cnn.com/fullcircle. watch it there and on the cnn app at any time on demand. let's hand it over to chris for "cuomo prime time." thank you, john. i am chris cuomo, and welcome to "prime time." you know, today is the winter solstice. days are only supposed to get brighter from here. that's a nice fact as metaphor, isn't it? but it is also the darkest day of the year, and that is a fact as well, and it is too true for too many and for too many reasons. there's a vote going on right now. that's what john and manu were just talking about. the relief bill will finally become a law, but it is barely a visible shaft of light in the pandemic darkness. in fact, it's more about who's getting the shaft than it is any kind of ray of light. this is an economic crisis in the middle of a pandemic. help should have come in days, not months.

$600 checks for struggling individuals. another $600 per child. $1,500 per couple making less than 150. so if you're a family of four and you make less than 150 grand together, you get $2,400. is that something? yeah, it's something. but after months? after months? it doesn't really mean as much as it would have. maybe would you have gotten two done in this time. everything is worse than it was the first time they gave us relief. why did it take so much longer in the richest country in the world? but here's the real indignation, and you should be indignant. in fact, i argue to you, my brothers and sisters, you must be indignant because you must be angered by what is unfair in all of this. if you want anything to change, you have to include that kind of

response. the indignation here is not just the delay but why it was delayed and what was bargained for. tax breaks forr ceos, the so-called three-martini lunch thing. reining in federal reserve's ability to boost an economy. protection for companies from lawsuits by sick workers. that was the reason for the delay. democrats were forced to give in on some of it. gop demands so big business can write off some hoity-toity lunch. that's the three-martini thing. that likely will cost more than 600 bucks a pop, those lunches. republicans used the three-martini lunch as leverage against tax credits for needy families. seriously? you don't get the lunch thing, you won't give us the tax

credits? well, you don't like the lunch, we don't like the tax credits. and you're okay with that? americans are starving and waiting in food lines all across the country, and that's what they balance against? martinis or families get less money? are you serious? liability protections for corporations. where are the lawsuits? oh, there are like 1,500. we don't know that there's any abuse. that's what held it up for months, and that is an untold part of this story, my christmas gift to you. you're going to hear nancy pelosi. man, she got given this bill. it was like $2 trillion, 1.8. it was never enough. that's why it got delayed. b.s. she never got a version of this bill. there were never any negotiations where that corporate liability wasn't in it until just now at the end. just now at the end. now, fair criticism, why didn't the democrats point this out more and better?

where was their indignation? i think that's a fair question. i mean they weren't the source of the problem, but they could have rang the bell a little bit louder, you know? republican senator toomey, him doing this, well, i really got to have the federal reserve be able to rein in the lending powers, you know? why? why now? why now? what the hell does that have to do with the pandemic? now, why am i saying this? where's the -- where's crenshaw? the house? rubio and cruz, all these other trump wannabes and, you know, patriots? why? why didn't they speak up about these things? how could any of that stuff hold up in a crisis? how could these men and women say nothing? you must be indignant. never forget these people. never reward them for what they did and didn't do during this time because this is crazy. it's like saying in the middle

of a war, we've got to meet and authorize this. wouldn't that be nice by the way? how many conflicts -- how many of our men and women go to die? we don't even have congress to vote on it, the cowards. but let's say they did. and in the middle of that negotiation, one side stands up and says, all right. we got it all done, but we got to get a tax deduction for bentleys. why? we're going to war. yeah, i know. but i need it. that's what's happening right now in the middle of an emergency. the country is burning down. why aren't they in a rush to put out the fire? why did this take months? i'm telling you i'm putting it on you. i know it's them. i know it's them. they're not going to change without you. i know you get that. you have to expect better. i know why you don't, okay? you don't expect better because you've watched it get worse and worse, and it hurts. it hurts to be disappointed, to

feel disenfranchised, to be made the fool by these people. you decide to just not pay attention to them and their power plays. i get it. but what's happened? the lower we let the bar get, the worse it has gotten. be indignant. echo our calls for accountability. when someone gets called out for doing something wrong, be all over them. you're dying for a reason to be loud and proud on social media. use that. and in social settings as well, okay? instead of fighting over stupid things with people, find these areas of agreement and outrage about what took so long and why it wasn't done the way it should have been done. find where you agree and magnify it. they're listening. the politicians just saw how many of you will vote. amazing demonstration of democracy in action. now make them feel that pressure on an ongoing basis. i'm telling you they're paying attention. look, what did you just see in mcconnell?

why did all of a sudden he decide we had to have relief happen after months? why? because you showed him that you vote your conscience, and now he's worried about georgia's special elections. we know it. he said it on a phone call. he said, we've got to get relief done. it's hurting us in georgia. let him know. and all the while, don't forget why you have good right to be angry. you know what trump's doing right now? nothing. nothing to do with the relief except he said, gee, i wish the checks were bigger so when i send it, they see 2,000 on it. that's what motivates him? all he's trying to do in that house right now is attack our democracy with his kooky counsel and retrumplicans in congress like mo brooks, strategizing with trump and pence to still try to overturn biden's win. if you're wondering what took so long to get this relief bill, look at the retrumplicans. they're spending their time trying to take down the republic, not save it. another example, bill barr.

now he's like the poster boy for the rule of law against the backdrop of lunacy. listen to this. >> i see no basis now for seizing machines by the federal government, you know, wholesale seizure of machines. we had looked at suggestions or allegations of systemic or broad-based fraud that would affect the outcome of the election, and i already spoke to that, and i stand by that statement. if i thought a special counsel at this stage was the right toll and it was appropriate, i would do -- i would name one. but i haven't, and i'm not going to. from the information i have, you know, i agree with secretary pompeo's assessment. it certainly appears to be the russians. >> now, remember, this is bill no holds barr. i called him that because it seemed there was nothing he wouldn't do for trump. now what happens just so you understand the state of play and why it really comes down to you.

these fringe people on the left and right, these diehard partisans, they're not getting us out of this. they're all about this. they love this, okay? as soon as barr parted from the perfidy, he's now seen as ill legit by the retrumplicans. he's called a rino, the acronym "republican in name only." that's how sick we've gotten. ain't no vaccine for this. the only cure is what you tolerate and show by your indignation, your social media, how you talk to one another, what you care about. that's all that's going to get us out of this. they won't. now, where do we go from here, after all these big events? let's bring in the better minds. david gregory, michael smerconish. good to have you both. first, david, this idea of mark meadows saying, stay tuned. got something for you on january 6. you believe that? >> i think this is a smaller

issue than it may appear to be. i mean, you hear mitch mcconnell dissuading other republicans in getting involved in some effort to bollix up things on january 6th. biden is our next president. this is over. this is about a small number of republicans wanting to stay in tune and in check with trump because of his post-presidency plans either to run again or to somehow try to have some chokehold over a portion of the republican party. i don't think it's bigger than that. i think -- you mentioned social media. it allows people kind of a corner of the universe to yell and scream. i don't think it's bigger than that at this point. there are enough people who will partake, who may try to make this debate longer on january 6th. i just don't feel it's a bigger movement than that right now. >> michael, weigh in on that, but then extend to what you see as the state of play in general. >> so first with regard to the three-martini lunch, you would

enjoy my company after one. but by the third, things are getting ugly. >> i'm asleep after two. >> i'm wondering why is bill barr leaving wednesday? nobody leaves a gig, a gig like that, with a month left on the clock. you finish out the term. i'm telling you, chris, i think it's because he believes things are going to get even uglier as we get closer to january 6. and i'm sitting here tonight, and i'm remembering august 7, 1974. it was senators goldwater, rhodes, and scott who went to see president nixon and told him, you don't have the votes. you're out of here. they didn't convince him. they just pointed out the scorecard. who are those in the senate who would make that trip down pennsylvania avenue, and would they be listened to if they were to break that news? >> on our clock, by the way, just so you know, the house just

passed the relief bill. so now it's going on to the senate. what do you see in this, david, that is a suggestion of where we're going to be in the next administration? >> two things. let's remember, you know, part of the cynicism of how people feel about washington, the figure $900 billion, you know, normal people don't sit down and come up with a figure like $900 billion. you have to realize it's because politicians are scared of anything with starts with a "t," with a trillion. they think we can get $900 billion through. that's indicative to me of what the future looks like. is this too late for the need that's out there? just one data point, you got one in three businesses in connecticut, small businesses that are out of business because of covid. there's so much need that continues to be out there. restaurants, small businesses that are shutting down. people that we're not even seeing who are in dire straits. i think an incoming biden

administration wants to do more work, but there's a lot of political capital that gets used when government spends this much money. forget all the debates about, you know, three-martini lunches and all the thing that had to go into this pot in order for it to be passed. is there more relief that can be in the first quarter of next year? that's a question to me because biden's going to have to fight for it. he's going to have to use a lot of political capital to get it done. >> michael, you didn't answer what -- you say so barr is going to leave because maybe he thinks it's going to get worse. are you suggesting the january 6 thing? what do you think about that? >> i'm thinking that the talk that i'm hearing out there, this martial law talk if it really took place, is 25th amendment kind of stuff. >> never happen. >> you have the army secretary -- well, i'm just -- it will never happen, but i'm alarmed by it. i remember two months ago when i would take radio calls from people who would say, you know, i think he doesn't leave if he

loses. and i would scoff at that. this is really, really delusional at this stage. and as you know, it just takes one on the senate side to all of a sudden make them deliberate. you know who i'd like to hear from? i'd like to hear from vice president mike pence. what is he saying? what role does he perceive for himself on that day? again, it will never happen that donald trump will extend his stay. but things might get ugly, and i worry about the people who are out there and not playing with a full deck who are watching some of this thing, and they're reading tea leaves and may act accordingly. that scares me. >> you know, what i see in all this is it may happen. trump may try to do some martial law thing. he may try to do a couple of different things. we needed the test. i really believe weak people make hard times, and we have gotten soft and weak. i don't mean on the individual basis. all three of us know. you all travel. you're all storytellers. you meet people in all walks of life. people are desperate and

grinding every day to get anywhere near where their dreams they thought would take them. that's not what i'm talking about. i'm saying collectively as what we believe in about our institutions and our system. we've let them get weak. and now it's time for a test, and trump's going to test them. i do not think this is over. we'll see where it takes us, and i will need my better minds. david gregory, i love you, brother. michael smerconish, you are -- and not just because you got the best head in the business. i want you to know that. i say it all the time. it is the best head. but i love having it on my show. thank you very much, guys. if i don't speak to you, the best to your families for christmas. thank you. >> merry christmas. >> appreciate you. all right. so we're in the senate now. are they going to vote through this deal? they should. they should. i do not see that as a pat on their back. this is months too late. now, one of the players on the left says it's unconscionable what the right has prioritized in a time of crisis. you know what? they should have complained more, or not. what was the right thing to do?

how did we get here? the ranking member of the senate finance committee joins us ahead of the big vote. the senator saw it happen. what does he think about what this says where we are? next. introducing...stocks by the slice from fidelity now you can trade stocks and etfs... for any amount you choose... instead of buying by the share. and fidelity allows you to trade fractional shares of stocks and etf's for as little as one dollar. that's more choice and more flexibility than you'll find at schwab all with no commissions, no account fees and no minimums. stocks by the slice from fidelity. get your slice today.

we are approaching 60 million americans starving, and our congress watched it and waited. an eviction notice more likely

than presents for too many this christmas, and congress watched and waited. businesses, jobs disappearing faster than we've seen in decades. so what is our question now? the relief is getting through. they're going to get some help. but was this anything like a legitimate process, and what does it mean about all the need that there is to come? we are joined by special guest democratic senator ron wyden of oregon. good to see you, sir. best to your family for the holy days. >> thank you, chris. >> so is it true that the delays on the right were as now reported? the fed reserve, got to stop them from being able to juice the economy. corporate liability, got to be careful about these lawsuits from workers who may be sick. and got to get this lunch. that's how you help restaurants. got to give the three -- you know, the big lunch deduction.

that's how to get the restaurants back. were those really sticking points? >> chris, clearly what was going on was extraordinary foot-dragging. you know, i wrote the bipartisan bill initially, the extra $600 per week for the unemployed and the gig workers and the like, and mitch mcconnell just dragged his feet. then he asked for this liability handout, and we just got the numbers in a little bit ago. and these wealthy ceos are going to get more than $6 billion in tax write-offs for their steaks and their martinis, and they basically said that's the price of admission in order to give folks who are really hurting the assistance that they would need in order to make rent and buy groceries. >> now, two things. one, was it really a quid pro quo, that if we don't get this thing, you're not getting the money, the tax credits for the

kids? and secondly, what is their argument for how that helps restaurants? >> well, first of all, it's not helping the people that we ought to help, and that is the folks in the neighborhoods, the small restaurants, the folks that you grew up around. we had a piece of legislation for them. it was called the restaurants act to give them a little bit of money to tide them over. we can pass bipartisan legislation. i did it with that initial legislation on unemployment. that's not what mitch mcconnell was interested in. mitch mcconnell was playing hardball. his supporters wanted those breaks. his wealthy contributors. and he basically said the price of admission for this is giving those breaks to them and then maybe he'll give just maybe a little bit of money so that the vulnerable can try to scrape by. >> is this -- is it true that mcconnell was doing trump's bidding on this? that he got a lobbying call from

wolfgang puck and that puck wasn't even asking for the tax deduction. he was asking for business interruption coverage, which is an insurance issue, but that trump connected that, you know what? hotels, golf courses like mine, that's a good way to give to these corporate execs and it's technically a restaurant thing. is that how this happened? >> donald trump has talked off and on about this extra break as if this was going to be a panacea for the economy. even conservative economists don't share that view. but what happened here is this was parachuted in at really the last minute. i'm the ranking democrat on the finance committee. we heard about it at the last minute, and mcconnell basically said, this is our demand for democrats to get some help for folks, for example, who need the earned income tax credit, which by the way, had a lot of republican support over the years, and rewards work. >> you know, i want to know your

experience when you're in committee. i know you got to work with these people. but when you're talking pandemic, crisis, hunger, long lines, depression, this is the worst, generational illness, and they're saying, yeah, we got to keep the number down, though. let's avoid the trillion price tag. that's tough to justify. how is this able to be treated as just some other budget negotiation? >> well, it shouldn't be because this was really -- particularly i think about those first few months when we got a bipartisan bill. if we hadn't had that money, $250 billion for people to make rent and buy groceries and pay for their kids' medicine and car insurance, a lot of people have said it would have been much worse. so these kinds of approaches, they're enormously important for our country. that money, chris, is spent locally. unemployed folks don't take this money and go out and buy a bunch of fancy imported goods.

they spend it local on groceries and the stores. that's why it's so important you don't treat it like just another budget number. >> you want to know what i want from you for christmas, seeing how you asked? >> yeah. >> he didn't ask. here's what i want. i want -- >> you want to play basketball. >> no. you'll beat me. i want snitches for christmas. i want you to know that you have this show as a platform because we're going to need more work from you guys. we're going to need more help for people. there's going to be pain after the holidays. there's going to be pain into the spring. there's going to be need for more relief. and we need snitches. we need people who are willing to say, hey, toomey is asking for this crazy thing, or this one, or even if it's a lefty. you know, this person's asking for this crazy thing. we can't get it done. i need snitches for christmas because it's the only way we'll get something to change. and senator ron wyden, you've always been a fair broker in my experience. i wish you the best. you're always welcome here. help us create better

expectations out of congress. i got to jump, but you're always welcome. >> chris, you got it. i've got dna. i've got whistle-blower dna. we'll do it. >> thank you, sir. be well. two vaccines now in play. good. good. but i've been saying this, and we've got to get our hands around it. this is a gift getting these done. operation warp speed, great idea, trump and co. the scientists who worked on it, what a body of all-stars. i hope you're up for huge prices. but are we going to waste it? i think we may waste it because we're not getting it together on the vaccines front. i know the general from -- general perna just jumped on the grenade and said, it's my fault. it's not his fault. now there's a mutation of the virus in britain. what does that mean? you know it's going to come here. does the vaccine work against it? does it change what we have to do, and who is in charge? answers from the top medical minds, next.

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it's moving day. and are doing the heavy lifting, jess is busy moving her xfinity internet and tv services. it only takes about a minute. wait, a minute? but what have you been doing for the last two hours? delegating? oh, good one. move your xfinity services without breaking a sweat. now that's simple, easy, awesome. xfinity makes moving easy. go online to transfer your services in about a minute. get started today. some of you aren't paying attention to the vaccination effort. you're just like, well, it's here t. will be fine.

you're making a mistake. we're going to cover it every night because the logistics, getting it out and distributing it is everything. now there's a wrinkle. there's a new variant of the coronavirus spreading quickly in the uk. it's not speculation. it's fact. 60% of the new cases there are this variant. spreads up to 70% faster. that's what they know about it, okay? not that it makes you more sick, not that it doesn't -- but it's spreading faster. why? we don't know yet. but it underscores how the virus refuses to wait as we figure out what we're doing. that's why i always say the virus is the truth. if you lie about what you're doing, the virus is the truth. it always does what it does. we know viruses mutate, okay? this is not something unheard of. this was always a race against time as a result. and we've shown you every night on the show the vaccination effort has stunk from day one. and we were worried that it would because they've never done anything like this, and there's no leadership at the top.

congress finally appears willing to cough up the money they need, okay? $8 billion to distribute the vaccine. they're going to need more than that over time, but they needed it to get it going. not a single elected official that we've had on this show can answer who makes the call about how many doses go where. can you imagine that? we actually got an apology this weekend, but we didn't get answers. >> i am responsible, and i take responsibility for the miscommunication. >> now, look, we're asking for the general to come on. it's not happening. okay. that's the reality in trump world. people don't want to come on and discuss what they're doing. but perna is logistics. he is the middle man. he's carrying out the mission. he's not making the calls. i think he's being too good the soldier on that, saying it's me. i don't think it stops with him. the numbers that he promised states were based off how many doses pfizer makes rather than

how many make it through the fda quality control process. so we got a couple of questions. why didn't the general in charge of distribution know about this fundamental step in the process? and also, you know, by the way, it's written into the fda's emergency use authorization. the step is in there, so how did you not know? and why are 20% to 40% of the dose as lotted to some states getting hung up in quality control? what about the batches that do get through? who's keeping track of where the stuff is going? who's letting us know, especially now that you have the moderna vaccine going directly to providers like cvs. that's going to be even harder to track. the cdc launched its own vaccine tracker, vax track. but it's more about the appearance of transparency. this isn't cynicism. it's the best skepticism, but i think it's true. here's why.

the site has a total of two numbers and no context. distributed doses and administered doses. so what they got sent and how many they gave to people. but it doesn't say where they went. it doesn't say when more are coming. there's no breakdown which is pfizer, which is moderna. there's no breakdown on what category are these people in and why? which communities? you know what i'm saying? it doesn't tell us to whom they were administered. health care workers? nursing home patients? members of the senate? you know what i'm saying? why not? transparency is truth. it always is. nobody hides numbers they're proud of. and that's why now we're getting stuck in a box where we're going to have to rely on states. and why would they be more honest if things don't go well? governor after governor, they're showing their photo ops. they're showing themselves, you know, a nation of small arms getting needles. but they're not telling us the

whole story. even private groups like johns hopkins are only getting data from less than half the states. i've never been more sure about anything that i've talked to you about. this is going to be a problem. the case surge is going to get worse. people are going to wise up. they're going to want this vaccine because it's the only escape from this monotony of wondering when you're going to get it. when is your community going to shut down. when is your school going to get shut down? this is the only out. the demand is going to be there, and the distribution will be everything. we officially topped 18 million cases this evening as hospitalizations again climb to a new high, above 115,000. so let's talk about what these problems are and how are they fixable and make sure i'm right on the science about how we have to worry about this new uk variant because you know it's going to come here. look at all the people flying to the uk right now for the holidays. why would you fly to a place that has a new strain of the virus?

joining us now, michael osterholm and andy slavitt. thank you to you both. let me talk science first, okay? andy, am i right about the variant, that it's spreading faster but not making people sicker, and it will probably come here? am i missing something or no? >> that's what we know so far, and you said it exactly right. we have these mutations occur. the good news is if the body can create an immune response, dr. fauci tells me, then you can create a vaccine. so to this point, what we know is this is spreading more rapidly, so we think. but the clinical manifestations are exactly the same. but here's what's misleading. would you rather have the old virus or this virus inside a nursing home? something that spreads more rapidly can be more deadly just simply by spreading more rapidly. and michael will tell you the science behind that. >> no, i don't want to know the science. i'll tell you why.

it doesn't matter. if it's spreading faster, you want it less. we get that. by the way, michael, congratulations being brought into public service even more so on this, the director of the university of minnesota a center for infectious disease research and policy. i loved having you on the show, and i remember after having you on the show, put him on the list, this is one guy who knows what he's talking about. i'm glad you're going to be helping the rest of the country. the science doesn't matter. here's what we do understand. this logistics thing seems like it's shaping up to be a nightmare. i don't think perna is making the calls on who gets how much of what. he may have missed the fda step, but do you believe that general perna is the end of the accountability chain about who's making the decisions about our distribution of vaccine? >> well, i don't know that. i can't comment on who's actually making the decisions. what i can comment on is i do have tremendous confidence in the state and local health departments once they get the resources they need to distribute these vaccines, and it will get distributed

appropriately. i think you're going to see some real change in the next several weeks in the way in which the vaccine is distributed, how much information is publicly available. and as you said, it has to be 100% transparent. we need to know that, and i think that's going to happen. >> what if they don't have the money? minnesota, you guys are hard hit there, and they cheaped you on this relief bill in terms of giving you the money for the distribution. >> well, what i understand right now, in the bill, there actually is money for distribution to state and local health departments. we'll see what's finally signed and sealed. but at this point what we had at least a day ago was resources for distribution. >> absolutely. i'm just saying it's not enough. and i'm not saying because it's never enough. i mean like it's really not enough. andy, no one i've talked to on biden's team or around operation warp speed -- and i'm telling you, i'm deep on people around operation warp speed. nobody knows who's making the

call of how much vaccine actually gets delivered to places. what does that tell you? >> look, i wish i could tell you that this administration had earned the benefit of the doubt over time and that we'd say, oh, there's someone that must be doing it. unfortunately over time, what we've learned with this administration is they play it close to the vest until they get discovered having made a mistake. then we tend to hear one explanation, and the first thing we heard from alex azar, the secretary of health and human services, was that it was pfizer's fault. then of course we hear a different explanation. and as you guys do your jobs, you can't keep these secrets for very long. so this is probably disorganization and early chaos. this is probably not anything more evil than that. you know, these things happen. and i'd love to say that this is a competent administration that's dropped the ball on this one little thing, but i can't say that. imagine if apple shipped 20% to 40% fewer iphone than were

ordered. that would be not good. >> i'm with you. but at least you know they were coming from apple, and somebody at the top of the distribution chain. michael, the concern becomes you guys are going to take this over. and if it's stcrewed up in the beginning, it's not easy to fix because you're going to have such big numbers and such need and blame and scrutiny and people sick. are you worried about what you inherit? >> well, being on the advisory board, i don't have anything to do directly with that. but there are transition team members who are working closely with the current administration, who are actually looking at detailed plans so that the biden/harris administration hits the ground running on january 20th. that part i feel very confident in. and i have a tremendous confidence overall in what will happen after january 20th. >> i'm with you, and i wish i could say, you know what? michael's right. the guys who are actually in there on the nut and bolt level, those men and women, they know. i talked to rick bright the other day, a guy who lives up to his surname.

he doesn't know either. i'm telling you, there's something very worrisome about this process, and it's going to be the most important process in this country for the next eight months. michael osterholm, thank you very much. good luck advising these men and women. they're going to need it. andy slavitt, i'm going to lean on you like a sherpa going forward. so hopefully we can get through this together. be well. >> thank you. >> best for the holidays, gentlemen. all right. more pandemic relief is going to be needed. tonight's bill is not enough, okay? and this isn't some typical, oh, it's never enough. all we do is -- this is your money, all right? these are tax dollars. now, how quickly, how well do things get done the next time? georgia is going to be a big decider in that. you saw what the republicans will do with this. they have been programmed to not care about this pandemic the way they should. that came from the top. now, where does the state of play stand in georgia? i've got the latest numbers with the wizard of odds, next.

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georgia matters. the two senate runoffs. if the democrats win, they control both houses. is this a good time for balance in government? that's a question that georgia's going to answer for us, okay? now, there is a turnout story developing down there that we did not expect. for context, wizard of odds harry enten. we are supposed to see a depressed turnout number in a special election because all the hype went out with the real election. but what did we just find out here? >> yeah. i mean this, to me, is the biggest development that we've seen. look at this. so far ballots cast as of this morning, 15 days before the election, 1.5 million so far. compare that to the november election, you know, back a few months ago at this exact same

point. 1.5 million. no drop-off, chris. no drop-off. this is very unusual. go back to the last time that there was a special senate election back in 2008 when it was a presidential year. look at that drop-off between the general election where nearly 4 million votes were cast and the runoff election total, 2 million. about half as many votes cast. we are not seeing that right now, and that's a variable that i honestly did not expect to see what we're seeing at this point. >> do we think it's going to die through the holidays? did 2008 go through the holidays also? you know what i mean? do we know this is as good as it will get in. >> that's a big question i'm not sure we do know the answer to. the runoff that occurred back in 2008, that occurred in december. this one, of course, is occurring in january. that is a big question mark. i'm not sure of the answer to that. that's one of the beautiful things. sometimes even the wizard of odds doesn't know the answer. that's why we have to stay tuned. you know, in terms of who this might help out, i think that's the ultimate question. i think this gives you a really

good indication. african-american turnout in this so far runoff election, ballots cast 15 days before the election. african-americans are making up 32% of the electorate. at this exact point in the november election, it was just 31%. i thought there was going to be a considerably larger drop-off, and part of the reason i thought that is if you go back historically, go back to that 2008 example, what you saw in that particular year was in the runoff, the black percentage of the runoff electorate was just 28% versus that round one 30%. this is good news for democrats. this idea that black voters wouldn't necessarily turn out for a run offoff is not coming . we still have 15 days to go. >> it will be interesting for guys like us to see if trump people stayed home because they were angry georgia didn't do enough to try to steal the election for trump. but this is a big surprise. we didn't expect to see it. harry enten, thank you very

much, brother. appreciate it. >> my pleasure, sir. all right. we have an extraordinary amer ameri-c ameri-can, a first responder who answered the call in the middle of a flight when another passenger showed what may have been the terrible sudden impact of covid. the story is sad, okay? but we have to know this, mott just to see the courage of the best of us, but what we have to accept for the rest of us. next. so you only pay for what you need? really? i didn't-- aah! ok. i'm on vibrate. aaah! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

week, became this. what is that? that is somebody, feverishly, doing chest compressions on another passenger's body because the passenger suffered cardiac

arrest, about 20 minutes after liftoff. at the time, it was suspected he had covid. why? because people heard him coughing. he was having trouble breathing. but, that didn't stop the three health care workers onboard from jumping in. for nearly an hour, they took turns performing cpr, even as the plane landed. unfortunately, the man died. but one of those responders is here, and his name is tony aldapa. and, let me tell you, it is an honor to have you on our air. >> thank you. it's definitely an honor to -- to be here with ya. >> i'm sorry he didn't live. but your job is to try. and you were on the plane, and you hear, pretty early on, i think this guy has covid. doesn't stop you. why? >> i mean, that's -- that's the world we live in, right now. you know, i work in a -- in an

emergency room in los angeles. and, you know, it's unfortunate. but right now, we have to treat everybody as if they do have covid, until we know, for sure, that they -- that they don't. you know, my whole mindset, that whole time, was that -- that this -- this individual needed -- needed cpr. and, you know, regardless of anything else that he could have had, cpr was the primary thing that he needed, at that moment in time. >> but, if he had covid, he shouldn't have been flying. and you might get it. and there are other people there who could've done it. you didn't have to do it. you did it, anyway. why? >> that's -- you know, for me, i spent eight years in the -- in the navy. you know, i've worked with the fire department. i worked as an emt. i had great training from strategic operations down in san diego. so, for me, everything just fell -- fell back on training. that's what i've -- what i've done for, you know, over -- over -- over a decade, now.

and it's kind of become second nature. when you -- you see something, you got to do something. that's -- that's -- that's what happened, that night. i saw something, and i -- i like how you did mention that there were -- there were two other individuals doing cpr. you know, it seems like i've gotten a lot of the spotlight. i wish i knew who they were, so i can reach out to them, too. but, it was -- it was a team effort. it wasn't all me. there were two other people doing cpr. there were -- there were people handling all of the medical equipment around us. i mean, the flight crew was amazing. like i said, it was -- it was a team effort. it's, you know, it's -- it's unfortunate i'm the only one that's, you know, getting, like i said, getting spotlight. but there were a lot of other people that deserve a lot of thanks for this, too. >> and then, you get home and this is your job. this is what you do. california's blowing up with cases. it's going to get worse, after the holidays, because people are going to move around and they're not masking up enough. they're not doing what they're supposed to do, and it's going

to be bad. are you still going to go in there and do the job? or have you had enough? >> this is the job i signed up for. you know, it's something, like i said, i've trained for over a decade. you know, this is my life. i love -- i love helping people, in any capacity. in the military, fire department, medical field. you know, i love what i do. i am surrounded by a great team of doctors and nurses at the -- at the va hospital. so, you know, as the -- the first day they say i can be back at work, you know, i'll -- i'll be there. i wouldn't say bright and early because i work the night shift. but i'll definitely be there, and i will be doing the job to the best of my abilities. >> have you had it? are you afraid of getting it? >> i haven't had it. you know, fortunately, i've tested negative. i know, i have been experiencing some symptoms. a lot of the nurses that i do work with at the va, they have unfortunately, you know, caught it at one point in time during the pandemic.

i think we're all kind of in the mindset, if it happens, it happens. we have a job. our job is to take care of the people that need to be taken care of. >> you're feeling symptoms now, since you got off the plane? >> correct. you know, the -- the first couple days afterwards, you know, i was real tired. i was exhausted. my body was hurting. but i attributed that to doing cpr for almost an hour. but, as the days went by, i started developing a cough. had a headache. kind of still dealing with a little bit of that right now. fortunately, if the symptoms i have are from covid, you know, i've gotten lucky. they've been -- they've been very mild. haven't had a fever. i still -- i still have all my senses. so, you know, like i said, yeah, i've been fortunate, if this is, you know, covid related, i ever tested negative twice now. i plan on getting tested again, tomorrow. and then, i'm going to -- i'm going to go from there. and like i said, as soon as i get back to work, i'll be at

work. >> when can you get the vaccine? >> the vaccine. it's at the va hospital right now. i know a lot of the staff is -- is getting vaccinated. i was scheduled to actually receive the vaccine, last week. but, since i was showing signs of an illness, it was advised that i don't get the vaccine, at that time. so, as soon as i'm cleared, i will. >> that's an important, public-service announcement, also. a lot of people think that you get the vaccine and it cures you. so that, you know, and it doesn't do that, obviously, and now you are proof of that. if you have any symptoms, they actually don't want you to get it. i just want you to know something. it's not unusual that you don't recognize what you mean to the rest of us. and that's cool, tony. it's cool that you just see yourself as doing the job. but, you really aren't. >> thank you. >> you are keeping hope alive for people in this country, that there's still good people. >> appreciate that. >> don't appreciate it. i appreciate it. you live it.

you have given your service to this country. you are doing it now. it might've made you sick. you just keep going because it's the right thing, and god bless you for that. thank you for letting us know that there is virtue, that there are good people in this world. thank you for reminding us. the best for christmas. you are a present that i couldn't even dreamed of having. thank you for being a gift to the rest of us. god bless you and the family. >> thank you, sir. you as well. merry christmas. >> i took don's time. let's get to him right now but i don't care because that was worth it. don lemon is not here. you have what we call the upgrade, laura coates, on "cnn tonight." right now. good to see you. big shot. serio sirius radio show. and now, here you are. that guy doesn't even think twice about what he did, and it may have made him sick. he'd do it again. he is going to work. >> i mean, chris, the idea -- i mean, heroes go on auto pilot. the rest o