and good evening. thanks for joining us. the outgoing president of the united states called on the supreme court to show courage. but he was actually begging it for help overturning the will of the voters, by overturning the election he so clearly lost. well, late today, he got his answer from the supreme court. no. the court rejecting an ill-conceived lawsuit by the state of texas and stunningly joined by 106 house republicans to overturn all the votes in michigan, wisconsin, pennsylvania, and georgia. here is the ruling. state of texas's motion for leave to file a bill of complaint is denied for lack of standing under article iii of the constitution. texas has not demonstrate a judicially cognizable interest.

we do not have discretion to deny the filing of a bill of complaint in a case that falls within our original jurisdiction. but would not grant other relief, and i express no view on any other issue. and, so ends the last major, legal challenge to the president's defeat. a defeat, by his own calculation in 2016, a landslide loss. it came, despite a rebuttal, which made no more sense than the original filing. and so much of this played out more of a farce than as fact. or even plausible, legal argument. what is serious is nearly two-thirds of the house delegation, including 75% of the leadership, signed on to this assault on democracy. a premeditated assault, as the president, himself, signalled weeks before the election. >> i think this will end up in the supreme court. and i think it's very important that we have nine justices.

i think it's better if you go before the election because i think this -- this scam, that the democrats are pulling, it's a scam. this scam will be before the united states supreme court. >> and it won't. he wanted the court, his court, with his justices, to settle this. and it did. just, not in his favor. the three justices that he named to the court did not dissent from tonight's decision. and whether they saw it or not, their decision came shortly after the president tweeted, quote, if the supreme court shows great wisdom and courage, the american people will win perhaps the most important case in history. and our electoral process will be respected, again. again, no clue, what, if anything, the justices made of that and all the rest of his tweets at them. nor, what they made of this, other than not wanting to hear more on the subject. >> for president trump to be ahead as far as he was at 3:00 a.m., in these four states. michigan, pennsylvania, wisconsin, georgia. and for the vote to swing by as

much as it did. the probability of that, in one state, is one in one quadrillion. that's one, comma, 15 zeroes. to happen in all four, it's one, comma, 15 zeroes to the fourth power. >> yeah. it's making that up. doesn't make sense. minority-republican lawmakers dissented from that kind of nonsense, including senator john cornyn of texas. a former judge, who said he did not see the theory of the case. and senator mitt romney, who called it madness. congresswoman, liz cheney, one of four house leaders not to sign on to the brief. a spokesman for president-elect biden said the decision was no surprise, adding quote, dozens of judges, election officials, and trump's own attorney general have dismissed the baseless attempts to deny that he lost the election. lots to talk about with cnn's abby phillip. also, john dean. john, does the ruling mean president trump's efforts to

overturn the election in the courts are completely over? >> i would think so. while, there are a couple lower-court cases, it's not likely they could ever get to the -- up to the supreme court, again. so, i think this is the last of the court cases. >> abby, as we point out earlier, trump said before the election he thought it would end up in the supreme court. he thought it was important to have nine justices seated. it was one of the justifications, of course, for rushing the amy coney barrett confirmation through. >> as john said, it's pretty much over. and even if some of these lower-court cases may, somehow, make their way to higher courts. the problem for the president is that he's lost so many states, he's behind by so many electoral votes, that no one state is going to reverse what we are seeing here. and what the entire country, frankly, will see on monday when the electoral college meets. so, this is over. the president doesn't even get to have the supreme court weigh in on this because the court

knows that this kind of request, to basically have the court weigh in, throw out millions of votes, is completely unprecedented and would really throw the country into incredible turmoil. not to mention, the fact that there is virtually no legal basis for the claims being made in the suit. >> and abby, for a president, who hates -- who -- who -- whose criticism -- greatest criticism or, you know, what he thinks is the most cutting criticism of all is calling someone a loser. for him to be a one-term president, to have been a loser in this last election, is got to be just devastating. by his own estimation, you know, he claimed his victory in 2016 was a landslide victory. well, if you believe that, then you have to believe that this was a landslide loss. >> well, it is so devastating, anderson, that he is basically creating a fairy tale universe for himself and his supporters to live in, in which he didn't lose. that's why all this is happening

because the president can't fathom, in his mind, that he might have lost something. so, this entire episode is about convincing himself, convincing his supporters, that he hasn't lost. and he is going to continue, for the foreseeable future, always claiming, as he did recently at a holiday party, that he's won the presidency, twice, when he knows that he did not. >> john, there's -- i mean, i said this the other night. he is going to be talking about this, every day, for the rest of his life. and when he goes to every night at mar-a-lago when he is wandering around the tables. acting as, sort of, mc. he is going to be talking about being robbed. you know, when he goes to get his teeth cleaned every six months, he is going to talk to the dental hygienist. >> i think you're absolutely right, anderson. it -- it -- it's something he can't seem to accept.

i don't think he is going to send christmas party invitations to the court, this year, to have them come down. you know, i -- it -- we know we're dealing with a narcissist. we're cancelli we're dealing with a man, who's shown throughout that he can't take any kind of negative attention or defeat or anything, without constantly doubling down. i wouldn't be totally surprised if he still tries to pull something off when the electoral college is selected, and gets to counting the votes in the congress. there are some things you can do there. they're highly irregular, but he likes highly irregular. >> john, the court did not provide a vote count and there was not a formal dissent. justice alito did add that, can you just explain what they are saying there? >> well, this is -- this is not unusual, particularly, in a case like this where there is

original jurisdiction. they were staking out, those two justices, that was firmly their belief they should have taken the case, even if they didn't rule favorably on it. probably, the most disappointing thing, anderson, about that brief pro curiam. i think the court could have issued a very brief, pro curiam brief, saying they have looked at it and everything is going as it should go. and there's -- highly polarized so that would have been some comfort to the millions who are worried about this process. that trump has managed to get upset. so, i'm disappointed they didn't issue an opinion. >> john and abby, stand by. i want to bring in dana nessel, attorney general from michigan. madam attorney general, what is your reaction to the court's announcement? >> well, i -- i'm relieved they

did the right thing. obviously, i'm happy that the 5.5 million people who voted in my state won't have their votes disenfranchised. and 10 million people who live in my state will be properly represented at the electoral college. but the fact that we even find ourselves in this place, where we have to be relieved. that something ridiculous didn't occur, that should never have occurred. you know, it's a sad chapter in american history, that we really need to put behind us. >> and that so many in the republican leadership has -- have gone along with this is -- it is just -- it is insane. do you believe the president's legal options, now, are truly exhausted? at least when congress gathers to count electoral votes, as john pointed out, could be another story. >> with the state of texas having filed this case, this ludicrous, ridiculous case, against my state, and three

others, that's something i never would have predicted. so, it's hard for me to say, well, you know, we're done now. we have rounded the corner, and absolutely, we won't see any more shenanigans because that has continued to occur. but, what i will say is this. we will continue to fight as vigorously as possible, to ensure that the person who actually won the presidential election is sworn into office, on january 20th. and that's what we all should care about. and that's what everyone should want to happen. >> what do you make of justices alito and thomas saying they did not believe the court had, quote, discretion to deny the filing? >> well, i think they were very clear about the fact that they make no mention of how they would have ruled, on the merit. this is really a matter of whether or not there was standing. and, of course, we had claimed all along that, of course, there was no injury to the state of texas done by the state of michigan or any of the other, three states. and that, of course, the supreme

court is supposed to be used as an appellate court. it is not a court, generally, of original jurisdiction. and that is to be invoked very sparingly. you know, so, i -- i can't tell you what happened, behind closed doors. but, obviously, i'm relieved that the right thing occurred. but, i will say this. for all of those who supported this frivolous, nonsensical action, and who supported a demagogue over democracy. i think, that those individuals will, forever, have their legacies tarnished with, really, the -- the stain of donald trump and his clown makeup or what have you. i mean, it -- it's really embarrassing for the country. and when we ask ourselves, how it is that other, long-standing democracies turn into autocracies, now we know. >> are you encouraged that the justices, whom the president

appointed to the court, did not go along with him on this? because i mean, you heard him before the election, express optimism that potential litigation would -- would go his way. >> yeah. am i encouraged that they didn't completely compromise their integrity for a man who has none? yes, of course. it -- the courts are always the place that we go to, to ensure that our other inst -- institutions are maintained. and, in this case, they held up. but, you know, how many more challenges they could have taken, how many more hits they could have withstood, in the event that trump spent any more time in the white house, i think, it's hard to say. i think, when history looks back upon this era in american history, you know, we'll -- we'll see that it -- how -- how close we really came to losing our democracy. >> shortly before the court's decision was released, the trump campaign announced it would be running more cable-tv ads, tomorrow, about all this. is that just noise, to you, at this point?

>> you know, it's not just noise. only, for the reason that, unfortunately, it erodes people's confidence in our system of elections. and it really decimates our democratic system of government. so, i think it does great damage to all of us, as americans. so, i still take it seriously, for that reason. do i think it's going to change the election? no, not at all. but it may change future elections and really, you know, for america, which once stood as a pillar of democracy around the globe. i don't know that many other countries will look upon us the same now, as they ever did previous to this. >> madam attorney general, if you will, i just want to bring john dean and abby phillip back into -- into the conversation. john, the michigan attorney general is, clearly, happy, you know, this went their -- this way. obviously, anybody would be, from michigan. do you think, at this point, she and the other three attorney

generals that were targeted by this case can exhale and have confidence their citizens' votes will be counted? >> i think they can. incidentally, she filed an excellent brief, as the other states did. and they were all business and right to the issue. i don't think, after reading those briefs, the court could've reached any other conclusion than they reached today. this was the right decision. and the court appeals are over, for all practical purposes. >> abby, how do you think the attorney general's reaction, along with other states' attorneys general will be received by republicans? >> it will be interesting to see what president trump says tonight because he's supposed to be at one of the many holiday parties he's been hosting at the white house. recently, making comments about how he wants four more years and the supreme court needs more courage to give him this election. but i don't expect that he is going to stop this quest. you just pointed out, anderson,

they launched new ads on national cable tv. so we should take that with a grain of salt. that could just be for an audience of one on fox news. but the point is the president is not going to stop in his attempt to effectively radicalize republicans across country. we are seeing it in a statement from the texas gop tonight in which they said perhaps states should band together and -- and -- and imply that they would secede from the union. you saw in arizona, where the asked on twitter whether people would be willing to risk their lives for this cause. the president is not going to stop doing those things, so i think that we should expect more of the same from him. >> madam attorney general, you talked about the -- the threat to democracy, and how history will look back at this and see how close -- or how much democracy was in danger. do you feel like the danger is over? because i mean, certainly, to abby's point, the president

continues to sow dissension. and he is going to continue to try to do that, whether or not he runs again. whether or not he is just using that to raise money for foreign actors overseas, to help him take care of his debts and legal troubles. but he is going to be a force, if not the preeminent force, in the republican party, for -- you know, for the foreseeable future. >> yeah. i think that's true. and i think, certainly, when it comes to primaries, who the biggest trump supporter is will still play a large role when it comes to our conventions. where we have people, you know, nominated for positions like mine. like attorney general and secretary of state. and the michigan supreme court. if you're not a trump supporter, i don't think you're going to have a chance in 2022. but the other thing it means is this. the threats against public officials, like myself, will continue. so, whether it's plots to kidnap and execute our governor. or those who stand outside the

house of our secretary of state, and -- and threaten her. or whether it's our -- our slate of electors, who are, you know, going to be voting on monday and who now need police protection for what used to be just a very mundane, administrative event, that no one ever paid attention to or even knew about. it's a dangerous time in our state, and it's a dangerous time in our country. and we could attribute all of that to one man, and that's donald trump. >> michigan attorney general, dana nessel, i appreciate it. abby phillip, john dean, as well. thank you so much. coming up next. reaction new covid vaccine. with trust such a big part of it, we will talk to dr. sanjay gupta and the effect on the reported pressure on the fda commissioner to approve it, today.

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bundle auto and home, and save up to 25% with allstate. bundling just feels good this time of year. saving is easy when you're in good hands. call a local agent, or 1-800-allstate for a quote today. tonight's supreme court defeat came as no surprise to legal experts, and should have come as no surprise to vice

president pence who is a lawyer. and as a former governor, he state tell another state how to run its elections. neither of those credentials applied, though, on entering the vice president's office, especially for this president. so, here he was, talking about the case, just yesterday. >> president donald trump deserves his day in court. the supreme court. and all i can say is god bless texas. >> then, came the ruling. the question, which we raised before the break, is what his boss intends to do next. cnn white house correspondent, jim acosta, joins us now. >> anderson, the white house is referring to the trump campaign and we know rudy giuliani, right now, is talking to one of the other conservative outlets favored by the president, not fox news. and at this point, he is saying, quote, we're not finished, yet.

according to some of the reported remarks coming from the former mayor of new york city. i will tell you, anderson, talking to a trump adviser, earlier this evening. when i asked this adviser, you know, is this when the president gives it up and finally concedes and moves on with his life? this adviser said, quote, no way. and earlier today, this same adviser was saying that nobody inside -- just about nobody inside the president's team of advisers thought that this was going to turn out any other way. they just did not think the supreme court would do this. and now, we see what the president wants to do next. we know, obviously, he is not going to give it up. but, he's running out of options, obviously, very quickly. you know, the far right like to refer to these legal challenges as the crackin but the crackin has croaked. >> the president may be out of options but he is not out of the opportunity to -- to raise more money, which seems to be at the heart of all of this. >> absolutely. >> i mean, as long as he

pretends there's still an effort underway. as long as he's got rudy giuliani and whatever other, you know, alleged attorneys are -- are willing to, you know, demean themselves, he can continue raising money. and will continue raising money, from people who actually believe what the president is saying. >> that's right. there is no shortage, apparently, of trump-friendly lawyers who will beclown themselves, in this fashion. we have seen this for four years now, and i suppose we will continue to do so for the next couple months. the electoral college will meet on monday. they will make joe biden the president-elect, officially. and, of course, he will be sworn in on january 20th. one other date to circle on your calendar, anderson, is january 6th. that is when we expect house republicans to try to make something of a stink on the house floor. they can't really do anything without the majority in the house, and so that's not going to go anywhere. but between now and then, there

is a window of fundraising opportunity for the president to continue this disinformation for dollars campaign. >> scott jennings, former assistant to george w. bush. and bakari sellers, author of best-selling book "my vanishing country." scott, is the supreme court ruling enough for the republican party to acknowledge reality? or are there other motives going on that are just going to have them go forward on the trump train? >> well, it's obvious what's happening and it will become more obvious on monday when the electoral college meets. i do think republican leadership, though, needs president trump to remain engaged because there are things left to do. obviously, they are trying to fund the government. maybe, pass a coronavirus relief bill. a campaign in georgia, which the president's already engaged in. republican leaders know that

and -- and they want to work with him on that. and so, they need to keep him focused on those things that would help the larger effort. but i don't think anyone is under any illusion that anything crazy's going to happen here. obviously, joe biden's going to be the next president. and -- and everybody is -- is pretty much dealing with that reality. >> bakari, the fealty, though, of republican leaders that scott was talking about. i mean, it's going to last much longer than, even after president trump leaves office, the race in georgia might end. but, you know, all these folks want, you know, his support for their own races. they want his support for republican causes. they -- they want his followers, and are afraid of him getting his followers to turn on them. >> it's -- it's fear. it's cowardice. i mean, that's exactly what it is. that is what we are talking about. the fact that -- i mean, i understand exactly what scott is saying.

imean, you still have until january 20th, at noon, to actually get things done. and the president of the united states, working with the republican cohort, needs to be able to get those things done. i get it. but, that doesn't explain away the fact that they don't have the fortitude to tell this president that he's not president, anymore. i mean, you have grown men in the state of texas, men and women, who have signed on to an amicus brief. saying that the president of the united states needs to overthrow the election results. that's not democracy. mitch mcconnell's whispers aren't democracy. i mean, lindsey graham not saying anything. saying that we got to figure out what happened with dominion systems in georgia is not democracy. i mean, the fact is you have people who won elections, anderson. they won elections, and now they are saying the election was rigged? i mean, the fact of the matter is that this president has a unique grasp on the republican party. it's a grasp, that he's going to

hold onto for a very long period of time. and the cowardice is not something that -- it -- it -- it -- it's not something we can look away from because they are not standing on the side of democracy. no one is saying that mitch mcconnell or any of the 106 or 7 members of the texas state legislature should support joe biden. no one's saying that. we're -- we're only saying that you should actually acknowledge that democracy is a fundamental tenet of this country that we live in, that we love, that we adore. and no one's willing to do that and that's the shame. >> yeah. i mean, scott, you did say, a second ago, you think everyone's dealing with the reality vice president biden is going to be the next president. but i just want to read to you what former florida congressman alan west said tonight. he said, quote, perhaps states should bond together and form a union of states that will abide by the constitution. end quote. obviously, one can dismiss him as -- as, you know, somebody who only served in congress a brief time. far-right fringe figure. except, he is the chair of the

state party and it's a pretty important state. and he is apparently advocating for secession. you know, if hillary clinton was calling for secession. >> i'll be glad to start. it's a crackpot statement. it's a ridiculous statement and i don't know any republican leader currently holding office who feels that way. look. some of the people who support president trump have engaged in magical thinking because of what happened on election night, 2016. you know, he -- he appeared to have pulled a rabbit out of a hat. he wasn't supposed to win. nobody thought he was going to win and, voila, he made something happen out of thin air. but they have maintained that kind of thinking, as we've moved down this legal process. and -- and i think the trump folks, and some of his lawyers, have made promises to them about, you know, and -- and put out this amazing bravado and confidence in these legal

challenges, when it really wasn't warranted. and they've made all these people believe that we're just right around the corner. something's going to happen. old trump will find a way to pull it out. and that just never was -- was going to be and so you are going to see people react this way, which is nuts. and yeah, people should condemn it because we're not going to secede. american institutions worked. and by the way, we will have another election in two years and another election in four years. and trump may be a factor in both of them. you know, you live on to fight another day. >> bakari, just on the logic. you know, i don't hear any republican members of congress, who won re-election this time around, claiming, well, because this election was so rigged, i shouldn't have won re-election. and i think we should have a recount in my own vote. i mean, they all seem perfectly happy with how votes were counted when they won for their congressional districts or as -- you know, to become a senator. i don't understand -- you know, i understand scott saying

that -- that folks on capitol hill want the president to be engaged on, you know, important efforts. the race in georgia, probably most prominently. but the idea that they are afraid. i mean, part of that is they want him involved. but they, also, don't want him to tank the race in georgia. and they know he is fully capable of just taking his followers, and, you know, condemning the leadership. and blowing off the candidates in georgia. and, you know, taking the party elsewhere. >> it's not just georgia, though. i'm hard-pressed to believe that these individuals just want to win in georgia. they want to win their own races and this is donald trump's party. i mean, that's -- this is the fact. this is where we are. i mean, i challenge all my republican colleagues. i mean, the fact is mitch mcconnell and newt gingrich and many others wanted barack hussein obama to be a one-term president, in 2008. that was -- that was the goal they set forth. it was anti-democratic,

anti-patriotic goal but, nevertheless, that was the goal. they wanted him to be a one-term president. barack obama persevered. he ended up being president for eight years. he was never, ever, ever, trying to chip away at the fundamental tenets of this country. and to watch these individuals, who wanted barack hussein obama, simply because he looked different, simply because he came from a different background, simply because he was different, they want him to be a one-term president. and yet, they still won't say anything negative about this man who lost the race. i lost my last race. in 2014. i'm not sitting here saying henry mcmaster is not the fair and rightful governor of south carolina because of some crack-pot theory. i mean, we have to understand the fundamental tenets of democracy. and -- and the tragedy is not donald trump. we know who he is. the tragedy are these good

individuals, who still stand by him. the cornyns. the grahams. the mcconnells. the tim scotts. all of these individuals, who whisper and murmur, but they're afraid to say it with their chest, to quote kevin hart. you got to say it with your chest sometimes, what you really mean. and that is, joe biden is the president of the united states. it's a tragedy they won't say it. >> appreciate it. coming up, i am going to talk with one of the few republicans in congress who, even before tonight's landmark decision, called the whole thing ludicrous. later, as hospitalizations hit another record high, pressure on the fda chief to authorize the vaccine today or resign. talk about that with dr. sanjay gupta, ahead. what you'll need, and help you build a flexible plan for cash flow that lasts, even when you're not working, so you can go from saving... to living. ♪ let's go so you can go from saving... to living. if you have postmenopausal and a high risk for fracture, now might not be the best time to ask yourself,

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repeating our breaking news tonight. the supreme court flatly rejected the lawsuit brought by the texas attorney general sought to overturn votes in the battleground states. a handful of republicans did not. here is a sampling of what the gop dissenters, had to say. >> this election was incredibly secure. and i think we have to get out of this looking at these bizarre type of articles coming out on the net and the conspiracy theories associated with them, it's really ludicrous. >> to insinuate that republican and democratic candidates paid to throw off this election, i think, is absolutely outrageous and i do take offense to that. >> fraudulence is minimum and not enough to change the outcome of the election.

>> it's, also, mind-blowingly ridiculous to think all these agencies would work in tandem. think about that. 50 states. >> to have that accusation just offhandedly thrown out there, just to confuse our voters of the united states, i think is absolutely wrong. >> that doesn't mean our 2020 election was fake. it was real. it counts. and we need to move forward. >> well, one of those voices you heard is outgoing republican congressman, denver riggleman. he joins me now. congressman, thanks so much for being with us. what was your reaction when you heard the supreme court tossed this suit today? >> not surprised. you know, anderson, we got the e-mail asking us to sign on to the amicus brief and the two things i saw. one was -- i don't know if it was availed threat. but it was also written in that e-mail that there are these -- sort of these broad strokes. that there was -- there was fraud across the united states.

and so, when i saw this, i looked at percentages. you know, my background as an intelligence officer. when i saw the legal team for trump had a 1 in 56 record, that was really the base line for the texas ag suit, i thought this -- this isn't going anywhere. and really, it is based on disinformation. and i don't really have a great analogy, anderson, for a record that bad. the only thing i could think of, you know, looking back in history was maybe the washington generals getting beat by the harlem globetrotters. you know, i just -- i just -- i don't -- and you know, when you look at a baseline and percentages, with my background, i thought this didn't have a chance in hell and i think we were correct on that. >> the thing, politics aside, the thing that makes me genuinely sad is i get direct messages from people all the time, who are trump supporters, and look like good, very decent people, with families, who love their country. and, you know, in all respects, are rational.

and -- and yet, they seem to have bought into what the president has repeatedly said, without any evidence. that has now been tossed out of dozens of courts and lawsuits. i mean, how do you -- how do we move forward, as a country, with, you know, the country divided? with one group of people, only seeing things a certain way. and everybody's, you know, probably guilty of that, on different issues. but on this, it seems so fundamental of something that is true and not true. >> digital viruses need vaccines, too. and i think the only way you do that is through big data. you do that through facts-based analysis. do that through machine learning. and you have to put it out there. but there is, also, another thing. and, anderson, this is the one thing that i worry about. i think you are going to see an explosion of activity, after the supreme court ruling. not a diminuition of it.

and the disinformation that's been poured into them. i mean, they've had a disinformation firehose, from multiple social network angles. not just twitter and nice book but there is bit chute. there's rumble. there's gab. there's parlor. so i think you are going to see uptick in disinformation. but we have to reach out to these people with love, not with hate. and we have got to do this in a magnanimous way where we bring people into a fact-based world. >> what do you think happens monday once the electoral college votes and formally recognizes joe biden as president of the united states. what do you think your republican colleagues do then? >> i think they are going to wait. >> yeah. >> i -- i -- and i -- and i -- i want to give you a better answer than that, anderson. i think err ththey are going to because they still have elections in '22 and '24. it's been a grift and that's what i have been warning people

about. i am not trying to do it in a mean way, but a grift is a grift. and people are making a lot of money off pushing this nonsense and that's something we have to get in front of. again, anderson, i have been doing this for so long and to see this kind of ridiculousness and how -- and how it's affecting people. i mean, i don't know if you looked online tonight. there is not this big, glowing, life is great now. it's actually china's fault. and by the way, now, you're going to see the anti-vax conspiraci conspiracies explode over the next fewer weeks. this hasn't ended. >> i appreciate your time and comments. thank you. >> thank you very much. >> you heard me mention 126 republican members of congress stood behind that failed lawsuit. trying to stay on the good side of a potentially vindictive president, who they hope will be of use to them down the road, and continue to raise money on this fraudulent notion of this

conspiracy theory of rigged elections. as we noted top of the program, a spokesman for president-elect biden said the decision was no surprise, and added this. president-elect biden's clear and commanding victory will be ratified by the electoral college on monday, and he will be sworn in on january 20th. perspective now from valerie jarrett, former senior aide to president obama and author of "finding my voice." ms. jarrett, what is your reaction to the supreme court decision tonight? >> it was resoundingly clear. it completely rejected the argument coming from texas. didn't have any standing, whatsoever. but, it did do damage because, as you were just discussing earlier, there are a lot of people in america who now question the integrity of our election. even though state officials, election officials, from both parties, even though the attorney general for the united states, even though the former head of security for infrastructure and cybersecurity in the trump administration. and now, even though the supreme

court ruled that there is no legitimacy to any of this nonsense, people still question it. and that's because of the tone that came from the top. one silver lining i hope the folks that support president trump recognize is that all three of the justices president trump nominated to the court ruled against this texas decision. and so, hopefully, that pulls the rug out of this conspiracy theory because those are the folks he put on the court. he fought hard to get them all on the court. in fact, with his last nominee, amy coney barrett, he said it was because owhe was concerned about the election, and he wanted to make sure his representative was on the court. well, you know what? they're not his representative. they represent america and they represent our democracy. and i'm so glad to see at least one unit of the federal branch of government is functioning, in a healthy way. >> it's clear, though. there was no legal standing for the lawsuit. 100, though, and 26 members of

congress still signed on to it. including house minority leader, kevin mccarthy. the -- clearly, as the last -- you know, we just talked to congressman riggleman, republican, who called this ludicrous and said there's a grift going on and there certainly is. i mean, the president's raising money off this. g -- the rnc is getting money off this grift. did you ever think the republican party would go that far? i mean, i hate to make this about republican party or democratic party. but this is -- it is a grift going on, and americans are giving huge amounts of money, and the president is playing them for suckers. >> it's certainly a grift. but this has been going on for a long time. i mean, remember, when president obama was elected. and mitch mcconnell, republican leader in the senate, said his number one objective was to make sure president obama didn't get re-elected to a second term. we were in the middle of an economic crisis. we had two wars going on.

we had many dhchallenges. and again, here, now, in the face of a resounding win by president-elect biden, republicans who know better are playing politics. and as you said, they are playing politics for money. and who loses out? american people. it is an erosion of the fundamental pillars of our democracy, and it's going to have consequences at a time where our nation, anderson, should be healing. where the republicans should be doing what we've always prided ourself, with a smooth transition of power, is rallying behind president-elect biden. do you think it was easy for secretary clinton to sit there and acknowledge her loss or sit there and attend the inauguration? of course, not. or george hw bush or for anyone who loses an election but that's what you do if you love our country, you put country first. >> lastly, president-elect biden continues to roll out his cabinet picks. he is facing some pushbacks to

nominate lloyd austin as defense secretary. not only does he need to get through confirmation, he needs a waiver from both houses of congress because he retired from active duty less than seven years ago. are you worried the biden team might have you understand estimated resistance to his choice? >> first of all, i know lloyd very well. he is an extraordinary public servant. a long career of service. he's been out of the military for four years. he has a keen appreciation for the sacrifices our men and women in uniform make, every day, for us. that so many of us take for granted. and so, he is competent. he is experienced. he will put all of his intellect and his heart into this job. he will do a terrific job. and we are -- being the biden administration is just beginning to reach out to the members on the hill. i know that lloyd austin will make himself available. he will answer questions, from both sides of the aisle. he has a lot of credibility up on the hill. and i am confident that, as they get to hear why he believes that he is the right man for this

job. as they look at his record, that he will get both the waiver, and he will get confirmed. this is -- this is a time for serious people, with a track record of experience, and i can't think of a better person to be our defense secretary, right now, than lloyd austin. >> valerie jarrett, appreciate it very much. thank you. >> thank you, anderson. >> more breaking news ahead on this busy, friday night. as the country reaches another record of people hospitalized with the coronavirus. hear what pressure the white house chief of staff put on the fda to get a quick approval of the pfizer vaccine. that, when we continue. beautiful. but support the leg! when i started cobra kai, the lack of control over my business made me a little intense. but now i practice a different philosophy.

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our breaking news now on the pandemic. numbers released tonight show the record number of americans were hospitalized today with the virus. 108,044 people. that's about 800 more than yesterday's record number. meanwhile, a source familiar with the situation tells cnn that white house chief of staff mark meadows told fda commissioner stephen hahn he needed to grant an emergency use authorization for the pfizer vaccine by the end of tonight or else he needed to resign. the fda chief says that's an untrue representation. cnn's white house correspondent kaitlan collins joins me now. what more do we know about pressure being placed on the fda by the white house? >> reporter: well, we know that mark meadows called dr. stephen hahn this morning. he was complaining that they had not granted that emergency use for pfizer's vaccine yet even though they applied for it several days ago. and he basically ended the conversation by saying that if

this is not approved by the end of the day, not authorized by the end of the day, then you need to be prepared to resign from your job. the white house has kind of been backing off of that since this was publicly reported and you saw the fda saying it was a mischaracterization of their conversation. they're not denying, anderson, that mark meadows did say that to the fda commissioner on this day as they're getting so close to this authorization. but they're basically saying they don't actually think that dr. hahn is going to be fired over this, though we should note this phone call came after several meetings where the two staff called dr. hahn into his office here at the white house because that is the direct result of the president venting about the fact that these authorizations have not happened yet. >> the process for the pfizer vaccine is basically at the finish line with emergency use authorization like this weekend. what does the white house get from doing this at this point? >> reporter: that's the question. i've even heard that from several white house officials now that this story has come out. i just ran into the hhs secretary on the way to the camera for this live shot.

we were talking about this authorization and the thinking is it could come at any minute now. that's how the white house is viewing this, that it to come down tonight, as soon as tomorrow. so what is the lonlic in threatening to fire the fda commissioner when we're in the middle of a pandemic and you've got six weeks left in donald trump's presidency. that's a question a lot of people are still raising here at the white house. so that's why they don't actually think that dr. hahn will be fired. however, if this was a few months ago, a few weeks ago, this is certainly something that could happen because that's the level of frustration that you're seeing from the president over this vaccine effort. it's because he's seeing other countries roll it out. he wants to be able to roll it out as well. >> thanks. joining me now, cnn's chief medical correspondent, dr. sanjay gupta. you've spoken with fda commissioner stephen hahn many times since the start of this pandemic. would he let political pressure get to him when it comes to the vaccine? and can you explain discussions that are going on root night no

between the fda and pfizer? >> if you had asked me that a couple of months ago, i would say, yeah, i think there was times when it was pretty clear that stephen hahn, the fda commissioner, was bowing to political pressure. but i think most recently, he's not had evidence of bowing to pressure. in fact, maybe oversteering the other way as we're sort of seeing play out now. this may have already been authorized tonight, but this back-and-forth may have actually ironically slowed things down. i talked to him about this issue a couple days ago, just the overall amount of pressure he was feeling. here's what he said. >> they say, hey, it's an emergency. why would you worry about the process? why would you worry about the scientific review that you're doing? and it's my job, it's our job to explain that, and that's what happened. so it was nothing more than that. >> he talks a lot about the fact that he's -- he's -- he recognizes there's a lot of vaccine hesitancy out there, so

i think he's balancing the messaging around that with watching this whole regulatory process play out. as far as the discussions quickly, anderson, between the fda and pfizer right now, a lot of this seems to have to do with the labels that are going to be put on these vaccines. what are they going to say about 16 and 17-year-olds? it's authorized, but they're not enough data. what's it going to say about pregnant women? something like you should talk to your doctor about this. we've heard a lot about these allergies with people who have had a previous history of severe allergies be recommended not to take it? that's, i think, what these final discussions are about right now. >> it's interesting the president today called the fda, quote, a big old slow turtle. sounds familiar. this has actually been a very fast process. do you believe there's any reason why americans should not feel confident that this is a safe and effective vaccine? >> no. i don't think there's any reason they shouldn't feel confident. it is a fast-moving process, the development of that, and it is

truly remarkable. some of the science upon which this vaccine is based, some of this has been studied for quite some time. but this regulatory process, you know, showing the efficacy through these phase three clinical trials and then waiting for two months of safety data as well, something that stephen hahn was pressured to not wait for by president trump. he did wait for it. that's another example of him not bowing to the pressure. i think it's all very important. i think these final steps in terms of saying, hey, look, we don't want people who have severe allergic reactions to get in trouble. so either we recommend you don't take it or you're prepared to maybe pre-treat with benadryl or just have your epipen, whatever it might be. these last warning labels are important, but i don't think there's any reason to believe it's not a safe and effective vaccine. >> and once the fda authorizes the pfizer vaccine, what's the next step? >> so this is happening real-time. as kaitlan was just saying, the authorization could come at any time now. there's a few other meetings. so once the fda authorizes this,

the vaccine is on the move, leaving kalamazoo, michigan, and planes and trains going all over the country. the cdc has an advisory committee as well, which if the fda authorizes something, the cdc then recommends it, again, for these various groups of people. and after that, anderson, i mean monday, tuesday, we could probably see people getting immunized in this country for the first time outside of a trial, which is -- you know, it is really remarkable. >> it is, yeah. >> i just have to say that again. i mean, you know, it's the best of times and the worst of times at the same time, right? the best of times with scientific progress, worst of times with the number of people who are still becoming infected. but this is a good moment for overall science. >> yeah. when you think, you know, people with hiv have been waiting for a vaccine for decades. >> 40 years. >> yeah. i mean it's extraordinary how quickly this happened. sanjay, thanks very much. appreciate it. again, another record high number of hospitalizations today. also so far, more than 2,500 deaths reported just today.

and of course there are still several hours left. it is a tough week for so many families. there is so much loss, and tonight sadly it now includes someone we met here on the program. keith sugden died tuesday in south dakota. he had been in the icu when our gary tuchman met him a few days before thanksgiving. the walmart greeter for more than 20 years was hoping to go back to the job that he loved. never got that chance. here's what he told gary last month. >> it's been a great life, and these -- these tears in my eyes are happy tears. they're not sad tears, to know that how many people really care. >> so many people care. he was a greeter at walmart for 20 years. keith was a widower. he had nearly 40 children,

grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great great-grandchildren. how incredible is that? he was 88 years old, and our hearts go out to his family and every family impacted by this pandemic. now more than ever, the world needs heroes. join me and kelly ripa for the 14th annual cnn heroes. it's this