hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the united states and all around the world. you are watching cnn newsroom, and i'm rosemary church. just ahead, two new grim records the u.s. just post the most covid cases in a single day and the most deaths. and 100 days of masks, president-elect joe biden details his plans to tackle the covid-19 pandemic. cnn's exclusive interview there, but the current president is still focused on his election loss feuding with the attorney general over his failure to back mr. trump's baseless claims of

fraud. good to have you with us, a record 217,000 new covid cases were confirmed across the u.s. on thursday, pushing the total number of infected americans to more than 14 million. more than 100,000 people are now fighting for their lives in u.s. medical facilities. hospitalizations have never been this high since the pandemic began, and tragically many patients are too sick to survive. the death toll has been approaching 3,000 people per day during the past several days. health experts say reversing these grim trends could be as simple as wearing a face covering. in an exclusive interview with cnn, u.s. president-elect joe biden said he will act on that

the moment he takes office. >> my inclination is in the first day i'm inaugurated to say i'm going to ask the public for 100 days to mask. that's just 100 days to mask. not forever. just 100 days, and i think we'll see a significant reduction. and that occurs with vaccinations and masking to drive down the numbers considerably. considerably. >> and the anticipated approval of a covid vaccine in the u.s. can't come soon enough for many parts of the country. cnn's erica hill has the details. >> reporter: a new emergency break in california. >> the bottom line is if we don't act now, our hospital system will be overwhelmed. >> once icu capacity falls below 15% in any region of the state, a mandatory three week stay-at-home order will be

triggered. bars, hair salons and playgrounds will close, but schools will stay open. >> we are at high tide and the hurricane is hitting. >> reporter: more than 100,000 americans are currently hospitalized with covid-19. a record. >> currently there are 0 staffed icu beds in our state. >> reporter: prepping a field hospital in worcester. >> that's when the number of deaths will go up. >> reporter: the cdc's ensemble forecast projecting 329,000 americans could die by december 26th. >> i'm so terrified and anxious about what's going to happen in the weeks ahead. >> reporter: 14 million confirmed cases in the u.s. and rising. >> we shouldn't expect something different when we're doing the same thing over and over again. >> reporter: nine months in, americans are tired and frustrated. >> you are destroying staten island business. >> reporter: hundreds turning out to support the owners of

this new york bar after it was shut down for violating new covid restrictions. >> i'm just trying to support y family. >> reporter: hope is on the horizon. >> prioritizing health care workers and nursing homes. we ought to be having all of them vaccinated with their second dose by mid, late january. >> reporter: states preparing to distribute the vaccine which if approved could ship in less than two weeks. cvs and walgreens will handle vaccinations for long-term care facilities. >> our plan is to be ready to go as early as december 15th. >> reporter: now the push is on to make sure americans trust it. >> i may take it on tv or having it filmed so people know, i trust this science. >> reporter: former presidents clinton and bush confirming to cnn they'll get the vaccine publicly to boost confidence as the current president continues to ignore the raging pandemic. one more note on the vooeaccine. earlier this week, a cdc

advisory panel recommending front line health care workers and those living in long-term care facilities like nursing homes should get the vaccine first. cdc director robert redfield said he agreed with the recommendation, and said they should prioritize older people living in multigeneration homes. a cnn medical analyst and professor of medicine at george washington university. he joins me now from washington. thank you, doctor, for being with us and for all that you do. >> my pleasure. thank you for having me. >> doctor, u.s. covid numbers are heading in the wrong direction with one american dying every 30 seconds and so many still refuse to follow basic public health advice. now president-elect joe biden is calling on all americans to wear a mask for the first 100 days of his presidency. what is your response to this very different approach from the

top? >> it's a breath of fresh air. it's leike a hurricane of fresh air. it makes me a little sad because i wonder what would have been different, where we would be now if in march we had heard those words from the president of the united states. let's all wear a mask for the next hundred days, we would be in a much different place now. but i think going fwarorward ita great start. i would amend that a little bit, and say let's not wait until january 20th. let's make it 148 days. let's do it now because that's how we're going to flatten the curve and we need to do that. >> indeed. and joe biden says he would be happy to get a covid-19 vaccine as soon as dr. fauci says the vaccine is safe. and he also says he will get the shot publicly to instill trust in the vaccine just as former

presidents obama, bush and clinton have vowed to do. how important is it to help convince everyone the vaccine is safe, to see leaders like that take it on camera to show people this is safe, don't be afraid of this. >> i think it's so important. we're going to have to do a lot of things to educate the public about the safety of these vaccines and tear efficacy and how it will impact their communities, and i think having the three former presidents do that live is a fabulous start, having the incoming president and vice president do that is also great, but we really need to get down to the grass roots level and educate people how important this is. in order to get vaccine induced herd immunity, we're going to need to vaccinate about 70% of the united states population or about 200, 230 million people. that's a giant endeavor, and there's a lot of skepticism. there are a lot of people who

are wondering, you know, whether corners were cut and whether the vaccine is safe. we're going to have to spend a lot of time educating them that this is the right thing to do, and i'm thrilled that this is a priority for the incoming president and his administration. >> right, and of course that education needs to start now because there's so much misinformation out on social media platforms. as we count down to the approval and distribution of this covid vaccine, some private businesses are considering whether to make it mandatory for employees to be vaccinated against covid. would you like to see that happen? do you think it's possible to do that? >> well, i think it's one tool, and i'll say that a lot of industries already do this. for instance, where i work at george washington university hospital, you must be vaccinated for the flu. every person who works in that hospital has to be vaccinated

for the flu. they can't force you to take the vaccine, but then again, they prevent you from working. i think there are businesses that might make that decision. you can imagine the meat packing industry where the virus has just roared through would make that a mandatory part of their employment. nursing homes as well. every employee that works in a musc nursing home must be vaccinated. i think you'll see that in multiple places. >> dr. jonathan reiner, thank you so much for everything you do for everyone. we appreciate you. >> thank you so much for having me. and dr. anthony fauci, america's top infectious disease expert was front and center, as president trump down played the crisis, his role was diminished.

now biden says he wants to restore fauci to a prominent role. >> i asked him to stay on in the exact same role for the past several presidents and asked him to be a chief medical adviser as well and be part of the covid team. >> both biden and the vice president-elect kamala harris made it clear they would trust health experts when it came to a vaccine. >> when dr. fauci says we have a vaccine that is safe, that's the moment in which i will stand before the public and see that, look, part of what has to happen, jake, and you know as well as i do, people have lost faith in the ability of the vaccine to work. already the numbers are really staggeringly low, and it matters what a president and vice president do. >> of course i will. but we also want to make sure that the american people know that we are committed, the

president-elect and i talk about this all the time that the people who need it most are going to be a priority. >> and when it came to politics, the president-elect was clearly trying to build bridges. hear what he had to say about republicans on capitol hill. >> there have been more than several sitting republican senators who privately called me to congratulate me. and i understand the situation they find themselves in, and until the election is clearly decided in the minds of the electoral college votes, they get put in a very tough position. that's number one. >> so you think the fever on that will break after the electoral college meets. >> with at least a significant portion of the leadership. >> but harris took the opportunity on cnn to draw a forceful and stark comparison between joe biden and donald

trump. >> joe biden is someone who has endured real struggle and sacrifice and pain. he also is someone who knows love. he is someone who has dedicated his life to public service and there couldn't be a more extreme exercise and stark contrast between the current occupant of the white house and the next occupant of the white house. >> meantime, u.s. attorney general bill barr's immediate future is unclear. after a very public disagreement with donald trump over the president's false claims of voter fraud, the two shared what's being described as a very contentious meeting earlier this week. jeremy diamond has more from the white house. >> do you still have confidence

in bill barr? >> ask me that in a number of weeks from now. >> president trump unable to conceal his anger from his attorney general. two days after barr undercut trump's baseless allegations that the 2020 election was rigged. >> he hasn't done anything. he hasn't looked. when he looks, he'll see the kind of evidence that right now you're seeing. they haven't looked very hard which is a disappointment to be honest with you because it's massive fraud. >> reporter: the truth, there's no evidence of massive fraud, which barr acknowledged on tuesday telling the associated press, to date we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome on the election. that kind of reality based talk sent the president into a fury, leading to a lengthy matter with barr that one person described as contentious. trump's anger toward barr, one of his most loyal cabinet members had been mounting for

weeks, fueled by the lack of indictments into the russia investigation. two white house officials said trump has considered firing the attorney general but is being advised against it by several people. >> the president, if he has any personnel announcements, you will be the first to know it. >> reporter: with less than seven weeks left in his presidency, trump seems more detached from reality than ever. >> it was about fraud. this election was rigged. >> delivering a 46-minute rant laced with lies and debunked conspiracy theories on wednesday as courts continue to reject his lawsuits as meritless. >> the president also ignoring the darkest chapter of the pandemic, hosting a mostly maskless audience after the single deadliest day in the pandemic. and the white house and state department are flouting cdc

guidelines, inviting hundreds to parties this month. white house press secretary kayleigh mcenany defending the events. >> if you can loot businesses, burn down businesses, engage in protests, you can also go to a christmas party. you can celebrate the holiday of christmas, and you can do it responsibly. they'll have smaller guests lists, masks are going to be available. social distancing is going to be encouraged. >> but that's not true. social media posts from white house parties this week show guests tightly packed together, many of them not wearing masks. >> and amid tensions between president trump and attorney general bill barr, cnn is learning that the white house liaison, the person meant to be the white house's eyes and ears at the justice department, that individual has been barred from entering the building where the justice department is headquartered, this coming as this white house liaison attempted to gain sensitive

information about voter fraud, seemingly she was trying to obtain that for the white house. as the president continues to make his claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, he's not con seediced this race. we are seeing aides headed for the exits. white house communications director alyssa farra submitted her resignation on thursday, just a month and a half before president trump is set to leave office. jeremy diamond, cnn, the white house. nathan gonzalez is a cnn political analyst and the publisher of "inside elections," he joins me now from washington. good to have you with us. >> thank you for having me. >> absolutely. so instead of focusing on the pandemic, president trump is considering preemptive pardons for those close to him, and attacking attorney general bill barr for rejecting his claims of a rigged election. where's this feud with barr going and does it matter anymore in trump's final days in office?

>> well, anyone who can say they know for sure where this is headed is probably just lying to you, because i don't know if anyone knows for sure but it's really no surprise. the president has allies or has loyalties until he doesn't, so he doesn't mind turning on people if he feels like they turn on him. and it might not matter so much in the near term, but in terms o. longer term in particular with pardons, that can have a dramatic impact on what happens. >> right, and meantime, the state of georgia is gearing up for two critical senate runoff elections on january 5th. how is that likely to go, given the growing animosity between donald trump and state republicans who have pushed back on the president's false claims of election fraud. >> we have to call these races a toss up. look how close the results were in georgia in november. biden won georgia very narrowly. osteoto the two senate races were close

with the republican candidates inching out the democratic candidates. it's a cliche to say it comes down to turnout. that's really what matters and republicans have boxed themselves in a little bit where they don't want to admit that the president has lost reelection but if he had indeed won the election, then two races wouldn't matter because republicans would have control of the senate. they need to make sure their voters turn out to vote. democrats have to make sure their voters turn out to vote after they have accomplished the mission of defeating president trump, and so both sides have question marks in two races that are critical. there should not be assumption that the fight is over. >> political ads coming out left, front and center. in contrast to the chaos at the white house, president-elect joe biden is getting on with business, preparing to take office on january 20th. calling on all americans to wear

a mask for the first 100 days of his presidency, signing up dr. fauci to be his medical adviser. what necessary does this send with how biden intends to deal with the deadly pandemic. >> i think it shows a stark contrast that the president-elect, when he becomes president is to try to lead by an example. he stopped short of a national mandate or really declaring things, but i think there is going to try to be this national effort. that should be no surprise. this is what the former vice president campaigned on, and that's what i think we should expect. one thing stood out in the interview. no one should be surprised about pieces of that. he has been up front about what he wants to do. >> finally, barden responded to the wave of pardons expected to

come from trump in the next few weeks saying his administration will not have the same approach to pardons, and the justice did want will go back to being independent and nonpartisan, instead of what we have been seeing during the trump era. what was your response to that? >> again, i'm not surprised. i think that what president-elect biden is trying to say is that he wants to go back to the norms of how a president interacted with a justice department, and to some people, that is going to upset them, but for other people, you know, that is what they have been wanting, you know, a sense of normalcy again when he takes office. >> nathan gonzalez, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your analysis. we appreciate it. >> thank you. and the first doses of pfizer and biontech's covid vaccine have arrived in the united kingdom. just ahead, the challenge of getting them to the people who need them most. s the time to do money.

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don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit conventrydirect.com to find out if you policy qualifies. or call the number on your screen. coventry direct, redefining insurance. welcome back, everyone, as the holidays approach, covid-19 is taking a heavy toll across much of europe with numbers

rising by the day. germany is battling a fierce second wave reporting more than 23,000 cases each day since december 1st. that's according to johns hopkins university. in sweden, the public health agency recommended that high schools move to distance learning as the death toll crossed 7,000, and u.s. disease expert, dr. anthony fauci is apologizing for saying britain rushed it approval process. he says he didn't mean to imply any slopiness. this happened as the uk became the first country to approve the pfizer vaccine on wednesday. and pfizer doses have arrived. let's bring in salma about dela how quickly can the vaccine get there. >> reporter: it's all about the

challenges. this is going to be a large and complicated rollout. that is because this vaccine has to be stored at extra cold temperatures, negative 94 degrees fahrenheit, and the only place that can have the refrigeration capacity are hospitals. there have been 50 hospital hubs set up around the country. they are expected to be receiving this vaccine over the next days, and they will be giving the first vaccinations early next week. a government advisory body said among the first people that should be receiving the vaccine are residents of nursing homes but in practical terms, really the first people who are receiving it are health care workers, people in hospitals, their staff as well as nursing home staff and people aged over 80 who have appointments. there are apparently doctors going through the list who's going to have an appointment and can we get them a vaccine if they're over 80. a larger logistical challenge here. still need to figure out the care home factor because residents have to be able to get

that. maybe they need to go to hospitals. that being figured out. all of this early next week. it's important to remember, uk, first western nation to have the vaccine. it's been controversial. you mentioned dr. anthony fauci who initially said the uk was hasty, rolled it out too quickly. the uk responded and dr. anthony fauci apologized. all eyes are on the uk. what happened here is going to set a precedent. >> criticisms came from europe as well. but it is very exciting that the uk is moving forward with this. salma abdelaziz many thanks to you. after weeks of silence, top u.s. lawmakers, nancy pelosi and mitch mcconnell had a high level conversation thursday. does this mean a much needed stimulus deal is finally on the way? we'll take a look. when we started our business we were paying an arm and a leg for postage. i remember setting up shipstation. one or two clicks and everything was up and running.

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well, the covid pandemic hasn't just been a public health crisis, it's been financially devastating for millions of american workers and business owners. in an exclusive interview with cnn, president-elect joe biden talked about the need for congress to provide a lifeline as soon as possible. this week, a bipartisan group of senators unveiled a compromise bill that is more than mitch mcconnell wants but less than nancy pelosi wants. do you support that bill? do you think that should go to the floor of the senate? >> i think if they can get the 900, what they're talking about, the number, i think it was 900

billion. >> yes, 900 billion. >> that that would be a good start. it is not enough. they should focus on what's immediately needed and what's immediately needed is relief for people on their unemployment checks, relief for people who are going to get thrown out of their apartments because day can't pay the rent anymore. relief on mortgage payments, all the things in the original bill the house passed. >> and getting stimulus passed is becoming an imperative on capitol hill as the end of the year approaches and time is running out to get an agreement done. cnn's manu raju has more now on capitol hill. >> negotiations on capitol hill are intensifying after months of deadlock and impasse and frankly no discussions happening for some time, but that has changed in recent days as lawmakers are facing a critical deadline of december 11th to keep the government open, as well as so many people demanding action

from washington as they have been hurt by this economic recession, by the impacts of the pandemic, and both sides recognizing this is the last chance to get something done by the end of the year, and trying to see what they can reach. they have been at odds for months over the size and scope of the proposal. democrats wanted something more than $2 trillion, republicans want about $500 billion. they are talking about something in the range of $900 billion but there's still so many things they need to sort out over the next several days. money for state and local governments. how to deal with unemployment insurance for people out of work, as well as how to deal with lawsuit protections. republicans are asking for these liability shields for businesses, for workers, for hospitals and the like. democrats have concerns with that language, but there are negotiations that are happening, a bipartisan group of senators who have tried to advance the $900 million proposal actually met with senate majority leader mitch mcconnell behind closed doors on thursday, and mcconnell himself had a conversation with the house speaker who has

embraced using that $900 billion plan as a starting point for negotiations, and mcconnell and pelosi both are indicating that those initial talks between the two of them have been positive. still, so many things they need to resolve. can they get this resolved in the next few days, and can they attach it to the bill to keep the government open. a lot of questions, a lot of people waiting for action from washington. ma kn manu raju, cnn, new york. lots of recommendations, wash your hands, wear face masks people look to their little leaders to set an example. too often, their messages boil down to do as i say, not as i do as our brian todd points out. >> reporter: it was a couple of weeks before thanksgiving in a video posted on facebook, the steve adler, the mayor of austin, texas, begged residents to take precautions. >> you need to, you know, stay

home if you can. do everything you can to try to keep the numbers down. this is not the time to relax. >> reporter: adler posted that video while he was in cabo san lucas, mexico, a trip that adler took with seven other people on a private jet following his daughter's wedding. now adler says while he followed safety guidelines he regrets that trip. >> now, i fear that the travel that i did which took place during a safer period followed the color coded rules could lead to some taking riskier behavior now. >> reporter: but adler is not alone. last month, california governor gavin newsom, among the local leaders who have recently urged state residents to be extra vigilant, stay at home, make sacrifices went to an upscale restaurant in napa valley called the french laundry. photos obtained by kttv showed

newsom sitting with others at an outdoor table, none of them wearing masks. >> the spirit of what i have been preaching was contradicted and i want to apologize to you. i need to preach and practice. not just preach. >> reporter: the day after newsom was there, london brooee went to a birthday with several others at her table. kgo reported that the statement from breed's office said she didn't violate protocols for that time. at the time, gatherings were discouraged by state guidelines. >> there's two things americans hate and that's hypocrisy and a sense of superiority. when you have leaders telling you one thing but doing another, there's a lot of outrage. >> reporter: the pattern is almost dizzying, after voting to close outdoor dining recently, l.a. county supervisor sheila kuhl was seen eating at a restaurant before the order took

effect. her office said she felt bad for the struggling restaurant industry but won't dine out again until the county allows it. sam licardo went to a family gathering with elderly parents that including people with five different households. before that he tweeted quote cancel the big lathingatherings >> we need our local city, county leaders to step up and really provide an example and when they don't do that, it just makes things all the more dangerous for most americans. >> reporter: the common thread among all the leaders we have mentioned here, they're all democrats from the same party that has relentlessly hammered president trump for his lack of leadership during this crisis. white house press secretary kayleigh mcenany jumped on that during a briefing in recent days calling out democratic leaders for not following their own

edicts and doing things their citizens are discouraging from doing. brian todd, cnn, washington. georgia certifies its presidential election recount on friday confirming president-elect joe biden's victory there, and the current president heads to georgia on saturday. he is campaigning. four republicans in two senate races. mr. trump has repeatedly attacked georgia's secretary of state who says despite that he still supports the president and says he's relying on his faith. amara walker spoke with him. >> my faith is part of me. it's part of who i am. it becomes part of your character. >> reporter: character, faith and family, they've lit the way for georgia secretary of state brad raffensperger in his darkest times. >> we have through an awful lot, losing your child, i think trisha said it best, it doesn't matter how old you are, you could be halfway carrying a child and lose that child in a

miscarriage, they could be six weeks old and they could be 6 years old or 60 years old, it will always be your child. >> the hurt still evident, he lost his 40-year-old son almost three years ago after a fentanyl overdose. >> when he was 25 years old, he was hit with cancer, stage 3b, hodgkin's lymphoma, then clean and sober, maybe then incarceration, and clean and sober, things like that, it was a struggle throughout his life, but every one of those times that we had, you know, that he struggled, you know, god was there for us. >> reporter: and he says that god is watching over him, his wife trisha, their two grown sons and three grandsons right now, even as the death threats and vulgar messages continue to pour in from many who are vying into president trump's repeated and baseless attacks on r raffensperger and claims of

widespread voter fraud. >> he's an enemy of the people. >> trisha got the first ones. for some reason they targeted her. first of all, tell brad to step down, and that type of thing. but then they just really, you know, ramped up and i think that's what has been so disheartening and the language that they use and threats that they use, it's just really unpatriotic. >> reporter: despite the unsettling threats and the insesz sai incessant incoming fire, raffensperger says the hard times he has endured helped prepare him for this moment. >> i do lean into the lord, i know what he calls us to do, to be honest and treat people with dignity. >> reporter: raffensperger succeeded now governor brian kemp as secretary of state in 2019. he describes himself as a conservative republican and insists that he still supports president trump but in an editorial published by usa today last week, raffensperger wrote

my family voted for him, donated to him and are now being thrown under the bus by him. >> reporter: do you think the president shares your values of civility and compassion and understanding and truth, and integrity? >> well, i really don't know. i just know that at the end of the day, my job is managing myself. a lot of times it's bigger than the person. it's a philosophy. republicans, we have a philosophy, i hope we still do of small, limited, effective government. >> do you feel abandoned by republicans, influential ones who haven't come out and spoke out to stop this kind of rhetoric and false, baseless claims of fraud? >> well, i know that some people think it's not their fight or also they realize that someone has 50 million twitter followers, maybe more, and they have like me 50, and they're thinking why would i want to join that fray. >> reporter: rafensbefensperger

in all the chaos lately, he finds comfort in reading the bible. at the end of the day, it's what his family thinks about him the most. >> they understand it's a tough spot that i'm in right now. but that's really important that they see my integrity, and they're grateful for it. >> reporter: and despite it all, he hopes there will be many more elections for him in the future. will you be doing that in a couple of years? >> yes, absolutely, bauds i'll be on the ballot. >> amara walker with that report. the trump administration will come to an end next month, but that's not stopping the president's intelligence chief from picking a new fight with china. his warnings about beijing's alleged desire for global domination. that's next. it's down to the wire,

the team's been working around the clock. we've had to rethink our whole approach. we're going to give togetherness. logistically, it's been a nightmare. i'm not sure it's going to work.

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america's intelligence chief is warning that china is out to quote dominate the world. john ratcliffe outlined his concerns in a "wall street journal" opinion piece writing in part that people's republic of china poses the greatest threat to america today and the greatest threat to democracy and freedom worldwide since world war ii. it's apparently part of a trump administration effort to make it more difficult for president-elect joe biden to unwind from china policies. our david culver joins me now from beijing. good to see you, david, so what's the latest on this and where is this all going. >> reporter: rosemary, good to see you as well. the message in and of itself is not new. we have seen that the trump administration was going hard against china. secretary of state mike pompeo even traveled around the world for a series of speeches that was themed the china threat. this op-ed, i have to tell you,

it's very direct and quite alarming. as you point out, they reference the intelligence. obviously this is the director of national intelligence john ratcliffe writes this. beijing attends to dominate the u.s. and the rest of the planet, goes on to say there are no ethical boundaries to beijing's pursuit of power. now, they say in particular that china is going after american intellectual property, everything from defense technology to medical research. china is responding, just in the past few hours, beijing through its spokesperson here in the ministry of foreign affairs really coming down hard against the u.s. and saying it's the u.s. that is the threat to others, and they even specified some polling, though they didn't give direct information as to what polling they're referring to and saying that most respondents considered the u.s. to be the threat to the rest of the world, and go on to say some politicians on the u.s. side

will stop making and selling falsehoods, stop spreading political viruses and lies. why is this coming out of the trump administration, rosemary, well a senior national intelligence official says it's in part to make things difficult, and likely to come to fruition. these are genuine threats they are warning about. >> we'll watch this closely. david culver, many thanks for that report. appreciate it. as the trump presidency winds down, there's older speculation about what the trump children do. at least one may seek a future in politics. that report up after a short break. a migraine hope from aimovig.

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donald trump's daughter ivanka is offering to publicly take the coronavirus vaccine to help endorse its safety. it's just the latest sign she may not be away from washington for very long. what could the future hold for the president's adult children after the white house. cnn's kate bennett reports. >> when january 20th ushers out president donald trump, it does the same for his three elder

children, donald trump jr., eric trump and ivanka trump. the trump kids, along with tiffany trump spent thanksgiving at camp david, the rustic maryland presidential retreat not often used during this administration. a far cry from opulent family thanksgivings at mar-a-lago or the white house where president trump dined with melania trump. the use of taxpayer dollars for a thanksgiving just for the kids with secret service protection and camp david staff called into work the visit smacks of the privileges they have enjoyed and will shortly lose. each trump child now faces a different future path than the one they were on pre-white house. donald trump jr. before in the shadows of trump's public appearances. now a republican fire brand. >> i'm outraged about them exporting your and my american dream to countries that hate our guts for the sake of pc

nonsense. >> reporter: one source telling cnn junior is quote the future of the base. sources tell cnn trump jr. will also return to his day job at the trump organization to try to expand global properties. the challenges could be many. his father has disparaged world leaders and junior himself has used his social media to push conspiracy theories to the point that twitter even suspended him. trump faces its own struggle. >> it's hard to believe we're back here, guys. >> which will be eric trump's assignment according to those familiar with his role, trying to pivot a luxury real estate and hospitality company and corral the 70 plus million voters who supported his father into supporting his father's business. as trump says, we'll see what happens. and while neither eric nor don jr. are thinking about entering politics now, their sister, ivanka trump seems poised to take her lean in approach to the trump platform. >> washington has not changed

donald trump. donald trump has changed washington. >> reporter: while don jr. has been whipping up the base back home, ivanka spent much of the last four years on obscure diplomacy missions with plenty of photo opportunities to discuss things like economic support for women-owned businesses. >> are you sure what worked for you as a first daughter what has worked for every other daughter in the world. >> i think we represent 50% of the population, so there is no one size fits all when you think about women. >> reporter: or portray herself on the same footing as world leaders at global summits. according to sources, ivanka has a desire for a bigger political career. recently stating her pro-life stance and becoming more vocal in defense of trump's policies, attracting his base as now many moderates and democrats will be a more challenging group to draw. kate bennett, cnn, washington.

>> well, koalas usually live among the eucalyptus trees, when this young female climbed up the christmas tree, you can imagine the surprise. she called a local koa la res e rescue. can't get cuter than that, right. gorgeous. and thank you so much for your company. i'm rosemary church. "early start" is next. you're watching cnn. have yourselves a fabulous day. [ whispering ]

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welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. this is "early start." i'm laura jarrett. >> and i'm christine romans. it's friday, december 4th. happy friday, everybody. it's 47 days now until joe biden's inauguration as the 46th president. with america now at darkest point to date in the coronavirus pandemic, we're hearing exclusive new details from the incoming president and vice president about their plan to tackle this crisis. now, by just about my measure, it's never been worse. 2,879 americans reported dead thursday. the number of people in the hospital and the number of new cases also new