they like that. they like having control, the reins of the pace of the judiciary. they like having a break valve for the congress in general. and they're okay with a president less erratic who has given them a lot of heartburn over the last four years. if you are being honest. president trump has not made the life of some republican senators in particular, particularly easy. and a joe biden presidency, though they disagree, would be seen even, i think, in congress as a relief for some. >> not being chased after in the hallways about every tweet the leader of their party has put out there. not to say that he's not going to be tweeting. he is going to be tweeting. he's just not going to be -- >> they don't have to respond to it. they don't have to lie to reporters anymore and say they haven't seen the tweet. they can just oppose joe biden's policies or try to work with him. president trump as far as we know is still golfing. but outside the white house, there is quite a crowd of

celebrants. vivian is in the crowd covering this for us. tell us what you're seeing. >> hey, jake. that's right. outside the white house, we're about 100 feet outside the north side of the white house right now. and within seconds of cnn and other news organizations calling the race for biden, the crowd started flowing in to this area of downtown d.c. for folks who are not familiar with d.c., i want to paint the picture. i'm standing at the corner of h street and 16th street which was renamed black lives matter plaza. right behind me you see crowds now gathering all the way down black lives matter plaza chanting and cheering for joe biden. and that celebration continued as we have been here. folks cheering when the race was called and some news organizations called nevada, the state of nevada for biden and then the chants started again. you have groups of lgbtq

protesters and demastronaonstrot here celebrating. trans people have been out here celebrating. a lot of women with veils, muslims coming out here as a group to celebrate this victory for joe biden and what it means for them sort of in this transition. some interesting chants as well. we heard the crowd a few moments ago chanting for stacey abrams, celebrating the role she's played in georgia to help get democrats in the forefront of this race and potentially flip that state. and so this crowd is growing by the second. and you can see it's hard for us to see where we're standing but we can't even see the end of it on black lives matter plaza. the crowd stretches all the way down, and they continue to grow. so i think we'll see a lot more celebrations in the hours ahead. >> a lot of celebrations in a spot where not long ago, protesters were being gassed so that president trump could walk to the church there.

vivian, walk around the crowd there a little bit if you can. let us see a little bit more. >> i'm going to try. our signal is very fragile. we'll try to walk around and take you through. our signal is very fragile right now, but we're going to try to walk around and hopefully we don't lose you. if we can take a little walk here. you can see some of these signs around here. a lot of signs about you're fired, you know, echoing president trump's -- his popular reality show. hopefully you can hear me. every single time a huge group comes through, jake -- >> yeah, we're losing the signal. thank you so much. appreciate it. probably a lot of satellite action going on there right now. >> a lot of people down there. >> a lot of people down there. a lot of cell phones. i want to read some of the more notes coming in. boris johnson, the prime minister of the united kingdom

and a close ally of president trump's, somebody in the mold of president trump, this is going to sting for president trump. sending a note saying, congratulations to joe biden on his election as president of the united states and to kamala harris on her historic achievement. the u.s. is our most important ally and i look forward to working closely together on our shared priorities from climate change to trade and security. that's going to leave a mark. >> yeah. >> and former president bill clinton, less of a surprise. america has spoken. democracy is won. now we have the president-elect and vice president-elect who will bring us all together. congratulations to joe biden and kamala harris on your momentous victory. >> and, jake, you know, just in the last couple of days, our colleague cristina alesci has been doing some reporting about what's going on in the business world. and how they are looking at this period that could be actually quite unstable for the united states in which you have a president-elect and a sitting

president who may not concede. and they've made it very clear. they're going to try to inch towards stability as much as possible, even to the point potentially of weighing in to say, respect the results of the election. >> so there's a new statement from barack obama. the 44th president of the united states. and former boss of now-president-elect joe biden saying, i could not be prouder to congratulate our next president, joe biden and our next first lady jill biden. i also couldn't be prouder to congratulate kamala harris and doug emhoff for kamala's ground-breaking election. under circumstances never experienced, americans turned out in numbers never seen. and once every vote is counted, president-elect biden and vice president-elect harris will have won an historic and decisive victory. we're fortunate joe has got what it takes to be president and already carries himself that way because when he walks into the

white house in january, he'll face a series of extraordinary challenges no incoming president ever has. a raging pandemic, an unequal economy and justice system, a democracy at risk and a climate in peril. i know he'll do the job with the best interests of every american at heart, whether or not he had their vote. so i encourage every american to give him a chance and lend him your support. the election results at every level show the country remains deeply and bitterly divided. it will be up to not just joe and kamala but each of us to do our part to reach out beyond our comfort zone to listen to others, lower the temperature and find common ground from which to move forward. all of us remembering we're one nation under god. finally, i want to thank everyone who worked, organized and volunteer forward the biden campaign. every american who got involved in their own way. and everybody who voted for the first time. your efforts made a difference. enjoy this moment. then stay engaged. it can be exhausting, but for this democracy to endure it requires our active citizenship and sustained focus on the

issues, not just in an election season but all the days in between. our democracy needs all of us more than ever. michelle and i look forward to spth o supporting our next president and first lady however we can. a lovely and characteristically expansive remarks from president obama. >> yeah. but that coming from a president who inherited the worst economic recession since the great depression says a lot. >> yeah. >> and it's true. we've never had a pandemic like this in 100 years. and the economic fallout has been as significant. so he understands what that really is like. and it's worse now because -- i don't know that our country was as divided in 2008 as it is now politically. >> it didn't feel it because we had just elected the nation's first black president. it felt like the nation had come together in a lot of ways. >> it felt it a couple of years later in 2010 when everything

changed. i want to take a moment to talk about the effort that president obama put in to getting his vice president elected to the presidency. he did it four years ago for hillary clinton. in fact, he said, this is personal for me, to people in the crowds. and it didn't work. this time, it did. a lot of reasons for that. but in terms of president obama, starting with the democratic convention, he broke all protoc protocol s because he thought president trump broke all norms in a dangerous way. he was so aggressive against president trump and continued that on the stump in recent weeks. >> imagine in george w. bush in 2012 had gone out on the stump. he didn't. and that's normally what presidents do. refrain. barack obama did not choose to do that. >> no, he didn't. and he had no choice. i mean, let's be honest.

he was as much a part of this campaign as joe biden was because donald trump's presidency began about barack obama and who he was. and donald trump's presidency was, in large part, about the invalidation of the obama era. and so this was not just about electing joe biden, but about preserving or restoring some of the things that he did as president that had been lost in a biden -- in a donald trump presidency. but i do want to make, you know, refer to one thing he talked about in his statement which is the turnout in this election. not as a political statement but a statement of fact, when you let americans vote. when you give them ways to vote, they will vote, and they do vote. and republicans for many years

have taken the opposite stance. they try to make it more difficult for people to vote. they say it's because of fraud. but when you really talk to them privately, they acknowledge because they're concerned that there are not enough people who support their views who show up at the polls. and it's a political strategy about raw power. but i do think that if there's one thing donald trump proved in this election, you can turn out republicans, too, if you give them a chance to vote. it's time we as a country just do this fair and square. let as many people vote as we can. make it easier for people to vote, and they'll show up. even republicans. >> millions of people voted by mail for donald trump. >> yeah. >> millions of people voted by mail for republicans and, as far as we can tell by the exit polls, president trump seems to have increased the black support and latino support for him from previous republican presidential

candidates now. >> i want to bring in house majority whip, congressman jim clyburn of south carolina. mr. whip, you endorsed joe biden in the south carolina primary. you gave him life in that process. and now he is the president-elect. your reaction? >> i'm very pleased with the results. i'm very ecstatic about what may be the future of this great country of ours. my investment in joe biden had everything to do with the restoration of our pursuit towards a more perfect union. i know this is not a perfect country. my god, i'm here. i'm living testimony that the country is not perfect. but we cannot give up on the country. i could not sit idly by and watch this country take backward steps in that pursuit of perfection. so i am pleased that we can now

get back on course. we need to restore voting rights to people. we need to restore people's lives and livelihoods. this campaign and a few other things before demonstrated that there's admonition that this country is great, not because it's more enlightened than any other nation but it's always able to repair its faults. fault lines have opened up in education, in health care. even the election four years ago opened up a fault line. and this was an opportunity to repair that. >> you tweeted about kamala harris being the vice president-elect and the first woman, first woman of color to do that and about what this means for diversity. can you talk about the emotions that you feel right now?

>> i'll tell you. i'm the father of three daughters. and i have two granddaughters. and to me -- for them and all other daughters and granddaughters in the world. so i am very, very moved by this. we talked about it several times when he was trying to make his decision. it would be a woman. and i don't mind saying now, i said to him in private that i thought that a lot of the results would turn on whether or not that woman was a black woman. i never said that publicly.

when you ever tell a candidate what he must do in public, that diminishes the standard with the public. so i gave him all my advice to him in private. but i am very pleased that it was a black woman selected. i think it cemented his relationship to the black community. if i may, let me say this about these recent polls about biden -- i'm sorry, about donald trump increasing his vote in the black community, especially black men. i think i know how to gauge that stuff. not just the barbershops. i have a way of living that keeps me in close contact with the black community. and let me tell you something. when you poll -- these were exit polls that --

exit polls will not give you what was going on this year because more than 80% of african-americans in a lot of communities voted before the election day. you get your information from the exit polls on election day, you do not have an accurate -- so that is dead wrong. >> just so you know and we can talk about this later, probably not the moment, but the xut pex polls done were not just election day. it was prior to election day when early voting started. but let's put that aside because i want to follow up on something you just said. you revealed for the first time that you urged now-president-elect joe biden to pick a woman of color. i tried to get you to say that at the time and many others did. you didn't bite. what was his reaction aside from the obvious, which is that he acted on it. but in the immediate moments after you made that suggestion, what was his reaction?

>> well, he listened. he did not respond to me publicly. and, of course, well, even privately. but, of course, about two or three days before he gave the announcement, he was still -- i think he said to me, my heart is in one direction. my head is in the other. i said go somewhere in private and bring both of them together. >> which one was his heart and which one was his head, do you think? >> i'm never going to tell that. >> but you think you know the answer? >> i do know that answer. yeah, i know what he said to me. >> can you give us anything more about those conversations? >> no. >> let's look ahead. first of all, let me ask, have you spoken to president-elect

biden since the news today? >> no. no, i have not spoken with him today. quite frankly, i was going about my earlier business. i was real nervous about -- i was never nervous about pennsylvania. but because of all the litigation, i have wanted to see us do this with not having -- i think we still may be there. but i was more nervous about arizona than any other place. i don't know what the results are there. >> you know how hard it's going to be because you've been in congress for so long with either party, both parties. what is your advice for joe biden as he not only tried to reach across the aisle but navigate your caucus where, as you know, based on the call that you had with house democrats

this week, there are a lot of progressives who want their voices heard but a lot of people who represent moderate districts who want the leadership of the democratic party to listen to them as well. >> look. we've got a big tent. we need to be respectful with each other. i understand -- all of us have got congressional districts that are different from other congressional districts. i know a lot of people in the united states congress that get elected overwhelmingly in their districts that cannot get elected in my district. and there are a lot of districts that i cannot get elected in. and that's what we have to keep in mind. these congressional districts are different. therefore, people's -- their political reactions and their

votes, they're all going to be different. and if you learned anything about being a member of congress, be in charge of the vote counting and see what you have to do in order to reconcile people's backgrounds and experiences in order to get the vote. so i am so tired of all of this progressive versus moderate. let me tell you something if you got time. my father was a very conservative guy. he used to drill in our heads that if you make a dollar, son, save a nickel. if you leave the room, turn the lights off. conserve energy. but he was a minister. i never heard him ask his congregations for a conservative offering. he always asked for a liberal offering. so i learned early that conservativism is good in some instances. liberalism is good in other instances. let's see if we can reconcile those things. the whole notion it's got to be

your way or the highway, we've got to stop that. our party is not made for that kind of people. you know, we've got, what, 55 african-americans in our caucus. and on the republican side they've got one. and he's now gone. i don't know if they elected another one. so we don't have the same make-up of the caucus. and we've got to stop all this foolishness of it's got to be my way and we've got to put this in the bill or i'm not going to vote for it. come on. we're going to be back in the minority, and we're going to be stuck in that minority for a long time. let's respect each other's backgrounds, each other's congressional districts and give people enough room to represent their districts. >> mr. clyburn, the house majority whip, again, the man who endorsed joe biden in the south carolina democratic primary at a time where he needed that endorsement and it

gave him political life and ultimately the nomination and the presidency. thank you so much. congratulations to you, sir. >> thank you. well, thanks for having me. >> thank you. >> what do you think of that? >> without majority whip clyburn, today would not be happening. >> exactly. period. i mean, maybe a different democrat would have won the nomination and gone on to win, or who knows. but clyburn is responsible for the biden presidency. >> and for the folks at homes, he's also the guy who counts the votes in the house of representatives. so he knows what he's talking about. and he's someone who now has an -- i shouldn't say now. he is a well-respected democrat and has been for a very long time but he's in a position where his word and his voice about how joe biden navigates the next four years as president, navigates the democratic caucus and the relationship with republicans is going to carry a lot of weight. and it really matters, i think,

dana, what he said to you at the very end which is that he wants the party to recognize that it is a coalition party that is made out of liberals and more conservative democrats, and we should be clear, jim clyburn is a congressman from south carolina. he represents a lot of black voters who are, many of them, more politically conservative than people think. so it say party that is going to be amalgamation of a lot of different views and joe biden, it's not going to be easy for him to navigate that. but he's going to have to both deal with his own party and what we were discussing earlier, reach out to republicans and figure that all out. >> he was warning the progressives in the party kind of on behalf of joe biden to, you know, not go -- not just go for everything but understand that progress sometimes takes baby steps and sometimes takes compromise. >> and this is something we haven't covered much this week because we've been more focused

on who the president is going to be. but there is a lot of -- there's a civil war going on within the house democratic party right now. the house democrats lost a lot of seats during this election, even though joe biden won. there are a lot more moderate democrats. there are a lot more -- well, they lost four seats but they thought they were going to pick up -- they lost a lot of races. they thought they were going to gain 10 or 15 seats and ended up losing 4. a lot of moderate democrats that were very disappointed. and one of the reasons they were disappointed, and we heard this in the conference call that house democrats had that was leaking in realtime and being reported on by our colleague manu raju and others is there were people like the congresswoman from virginia and others from more moderate districts complaining that aoc

and ilhan omar and rashida tlaib and other members of the so-called squad and others, progressives, who have done a tremendous amount to bring enthuse ymp and ideas to the democratic party but that some of their ideas, especially defunding the police and that notion, hurt democrats. hurt them in races where the republicans were able to tie them -- tie the democrats to socialism, to the idea of defunding the police, and that was a little speech. he wasn't even -- he wasn't talking to you. >> no. he was talking to ilhan omar and aoc and rashida tlaib and others. >> and the fact that he took the chance that we gave him to say it publicly, i thought was very, very telling. >> but he's also been saying this for quite some time. i remember this summer, during the george floyd protest, he was very clear. defund the police is not a message that democrats should adopt or that would work for

many democrats across the country. he was crystal clear about that. and this is a man who was himself involved in the civil rights movement back in the 1960s. so he's not just saying that because he's been looking from his ivory tower in washington. i also think that when joe biden said yesterday, when he came out and spoke, that we have a mandate. we were talking about it in the context of a mandate to lead the entire country. but i also think that he has a mandate to lead the democratic party specifically in a particular direction. he had to navigate a lot of mine fields in this general election. including this issue of defund the police. including some of these other tricky issues where he had to be somewhere between not alienating the left and not being seen as overly -- or not alienating, sorry, the suburban part of the

country that he was trying to win back. and he did that. >> he achieved that. >> and so that path that he carved out in the general election, they'll have to figure out a way to turn that into a governing principle that can help him navigate these mine fields that he'll face immediately. >> he did a skillful job threading the needle, of not alienating the progressives where the energy is in the party and not alienating the suburbs of philadelphia where he needed the votes. >> where he got the -- >> he did an able job of threading the needle. i will also say if he had been running against a less ham-handed opponent, i mean, donald trump would go out there and say cory booker is going to invade your neighborhood -- they weren't even dog whistles. it was bullhorn racist tropes and making senator cory booker the poster child of it. he's not exactly willie horton.

>> but president trump got his people out. >> sure. but he didn't win over the suburban -- >> his theory of this election was that if trump has his own people, and if he brings enough of them out, he can win. he got somewhat close, but, obviously, it was not enough. i do think that there is a choice facing republicans now about what you're saying which is, you know, is that message a ham-handed message? or is it the best we've got? i don't know that they fully settled on what the answer to that is. >> i think if you give truth serum to republican elected leaders, most of them, they will say it's not the best they've got. that it's maybe the opposite of the best they've got on that. one thing i want to say just going back to the whole comments that mr. clyburn just made about, you know, progressives and moderates and how he doesn't like those terms and everyone

just has to figure out how to deal together, we know how hard that is going forward. >> i don't like those terms. >> we know how hard it's going to be. >> come on. >> listen, allow him to say what he wants. he wants to figure out a way to lead. >> i don't like those terms. >> what i want to say is i've got a text earlier today, i believe it was, from a very progressive member of congress who was reminding me as we were talking about black voters and how black voters came out. but also progressive young voters, people of color in urban centers. that that was, when we dissect these votes, after this election is over and we have time to do that, that the increase in the voter share for joe biden, this member of congress believes, is going to show that really helped push him into the presidency. and that those voters and the leaders of those voters, progressive lawmakers, are going

to have high expectations that their voices be heard. and that's understandable. >> look. i -- it is true that joe biden cannot -- could not have won the presidency without progressive democrats who see themselves in the aocs and ilhan omars of the world. and i know the jim clyburn also knows that true, too. but there has to be a negotiation here. i think what those young voters said in this election by coming out for someone who is their polar opposite in a lot of ways, older white standard bearer of the old guard is that they are willing to engage in the political process because it's affected their lives. and so i think on some level there's maybe a silver lining here which is that if young people came out for joe biden, it's because they believe that they know that there is going to have to be some kind of compromise. it's not because joe biden said to them, i'm going to be, you

know, the far left leader that you've always wanted. i'm going to be a -- contrary to what the president said. he is not going to be a bernie sanders light. that's just not who joe biden has been for his political life. >> let me also say, first of all, the progressives did a ton to win this presidency, as you're saying for joe biden. first of all, ilhan omar was door knocking. her seat was safe. she was door knocking to -- >> after a tough primary. >> after a tough primary. her seat was safe. she was door knocking to get people to vote in minnesota. to get progressives, her people to the polls to vote for joe biden so that minnesota would not be in play as people thought it would be several months ago. aoc is one of the stars of the democratic party. when i had her on "state of the union" before the election, she was more disciplined and able than almost any politician i had interviewed in the last few months in terms of her acknowledgment of where she

disagreed with joe biden on issues like the green new deal, et cetera, and also the fact that joe biden was, in her view, the absolute only choice. so i don't -- >> she wanted the privilege of having to worry about -- >> to lobby him. >> so nobody should -- nobody should -- oh, look at this huge turnout in washington, d.c., outside the white house. just people celebrating joe biden's victory. a lot of relieved people. a lot of happy people. a lot of anti-trump people. a lot of pro-biden people. biden/harris, count the votes you see. >> luckily a lot of masks. >> and a lot of masks, which is good, although the crowds, according to public health officials, not so good. >> correct. >> but the masks are good.

in any case, what i want to say is nobody should treat the progressives as if they are a pain because they are a vital part of the democratic coalition, period. >> correct. >> but that said, there is a reckoning going on because some of the things that were said, especially when it comes to defunding the police. there are more moderate democrats that think that made their coalition, their majority smaller. and, look, this is minneapolis. they are social distancing while celebrating in minneapolis, minnesota. so that's what's going to happen. there's going to be some fighting about this stuff in the democratic caucus. and, you know, we just heard some warning shots from congressman clyburn just then. >> and just on the -- what you are talking about, about ilhan

omar, even though she didn't have a real race, that she was knocking on doors. jayapal, she represents washington. she didn't have a real race, and yet she is part of an organization she has an organization where they go out and they train people to knock on doors in battleground states all over. that is a very, very vital part of the progressive movement that we were just talking about. that allowed this moment to happen. that fueled this moment. >> so senator mitt romney, who ran for president and lost to barack obama and joe biden in 2012 just tweeted. ann and i extend our congratulations to president-elect joe biden and vice president-elect kamala harris. we know both of them. as people of good will and admirable character. we pray that god may bless them in the days and years ahead.

let's bring in susan rice who was the national security adviser for -- sorry. didn't mean to surprise you there, dr. rice. first of all, let's get your reaction. you worked with joe biden in the obama/biden administration. you have been campaigning for him, endorsing him, doing everything you could to get him elected. your reaction to this moment. >> i'm joyous. i am grateful to the american people. i'm thanking god, and i'm grateful to joe biden and kamala harris for being who they are. they are exactly what our country needs now. we need competence. we need decency. we need honesty. and we need to come together. and that's what they represent. i know this is a painf for many who wished for a different outcome. i'm living in a household with some of them.

but at this moment, i believe that we have an extraordinary opportunity to move this country forward. to reclaim our leadership in the world. and to address so many of the fundamental challenges we face from covid to the economy to education to health care to racial justice and climate change. and this is the moment we have to do so, and we have to heal in the process. >> i want to ask you about your son is a -- somewhat notable conservative figure in the country. and i want to ask you about his disappointment in a second. but i do also want to first ask you, if you don't mind, as a black woman, we now have a black woman vice president-elect. it's never happened in the history of this country. i'm just wondering if you could -- you prefer to talk policy and you prefer to talk politics but -- and national security, but i'm just wondering if you'll indulge me and our

viewers. as a black woman, what does this moment mean to you? >> it's amazing. it's amazing. it brings tears to my eyes and joy to my heart. and my, you know, almost 18-year-old daughter that feels thrilled. i know there are young girls, and i hope young boys all over this country who see themselves in her and the opportunity for them to be who they want to be. i could not be more proud of kamala harris and all that she represents for all of us. this is -- it's an historic, ground-breaking moment. >> it's obviously a very emotional moment for tens of millions of americans, especially those who, before today, had never seen someone like them. a woman of color represented in a president or vice president. and we should acknowledge that

this is a moment of great joy and celebration. >> celebration. celebration. >> in terms of the experiment of america and the promise of america. what can happen here. joe biden is expected to give his first speech this evening as president-elect. you're someone in a household where i know you a little bit and i know your family a little bit, and there are trump supporters in your family and biden supporters in your family. what does joe biden need to say to start unifying the country? >> well, i must say, not just for my son but others in my family and universe who have different political views, i am really proud of my son today. he is an american first, like i am. he believes in this country, and he also wants to see us move forward in unity. as disappointed as he may be. and we are family first and

always will be. and this is a moment where we all need to look to the future. and heal. and i believe that's what he believes as well. so we are together today. we're one household, we're one country. and we've got to remember that just as in a family, in a country, we have so much more in common than that which divides us. and we've got to find that fundamental truth together as to who we are and what we can be. we can't survive divided. we can only be strong and safe and prosperous if we come together. and this is a moment where, on a very personal level, and on a national level, even on a global level, we have to recognize and embrace that reality. >> the space for celebration, there is some risk to it because

president trump has not conceded and, obviously, we want to give him time to process the information coming his way fast and furious. but he's also out there claiming, once again, that he actually won the election. he's making all sorts of false allegations about massive voter fraud. there's no evidence of that anywhere. how should vice president -- rather, how should president-elect joe biden deal with this and do you have concerns about whether or not there will be a peaceful transition of power? >> i think it's hard not to have some degree of concern, but i believe this country is strong and resilient and that our institutions have shown up for this moment. jake if you'd ask me a week ago, two weeks ago, you know, when our state and local officials, when our courts, would our people continue to have patience and faith in our process, how confident of that was i?

i was confident, but i wasn't super confident. and today we can look at all of those and say, my goodness. and the media, too. the media played this responsibly. and so all of our institutions have held. now donald trump has a choice to make. he can stand up and be part of our democracy, our historic tradition. he can be a responsible leader to hand off power. i know there are many reasons to doubt that and i can't say i'm particularly optimistic, but the best thing he could do for himself, for his party and for our country is to act like a president of the united states now at this late stage. so i hope he will. but if he doesn't, quite frankly, the nation, the institutions, the world, we're moving on. there will be a transition. joe biden will be the next president of the united states, come january 20th. and he and kamala harris will be

prepared to lead a team to govern this country again with competence and integrity. it's going to be okay. it may be a rough next couple of months if donald trump chooses to make it that way. that would be unfortunate for his legacy, unfortunate for the country but we'll get through this. and when we come out the other end, it will be a better day and a day when government is finally turned to serve the american people and our many, many needs rather than anybody's personal interests. >> dr. rice, you were on the short list joe biden was considering asking you to serve as his vice president. obviously, i'm sure you would be honored to play any role in the biden/harris administration. people have talked about you as a potential secretary of state. have you had any discussions with anyone in the transition team about a possible role in the administration? would you be open to it? >> jake, i'm not going to get

into that. this is not about me. this is about the united states of america, it's a day for celebration. this is a day to lift up joe biden and kamala harris. i will, as i've always said, i will serve in whatever capacity or not that joe biden thinks is best. but that's not the point. the point is today we're turning a page. we're opening a new chapter. i can't tell you how many messages i've gotten from people around the world, literally from nigeria to london to nairobi to ottawa. just joy. and their message is, my god, thank god, america is back. we're back to being able to be the shining city on a hill that we can look to. that's the message i've been getting. so let's celebrate that. and then let's figure out in the days to come, it will be joe biden's decision how he wants to constitute his team and i'm

theep serve my country and to serve him in any way i can. >> dr. rice, thanks for taking the time to talk to us today. we appreciate it. best to every member of your family on this day. >> thank you, jake. good to talk to you. >> fascinating. and it's -- her son, jake, was a -- is a noted conservative on the campus of stanford. was in the news quite a bit for that. and it was -- i liked hearing about the family disagreements. i have a -- my family is trump supporters and biden supporters and this is not an easy day for the jakes of the world, speaking of dr. rice's jake. >> the other jake. >> there are, as we've discussed, there are close to 70 million americans who wanted a different outcome. >> and a lot of families are in that position. i do think that for those who

are open to being reached out to, they will have that outreach. i think that joe biden has made it very clear that he plans to try at least to bring everyone in. i think back to when president trump was elected, and he said he would do that, and then he didn't. >> no, he never did. >> he never did. so it's more than words. it's going to be actions. we'll see what comes. but i do think that there is more of a history for joe biden in his actual life of doing that. i also thought it was nosabe a s susan rice said that the world is watching. i have friends in london, in beijing, who are literally glued to their televisions watching to see what is happening here in the united states because the united states is obviously the -- supposed to be the leader of the free world. and there have been a lot of questions about whether that is still true. and what american leadership

means for the rest of the world and what it might mean for the rest of the world under a joe biden presidency or another four years of donald trump. and i think that you're going to see, in more than just boris johnson speaking up and basically saying we think this is a done deal, you'll see a lot more of that, i suspect, from other world leaders who have to decide which tact they're going to take. in some ways it may be messier for them to engage in this idea that the election has been undecided when all evidence to the contrary says it has. >> she also said the world is moving on, which was a very telling moment, especially given the fact that the president's ally across the pond, boris johnson, the prime minister of the uk, was one of the first to publicly congratulate joe biden before the president conceded. meanwhile, let's look at what the next first lady just tweeted out. she tweeted a photo of her and

the president-elect holding a sign saying dr. and -- was vice president biden live here and she's covering up the vice saying he will be a president for all of our families. i mean, that's a message with not a lot of words but a lot of impact and import. >> america's going to get really familiar with philadelphia accents. if you weren't sick of mine enough, wait until you hear the soon-to-be first lady of the united states and her willow grove inflect. it's going to be interesting. she's a really kind woman. and i got to interview her. you've interviewed her. she has made military families her cause. and that will continue to be her cause. she did that when she was the second lady of the united states. she said that she'll do that as the first lady of the united states as well. working with military families. having been a military family. because of her son beau and

other members of her family. >> and something else that's going to be really fascinating about jill biden. when she was second lady, you both remember, she's a teacher. and she continued to teach, a professor. she continued to do so while she was second lady. she said, i think my interview with her, that she would do that when she's first lady, too. she would continue to work. >> dr. b. >> don't think that that has happened before. somebody can correct me if i'm wrong. obviously, first ladies have a lot to do in their official role. but to work outside that home is not something we've seen before, i believe. >> it was a statement when she did it as second lady. it will be a huge statement if she follows through and does it again. but there are some ways that you can kind of dovetail both roles, right? and i believe that when she was second lady, the community college pathway was such -- was a big part of the kind of

obama/biden economic message. and i suspect you'll see a lot of that again, especially as they try to get their hands around not just the coronavirus but also the economic situation in this country going forward. >> dr. biden's aide just texted me. it has not happened before. there's never been a first lady who has kept a job like she intends to do, working in the classroom like when she was second lady. >> i do wonder as we talk about and try to contemplate how president trump -- not that it matters -- how president trump is going to eventually turn over the reins of power. and again, he can concede, he cannot concede. he can behave like a mature adult. he can choose another way. there is also normally, and there was for the obamas and the trumps, and the bidens and the pences, a handover moment. and i wonder if even if donald trump doesn't find it within himself to do that, which i would think, by the way, just

further would sully his leg aerks bacy, but that's up to him. i wonder if melania would choose a different path. i think melania trump would take the time to meet with incoming first lady dr. jill biden. i can -- i have a much easier time picturing that in my head than picturing it happening with her husband. >> i remember her talking publicly about how humbled she was by michelle obama doing that for her when they won the white house. so i would imagine that she would do the same for her successor. >> or that she would want to. i'm not sure, you know -- >> what, that her husband will let her? >> she does her own thing. >> i think there's a question about whether that would happen. >> you think? >> from a logistical -- >> oh, logistically. >> speaking of lodgistics. never mind that we don't believe that joe biden has gotten a

phone call which is tradition from somebody who has been defeated. one of the other traditions that we all know about on inauguration day, the for the incoming president in the resolute desk. >> do you think that's going to happen? >> it might be, but if i were joe biden, if i were president-elect biden, i wouldn't read it. i wouldn't open the envelope. first of all, he hasn't said anything yet. the last communication we have from the president is from about three hours ago, an all caps message that says, i won this election by a lot, which is not true. he didn't win this election, and he didn't win it by a lot and also, just, again, we've come to, this has become normalized? that's just nuts. that's a crazy thing for somebody to say. >> and it's honestly, i mean, at

this point, it's un-american. when this is done, it's done. if you didn't get enough votes, it's over, and you're supposed to gracefully exit the stage. >> grace is not a big word in his -- >> he's not going to do it, but it's going to be, as i said earlier, a transition unlike any other. i have some questions about what january 20th, 2021, will look like and whether he'll participate in that transition of power. i remember barack obama saying and even georgia bush talking about what that is like to be with the person you're replacing on that day, and the fact that we do that is a quintessentially american thing. it's the reason we're the greatest democracy in the world and i think the american people ought to know whether president trump is willing to do that. yes, it is symbolic, but he

would really be, i think, tearing down something that does help the country move forward, if he were to decide and say, i don't think this game was fair, i'm just going to walk off of you. i think i won. >> i think the american people should prepare themselves for the latter, and set their expectations pretty low when it comes to how president trump is going to deal with. i'm not saying you're suggesting otherwise, but i just think it's pretty clear based on everything we've seen from president trump, outgoing president trump throughout his career, but especially during his presidency, that he's not willing to put the concerns of the nation ahead of his own ego and his own concerns and he is not going to rise to this moment. now, should he prove me wrong? wonderful. it would be great for the country. it would be great for his supporters. it would be great for his legacy. let's talk about what we expect to see in january because we are in the middle of a pandemic.

joe biden has not, was not -- president-elect biden, i need to get used to that, was not able to campaign and hold rallies in a normal way because we're in a pandemic. it's worse now, in terms of the spread of the virus than it has been at any point throughout this pandemic. we just had the worst day ever. 125,000 americans infected. it was the third day in a row of more than 100,000 infected. the virus is spreading. joe biden will not be able to have a normal inauguration or a normal inaugural ball or any of that. >> as you're talking, we just showed some of the cheering and the elation that is spilling on to the streets, largely masked elati elation, but it is still happening, and that kind of gathering is what joe biden tried to avoid for almost his entire campaign. he had drive-ins instead of

rallies and so i'm guessing that happy as he is, that people are happy he's going to be the next president, that's not something that he's thrilled about and not something he's going to want to see in his inauguration day. >> something public health officials throughout the country, democrats and republicans are happy about in terms of the coronavirus pandemic, he'll tackle the pandemic in a way that president trump has not. more to jeff zeleny on that front. this is obviously priority list number one for president-elect biden. >> reporter: amid the celebration here in wilmington, one of the first official acts after the president-elect biden delivers his speech here tonight will be the naming of a coronavirus task force we're told is going to take place on monday.

it will be to lay out a plan, and a former surgeon general from the obama administration era, murphy, as well as a former fda commissioner, david kessler, and a current doctorate at yale university, marsala nunez smith. three co-chairs of the coronavirus task force, at the beginning of a series of public, i'm told, speeches and announcements and really trying to reconvey to the american people the seriousness of this crisis. we are going to expect briefings from them, perhaps daily televised briefings and try to seize that mantle. the question here, of course, the trump administration is still in office. dr. anthony fauci is still a government employee. so unclear how they can sort of meld this together, but at least up until now, i'm told, the trump administration behind the scenes in terms of the branches

of government has been participating with the biden transition project. we'll see if that goes forward here, but that certainly underscores the importance of where joe biden is placing his priority by making this covid-19 task force announcement on monday his first choice and one of the bit of news. i'm told at this hour, a little more than two hours after the president-elect was projected that he has still not heard from the white house or the president who, of course, as we know, is out golfing but certainly has his telephone with him. at least at this hour, he has not heard from him. he has, of course, had phone calls with speaker nancy pelosi and chuck schumer who i'm told held up his phone from a brooklyn street so joe biden could hear all that cheering and elation, at least in brooklyn. jake? >> jeff zeleny in wilmington, delaware. thank you so much for that report. anderson? >> jake, thanks very much. there are also getting some tweets from a number of other people, there's a statement from

u.s. president, former u.s. president jimmy carter saying, rosalyn joins me in congratulating our friends, joe biden and vice president elect kamala harris. we're proud of their well run campaign and the positive change they'll bring to our nation. you heard the mitt romney statement, extend our congratulations to joe biden and kamala harris. we know both of them as people of goodwill and admirable character, pray that god may bless them in the days and years ahead. >> you go. >> class acts. class acts. showing how it's supposed to be done. these are the traditions. this is how it's supposed to be. the very partisan before the election, make sure you draw those lines, be very clear. don't be personal, but clear about the issues. get on the right team. fight for your team. afterwards, shake hands and come together because after the election, we've got to move stuff forward. i just wanted to say, i'm seeing

so many people happy about kamala and just a couple of things, one, all these young girls posting all these pictures of her all across the country, all around the world and then some secrets to her success. the divine nine, the nine greek letter african-american organization, they're all thrilled. everybody went to a black college. she went to howard university. all those people are going nuts. pillars in the black community that came together. we've got assets in the black community. we've got folks, black church came together behind her. so young women, the indian american community thrilled. this is a big deal. celebrations for generations now bubbling out. >> susan rice talking about her daughter. i remember when it was president obama, the impact his election had on all these young children who all of a sudden felt like they were part of it, like they had that opportunity that there were no limits.

this is another historic event like that. >> i'm trying to think. have you seen sort of crowds like this in the streets? we saw atlanta, washington, new york, chicago, these kind of images. did that happen in 2008? >> you know, there were spontaneous events that erupted. obviously, we had a huge crowd in grant park in chicago. there was this feeling of elation because of what that election represented. i think there is a combination here of elation and relief. it does say something about our country, you know, people rejected divisiveness and i think that's, there's an affection for joe biden because he does represent those things that people like to believe, just in terms of character and his approach to people. they like to believe that's what our country is, that's what our leader should be.

but make no mistake about it. dividing the country relentless and furiously and it had a tremendous event. he drove it. he drove his people out and he drove his opponents out and what you're seeing here is a sense of relief that the pressure valve has been -- >> it goes beyond just, many people felt brutally inconsistent of their view. let me just say one thing.

the question is, jeff zeleny said there's going to be a task force. a coronavirus task force by biden. what level of cooperation will they get from the government in place now and for the next two months? there are all these substantive things and work that needs to be done. >> that's the cooperation. >> when we made the transition from obama to bush, in every conceivable way, there was coordination between the bush administration and the incoming obama administration and it wasn't because they were id ideologic ideologically together on everything. it was because that is how it's supposed to work. and this is really, really important. honestly, i would love to see president trump display a regard for these rules and laws and norms that he hasn't for four years. i'm very concerned about what the absence of this cooperation

could mean, particularly in the midst of a public health crisis. >> i think what you might have is people like tony fauci and debra birx cooperating and make themselves available to the biden task force because they've obviously disagreed with what this administration has done. i think he'll be asking dr. scott atlas to sit on their meeting. in that sense, i think there may be cooperation. i want to add one thing about jimmy carter sending out this congratulations. i'm kind of waiting for george w. bush because jimmy carter, donald trump has never been a member in good standing at the president's club. we all know that. we all know he doesn't like any of them. he's tweeted about them. particularly, bush, and the

question is, at some point or what, at what point, i should ask, would george w. bush come out and congratulate joe biden? he did not participate or endorse in this campaign which was telling in and of itself. but so long as these legal challenges are going on, the question that i have is about a lot of republicans, but including the former president. when is he going to come out and say, okay, you lost. joe biden won, and i need to congratulate him because as david is saying, in his own transition, he was so remarkable with the obama administration and clearly, he understands how important this transition is and i'm just wondering whether he's going to put his them thum on the scale to say, he won. >> i don't know of any president who's been more apolitical since he left office than george w. bush. >> it's not a political

statement. >> the point is, i mean, he didn't go out and campaign for his brother when his brother was running for president. let's just put that in context here that to sort of now turn to jor george w. bush to set the tone, and i've met with him a few times, and he's done. he's done. don't look, just saying, don't look for him to sort of put, step into this moment. >> is he going to wait? >> very clear he's not, he's letting the country go its own way and he's not going to be putting the stamp on it one way or the other. that's number one. number two, these celebrations. which is an opportunity in my opinion, not saying this to be critical. they're not about joe biden. i mean, they're about donald trump. let's just, it's releasing the

pressure. not saying that to be critical, i'm saying it's an opportunity. back to this town, not a big agenda that the people think he has that's why they voted for him. they didn't vote because of his agenda but because he was not donald trump. he has a lot more flexibility, and again, coming back to georgia, georgia, georgia and what's going to happen down there in the next two months, joe biden didn't run on a big. made a very big point of the fact he wasn't the hard left.

>> now we're going to see, joe biden's political skill. on the other hand, he owes his base a lot. you have an african-american community that expects to be treated like the people who delivered, there should be no apology for it. one good thing about donald trump, he removed the taboo of speaking directly to black people about black stuff. he said i'll do a platinum plan for you black people. affirmative action, i feel guilty about that. i'll help you black folks. and so that removes the taboo. biden can now reach out to the black community, not to exclude anybody else but say, listen, here's what we're going to do. i think uniquely deserving of that support and investment.

white male evangelicals, they embrace their base. how does biden do that? is biden going to be able to meet, i think, the just needs knocked on its butt by covid. the person biden defeated was willing to talk about that. can biden do that. here's what we do on infrastructure, et cetera. it's not a left versus right pressure.

there will be some left pressure on medicare for all, whatever. that's not his problem. his problem, he's got a bunch of people of color with practical needs. if they don't get met at all, the country has a problem, not just biden. >> can i respond. i think that the people in this country grew more enthusiastic, biden supporters, grew more enthusiastic about his candidacy as time went on and you saw that in the polling and it is because they got to know him and his personal decency came through. his empathy came through. so there's obviously anti-trump, anti-trump in the demonstrations out there, i wouldn't underestimate the fact that biden voters decided that they really wanted this guy and he was the man for the moment. because you couldn't put him in

a box. 47 years of public service and you couldn't say, okay, is he a raging socialist as donald trump tried to portray him? there was a little bit of joe biden that people could look at and say, i like that about him, i like that about him, but most of all, they're celebrating his values. so while it is anti-trump, it's also celebration about american values and dignity and what people want to see in a president of the united states. >> i agree. i agree with your point that they saw biden as an alternative to the friction that donald trump created. my point was, they didn't, a lot of people didn't vote for him because of, they thought he was going to come with a very strong left-wing agenda. in fact, he was trying to make, i'm not going to stop fracking, i'm not going to tax the middle

income, i'm not bernie sanders. i won because i'm not bernie sanders. but those are not the people in the street. >> i don't know what you mean by van's people but -- >> progressive. >> there's a deep concern in this country about health care. and joe biden spoke to it. there's a really deep concern about the imbalance in our economy where you can work as hard as you can and can't get ahead if you're an average person, and if you are privileged to start with or if you're on wall street or in a c suite, you get through good times and bad, pandemic, recession. you come out okay. and they want to see action on things like health care, on child care. these are not -- you guys think these are left issues. these are life issues for most

americans and that's what has changed but the debate has shifted. biden did speak to that, and i think he's more likely to do something about the problems that were touching their lives, at least the majority of people who voted for him. so i would not underestimate that. i think it's really important, but you're right, gloria. we should give him his due. i don't want to deprive him of his due. joe biden became more popular through the final months of his campaign. that's pretty unusual. he was under assault. president was beating up on him and he became more popular as people got to know him and i think that is a credit to him. >> that question, cares about people like me. does this person care about people like me? joe biden kept going up and up and up. donald trump went in the other direction. >> there was value for him just in purely political terms of getting elected, in not being as present on the campaign trail. not only did it make it harder

target for president trump to attack and try to kind of define. it also allowed different kinds of voters to come see different things in him without being confronted on a daily basis with different policy positions and kind of, as you said, take the part of him they liked and say, that's enough for me to vote him. >> and to allow to differentiate himself to give speeches about policy, about covid, about american values and not being at rallies all the time where you're just playing with the crowd. if they ran a different campaign, but it worked to their advantage and what may have happened with donald trump, the more people who saw him at the rallies, yes, it brought out some voters but more maybe some undecided voters saw him at the rallies, they were hearing grievance after grievance about

himself and what they were sufferi suffering. >> in biden was so popular in the positions he was getting, why did not a single republican lose a house seat? why did republicans pick up state legislatures? why did the republicans maintain control of the senate when they were given no chances? >> because donald trump was his own worst enemy. >> the point is, the policies. >> trump, you know this, rick, you said it earlier. trump did whip up a huge turnout among his base, and in districts and states where republicans have a natural advantage. they reap the benefits of that there. >> my point is a lot of people who voted for joe biden because they didn't like donald trump voted for republicans down ballot, which means policy-wise, they wanted republicans, they liked the policies. they didn't like donald trump. >> i was looking at the senate race. republicans who went for the

senate in those, except for susan collins, ran almost neck and neck. >> they all ran ahead. >> the challenges facing, you talked about president obama on 2008 when you went to visit him soon after he had declared it. you could see the weight of that. the weight of what the challenge is that he faces and vice president-elect kamala harris face, they're very aware of the difficulties that they are stepping into. even within their own party, they have a lot of expectations from hundreds of thousands of people who march this had sed t called for defunding police, which joe biden didn't support, and most, you could look at the poll results and you can look at the election results and say, there's not a lot of americans who have a lot of support for that across the country. >> right, but biden, you know,

biden didn't where you knrun ons and attacking him on health care. you must mistake people for people who might be in the primary. the goal posts have been shifted to where you can't ignore an issue like health care. you can't ignore an issue like the wage gap. these things have become life issues for people and they're not left issues for people. so i think biden will govern as a center left democrat and that doesn't mean he'll not have a progressive agenda. >> the thing about biden, he's been here before. when you guys were elected, you had the economic crisis. and he knows what it's like to

kind of get in there and go. and i think they're ready for it. too long, 47 years. he understands how to get things done. considers himself a pragmatist. this is what we can get. perfect can be the enemy of the good. >> there's a real danger here and i think we'll have to come together as a country to deal with this. two things that don't go together. you're almost certainly going to have gridlock. if nobody does anything any different. if mcconnell says, i'll make him a one-term president. if the left says we'll fight

until the last dog barks, you'll have gridlock. economic pain in the urban parts and then in the rural parts and also cultural fear. said, are they going to crack down on christianity? rising pain and fear on both sides and gridlock in the nation's capitol. that's the most dangerous thing for this country. it's going to take real political. it will take real political courage on the republican's part. i don't think they're thinking this all the way through.

now you have people who don't have health care insurance. these are the things you can lose your country over. i think america is blessed to have this guy. i think they're blessed because he does have the political skills. i think he wants to bring people together. he knows how to cut deals but it will take people including me and you, senator, to get together and find a path forward, or we're going to have a big mess. >> you look at things that joe biden can do and without republicans in congress. and then >> and then expand it more with donald trump, use of executive order. executive orders that could be counter to what, my opinion, or

take, draw to the greatest of what the statute says. so how far is it going to go? he's going to get huge pressure from the left on immigration, for example, and other things to sort of try to redo the legislative landscape just by executive order. and say, well, i can't get things from congress so i'll do this. trump did it. obama did it. and some cases, slapped down by the courts for doing it. how far is joe biden going to go? that's number one. if you want to show that you want to work on a bipartisan basis, you don't go out right away and sign all the executive orders on immigration. >> mitch mcconnell said his principle goal was to defeat president obama and if you come to the table with that attitude, but the attitude of i'm going to try to weaponize these issues in

a way that will disadvantage the president to defeat him. if you do that in the middle of a crisis, and that's what we faced in 2009, you may get rewarded politically, but it really is a derelict. >> that brings up another issue. hold on. brings up another issue, that's really important because obviously, the democrats weaponize the russian investigation and all these investigations, trump throughout the entire time and then impeachments, things like that. we know there's this issue out there hanging out there with respect to the biden family. and what the republicans may do in the senate. >> i would agree on that, i will say something has to be done to give relief to the immigrant community and i hope biden does

do something. >> i think it's interesting to hear you talk about executive orders now saying, oh, i don't want biden to do this when this has been a president who's been governing by executive order. >> i disagree with it. >> and if biden wants to undo some of the things that he believes donald trump has done that are wrong, then he'll do it by executive order. >> trump did it to obama. >> he's not a fan of executive order but this is one way that you can get things done quickly. just the way things operate right now and i fully expect joe biden is going to do that. >> i think he's going to have to do some of that and then figure out some way to reach out and that's what i think.

>> you're right, one of the reasons he'll be a good person for this time but if they fail to act on the issues that are of immediate urgency, anyone who stands in the way of trying to help the american people right now in a really difficult time does so at their own political peril, i think. >> one thing i think biden won't do is try to inflame the situation and what we're used to is a president who stirs the pot. any chance he could get, and what we've heard from joe biden

in his speeches so far is, unite the country. even if you didn't vote for me, i want to be your president too. i'm going to listen to you. it's a totally different tone and the question is whether the people in the senate, in particular, who are on the losing side of this, are so stuck that they can't move a little because the country is so polarized. primarily on the right, we understand that's the process. find out if joe biden is living in an outmoded world. president trump still be up until the time he's not.

how much, you talked about the cooperation that usually takes place, given what is still going on the trump side of this equation, what do the next months look like in terms of if vice president biden announces this coronavirus task force on monday, does the sitting president start to take into account what the incoming president? >> traditionally, i'll give you an example. barack obama asked george w. bush to extend some aid to the auto industry until march of 2009 because gm and chrysler were in distress and he wanted some time to consider what the steps were, the long-term steps that should be taken to deal with that situation and

president bush embraced the short-term relief at the request of president obama. there are a lot of issues that are transitional from one administration to another. right now, particularly in the middle of a crisis where coordination and conversation would be very, and normally your chief of staff, the incoming chief of staff would be talking to the team that's coming in and there would be a high level of coordination. i have great fears that's not going to happen here. >> let's go back to wolf. >> look at this. cnn projects another win for the president elect of the united stat stat states. will go for president-elect biden, bringing his total up to 279 electoral votes and got 279 right now. trump still has 213. let's go over to john king over at the magic wall to see what's going on right now.

that number could go up and up and up. two other states the president-elect could get electoral votes and potentially to 306. >> it could and this decisive day, for president-elect biden and vice president-elect harris, he'll know he'll take over. there will be an inauguration outside and joe biden will become the president of the united states because of the 20. pennsylvania. we've just added nevada. which gets you to 279 and in a divided america after a polarizing election, yes, joe biden got a record number of votes but so did donald trump. second number of votes ever in a race for presidency. we don't expect him to go away, lead the white house but not go away. what happened with the rest of the map is quite critical. pennsylvania in its 20 puts you over the top. what an important victory. pennsylvania, michigan, wisconsin. that's what he says at the beginning of the campaign, so much doubt in the democratic party about, is this the right man for this nomination?

he said, i'm the best guy to do that. today, he can say, i told you so. that's not the way he'll say it but look at that, i said i could do it. the challenge when you think about it, what a statement this would be and go up to a recount, the numbers a little bit later. the democrats in charge in 50-50 to be able to say i won in georgia. and help again to be able to say if you're joe biden to say, i'm stretching the map. i won in georgia, i won in arizona. does it win you a lot of votes? that will be the challenge for joe biden ahead, but if you can

build this map up to 306, we believe the rest of this. we're not done yet but we believe the rest of this, president trump has been leading. we're still counting votes in maine. second congressional district. maine and nebraska are the two states that allocate by congressional district. let's assume the president wins this one. come along with me here. all right. maybe it's my fingers that lost their heat sensitivity. north carolina, the president's leading in alaska. it's a possibility, 306-232 if you're into history and nostalgia, it was 306-232. >> four years ago. >> four years ago. it was a flip side. 306-232 and it's actually interesting. you see the circles on this map, nevada, we had circled because we expected joe biden to carry that. that was a clinton state but this is the important part for joe biden politically. evenly divided country. i flipped that, and he could argue, i flip that and i flip that. so that is a big deal when you

have a map changing election. gives you some leverage in the political conversations, again, how much will be the challenge now that joe biden has proven, remember all the doubters at the beginning. right, is he the right man for this moment? can he beat donald trump? should the democratic party elect this man from the past to lead it into the future. he's the president-elect now and this map will help him make the case. it will be the next challenge, but just being noted in the other conversation. president trump is president for 74 more days. 73 more days. joe biden will put together his team and, flash forward, use it as an example to show donald trump won, remember what that did to the democratic party. joe biden could say, a little bit, not the way he talks but i told you so, promise i would change this map in the governing challenge, it helps to be able to say, you made a very big dramatic statement. still the votes and have to deal

with internal democratic fights as well as then an obstinate republican party still going to have ex-president trump trying to hold in its grip so the challengers are huge. the bigger you can run up the total, the more leverage you have. >> four years ago, trump said he won in a landslide, but 306. let's see what he says about biden winning potentially if he wins these two other states with 306. >> to that point, not since george h.w. bush have we had three conclusive two-term presidents in a row. it is hard, it is hard to defeat an incumbent president. when you, "a," defeat that incumbent president even though donald trump got more votes now than four years ago, when you defeat him, you defeat him with a number like that, it gives joe biden some leverage. he says it's a mandate. that's the question. >> so far, more than 4 million votes. let's go to david chalian. cnn was first to project that president-elect biden was the winner of this election. walk us through our decision desk, our folks came up with that.

not just the decision you make or i make or john king makes, there are a lot of people involved with this. >> we have an entire team of professionals. we kept saying, we needed more moment to get to a certain threshold with an a high confidence threshold, donald trump in second place was able to overtake joe biden in first place in the state of pennsylvania. leading as well but in the state of pennsylvania, we finally after that last batch of votes that came in from philadelphia late this morning, we were able to see the margin that biden had in pennsylvania grow beyond 30,000 votes, knowing what we knew about everything outstanding, the provisional ballots not yet counted, some of the mail ballots not yet counted and how they were behaving and

where they were coming from from within the commonwealth. that got us to the extraordinarily high level of competence, like 99.7% certainty that there was no way that donald trump was going to be able to overtake joe biden and that was able to make the call but i do just want to add what john king was saying broadly here, when you do look at how joe biden put back together, rebuilt that so-called blue wall he promised he would and expand a little bit into the sun belt in arizona and georgia in these extraordinarily polarized times in american politics. winning the middle still matters, the electorate nationally. people identify themselves as independent. he won them by 4 points. and a lot of the, certainly, a

high turnout election, obviously, and both sides got their bases out. there was also an argument to the middle, to the political middle of the country that joe biden won pretty resoundingly. >> speaking of turnout, let's take a look. amazing how many americans voted in this election with the coronavirus pandemic. record numbers. 93% of the estimated electorate out there, so far, we've counted that. but look at those numbers. >> so here's conversations about this election that will continue for months and years. one lesson we hope every state takes. a record setting number for candidate, victorious candidate for president of the united states and guess what? democrats won't like this. second highest vote total for any candidate for president of the united states ever. turnout up in this election. everyone should celebrate that. republicans aren't celebrating today, or at least not trump

supporters but that is a number to celebrate. and let's look at this right now. four years ago, democrats remember this as well, not that convincingly and guess what?tel. look at what has to be counted still.estration. look at what has to be counted still. only 74% counted. the number for joe biden is going to increase and again, i was talking earlier. 306 electoral votes, joe biden believes gives him some leverage. winning the middle is important. we live in polarized times but more votes from california. still counting in new york state. 81% there. it's a big blue state. joe biden getting nearly 60% of the vote. there is no doubt, there is no doubt that joe biden's lead in the popular vote will extend itself as we go forward. that's important too. how important?

that's what the first 100 days of the new administration will tell us, but what you have a sweeping win in the electoral college, when you have a dramatic historic win in the popular vote and when you can say look at my margin. now, republicans will say, okay, that's all out in california, in new york, how did you do in the red states, sure, that will be the fight ahead but it helps. it helps. you bring up texas, one of the interest things about texas, remember all the democratic hopes. they have high hopes and moved texas slowly their way. it's a tough pull for the democrats. you see progress, houston and harris county. blue and the suburbs around it. out in el paso but all the red in the middle. 52% for president trump. vote total up. go back four years ago. 52% for president trump. hillary clinton at 44 there if you round up. third party candidates had a bit more influence. four years ago, 46. so joe biden and democrats can make the case, maybe it's

another step forward. democrats overly optimistic how quickly they can flip this state but there is no doubt, there is no doubt they are making more progress and that's because of the growth, especially harris county where houston is. physically, it's the size of rhode island. if it left texas, it would be the 25th largest state in the united states. this is a growing powerhouse in american politics. harris county, texas, within the state and beyond. and those are the things we'll go through over the next few weeks. today is decisive today. joe biden becomes president-elect and then kamala harris the first woman and woman of color as vice president. and see what changed. i've been going through some of the states and not a ton changed.

the coasts are more populous than the middle of america but middle of america still gets two senators. so democrats always say, we have more people because we have more votes. that's why they have a house majority but if you watch this, one thing to show you. one thing i look at are pivot counties. more than 200 of them. 206 counties that voted twice for barack obama and that flipped to donald trump. one of my questions coming into 2020 was how many of those can joe biden pull back? still counting, not all that many. north hampton county, in a state that's incredibly close to pennsylvania. joe did what he needed to do here and joe biden will view this as a big victory.

and this is very close, the kind of win that joe biden will take. it was close erie county four years ago. 49-47 for t little bit, as you come up to 2020, but you say just by a little bit. when you take this off, sometimes, just by a little bit matters. just by a little bit made joe biden president. >> 34, 414 vote lead joe biden has over trump. david chalian, the national picture, record numbers of voters out there and biden got more than 4 million more votes than trump but still plenty of votes out there.

so many of the races were in california that helped deliver the democrats to their majority, we had to wait for a while, many days for all that vote to get counted and get a real sense of the picture and i think the same is true here. especially given what we just experienced over the last five days. this election, so many americans voting by mail for the first time and these election officials across the country god bless them all for doing their jobs, it just takes a while to count all the mail vote. we'll be a few days, a week or so, ten days until we have a real picture of the final tally in the national popular vote, a real sense of just how much joe biden did expand the map and i just think you don't want to draw too many conclusions about sort of how america settled finally into this election until

you see that whole vote total at the end of the day. we know joe biden and donald trump, two presidential candidates with the highest vote total in american history. it was a hugely engaged electorate and they got their sides out. obviously, joe biden more so, and i just think when we get more and more of this vote in, especially in california, you're just going to see joe biden's lead in the national vote grow to an even greater place in history. >> explain to our viewers, david, why there was this record national turnout, so many millions of people actually voted one way or another whether early, day of, mail-in, absentee. they voted in these huge record numbers even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. >> yeah, well, one is the access to vote, if you're voting by mail and this will be studied now. does that bring more people into the process? if, at the end of the day, did that get more people engaged in voting because it was something

they could do in their home and then drop it in the mailbox, there were so many states, wolf, especially states across the midwest, that really had no big history in vote by mail, in absentee voting. you needed a real legitimate excuse in order to get an absentee ballot in a lot of these states and that went away with the coronavirus. you don't need an excuse anymore. now you can vote by mail and there was a lot of encouragement from political actors on the democratic side, specifically, to do so. and so i think you're going to see how an electorate that has experienced what it's like to have multiple options and multiple ways to cast its ballot and then it may be something that's now here part of our future long after coronavirus goes away. >> very important indeed. you know, john, we're talking about the democrats winning the white house but there's a house of representatives that's been at play as well. the democrats look like they're going to still be in the majority but they've lost a bunch of seats. >> so the margins mean

everything because i'll break it down in just a second but joe biden will be president. a democratic president. and evenly divided either way. the democrats, evenly divided washington. here's where we came to election day. 232 democrats, 1 libertarian and 197 republicans. still counting in some of these races but the democrats down to 222 seats at the moment. this is ahead, 222 seats democrats are leading right now. 213 where republicans are leading. this is very significant. 15 republicans are leading in districts right now by democrats. only three democrats are leading in districts right now held by republicans. these are the races we've called because we're still counting votes like in the presidential race. still counting votes. the democrats hold the majority.

212 right now called republicans, 197 but again, the final composition, how much of a majority does nancy pelosi have assuming he's reelected as speaker and how joe biden will have relationships with the house and in oklahoma, for example, gone. what is the composition? is it more liberals because more conservative democrats lose, do they put pressure on joe biden on issues like climate change and health care and deal with the senate calculations? the presidency is the big story today, obviously, because donald trump is now going to be a one-term president. joe biden will become the president-elect in 74 days but this is a fascinating finish for joe biden and you're trying to figure out how much leverage do i have? last night, he believes he has a mandate. we'll hear from him tonight outlining policy agenda. democratic allies in the house but a smaller majority, democratic majority in the house and the uncertainty of the senate. so as he plans these early steps for the next several days, at least, and through the middle of january when it comes to the

runoffs in georgia, joe biden cannot be exactly sure of the balance of power and leverage he will and not have in washington when it comes to huge issues, he's promised to act on climate change. a fundamental different tax code than donald trump and build on obamacare. remember the fights on obamacare back in the obama administration? barack obama then had a democratic house and the senate at first and the republicans came sweeping in the 2010 midterms. there's big questions on the table, even though we have a new democratic president. >> we spoke to several house democratic leaders over these past several weeks. they were expecting to gain seats, the democrats would gain seats in the house. losing seats in the house of representatives, so obviously deeply disappointed in that. the republicans picking up seats. >> that gets back to this, that the president of the united states lost, a one-term president, the president of the united states who said, i can't believe i would ever lose to joe biden, well, he lost to joe biden and it's not rigged.

however, however, he did because he did turn out his vote, because of that record-setting vote, president trump actually helped his party in this election. no question about that, the close senate races, handful or more republican gains in the house, republican turnout was up and when it comes to house races, has to be up where republicans live in the house districts. there's absolutely no question. president trump helped his party even as he lost in this election. that is just undeniable and you see it in places like north carolina. we haven't called this yet for the president but he's leading here and the republican candidate in the senate race. no question, even in south carolina, lindsey graham was on the ballot. lindsey graham won reelection. wolf? >> the celebrations going on around the country. celebrations that joe biden is now the president elect of the united states and whether in atlanta or chicago, washington, dc, new york, philadelphia,

people have just gone out on the streets. they are so excited, so happy right now. they're celebrating. this is in washington near lafayette park over there. the black lives matter plaza, as it's called now. you see the folks in dc. and this is philadelphia what's going on in philadelphia right now. they're so excited. they're wearing masks. not much social distancing but they are at least wearing masks. jake? >> wolf, among the historic firsts occurring with this election, one that probably not a lot of people care about, but my next guest does. senator chris coons, democrat from delaware. joe biden will be the first president from delaware. congratulations on that and congratulations on your friend becoming elected president-elect, senator. >> thank you, jake. this is a remarkable day where joe biden and kamala harris are now clearly on track to be our next president and vice president and the people of delaware are just jubilant. i mean, there were tears of joy,

cow bells, cars honking. people cheering in my neighborhood when the announcement was made that a number of major news organizations had called the election for joe biden and frankly, i think ruth bader ginsburg and john lewis and mccain are looking down on us smiling. it was thrilling to hear the sounds of jubilation you just played from cities and towns across the country. we've got a lot of tough work ahead to bring this country together but today is a day to celebrate. >> have you spoken with president-elect biden today? >> i have not spoken with him yet today. a number of the senior members of the campaign team and i have talked and texted but i'm excited for his speech tonight. there will be a record crowd at the river front and fireworks that i think will light in the sky for all delawareans. >> what does joe biden need to say in his first speech to the country as president-elect? what do you anticipate he'll do? >> jake, the thing about joe's campaign for the presidency,

he's been remarkably consistent since he first announced in philadelphia last april to that landmark speech he gave recently in gettysburg to recent remarks in georgia. not a democratic president and as someone who's got the vision and the plans to bring us out of this mess, to address the pandemic, together with his vice president to build back better our economy and tackle long unresolved issues of racial injustice. this is an historic day, not just for joe in delaware but for kamala harris and for all of us who are excited to see the first black woman who is the daughter of immigrants ascend to the vice presidency. this is a day where i think joe's message and kamala's message will be one of unity, focusing on the very challenging work ahead, and of respecting the differences between the 75 million americans who will have

voted for joe and kamala and the roughly 70 million who will have voted for donald trump and mike pence and finding a way forward together. >> let's talk about those 70 million because president-elect biden has talked for a long time about his desire to unite the country to heal divisions, 70 million americans voted for him. i guess 75 million did but how to unify the country when the nation is so deeply divided? >> it's going to be challenging but i'll remind you, the american people have become exhausted with four years with relentless chaos, with tweeting at 3:00 in the morning, with unpredictability, the president more skilled at maintaining a reality tv audience than he was at actually leading as president. so joe's going to have to come out of the gate with a number of initiatives and proposals that will be focused to win bipartisan support and that will be challenging in the senate particularly, if mitch mcconnell

is the majority leader. but the things that are right in front of us to do, tackling the pandemic, developing and distributing a vaccine, coming up with a bipartisan investment package that will rebuild our roads and bridges and buy american and put people back to work. these are things that can and should be bipartisan initiatives before we get on to some of the more challenging issues like health care or climate change. >> all right, senator chris coons. democrat of delaware. long time supporter of former vice president, now president-elect joe biden. congratulations, drinks on me at the rusty rudder tonight. >> thanks. >> talk to you later. >> that was some beach humor. >> a little delaware bar. you get a sense of the joy people feel about their hometowns by how obnoxious i am being from philadelphia.

that's an entire state that has never elected a president before and now joe biden is not just a delawarean, he's the most famous delawarean in the world. >> chris coons has joe biden's, so not only is he a mentor to him, he is a predecessor in the united states senate and, you know, he, like so many democrats worked really, really hard to get joe biden to the place he is today as president-elect. one of the questions i have as i was watching him is will he, cnn projected he's going to go on for the second full-term in the senate. he was up on the ballot with joe biden, but is he going to stay there, a joe biden cabinet. he's an important member of the foreign relations committee. that's one question.

>> a very decent person as we all know him to be, one of the more moderate democrats and there's been a debate about what some of the more liberal democratic allies of joe biden will want in a cabinet but seems to be he's in a particular lane and elevate people who double do down, i wouldn't be surprised if someone like a chris coons ends up doing something although he just won his seat in delaware. i've always been thinking about just this period of time. the next couple of weeks, he is not the president yet but the current president has just left the golf course and really seems

to be not focused on the remaining parts of the job but fighting the fact that joe biden was elected president. i think there's going to be a huge vacuum and joe biden's going to have a lot to do right now to fill that vacuum. >> absolutely. i do want to say something. i don't want to throw cold water on the notion of what biden's going to be able to do but progressives were disappointed because barack obama was not the wild haired liberal that people depicted him as. he was center left. he was very much in the mold of joe biden even though their styles are very different and probably, their personal politics are a little bit different. but that's how he governed. the republicans were obstructionist as they could be, once they got control of the senate. i don't know what mitch mcconnell is going to do. he's got a real decision ahead of him. >> you're right.

he got one of the reasons why he partnered so strongly with donald trump was because he got so many judges on to the bench, never mind three supreme court judges. maybe he'll look at joe biden as his former deal maker and actually make some good policy for the country. hope springs eternal. let's just be hopeful today. >> joe biden wins this historic race for the white house and 46th president of the united states of america. he and vice president elect kamala harris will speak live tonight, 8:00 p.m. eastern. there's more coverage ahead, before that, of course, stay with us. coverage with anderson cooper and erin burnett right after this quick break. when panera's chef claes makes a pizza,

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i'm anderson cooper alongside erin burnett. we want to welcome viewers here in the u.s. and around the world. a historic day we had been witnessing. joseph r. biden jr. elected 46th president of the united states defeating defeating incumbent president donald j. trump. one of the most bitter races in modern history. >> biden turned 78 this month. will become the oldest person sworn into the office. his achievement capping four decades of public service and two previously unsuccessful runs for president. dr. jill biden tweeting out this photo today.

doctor and the president live here, putting her hand over vice. making history, kamala harris, first person and woman of color to serve in the second highest auf office in this nation. >> we did it. we did it, joe. you're going to be the next president of the united states. >> we have seen jubilant crowds flooding the streets of cities. honking horns, choosing to end the volatile trump presidency and some cities in this country, you can feel the excitement people feel right now. >> yeah, that's certainly the case. president trump has told allies he has no plans to concede, no plans to invite to the white house with the traditional oval office meeting but people have spoken. biden not only won the electoral college but more than 74 million votes, most ever cast for a presidential candidate in american history. i want to go to cnn's jeff zeleny at the biden headquarters in wilmington, delaware.

obviously not only elated in headquarters but also working furiously about what comes next. we expect biden to address the president-elect the nation tonight. what are you hearing? >> reporter: anderson, joe biden will address, we should say president-elect joe biden will address the nation at 8:00 p.m. from his hometown in wilmington, delaware. the stage behind me we've seen all week long has been at the ready for this moment and tonight he will deliver the victory speech and i'm told it's going to be like many speeches he's given in recent days. he'll be calling for a unifying moment and period for the country. he'll reach out to those who did not vote for him and say he'll govern for them as the 46th president. we're also going to hear from senator kamala harris who will be the vice president, a historic role in its own right. first woman vice president of the united states. the first woman of color to be the vice president of the united

states. so she, i'm told, will talk first and then joe biden will talk after her. but anderson, they are already at work getting ready for the transition to power. the transition to government. i'm told one of the first steps will come on monday announcing a coronavirus task force. 12 member task force to really tackle one of the big challenges that is facing this incoming administration. it's an open question how the trump administration will cooperate and participate with them. but the biden administration soon to be is not waiting for that. they are moving forward with that, but i'm told in the hours since he was declared the winner in his native state of pennsylvania, he's been fielding phone calls including from barack obama. the former partner and president who played a key role by staying on the sidelines, intentionally stayed on the sidelines so joe biden could make his own way. a difficult primary for him, of course, but in the end, closing

weeks, barack obama was out on the road in pennsylvania, michigan, and georgia and florida, which came up short. that was one phone call. and also, from speaker nancy pelosi and democratic senate leader chuck schumer who spoke with mr. biden on a conference call, interestingly, senator schumer held up the phone. he was on the street in brooklyn so mr. biden could hear cheering, so many cities across the country. we're not expected to see joe biden until he delivers those remarks here this evening. but certainly, this is the beginning of his major challenge to try to, "a," unify the country and tackle the challenges. this is what he said in a statement, the words we've heard from him. he said, i'm honored and humbled by the trust the american people have placed in me and vice president-elect harris. in the face of unprecedented obstacles, a record number of americans voted proving once again that democracy beats deep in the heart of america. with the campaign over, it's

time to put the anger and the harsh rhetoric behind us and come together as a nation. it's time for america to unite and to heal. we are the united states of america, mr. biden says, and there's nothing we can't do if we do it together. the words coming as we see the pictures coming in around the country celebrating mr. biden but those who did not vote for him and the central theme of his message here tonight. >> not surprisingly, president trump made it clear he definitely does not accept he's lost and joe biden has won the election. let's get to the white house and cnn's jim acosta. we were looking at an aerial shot there. we could see people gathering outside. the president obviously on the golf course when he found this out and now, headed back, tell me what you're seeing there. what's happening? >> incredible scene at the white house.

been here all morning. all afternoon and you can hear the celebrations from the streets of washington around the white house. look at these live pictures right now, black lives matter plaza. that's the crowd outside st. john's e mispis kocopal church, same scene where the administration brutally cleared protesters, used tear gas like chemicals on protesters to clear that area so the president could have that photo op where he held up the bible in front of that church back on june 1st. now it is a scene of celebration, it's one of those tweets you might see out there, how it started, how it's going. that paints the picture right now. the other image we could show you here on the streets of washington, 17th street towards the white house complex, the u.s. secret service cleared off that area. that is where the president's motorcade will arrive shortly. he'll be arriving back at the white house, that's it right there. he'll be arriving back at the white house in the next couple of minutes to a scene of a city

that is celebrating his departure, that he's now the outgoing president of the united states. of course, donald trump doesn't see it that way. he released a statement earlier today. after joe biden was declared the winner. he is not accepting that joe biden has won this election. we don't need to read that statement. more of the same false information we've seen from the president in his tweets and so on, but he is saying, his team is saying they're going to start filing some of these legal challenges starting on monday to contest these election results in these various states but i can tell you in talking to trump advisers, people inside the president's own campaign cannot paintpoint point us to evidence of voter fraud. i talked to one adviser earlier who said nothing concrete, we have nothing concrete that would point anybody, a judge for that matter, to any instances of voter fraud. so the president right now is playing with a losing hand. he's been out on the golf course all day long, essentially trying

to avoid the scene he's coming back to right now. there's a chance we may see the president later on this evening. they haven't called a full lid for the day. perhaps he'll want to come out and make a statement, but consider what he was saying thursday night. i was there in the white house briefing room and when he just sort of had a meltdown for everybody and could not accept what was on his itself way to happening and i suspect he'll have the same type of episode, a further embarrassment not just to the president's team but the party. a lot of people would like to avoid. i've been in washington all my life. grew up here, and i've never seen a scene like this outside the grounds of the white house only thing i could compare it to, the hostages coming home after barack obama and saw that as a grade schoolkid. you just don't see this kind of

celebration. maybe after a super bowl, you don't see many like this in washington and we're seeing one this evening. this is a president who has demonized people who use the first amendment. not just the arrest but the protesters. these are peaceful protesters up until this point, very peaceful. also wearing masks, erin. very safe. they're in large crowds, no question about it. it's a risk for the coronavirus but almost everybody i saw was wearing a mask as they were exercising first celebrating th departure, the eventual departure of donald trump. >> you can only, just, we all wonder what the president is thinking as he sees this outside. you talk about being in the crowd. when you look at the crowd, it's something we're seeing in many places across the country, certainly here in new york. we heard it, the horns, people out in the streets.

people waving, cheering, cow bells. joe biden's victory has sparked celebrations in other cities across the country and our cnn reporters are live on the ground for us. let's go outside the white house to that crowd. you can see. vivian in the midst of it. what are you seeing? >> reporter: it's a celebration out here. we're on the south side of the white house, you can see behind me. jim was just talking about blm plaza on the north side of the white house. we were there earlier and actually lost our live signal because the crowds are so dense that the signal jammed up and we couldn't talk to you. i wanted to take you for a walk to give you a sense of how many people are here, a lighter crowd but still an enormous crowd. people lined up on the street behind me. this is constitution avenue and you can see swarms of people lined up here celebrating, of course, it's a warm day here in

dc, so a lot of people out here just enjoying the weather but also celebrating with people i've spoken to all over the national mall here talking about, they're happy, he was a threat to democracy some of them and others saying they liked joe biden, they think he's a good guy and will do good things for the country. i've been talking to folks all over, you can see the national monument behind me here. folks swarming at the base of the monument. those i've been talking to, bringing children here to celebrate saying this is a change happening basically. history in the making, so they really want us to have children out here, come as a family and be part of this celebration. this one family i've been speaking to right now, the bernsteins here who came from maryland and join the party, they came as a family here. how are you? >> good. >>. >> reporter: tell cnn viewers why you came out and why you

came here outside of town. it's such an important day. we finally are going to have a president after four years ago who we can trust to tell us the truth. y you. >> reporter: you mentioned a couple of you volunteered including your daughter and others. tell me about what you did here? >> i was texting for the biden campaign because i wanted a president that would actually help our country and not discriminate against many people. >> reporter: that's great, and so you were saying you were texting in spanish because you're taking spanish in school, is that correct? >> yeah. >> reporter: excellent. and what made you come out here? why did you want your children to be part of this event? >> it's just a historic moment. when the supreme court approved gay marriage, this was five years ago and i brought the kids down. we went to the supreme court and i had the same feeling today where it's like, i want them to remember this. i want them to be part of this, and just really be cognizant of

how important it is that biden won today. >> reporter: thank you so much. we've been hearing it from a lot of people here, they wanted to be with families to be part of this historic moment. i'll hand it back to you but continue to be part of this gathering going forward for the rest of the day. >> vivian, thank you very much. anderson? >> joining me now, senator bernie sanders of vermont. senator sanders, first, your reaction to, "a," seeing all these people out on the streets celebrating and president-elect biden's win. >> well, congratulate joe biden and kamala harris for their victory. and all over the country. the reason for that is this was, anderson, an election like we have never seen in our lifetimes because it went really, really deep. it was about whether or not we remain a country that believes in the constitution, believes in the rule of law and believes in

democracy. and thank god, democracy won out. i just wish joe and kamala the very best in leading our country. >> we know president trump has not conceded. we know, it seems like he has no plans to invite president trump to the white house at this point. what are your thoughts about just what this transition is going to be like? >> well, whether trump concedes or not is not relevant. he's going to be inaugurated. what is importaseeming importan, we need to bring people together at a time when so many are hurting and that's not widely perceived. millions of people working on starvation wages, people with no health insurance, people who can't afford to go to school. can't afford college.

dysfunctional child system. i don't envy joe biden in terms of the enormous challenges he faces including systemic racism, including climate change, a crumbling infrastructure, you name it. that's what he's going to have to deal with. our job right now is to bring people together, it seems to me, around an agenda that works for all people. everybody. republicans, democrats. minimum wage through a living wage. they know that health care is a homeland security and guarantee health care to all people. we must deal with the existential threat of climate change. the challenge is to reach out to people to say, we hear your pain and we have the courage to take on the big money at 1%, the campaign tribute fors who exerted so much power over the political and economic agenda of america. now it's time for working people to be heard and their pain to be

addressed. >> one of the messages you had during your campaign and the democrats certainly hoped would be the case here is that there would be such an overwhelming turnout and such a wave of democratic victories in the house and senate, obviously, in the white house as well that significant change on the democratic platform would be possible but joe biden now the president-elect, there were not the same victories in the house. the republicans gained seats in the house, maintained control of the senate. what sort of a mandate do you think president-elect biden actually has? and how in terms of getting an agenda clearly, you would like a progressive agenda across? >> i think he has a strong mandate, anderson and if you

look at the issues, one by one, do people think health care is a homeland security? makes millions for the drug companies leaving 90 million uninsured or underinsured, they're not. are they happy they're making an hour? they're not. do they think we have to deal systemic racism? most people do. most people do. doing phenomenally well while so many people are struggling. if you look at this country issue by issue and what the american people want, they want an agenda that stands up for them, working families, black, white and latino. that's the agenda they want and they want congress to have the courage to take on the powers

that be. >> i appreciate your joining us on this historic day. thank you very much. >> thank you very much. >> it is a historic moment for the country and we're seeing people out in the streets in cities across, as president-elect joe biden. we're going to break. listen to sound of celebration in chicago after the defeat of president donald trump by president-elect joe biden.

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try our new gummies for 30 days and see the difference. >> all right. of course you see celebrations happening in cities across this country and we'll be taking you to the ground just to see what is happening. that's washington, dc. let's get some more perspective

on this historic moment. it is an historic moment, an historic day. joe biden going to be the next president of the united states. presidential historian, doris kearns. thank you very much for being with me. there is this moment, you know, that we are in right now. watching this happen on a day that is a very warm glorious fall day across much of the country and people are out and out celebrating. today, kamala is making history in her own right. the nation's first woman, first black, first south asian vice president. what does this mean for the country? >> you know, i think when we look at the massive turnout, if that becomes a habit, history is going to look back on this election and really see it as an important moment. think about it in the past only sometimes 50% of the people voted. this time despite the pandemic, because of the provisions we put in, perhaps, which may become permanent now, mail-in voting and early voting, always crazy

to me people should have to stay one day to vote. as presidents have said, voting is the power in the democracy. lyndon johnson said without it, other rights are meaningless because it allows us to control our destinies. i think in a certain extent, if we become participants and not spectators in our democracy, trust in government will rise again. it won't be some foreign body out there. it's us, it's we the people. the statistic that really scared me before this election was the idea that 77% of the people used to believe in the mid 1960s that government did right almost all the time. down to lower to 20% right now but maybe if we're part of the process and continue to vote, even more rates without a pandemic or voter suppression, we'll have control of the democracy and that's the most important thing. >> it is crucial, when you think about it. and, you know, this should be permanent. that these various ways to enfranchise people, it's one of those things staring us in the

face. the solution could have been this easy, to have early voting and mail-in and we didn't do it until now? incredible perspective you offer. donald trump is now, doris, only the tenth president in american history to be rejected by voters in his quest for a second term. how will he be remembered? >> it will take a while for us to remember but right now, facing an important decision. one of the most important norms is to concede the election and allow the peaceful transfer of power to go forward. since elections have been covered since 1952, that concession speech becomes the end of the story. we all need to know that this is past and we're starting forward and every single one of those candidates has come forward and said, we fought hard, but now it's time to draw us together. think of what gore did at the time after 35, 37 days. the supreme court makes a decision and he says, i don't agree with this decision, but it is the rule of law. it's the honored institutions

and ask my supporters to go bhe. o if he doesn't get a concession speech or make the peaceful transfer of power, that will be a very tough mark on his legacy. >> what will be the significance in terms of transfer of power? when you spend your whole life studying, what's at stake if he does not do this the right way? >> it's a signal to your supporters that despite this loss, this is our government now. this is the new president and you've got to give them a chance and you've got to come forward and accept this decision. if not, it's really creates that hole that stays in the society. from the very beginning when george washington decided not to run for a third term, if he stayed forever, it might have been a dictator. it might have been king or a queen, but he decided that it was a civilian transfer of power. he could have had it as a general. could have stayed in power and

just become president but this is our system and every single president has done this. so it's really an important moment for allowing us to move forward, start again and hopefully bring the country together. at least at the start to make a chance that we've got to reset. >> i can remember his speech so eloquent but the importance of that moment, that concession. doris, thank you so much. i'm glad to talk to you! the conceder is the star of the night in some ways, usually. >> beautiful way to say it. thank you so much. >> you're so welcome. thank you for having me. >> anderson, as we talk to doris, we see the reaction across the country. >> we've been watching that now. spontaneous crowds in the streets and various cities. our reporters are all across the country in cities, americans fill streets, i should say supporters of this result in the election fill the streets. i want to bring in cnn's polo

sandoval in new york. set the scene forfeiture us in square. what are you seeing? >> reporter: anderson, you would think the yankees just won the world series based on the massive crowds. what times square looks like. it's basically turned into a massive peaceful bloc party by the nypd. the streets that are directly accessing this part of new york city. celebratory here, as you look at the crowd. mostly masked folks who are gathering here. what we're seeing here is celebrating a sign that the nation is perhaps seeing a turn towards unity and i think you see that, anderson, there's plenty of pro biden and anti-trump signs but more than anything, we see a lot of our american flags, people who are showing in support of the nation

and one woman, new yorker returned a little while ago, she feels like she has hope again. she no longer has to hang her head in shame anymore, and i think that's what we're seeing a lot of here in the big apple and cities across the country. also important here, anderson, that multiple businesses are boarded up. obviously, the days leading up to the election. there has been this concern, fear and uncertainty what kind of reaction we might get. particularly if we have some of those who wanted to see reelection of president trump. that's a reminder still a concern at this hour, but mainly it is all about a massive safe celebration that we're seeing here on the streets of new york city. and it's going to likely go on until this evening. >> and polo, obviously, it may not have gotten as much coverage given the election that's been going on the last several days but the pandemic right now is at an alarming high.

we're seeing more cases over the last several days than we have seen anywhere else in the world at any time. so obviously, that is a concern. that's the backdrop for this. it may not be foremost on many people's minds today, certainly, people in that crowd, but most people, it does look like a lot of the people we see are wearing masks, though clearly, not social distancing. >> reporter: the reality, social distancing is going to be hard to come by. or nearly impossible. when you look at the scenes behind me. but have been able to count the number of people without masks on one hand. choosing to be a part of this, albeit, taking the right precautions like wearing a mask.

these are pictures i leave you with here right now. coming together in times square, people across walks of life, obviously seeing this as the way they describe it to me as a new day. >> polo sandoval, go to shimon prokupecz in philadelphia. what's the scene there? >> reporter: so anderson, we're outside and the city of philadelphia known for its sports fans and that's what it feels like out here. celebrating a championship. champagne bottles and people chanting and celebrating all through the crowd. many of these people marched here at a different area. they marched over here and then most of them standing here and

celebrati celebrating. there are trump supporters who also have been here for several days and so, there's been a face-off between the biden supporters and then, of course, trump supporters. and then i just want to bring in angie here who's a resident of philadelphia, tell me what this has been like for you today. >> we made history today, baby. we made history. >> reporter: it's been history. how does it feel for you to be out here with all these people? >> i love it. i love it. >> reporter: most people say this is historic. for them, they didn't expect to have a day like this. certainly, a lot of them have suffered through this year because of the pandemic. many people losing jobs and just to be out here in this crowd

together has meant a lot f for them. the celebrations are expected to continue here through the night. the police have basically closed off this entire area and have allowed the biden supporters to stay here and chant and celebrate. as you can hear behind me here, more of the biden supporters just chanting over after trump supporters. they've been playing a lot of the music from trump's campaign and actually a lot of the biden supporters have been dancing to it, we've heard, the village people, the ymca, and so they've been singing along and now you can hear them chanting out for them to go home. this is expected to continue through the night in what has really become one big party here, anderson. >> and shimon, do you know how this started? was it, did it go out on social

media? was it groups that had organized that just said, or was it just individuals coming out and then more people joined? >> reporter: yeah, so what happened here, anderson, i'm going to walk a little bit so you can see behind me. this has been an area where for the last several days, a lot of protesters have been gathering because the convention center is where they've been counting the ballots. it's historic here because this city really cluultimately clinc the presidency for biden. asked people inside the convention center were counting. for days, there was a dj set up here. they were chanting. they are not here today. but this has become the place where many of the biden supporters have been gathering and also the trump supporters.

but the biden supporters outnumber them here the last several days. so what happens here as cnn projected that biden would win the presidency, everyone from around here. that is how all this grew into what it is now. and as you can see, so many young people, anderson. a diverse crowd. there were some older people here, but mostly now, it's been a lot of the younger people who are just so excited to be here, to be part of this. for many of them, this is truly historic. talking to some people here, they did not expect to see a moment like this. >> shimon prokupecz, appreciate it. thank you very much. joining me now, someone thought he'd be named the president, andrew yang, your reaction to president-elect biden. >> i could not be any happier, anderson. joe and kamala defeated donald trump. when we were on the trail, that

was the mission. mission accomplished. we did it. i am like millions of other americans exulted today and excited to turn the page for our country. i was celebrating for the last number of hours, since cnn called it. >> biden is moving forward with the transition process. plans to announce a coronavirus task force on monday. how do you think he should deal with the, what's going on with the white house, president trump's refusal to concede. how do you think he should handle that? >> i think he's taking the right approach. we have so much work to do in so little time. and i'm happy to say it seems like trump is going to be, in your words, on his back flailing around while joe and kamala starting to put the work in to build the team to figure out how we're going to address the coronavirus, the recession, and so many of the other problems. i will say the major variable on

the table is whether joe and kamala will have a unified government in the form of a senate that isn't beholden to mitch mcconnell and that will be determined on january 5th in two special e lelections in georgia fcht you'so if you're helping joe biden today, you should be intent on helping. >> i regret using those words because that's the person i really want to be, and, yeah. in the moment and i regret it, but right now, biden's progressive agenda, it's difficult, obviously, a lot of expectations on all sides of the political aisle. i talk to bernie sanders just a short time ago. there's a lot of progressives who want seats on the cabinet, who have expectations about promises that were made or how this race was won and the support they gave.

it's going to be difficult both for resistance, the president-elect biden. >> right now, everyone is just thrilled that trump is gone, and we're going to be thrilled to try to work together with joe and kamala and the team. i'm sure there will be jockeying for positions. everyone always wants to have their person in a key role but the celebration today is about the fact that biden and harris team is going to be infinitely better for progressives, for the vast majority of americans than a continuation of the trump era. >> hey, andrew, if you could just stay with us for a second. i want to check in with our omar jiminez who is in chicago monitoring what is going on there in terms of the celebrations. omar, what are you seeing? >> reporter: thanks f

>> i mean, just in terms of what lies ahead, has anyone talked to you about a possible role? >> i haven't talked to them in a little while, which is a-okay. i did text kamala a few minutes ago, but to me, right now, they have their hands full trying to put the team together. i'd be thrilled to be part of the team. they know that. right now, i'm intent on trying to help make sure that those georgia races head in the right direction. in georgia myself t to be over the next little while. they have a lot of work to do to put together a new government but a lot of attention should be paid to what's happening in georgia. i wouldn't be surprised to have joe and kamala head there before too long.

>> explain the importance of democrats with the two runoff races in georgia. >> we remember mitch mcconnell playing the obstructionist during the obama years and we're set to return to that. right now, he's going to be the majority leader but the two races in georgia on january 5th would make it 50/50 if they both go to democrats and then kamala becomes a tie-breaking vote. you can imagine a biden administration with the house and the senate aligned. that's one version of the world. the other version of the world, the one that we are dealing with right now is that mitch mcconnell will have to approve everything that goes through congress. that's a very, very big difference, anderson, and which world we're in is going to be determined on january 5th in georgia. >> tein terms of, excuse me, president-elect biden, still

adjusting, president-elect biden has talked about announcing a coronavirus task force on monday. this pandemic has not gone away. it hasn't gotten a lot of attention because the nation's been focused on this race. but the pandemic is actually at an all-time high in this country. we've seen record numbers of new cases in each of the last several days. how difficult is it going to be, do you think, for the transition because clearly both people, president-elect biden has a very different approach to the importance of mask wearing, social distancing than president trump had. >> this is the tough reality, anderson. having a competent administration will not make the coronavirus any better in many communities. you're going to have much better unity in terms of messaging around the need for social distancing and mask wearing, better coordination, federal

resources that can help get ppe into the hands of various schools and the rest of it. but we are seeing record highs in many, many locations. the winter will be difficult in terms of coronavirus and one thing that frustrated me was the notion that if you had better people in government, we'd be able to turn the page like that. that's just not reality and we should never talk like it is. i mean, it's going to be a very difficult road even if we all do wear masks, socially distance. unfortunately, we're at a time where those are the most practical measures many of us can take. the other measures involved, shutdowns of restaurants, bars, concert halls, sporting events and things that have people congregate indoors, that's very much hit or miss depending upon the rates in a given community and other variables. >> obviously, the economic pain that those kind of measures take on everybody. andrew yang, appreciate you

joining us. let's go back to erin. >> you see what's happening in the streets of los angeles is what we're looking at now with this aerial picture, anderson. people gathering as the news sort of sunk in. bit by bit. early on, you heard people yelling to other people as they figured it out and more people, let's go to gary tuchman who is on the ground in atlanta. for us. what have you see thus far? an area of near where you are. a lot of people gather. >> reporter: erin, i'll tell you. joe biden ends up winning in the state of georgia, it will be because of neighbors like this in the state of georgia. this is the very progressive liberal young community of mid-town atlanta and you can see right after we made our projection today, this area, which is the center of atlanta started off in a spontaneous celebration. and people have been out here all day enjoying themselves,

having fun. you get an idea of the traffic right here. bumper to bumper. you can see down the street, people holding signs, honking horns. celebrating. i've never seen anything like this in the united states. when obasama bin laden was kill, there was a different tone but this is spontaneous. i will add to you that most people seem to be wearing masks. that's an important thing. there's no social distancing and that's a little concerning, but you can see almost everyone is wearing masks except for when they eat or drink. there are no police here. police have stayed away. it has been peaceful. it has been absolutely jubilant and it's quite a unique celebration seeing this very busy section of atlanta so full of people having a good time celebrating. very unique, in my career covering politics in this country and i've been covering

politics since i was 20 years old in 1980. this is very out of the ordinary but mid-town atlanta, which helped joe biden become the preside president-elect of the united states. erin, back to you. >> gary, it's incredible just watching gary kind of get through that crowd. i think andrew yang used the word exulted. these people are exuberant. that's what we see with the people obviously celebrating, who are getting their heart's desire with what we're seeing today in atlanta and georgia. obviously, going to be deeply personal for these folks, given the count that is ongoing in georgia. see them all seeing our cameras and responding to that. we're going to take a brief break. we will be back in just a couple of moments as our special coverage continues here with myself and anderson. we all have our own journey ahead of us. our own hopes and dreams. we'll pass many milestones.

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there were record turnouts in this election for president-elect biden as there were for president trump as there was for president trump as well and there is big turnout in the streets to celebrate the victory of president-elect biden. i want to go to cnn's omar jimenez in chicago. what have you been seeing today, omar? >> reporter: anderson, i can

hear you now. i've been seeing a lot of people in the crowd behind me where we are gathered across the water from trump tower here in downtown chicago. i'm going to step out for one second. what you're seeing behind me is a rally of people obviously that has formed but more importantly people have been coming by on michigan avenue just to their right behind the police line honking their horns as people had been cheering and celebrating, as others have held biden/harris signs up, american flags up, things of that nature. even beforehand this is a rally that actually moved over the course of a block and a half or so, where the day started right outside of trump tower as people were cheering and at first just taking pictures but as the day grew up on, as the day went on the emotions of course got higher and more excited. it is no secret. this is downtown chicago. this is a very blue part of the country within a very blue state of illinois. almost since day one of president trump being in office

they wanted him out, so it is a very happy day for people here in chicago. you look no further than the celebrations behind me to see it. anderson? >> omar jimenez, thanks very much in chicago. erin? anderson, world leaders have ignored president trump's refusal to concede the presidential race thus far and have been now en masse coming out to recognize and congratulate the president-elect joe biden. british prime minister boris johnson who has been one of president trump's allies on the world stage has come out saying he looks forward to working with both biden and kamala harris. justin trudeau citing the close relationship between the u.s. and canada and how he wants to continue to build that. german chancellor angela merkel offered her congratulations and special mention of kamala harris winning as the first female vice president of the united states and the french president emmanuel macron saying there are a lot of challenges to overcome, adding let's work together. our chief international anchor

christiane amanpour is following the world's reaction. you do have some overseas who have been a bit more on the nose, the mayor of london. london looks forward to working with you. it's time to get back to building bridges not walls and the mayor of paris, welcome back, america. but over all, they are all quick to jump onboard with vice president, with president-elect, sorry, getting used to the words, joe biden. >> reporter: certainly. of course they know him right? he was vice president for two terms under president obama and has long experience handling foreign affairs so they are welcoming him as you said. the french prime minister, rather the french mayor said welcome back and there are bells ringing across paris we can hear. we can see on the tweets being sent around. we also know that there is a huge sense of relief, erin. w had a funny tweet but also very tart and amusing the former prime minister of sweden who said i think it's fair to say that most of europe feels relief

at this particular bit of news. all the way over to australia, the former prime minister there said surely, all world leaders are feeling relief today. that is the key word. because it's been four incredibly disruptive years on the world stage. and man u of the allies have been struck by the fact that president trump's style was almost to treat allies as adversaries and adversaries certainly the authoritarians as allies. this has been very discombobulating and also the united states under president trump has essentially dropped its main role as a consensus and coalition builder. whenever there is crisis in the world particularly that that the allies have to deal with the united states is the one that normally convenes a coalition to respond. we saw that under so many presidents before but not this time. so you've had president trump over the last few months of a massive pandemic pulling out of the world health organization and removing american funds from that. that is a huge blow and it matters. you have the president of the

united states pulling out of the global climate accord, five years old this very week. that matters. europe hopes and the rest of the world that signed on that he will go back into it. you have the president of the united states pulling out of a major security deal, which was the iran nuclear deal, without proposing or putting anything else in its place. europeans want to see that go back into place because that lowered those tensions on the nuclear issue. so that is from the ally perspective. certainly from the european perspective. >> and, christiane what about adversaries whether china or rivals at least, you know, in terms of u.s. foreign policy, like vladimir putin? >> well, you can imagine adversaries like russia, competitors like china, they have been quite gleeful frankly at the endless days of count it took because what they like is to see american institutions and western institutions belild and

degraded. that's what they like. >> yes. >> they were able to show on their own televisions what looked to be a disruptive president denigrating the process in the united states, refusing to accept the count, trying to stop the count. they were all saying, that's democracy? that's america? what is this? so it is a huge relief for everybody to see this count finally come to the end that it has in so much as the president-elect has been named and america essentially has been giving now a living lesson in democracy. i think a lot of people, a lot of leaders and people around the world are very keen that the united states restores its sort of moral imperative, the values it has always upheld, always sought to promote, and has always been relied upon for. i think that is really important. interestingly, the chinese prime minister -- president said last week, you know, president trump has been in a trade and tariff

war with him, he said, no amount of protectionism, unilateralism, or extreme egoism is applicable and works in the world today. let's just go to the middle east though. allies there would have wanted president trump to win. israel certainly the government of prime minister netanyahu wanted president trump to win because president trump has given him everything that he wants. not given israel everything but given the right wing prime minister everything that he wants, which is, you know, as you know, the peace process was heavily weighted toward israel. >> yes. >> there is no peace process with the palestinians. and, of course, nbs who has his own major authoritarian problems, he has ordered the murder and dismemberment of a journalist. he is very pro president trump and so, too, are the gulf states because they believe that president trump has really been on their side against iran. >> we'll have to obviously, all of these competing interests, but as christiane is noting all of this coming in from overseas

here. now into the evening for europe and early, early morning hours in asia, in beijing. thanks so much to you, christiane. we'll take a quick break. live pictures here you're looking at of new york. we'll be right back. i have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. now, there's skyrizi. 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months after just 2 doses. skyrizi may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. before treatment your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms such as fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches or coughs, or if you plan to or recently received a vaccine. ♪ nothing is everything ask your dermatologist about skyrizi. it's our sharpest ever, and while some other companies would charge more for something new, we don't.

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another life-changing technology from abbott, and accessoriesphones for your mobile phone. like this device to increase volume on your cell phone. - ( phone ringing ) - get details on this state program visit right now or call during business hours. i'm anderson cooper alongside erin burnett. we welcome you here, all of our viewers here in the u.s. and around the world. it is official, cnn projects joe biden will be the 46th president of the united states, defeating

president donald trump after more than four days of vote counting which is still not finished. months of a bitter and contentious campaign. president-elect biden's victory is clinched thanks to the state of pennsylvania where he was born. >> a state he was confident from very early on would turn in his favor as indeed it has. the third time proving to be the charm for biden. he did come up short in his prior two presidential bids, never gave up. here he is, the president-elect, the oldest person ever to hold the nation's highest office. he will be 78 when sworn in. also making history is his running mate, kamala harris, of course the first woman and the first person of color to serve as vice president, making history today, anderson. >> crowds have been pouring into the streets in celebration across the country today. you are looking at a scene there in san francisco as voters delivered a decisive repudiation of president trump. massive voter turnout for president-elect biden. and also for president trump. his supporters came out and president trump did a very

effective job in the final weeks of the campaign mobilizing his voters in a number of rural areas but it wasn't enough in the final analysis. at the scene in washington, d.c., what is significant about that, that is actually the church where president trump famously cleared protesters from and marched to that church to pose in front of it with a bible. that church now is a very different scene today as thousands of people in washington, d.c. began to gather outside the white house in celebration of the defeat of president trump and that crowd only seems to have grown over the last few hours. in just a few hours president-elect biden will deliver a victory speech at 8:00 p.m. east coast time in the united states. president trump for his part shows no sign of admitting defeat, has not reached out to biden even as leaders worldwide have delivered messages of

congratulations to the president-elect. we'll go to the biden headquarters in wilmington, delaware. we expect biden to address the nation tonight. what do you know about it? >> reporter: anderson, we do. president-elect joe biden will address the nation tonight right here in wilmington about 8:00 p.m. eastern time. i'm told that speech has largely been written for several days. of course this was the speech he hoped to deliver on tuesday night. on wednesday night. thursday night. friday night. now finally tonight he'll be able to do it but he has been making last-minute adjustments to it. i'm told the overall theme is going to be one we've heard from him for several days. one of unifying, one of reaching out to americans who did not vote for him as well as those who did. he will be talking about also the central challenge facing this country -- coronavirus -- and why it is time to come together. we do have some words from the former vice president in a statement he released a short time after he was projected the winner. let's take a look at those words together. he says this. he said, i am honored and humbled by the trust the

american people have placed in me and vice president-elect harris. in the face of unprecedented obstacles a record number of americans voted, proving once again that democracy beats deep in the heart of america. with the campaign over, it's time to put the anger and the harsh rhetoric behind us and come together as a nation. it's time for america to unite, he says, and to heal. we are the united states of america. and there's nothing we can't do, if we do it together. those themes will be the central framework of his message this evening. also on stage of course his running mate senator kamala harris who is going to make history in her own right as the first woman to be vice president of the united states, the first woman of color as well. she of course started this campaign as a competitor of his. they had several interesting moments but for the last months has been his partner in this campaign and will be tonight on stage as well. i am told that the former vice president now president-elect

has spent several hours with his family at his home here in wilmington talking to old friends and allies, democratic leaders on the phone, as well. so, clearly, getting ready for what is the biggest speech tonight that really sets off the tone for his transition and of course his first term. anderson? >> thanks very much. appreciate it. want to go straight to the white house now, cnn's kaitlan collins. we know the president was on the golf course earlier today when the -- or was on his way when the call was made by cnn and then other news organizations as well. also as he was on the golf course when obviously that news was conveyed to the entire world that he was going to be a one-term president. what are you hearing from the white house, from people close to him? >> well, it's been incredibly quiet. a lot of white house aides we reported yesterday, the reality had set in for them that the president was not going to be re-elected likely.

so they knew what was happening but it wasn't clear that the president had realized what was going on and that he was not going to be re-elected. of course it still doesn't if you look at his twitter feed today claiming that he won the election when obviously he hadn't. you're right. when he left the white house today, the call had not been made by cnn yet that joe biden was going to win the presidency. so there was no crowd like there is now outside the white house but when he returned and for those who don't know the president takes a motorcade to get to his golf course outside of virginia. it actually took a little longer for him to get back given they had to clear the streets of people who were celebrating joe biden's win and obviously a lot of them are biden supporters and of course have biden flags, biden signs, and that is what the president saw as he made his way back to the white house. he waved to reporters but he went inside, anderson. he did not make any comments. the white house has called a lid meaning we do not expect to hear from the president at least not in person tonight. of course he has continued to refuse to concede this election to joe biden. he hasn't spoken with joe biden.

he hasn't made any calls to him. he certainly hasn't invited him to the white house as you traditionally see as barack obama did when donald trump won the presidency. they came into the white house and had a meeting in november. something you often see president trump reference. so the president is continuing with his grievances to claim that he won this election even though he didn't and as his campaign is continuing to push without evidence that this election was stolen from him. so that is something they're continuing to pursue. how long they can keep that up is another question because of course a transition does have to take plaus. they do have to do basics like transitions when it comes to the coronavirus task force. how that will proceed we'll find out in the coming days. as the president is refusing to acknowledge joe biden's win he is pretty much the only one. you are seeing some republicans be quiet but we are seeing former republican presidents like george w. bush acknowledge it, mitt romney a former presidential candidate who is a republican of course. the question is it seems like only a matter of time before the president, himself, maybe he

doesn't do so jubilantly but he is going to have to acknowledge the fact that he is not going to be president again after he finishes up the next 70 days or so in office. >> kaitlan, it is a remarkable image that you tell us about that president trump as he is returning from a golf course after learning that he is going to be a one-term president that he has lost this election, an election in which there are winners and losers and he has lost this, this one going, basically being, having difficulty getting through because the clouds were there celebrating his loss. it's -- i mean, you know, sort of want to be a fly on the wall of the limousine wondering what that is like. you can imagine what that is like. >> also keep in mind his chief of staff a top aide with him every day this week is not because he is isolating at home

now that he has coronavirus. so the president actually there is still a question of who exactly it was the president played golf with today because often you see some celebrities with him. we did not see that in the videos our team got of the president actually on the golf course as this announcement was made. and then he came back here. you noted that church of course that is right here outside o la square, how that was also the scene of where the president came and took his picture as they forcefully cleared out peaceful protesters. i remember that because i was standing right where i am now on that day when that happened amid those george floyd police brutality protests. but, anderson, that is also the church the president went to the day he was inaugurated in january of 2017 when he was first a newcomer here in washington. so that church has actually played a pretty significant role in donald trump's time in office. from the day he was inaugurated to one of the most critical moments of his presidency that will be scrutinized for decades to come to now it is where people have gathered by the thousands to celebrate the fact that he is not going to be president than joe biden is. >> just to be clear though.

he wasn't going to that church every sunday. >> no. he certainly wasn't. it is a church he's gone to on some special occasions. easter at times though mostly he is down in mar-a-lago in west palm beach for easter. he started his presidency there, his first time in washington. it is not somewhere he regularly goes to church. he went there in may of course during that moment as they cleared the protesters out and then now today it is the scene of these protests or excuse me these celebrations after being the scene of the protests. >> obviously we'll see what the president chooses to do and how he chooses to behave moving forward whether he does concede and reaches out to joe biden as tradition. kaitlan collins, thanks very much. we'll check in with you a little later on. erin? >> kaitlan using the word celebration, that is what we are seeing at this moment. really it's just been a few hours for this country to start to digest the significant decision that voters have made, the significant change that is about to happen in this country.

even though, yes. there are still so many questions about what president trump will do, how he will handle it, so much uncertainty at this moment it is a moment of jubilation for many. let's go outside of the white house in the crowd there kaitlan was referring to. what are you seeing right now? >> reporter: erin, almost since the moment the race was called for president-elect joe biden people have been flooding into downtown d.c., exactly where kaitlan was describing. i am standing right now on "h" street which was the scene of some of those very, very confrontational protests over the summer, the george floyd protests. and we are at the corner of the black lives matter plaza exactly where that church was that president trump went and waved the bible during the protests over the summer. now it has become a scene of celebration, people chanting for change. they're happy to have a-did

shall to usher in a new era right now. a lot of biden supporters out here, a lot of folks on the left. i am looking at a sign right over our cameraman's shoulder right now. it says republican voters against trump and there is a group of those people as well. it is a mixed bag of people here. i want to also pan this way. this is the unscaleable fence anderson and i were talking about on the air the other day. it's become a bit of a shrine ever since the george floyd protest. you see signs support uv of the black lives matter movement but, also, just a chance for the left, you have pictures of rbg who passed away a couple weeks ago. you have pictures of the late congressman john lewis and elijah cummings. heroes for many on the left. people were chanting for congresswoman alexandria ocasio cortez a little while ago as well. obviously not just a celebration for joe biden but for the left in general here in d.c. today. >> all right. vivian, thank you very much. so, you know, as they are still counting votes, right, in georgia, elsewhere, but in

georgia, no one knows which way this is going to go. still definition of a battleground. i want to bring in cnn's natasha chen in atlanta. i'm curious what you're seeing. i don't know if anyone is just joining us now but a few moments ago we were joined by gary tuchman also in atlanta and he was sort of being jostled around by a very excited and happy crowd in a way he said he had not experienced in 30 years of political reporting. that it is that unusual. what are you seeing where you are in atlanta? >> yeah, erin, we are actually in freedom park. that is on john lewis memorial parkway. so that is of significance for all of the people celebrating here. it's a party that georgia democrats have been waiting for, for decades. i want to mention that there are people now with signs and t-shirts that say, warnock, that say ossoff because they know what is ahead. this is not just a celebration of what happened today, this

week, but a look ahead at the run oufs, the critical run-offs that will determine the balance of the senate. they know that the eyes of the country are going to be on georgia in the coming weeks and months. something else that we've definitely seen here is people thanking stacey abrams. a lot of signs here with her name on it. she of course ran for governor as the democratic nominee two years ago in georgia and they are thanking her for developing that momentum and the work on the ground to build up this movement so that people could show from georgia to the rest of the country that this is indeed a battleground state. this has been a party atmosphere. we've had drag queens and inflatable dinosaurs, i saw a child with an entire bucket of halloween candy the parents are just letting them have at it. of course lots of honking going on. again, john lewis freedom parkway in atlanta which of course is significant, named

after the late representative john lewis, and people here are thanking him on their signs as well, erin. >> all right. natasha, natasha mentioning georgia. a battleground, still, right in the presidential election as we have the count and the anticipated recount. but you have two crucial senate seats that will determine the split for the u.s. senate going to run-off in georgia. one of those running is reverend warnock. he'll be with us later on with myself and anderson in these couple hours. anderson, wow. if people thought a lot of money went into jamie harrison in south carolina i think they've seen nothing yet when it comes to what we are about to see in these georgia senate run-offs. >> no doubt about that. taking a cue from what natasha said, what she witnessed, if any kids are watching if your parents are democrats this would be a good time to approach them if you want to eat all of your halloween candy right away. this might be the best opportunity. i want to bring in senior

political reporter and host of cnn's smerconish, michael smerconish. what is your reaction to cnn projecting biden as the winner and also to president trump not at this point conceding? >> not a surprise that donald trump isn't going to concede. i don't necessarily expect him to. i think this is a real moment for americans particularly marginalized americans who have felt such stress, such anxiety, such fear during trump's presidency. you know, a couple more months to go for this. i am getting so many text messages from people who just are feeling like a nightmare is coming to an end. a friend of mine who lives in south carolina, his mother is 82 years old, voted for the first time in a presidential election and now feels like the world has been turned right again. so those are the emotions we're seeing, these spontaneous celebrations all across this country. this was a long time coming.

i think we first saw this outpouring when donald trump was elected, outrage and fear about what his presidency would be. and then people started to get involved, to get activated. so we are seeing the fruits of that now with this massive win that he's had all across the country and flipping all of these states that clinton lost in 2016, states like georgia, arizona. so we'll see what biden's presidency will mean for folks going forward. but for now just tremendous joy for millions and millions of americans across the country. >> michael smerconish, it is an interesting point that even, this is sort of for people who are out in the streets today, this goes beyond just happy that joe biden and kamala harris have won. it's this, it seems like a celebration of some sort of sense of relief. >> can i say this, joe biden's life of public service twice

beset by tragedy is getting the hollywood ending and the movie is rocky because this is very much, i think, a philadelphia story, very much a pennsylvania story. i know many too many umbrage when the president said bad things happen in philadelphia. i know one of those who took umbrage was bob brady the former member of congress who is the head of the city committee, the democratic party in philadelphia, and the sort of full circle came today when it was brady who told the president-elect the votes are about to get dropped that will put you over the top. and within minutes of that conversation happening, came the call that was made in the race. joe biden, t jill biden the future first lady is a product of the philadelphia suburbs. joe biden has long been regarded as a third senator from pennsylvania. i was close to senator arlen specter and i remember the

relationship senators specter and biden shared together both experts at taking that train. so you'll pardon me for being local, anderson, but it is very much a pennsylvania story and for fans of the president-elect, poetic justice that it was pennsylvania that put him over the top. >> michael, to your point it is also, pennsylvania is where obviously president-elect biden was born. it was on this day i believe 48 years ago that he was first elected to the senate. >> you know, i have a distinct memory. so many things are running through my mind. it's been such a long, strange trip these last four or five years. i'm just saying that as an observer. one of the remembrances that i have is interviewing then vice president biden in the waning dawes days of the campaign four years ago and the interview i did with him came within a week of him

having been at a philadelphia eagles game participating in a flag unfurling ceremony at the beginning of the game where there was this raucous round of applause for him. anderson, you have to understand, nobody gets a round of applause at eagles games unless you're wearing an eagles jersey. >> i've heard. >> so one of the ice breakers i used with him before the interview began was to tell him i was in the stands. i was there with my father. and how we were both marveling having been eagles season ticket holders for years at the ovation he received at an eagles guam. he got a big kick out of that. >> that is from what i hear and understand a very rare thing indeed. nia-malika the challenges though, obviously there are just as many people in the streets celebrating. there are just as many of those people who are unhappy today, but the challenge is that this administration will be facing

not just in the transition, particularly depending how the white house, how president trump decides to behave in the weeks ahead, because there is not only a tradition of cooperation, there is a necessity of cooperation for a smooth transition and for the proper functioning of government. but the challenges this administration is going to face from republicans and also from the left wing of its own party. >> i think that's right. in solving the challenge that was part of the central message of biden's campaign which was covid which is a health crisis and also an economic crisis and what do you do if he ends up having a republican senate. that will of course be settled in january, but is mitch mcconnell going to come into office if he does saying that he wants to be a blockade to whatever biden and his vice president want to do? and then of course you have

those internal penchants. but for now people are just in this moment feeling a sense of relief, feeling a sense of happiness, feeling a sense of history as well. you think about vice president-elect kamala harris being vice president in a country that has never seen this before. i am not that old but i grew up at a time when i couldn't even find black dolls. i couldn't even find books with reflections of back kids growing up. so the kind of journey this country has been on with people like shirley chisolm, sojourner truth, fannie lou hamer making this moment happen and vice president-elect kamala harris making history today and i think that is part of the joy people are feeling today. >> such an important point that you said just as the election of president trump four years ago made many people who felt their voices weren't being heard, it made them feel heard, the sense

you see in some of the crowds is just this sense of relief on the part of many people who not only haven't felt heard over the last four years but actually felt afraud over t afraud -- afraid over the last four years but suddenly as the ground has shifted under them and they feel that they have been did you say respected, that others have been emboldened to give voice to and vent to, you know, vile remarks and rhetoric toward them. >> i think that's right. donald trump made certain people feel like they weren't truly americans. he was incredibly racially divisive and continues to be even on his way out as he sort of makes it seem like places like philly and detroit have robbed him of a second term. so you see in those huge crowds diversity, right? you see the lgbtq flag flying there. young folks of all different

ethnic backgrounds and old people as well. if you think about the kind of coalition that biden has it might be one of the most diverse we've ever seen. not only did he do well, much better than hillary clinton and barack obama with groups like white working class americans he also has done well with older, white americans, older americans of all backgrounds and the younger americans as well. so you see those folks out in those streets in a way wie'd sen them before. black lives matter protests, they have knitted together this coalition that they feel hopeful that biden can recognize their cries for inclusion and for diversity and those are cries that obviously donald trump ignored and tried to exploit to gin up support among white americans. we'll see what this means for the kind of presidency he can have in trying to keep that coalition together.

>> it is just an extraordinary outpouring though into the streets over the last several hours that we have witnessed. michael smerconish, thank you. nia-malika henderson as well. our coverage continues in a moment. everyone could use a little comfort this holiday season so wrap up 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 at university of phoenix, students with relevant life experience and eligible transfer credits save on average $11k and 1 year off their undergrad degree. see how much you can save.

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helping me reach my blood sugar goal. ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪ you may pay as little as $25 for a 1-month or 3-month prescription. ask your health care provider today about once-weekly ozempic®. welcome back to our continuing coverage. want to go to the west coast where people are celebrating biden's victory, president-elect biden's victory in the streets and the history making day for his running mate california senator kamala harris becoming the first woman elected to serve as vice president. let's bring in josh campbell in los angeles. what's the scene there? >> reporter: anderson, we're here in downtown los angeles near city hall. you can see behind me a crowd here of a couple thousand people that have gathered to come out celebrating this biden/harris victory. it is special for this crowd for a couple reasons the first being this is senator and now vice president-elect kamala harris's hometown.

she and her husband live here in the los angeles area. this crowd celebrating a california now achieving that office, the first woman vice president-elect, also the first woman of color to achieve that office as well. one other note we're hearing, anderson, from this crowd, is that it is not just a biden/harris victory they are celebrating. they are also celebrating in their words the exit of donald trump. a recurring chant here has been donald trump out. what we're hearing from this crowd is, here in los angeles obviously a city that is very diverse, very rich, diverse community here, and they think that donald trump is simply demonized so many people of color throughout his presidency. one person here saying it started with the birtherism for president obama. you think about when president trump actually came down the golden escalator announcing his run for the presidency he sought in their words to demonize mexicans calling them rapists and the like. something that has really been felt. one other thing we're hearing is not just what the president has said but also what he has failed to say the crowd pointing out

the crowd has still not forcibly condemned white supremacy. they say during this last four years so many of these groups have been emboldened under the presidency of donald trump. now the crowd coming out to celebrate the biden/harris win but also what that win may mean for minorities here in the united states. anderson, erin? >> josh, it is anderson. the crowd that's there, was this various groups that kind of, you know, got on social media and said, hey, we'll meet up at such and such a location and march to such and such a location? was it spontaneous? nobody knew exactly when the call was going to be made. >> part of this was planned. one of the black lives matter protests we've seen recurring essentially throughout this los angeles area for several months. this was planned today coming out and calling for racial justice. after this was announced, this

biden/harris win by cnn and other networks you saw an infusion of biden/harris supporters coming out so a very diverse crowd. you look at some of the signage. they are on the move now starting to march away but you see both the calls for donald trump's exit but also those that are celebrating a biden/harris win. it is also worth noting this is just one of many areas around los angeles that are now seeing crowds gather. we were just in the west hollywood area a little earlier. you saw this parade of vehicles coming through, diverse group of people with biden/harris signs again celebrating this victory. this is not happening just here but obviously throughout los angeles and across the country, people celebrating what so much of today means for those who were opponents of donald trump and that is not just an end to some of the policies they disagree with but very much in favor of what a biden/harris administration might mean for the coming at least four years, anderson. >> josh campbell, appreciate it. want to go to chicago, city that was home to president barack obama's campaign headquarters now celebrating the victory of

his former running mate and current president-elect joe biden. let's go back to cnn's omar jimenez in chicago. clearly, there is not a lot of social distancing going on which is unfortunate given the raging pandemic that we have, which now we're seeing record numbers of cases over the last several days, but it does look like a lot of people are at least wearing masks there. >> reporter: that's right, anderson. we start with people wearing masks but you are 100% right we have seen record highs for coronavirus cases here in the state of illinois and in chicago heading in the wrong direction restriction wise. but all of that has seemed to go out the window on a day like today where people have celebration on their minds. you can see just behind me here this is a line of police officers guarding michigan avenue to keep people from getting into the street here but as people have come by they have honked their horns in celebration as you turn to the

left and you see so many supporters on the sides meeting those horns with signs of their own and cheers of their own. this has been going on for hours. the significance of this location, as far as this crowd goes, with this street closed in particular this is the significance of the location. it is happening right outside the trump tower here in chicago, which you really can't go anywhere in downtown without seeing that name because it is in a very prominent spot here. so this was a logical place for many people to meet, supporters of course of joe biden. a president-elect biden, and vice president-elect kamala harris now. this is a place that soon or started i should say with tourists taking pictures then more people began to come, cars began honking. people showed up with drums, music began. the road closed. here we are in what has been a growing celebration here in chicago. as you mentioned, campaign headquarters for president obama, where he was from, and of

course a place that will likely carry his legacy. now biden's for at least four years to come. >> appreciate it. thanks. >> we did it. we did it, joe. you're going to be the next president of the united states. we did it! >> all right. that is soon-to-be former senator kamala harris speaking to now president-elect joe biden earlier today congratulating him on their victory and celebrating the husband tri that she, herself, is now making. i want to get california congresswoman barbara lee in to talk about this. we've talked throughout this campaign. we are in all of this talking about the first woman, the first woman of color ever to be elected on a presidential ticket. have you spoken to senator harris today or i'm sorry, vice president-elect harris today? >> i have not spoken to her today. of course i sent her a text message. but i am just first of all so excited not only because she is

a personal friend and i actually supported her when she ran for president, but she is prepared and i am so excited for the country, because they're going to get a biden presidency with a vice president kamala harris as his team mate to really help this country move forward first of all to unite the country but also to really bring some sanity to this government as it relates to the recession that is taking place. and so i just have to say it is an historic day. i'm excited. my aunt will be a hundred years old in another week, and she has been afraid. she's been terrified behind this administration. she's breathing a sigh of relief today, also. so i'm excited personally but, more importantly, for the country with a vice president-elect kamala harris. >> obviously she is a friend of yours. i know you knew her mother as well. tell me how she would react today if she knew that her

daughter had just succeeded at this, had this remarkable achievement? >> i did not actually know her mother but someone has talked to me about her mother in so many ways that one thing i want to mention and that is that her mother was a scientist. and vice president-elect kamala harris really understands science and that science matters. here we have this horrific pandemic upon us and she is going to be right in the mix in meeting with president-elect biden to really take on this virus with a vengeance. she believes in science. she understands science. also, just personally i know how she connects with people, with regard to her mother. senator harris mentioned to me when my dear mother passed how much she wanted to console me. i broke out crying. then she realized what had taken place and she hugged me and talked to me because she experienced this and still with her mother leaving and passing

away. so i share that because she connects with people, and that is just so important to have a vice president who really knows the challenges and the aspirations and the dreams of every day people and it takes a kamala harris and a joe biden to really bring that kind of integrity and that kind of caring actually and that kind of love back into this country. >> so you talk about the caring and leadership. it really is going to matter because congresswoman, joe biden may well pick up more states and it will be a resounding victory on a popular vote, an electoral vote it may be. but nonetheless, if he has, he has 74.5 million votes right now in this country. that is going to go up but it is going to be in that ish range. donald trump has 70 million votes. this is a divided country. there are 70 million people who do not feel the people on this -- do not feel like the people on this screen right now. what is joe biden and kamala harris going to do to have those people feel this indeed is the beginning of something good for

them, too? >> sure. i think we've heard vice president, president-elect biden and vice president-elect kamala president about the fact that and vice president of all of the country, of everyone. and i believe them. and so it's not going to be easy, but i think when you start talking about the aspirations of people, when you stop dividing people, when you start trying to bring people together to look at our common issues, economic growth, job creation, people need jobs right now. they need their unemployment extended. they need their health care taken care of. they need us to crush this virus. so when people begin to see this is affecting them also, i think by their deeds shall you know them and i think people will begin. but it is not going to be easy because there are some who just are not going to accept the fact that we have a democrat in the

white house. i have to have hope we'll be able to work in congress and hopefully in the senate to bring people together with a president and vice president who want to lead and bring the country together for everyone. >> congresswoman, thank you very much for your time. i appreciate it. >> thank you. nice being with you. >> all right. congresswoman barbara lee. we'll take a brief break as our special coverage continues here on cnn. adam, emily and then... s- uh um... >>it's shiori. sh-ori. thank you, that's great. ♪ shiori. i really love it.

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voters in pennsylvania pushed joe biden over the finish line. we'll go to philadelphia where the votes in the state were enough votes to make vice president biden president-elect biden. so people there are celebrating the role they played in this historic moment. how is the crowd? >> reporter: so the crowd has not changed much, anderson, since last we talked. what is happening here is we have this line of biden supporters who have been here and gathered here. but across the street there are trump supporters. they, too, have been here for several days. the funny thing in all of this is that the music you're hearing is actually some of trump's greatest hits from the campaign trail. the biden supporters have

actually been singing to it, clapping along, dancing to it. it's been one big party out here, anderson. there's been a lot of champagne. almost feels like a super bowl party in some ways going on here. people have been out here for hours now. in many ways just happy to be out and to be able to be together. i want to bring somebody in, india has been here. tell me what it was like being here. >> it was pretty emotional when i first got in. i came off the subway and i got off and saw people chanting and rallying and it was emotional. i didn't expect that. >> reporter: the thought of joe biden as president and kamala harris, tell me what that means. >> it is very enlightening like a new light. especially kamala harris. she went to howard, i went to howard. asu go bisons. i think it is showing we can make a difference. there is still work to be done. i am looking forward to staying involved and i think we're in a good direction. >> reporter: what about the fact you have all of these people out here together?

>> i think it -- the last time i saw something like this in philly was when they won the super bowl. it's really exciting. it shows people are excited and want better things to happen in the city. i think it's really good. >> reporter: certainly, anderson, that is the feel here. this is a big sports town. they come out and they celebrate when their teams win. that's what it feels like here. of course the ramifications are much bigger. but so many people here have been dancing, cheering. a lot of them very, very young. certainly have been struck by the age of some of the people here. very young. and they're just out here and there was really -- when you look this way, anderson, more people have been filing in. so i think they're going to stay out here as long as they can and continue this party here. >> it's also interesting, obviously philadelphia is the city that president trump was pointing to as being a hot bed of fraud, though there is no indication of widespread voter

fraud, that which is why the president's supporters are out at the location that you are out at. i'm wondering if that also kind of motivated this particular crowd to, or some of the people in this crowd to kind of come out because the president had singled out philadelphia, clearly offended a lot of people in that city. >> reporter: it did. there is that quote that i believe donald trump, comes from donald trump, bad things happen in philadelphia. people have been holding signs to that. it means a lot for them to be the clinching city in so many withdraws. i will say to you as you can see so many people behind me here celebrating. but, yeah, it certainly is a good point that a lot of the reason some of them came here was because we're seeing so many trump supporters here, anderson. >> all right.

appreciate it. erin? >> interesting. i think, anderson, just to see them both there, the two groups, and so far, you know, maybe jeering a bit at each other but dancing to each other's music and, goodness. if that is just the way this could go from here wouldn't it be great? president trump, of course, though, has refused to concede instead issuing a statement saying, quote, beginning monday our campaign will start prosecuting our case in court to ensure election laws are fully upheld and the rightful winner is seated. joining me now former nixon white house counsel and cnn contributor john dean along with the national council to the bush/cheney presidential campaign playing a central role in the 2000 florida recount. thanks very much to both of you. ben, let me start with you. you hear the president right? they're going to prosecute the case in court and do everything they can. i want to emphasize and this is really significant in an unprecedented election where people voted by mail in ways they never had before and early in ways they never have before there have been no incidents of

widespread fraud anywhere in this country. that is something to celebrate. nonetheless, the president is going to try to take this to court. do you think, ben, there is any court case that could turn around this for him now? >> it's not evident so far. it's also interesting in that statement he used the word prosecute. he is not a prosecutor. he is not prosecuting these cases. he is a plaintiff asking for relief. and so far the evidence that he has shown despite having 50,000 poll watcher army in the polls, has no evidence of the systemic fraud or irregularities to cast any of the results in any of the states into doubt. >> i mean, another thing we've seen, just for example in pennsylvania, right, where every vote is going to be counted and they're still counting some of these ballots that had issues with them, people put on the wrong date or creased them the wrong way, a number of possible

issues, and they have literally three people looking at every single ballot. fuv fe five feet away you were able to have observers look at it. i think it is important for people to understand this. it is a far from perfect system but these things are indeed happening. there are many eyes on every single count here. >> yes. there are many eyes including eyes in the sky in the form of cameras. and in my experience in recounts, if you don't have the evidence developed in real time on election day, then it sort of becomes cotton candy and you take a bite and it vaporizes down to nothing. so they're in sort of a hail mary position now. >> so, john, what happens then here? who is going to be the person? is there a person who will it be? to tell president trump that it is time to concede? >> well, you know, we had reports yesterday that jared

kushner was looking for his james baker. his james baker is on this set with us today. that's who, a step forward but thankfully ben is not a gun for hire on an issue like this. i don't know what he'll do on litigation wise and i don't know who is in that white house that has the gum goption to tell him it's over. maybe his son-in-law. maybe his daughter. i doubt if it is any of the staff. mark meadows is now out. it is a good question and not one i can answer. >> so, john, one thing we've been watching is what republican leaders have done. we have certainly seen some pretty clear condemn augs atione way the president is handling things but plenty of soft peddling cloaking things and certain rhetoric to make it sort of maybe we're criticizing him maybe we're not right? is there going to be a moment where you have republican leadership, mitch mcconnell, others, right, senior

republicans go sit down with this president and say, we are going to force this issue? >> it could very well happen. it certainly hasn't happened to date. they have been very surpine with this president letting him do pretty much what he wants to do. as ben mentioned, he used the word prosecute in his tweet about the election laws. i think prosecution is on his mind and one of the things i suspect he is considering right now is drafting a pardon for himself or having his attorney general bill barr maybe make a general amnesty for everyone who worked in his administration. one of the tough decisions biden has to make is what are they going to do with the criminality that has been rampant in this administration? >> so, ben, what happens next here for the team trump, right? we have, you know, a president, the electoral college is going

to verify the results of this as the states finally certify them over the next few days and weeks. mid december, the electoral college is going to meet, right, and you're going to have a new president. and a transition theoretically. so what is next for team trump? >> well, what is next for team trump is that they will fail and make donald trump a loser if they bring the lawsuits. what they are within their rights to do is to move forward on the recounts. under the laws of the states where they're within the margin. it looks like there will be two or three states where that's true. but i think what will happen is that there won't be enough votes changed -- the outcome is going to stay the same. the margins are within the statutory, permissible amounts but they're too big to actually change in a recount. so, ultimately, those efforts will fail and it's that point that john's scenario of

republican leaders going to him becomes real. and the day to remember is december 8th, which is the safe harbor date under the -- for the electoral college. >> all right. that is of course the date on everyone's mind here as we watch for the president's reaction over the next days. thank you both very much. we'll take a very quick break. we will be right back. i want to remind everybody of course we are counting down. you see it on the screen but it is worth reminding that a president-elect biden will be speaking to the nation at 8:00 tonight.

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anderson cooper this hour. we want to welcome all of you here in the united states and around this world on this historic day. cnn projecting joe biden has defeated donald trump to become the 46th president of the united states. president-elect biden clinching victory in pennsylvania and nevada today. now to 279 electoral college votes. >> even in the midst of a