this is "nightline." >> tonight, on the edge of history with vice president-elect kamala harris. >> i feel a very big sense of responsibility. >> sitting down with robin roberts, no questions off limits. >> president trump. what are your thoughts on his reluctance to acknowledge the election? >> how the new administration plans to jump start the economy. >> the people are suffering. the people here in washington, d.c. have got to stop living in a bubble. plus traffic. the obsessive search for the perfect body. >> i want to look strong and feel strong. >> inside the billion-dollar black market of illegal steroids. >> how strong can we become, how amazing can we look, how long can we live? >> but can looks kill?

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this as president trump doubles down on unfounded claims of election fraud. here's abc's robin roberts with the sit-down interview with vice president-elect kamala harris. >> what are your thoughts on his reluctance to acknowledge the election, his attack to continue to try to change the results? >> i think that the statement in terms of the electoral college spoke to a very important principle in our country and in this democracy of ours as americans, which is, our democracy is stronger than any one man or woman. it is about the people. and the people spoke. >> six weeks after joe biden and kamala harris decisively won the election, monday the electoral college affirmed their victory over president trump, despite a drumbeat of denial from the president and his closest allies. >> what was your reaction to the final vote?

the confirmation of the election? >> it started to really feel real. i have to tell you that. i was watching it as the states were coming in, with my husband. >> i am pleased to announce that joseph r. biden has received 16 votes for president of the united states -- >> we were watching it and he looked at me, said see? it's happening. >> yet to this day, some republicans continue to reject the results, citing baseless and false claims of election fraud, led by president trump himself who has lost 52 lawsuits in his bid to keep the presidency. >> right now, we're worried about the present. and what went on with an election that we won, without question. >> a fox news poll found that 77% of president trump voters believe trump actually won the election. but with 306 electoral votes officially certifying victory for the biden administration monday, the rhetoric among some republican leaders is finally

beginning to change. >> the electoral college has spoken. so today i want to congratulate president-elect joe biden. >> mitch mcconnell and joe biden have spoken. he has acknowledged that he is the president-elect. how important do you think that is? >> i think it's critically important that the leaders of our government, especially those who are elected to the highest offices, that we dedicate ourselves to a peaceful transition of power. and so i applaud mitch mcconnell for talking to joe biden today. would have been better if it were earlier, but it happened, and that's what's most important. >> reporter: on the cusp of inauguration day, i sat down with senator kamala harris at her alma mater, howard university in washington, d.c. >> as a student, could you have imagined being just days away from such a historic moment? >> no.

and i really feel quite emotional about it. >> reporter: there's a saying stitched into the fabric here at howard. "truth and service." it's an ethos kamala harris learned when she was a student here more than 35 years ago. >> i was raised by a mother who said that to me all the time. kamala, you may be the first to do many things, make sure you're not the last. that's how i feel about this moment. >> reporter: 48. that's how many men have served as vice president of the united states. on january 20th, when the 49th vice president takes her oath of office, she will make history. >> it is a weight, and it is the responsibility that comes with knowing that, one, the bottom line is that the decisions that we are going to make are going to be decisions that impact hundreds of millions of people, if not people all around the globe. but it also comes with the weight of responsibility i feel

to honor all of those, in particular women, who came before me. women of every race, every ethnicity, every background. >> reporter: from day one, the biden/harris administration faces steep challenges, beginning with the pandemic that has taken more than 300,000 american lives. the surge still at its worst in many states with thousands clinging to life support in hospitals across the nation. one of the cornerstones of a new administration's policy will be simple, wear a mask. >> he has said a 100-day mask mandate, has laid down some specifics from day one. other than that, what specifically will this administration do to turn this pandemic around? >> and the 100 days of the mask, he's urging. he's not saying, punishment, they don't have to, but he's saying as a leader, please everybody, work with me here, for the first 100 days let's everybody just wear a mask.

and see the outcomes there. because of course the scientists and the public health officials tell us there will be really great outcomes if everybody does wear a mask when they're in public and outdoors. it is about getting through the pandemic, around making sure that everyone has access to the vaccine, and that they take it. and that's going to be about, one, determining the priorities about who gets it, at what phase. it's also going to be about having a plan for distribution. and working on a real issue, which is encouraging the american people to trust the science. >> when you see leaders on both sides, when it comes to the pandemic, they will put down strict guidelines. even your colleague in california. strict guideline, yet they don't follow through. what kind of message does that send to the american public? >> i think we all have to understand that right now, this is a moment for everyone to

sacrifice. and if we're going to get through this together as a country, we all have to do it. >> reporter: the vaccine for covid-19 and the hope it promises began rolling out this week. the first americans receiving their shots on monday. >> are you scheduled to be vaccinated? >> i'm not scheduled yet. but i will be vaccinated for sure. >> reporter: getting back to "normal" is still far away. and as we wait, businesses are once again being forced to close their doors, with hundreds of thousands of small businesses shutting down since the start of the covid-19 pandemic. millions unemployed. 7.8 million americans have fallen into poverty in the last five months. the virus' full repercussions on the economy still remain to be seen. >> the stimulus package. when you're talking about how to work together, come together, knowing there are people in need. what needs to be done or assured

to make sure that it gets passed? what is not in it that needs to be in it to get passed? >> robin, i'll tell you, i -- i don't understand the hesitation. the people are suffering. the extension that people need of benefits is very real. and the people here in washington, d.c. have got to stop living in a bubble and understand that we are facing an economic crisis that is being compared to the great depression. >> reporter: with the country more divided than ever, vice president-elect harris sees herself not only as a democrat, but as a leader for all americans. >> you and president-elect biden have been very firm in saying, even if they did not vote for you, you are their president, you are their vice president.

when 70 million did not, how do you specifically reach out to that amount of people? >> part of it is that it is about having a vision for the future of america in which everyone can see themselves. and ensuring that they are seen. >> reporter: in five weeks, senator harris will take the oath to become vice president harris, ushering in a new chapter for our american democracy. >> when i walk through that door, i walk through that door with a whole lot of people. and the people who are pounding that door down for generations, all those suffragettes, and they're white, marching, right? all of them, i feel, were walking through that door together. having just a -- you know, i think on the day of the swearing-in, having a good old time. >> what is going to be going through your mind when you take that oath of office? >> i'll be thinking about my mother.

yeah. you know, and i'll be thinking about -- i'll be thinking about all those girls and boys -- you know, before the pandemic struck, you know, the fathers and the mothers that would bring them around and say, you know, you can do anything. >> our thanks to robin. coming up, the cost of perfection. how pumping up on steroids may prove fatal. sofi made it so easy to pay off my student loan debt. (chime) they were able to give me a personal loan so i could pay off all of my credit cards. (chime) i got my mortgage through sofi and the whole process was so easy. choosing sofi was literally one of the best decisions i could have ever made because it gave me peace of mind. a blast of immune support that's more than just vitamin c. i could have ever made

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-i hear someone go, "did-strangers cough at me.ys?" -move away from me. -someone spit towards my direction. -all the stereotypes that we've worked so hard to break are just going to be reversed. and i won't let that happen. -we all have to play our part. -i donate my plasma. -i've been making masks. -we deserve respect just as much as everybody else. -i'm a firefighter, not a virus. -i'm a mask maker, not a virus. -i'm a nurse. -i'm a delivery woman. -chef. -a neighbor. -artist. -bus driver. -i'm a doctor. ♪ does perfection exist? for one community looking for a competitive edge, they say that ideal could be achieved with the help of steroids.

now a new national geographic docuseries taking us into the world of black markets. here's the hard truth of illegal body-enhancing drugs. >> reporter: your classic american barbecue. meats on the grill. a backyard full of friends. but this is not your typical summer get-together. this is dr. tony huget's house and performance-enhancing drugs are at the ready. tony huge is the face of a movement that believes performance-enhancing drugs, like steroids, can turn everyday people -- >> friends of freedom, pioneers of evolution. >> reporter: into superhumans. >> instead of using medicine to make us average, we can use medicine to make us evolve. >> did you ever take banned

substances to enhance your cycling performance? >> yes. >> reporter: performance-enhancing drugs are notorious for causing scandals at the highest level of sports. but these days, people like tony huge are bringing experimental versions of those same drugs to the masses. dr. tony huge is a larger-than-life figure in the world of diy performance-enhancing drugs. >> you're dr. tony huge. where did you get your medical degree from? >> i don't have a medical degree, i'm a doctor of jurisprudence. >> contact us at huge financial law today. >> lawyer, retired lawyer. >> who contacts you about steroids? >> everyone. teenagers all the way up to old ladies. i kid you not. and everywhere in between. police, 40-year-old female house-moms that are using them to get in better shape. >> do you still take steroids now? >> i do. instead of me doing a cabbage soup diet, i want to look strong and feel strong. >> everyone has their poison, whether it's smoking or alcohol

or hard-core opiates, things like that. pick your poison, and that's the one i chose. >> reporter: tony is happy to give away performance-enhancing drugs at his party. but how do everyday people normally get their hands on them? after a few off-camera conversations with tony, he agrees to show me where underground steroadminister ste. >> looks like a real lab. >> it has to be clean, and it has to have all the tools that we need for any given experiment. >> reporter: the dea and fda are the federal agencies with oversight on steroid use. >> aren't you scared they could come after you? >> yeah, everything -- they did. they did. >> reporter: tony is the face of enhanced athletes, a supplement company that was raided by the fda in 2017. that same year, enhanced athlete was accused in a civil lawsuit of selling products not approved for human consumption. >> i was under investigation for

many years, and they were surveilling me, and my ceo ended up in jail. >> a sacramento man was sentenced to three years in prison for selling fertilizer disguised as fat-burning pills. >> why are you still here and why is he in prison? >> i never made any money from any of this. i sold my law firm and i invested it into research. >> reporter: tony claims for him, developing new drugs is merely a passion project. albeit a risky one. >> why do you let us film in here? >> there's a risk versus benefit. this is my passion. i retired to further the chemistry of body building. >> reporter: coach trevor is tony's secret weapon. >> this is your lab? >> this is it, this is ground zero. >> reporter: trevor is obsessed with the chemistry behind steroids. he even has the chemical structure for testosterone tattooed on his hands. >> can you make cocaine? >> sure. >> meth? >> yes. >> if you can make any drug in the world, why are you making

anabolics? >> because i can sell steroids to a lawyer, he's happy, it improves his life. it's not hurting him. why not? >> is what you're doing dangerous? >> yeah. yeah. which is why i do it to myself first. >> reporter: today trevor and tony are developing a new injectable version of a drug called asarm. >> potentially the future of steroids. all the benefits without the side effects. >> this is illegal? >> this is illegal to sell to a human as a supplement. it is legal to possess, it is legal to use. >> people are using the stuff that you guys are making here in this lab, using this. >> yes. they are using these formulas by facilities we are teaching how to make these things underground. >> i don't know what to say.

the stuff that is made here, does it end up inside people's bodies around the country? >> that's what i don't want to answer. >> because that can get you in trouble? >> right. >> are you kidding me? it's 100% dangerous. >> reporter: i meet with dr. thomas o'connor, a physician who specializes in steroid abuse. >> he's destroying lives. he looks like he's a physician, and he calls himself a doctor. if they were medical professionals, they'd be in jail. >> tony huge right now is creating this, he says a steroid without the side effects. >> he's wrong, it's not possible. >> reporter: the fda released a statement saying it can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, and liver damage, the same side effects of steroids. >> you see the bodies that are constructed. being superhuman on steroids is part of the game.

part of the trap. the fact that is you can't be superhuman forever and your heart doesn't want to be superhuman. >> do you think there's anything wrong with wanting to be superhuman? >> no. i think that that is the next step of our evolution. if people could visualize when they felt the best in their life. imagine having that all the time. then imagine amplifying it. that's what it feels like to be superhuman. once people experience, it's hard to go back. >> our thanks to mariana. new episodes of "traffic" airs wednesday evening, 9/8 central on national geographic. up next, the shock of a lifetime for one mother this holiday season. geico makes the claims process so easy... ...i can file and manage my claim, all on the geico app.

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