going out and saying what the president wants to have said. The president turned to giuliani at the end of the week last week after he had suffered a defeat or near defeat in arizona, decided to put giuliani in charge of everything, and giuliani took that ball and ran with it. As we reported earlier this week, giuliani also initially sought 20,000 a day for his involvement in this. So there seem to be incentives for everyone involved. You will note, alisyn, the lawyers who were not there yet, jay sekulow, marty and jane raskin, who handled the Mueller Probe for trump, Pat Cipollone has stayed away from this. William consovoy, who handled the tax issues. None of the lawyers who have been with trump on various serious legal issues over the last four years have been with him on this and theres a reason for that. Maggie, you have some new reporting this morning on what exactly the president is trying to do and Rudy Giuliani is trying to do. Sidney powell, another one of the attorneys on this, explicitly says it out loud. So let me just play this sound to preface your reporting here. Listen to this. The entire election, frankly in all the swing states should be overturned and the legislatures should make sure that the electors are selected for trump. So lest be there any mystery here, the president s lawyer says the election should be overturned. Thats what theyre trying to do. You have new reporting on this, maggie, as the president has invited these Michigan Republican legislatures to come to the white house and i guess try to convince them to overthrow the results of the election in michigan. And we see what he actually says to them, but the mere act of having them at the white house is in and of itself an application of pressure if youre the president of the United States. The president has asked advisers who he could call in other states to try to accomplish the psalm thing. Where he is going to try to push people to choose electors who would be faithful to him. To your point, there is no longer a fig leaf here anymore. This is what some of his advisers are openly talking about, is overthrowing the election. They are going to run out of room to do that. Deadlines for certification are going to keep coming and going and by middecember, the president will be out of options here, but i dont expect him to stop saying that this was taken from him. In my experience, President Trump is persuasive in person. He has enough, i dont know, charisma or something in person weve seen it for the past four years. People do end up going along with him, like this team of lawyers that are saying whatever he wants, like the people in the white house. And so it will be very interesting to hear what these michigan Lawmakers Said before hand and how they felt and after they meet with President Trump. Here is what one of them said this week about changing the election, the results. He says, i do think that were going to find holes in our election law, particularly this new reality of mailin votes. In that entire analysis, i dont expect it to change the results in michigan. So thats how senator shirky felt this week. And well see what happens today. Alisyn, something to bear in mind as this is going along and people need to be asking these lawmakers this question. If you dont certify these results as legislators, then you are not certifying the results of any of the elections in your state. There are a whole bunch of republicans who were elected to positions who i imagine would also like to have their elections certified. So you are undertaking something with consequences that might not be what you intended and a lot of people are not going to be happy with in your state. Its not as if trump can just make this sales pitch in a vacuum. There are a lot of other things that are related and i think that legislators at the end of the day will be aware of this. But you are right, he is, at the end of the day, always selling. And i think that his selling works more on people than people want to admit. Can we take at least a half steph ba step back from this and focus on the fact that the president is even trying to do this . The fact that hes trying to overturn elections in states is worth marketing. It is something that really should alarm people. It alarms mitt romney, at least one of two republican senators willing to speak up overnight. Mitt romney says its difficult to imagine a worse, more undemocratic action by a sitting american president. Ben sasse put out a statement not quite as stringent as this, but a statement as well. That leaves, what, 51 other sitting republican senators right now who dont have the courage to speak up and say that the president of the United States is trying to overturn the election. Where are they this morning, maggie . As you know, john, better than anyone, you know, republicans are concerned about the special elections in georgia going into early january and i dont expect to hear people like Mitch Mcconnell, lindsey graham, talk, who i think are the only two who the president would be inclined to listen to. I think you are not going to hear anything from them until next month when they feel as if their majority is cemented. I have had conversations with people how different it would be if there was not a runoff in georgia and if the republicans had won outright, would you be seeing Mitch Mcconnell or somebody saying Something Different . Well obviously never know. We have seen mitt romney and even ben sasse speak out before and not be joined by their colleagues. I dont have reason to believe this time will be different, but you are correct, that what the president is doing is something that is unparalleled in modern history, or any history, frankly, in this country. And the silence from republicans is quite low. Meanwhile, in terms at the president ial level in georgia, we do expect possibly as early as this morning, them to finally certify the actual results for joe biden. They finished their hand recount, which was laborious, as we know, and now their Voting System manager spoke out about what the findings were after the hand recount compared to what the machine count was. So listen to this. Most hand tallies have, according to most studies, about a 1 to 1. 5 deviation. But in georgia, we saw a 0. 153 total deviation and a 0. 099 of the overall margin. Its verified what we saw on election night, which is that former Vice President biden has the most points at this point. So again, maggie, huge success for the strength of the Voting System and the, you know, lack of irregularities and its precision, basically, in georgia. And so despite that, as you know, President Trump is continuing to push for recounts other places. We have to see, al as you know, if they push for a machine recount in georgia, which would start the process over, delay it from being certified. Even assuming that joe biden, you know, this gets certified, in middecember and assumes office at the end of january, theres still going to be lasting damage to the system, from what the president is saying, because he is throwing accelerant on a desire to not trust the process. That is going to leave a real impact and its not going to go away on january 21st. Can i ask one quick question about Rudy Giuliani, who you covered for years. 23, to be precise. Thats a long time. Then youre perfectly equipped to answer this. I think there are a lot of people trying to dismiss or excuse or explain his behavior right now. Theres whispers and sometimes more that hes lost a step or that hes being coerced or manipulated somehow. Why cant we just say that Rudy Giuliani has clearly made a choice here and he should be accountable for this. And this is who he is. Actually, john, i havent heard that many people try to excuse his behavior, certainly since he began overseeing these efforts in the past week, i think that people are being pretty clear that this is destructive. Campaign officials, white house officials across the board are embarrassed by this. Some are saying its dangerous, although none are saying that publicly. So i havent heard too much of that. I will say, this is who Rudy Giuliani is. This is who he was at mayor. When he was mayor, it was counterbalanced by enough policy, because he is very concerned about policy. And hes a very smart man, that he was able to outweigh this kind of thing, but were talking about somebody who, when he was running against Hillary Clinton for the senate, read the lyrics to captain jack, the billy joel song that was played at Hillary Clintons kickoff announcement in 2000, in that race, to suggest that she was a glorifying drug use by playing the song. Its not dissimilar from the kind of things you heard him saying yesterday. This is who he is. Most people across the country got to know him as americas mayor after 9 11, but that was not consistent with what new yorkers saw over eight years. Thats important. Thats why i asked you the question right there, so people understand that this is not some aberration. This is part of a decadeslong record. Youre just seeing a different angle of it right now. And thank you for that musical memory. That is very special. Thank you . Is it just a memory . Is it a sense memory or a mental memory. I dont know, but im feeling it. Coming up, dr. Sanjay guptas exclusive new interview with the coordinator of the White House Coronavirus task force, dr. Deborah birx. Was this a failure in this country . Did you expect it to go this way . Okay. Her response, next. See yourself. Welcome back to the mirror. And know youre not alone because this. Come on jessie one more. 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Get fast, reliable, and secure internet on the nations largest gig speed network. Flexible tools like wifi you control. Voice solutions that connect you from anywhere. And expert advice here, here, or even here. Be fast. Be flexible. Bounce forward with comcast business. Get started with a powerful internet and voice solution for just 64. 90 a month. Plus, for a limited time, ask how to get a 500 prepaid card when you upgrade. Switch today. What a moment in u. S. History. What a moment in the coronavirus pandemic. 2,015 new deaths reported yesterday. Thats right. For the First Time Since may, the number of new deaths reported rose above 2,000. Think about that. Were back at this awful number. This morning, i want to show you the trend map in the United States. This tells an equally horrific picture. Every state there in orange and red, seeing a dramatic increase in new cases. The states in beige, by the way, are some of the states being hit the hardest right now. Theyve their levels, while they havent gone up, are at an alarmingly high place right now. This is about as bad as it can get in terms of a map. Cnns chief medical correspondent, dr. Sanjay gupta sat down with the coordinator of the White House Coronavirus task force, deborah birx. Deborah birx, who hasnt spoken in public, hasnt answered questions in months, sanjay, landed this exclusive interview with her. He joins us now to talk about this conversation. Sanjay . Hey, yeah, good morning, guys. You know, you remember, she was doing daily briefings just about up until the middle, end of april. And then it was july 8th before yesterday, when we had that last Coronavirus Task force meeting. So shes the coordinator of the Coronavirus Task force. I wanted to talk to her to get an idea of where shes been, whats going on in the country and what she thinks still needs to be done. Your trip to north dakota really left an impression on you, i think. When you were there on october 26th, there were 522 people who had been diagnosed with covid so far. Five people had died. Now the numbers have nearly tripled. Thats since you were there, giving the message. What are we to take by the wawa that . I was really worried. I know as a physician, youre a physician, when were out, were looking at people and were worried about them. Were worried about people with comorbidities and we know how devastating this disease, for people who have specific comorbidities. So when im out and seeing them without masks indoors, it really worries me. Im worried for their health. I sometimes have a hard time figuring out how to represent how weave dove done in this co. 250,000 people have died. Compared to other country, south korea, 500 people have died. Was this a failure in this country . Did you expect it to go this way . I always worry when we have an outcome, that none of us want and none of us wanted, you know, did we miss a communication . Did we say it the wrong way . And i think really thats part of the reason why i went out into the states, is to really understand what we were hearing when they were speaking and being in a dialogue and a partnership to really understand how we could do this better together. Was the lack of testing and the continued inadequate testing the original sin here . Its not only the number of tests and the type of tests, but using them in the optimal way so that we can get the most answers for the quantity that we have. Certainly, im a big proponent of testing and expanding testing. I actually think testing alone is a Public Health intervention. And if you constantly are testing people and isolating the positives, then you have a very different outcome. If you look at the universities that had mandatory, mandatory testing, they ended up with less than 1 of their student body infected. Ones that did the testing the way we were doing it in america, primarily focused on symptomatics, Contact Tracing, isolating, and quarantining, they had 8 to 10 of their student body infected. Was there ever a strategic decision not to test as much . I think there was not that was not a strategic decision to not to test. There was a strategic decision to test more, until a particular time frame in the late summer, when you saw the cdc guidance change to symptomatic testing. And from the i really i cant tell you how strongly i believe that symptomatic testing and Contact Tracing is only well, its less than half of the equation. And unless you get the other half of the equation, youre not going to stop Community Spread. And so that did put a pale on testing for a number of weeks. Sanjay, so interesting to hear from her directly. That is really valuable. And your questions were so good, sanjay. I mean, when you say, was this you know, did we fail . I think that that is obviously the overarching question. And she says that she worries, did we get the messaging wrong . Well, President Trump said it was magically going to go away. Was that the wrong message . Right, no question. And shes so measured and so careful. Shes been doing this for a long time. But she was pretty candid, you know, as you sort of heard there, around that, not coming right out and saying that, but essentially, that was the inference she was making, and also, on testing, we talked about this, you guys may remember, end of summer, these real sort of lines that were being drawn between the task force, cdc. Not everyone was on the same page. I asked her, was there strategic lack of testing . Was that a strategic decision . And she says, no, but, cdc then came out and said, only symptomatic people should be tested. That was a mistake, essentially. She said, look, this is obviously, some of this in the Rearview Mirror now, but it still makes a difference. If you try to analyze and figure out, why are we in the position that were in now. Why do the numbers keep going up. Why does the modeling now increase the numbers of people who will die by march 1st . Why is that still going up . Its because of decisions that were made over the summer. And these are going to be important conversations, i think, to have going forward, because theyre going to inform still the next few months. Hearing her talk about the testing and the cdc decision, say it out loud, because i read the interview, sanjay, just before we came to air, but to hear her say, shes saying she blew it with testing. That they stopped testing asymptomatic people. And you cant do that. That that really doesnt stop Community Spread there. It was so interesting to hear her say that. Theres more to this interview that has to do with the situation that were in right now, which is College Students and kids coming home. Yeah. I mean, this is a very real relevant issues for people making decisions today, really, about next week. They should have been making these decisions weeks ago. College students, but also schools. July 8th, the last official Coronavirus Task force meeting before yesterday, that was primarily focused on schools. And it will be interesting, were going to talk about this next hour. What were they sort of thinking at that point . And now, what are they thinking, given that new york city Public Schools are shutting down, at least for a while . How is this all going to tie together . And again, i mean, you know, sometimes we talk about this like were sort of through it. These are going to be things that inform how we behave and how we respond over the next couple of months. Because in this whole pandemic, as much as weve been talking about this since the beginning of 2020, these next two to three months are perhaps the most critical. We have such good news on the vaccine front. Well talk about that a little bit. But also, the toughest time period over the next few months. People are saying, are people saying, hey, were good, the vaccine is coming, or are we going to say, were going to lean in and not get sick or potentially even die over the next three months, when the vaccine is so imminently close. Okay, so on that front, on the good news front, today, pfizer can apply for that emergency authorization use from the fda. How long does that take . Yeah, well, thats a good question. And it will take a lot less time than it typically takes. And this is sort of interesting, because, you know, these types of events, like a pandemic like this really forces the efficiencies, ive seen over the last several months in what is otherwise a very bureaucratic system. Basically, to answer your question, i think it could happen in the next two to four weeks. Before christmas, we could see people finally receive this coronavirus vaccine. Theres two committees that need to sort of weigh in on this, if the emergency use authorization is granted. One is a committee that is associated with the fda, that is going to say, yes, you know, this looks good to go. And the other one is with the cdc that basically says, okay, who, what, when . Whos going to get it, who should be first in line . What . You know, theres probably just one choice or two choices coming up, and then the when, which i think, you know, guys, its kind of hard to believe, but, you know, this consequence of this virus was identified muddle of january and by middle of december, before christmas, i think, the distribution and actually shots going into arms could be happening. Thats great news, sanjay. Thats the news we need. Because by christmas at the rate were going, we could have more than 2,500 new deaths a day. I know. Thats where were going. We could be there next week at the rate were going. Were going to have much more time to talk about that coming up as well, sanjay. Really timely interview. Thanks so much. We want to remember some of the more than 252,000 americans lost to coronavirus. Sherry knowles was described by her family as a vibrant woman from orlando. Her twin sister says sherry helped her through rough times, so she planned to take care of sherry when she came home from the hospital, but she never got the chance. Sherry was 62. Alexa rose veto was a freshman in high school. She was born with special needs, but her family says never slowed her down. She beat leukemia last year. She was just 15 years old. Our hearts go out to their families. Well be right back. This holiday season, wake up in a winter slumberland with a cozy casper mattress and pillows, soft percale sheets, even glow, our magical light for better sleep shop the black friday sale and save up to 30 today at casper. Com even glow, our magical light for better sleep stayingtakes a plan. 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Secretary benison, thank you very much for being here. Have you been able to confirm whether these two republicans, state lawmakers have accepted the invitation and will be going to the white house today . You know, i only know whats been reported publicly, which is it appears the invitation was accepted and you know, i also know, though, that quite publicly, both the Senate Majority leader and the speaker have stated they wont obstruct the will of the voters and so we also see no indication that thats going to change, either. They have stated that publicly, but i dont know. I mean, everything seems to be so topsyturvy right now, things do seem to change every day. Have you spoken to them directly . No, i havent. And im trying to, you know, just stay focused on the facts and the data and the reality. And actually, the speaker just texted me and said he hasnt confirmed with anyone if hes going or not. So well leave it at that. I appreciate that. So you just got a text from the speaker who has been invited and he has said he has not yet confirmed. Doesnt he have to make travel plans soon if hes going . Just sharing with you all the information that i have, which is simply that. But ill say this. I know both the speaker and the Senate Majority leader well. Theyre folks who do respect the law. Theyre folk who is do follow the rule of law. And so, again, you know, ill take their public statements for what they are, which is that theyve said that they stand with the will of the voters, which again in our case has been very clear. I hear you. And i appreciate that. And you do know them personally. But for those of us who know President Trump personally, he can be very persuasive. He, somehow, persuades people in his orbit and around him and certainly one on one and thats why i think he invited them. He knows his powers of persuasion one on one alone in a room to get people to go along with him. Do you have any concern that that might happen today . Well, i know that, you know, regardless of anyones power of persuasion, you cant persuade away the facts and the truth. Which, again, its very clear that the voters of michigan have spoken, the election has occurred, the vote has been tabulated and tallied very securely, very accurately. Theres no legal or factual basis to question that. Theres been no irregularities, to widespread fraud, despite significant scrutiny and folks looking for that. So all of that said, i think, you know, the facts and the truth remain what they are. And i do expect those in every position of authority to respect that and recognize that. Heres what gives me pause. And i will read to you what the Senate Majority leader, mike shirkkey has said. This was on november 17th. He said, i do think were going to find holes in our elections law, particularly this new reality of mailin vote. In that entire analysis, i dont expect it to change the result in michigan. But that first sentence, secretary, is just enough that maybe there could be an inroad to saying, as we have seen in other states, well, were just going to have to wait. We cant certify anything, because there could just be some abnormality that has to be adjudicated. Well, notably, every county, despite some confusion about that, every county in michigan has voted to certify the election. And you know, the state certification that the state board of canvassers we expect on monday to go similarly, because they have a very clear role also under the law to respect the will of the voters and theres no wiggle room to interfere or intervene in that. However, we are going to do after the certification, a state biden audit as well as local performance audits to see where we can improve for future elections. I think theres always opportunities for that. And certainly, i hope and have always hoped to work with the legislature on making it easier to vote, harder to cheap, and working to protect the integrity of the system to make sure that our clerks and voters have everything we need to participate in it. So from where you sit this morning, you dont think theres any chance that these two republican state lawmakers could choose different electors, could choose republican elector that do something that go rogue somehow. I know these individuals are people who respect the rule of law and the rule of law is quite clear here. And the will of the voters is also quite clear. So, you know, my hope is that we can all Work Together collaborate ively after we get through this moment to identify any bipartisan, nonpartisan ways to improve our but again, we have to also state the truth and the facts which there has been no irregularities or fraud, any widespread fraud that should or could give rise to concern for anyone. I think you have made our viewers feel better this morning. Thank you very much for sharing what you think is going to happen next with us. My pleasure. Thanks for having me. Great to talk to you. So what just happened there is really important. Lee chatfield is the michigan speaker of the house who is apparently walking new day right now, texts the secretary of state in realtime on our air to say, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, i havent confirmed im going to the white house yet. Now, i guess he still could go. Its early. But for him to be so concerned that this idea is out there that hes definitely going, that hes texting her while shes on tv. That tells you something. Thats important. This is a marker. Well, i dont want to rain on your parade, but in fairness, she reached out to him. But still. In other words, it wasnt that he wanted to correct the record right then, she was asking, whats the deal, and he said, i dont know yet. But my point is, if hes saying he doesnt know yet right now, look, this thing there are hes gauging whether or not this is something he should do. And he hasnt decided yet. True, but the night is young. Yeah, well see. Still ahead, new details on the longrunning fraud investigations into the Trump Organization in new york. The new phase of the investigation and why it caused ivanka trump to take to twitter. You want immune support you can trust. At natures way, that starts with quality ingredients. Like our sambucus made from elderberries grown and picked at their prime. Choose the way to quality immune support, choose natures way sambucus. But not every tomato ends in the same kind of heinz ketchup. Because you cant be everyones favorite ketchup without making a ketchup for everyone. So this is something. Developing this morning, sources tell cnn that new york authorities are expanding their investigation into the Trump Organization. Theyre now taking a look at millions of dollars in tax writeoffs for what they describe as consulting fees. Cnns kara scannel live in new york with the live with the latest. And to an extent, this puts the focus on ivanka trump. Thats right, john, good morning, sources tell new york authorities that they have expanded their investigation into the president and the Trump Organization. Theyre now looking at millions of dollars in tax writeoffs the president had taken. Theres a criminal investigation by the Manhattan District Attorneys Office and a civil investigation by the new York Attorney general. Investigators with both offices have subpoenaed the Trump Organization. This all relates to reporting that the New York Times broke several weeks ago where they first disclosed that the president had taken 26 million in writeoffs in fees paid to consultants. One of those potential consultants the New York Times is reporting is ivanka trump. According to the times, she received a 747,000 payment as a fee. Now, that matched a payment that ivanka trump herself had disclosed in her own Financial Disclosure forms as a member of the administration. So that is now a focus of investigators from both the d. A. s office and the new York Attorney generals office. A lawyer for the Trump Organization told the times that everything was done in strict compliance with the law, and that all applicable taxes were paid. But last night, when the times first broke the story of the subpoena, ivanka trump had tweeted out a response. Heres what she said. This is harassment, pure and simple. This inquiry by new york city democrats is 100 motivated by politics, publicity, and rage. They know very well that theres nothing here and that there was no tax benefit whatsoever. These politicians are simply ruthless. Now, these investigations will come to a head and even into more focus in january when the president is out of office. There is an ongoing battle between the Manhattan District Attorneys Office and the president over a subpoena for his tax returns. That is back before the Supreme Court for a second time. And alisyn, were expecting a decision on that any day now. Kara, really interesting. You dont often see ivanka go full twitter trump. So it is notable that she felt compelled to do that yesterday. So thank you very much for the update on those inquiries. All right. Today, a heartwarming reality check. And yes, thats an oxymoron. Even though outgoing President Trump continues to try to overturn a free and fair election, we may not be as divided as we seem. John avlon has our reality check. Are we really as divided as we seem . Well, some hopeful data suggests otherwise. Even in 1968, a year of assassinations and riots, the president ial election was decided by a razorthin margin of 521,000 votes. This year, with more than 5 million popular vote gap separating joe biden from donald trump, the nations bitterly divided with a president who for the fist time in the modern history is refusing to concede. But biden won big, and theres a reason beyond the rejection of donald trump, the only president to lose the popular vote twice, because even with all our deepening partisan and regional divisions, were less divided when it comes to immigration. 74 of americans support legal status for immigrants brought here legally as children, often known as dreamers or daca recipients. That might surprise you to know that a majority of republicans surveyed, 54 , support such a bill. Okay, but maybe thats an odd outlier. What about Climate Change . Turns out in another pew survey that 65 of americans think the government should do more to combat Climate Change. And a majority of republicans support policies like tougher restrir restrictions on power plant carbon emissions. Against that backdrop, it shouldnt surprise you to know that another biden priority, infrastructure investment, is also broadly popular with the support of 83 of republicans and 90 of democrats. So maybe well finally get infrastructure done for real. But what about gun reform . If you get past the absolutist rhetoric, youll find that 92 of republicans favor preventing people with Mental Illnesses buying guns, 82 make background checks. And 54 support banning magazines. Leadership matters and so does public opinion. As plin conn salincoln said, in country, public sentiment is everything. With it, nothing can fail and against it, nothing can succeed. Thats why this data should give you a little bit of hope for the future. We are not, in fact, as divided as we seem. And for that reason, lets give thanks as we head towards thanksgiving. And thats your reality check. And we thank john avlon for that reality check. All right, coming up, more from dr. Sanjay guptas exclusive sitdown interview with dr. Deborah birx. But first, cnn goes inside a hospital in texas that is already overrun with coronavirus patients and doctors will fear it will get worse. For the last few weeks, were busting out of the seams. When you first have to make that declaration, what is the first thing that goes through your mind . Please not another one. You know, its a prayer. Needs r. Centrum helps your immune defenses every day, with vitamin c, d and zinc. Season, after season. Ace your immune support, with centrum. Meet omnipod it delivers insulin through a tubeless pod. Just one small pod replaces up to 14 injections and today you can get started with a free 30day omnipod dash trial at omnipod. Com. No more daily injections. Its gamechanging get started with a free 30day omnipod dash trial today. Go to omnipod. Com for risk information, instructions for use and free trial terms and conditions. Consult your Healthcare Provider before starting on omnipod. 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Cnns omar jiminez joins us live from odessa. Reporter john, for starters we are coming off of a day where we have set a new record for single day coronavirus cases here in texas and within this newest surge, the major difference were seeing looking at covid explosions and Population Centers versus out here in west texas, the availability of health care and in odessa, there are two hospitals and the pressure to keep up what has been an unprecedented pace of patients is higher than its ever been and whats felt like a neverending fight. Its a reality this part of texas has only seen in its nightmares. The icu at Odessa Regional Medical Center is at its capacity with covid19 patients. Even with this hospital at maximum capacity, theyre trying to find places to put covid19 patients. All of the beds that you see in this section curtained off at the moment did not exist before the pandemic. Now its filled to its absolute capacity while patients here literally are fighting for their lives. We lost about ten patients last week and one of them had been on a ventilator for about a month. The ones that are here now on average theyve been on a vent for about a week or so. Reporter denise more than something an acute care nurse practitioner. A few times in the summer we were pushed to the extreme. Now for the last few weeks, were busting out of the seams. Reporter but she and everyone else remain at war with the virus even as some patients begin to take a turn for the worse. When you first have to make that declaration, what is the first thing that goes through your mind . Please, not another one. You know . Its a prayer. Its inevitable and we know its going to happen, but the probability of it being a good outcome is very, very low. Reporter but most are able to fight it off. Look at you reporter and turn the corner. Ruben row me row is feeling better after two weeks in the hospital and says this isnt a game. I asked why. Because this is really serious he says. This virus is not for people to be playing with. Its very dangerous. It attacks your entire body. Im living it, he says, and its become life for so many in this part of the state. Hospital officials in odessa say anywhere from 35 to 40 of the people getting tested are testing positive for covid19. They fear becoming what el paso has become, mobile morgues for the dead. Hundreds in the icu amid record hospitalizations and roughly one in every 24 people actively with covid19. Its required a regional coordination like never before. In a relatively short period of time, our hospitals have added over 600 beds. Even with that, we have flown out about 84 icu patients to other communities in texas. Reporter in smaller towns, once thought to have escaped the virus grip, find themselves right in the crosshairs. Towns like lamissa, texas, shelly baron was hospitalized twice with covid19, a diagnosis shes hearing more and more in her community. The scary word is im positive. Ooh, i tested positive. Weve got two more right now, we experienced a death in our church yesterday. This stuff is real. Its scary. Reporter Medical Arts Hospital where she was mostly treated has an entire wing dedicated to covid19 patients. Transformations that have become shared experiences. We are sending home patients on home oxygen to recover at home. Thats not something we would normally do but there is no space. Reporter all for a months long fight with no clear signs of an end. People arent taking the precautions that they need. Yes, were front line here in the hospital but the real front line is on the streets, in the grocery stores. Wash your hands. Wear your mask, stay away. I promise that the little bit of time and little bit of effort it takes outside of here is worth it because once youre here, wearing a mask is better than having a tube down your throat. I promise. Reporter and one of the things denise went on to say is that in the beginning, she and her coworkers were cheered as front line workers. Now she says shes getting threats as people think shes the reason they cant come see their loved ones. John . Oh, man. Wearing a mask is better than having a tube down your throat, says the front line worker. Omar jiminez, thank you for that report. Important, to say the least. Coming up, well have more of cnns exclusive interview with dr. Deborah birx as cases hit a new alltime high. New day continues right now. President trumps assault on the outcome of the election taking on a new intensity. Inviting Michigan Republican state lawmaker, to the white house hoping can he twist their arms into overturning the election. Damaging messaging sent to the rest of the world. Hell go down in the history as being one of the most irresponsible president s. Nearly 80,000 Covid Patients nationwide. As testing lines grow ahead of thanksgiving, this stark, new advisory. Cdc is recommending against travel during the thanksgiving period. It is much better to have a zoom thanksgiving than an icu christmas. Announcer this is new day with Alisyn Camerota and john berman. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is new day. So here we are. Two months from today, joe biden will be sworn in as president. He will. But before we get there, the defeated president is explicitly trying to overturn the election, which really should shock you. Its an historic aberration, as is the fact the u. S. Reported 2,015 new covid deaths overnight. Thats the most in a single day since may. Were back. Were back at this historic, horrific level. Sanjay gupta has an exclusive interview with Coronavirus Task force coordinator deborah birx who worries whats next. When you look at whats happening now, the rate of rise is dramatically different, so this is faster. Its broader, and what worries me, it could be longer. More of her sitdown with sanjay in just a moment. The postelection chaos brought on by President Trump drags on. New reporting that the president knows who lost and refusal to