darkness along the sacred pool of reflection and remember all whom we lost. >> all people who a year ago would have never thought this could happen to them. and now, we are just hours away from swearing in a new president and in so many ways, hoping for a new beginning. good evening. it is rare in this day in age to see something and you are witnessing history, history that will be remembered and studied and talked about for generations. tonight we're on the cusp of watching history, the eve of an inauguration unlike any we've seen in a lifetime. look at the national mall tonight and it hard not to be moved. the out going president began his term lying and bragging how many people came to his inauguration. the incoming president begins

power but acre knowledging the absence of people. 200,000 flags are a sellcelebra crowd, half the numbers of lives lost to the pandemic. more than 400,000 lives in all. 400,000 of those americans died -- excuse me, 100,000 of those americans died in the past five weeks. the flags stand right now in silent witness to the darkness of this long and bitter night, but they will still be standing tomorrow at the dawn of something new. president elect biden's first stop in washington this evening was not far away at the lincoln memorial for ceremony honoring all those we have lost to covid. mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters, friends and grandparents dead. 400,000 and counting. the incoming president finally doing what any other president would but the out going president never has, which is to simply acre nolenormity.

the president elect knows grief and ignoring the magnitude of the loss just made it all the more painful. each light at the reflecting pool representing 1,000 of our friends and neighbors, children and parents. people who were part of our lives and this country's beating heart who are now gone. 400 lights, 400,000 lives, 100,000 in the last five weeks. in cities across the country now, new york and philadelphia, you see there as well as atlanta, charleston, south carolina, chicago, seattle, los angeles, buildings are lit up, as well. the out going president never wanted to call attention for fear it would make him look bad. the incoming president having no problem assuming the same role many other presidents had whether ronald reagan after the challenger or barack obama after sandy hook. >> to heal we must remember it's

hard sometimes to remember, but that's how we heal. it's important to do that as a nation. that's why we're here today. between sun down and dusk, let us shine the lights in the darkness along the sacred pool of reflection and remember all whom we lost. >> the president elect tonight in a role that only seems extraordinary by comparison out last four years. nowhere was this clear today than the president elect's farewell to delaware at a national guard center named after his late son beau. >> my colleagues in the senate used to always kid me for quoting irish poets. they thought i did it because i'm irish. i didn't do it for that reason. i did it because they're the best poets in the world. and james joyce was said to have

told a friend that when it comes his time to pass, when he dies, he said dublin, dublin written on my heart. well, excuse the emotion. but when i die, delaware written on my heart. >> the out going president in the meantime put out a farewell video of sorts. he did not mention mr. biden by name or congratulate him or acre nuntil -- acknowledge today's covid milestone or the insure recollection that earned him the second impeachment and leaves the country as divided than since the civil war. he'll stikip the inauguration wh 25,000 troops online and some may harbor insurrection believes themselves. that's where we are now on this achingly beautiful night that is still one of the most inspiring places on earth at a very dark

moment for the country, very rough times ahead for the new administration and as you might imagine a busy hour to come. we begin with arlet signs on the national mall. arlet, this is obviously going to be an unprecedented inauguration for a lot of reasons. where are the president elect and vice president elect tonight and how are they preparing? >> reporter: anderson, president elect biden is spending the evening with his family at blare house, which is located just across the street from the white house and they're spending time there after having that memorial here on the national mall to commemorate those 400,000 lives that have been lost to covid-19, and the first time that we will see president elect biden tomorrow will likely be when he heads to mass at st. matthews cathedral a catholic church down in downtown washington and it will be a moment of unity the president elect has invited all of the congressional leaders both democrat and republican to attend that church service with him. vice president elect kamala

harris will also be there for that moment that will also have personal significance for biden as he will be the second catholic to become president just a few hours later. but having those congressional leaders with him there at this moment just signals his desire to bring unity to washington d.c. and then he will make his way up to the capitol where he will be taking the oath of office outside on the steps of the west front of the capitol. the president elect has been adamant that this inauguration take place outside even amid security concerns and even the big moment from the inauguration will be that inaugural address focussing on a theme of upnity. biden from the beginning of the presidential campaign painted himself as a unique figure that could unite the country and that will come through in remarks tomorrow as he becomes the 46th president of the quunited state

>> i understand the bidens weren't sure the trump administration would invite them to stay at blare house which is tradition, what happened? >> reporter: the biden family originally played on staying at a hotel here in the washington d.c. area but last week they did receive the invitation to stay at blare house on the final night before the inauguration. that is an invitation that has to come from the out going administration and history has had it in the past that most presidents have stayed at blare house before their innotaugurat. that came delayed but it unclear why but they are staying there in that historic home this everyone. >> and as of noon tomorrow, president biden will be able to take executive action on a number of issues. do we know what some of those initial moves will be? >> reporter: well, the president elect is making it clear he wants to get to work right away. his team has readied a dozen executive actions for him to sign on the very first day.

some of these executive orders will focus on undoing policies of the trumped a ed administra including resending the ban from muslim majority countries as well as rejoining the paris climate accord. that was something that was negotiated during the obama biden administration. there are also other items related to the pandemic. biden will be signing executive action that would mandate masks in federal buildings but the president elect is aware he cannot do everything through executive action and there is much he wants to accomplish through congress and that includes that covid-19 $1.9 trillion stimulus package. one thing he'll be battles is he'll be pushing items through while the looming senate impeachment trial is taking place. his advisors say it's imperative

that trial goes on track with legislative business. >> appreciate it. more on the security picture, to the extent or some people threatening the president elect could be among the national guard and the light of the insurrection itself come from court documents unsealed in the first significant conspiracy case of what could be more. federal prosecutors alleging three members of the oath keepers and ex ttremist militan group and quoting papers hoping to make citizens arrest. not the only troubling development. for the latest, let's go to shamone. how confident are officials they have a full grasp of the plots connected to the insurrection? >> reporter: i think, anderson, what we're seeing from court documents that are becoming public as the arrests are being made that authorities probably

have a really good idea about who some of these groups are and who is part of these groups. because remember, a lot of them were filming this as they were doing this, they were posting it on parlor and facebook and social media so authorities are going through the media and have gotten over 200,000 tips at this point and also, quite prafrankl it's stupidity of these people. they're not wearing masks and identifying themselves and a key thing we learned today in terms of the oath keepers, they were wearing patches on their power military gear identifying what group they belong to. so that certainly has helped authorities identify them. so that's why i think it's fairly good to say they have some idea about whom many of these people are. also concerning of course here is that the chatter about qanon urging followers to put on

national guard uniforms. "the washington post" saying that was something intelligence officials were concerned about. there are layers and layers of security here so to think that someone could possibly get away with that would be probably difficult but of course, authorities are concerned about and of course, the insider threat, anderson. that is something that authorities here are concerned about. 12 national guard troops who are expected to be part of this deployment, they werewere pullef of it. authorities wouldn't tell us exactly why that is. not all of them had extremism views but out of an abundance of caution, they did remove then from the deployment. >> tomorrow, what should people expect to see is dig anthey mov around, it won't look like anything else. >> reporter: it won't look like any other event. behind me is a check point tomorrow will be operational. we're actually not far from

blare house where joe biden is staying where joe biden is staying. this entire area is fenced off. because of the pandemic people are told not to come to the inauguration. i think city officials expect some people to come and see whatever it is they can. in light of that with all this fencing, all the security around us, it's certainly going to be much harder for people to move around the district, anderson. >> appreciate it. our next guest played his part in the peaceful transition from one administration to the next, no one could imagine the country could be more divided than it was. hard to believe that was 20 years ago. not hard to believe al gore would do the right thing conceding a close, hard fought loss to george w. bush which is why his perspective is important tonight. thanks for being with us. appreciate it.

>> thank you for invieting me. >> could you ever imagine in this country there would need to be 25,000 national guard troops guarding the capitol on inauguration day to protect the new president not from a foreign terror threat but violent insurrectionists lead, encouraged and lied to by the out going president? >> well, it's necessary under these extraordinary circumstances, anderson, but i have to tell you that those images pail in comparison for me to the very deeply emotional images from the reflecting pool with all of those flags and the lights and the -- i feel the emotions swelling up in me as i'm describing it. all of the 400,000 americans that we've lost and joe biden has a healing heart. he's been through so much, and i'm just deeply moved that he

and kamala harris would start this with a round of display and how wonderful they invieted the bipartisan to attend a worship service with them tomorrow before the inauguration. >> i think it's important what you point out and i mentioned at the top of the broadcast but struck me tonight what a contrast we're seeing between the current president and the new president, the fact that the president elect and the vice president elect went to the lincoln memorial tonight honoring the more than 400,000 americans that died from covid. it is in such stark contrast to what we have grown used to, the ignoring the dead. this is a president who, as you said, understands loss, who speaks the language of loss and to start out his ascending to power by recognizing those who are no longer with us, it's an incredibly powerful thing. >> incredibly powerful and it is

a clear indication that not very many hours from now at noon eastern time tomorrow, he will be the leader of a country that is hurting and is in need of healing. he takes power and he will be taking power at a time when we have to mobilize to get this pandemic under control and address the racial injustices and economic hardship that's been so severe and address the climate crisis and the other problems that have been ignored for these last four years. >> the incoming obama administration faces an unprecedented economic crisis. do you think the biden administration faces greater challenges? >> in somew ways yes because th

economic devastation is deeper than what we suffered during the so-called great recession. yes, the multiple crisis that are piled on top of one another, yes, we're very fortunate that among the many experiences that joe biden has had is the experience of leading of behalf of former president obama the recovery from the great recession. he knows what he's doing and he has appointed an outstanding team to help him. i would say it not only an a team but a plus team and we saw some of the testimony. >> 20 years ago tonight you were getting ready to be sworn in as president and then attend george w. bush's inauguration. that was as contentious an

election as anyone had seen at the time but after the supreme court ruled on the election, you were gracious in defeat. when you certified the results in the senate and announced results, you followed it by saying god bless our president and new president. you had george w. bush to the residence for the transition. what is your reaction to how the current president has treated the incoming president? >> well, it's unfortunate. it regrettable. sadly, it's probably not surprising to many people. it's unfortunate. i'm glad that we are going to have a fresh start and move away from the violation of norms, from the disrespect to the constitution and the american people. we have a big challenge ahead of us and i think president elect biden so soon to be president biden understands that very clearly.

>> how does one bring a country -- maybe it's not one person doing it but how does a country get brought together when temperaturestep tens of mi, good and descent people believe the free and fair election wasn't fair. they're wrong. they have -- they don't have evidence. this was a lie prove kated by the president. they believe it. the out going president won't admit he was lying to them. how does a country come together when you have that kind of division? >> well, as the republican leader of the senate mitch mcconnell said eloquently today, the mob was fed lies but not only the mob. the supporters of the president who were not part of the mob have also been fed lies. it's shocking that such a large percentage of republicans still according to the polling tell people that they don't yet accept the election. i'm hoping and expecting that

they will because this is hardly the first time that the side that has lost the hotly contested election is called upon to put aside partisanship and lift up the inpo importance our country. we're americans. we rise to challenges like this. we've done it for so long and the ceremony tonight was so moving as i've said. the one tomorrow is one of the most important and time honored rituals of american democracy. and i think that joe biden and kamala harris are demonstrating that they know the language of american democracy, not only in words but in symbols and character and the way they are approaching this challenge. give it some time. i would rather expect that the vast majority of those who are

still feeling a keep disappointment over the results of the election will respond to the kind of leadership that i know that joe biden and kamala harris will provide. >> appreciate your time tonight. thanks so much. >> thank you. next for us, breaking news from the white house invovrlvin pardons. mary trump joins us on how her uncle sees the rest of his life and ken burns, good win on this president's place in history. between what is hoped for and what can be, there's a bridge. between endangered and protected, there's a bridge. between chaos and wonder, there's a bridge.

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buildings in new york and philadelphia are lit up tonight in remembrance of the lives lost to covid with more than 400,000

lives lost tonight. 400 lights signifying 1,000 falling. the lights on at 160 o0 pennsylvania avenue. the bidens will never see the current first family we noted is president trump's choice. cnn jim acosta is at the white house where the president is spending his final night. do we know what the president is doing tonight and when do we expect the pardons to be announced? >> reporter: we expected it earlier this evening and we're hearing from sources i talked to an official this evening that said this could come later on tonight perhaps into the wee hours of inauguration day morning. this president is clinging to power and the last acts he'll be putting out there before he leaves washington. one of the things we'll look for in the pardons, anderson, is whether or not he goes ahead and grants clemency to steve bannon. this is something we were

picking up on earlier today. the president has been agonizing whether he should pardon steve bannon that's been indicted and facing federal fraud charges. i've also talked to trump allies and associates rep ceresenting clients for pardons. they have been tipped off by sources their climates may not be getting pardons and there is already some hard feelings about some of that. i talked to one loyalest this evening that said joe exotic, the tiger king gets a pardon and my client doesn't. i'm going to be pretty pissed in the words of this trump loyalest. so the president has not called a lid yet. they have not called a lid yet but anderson, as you and i discussed last night they have been putting out schedules saying the president will be making many calls and having many meetings on the following day. they can't exactly do that for tomorrow. the president will be leaving washington tomorrow morning during a send oaoff ceremony.

>> there was breaking news involving russia. what are you learning? >> reporter: this is one of the final acts of the trump presidency. the president issued an executive order saying that he is going to declassify portions of the hurricane investigation that is the, you know, russia investigation in not so many words and especially, what the president wants to do with declassifying this information is attempt to prove, something he's been trying to do for the last four years this investigation was used against him to oust him from power when of course, that was not the case. there was mistakes made during the investigation but i was with then candidate donald trump in 2016 when he called on russians to find hillary clinton's emails. he admitted to nbc he fired jim comey, the fbi director because of the russia investigation. there were so many things to investigate during the course of this russia investigation. if federal authorities weren't looking into that, it would be malpractice. he is holding on to grudges and

acting on one tonight. >> do we know more about this event the president is throwing for himself tomorrow morning? >> reporter: yeah, we know they are trying to in ing to invite r there to get a big crowd. they are allowing invites to bring five guests tomorrow. i talked to a number of them, anderson and a lot of them are sa sa saying that they're not going to show up tomorrow in part because they're disgusted with this presidency how it ending and disgusted with the events that took place on january 6th. i've talked to one trump advisor on capitol hill. many of them won't be there tomorrow and the president may not have the big crowd he was hoping for. >> jim, thanks very much. for more what is ahead and what might be going on with the president, we're joined by

someone better equipped than most to know clinical psychologist and his niece mary trump, "how my family created the world's most dangerous man." mary, good to have you here. president trump did not acknowledge he won't be president anymore, he did not concede or say president elect biden's name and of course, he's not going to the inauguration. he acknowledges he's become what he loathes, which is a loser. what do you think he's going through now? >> this is probably the worst day of his life because the clock is ticking and he's running out of time. the other thing i just want to point out about that speech, it was reminiscing of a video he made after the insurrection saying the movement is just beginning, which seems like a bit of a threat to me. my hope is that he be as

contained as possible. he's going to do whatever he can or believes he can to change the narrative and i think we're going to see that play out with some of these pardons in excess of 100, if i'm hearing that correctly and some of these pardons will be quite horrific. some of them will be strategic. but the bottom line is he's out of there. i mean, he's been out of there, you know, metaphor rically speaking for a long time. he's not been doing the job. as of 12:00 or earlier, he's heading down to florida and he no longer has powers and protections of the oval office and he knows it. >> in this farewell video that he made, he said he fought for america and all it stands for, which is obviously, you know, something he's going to say and that's what he will continue to repeat throughout the rest of his life but just two weeks ago, he did incite an insurrection on

the capitol to overturn the results of a free and fair election. what do you think -- i don't know if he cares about his legacy or the trump brand, which doesn't -- both of which seem tarnished to say the least. >> i don't -- i think he cares more honestly at this point about the lose of relevance, the l loss of attention and of course, the legal implications, which are lesion. he's looking at state level charges. he's looking at potential voter interference charges in georgia. he's looking at several lawsuits. so it hard to know precisely what is most alarming him but let's put it this way, there is so much for him to be alarmed about and he's not well rep ce represented, he does not know

where to turn. >> david letterman after he retired, he said when you retire to spend time with your family, you should check with your family first, which i thought was a pfunny line. i wonder what the president is going to be doing down in mar-a-lago besides nursing grievances and telling people that he won the election and, you know, he'll eventually be like the guy at the bar, i guess, not drinking but repeating himself over and over gep about how he really won that election. what do you see his life as being like? >> i think it's going to be pretty grim. you know, no more free golf games. no more 24-hour media attention and no more social media because there is no reason for me to see that facebook and twitter would reverse their decisions, and a lot of legal trouble. i also think it's telling that jared and ivanka have pretty

much gone silent. i know they've been in the room discussing these pardons, probably discussing their own pardons but the fact that they haven't said anything post insurrection suggestions to me they understand this relationship is entirely transactional and if they have come to the conclusion sticking with donald is no longer going to be to their future benefit, he's not going to have them to kick around either. >> every time something happens, i anticipate a leak what ivanka trump really thought and was really trying to convince the president of, which seems to be the way they operated to try to distance themselves whenever they weren't happy about something. but i mean, you know, the idea -- cnn has been reporting that a warning from white house attorneys about pardoning h himself or his family concerned him enough that he's allegedly backed off partenidoning himsel

his family again. he can change his mind at the last minute. why do you think that spooked him? >> i think, you know, i'm not a constitutional scholar by any stretch of the imagination but i think he didn't understand just how far he was over stepping by inciting his supporters not only to come to d.c. but to storm our capitol, and that might have -- that must have been impressed upon him because i can think of no other reason that he would back off a self-pardoning or pardoning his children unless he was convinced, you know, convinced that doing so would increase his chances not only of being removed from, well, i'm not sure what it's called anymore because he wouldn't be the oval office when this

happens but inpe'm impeached an convicted in the senate but blocked from ever running for office again which i'm pretty sure was going to be another one of the scams he lined up going forward. >> well, also, you know, clearly he wanted to remain head of the republican party and the power broker within the republican party and just like in the opening scene of the "god father ", the wedding, people would have to come and pay to him and ask for favors and he would ask for favors in return, that doesn't -- i mean, unless he's able to rewrite history, which is entirely possible, i suppose, given enough, you know, i guess time, that seems unlikely at this point. >> it seems extremely unlikely. i agree never count him out and the reason we can't ever count him out is why it so incredibly

urgent that we make sure that he loses relevance per sbut the mo indicative for donald if he tries to map in tan control of e republican party. that's a political thing on mcconnell's part and doesn't have anything to do with his deeply held believes. it has much more to do with how corporate america has responded to the republicans in the senate and the house for participating and attempting to overturn a legitimate election. so donald has a lot of forces against him and i think the money forces are the biggest ones in certainly mcconnell's calculations. >> interesting. mary trump, appreciate it. thank you. on average, president trump will depart with one of the lowest approval ratings since

modern polling began. we'll talk about what remains of his legacy can kim burns.

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in a city full of timeless images, the picture is the moment that may linger. lamps, 400 of them lining the reflecting pool that's seen so much history already, each representing 1,000 lives lost so far to covid. and as deep in grief as the country is, it also remains in a state of shock and apprehension and division as the presidents of 25,000 troops in the capitol only under scores all of it is

reflecting in polls numbers, the president departing with the lowest average job approval rating of 34% according to the latest cnn poll. pew research has him at 39% and truman had a worse figure. perspective from ken burns and equally acclaimed historian good w win. it is really thrilling to have both of you on the program. i'm huge admirers of your work. doris, just from a historical perspective, the first president in modern history to not attend his successor's inauguration, what do you make of where we are on this historic on the eve of this his t-- historic event? >> what history looks at is how did a president handle a crisis that was dealt to him and those lights tonight in washington symbolize the failure of leadership to handle the crisis given to him of covid. he said he would be a wartime

president and what we look at is fdr who truly was when the depression came somebody who used all the powers of the national government to handle the depression and as a result, the absentee of leadership we've seen with trump was answered by fda by action and action now and then the second thing i think to look at when we look back at historians is not simply how he handled the crisis and every president that handled it well becomes great like lincoln or fdr, every president who doesn't handle it has problems like hoover but there was a crisis of his making when he pafaileded t c concede the election and insure reco -- inser recollected a mob.ed concede the election and insure -- inser recollected a mob.d t concede the election and insure -- inser recollected a mob. history takes a long time to look at the president but i think those facts are there now. >> how do you see this inauguration compared to the

past inaugurations, past changes of power? >> well, i think it's unprecedented for all the reasons that doris said. you know, we have, i thought, lived through three great crisis, the civil war of the depression, world war ii and this is the fourth great crisis that donald trump's inauguration you talked about in american carnage that we looked around and said where is this carnage? and now we realize four years later that he created it. our founders feared two things above all else. the mob and an autocrat and we got both. it a perfect storm and we've got these i'd say triple viruses, the covid of the year of the e old. we have a virus of racial intolerance and white supreme si a and the age hold human lies, misinformation, paranoia and

conspiracy theories. he's now a baby locked away sulking and not participating in the rituals of our government. i made a film on the congress in the mid '80s and the late, great journalist whose beat was capitol hill took me around and showed me in this open building in the early '80s little secret hide aways and things like that and then she sat down for an interview and said when a president of the united states resigned, richard nixon not a single troop went on alert. what's different, anderson, is that there are 25,000 national guardsmen protecting our capitol in a threat that we haven't seen. this is the greatest threat in the history of our country and it is of donald trump's making and it represents a complete failure as doris pointed out of leadership on his part. >> doris, to ken's point not only 25,000 national guard troops, there is concern, you know, and fbi incvestigations t

try to make sure none of them harbor extremists views, which is just, you know, it's understandable. it is entirely depressing and the vast majority are in the national guards because they are patriotic and support the constitution and want to serve their country. in terms of the task ahead, doris, is -- i mean, ken was saying there is the great depression, world war ii, the civil war. i mean, do you see this as the fourth great battle for this country? >> i think there is no question this is a huge crisis that the new president is going to have to face, but the great thing about history is the crisis does create opportunity and it does allow you to mobilize the country when there is a hunger for leadership as i think there is right now. there is a hunger for the tone to be changed, for some sort of healing and most importantly, a hunger for action. and i think if the new president can mobilize the congress to get that stimulus bill passed to be

able to deal with the vaccinations and get those 100 million vaccines into the arms of people and 100 days is setting a huge target and that's exactly what fdr did. big targets people like impossible things to be made possible when they asked for 50,000 planes one year it seemed impossible. i think it also offers a chance right now there is a chance that the republican party can move toward a new rebirth itself, that the country can begin to heal. so even as we look at this as a terrible crisis, it is an opportunity for the country to change direction. that's what an inauguration is, renewal and change of direction and could see a big line of demarcation when tomorrow happens to begin that process. >> ken, one of the things that gives me so much hope in your work is the -- you know, for instance in the civil war series, reading letters of people who had fought in the war or sure vived through the war o witnessing to it, writings, it

just gives me hope that to know whether it's struggles of a country or individual struggles, which we have we are not the first to go down this path. we're not the first to face division in this country. we're not the first to face a pandemic in this country. generations of people have done that, some haven't made it through but others have survived. people have survived much worse things in their lives and that on a big picture but also in a very individual basis, that is something that always gives me a lot of hope. >> absolutely anderson. that's so well said. history it seems like a big 30,000 feet business and it not. it so intimate. it's bottom up and i feel like tonight is new year's eve. i think we just got the dates wrong. i think we got a new possibility of turning a new leaf. there is a real optimism there. think of what happened in a positive way. let turn it around. you opened your show with the beauty and simple gesture towards the covid victims.

that's exactly what presidents and great leaders do. what's happened here, we're beginning to have a racial reckoning. we had voting nearly 160 million people voted. that's unbelievable in the most secure election ever. voters turned out at the polls. poll workers with stood this virus. the courts dismissed all the frivolous attempts at it. we have a woman vice president. we have a woman of color vice president. we have the oldest president in an fdr moment and this is a man who is tempered by loss. just as fda a kind of thin ambitious guy is stricken with polio and develops an empathy that allows him to guide us through the depression and the second world war, joe biden's political career begins with unspeakable loss and unspeakable loss just recently and he's been able to turn that into something positive. there is a spiritual dimension

of that. people are come plaining how doe get the tooth paste back into the tube and unring the bell? love and compassion and attention and listening and speaking and hearing are all the things that do that. you need as doris said to get the vaccinations going, but you have to address rural as well as urban poverty. you have to make sure that no one feels like they're extraneous and so much of this is about people having their problems magnafied in a negative way and joe biden is the opposite of that. he reminds you we're all in this together and that's the only way we get through it and that's how this american carnage ends. >> i was thinking watching the -- seeing all those lights and in honor of the 400,000 people who are absent and that number is actually 401,000 right now and that number will only grow, i was thinking that at the end, i was thinking of the

families who some of whom were able to be with their loved one at the end but many were not. but when you do witness somebody dying, when you witness a loved one dying, the thing i always -- i have taken away from in my life is that in the end and sounds like a cliche and cheesey in the end there is love that we have for one another and -- >> you know, in the end i think anderson you're so right, in the end we still have the capacity to write the ending of our story. when we look back and see the civil war was won and emancipation took place, the people living in that time just like us didn't know what that end of the story would be. we can still write the end of the we can still write the end of the story. we don't have to let tend up like a civil war. we don't have to let the virus control us.

that is the sense of activism and love. i couldn't agree with you both more. >> wonderful to have you both. i wish we could talk for the whole hour. thank you so much. really a pleasure. you give me hope. >> thank you. >> one more look at the covid memorial where lights as we talked about illuminate the lincoln memorial reflecting pool remembering the 400,000 who have died. just ahead an historic day today and what to expect tomorrow. the dexcom tells me my numbers every 5 minutes. and it also tells me which way i'm going. i can just look at my phone and see my numbers. in real time. it's the easiest app in the world. and you don't have to prick your fingers at all. it's amazing. you know, not having to prick my fingers anymore... wow...that's incredible. you know, i would have

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tomorrow at noon will be the start of the biden presidency. the president-elect campaigned on the promise he could bring republicans to the negotiating table while narrow control of the senate is one possible obstacle. perhaps his bigger hurdle is soon to be president trump who still has sway over the base of his party. for perspective on the future, trump's legacy, gloria borger and van jones. i want to ask you first about today, gloria. president-elect biden's first stop at d.c. i found it so powerful that is how he chose to start. >> i think what people are going to learn about joe biden is he understands grief. he gives people permission to grieve. he speaks the language of grief.

his life has been book ended by tragedy. he lost his wife and young daughter when elected to the senate and his son beau biden when he was vice president. he said something really interesting. he said to heal you must remember. that's how we healed. that is how biden has healed instead of becoming a negative person full of grievance after all he has been through he remains optimistic, doesn't see himself as a victim, and i think that was important for him to show to the country and a very good tone to set as people try and figure out where are we and how to get beyond where we are. >> tomorrow is so different than four years ago. trump came in. he had a healthy country anne broke it. biden is going to take a country and heal it. all of that is the big story.

unfortunately because he is starting at such a low place, biden, literally you'll have soldiers, 20,000 soldiers. i mean, it is almost a national embarrassment. but watch the light come through. even with all of that fear when he starts talking, when his hand comes off that bible, you're going to see why the genius of american democracy has picked a president for this moment. somebody who can bring us together, who can offer words of healing, and mean it. you can take the script away. he can just speak from his heart to the whole country. >> i think that is an apt way to put it. it is the genius of american democracy. we tend to produce the leaders we need in times of crisis and biden, you know, he ran for president before. didn't do very well. he happens to be the right person for this time. he's got this incredible empathy that gloria speaks of, a deep faith, not just religious faith but faith in this country and its institutions. and he is relentlessly optimistic. i worked with him. i saw it every day in the way he

addressed us. we were at a time of crisis and he always believed there was a better day ahead. that's what needs to be communicated. he needs to be realistic tomorrow as he speaks in the green zone behind 25,000 national guard about where we are as a country but he is i think quickly going to pivot and say, but there's a better day ahead if we pull together and work for it. >> that of course is the obstacle. there is a divided country divided in ways we haven't been divided in our life times. >> but we're not divided in the sense that we're all going through the same siege together. 400,000 people have died. i don't think anybody checked their voter registration cards but i suspect they crossed the -- >> but there are crises which bring the country together and i'm not sure this is one of them. this is the first time somebody really acknowledged 400,000 americans are dead and there are

people who refuse to wear masks even when they're hiding in the capitol from armed insurrectionists. >> look, the country is going to look very different starting tomorrow at noon because joebld is going to get to work. he is going to issue executive orders putting us back into the climate accord, etcetera. he is going to sort of take charge, change the tone. become a president who thinks about things other than himself. if half the country, you know, you can't forget about the 74 million voters who supported donald trump, but 74 million people did not support what happened on those capitol steps. >> that's true. two-thirds of the country have given him high marks for how he handled the transition. donald trump has left him an unholy mess he has to deal with. he's also created a great opportunity because the contrast is going to be so dramatic. we saw it tonight. finally a president acknowledging the pain and loss of the country instead of trying to spin it. >> it is true one doesn't know, once you actually have some

leadership and some human decency, who knows what the ripple effects of that might be. i don't think people understand how much most americans want this food fight to be over. people, you know, want to win the food fight. most people want to end the food fight. get their kids back to school. get their shops opened up. get something happening. get broadband for everybody. there is an agenda both sides could embrace. nobody goes to mcdonald's and orders sushi because it's not on the menu. we haven't had unity on the menu coming from the white house for four years. watch what americans do when it's offered. >> big mac's, yum. there is so much ahead it is going to be an incredibly exciting day tomorrow. i hope everybody tunes in for it. thank you all tonight. the news continues. we'll hand it over to chris for cuomo primetime. >> thank you my friend. i am chris cuomo and welcome to "primetime." it is inauguration eve. in less than 15 hours from now,

noon tomorrow, joe biden takes the helm in some of the worst seas we've ever seen. if we are on a very, very uncertain course. it is no small irony that america crossed the 400,000 coronavirus death mark on the final full day in office for a president whose legacy will be a litany of pain and loss and hatred. and while that disgraced man is no one to follow, he did start his term with a pledge that he has now made a priority for joe biden. >> this american carnage stops right here and stops right now. >> trump meant the opposite. and look at the tally. 400,000. more than that dead. a pandemic he told you was going to disappear like a miracle. that is american carnage. a vaccine that no one really