needs to close the deal. let's go to a key race alert. let's start off in the key battleground state of pennsylvania, which we're watching closely right now. 20 electoral votes, joe biden is ahead by 28,833 votes. he has 49.6% to 49.1% for donald trump. 96% of the estimated vote is in. we're also watching georgia, where 99% of the estimated vote is in. biden's lead has jumped up to 7,248. he has 49.4%, jump was 49.3%. in arizona, which has 11 electoral votes, biden's lead is close to 30,000, 29,861, 49.6% to 48.6% in nevada. six electoral votes. biden maintains a steady lead, 22,675, 49.8% to 48%, 93% of the estimated vote in nevada is in. let's walk over to john king, who is watching this as closely as anyone on earth right now. it's getting closer and closer. >> good morning. how are you doing? day five, so you say, why is it taking so long? day five could very well be the decisive day. why is that? here's the national map. joe biden building an impressive lead in the popular vote. that's a moral victory, an important victory for the democratic party. what joe biden needs, as you noted, is just to get over the top. 253 electoral votes. we have not changed that in two days. but today we do know pennsylvania, wolf noted 28,833. when you see both candidates above 3.1 million votes, it does not seem like a big lead but we have fewer ballots left to count. we're waiting to see if we get another installment out of philadelphia. philadelphia and the suburbs still have a modest amount of ballots, but they're counting them. here's the question. we know in the mail-in ballots, joe biden has been running up impressive ballots. there are also provisional ballots, but will it watch up or will president trump make up ground? not likely. we expect votes any time later this morning. another big important allocation of votes, they've been counting votes in allegheny county. late last night before we left we got votes from here and, again, joe biden overwhelmingly winning these late ballots. we want to watch a few more installments. it's a giant state, more than 6.6 million votes when you added them all up. you see 28,000 and you want a little more evidence that the trajectory is solid. we could get that within minutes, but certainly within hours. i just want to bring this up. georgia, the secretary of state said yesterday, most likely to head into a recount. 7,248 votes in a state that is 49.4 to 49.3. that's actually quite significant. the biden lead grew by nearly 3,000 votes overnight and a recount lawyer will tell you, in a recount, every now and then 100 votes or so change, but if you're at 7,200 now, it's significant and it makes it much less likely there would be any change. sometimes there's human error writing something down, it's not about anything nefarious. but that lead is pretty solid. there's a lot of impatience in the country. we get that, we share it. but they're trying to count votes. you move out to arizona, they're still counting votes, 29,861 vote lead. this is the one state in pennsylvania when they count votes, joe biden expands his lead. in georgia, joe biden expands his lead. out in the west the president has made some gains. sometimes biden does, sometimes the president does. the president has made gains here. he's cut into a lead that was larger. and then nevada, we expect in a couple of hours more results. you see how close it is, 22,657 statewide. we expect more. this is the decisive county. more than 70% of the vote, as much as 75% of the vote in nevada will come from clark county. if you've been with us the last five days, we are potentially at that decisive moment. if we get votes out of pennsylvania that confirm biden's lead continues to grow, that's enough right there. 273 would make joe biden not the democratic nominee anymore, that would make him president e elect. and then he has the potential, we'll count for the rest of the day but we may well know by the end of the day. that would match the president's total from four years ago. this one here is the one that matters most right here. 20 electoral votes. it's the largest prize on the board. if you come over here and you just zoom in, that's what we're waiting for. every vote matters in every state across the country. this is the state that any moment could put joe biden over the top. >> let's check in with todd brian. i understand votes are about to come in where you are? >> reporter: wolf, we expect another batch to come within the next couple of hours. they're not really giving us a timeline. they just started counting a little over an hour ago here. i'll move to the side and we'll take you into where the ballot counters are working. they're working on those 29,000 misprinted ballots that came in that they had to correct and mail out back again to voters with the correct information on them. so those came in a little late. so they're working on those. we are told by rich fitzgerald, the executive of allegheny county, they've got about 20,000 more of those to go through of the 29,000. that's what we're doing right now. they've been at this pretty much all morning. the observers are here in the foreground. these, according to rich fitzgerald, these ballots will take longer to get through because they have to open the envelopes and check to see if the ballot in question is maybe a duplicate or not. they have to go through other things on the ballot to make sure it's the correct ballots. the initial ballots that were mailed out had bad information on them. they had some candidates that were mailed to voters, some candidates that were not really running for office in those districts, so they couldn't vote for those people. but they could vote legitimately for the president. so some of those ballots, they have to check to make sure the votes they cast were for the president and not for the incorrect candidates downballot. that's one of the issues they're checking to see, if the vote coming in is kelk filled out. we'll get additional votes in the next few hours. >> how many outstanding ballots are there in allegheny county where you are around pittsburgh, and are they all mail-in ballots? >> reporter: yes, just about all of them are mail-in ballots. there are at least 20,000 outstanding ballots in allegheny county that they have left to count. they said it might take into the weekend. but we hope to get a significant amount of them back within the next couple of hours. maybe not all of them, because they've been giving them to us in just small batches of a few thousand here or there. so we expect that will probably happen today. by the end of the day we hope to get a pretty significant amount of those vote counts in. >> we'll get back to you. thank you. 20,000 ballots in allegheny county, you can see it's a pretty blue county around pittsburgh. we're going to get those inspects i suspect fairly soon. almost all of them mail-in ballots and we know that biden does really well, trump does not do as well with mail-in ballots. >> you see the overall percentage, 59 to 39. that's allegheny county, pittsburgh and the suburbs around it. the president does pretty well in western pennsylvania, the city of pittsburgh itself, blue color, labor unions backed biden. what we have seen consistently is in this county and statewide, you see the president at 39% here in allegheny county, you see him at 49% when you go statewide. look, you see all the red. the president has strong support in pennsylvania. what we have seen consistently over now, the past three days, when they count the mail-in ballots, joe biden routinely disproportionately, his total statewide is 50. he'll get 60%, 70%, sometimes 80%. last night when they were bringing us votes, joe biden was consistently above 60% and 70%. why? democrats voted by mail in this unprecedented pandemic election. and republicans tended to turn out much more on election day. so what is left to count tells you we know it favors biden because that's how democrats voted. not just in pennsylvania, but across america. when you have more than 6.6 million cast, what we're looking for is just proof that this trajectory, slow build continues. because it will be a nary victory. for anyone out there saying wow, the president carried the state by 40,000 votes. the president got more votes this time than he did last time. the democrats have done a better job and they're inching up to the finish line. brian says those could come any minute. we also know, as i said, right here, if you look at the size of pennsylvania, you think this is the tiny southeast corner, this is the population center. democrats to run it up here. if you go through the counties, you start first in the city of -- sorry about that, i went across the line. you start in the city of pennsylvania, look at that, 81%. in the mail-in ballots it's been higher than that. bucks counties is the more competitive of the counties, but in the mail-in ballots, joe biden has been well ahead. we'll have a couple hundred here, a couple thousand there. they're going to start to come in this morning. joe biden inching closer to a decisive moment. this would be fitting for joe biden, it would be poetic in some ways. he was born in the state, number one, and number two, when he announced his candidacy, he said his mission, he believed he was the strongest democrat to take pennsylvania, michigan and wisconsin back. >> and retain minnesota as well. kate bolduan is in philadelphia for us watching all of this unfold. what are you hearing about philadelphia? that's the largest batch of votes potentially out there. >> reporter: that's exactly right and we have just received an update on timing. we just got an update on timing and amount. we are told by sources that we should expect between 2,000 and 3,000 votes to be counted and updated to the system soon. one source telling us by noon, another source saying it could be more like early afternoon. as we have seen throughout this process, the timing of uploading and finalizing getting these votes into the system and counted, the timing can slip. there are a lot of factors that go into getting it from the beginning to the end, and so the timing can slip. but importantly, especially on this day with 20,000 mail-in votes left outstanding here in philadelphia, at least the first update of the day will be coming soon. 2,000 to 3,000 is what we're told by sources. one source saying by noon eastern, another saying it could be early afternoon. and this very possibly is not the final update from the day. we know they're getting through these ballots, they're beginning that review process that is a slower, more labor-intensive process. but they're definitely up and running now. >> thanks very much, kate. let's talk about that in philadelphia right now. in philadelphia you see how biden has 80.8%, trump was 18.3%. potentially if these mail-in ballots come in in philadelphia, he might wind up, biden, getting 70%, 80%, maybe 85% of those ballots. >> you're exactly right because he has consistently exceeded the numbers in any county, even in the red counties where president trump is winning. you look at joe biden's number and they count the mail-in ballots. with one or two exceptions, as we've gone through this dozens of times, joe biden exceeds that number or matches it. we have had reports, installments of votes come in where he's getting 87% and higher. that's the key point. kate bolduan just mentioned 20,000 outstanding here in the city of philadelphia. number one population center in the state. there's 20,000 now. you get 2,000 to 3,000 of those, so it's 10% or more, maybe, of what they have left. democrats are asking why haven't you called this case? it's 3.3 million votes. you think about a universe of roughly 100,000 left. if joe biden gets above 30,000, then you feel more comfortable because you've seen in the western part of the state and an installment in the eastern part of the state, joe biden getting 80% of those votes. at some point the trajectory gets you past any probability that the president of the united states is going to come back. for those who say you're already at that point, the president is attacking this process. we have our own rules, our own process, but especially when the process is under attack, sticking to the rules, using your building blocks, methodically getting to the finish line and being cautious is a great way to do it. if they start bringing in more votes, we will know the outcome in pennsylvania perhaps sometime today. we completely get the frustration and anticipation out there. it's just important to have rules and not bend them, especially at a time, the integrity of the system is being unfairly attacked by the candidate, who, if he loses this state is a one-term president. >> we're bracing for more numbers coming in fairly soon. let's check in with jake to see what else is going on. >> hello, world. we're back again, day five of election night in america and we do think that there will be some resolution today. we do think that there will be some indication of what the future will bring for the united states. as you note there, you see on the side of the screen there are four states, the margins in georgia are getting better for biden, the margin in nevada is getting better for biden, the margin in pennsylvania is getting better for biden. and in arizona, actually, it's gotten a little bit worse for biden, a little bit better for president trump. let's check in with the campaigns. jeff zeleny is covering the biden campaign. he's in wilmington, delaware. a lot of impatient democrats, understandably so. how is former vice president joe biden doing? >> reporter: i'm told that joe biden is actually very patient. he's very calm, much more so than some of his supporters and donors and others who are growing impatient about this. but i am told that the former vice president is looking forward, he believes that victory is at hand and he believes and his advisers believe it will happen at some point during the coming hours or sometime today. but he is looking forward, specifically focusing on the challenges ahead of coronavirus. he is going to move forward through his transition, i'm told he's not going to be deciding on any members of the cabinet for a few weeks, but he will be focusing on coronavirus. look for some type of announcement on that to come in the very soon hours or days after he declares victory, which he expects to do at some point. and it is because of these rising challenges, the rising numbers. we've been talking about election numbers and he's been getting briefings every day, sometimes a few times a day on the rising cases of coronavirus. i'm told he's going to put in place some type of the biden covid-19 task force like the one we've seen in the white house, which we have not seen for days and weeks. that is what his focus is on, even as democrats around him are waiting for the victory speech. the stage, you can see it's still set up behind me here. it is the anticipation that they would still use it for some type of a victory speech, but as this goes on further the reality and the challenges here are the important moments. so do these fireworks still seem appropriate, given the deaths and coronavirus cases? that is something that the biden team is talking about, that the transition, even though it's not being talked about, is well under way behind-the-scenes. >> if, in fact, he wins, he will have a lot of work to do, especially when it comes to rebuilding the economy and trying to contain the coronavirus. thank you for the update. let's go to the white house, where we find jim acosta who has been covering the trump white house and trump campaign. there has been this mad scramble by trump and his supporters to try to find evidence, try to find any reason why the ballots and the vote counting should be questioned. i have not seen anything. have they found anything, even remotely credible, yet? o >> reporter: not yet and i just spoke with a trump adviser just a short while ago. as the president is tweeting unfounded rumors and accusations, a pretty stunning admission who is saying we have found nothing concrete in terms of allegations of voter fraud. i think that is significant, because as the president is saying these things publicly, there are people inside the campaign, inside trump world, republicans up on capitol hill, republican operatives that i speak with, they are all telling me the same thing, that the president is making baseless allegations about voter fraud that at this point simply don't exist. so even though the president is flailing at this point and wanting this thing to be dragged out, it doesn't sound like they have anything in terms of hard evidence that would hold up in any kind of courtroom or anywhere, for that matter. and so this is just the president, i think, at the end of the game trying to cry foul and complain about the refs and officials as long as possible. we should point out just a short while ago he did leave in his mote moteer cade from the white house. we expect they're heading to the golf course and i suspect there will be officials who can be relieved if they can separate him from his smartphone for a brief period of time. obviously, there are people inside the campaign who feel like he's making matters worse. on top of all of that, we should point out this white house is once again looking like a hot zone for the coronavirus. more cases of the coronavirus were discovered overnight, including the chief of staff, mark meadows. that's something else that we're tracking over here in addition to, you know, what is going to happen with the resolution of this election, is whether or not it's even safe to work inside the white house, which is sort of an incredible commentary on where they are right now. >> this would be something like the third or fourth outbreak in the white house of the coronavirus. they're not exactly sticklers when it comes to wearing masks. i think it's fair to say. jim acosta, thank you very much. we're going to come back to you as matters develop. it's sad to see the president tweeting these lies, one after the other after the other, but at this point, frankly, it's almost irrelevant. we're at the point now where one of these states, data is going to come in and we're going to be able to call it and there's not one of those states trending red right now. >> right, i agree. the only thing that is relevant, too, or the only people, those tweets, which are lies about things we won't even talk about, are people, the tens of millions of people who read his tweets and believe what he says. and, you know, we've lived through this kind of alternate universe for five years now, but when we're talking about one of the basic tenets of democracy, which is the peaceful transitio of power, it takes it to another level, and let's just hope that this is the transition period, or as one of his advisers told me yesterday, his grieving period, and he'll get to the other side when the numbers become more clear, because the people who listen to him have to be brought along to the notion that this was not illegitimate, that this was done appropriately. >> yeah, i totally agree. i mean, the president needs to bring his people along to get to that conclusion. what he's doing right now is not helping. it's hurting that process. and there at some point will need to be, as you've said repeatedly, a real intervention from republican leaders with this president about what's going on. but i think people might be confused as to why that hasn't happened yet and i think the answer is pretty simple. this is still donald trump's republican party, whether he is re-elected or not. and republicans in washington, some of whom were just re-elected to their offices and some are facing re-election the next two years or four years, they know they will need the president's supporters. so there's a fear, a real fear in washington right now about how to handle this. how not to alienate these people and what will happen if president trump is not re-elected and he's no longer on the ballot to help them out and bring these people out to the polls. so you talk about a grieving period, there's a grieving period happening for the rest of washington as well on the republican side. but at some point the fate of the country has to come before that. and i do think it will. it's just a matter of time. >> you see some of that in statements from republican leaders, the more sane ones, like senator mitt romney or congressman add many kinsinger, people who understand that maybe the fat lady hasn't sung, but she is sure clearing her throat. and the idea that it's time to start praising president trump's accomplishments, the republican party had a fantastic night other than the top of the ticket. thee picked up seats in the house, as of right now they've held onto the senate, they've held onto all their legislators, et cetera. the president has a number of accomplishments that republicans can be proud of when it comes to supreme court justices and tax cuts and deregulation and criminal justice reform. it is time for republicans to start praising cesar and preparing to bury him, both. it is very clear what is going on. it is not helpful, as you know, that there are republicans competing for the maga voters who are ginning up and following -- republicans, by the way, who know better, like senator ted cruz, senator lindsey graham, house minority leader, kevin mccarthy, who know there is no evidence of fraud and it's time for them to come back to planet earth. it looks like the trump era is in its last throws. it's time for them to start doing what's best for not just the country, but also themselves. >> i agree with you that the trump era might be coming to a close now, but the trump grip on the republican party is nowhere near over. and that is the calculation that those lawmakers have been making for a long time. and i mean, there's already open speculation, informed speculation, that if, in fact, the numbers continue to go where they go and the president is a one-term president, the first since george h.w. bush, that he will run again in 2024. that is not a wild thought, because that is something that he -- you know, maybe he's joking, maybe he's not. we can obviously see that happening. so that is the reality that these republicans are living in right now. >> don't go anywhere. we are waiting for new numbers, votes from pennsylvania, that could put joe biden over the top and into the white house. stay with us. our special coverage continues next. we all have our own journey ahead of us. our own hopes and dreams. we'll pass many milestones. moments that define you. and drive you. to achieve even more. so, celebrate every one. because success isn't just about where you want to get to. it's also about how you get there the all new 2021 cadillac escalade. never stop arriving. it's also about how you get there irresistibly smooth chocolate. ♪ to put the world on pause. lindor. made to melt you. by the lindt master chocolatier. it's a dark, lonely place. this is art inspired by real stories of people living with bipolar depression. emptiness. a hopeless struggle. the lows of bipolar depression can disrupt your life and be hard to manage. latuda could make a real difference in your symptoms. latuda was proven to significantly reduce bipolar depression symptoms, and in clinical studies, had no substantial impact on weight. now i'm feeling connected. empowered. latuda is not for everyone. call your doctor about unusual mood changes, behaviors or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. elderly dementia patients on latuda have an increased risk of death or stroke. call your doctor about fever, stiff muscles, and confusion, as these may be life-threatening, or uncontrollable muscle movements as these may be permanent. these are not all the serious side effects. this is where i want to be. talk to your doctor and ask if latuda could make the difference you've been looking for in your bipolar depression symptoms. we're watching battlegrounds right now, georgia. biden is ahead. nevada, biden is ahead by 22,657 votes. pennsylvania, biden is ahead by 28,833 votes. arizona, biden is ahead by 29,861 votes. four key battlegrounds. at the cnn voting desk, where are the outstanding votes right now? >> there are four key states we're looking at, as you well know. and this morning we could be getting the release of data from these mail-in ballots in some of these states that could put joe biden over the edge. we're looking at pennsylvania first. we're starting there, because that is the one, that is the state that could do it this morning. it has 76,000 ballots outstanding, 101,000 provisional ballots. philadelphia, we're expecting to release more results this morning, perhaps. we have reporting that they could release up to 3,000 by noon. now, in georgia, looking there, approximately 12,770 provisional ballots in georgia, up to 8,400 overseas and military ballots. i want to mention that these were ballots that were sent out, but we don't know the number that has actually been returned in georgia. we know the deadline for that was on friday. there's also counting under way in gwinnett county, another democratic stronghold. in arizona we're also expecting an update in its largest county, maricopa. it has 126,000 altogether in arizona, and we'll wait for the update from maricopa. that's an important one in arizona. finally, you have nevada, 124,500 ballots there, 60,000 provisional ballots and we are expecting an important update from clark county at 12:00 p.m. eastern time. that, again, is another important count in nevada, the home of las vegas. we'll be keeping an eye on that. but really right now so much attention is on pennsylvania. >> it certainly is. pamela, we'll get back to you. john, if biden were to win all four of these contests that we just discussed, he would wind up with 306 electoral votes, which is exactly the same number that trump won four years ago. he won pennsylvania by about 44,000 votes. he called that a landslide four years ago. but it would be intriguing that if he wins all four biden, 306, trump won 306 four years ago. >> that's the political statement a president biden would like to make. this is pennsylvania, there will be more votes of pittsburgh and philadelphia. to your point, one, joe biden believes that is a statement. more votes than any candidate in the history of america. the president is number two, so dan had made this point earlier. his grip on the republican party, he may well lose the white house. donald trump can say i got 70 million votes, i still have a grip over this party. it's the trump party, it's not the republican party anymore. that will be a dynamic that continues even if donald trump has to leave the white house. to joe biden's point, 75 million votes. last night he says he thinks he has a mandate to govern. the republicans may still control the senate. two run-offs in the state of georgia. still an evenly divided country if you look at the white house elections and senate elections. how does joe biden make that case? number one, the democrats, he says i'm your leader because i did what i said i would do. i said i would flip wisconsin, michigan and pennsylvania back and we're still waiting on the final one. if he's successful, he can say this is why i ran, i was right. that helps in politics. it's very important when you're trying to sway people over, to reach compromise and get some people, say progressives who want him to be more ambitious and bold on climate change and other issues, to get them to be more patient. this would be another statement, as would this. when you're a new president you want to be able to get in the room with the republicans who will still have a lot of power and say the american people just told you to listen to me. that has been a republican state, not since bill clint nt in 1992 has a democrat carried it for president. not since bill clinton in '96 has a democrat carried it. it gives him some leverage to go in and say your voters are turning on you, you should listen to me. it gives biden some leverage as he goes into it. that's the point he's trying to make as he remakes this map a bit. not a fundamental wow change in the map, but an important change in the map. this gives him credibility with democrats, it gives him a little bit more credibility with republicans. just one perspective, and democrats get mad at me when i do this. i like to show the polarization of america is going nowhere. joe biden may by the end of the day have an impressive win for the presidency. but just like barack obama and donald trump, he will become president of a very divided country. you see all this red. that's how america voted by county. now, democrats at home are already saying nobody lives here. they're right, these are less populus counties, but these states still get two senators and those senators overwhelmingly from this part of the country are republicans. that's what complicates the politics. this is the fight over the senate, the fight over the electoral college, the filibuster, i get it. all those fights will be waiting for the new president. but if you look at the map, you see democrats incredibly strong on the coasts, that's why when you come out of this -- that's why this is significant to joe biden, to get a win in georgia, to pick up in arizona, would give him some more leverage. how much? that's what the next 100 days, the first 100 days of the administration would teach us. but this map tells us red and blue. it also tells us a lot, that america is still in a tug of war and the politics are still evenly divided. but, again, if you can -- that's a statement, that's a statement. you set out on day one saying that's what i would do if on the decisive day you can prove you did it. that matters in politics and gives you credibility. >> we heard biden say last night he wants to unite the country, try to bring the country together, assuming he becomes president of the united states. >> that's a fascinating dynamic, because let's assume mitch mcconnell stays at the majority leader, there will be no run-offs in the state of georgia. >> for the senate. >> for the senate, before the democrats get 50 and then kamala harris would break the tie. joe biden does have a relationship with trust with mitch mcconnell. i'm not saying they're friends, i'm not saying they agree on much. but during the obama administration when they were cutting deals with mcconnell, biden's word was good. if mcconnell gave biden his word, he trusted him, and that was a long time ago. that was four years ago and it seems like a long time ago, the way washington has changed. the question is, again, to that point, biden has a relationship with trust, not policy agreement, but trust with mcconnell to cut compromises, which is what biden says he wants to do. how much leverage does mitch mcconnell got to do that? he got 70 million votes, and even if he's gone from the white house, if you've been on social media, he has a twitter presence and other ways of making clear what he wants republicans to do. so today could be a decisive day in the presidential race and it also will turn the page to what will be a fascinating new chapter in politics. >> we're expecting, john, a bunch of votes to come in from arizona fairly soon. bill weir is in phoenix for us. what is the latest? what are you hearing? >> reporter: well, there are at their places here in maricopa county as we expect a new set of numbers in less than half an hour here today and there will be two big number dumps today and that will pretty much make it all over but the shouting. we have seen since the associated press called this state, joe biden's lead eroded as counties like navajo and john mccain country start to give the president more and more votes. last night he picked up another 7,000 here in maricopa. the two biggest counties are the last to finish voting and that is maricopa and pima county. this election is thrown upside down by the president's behavior. normally the republicans would get their ballots in earlier and they validate their signatures and then the democrats wait until the last minute and you would see a boost surge the way we're seeing around the country. this year because the president injected so much doubt into the mail, we don't know what these last ballots are going to bring us. it could go down if joe biden holds onto arizona. the biggest example of political self-sabotage ever. >> bill weir, we'll stay in close touch with you as well and get the numbers coming in. we're expecting lots of results, thousands of ballots in pennsylvania, could be coming in very soon, and that could decide the race for the white house. our special coverage continues right after this. flare-up? enough, crohn's. for adults with moderate to severe crohn's or ulcerative colitis, stelara® can provide relief, and is the only approved medication to reduce inflammation on and below the surface of the intestine in uc. you, getting on that flight? back off, uc. stelara® may increase your risk of infections, some serious, and cancer. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, sores, new skin growths, have had cancer, or if you need a vaccine. rpls, a rare, potentially fatal brain condition, may be possible. some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. lasting remission can start with stelara®. if you've been financially impacted by covid-19, janssen may be able to help. smart fridge... smart car...smart doorbell. door bell: hello but fitbit makes you smart about your health. this isn't some phone on your wrist. it's a way to help manage stress... keep your heart strong... and detect potential signs of illness. it's more than a smartwatch. it's a smarter way to transform your health. it's more than a smartwatch. keeping your oysters growing while keeping your business growing has you swamped. (♪ ) you need to hire i need indeed indeed you do. the moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a shortlist of quality candidates from a resume data base so you can start hiring right away. claim your seventy-five-dollar credit when you post your first job at indeed.com/promo on the sleep number number's 360 smart bed.ale you can adjust your comfort on both sides, your sleep number setting. can it help me fall asleep faster? yes, by gently warming your feet. but can it help keep me asleep? absolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both effortlessly comfortable. will it help me keep up with mom? you got this. so, you can really promise better sleep? not promise. prove. it's our veterans day weekend special, save $1,000 on the sleep number 360 special edition smart bed, now $1,799, plus, 0% interest for 24 months and free premium delivery when you add a base. ends wednesday. welcome back. we continue to watch the votes be counted and we anticipate getting more numbers in very shortly and perhaps some form of resolution shortly as well. there you see the numbers in georgia, a 7,000 lead by biden. it is pennsylvania where so many eyes are on and where we have been seeing vice president biden's lead just increasing hour by hour of the last several days. gloria, if it is pennsylvania that gives joe biden the presidency, there would be some certainly significance for the biden family in that. first of all, today, november 7th, in 1972, joe biden was elected to the senate for the first time. >> at the age of 29. >> 48 years ago today. so certainly for joe biden, there would be relevance in that. as john mentioned, pennsylvania is the state that got him there. it's a state that he was born in, there's a lot of memories for him there. it's the state that launched his campaign for the presidency. and he really framed this race as a battle between scranton and park avenue. >> he did. he was born there and his family was forced to leave scranton because his father lost his job, and the family moved to wilmington eventually. but, you know, he sees scranton as his home and he is a son of wilmington, obviously, a senator from the state of pennsylvania, but very close -- i mean, i'm tired, from the state of delaware. but he feels very close to both states. and i think, for him, it is where he believes his values come from, that he is the son of somebody who struggled financially. they lived in this very modest house with his aunts, his uncles, you know, his mom, dad, brothers, sisters, and that is where he says he was born politically to a degree, and it is why he says he believes in what he believes and, as you say, has framed the campaign as someone who understands main street against somebody who understands park avenue. >> and the argument that biden will make and has already said, is that he has rebuilt the blue wall. >> yeah, look, i think there's something to that. i've been thinking the last few days, and this will irritate some democrats, but could another democrat have done what he did here? i think it's very questionable. he did have reach to voters and areas that perhaps other democrats didn't particularly in the industrial midwest, and i'm reminded of the fact that one of the many reasons that barack obama chose him in 2008 was because there was this recognition, we just parked him in those states because he knew how to talk to folks there, he felt culturally akin to them. so, you know, i think he has a real claim to that. the question for the party is what happens post-biden. but right now, he was the right guy to put this back together. >> his complaint about hillary clinton's campaign was that she didn't campaign in those states enough that you're talking about. >> but it's not just that she didn't campaign there. she really didn't connect there. >> that's right. >> and biden culturally connected with constituencies that she did not. you know, obviously he got mamboed in these rural areas, but he did get 8% more than hillary clinton did among white non-college voters and he ran up the score in suburban areas where his moderation was actually a plus with independent voters. >> is mambo a political word? >> it's a political word. i'll send you the dictionary. >> pennsylvania, you yesterday were talking about the numbers in pennsylvania, and i know you continue to look at the numbers coming in. what does that tell you about these allegations? >> i'm looking for evidence is there any monkey business going on, to see if there's something that sort of sticks out that they stacked the vote or there's any anomalies. >> which are the allegations being made. >> so if we're going to make those allegations, obviously you have to prove them with facts. but it's good to look at what do the numbers show. if there are anomalies in the numbers, that shows it's the case. i was looking at them because we're getting these from allegheny county. joe biden is doing 2.5% better than hillary clinton in allegheny county. you would say, wow, that's western pennsylvania and it must be the city of pittsburgh. but in a suburban county next to it, westmoreland, which is trump country, he's doing 2.5% better, too. his last big rally was in butler county, which is where i lived most of my childhood. he's doing 3% better in butler county than hillary clinton. washington county, south, trump county, he's doing 2% better. beaver county it's only doing 1% better. but the idea is he's doing better every down there and allegheny county is not an anomaly. if you're looking for fraud you have to look at where are they moving numbers sufficiently that would look outside what the norm is. and, again, i don't see it. it doesn't mean it's not happening. and on the other side of the state -- that's southwestern pennsylvania. southeastern pennsylvania, which is biden country, he's done 7% better in chester county. montgomery county, 5% better. delaware county 4% better. bucks county, 5% better. in philadelphia, where the fraud is supposedly taking place, he's doing 4.5% worse than hillary clinton. and in the suburban counties, the vote is up 10% to 12%. in philadelphia it's only up 3%. so, again, if you're looking at well, i know these are a lot of numbers and maybe i'm not explaining it well, but i guess -- >> no, it's interesting. >> it shows to me that in the areas that you would expect the fraud to occur, the big cities, you don't really see -- you see philadelphia, actually trump did better and the machine didn't crank out their vote. >> david raised the question of could any other democrat have done what joe biden did in pennsylvania. you know the state well. what do you think? >> look, i campaigned for george w. bush. i was the chairman of his committee in 2004. i've run a lot of campaigns in pennsylvania, including my own, i've never seen a better campaign in the state up until that point. we did everything right and he lost. and the reason he lost is, i hate to say it, a texas oilman never quite connected. and i would make the argument that that was true for hillary clinton four years ago. she never connected to the middle of -- you know, sort of the swing voter in pennsylvania, sort of the lunch bucket voter. donald trump connected and did really well four years ago. he still connected and did really, really well there. but joe biden connected enough. i lost a race in 2006 to a guy, and the reason i lost is because i ran against liberals in the past and i was able to beat liberals because that's not pennsylvania. and in the case of bob casey, he connected because he was from a casey family that -- >> and biden did that as well. >> biden is that same image and that's why i think he did well. >> all eyes on pennsylvania as we wait for the results of thousands for ballots that could prop propel joe biden to the white house. our coverage continues after this. it'setting in my way. joint pain, swelling, tenderness...much better. my psoriasis, clearer... cosentyx works on all of this. four years and counting. so watch out. i got this! watch me. real people with active psoriatic arthritis look and feel better with cosentyx. cosentyx works fast for results that can last. it treats the multiple symptoms of psoriatic arthritis, like joint pain and tenderness, back pain, and helps stop further joint damage. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms, if your inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen, or if you've had a vaccine, or plan to. serious allergic reactions may occur. i just look and feel better. i got real relief with cosentyx. watch me! feel real relief. ask your rheumatologist about cosentyx. stand up to moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. and take. it. on... ...with rinvoq. rinvoq a once-daily pill... ...can dramatically improve symptoms... rinvoq helps tame pain, stiffness, swelling. and for some... rinvoq can even significantly reduce ra fatigue. that's rinvoq relief. with ra, your overactive immune system attacks your joints. rinvoq regulates it to help stop the attack. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious infections and blood clots, sometimes fatal, have occurred... ...as have certain cancers, including lymphoma, and tears in the stomach or intestines, and changes in lab results. your doctor should monitor your bloodwork. tell your doctor about any infections... and if you are or may become pregnant while taking rinvoq. take on ra talk to your rheumatologist about rinvoq relief. rinvoq. make it your mission. if you can't afford your medicine, abbvie may be able to help. if you can't afford your medicine, let's get checked for those around us. let's get checked for a full range of conditions. introducing letsgetchecked let's get round the clock support from a team of nurses. let's get fast, accurate results. know your health. know yourself. order now at letsgetchecked dot com to give you the protein you need with less of the sugar you don't. [grunting noise] i'll take that. woohoo! 30 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar. ensure max protein. with nutrients to support immune health. we're getting a slew of new vote totals from make-or-break battlegrounds. i'm wolf blitzer. we're told former vice president joe biden believes this is the day he will become president elect and seal a victory over president trump. that could happen sometime soon, as pennsylvania vote counters are very busy right now tallying ballots in philadelphia, and in pittsburgh. we're standing by for new results from the keystone state at any moment. they're also making a big push to count outstanding ballots in arizona. we expect thousands of votes to be revealed in the state aept largest county at any moment. we're awaiting new results in nevada as well. it might be enough to give joe biden a new win or wins that would bump his electoral vote count from 253 to the winning number of 270. and trump, with 213 electoral votes, is not, repeat not, in a position to stop him. let's get a key race alert. let's start off in arizona, some new numbers are just coming in. you can see biden still maintains his lead, 28,052 over president trump, 49.5% to 48.7%. 95% of the estimated vote is in in arizona, 11 electoral votes. in the critically important battleground state of pennsylvania right now, biden maintains his lead of 28,833, 49.6% to 49.1%. 20 electoral votes in pennsylvania, 96% of the estimated vote is in. let's talk to john king about what's going on. this is crunch time for these candidates and it's looking closer and closer for biden. >> it is crunch time. i was just looking at the vote count in pennsylvania. you see 28,833 in a state where 3.33 million. when you're going that deep into the decimal points, that tells you you have a very close race. a lot of people think how competitive that is. this was a heavyweight fight. this was a heavyweight fight four years ago and it is a heavyweight fight this time as joe biden moves in. we expect new votes any moment now. we know there are new votes coming from philadelphia and pittsburgh. you can see they are biden blue on the map. the question is can joe biden build up a little more to the lead to get to the point where the math tells you it is virtually impossible or impossible for the president to catch up. this has been a very impressive win. again, you see it so close and you think well, it's competitive. that's not a blow-out. it's not a blowout but that is what makes it such a great fight. you see in philadelphia right here, 555,000 to 125,000, that 81% of the vote. this is where a democrat has to have the big building block in the city of philadelphia. but it's not just there. it's the suburbs around philadelphia. what senator santorum was talking about earlier, you move around the state, no big biden shifts from hillary clinton. he didn't go in and steal away tons of trump voters. but he turned out democrats. this is where he was born, scranton, 54%, if you round up, and you go back to four years ago, 50% there to 46%. you just get a little bit more. you just get a little bit more, right? so you're not blowing it out, it's not a game-changing election, but you move the dial a little bit in a close state. that's what makes the difference. you can also come down here to north hampton county. it's not a very big county. you see it's almost a wash, right? >> i was going to say, let's go to arizona. we're about to get a whole bunch of new votes in arizona as well and it's a critically important battleground state that we're watching. in maricopa county, the largest county in the phoenix area, the vote is about to come in. right now we see biden maintains his lead of about 28,000 votes over trump. but the lead has shrunk a bit over the past couple of days. >> over the past couple of days, you would see a biden lead that was 47,000 plus not that long ago. as these votes have come in, donald trump has been slowly narrowing it. you look at the map and you see all the ready. not much population, but the president has very strong support in rural america. then you move in where the people are, 60% of your vote is going to come from maricopa county. you see it's competitive, if you round it up, about 95% in. maricopa county, and more votes in pima county. tucson, the suburbs around them. that's how you settle the race. >> hold on one second. i want to go to bill weir in phoenix. he's getting the votes right now. update our viewers, bill. >> reporter: yeah, wolf, this is the last big significant dump of the biggest county here in the state of arizona. my math privileges have been revoke, which is a good call by the decision desk so i'll give you the raw numbers. biden-harris, 1,023,516, trump/pence, 95,495,000. it doesn't look like the president made up as much ground as he needs to. >> he certainly did not make up that much ground. you can see what's going on over there. those are the total numbers that we're talking in maricopa county right now. >> right, the numbers and you see the map. we have to match this up. joe biden goes from 04 up to 23, and you see the president jumps up a little bit. so you're just trying to see, are we getting to a point where the president can narrow the lead. let me just move this out of the way so people can see what we're talking about. you've got 60% of the vote and you're looking at percentages, are you making up the percentage that you need. >> we got the actual numbers. biden got 19,513. >> let's blank it out and get to the new numbers. >> 19,513. >> okay. >> and trump got 26,992. >> so, again, the president there, he's obviously netting more votes. that's the important part. if you're the president, you're looking at this and saying i'm netting more votes in the counts. that's good, you're making up ground. but then you come to the bigger question and you come out statewide, are you making up enough ground. that's the question. now you see it down to 20,573. it was 47,000. the question is, can you narrow it to catch up the gap. >> it's down to 20,573 right now. still a lead, but it's shrunk once again as the votes come in from maricopa county. >> you look at maricopa county, and this is a great tool. sometimes you have to dig in. just remember, maricopa county is 60% of the vote. you see 50/48. four years ago, it was very competitive and it was the president on top. we were just talking about this in pennsylvania. joe biden is not going into counties and flipping them. we're not seeing ten-point swings in votes. but 49/46, four years ago. right now it's a flip 50/48. you move the dial one point, two percentage points, that's how you can flip a state. we need to continue here because this is the one -- and the other states, especially georgia and pennsylvania, as they count the late votes, biden leads stretches. in arizona as they count them, biden's lead has been shrinking. >> biden is still ahead by 20,573. but it helps explain why cnn, our decision desk decided not to project the winner in arizona. >> we get the frustration out there. we spend months, years, looking at census changes and here is our metric. we need to see this before we call the state for any candidate. those are the rules before election day and they have to be the rules on election day and the five or seven days after. you can't change the rules. we know if we call a certain state or two states, it's over. we can't do it just to do that. you can have all the fireworks on place on july 3rd, but you don't light them until july 4th. again, you've just got to stick with the standards. you can guess. we have probability. those of you at home can do math. a lot of very smart people on the democrat and republican party on social media and elsewhere are publishing the percentages and metrics and likelihoods. that's all great, but we have rules and need to follow them. >> it's clear we're not going to project arizona right now. let's go back to pennsylvania where we're waiting for some more votes. they're supposed to come in any minute right now. what are you looking for? >> you're just looking if the percentages match up. let me go down to philadelphia and this is where we know that there are about 20,000 votes out and we believe within moments wewe could get 2,000 to 3,000 votes. we're looking at a universe of maybe 2,000, 3,000 votes and we're going to get 10% or more of the votes. statistically that tells you something. joe biden getting 81% of the votes. number one, you get new votes and it's a small universe of outstanding votes. number two, you're looking for consistency. the joe biden continuing to perform or the president in arizona? the point we were just making, the president has continued to chip into the lead. how much is he cutting it by here? for joe biden, it's been how much is he building it by. he's getting 81% overall in the late mail-in ballots that they're counting, joe biden has been exceeding that. does that continue? do you continue to see math where joe biden is matching or exceeding what he's getting and then you're counting on how many votes still outstanding, what percentage is joe biden getting, and how high does that raise the bar for president trump to catch up. so you're watching it there, and, again, you come out here and it's more competitive, but it's the very same dynamic. the votes we received this morning from allegheny county, joe biden got higher than that percentage. that's the dynamic you're looking for. again, our decision desk people know how many votes have been cast and stthey have a statistil model that tells them if we reach this point, you declare a winner. joe biden is inching up to that metric. he's just not quite there yet. right before we went to arizona, i just was talking about how joe biden has moved the bar here. again, you look at it so competitive and you think not a lot changed. number one, democrats turned out. little things like this. this is north hampton county, 49.8, 48.9. you think what is the significance of that? let's go back in time. donald trump carried this county, very narrowly, but in a heavyweight battle county like this, he was a little on top and she's behind. that matters because if you go back in time to 2012, obama wins them twice and then trump wins them. if you study politics that's what you want to know. how does that happen? how do people vote twice for barack obama and then vote for trump. it's a very competitive place. obama gets 51, trump gets 50, biden is about to get 50. if you do it in north hampton and then you do it in erie, there are three pivot counties in pennsylvania. right now joe biden is on the verge of flipping two of them. it gets you 5,000 votes here, 10,000 votes there, that gets you 28,000, almost 29,000 there and you build your path until you hit the line. we're getting really close to it. >> there's not a lot of votes outstanding in pennsylvania right now. the votes that are outstanding are in the pittsburgh, allegheny county area and in the southeastern part, the heavily democratic part of the state. >> right. we talked to brian todd earlier. he's right there in the room. that's emphasize that, especially at a time when the president of the united states and his allies are stirring up all this dust about irregularities. we have reporters in the room, other organizations have people in the room, democrats and republicans have people in the room, there are cameras in the room. people are counting votes. if you see anything wrong, go to the right place and file a complaint on paper with your evidence. when you hear people talking about this on either side, we just need to discount it. the proof is in the pudding. but here you go. we've been watching joe biden getting 59% countywide in these late mail-in ballots. that's what gets you closer to meeting your metric and we're expecting more votes shortly. and then, again, the major population center of the state, if we move pennsylvania up a little bit is here, and we know 20,000 votes still outstanding in philadelphia. there's just a couple thousand when you go around here, delaware county, chester county, montgomery county, and you come back here to philadelphia city. what do they all have in common? they're blue. slightly different percentages. you come up to bucks county, it's the more competitive of the suburbs right around the city, but joe biden is winning it. this is the more competitive one, but in the mail-in ballots winning it higher. county to count here the votes. we're waiting to see another batch that confirms the trajectory to make sure there's no late disruption in that, and guess what, 28,000 votes there, you get joe biden at 30,000, heading toward 35,000, then the math is pretty convincing. we'll see when the votes come in. >> they might be coming in in allegheny county. brian todd is there. we will be getting the numbers, we understand, fairly soon, right? >> reporter: that's right, wolf, fairly soon. no strict timetable yet. we think it's going to be in the next couple of minutes. we believe we'll hear from the election division manager for allegheny county. he's going to step to this podium, we've been told. we're anticipating that. a lot of anticipation as you and john are talking about, allegheny county so crucial to whether joe biden is going to boost those margins to what he needs here in pennsylvania. the counters have been here all morning and they've been doing different briefings with the observers. at one point the observers asked to get a little closer and they were allowed to do that. it's been a very transparent process the entire time we've been here. it's important to note at this krous crucial moment in allegheny county, we have asked repeatedly to people like rich fitzgerald, the executive here in allegheny county, we have asked repeatedly, have there been any abnormalities or complaints from observers or glitches. we've been repeatedly told no, everything has been going smoothly and everything is transparent. i think it's important to point that out when so many are hinging on these few thousand votes we think we're going to get. the executive for allegheny county, rich fitzgerald, did tell another news outlet he expects maybe 7,000 votes to be repealed here in the next few minutes. so that could be very significant, guys. >> it could be extremely significant. and you are there, you're going to get us those numbers as soon as they come in. stand by for a moment. if we get 7,000 votes coming in from allegheny county, that's a huge number and presumably mail-in ballots, which are skewed disproportionately for biden. >> and the executive said this morning some on the blots they're counting are military ballots. the campaigns call us and the clinton campaign was saying don't call wisconsin, don't call michigan, we think there are votes in milwaukee, detroit. we're reporters, we listen to everybody. so one of the things the trump people have been saying, and they have every right to say this, is don't call these states. remember, there are military ballots out there or other ballots from overseas and we think we're going to win those. fair point. what we have seen when they announced the allegheny results earlier, the gentleman said there were military ballots in there and joe biden still had a lopsided percentage. so what are the issues the trump campaign says to watch, what are the issues the biden campaign says to watch, more importantly what metrics did we have in place before the election, what are our rules. we have fantastic people. i cannot tell you how many people in this building are busting their you-know-whats to help us do this right. if you get a batch of votes that size and if it reaffirms, joe biden continues to get 70% of them or high 60% of them, then it tells you your trajectory is solid, there's no interruptions in your line. the president is arizona, for example, joe biden had a big lead and it makes you pause because the president chips into it. the challenge for the president now as we get so close to a decision point in pennsylvania is to prove he can slow the trajectory and we don't see it. i want to reinforce it's not just reporters in that room and the government officials, the employees in that room, there are honest democrats and republicans in that room. brian says that nobody is raising complaints. there are very good republicans from western pennsylvania in there. if you're a democrat you may disagree with their politics, but they're hard working people who are volunteering. the observers are volunteering and it's very important what brian just said, hard working americans, our friends, our doctors, our neighbors and farmers who are in these rooms watching. the president is complaining. he's not in the room. the people in the room, members of his own party, people who voted for him are not raising their hand and complaining. and that is an incredibly significant point as we go through this process because those are honest hard working people. >> they're patriotic americans and we're grateful to them. allegheny county, we're expecting several thousand votes to be released. let's go back to philadelphia. kate bolduan is there. we're expecting a batch of votes to come in from philadelphia as well, kate? >> reporter: that's exactly right, wolf. we're expecting relatively soon to have the first batch of votes of the day to be counted and uploaded to the system. we're told by officials, we're told by sources that it will be between 2,000 and 3,000 votes. one source telling us it will be before noon, which we're in the 11:00 hour now on the east coast. another source saying by early afternoon. the focus here is on these 20,000 outstanding mail-in ballots that are requiring extra review. as it was put to us, there's also 18,000 provisional ballots that are out there and we were told to set aside and put out of our mind for the moment those provisional ballots because right now the focus is on the 20,000 mail-in ballots that are requiring extra review. we know since 7:00 this morning they have been in there reviewing, observing, and churning this out. we're told by a source there are ten people processing the ballots, six top officials hovering over them. so we are working on it. we are expecting this update will be coming very soon. it will not be the last update of the day. we're, of course, pushing to get more information of what those numbers could look like throughout the day. but they are churning it out as fast as they can, as accurately as they can. one top official said when they know that the world's eyes are on them, he said you move too fast in this process, you look reckless. you move too slow, you look like you're cooking the books. he said they're just getting it right, they're going through every ballot and this is the process it takes. we are expecting an update of 2,000 to 3,000 additional ballots to be counted and uploaded to the system very soon. >> as soon as you get a heads up, let us know. we're anxious to get the results in philadelphia and allegheny county, pittsburgh as well. maybe 7,000 in allegheny county, 2,000 or 3,000 in philadelphia, let's say another 10,000 votes come in, and presumably biden will be doing really well. >> and the presumably part is the important part that if he matches his metrics of what he's been doing and, again, it gets you closer on the trajectory to get there. philadelphia, he's getting 81% of the vote. he's been winning higher percentage when they count these smaller batch. to kate's point, if you've got 2,000 votes out, if we get 2,000 to 3,000, you're taking 10% or more off the table. if it matches what you had in the previous batch, you go back and look does it match what you had in the previous batch, then you're seeing a connist aens that makes you more comfortable to make a projection. if it goes in a different direction, you say all of a sudden the president is posting more votes, it gives you pause. you're looking for a consistent track and out of philadelphia there has been a consistent track. i want to reinforce this is a very competitive election. joe biden has the possible of getting over 300 electoral votes, but when you go through the battleground states and watch what's happening. joe biden is doing 81%, in philadelphia they're still counting. 555,833. you go back in time, 584,025. the clinton campaign lost pennsylvania four years ago. their biggest issue was not really philadelphia. there were other cities like detroit and milwaukee where they felt like urban turnout was down. this was not one of them. you always want to turn out more votes. but the clinton campaign said we met our metric in philadelphia. the challenge for the biden campaign was to do the same and they're right on path to do that. they're almost matching it there in percentage as well. that's the idea. so trump beat us here last time, what do the democrats have to do? at least match it because it was a strong performance and then build on it. >> hold on one second. kate bolduan, we'll go back to philadelphia right now. what are you getting? >> reporter: wolf, we're just learning from a source that they are momentarily going to be posting this new batch and it will be 3,000 ballots. i'm literally refreshing my phone as we speak. it has not updated to the system yet, but we're told it will be posting momentarily, it will be 3,000 additional ballots added to the results from philadelphia, wolf. >> and kate, it's john. wolf stepped away for one second. so let's just walk through this. you mentioned it could be 3,000, which could be decisive in the state of pennsylvania. walk our viewers through who might not have been with us through the hours into yesterday or the day before, so there's 3,000 ballots of the 20,000 remaining and these are mostly mail-in ballots or all mail-in ballots? >> reporter: these are all mail-in ballots, john. i know you know this, but for our viewers, these are mail-in ballots that they keep until the end of the process because they require a second look. they have an issue that needs to be reviewed and addressed. how they talk about them here in philadelphia, they talk about them as problem child ballots. it's just kind of the way they term it. these are things -- i'm just going to continue to refresh as we talk. these are things like there's a missing date, people put their birth date in the place where they're supposed to put the current date, they have miss in home addresses, they signed the wrong part of the envelope. these are all issues that have to be addressed to double-check and make sure they're accurate before they are counted. these also include, john, it sounds simple, but it's quite a real thing, the ballot is overly creased and it has to be dealt with manually because it can't get through the actual system. so this will be a 3,000 batch vote that will go into the system. where we are right now in terms of the number of ballots cast by mail that have been counted are 339,933. it's always a lot of numbers, john. you are much better at the math than i, so i'm not going to do it. it will be a 3,000 additional count. that is very similar to the batch that we received yesterday evening. it was a little over 2,000. it seems that is the increments they're working in now. >> i'll do my best when the numbers come in. this could be decisive. it's philadelphia where the trump campaign has had a couple of news conferences in recent days, jumping up and down and screaming about things. they won a battle and went to court in one case. the observers were so far away and they won a court battle so they could get closer to watch that. the trump campaign has been stirring up these allegations that in philadelphia especially, a democratic city, cooking the books. as you watch this process play out, we just had this conversation about brian in allegheny, there are republicans and democrats. people who voted for president trump are in this room watching, correct? plus live cameras? >> reporter: yes, john, you're talking to me, yeah? >> yes. >> reporter: i'm sorry, i didn't know. there's always too many voices in our heads. yes, there are people in the room, there are poll watchers in the room from both sides, democratic and republican. they have been in there the entire time. i was actually told by someone as the president was saying at a press conference that they weren't letting poll watchers in. someone texted me and said i just left the room, they are in there right now, they have been in there the entire time. we know that they have been. there's also a live -- there's been a live stream camera that has been up the entire time. we've spoken to sources and we've asked continuously, there has been no -- they have no reports of glitches or problems. this is the process playing out and these are hard-working people who have been trying to get it right this entire time and they're processing -- the reason it's taking longer, is because of this influx of mail-in ballots that they have not had before in a general election like this, and also the restrictions that the state was under. the fact that they could not open and prepare the ballots until election morning, election day morning. >> stand by. we have a key race alert right now. new numbers have just come in in pennsylvania. biden has increased his lead over trump right now, 30,908. biden has 49.6%, trump was 49.1%. the lead has gone up by a little bit around 2,000 right now. john king, go ahead. >> i want towalkthrough these numbers of what just came in and this is from philadelphia. the vice president and democratic nominee, former vice president and democratic nominee gets 2,431 of these votes, the president of the united states gets only 356 of these new votes. that is 85% of these votes, 85%. let's look at the significance of this. again, number one, it adds to the statewide lead and gets joe biden above 30,000. we have been looking for consistency in the trajectory of the count. you see 3.3 million count. now you have joe biden with a 30,000 vote lead. these new votes are coming to us, just talking to kate bolduan. she's right here in the city of philadelphia. again, what are you looking for as you go through the metrics? joe biden gets 85% of this new batch of ballots, just shy of 3,000 votes. he gets 85%. well, he's been getting 81% when you round up in philadelphia. what are we looking for? here is joe biden at that decisive moment. is he continuing to match or exceed the percentages he is getting? that is critical as you start to build the statistical model. now under 100,000 votes left to be counted in pennsylvania. so that's 85%. i'm going to move this off and put it into context. joe biden adds to his lead in pennsylvania by running it up more in philadelphia. we know we have more ballots coming shortly in allegheny county as well. the rest of the outstanding ballots, the overwhelming majority of them, right down here, southeast pennsylvania in this blue collar right around this part of the state. wolf, as you look at the numbers, you're building and building and building. >> after four long tense days, we've reached a historic moment in this election. we can now project the winner of the presidential race. cnn projects joseph r. biden jr. is elected the 46th president of the united states, winning the white house and denying president trump a second term. we're able to make this projection because cnn projects biden wins pennsylvania. the former vice president, in his third run for the highest office, pulling off a rare defeat of the sitting commander in chief. with this victory, kamala harris is set to become the first woman and the first person of color to be the vice president. again, cnn projects joe biden will become the 46th president of the united states. jake, he is now president elect joe biden. >> what a moment in history. we have all been waiting on the edges of our seats since tuesday. it is the end of a tumultuous presidency, a time of some accomplishments, no question, a time where many americans throughout the country and in shuttered steel towns and rural america, they felt for the first time, they felt heard, which is important. but it is also, wolf, it has also been a time of extreme divisions. many of the divisions caused and exacerbated by president trump himself. it's been a time of several significant and utterly avoidable failures, most tragically, of course, the unwillingness to respect facts and science and do everything that can be done to save lives during a pandemic. it has been a time where truth and fact were treated with disdain. it was a time of cruelty where inhumanities such as child separation became the shameful policy of the united states. but now the trump presidency is coming to an end, to an end, with so many squandered opportunities and ruined potential, but also an era of just plain meanness. it must be said to paraphrase president ford, for tens of millions of our fellow americans, their long national nightmare is over. >> and let's talk about joe biden. >> yes. >> five decades in public service, three times running for president. he finally got there and he's the most conventional of politicians, but in this election cycle his path has been so unconventional. remember, he beat out the biggest, most diverse field in the democratic primary and he is an older white man who did that. he lost iowa, he lost new hampshire, and it was democratic black voters who saved him and propelled him to this point. and that started in south carolina. and he made a comeback just this year like we've never seen. and also remember, joe biden is defined by his personal loss, his calling card is knowing how to heal himself and what he ran on and what he says he's going to do is try to heal this nation. now he's got to turn his attention to that and, can you imagine a more arduous task? >> yeah, and he defeated a president who was not easy to defeat, as we all know. a political force who really shocked the world four years ago. but it was, as you said, dana, a white, old man who did it and who was chosen by an increasingly young,se party to do one thing, that's regain the ground that was lost four years ago in parts of this country that have been traditionally democratic, and he did it in a way that was always underestimated by even members of his own party. this is a man who is not known for his discipline, who ran an incredibly conservative, disciplined, understated general election campaign. and it is for that reason that he was elected today as president of the united states. but i just want to say one more thing. jake, as you said, tens of millions of meshamericans, for today is a huge sigh of relief. they've spent four years, a majority of americans spent four years being governed by a president they did not elect. today that ends for them and i think it is a cathartic moment. we have to give credence to that. it's a cathartic moment for millions and millions of americans. >> and one other thing we have to acknowledge, not only did joe biden pull off what i think very few people would have predicted a couple of years ago, that he was going to be able to beat this incredible democratic field, the strongest democratic field in a long, long time. >> no question. >> and he was able to pull it off, he was able to do so with decency, he was able to do so on his terms. he ran as joe biden. i'm a guy that wants to bring the country together, i'm a guy that wants to govern from the center left. i'm a guy who feels your pain, who cares about you. >> he ran as his authentic self. >> he ran as himself. and i would also like to take a moment to acknowledge that the united states of america just elected its first woman and its first woman of color as vice president. kamala harris, the daughter of immigrants, one from india and one from jamaica, once again an amazing sign of what this country can be. >> yeah. in some ways this country always seems to act on a pendulum. you go from one extreme to another. i think we're seeing the other extreme of the pendulum today. kamala harris represents so much for millions of people in this country, and even her path to this moment, i think, is fairly unconventional. she was one of the first major candidates to drop out of the democratic field, but was someone who i think in the party believed always had so much promise, even barack obama believed she was a major rising star years ago. and one of the roles that she will play for joe biden is helping him bridge that gap between the joe biden who has been in washington for decades and decades, the old guard, the 70 something-year-old white man, with the younger part of the party that is clambering to be heard. they feel like they have been -- that their futures are on the line, especially after the last four years. and i think a lot of them are looking to kamala harris to give voice to that. >> and just to echo what you said earlier in the week, the democratic party has been alive on the backs of, and through the hard work of black women for many, many years, and now they finally see representation. and that is a huge thing. i want to just also -- i was thinking about this, put some numbers in historical reference on the kamala harris moment. 100 years ago this year women got the right to vote. 55 years ago this year, black americans were told that it could be easier for them to vote with the voting rights act. that was after so much bloodshed, so much protests, and now, after all of that time, a black woman has made history. >> the son of scranton and the daughter of immigrants, are headed to the white house. it is a sign of what can happen in this country. you can become anything you want to be. anderson? >> and it was the state, the commonwealth, where joe biden was born and it is on the same day 48 years ago that he was first elected to the senate, november 7th, 1972. what are your thoughts? >> it's -- well, it's easier to be a parent this morning, it's easier to be a dad. it's easier to tell your kids character matters, it matters. tell them the truth matters. being a good person matters. and it's easier for a lot of people. if you're muslim in this country, you don't have to worry if the president doesn't want you here. if you're an immigrant, you don't have to worry about your babies being snatched away or send dreamers back for no reason. it's vindication for a lot of people who have really suffered, you know, the "i can't breathe", that wasn't just george floyd. a lot of people have felt they couldn't breathe. every day you're waking up and getting tweets and you're going to the store and people who have been afraid to show their racism are getting nastier and nastier to you and you're worried about your kids and you're worried about your sister, can she just go to walmart and get back into her car without somebody saying something to her. and you've spent so much of your life energy just trying to hold it together. this is a big deal for us just to be able to get some peace and have a chance for a reset. and the character of the country matters and being a good man matters. i just want my sons to look at this. it's easy to do it the cheap way and get away with stuff, but it comes back around. it comes back around and it's a good thing for this country. i'm sorry for the people who lost, for them it's not a good day. but for a whole lot of people it's a good day. >> gloria? >> as long as i've been covering politics, we talk about character and a lot of campaigns character didn't count, other things mattered more. and i always ask myself this question, this race, would character matter, would values matter, would that go to the top of the list. and covid became part of that. it became part of the character issue, how you handle something that has killed more than 200,000 people in this country. it became a matter of character and values. and you look at joe biden and that is who he is. he's a man of empathy. you can disagree with him on all his -- you know, politically you can say he's a socialist, which of course he isn't. he was very hard for republicans to pigeonhole, because he said more than four decades in public service in which he refused to be pigeonholed. and that's so fascinating is that at least early on in the campaign, we always heard joe biden talk about himself as a transitional candidate because he is old. now, as a president, he's going to have to be transformational, because so much needs to be done in this country, whether it's about covid, whether it's about the economy, whether it's about race, whether it's about climate. you can go down the list. so this man who has the youngest man, one of the youngest, i should say, ever elected to the united states senate, will now be the oldest man ever to take the presidential oath. think of that. >> david? >> first of all, let me say watching wolf make that announcement threw me back to when i was in the war room in 2008 at the campaign headquarters and i heard him say the words that barack obama would be president of the united states and i was overwhelmed with emotion. i'm sure that's the feeling of people in biden's headquarters, and many people across the country. and van just so eloquently and movingly expressed that. joe biden, we tend to correct in our elections for the deficiencies of the person in that office, and in this case those deficiencies went to character, went to decency, went to a lack of empathy, and these are qualities, as gloria said, that joe biden has in abundance and that made him the right candidate to run against donald trump. i think when he said last night that he wanted to bring the country together, that he wanted to be the president of all americans, that he fundamentally believes that. he grew up that way in politics. but we should also recognize today, and i'm sure rick will speak to this, that there are a lot of americans that will see this as a gut-punch, because we are in a very divided country, and for all the tasks that joe biden faces now, president elect biden, whether it's dealing with the virus or dealing with the economy, or a myriad of other problems, the greatest challenge is going to be to deal with a deeply divided country and try to find a common language and common set of concerns that we can work on together, even if we disagree on many, many issues. i so fervently hope for the country that he is successful in moving us forward in that way. >> do you think that's possible? >> first let me just congratulate vice president biden. it looks like he's going to win this election. i know there's a lot of conservatives in the white house, republicans that still think this race isn't over, that they're going to continue this effort to determine whether there was sufficient irregularities to overturn this, so i think that's going to continue. how long it will continue, as david and i talked about yesterday, will depend on the margins in some of these states. pennsylvania, it was just called. pennsylvania ends up, you know, at 50,000 or 100,000 votes, it's going to be very, very difficult. let's say arizona, nevada, if you're not fighting in one state, if you're fighting in three or four states, it's going to be harder to figure out how you can put an effort together to be successful. so from the republican point of view, we're not convinced it's over yet and we're going to wait and see how the rest of these states play out. as you can see from the board, we have a lot of still very narrow races. so let me just say there's not the feeling yet that this is over. obviously, van is very moved, and i can understand how people are feeling the way you're feeling right now. i think, as we've talked about before, it's a very divided country and i think a lot of folks are our side are feeling the fears that you're feeling, that you have been feeling the past four years on the economic side, people are afraid that joe biden is going to what the boris johnson is doing and shut down the economy. there are a lot of blue collar people, again, that we've been talking about, that both -- a lot of blue collar americans felt that neither political party really cared about them and that they were the ones who were losing their jobs, they were the ones, whether it was technology or trade or globalism, that they were sort of left behind by both political parties, republicans for big business and democrats for protecting the environment and all these other issues. and the working class people were sort of left behind. so they're worried about, you know, going back to global agenda and not worrying about what's going on here in america. there are a lot of people of faith who are worried about religious liberty. they're worried about whether there's going to be speech codes and hate speech and a limit on what they're able to say. so as much as people are concerned, i understand you're feeling relieved, there's a lot of people now on our side who are feeling concerned. >> before we go, the challenge ahead for this president is enormous. >> it is, and i think that people should take very seriously what the senator just said. the grievances, those working class folks who felt that neither party cared about them weren't wrong. people were sacrificed for an agenda that didn't help a lot of people. and i know poor folks in appalachia and poor folks in south central, they've got the same problems. and cultural wars notwithstanding, there's a moment here, do your lawsuits, that's your right. but there is a moment here where we can reset and i think joe biden wants us to reset. and i will do everything i can. we've got a lot of fear and pain and a lot of promise, too. and so do your guys. if we could sit down at the same table, we could get something done together. >> i think the country has just elected the man who is the polar opposite of the man who currently occupies the office and his norm-shattering presidency, which i think we can all agree it was in one way or another, is going to give way to a presidency that will be all about respecting norms and institutions and making them better and uniting the country, not dividing the country. and i think as trump becomes the first president in, i think, almost 30 years not to win a second term, it will be hard for him to accept, it is hard for him to accept. but in the end, i hope he is gracious and can muster some graciousness when it comes to joe biden and him becoming the next president. >> let's go back to jake. >> well, it has been quite an ordeal covering the election these last few days and i know a lot of people out there have been eager for us to count the votes and make calls even before we were ready to do so. i want to make sure people understand that we were taking our time because we wanted to be 100% sure of the projection. and, you know, it's interesting, because while president trump has been out there attacking the very fundamentals of democracy, he's been benefitting from the counting going on in arizona. i want to go to jeff zeleny right now, who is covering the biden campaign for us. jeff, obviously joe biden and senator kamala harris have been eagerly awaiting the media to make these projections. what is the plan? >> reporter: jake, good morning. joe biden, i'm told, was at his home here in wilmington, delaware, when he saw the news that cnn and other networks projected him as the 46thth president of the united states. he had been anticipating this moment with patience, perhaps much more patience than some of his democratic supporters. but now he is looking ahead to the speech that he will deliver here this evening. it will, indeed, be a speech for history. it will also be the first step in his quest to try and unify this country. we've heard glimpses of what he's going to say. we've heard these words before. but the weight of these words he will deliver here this evening will be the first test for his quest to unify this nation. he said last night, jake, he said we may be opponents, but we are not enemies. they are americans. that will be the central theme of his message and it will be at the same spot where he accepted the democratic presidential nomination. but this campaign has changed dramatically since he started running it. this country has changed dramatically since he served eight years as the vice president. but he will use all of that learning, all of that history from his years in the senate right here from delaware, and of course at the white house to deliver the speech. im told by friends who have spoken to him over the last several days that he is going to give president trump a bit of time. he's going to give republicans a bit of time to digest this before he goes forward with his transition plans. first and foremost is going to be focusing on coronavirus, the challenges that are facing this country are steep. we've sort of set aside these daily cases of coronavirus to watch election returns, but he has been getting briefings every day, sometimes a few times a day on this. that, i'm told, is going to be his first step. but tonight, at least, he's going to deliver a speech and his supporters and advisers are already sending the message out, this is not a time for gloating. this is a time to accept and feel and celebrate a victory. there will be fireworks here, i'm told, this evening. there's also, i'm told, going to be what is scheduled to be a light show with several drones, perhaps dozens or scores of drones in the air dlivieliverin type of light show. after that, the hard work begins. for now i'm told we are not expected to hear or see the former vice president before the address this evening. that could always change. we might see a message from him on social media. but he is going to be delivering this speech that the stage has been waiting for for the last several days. we should also point out we will hear from senator harris this evening here as well. a history making move in its own right. tremendous move for the country, of course, and we'll see their partnership together beginning here. so even as he's taking in this victory, jake, i can tell you the transition is already under way. we are not likely to see any announcements in the coming -- at least the coming hours, but in the coming days we certainly will as he begins to assume his role as president elect. he'll be the 46th president of the united states. >> and jeff, for people who are just tuning in for the first time to find out that joe biden is now president elect joe biden and senator kamala harris is now vice president elect kamala harris, it's probably a good time for republicans to learn how to pronounce her name, i would like to note that if they are confused by the honking going on behind you, that is a mark of the new covid era where joe biden would have drive-in rallies, and instead of plaud g applauding and cheering, people would honk. >> reporter: right, it was at this parking lot right behind me, we saw one of the first drive-in rallies in august. it was really an extraordinary moment as he was inside the chase center delivering that acceptance speech, there were hundreds of cars outside with people coming out of their convertible rooftops or sitting on their roofs honking and we've seen that throughout the last several weeks of campaigning. but the honking is the sound of the new applause. jake, i can also say hundreds of people gathered here last evening in wilmington, delaware. people have delaware wanting to see their favorite son out giving a speech. it's one of the largest democratic gatherings that i have really seen since this pandemic began. so the biden campaign, of course, will have their official event here at the drive-in rally, but there are people gathering here in delaware. we should point out that he will also be the oldest president elected. two weeks from yesterday, he turned 78 years old. but that is just one of the history-making things. also the second u.s. president who is catholic. so he often goes to mass or church here in wilmington before a big moment in his life. i would expect that as well today. senator harris, of course, making many, many moments of history. she will speak first this evening, i'm told, and then joe biden will speak after. again, both having a unifying message here. this is more than just a speech. this is the first step in their next chapter of trying to lead this country through this challenge and turmoil, jake. >> jeff zeleny, thank you so much. it is such a historic moment, such a moment of import. the idea of democracy that the people get to decide every few years if they like what they have or they want to stick with it, or if they want to change. the american people resoundingly with what looks like a popular vote margin of at least 4 or 5 million votes for joe biden, and also what looks like it will be ultimately a significant win in the electoral college as well. the american people saying to donald trump, thanks, but you should go, we want new leadership. and joe biden could not be more of a polar opposite from donald trump. >> you're exactly right. one of the many fantastic story lines, and this is obviously -- this is an objective thing to say of this election, is how many people engaged, how many people went out and voted. it is just remarkable, not only is joe biden somebody who has gotten more of the popular vote than anybody in history as far as we know, donald trump also >> that's right outside the convention center in philadelphia, pennsylvania. philadelphia, a city that donald trump has been attacking unfairly for a long time. he even got into a fight with the philadelphia eagles in 2018 after the eagles won the super bowl. philadelphia delivering the margin of victory for joe biden that allowed cnn to call pennsylvania. and then, therefore, call the presidency for joe biden. philadelphians realizing the significant role they played in this election taking to the streets in celebration. in the birthplace of liberty we should say in this country. >> yeah. >> i'm sorry for interrupting. >> i completely understand. and by the way, that's happening in a lot of the cities around the country. i'm getting texts from friends who are saying they're out and about and they're hearing cheering and honking. let's be clear. that is obviously happening in about half the country right now because the other half, as i was mentioning before, less than half because otherwise joe biden wouldn't be president-elect right now. donald trump did extraordinarily well. it's just that more people voted for joe biden. and there are still about 70 million people. a little under that right now, who joe biden is going to have to find a way to reach out to. he says it all the time. he talks about being the president, not just of blue states, of red states but of the united states. borrowing a famous line from barack obama. but now the tough part comes. now he's got to find a way to make that a reality. and it's not going to be easy because this polarized country is going to take a very, very, very long time to heal. >> yeah, i mean, look. this is absolutely an incredibly polarized country but i've been sitting here and thinking about how difficult this year has been for so many americans. and it hasn't been felt evenly in this country. there are millions of americans who were disproportionately hurt by this president's failure to deal with this coronavirus crisis. they were devastated economically. they were dying at disproportionate rates, getting disease and sickness at disproportionate rates. and i do think that they voted in their interest. they voted for their lives. and that's one of the reasons why you saw joe biden successfully bringing out democrats in this election because democrats who are more likely to be black and hispanic and nonwhite were disproportionately hurt by what is going on in this country over the last eight months. and, you know, i also think about the fact we've had so many americans acting heroically when their government would not act for them. doctors and nurses and emts and now this week we're seeing election workers literally risking their lives to simply count the votes. and at the end of the day i think the american people's voices have been heard. no matter what happens in washington. we wait for their votes. we call the election based on how they voted. and millions of americans who -- have really suffered especially this year. said today that they wanted something completely different. >> and that suffering particularly when talking about covid isn't going to go away any time soon. joe biden says he has a plan when he actually gets to the point where he raises his right hand and takes the office. he's going to be able to implement that plan, but it is not going to be an easy task. what is also really palpable right now is that people are exhausted. people are exhausted by the chaos. it's not just the substance of what needs to be done. it's just the feeling of wanting to get some rest. wanting to not wake up and say, what is happening on twitter right now? what is happening, you know, in a world that is going to bust norms in a way that maybe even people who voted for donald trump didn't expect to go that far. and so biden gives a promise of normalcy. again, getting to that point where you have so many people who like president trump still making that heard in this election is going to be fascinating to watch. >> you know, a lot has been said and done about the fact this was in -- 2016 was the first time donald trump ever ran for any office. and i want to contrast that with the fact this is the third time joe biden has run for president. the third time. the last time that a president won on their third attempt was ronald reagan who ran in '68, '76 and won in 1980. also a special kind of gumption necessary to think that, okay, i ran for president in 1988 and i didn't even make it to 1988. i dropped out in 1987. okay, i ran for president in 2007 and dropped out in iowa after i got clobbered. i'm going to give it one more shot. and it worked. it worked, this time. it's a lesson not just about politicians -- now every politician is going to run for president at least three times because if joe biden can do it, why can't they do it? it's also just a lesson for people out there watching. >> don't give up. >> don't give fup you believe in yourself. you can actually achieve what you want to achieve despite all odds. >> you're exactly right. he had given up. in 2016, when he was -- it was made clear to him this is hillary clinton's time, he thought it was over. he didn't think that there was going to be another opportunity. and it was genuine. he has said that and it isn't just spin. it wasn't just, oh, i feel i need to do this for the country. that's why i'm coming out in the 2020 cycle. it was real. but it was because what he saw happening that he felt like he maybe singularly can make a difference. and that is probably the -- one of the biggest reasons why he beat out the biggest and most diverse field in the democratic party. >> it's funny because every politician thinks that they are the one who is chosen to be the person of the moment. and it just so happens that joe biden was the guy for the moment. and he had to wait until the very end of his political life, his time in public life for that to actually be true. but it's because joe biden had spent a lifetime building up this reputation as the every man's man. and you heard david axelrod say earlier, they parked him in the upper midwest back in 2008 just to be a relatable force for people who were being asked to vote for the first black -- potentially the first black president of the united states. so he's been in this position before. but i do think it has taken his entire lifetime for him to have the credibility to withstand what came at him, which was unprecedented attacks against his family among other things. >> let's check back with jeff zeleny covering the biden campaign for us. jeff? >> jake, we have just heard the first words from joe biden, the president-elect of the united states. sending out a message on social media on twitter. let's take a moment and read this together. he says, america, i am honored that you have chosen me to lead our great country. the work ahead of us will be hard, but i promise you this. i will be a president for all americans, whether you voted for me or not. i will keep the faith that you have placed in me. and those are the first words from joe biden here as these results are coming in, as he's taking them in in his home in wilmington. also putting out a statement or a video as well to accompany this. and this is something that really is going to be a central theme of his speech tonight i'm told. this is going to be something he will talk as well about his mandates, his popular vote total and i'm told now by my producer that we also have a full statement from the former vice president. i'm going to read that to you as well. he says this. i am honored and humbled by the trust the american people have placed in me and in vice president-elect harris. in the face of unprecedented obstacles, a record number of americans have voted. proving once again that democracy beats deep in the heart of america. he goes on to say, with the campaign over, it's time to put the anger and harsh rhetoric behind us and come together as a nation. it's time for america to unite and to heal. we are the united states of america, mr. biden says, and there is nothing we can't do if we do it together. so those, of course, the first words from joe biden as he is, you know, taking in this historic moment for him here in his home of wilmington. and that statement, of course, ne of his challenge and the backbone of his speech that he'll deliver here this evening. jake, i am told that something else that mr. biden has been doing and has been doing for several days is thinking about the challenge ahead in trying to reach out to republicans. if the senate of the united states holds in republican hands, he will need that old friendship with mitch mcconnell to help him build his cabinet. that is something that democrats may not want to hear at the moment. but if the senate majority holds in republican hands, he will need that for governing. so among the phone calls that the president-elect is going to be receiving here today, he'll be getting world leader calls, no question, and sending out calls. mitch mcconnell remains an important part of this equation as we go forward. so we'll let you know if we hear when those two old friends in washington respective friendship speak. but you'll remember in the obama administration, mitch mcconnell and vice president joe biden cut many deals. it frustrated many on both sides of both aisles so that is one of the dynamics at play. for now, at least, this is the tone that joe biden is trying to set. so look for democrats to talk again about that mandate and the popular vote. as this popular vote continues to be tallied across the country, he could be surpassing 4 million, 5 million, even more than that in terms of popular votes. and if these states hold in georgia, arizona, et cetera, they believe they have a mandate. you can hear horns honking behind me. i suspect there will be a lot more of that to come. >> jeff, we'll see how much -- assuming he is the senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell, we'll see how much he intends to work with joe biden. he may have cut deals with joe biden but let's also remember he was determined to make barack obama a one-term president. he did not succeed. but he was not somebody who worked particularly well across the aisle with president obama. we'll see how he does with president biden. >> and we have a tweet in from kamala harris, now vice president-elect kamala harris. this is the first thing she has said since having that title. this election is about so much more than joe biden or me. it's about the soul of america and our willingness to fight for it. we have a lot of work ahead of us. let's get started. and looking at the tweets here on my ipad and it's on top of a video which is, you know, from the campaign with just a series of regular americans very diverse group. >> yeah. you know, i am sitting here and i'm thinking about a little bit about four years ago and the reaction four years ago to president trump being elected was that we need to listen to the people who elected him. i think the lesson today is that we need to listen to the people who just elected joe biden and kamala harris. it is the expectation of this country, contrary to what has happened in the four years, that this -- the president leads all americans. so that is no surprise that you would hear that from joe biden. but i do think that we do need to listen to the majority of americans who voted against donald trump four years ago and voted for joe biden now that they are saying that they want decency back. they are saying that they want, as you said, normalcy back, dana. they want to be able to breathe again in some way. and i do think that as much as joe biden knows he has to reach across the aisle, i am reading this and i'm reading what he is saying in his statement, and it says effectively, we're going to go back to being -- we're going to go back to decency being the norm in america, not some kind of exceptional -- some exception to the norm. >> yeah. and it takes two to tango. we'll see how much congressional republicans are willing to meet president-elect biden and vice president-elect harris on this field of decency and normalcy. it's not just president trump that has been eroding norms of decency and -- >> he's had a lot of help. >> he's had a lot of help from a lot of people on capitol hill. we'll see whether or not they want to come back to planet earth and be good boys and girls and be decent and normal and adhere to facts and truth. i would say as a journalist trying to uphold along with everyone here those norms, come on in. the water is fine. but we'll see what they're ready to do. anderson? >> jake, work of the transition has already begun, obviously, for the biden campaign. david axelrod, they have been preparing for this for multiple different possibilities. >> yeah. and, look, you know, the thing is that what he does from here on in these next days and weeks are important substantively. but they're also important symbolically. who he calls. you know, where he goes. the issues that he highlights. the words that he uses are all going to be examined closely. and i guarantee you that a lot of thought has been given to how to orchestrate these next few days to send a strong signal about how he inattend intends t. making the calls to mitch mcconnell. which foreign leaders are you calling. what is the nature of those conversations? where are the first places you choose to go? what are your first appointments? i expect you'll see very quickly first his white house staff. probably it will be a few weeks, if he follows the pattern, certainly of the administration we were part of. it will be the end of november before we'll hear about cabinet members. but all of them are not just substantively important but symb symbolically important. and a lot of thought has gone into it, i'm sure. >> just to follow up on the foreign leaders. i was told during the campaign. i asked a senior adviser who is joe biden talking to? which foreign leaders is he talking to? he said we're not talking to any. they're calling us during the campaign, but we are not. we have told them we are not going to speak with them until he's elected because they felt, given what had gone on with the trump campaign, flynn, general flynn, et cetera, that they could not do that. now he will clearly be reaching out to the leaders he was not able to speak with during the election. >> but the path ahead, though, it's not just -- jake was talking about republicans on capitol hill. it's also democrats. and the liberal wing of the party and people -- you talked about sort of sending signals. the cabinet choices. that's going to be a battle. >> i listened with interest to abby talking about kamala harris as an ambassador to the younger voters, to the left and so on. that's a big -- that's going to be an enormous pressure because you have a situation where we'll likely have a divided congress. you have to make compromises. biden himself is more moderate than some democrats would like. yes, there's going to be a lot of tension they have to navigate there. but the bigger one -- the bigger one is in the country itself, i think. i think joe biden believes with every fiber in his body the words that he is speaking now. i believe in those words. but it does require -- rick talked earlier about, well, there are a lot of republicans who don't necessarily believe that he has won yet or they question whether -- we've gone through presidency after presidency where half the country views the president as illegitimate. that's corrosive. and we have to find a way through that. >> and we just heard -- hillary clinton has just tweeted. and she said voters have spoken, and they have chosen joe biden and kamala harris to be our next president and vice president. it's a history-making ticket. a repudiation of trump and a new page for america. thank you to everyone who helped make this happen. onward together. interesting tweet from hillary clinton who finally gets to say trump has been repudiated from the woman who, of course, lost to donald trump. and she and joe biden, as you know, david, have not -- you know, joe biden didn't get in the race last time because hillary clinton was in the race. he held back. now she's congratulating him for winning this. and also she did not become the first woman president, but now congratulating the first woman vice president. >> well, look. you know, there's two things that are happening. one is at the top, biden is trying to figure out how to get the transition done. but to your point, there is a big movement that expects to be treated with respect and inclusion. i'm talking about the left and the grassroots. people you see out here. this was the avengers versus thanos. this was not just a mano-e-mano situation. you had every grassroots organization standing up and so groups like lucha, mi familia vota, ma reesa teresa kumar and her organization. that's the latino grassroots. they expect to be having a seat at the table. you see that little blue dot in arizona. those are native american reservations. the native american community played a tremendous role. the organizers alliance. these are groups that expect to be treated with respect because they are responsible for the victory. and then also, you know, the african-american community turned out. and you have a new infrastructure in the black community. color of change.org which i helped to start a long time ago has become a superpower. and defending this victory, aneat a anita gupta. they are defending this victory in the court. you have a massive movement around biden that's going to want to be respected and seen and included. not just left, but bottom up. and i think part of what has to happen is the bottom-up inclusion from the left does not have to come at the expense of bottom-up inclusion from working folks and trump country. those things can go side by side. >> when it comes to cabinet selections, there had been talk about those bernie sanders or elizabeth warren have -- did they want to be on the cabinet? that's something which -- how much control do senate republicans, mitch mcconnell, have over that, do you think? >> traditionally, although that changed in the last four years, but traditionally, the senate gives the president the cabinet he wants. unless there's people that are clearly unqualified or have ethical problems or other things. so i think mitch mcconnell and the republicans will give the president the cabinet he wants. so i don't think that's going to be a big issue. can i make one point? everybody is talking about unity. i think americans clearly would love to see this country a little bit more divided. but everyone seems to think that unity is accomplished by tone. that, you know, if you just are nicer and if you don't say nice -- you aren't mean to people, somehow you'll unify the country. that's not enough. i mean, i'm not saying that's not a good thing. it is a good thing and you've heard me criticize the president for his tone. tone is important. but i will tell you, in my opinion, what will be the biggest determiner is whether joe biden will be able to accomplish unity is the state of georgia. because the state of georgia in the next two months is going to go through an election process that will determine who controls the united states senate. and if one or two republicans get elected from the state of georgia, joe biden has a much greater chance of unity because he'll be forced to work together with -- >> i agree with you. i agree with you on that. >> if georgia for some reason elects two democratic senators, you'll see the left, and they have every right to say they were the ones that were the energy and deserve it, but they'll be pushing for d.c. statehood. they'll be pushing for packing the court. they'll be pushing for puerto rican statehood. you're going to see a big tax increase. you're going to see things that will not unify the country that joe biden is going to have to push for if he has the means to do it. so georgia, you are on my mind. and so i am hopeful the state of georgia will do the right thing and provide an opportunity for unity. >> can we just say something about these pictures we're looking at? it's kind of remarkable these people are -- >> it's interesting. obviously, any -- any election there's going to be people very happy and people who are not very happy. we're certainly seeing people who are very happy coming out in the streets in washington, d.c., by the white house. the sense of relief that you sort of get from a lot of people who are coming out is particularly interesting. sort of, i guess it's a hope of a change in tone and obviously policies as well. >> we've had -- go ahead. >> i think policy is going to be hugely important, but tone, i think. and van talked about this so elquantie eloquently earlier. the sense of exhaustion and not having to wake up every day wondering what's going to happen because something has been tweeted that's so divisive. that somebody has been called a name. you know, this president has been calling joe biden all kinds of names throughout this. and that was sort of something you got used to in a way. and there was so much coming at people every day that what you may be seeing there is some sort of steam coming out of the tea pot. >> i want to say -- go ahead. >> one point. >> at some point i want to talk. >> you are speaking for people who -- i hate to say it are the elites in our culture. >> oh, please don't say that. can i justice s say something? i want to brag on these people -- >> when you talk about the president and how tough he is. you are talking to people who are -- who watch cnn, who watch the news -- >> it's not true. >> most people are living their lives. they aren't really paying attention. >> that's not true. >> but the tone is not important to them. policies that affect their lives are -- >> of course. >> rick -- >> i'm going to talk. i don't like that, and i think we're going in the wrong direction. the tone mattered to my children, and my children are not elite. listen. the big mistake the trump administration made for all the good that they did on criminal justice and opportunity zones and other stuff i was proud of them for is that they failed to understand that, yeah, actions speak louder than words if you are a normal person. when you are the president of the united states, your words speak louder than your actions. his words every day made america a nastier place and more toxic place. what you are seeing here is, this is not just coming for today. the politics of joy, joy as a weapon, of groups like cultural groups who were going to the polls with music. they were going to the polls with entertainment. and this was a part of the resistance. a beautiful part of the resistance. so i just want to say that there are a couple of things to get us to unity. tone is very, very important because when people just get smashed upside the head they can't think clearly. that's got go away. on the policy part, i think that anti-poverty, i think that criminal justice, mental health, addiction, infrastructure, family leave. there are economic policies that can bring us together. there's going to be some cultural war stuff that pulls us apart but we have a responsibility to put forward those economic ideas and support this president. >> david, do you expect to hear from joe biden today? >> yeah, well, jeff said we won't hear from him until this evening when he speaks. and that's probably appropriate. you know, i think the reason they sent the messages out they did was as a placeholder until he speaks to the country. but i just wanted to -- to rick's point, i think you're wrong about this. i think there were some portion of people who agreed with donald trump on policy but simply couldn't tolerate the way he behaved and the way he treated people. gloria used the word exhaustion. i heard that word out in focus groups and i just heard it used so often. it was a chore because you had to wake up every day wondering about the tweet or the tantrum or the fight that was going to happen that day. and it was wearing on people, and even some people who are inclined to support donald trump on policy just could not tolerate it. >> i agree with that. i'm not arguing with that. i talk about that a lot here. i guess -- >> but it wasn't just the elites. you got people who are working in restaurants, who were working in hair salons who -- the tone would affect them. it would come into their lives, not just the elites. >> my point is the vast majority of americans don't wake up every day listening to what the president has tho say. that's my point. >> it was inescapable. >> the people here represented on this panel, we listen to the president every day and we're skewed by that because most americans don't. and i am just saying, most americans are much more concerned -- not that they like what the president is saying. i'm not saying they like what the president was saying. but i'm saying they are less concerned about that than they are about the policies. >> let's -- >> just in terms of what you expect to see happening today from biden, from kamala harris. >> i think that they have gotten a head start. they've been involved in transition work for quite some time. i don't know whether he's going to announce who is going to be in his -- oh, i just am hearing from somebody on the campaign. i'd asked about what they were going to do on the transition. i was told, kind of excited right now. we'll get back to you. i think biden knows on his major positions, national security adviser, who he's going to appoint. >> it's also a remarkable moment. just to the sentiment about the person you're talking to on the campaign. for a campaign which really was not a campaign in any traditional sense that you're used to and was also such a gamble in terms of choosing not to have -- >> how they behave. >> people going out knocking door to door and not to have the candidate out there and to see president trump out there and still resist that. >> it goes further back than that. i think it goes to the beginning of the campaign. they had an inspiration. and their inspiration was that the country wanted what biden offered. the country wanted to be healed. they wanted to essentially fire donald trump. that he was the counterpoint to that. that was right. and many of us sat on this panel and other panels over the primary campaigns when he was in some degree of distress wondering if it would happen because he wasn't the perfect candidate for the emerging democratic electorate. and it wasn't clear he could survive that. what became clear in the general election and particularly when the virus struck was that those qualities of biden were most resent ire resona resonant. they paid some price for it. but the symbolism of not doing it. the symbolism of him treating it seriously, i think, ultimately netted out for them. >> and don't forget, one of biden's top advisers is ron klain who was the ebola czar. ron klain could well be the next chief of staff. and they were getting their guidance not only from doctors but from ron who had been through an awful lot of this with infectious disease. and i think it was a risk, but it also provided this different view from donald trump that people could watch. and i think that became important because biden was listening to science and donald trump was listening to, i don't know, scott atlas? i have no idea. >> let's go back to jake and walt in washington. >> thanks, anderson. we're just watching the scenes of celebration in cities throughout the country. this is washington, d.c., right now. and i think it has to be said, a lot of this is relief. a lot of this is not, oh, great, now the minimum wage will go up to $15 an hour, which is probably won't because republicans still control the senate. a lot of this is not necessarily about the green new deal. a lot of this is, i don't have a -- i'm not going to have a president much longer who dislikes immigrants or says things that are racist. >> or doesn't believe in science. look at all of these -- >> doing everything he can to protect us from the virus. >> look at all of these young people. they are in the streets. we were just showing what is now black lives matter plaza. we are watching the continuation of what began over the summer of an enormous amount of activism in this country showing up in these very same places with some of these very same people who came out to say, we want things to change. and there's been so much talk about whether there is enthusiasm for joe biden or more enthusiasm for donald trump. what you are seeing is, yes, relief, but enthusiasm for a new day. a change. and a change particularly for young people who, you know, it's not as rick santorum would say, just about tone. they do care about policy. they do believe in science. and they do believe that climate change is an important thing. they do believe that systemic racism exists. that's why you're seeing them on the streets. >> it's like a pressure valve is being released slowly across these cities. and i say cities on miles per hour because this is where this is happening in the largely democratic places. but i think senator santorum has done us a tremendous service in walking us through what's going on particularly among republicans in pennsylvania where he -- a place he knows so well. but these are not elites. it's not about being elite or not elite. this is about -- this is about a particular feeling of yearning for normalcy and for a lot of people about their children and wanting their children to feel good with the president as a role model. >> as we watch these scenes of celebration, the -- we're also seeing people wearing masks. and mostly wearing masks. they are not socially distancing. i hate to be a scold here. but we just had the highest day of infections in the united states, i believe, yesterday was 125,000 americans with new coronavirus infections. that was the third straight dave more than 100,000 infections. it's good to see people wearing masks, although for some of them they are slipping off their face. people also need to socially distance themselves and the masks are significant, though. they are the thing that doctors say is the most important. >> i can see sanjay gupta having a lot of heartburn right now. >> a lot of public health officials watching this and feeling concerned because of the crowds. but, again, at least they are wearing masks. it also underscores another reason why people are happy with this victory is because president trump surrendered to the virus. i mean, like he -- we praised him on the show for "operation warp speed" looking for a vaccine and for the sped-up approval process when it comes to therapeutics. but when it came time to controlling the infection, he gave up. and he led the charge against it. talking about all the people who are out there for policy reasons, they want criminal justice reform. they want the green new deal or some effort to combat climate change. i don't disagree with that. at times it's more basic. the number one job of a president is to protect the american people when it comes to the coronavirus, the president failed. it's not the job of the president of the united states to necessarily unite the american people. it would be nice if that was a job. that certainly is what joe biden thinks his job is. donald trump thought his job was to divide and conquer. after george floyd was killed, murdered by police, there was a moment there where it looked like president trump got it. that moment quickly disappeared, and he was back to retweeting smears of a dead man. smears of george floyd. and i think that's also part of it. look, people can be out there celebrating for any number of reason, but like we have -- we're in the middle of a pandemic. we're in the middle of a time of racial justice and reconciliation. and the president didn't lead and these people want someone who will. and whether or not that's joe biden, they know it wasn't going to be donald trump. >> and the fact that you rightly pointed out that what we're seeing isn't the safest thing in the world for people to be out there. it is great that they're wearing masks but the fact that we are seeing people in 2020 in the streets almost all masked is such a stark illustration of the task that joe biden has ahead of him. that, yes, he has been preparing. he has been getting briefings, even this week as he waited for the results of this election. one reason he ultimately won the presidency, i believe, is because he actually has the experience of doing things like this. of taking the government and all of the parts of the government and using it to create a program and a plan to address this thing in a way that frankly, yes, president trump was on it on the therapeutics. has been on it pushing for vaccines. and joe biden and the american people are likely going to benefit from that. it's something we'll never get back and a lot of lives we'll not get used to. >> led the charge against it. he held superspreader events across the country. >> i think this will be a transition like no other we've seen in this country. not just because of what president trump may or may not do but because we're entering a phase in this country where the virus is surging. if joe biden will step into that gap, how will he do it is going to be such a big question for him. but i do want to raise one thing that is coming up here. >> can i take one second to acknowledge that philadelphia is -- >> your people are in the street. >> jake, are you from philadelphia? >> jake's people are on the screen right now. >> they're very happy. >> i do want to bring up one thing on a lighter note, but no less important as we talk about how different this is going to be the next four years. kamala harris' husband, doug emhoff tweeted out a photo of the two of them. this is happening saturday midday. but he is now about to be the first, second husband of the united states. second giantleman of the united states. >> second dude. >> second dude of the united states. but their family, i think, is such an interesting thing. kamala harris say biracial woman married to a white jewish man. they have a blended family of stepchildren. this is going to be different in a lot of ways, but just the harris/emhoff family is, i think, something really extraordinary that this country has not seen. but it will reflect a real reality for so many americans who are blended families, biracial in many ways. you are seeing that here. >> when i interviewed the now vice president-elect last month, i think it was, we talked about that. about the fact that she is a stepmother and she came into her stepchildren's life midstream. they were teenagers. which is not easy. and has established a relationship with them. and also with her husband's first wife which is a modern family which is actually happening more across the country than people realize. and that representation is going to be happening at the highest office in the land. and people relate to their leaders, not just on a policy level. not just in terms of character but also on kind of an emotional level. and that is a new phenomenon that people will be able to see. >> can i just say one more thing about senator kamala harris. and people can have policy disagreements with her, political disagreements with her, whatever, that's all fair game. there was an attempt by a lot of people on the right to smear her personally. to go after her personal life, to use the most vile, disoganist, sexist tropes and words to attack her. people like rush limbaugh. i mean, plenty of republicans out there, republican officials and republican party operatives. just the most disgusting and sexist smears that -- which are, i know you guys are not unused to that sort of attack because you're prominent females in an era of social media, but it's absolutely time for the united states of america to stop that crap and the american people ignored it. it looks like. at least in terms of the election results. but it is time for that to go. >> this is going to sound so, you know, maybe you'll be surprised by this, but i have been dying to say this. you know what i loved about 2020 and watching all these women run? you know what we didn't hear anything about? we didn't hear anything about what they were wearing. nothing. it's all we heard about with hillary clinton. and it was nothing about it. it was about what they were saying and what they believed. and that is very -- >> some people talked about her sneakers. >> well, her sneakers are -- >> that was kind of a thing that frankly she interjected. but, you know, it didn't define who they were. >> and i think she, you know, i think she is in control of that part of her narrative. if she wants to wear interesting sneakers, she can. and it's fine. but i do think -- >> like biden's aviators. >> right. or hillary clinton's pant suits to a certain extent. she was able to take something that had been used against her and t something that she defined for herself. but, jake, you were so right that in this country, we have gotten so normalized to sexism just being a thing that we just have to internalize and accept and that, you know, we accept that the electorate to some extent is going to hold women to a different standard. even holding black women to a different standard. we don't have to accept that. other developed countries in the world have elected women leaders at the highest levels, and we are behind the curve, and i think we should acknowledge this is one step in the right direction, but we have a long ways to go. >> when joe biden makes his first address to congress, generally when a president-elect speaks, it's not a state of the union. it's an address. but it's the same imagery. you'll see joe biden and then two women behind him for the first time in history. the speaker of the house nancy pelosi, and the vice president kamala harris. >> yeah. and that's a step forward but we do also need at some point a woman at that podium. >> you said it. i'm glad you made that point. >> whatever the party. we'll get there at some point. let's go back to wilmington, delaware, where jeff zeleny reports on the biden campaign for us. what's the latest? >> jake, we are getting word the joe biden president-elect of the united states will be addressing the country tonight at 8:00 p.m. here from wilmington. on the stage that we've seen all week long. and it's going to be a celebration, i'm told. complete with fireworks and a light show and a drive-in rally that we've seen. so that will be tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern time here in wilmington. and it's unclear if we'll see mr. biden before then. we do not expect to hear him speak before then. but we are getting word that he is fielding phone calls from friends, allies and his soon-to-be new vice president, senator kamala harris. she tweeted out a video just a few moments ago that talks about -- it shows her on the phone with him. she said, we did it, joe. you're going to be the next president of the united states. so that is something that was a moment of history as well. and for the first campaign that i can recall coming on social media, on twitter, sharing that as we can see right there. in casual clothes, as abby was saying, senator harris was out with her husband for a morning walk as they often do and giving him that phone call there. and, jake, as we see cheering and signs of elation from democrats at least and maybe some independents across the country, we're also hearing those horns honking here in wilmington. and a crowd has gathered here as well. a bit of history in wilmington as well. it was 48 years ago today, this very day, november 7th, 1972 when joseph r. biden jr. was elected to the senate for the first time. he was not expected to win that race. an uphill battle. so 48 years ago today, of course, he is named president-elect, projected that today. so a bit of history there as well. a few other things. i'm told his victory speech has been written for tonight. we've had several days to work on it. and we know what his message is. his message is clear about unifying the country saying it's not a time for anger, but he'll also give voice to the mandate that he does believe he has because of the popular vote and because of the -- he will have received more votes than any other president in the history of the united states. that's something he'll be leaning into as he gives that speech tonight. it's a moment of jubilation here from biden supporters. they've been expecting this. but when it finally arrived, it was something, you know, which was taken with much appreciation. campaign manager jen o'malley who is a rare woman campaign manager, i believe only the second woman to have a winning presidential campaign. of course, kellyanne conway for president trump four years ago. she was out for a run this morning when she heard the news. her mother called her and said, cnn has projected joe biden is the winner of the presidency. she was coming into the hotel you can see behind me. she was ecstatic over this, about running this winning campaign, during a time of a pandemic when many questioned the biden campaign's approach here to going all virtual. so that is just a bit of color here from wilmington, jake. >> the last two presidents have been elected with female campaign managers. maybe something for politicians to think about. kellyanne conway and now jen o'malley dillon. there's a different story going on at the white house. let's go to jim acosta where president trump is -- i don't know if he's heard the news yet. last i heard he was out golfing. >> i can tell you standing here on the white house grounds we can hear the cheers coming from outside the white house grounds in all directions. and the president is not here right now to listen to those cheers. he's out on the golf course right now. you are looking at what we believe to be some live pictures of the trump golf course out in virginia. he's out there today. but i can tell you, the president has reacted. people inside the campaign have reacted. and what we're hearing, first of all, the president is saying a statement we'll not read to you because it's full of false information. but the president is saying he's not going to accept the results of this election right now. the legal challenges are going to proceed starting on monday. but i've talked to sources inside and outside the campaign and they say don't expect the president to accept the reality of this any time soon. don't expect him to concede this race. just as we heard the president complain about fake news and fake polls while he was running for re-election, he's now complaining about fake election results. and he is, in fact, the one spreading fake news right now. but, jake, no further reaction from the president or the campaign at this point, but i can tell you standing here on the white house grounds, it's an extraordinary thing to listen to the cheers and jubilation coming in from all directions. it's not just black lives matter plaza. it's coming from 17th street on the west side of the white house grounds. 15th street on the east side of the white house grounds. jake, you know this territory very well. it's not often in the nation's capital when you hear these kinds of cheers just erupting from all sides of the white house. and it's an extraordinary thing. obviously, the cheers are not for the 45th president. they are for the 46th president. >> jim acosta at the white house, keeping an eye on things there even while president trump is out golfing. it is kind of, i have to say i mean, nobody knew when the call was going to happen. but certainly we've been leaning into the idea for a bit now that we were going to make this projection this morning. we thought that the ballots were going to come in, and we wanted to be clear. it is symbolic that president trump who has golfed more than any president in modern american history as president, despite saying when barack obama did it that he would never do such a thing, that he's out golfing. he's certainly entitled to get some fresh air and exercise as it were, but here's atlanta. oh, boy. that city is going to be off the hook in the city tonight. >> so speaking of president trump, i have been thinking about this, you know, for the past four days as we've been getting to this point and as it's becoming more clear that donald trump would be defeated in this election. what i was thinking about is that in my 20 years covering presidential campaigns, the moment that stands out the most to me that i will remember forever was being in phoenix on november 5th, 2008, when john mccain gave his concession speech, which was the best political speech i had ever heard. and the reason why it was so powerful is because he said, i urge all americans who supported me to join me not in just congratulating him, meaning president obama, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together. >> yeah. >> that was a remarkable moment. and it is not a moment i don't think any of us imagined that we will see. let's hope. hope springs eternal. but i don't think any of us is holding our breath waiting for anything close that. this was extraordinary but even more typical four years ago hillary clinton gave a gracious acceptance -- concession speech. >> yeah, that -- i'll say it again. in this country, the expectation is that what john mccain -- john mccain did that because he knew that that would be written in the history books about him. so, you know, your move, donald trump, about what you do, but i have to say, the president being on the golf course right now, i can't -- i only imagine this is sort of staff trying to give him a stress relief valve, right? this is where he goes when they need him to be a little bit away from what's happening. a little bit away from what's playing out literally right outside the white house. there are people in the streets outside of the white house. he would be able to hear if he were in that building. he's on a golf course and it's because his staff probably want to facilitate the president being a little bit away from bad news. at some point, he's going to come to confront this moment. this is where the rubber meets the road, i think, in the history books. where do you -- when you are president, it's how you act as president. but it's also what you do when your time is up. going back to george washington, when your time is up, do you walk away gracefully or try to hang on to power? and now is president trump's moment. >> and that's just not how donald trump was brought up. he was brought up by a father who told him that you're either a fighter or a loser. and there's no one in between and today he is a loser, by definition. he is not going to go on for another term at the white house. one thing i will say as i've been communicating with some people familiar with discussions going on in and around him. we talked about the process they think they have to get him through. and i was told that process is in motion. how long that process is going to take is the big question. >> it's not easy. >> no. >> to lose a presidential election. >> and to lose the white house. >> hillary clinton or john mccain would talk about it. he said, you know, after he lost, i slept like a baby. i woke up every hour and cried. but not to be callous about it. it doesn't matter. it doesn't matter what he puts his -- the country -- what he tries to put the country through. and whether or not his mignnmin or lawyers start filing more frivolous lawsuits. it's over. the trump era is over. maybe he'll remain as a force in republican politics. we'll see. but his presidency is coming to a close. anderson? >> jake, i want to talk with former governor of ohio, john kasich, who is joining us. governor, you supported joe biden. your thoughts on his victory. president-elect biden. >> you know, anderson, there's not been a republican over the last four years that did more to say that he was not -- that trump was not doing a good job. i didn't go to the convention. the republican convention. and that i spoke at the democratic convention and i've been very vocal about this. but i want to be clear. now is the time for democrats, and i believe joe biden will do this, to begin to listen to what the other half of the country has had to say. i think that the other half of the country, in many respects, has felt as though they have not been listened to. they feel stuck economically, and it's going to be up to the democrats to listen. things like, perhaps improving the earned income tax credit for working families. to think about what we can do to fix their schools. to think about what whey can do to give them access to the internet. there's so many things that can be done to talk to that part of the country. nrk and, remember, this is broken down as an urban and country vision. and it isn't good enough to just declare great victory and i'm very pleased that biden has won. i put everything i had on the line in -- well, not everything, but a lot of things on the line to do this. i'm pleased he's there. he needs to be a unifier, but we have to listen to what those folks, those republicans all across this country has had to say. and frankly, those republicans have to understand what democrats want to do because if they want to improve health care, that doesn't mean they want medicare for all. there is no socialism in joe biden. if all sides can begin to really listen and think, this country can be healed, in my opinion. >> you know washington well. do you think that's possible? everybody always talks about healing, about coming together at election time and, obviously, you know, this day, the next day -- >> anderson -- >> -- reality sets in. >> the best thing that's happened to joe biden is the fact that the united states senate is either going to be republican or very close and it will allow joe biden to do what he does best. it allows him to govern as a moderate. it allows him to do the things that i've always hoped he could do. and the far left can push him as hard as they want. and the democrats have to make it clear to the far left that they almost cost him this election. that people in this country are basically center, center right, center left. they're not far left and they're also not far right. we've got to hope the far right will act responsibly now that this election is over. but do i think it's possible that you could get something done on climate? yes. is it going to be, you know, some new green deal? of course not. but there's reasonable things that can be done. what can be done with taxes? okay. if you are going to focus on any sort of a tax cut, it ought to be for the middle and the lower income people in this country. are there things that can be done with infrastructure? for sure. but making sure broadband is available to everyone. i think those things can happen. are there going to be fights? yeah. there's probably going to be fights but you'll have incremental steps, and i've always said that this election in 2020 was not a big vote on ideology. this is sort of getting back to normal. the big debate will come in 2024. but that's a long way off. today is the day that biden has been declared at president. >> governor kasich, what was it about joe biden that made you felt he was the person for this moment? >> well, i've known him a long time. just a couple of years ago, he and i sat on a stage. he invited me to the university of delaware, and we had a, i don't know, a couple hour time together speaking publicly and spent a lot of time privately. and one of my dear friends was john mccain who was one of his best friends. and i know what the guy is all about. and he's -- when i say a throwback, i don't mean old. i mean a return to the fact that we need to communicate. we need to be patient. we don't need to demonize our opponents. figure out a way to see the best in them. that's what i did throughout my entire career and i resonate because i know what's what joe has done. so i think he's in a better position today because being pulled from the left isn't going to work. they will not get those things done, and that congresswoman from virginia warned the democrats. you want to talk about defunding the police? you'll have no support. and i think this is an opportunity for biden to talk about the center right and the center left of this country and what can be achieved. we have remember in problems with debt, social security, medicare. little steps. >> this campaign was unlike, obviously, any we have seen before. the turnout was unlike any we have seen before. did you worry that the decisions that the biden/harris ticket made to keep him somewhat -- to keep him off the trail, to not have large crowds gathering, to not be knocking on doors for, you know, for months as the other campaign was doing. did you worry that that might make it impossible for him to get elected? >> well, i felt age was a factor. some people worried for trump because they were worried about biden's age. what i was more concerned about was the fact they did not come out early and talk about the violence in the cities. they waited too long on that. they did not in really clear terms reject the defunding of the police and very clearly say, are you kidding me? i'm an american. i don't favor socialism. if there had been more strength in that, i think that perhaps he would have done better. but, look, he's won, and, you know, it makes all the difference in the world when they put a "w" behind you, but he's probably learned from this. one democrat told me, at some point, if they would have been more clear in rejecting the hard left, they would have appealed more to americans who, i believe essentially live in the middle. that's where americans are. and by the way, you can't take care of one group over another. if you are going to cut taxes for those at the top, you have to make sure that those who are the hard-working people in the middle and the bottom, that they get relief. it has to be a balanced program where everybody feels as though they can be included. that's what success is in politics. and forget the popularity and all the -- what party you belong to. do what makes sense. >> governor kasich, appreciate your time. appreciate it as always. i heard you agreeing with the governor when he talked about reaching out to republicans or listening to republicans. >> i spent the past four years, you know, trying to find some kind of common ground. you are talking about immigrant rights and religious freedom for muslims. those are battleground issues and we can't give an inch on that. but there's been some common ground issues whether you are talking about addiction and the opioid crisis. whether your talking about opportunity zones, anti-poverty. criminal justice. i felt there was more room for us to work together than people were recognizing. i think that the grace that frankly had not been shown the past four years, we need to start showing right now. we know what it feels like to feel like the president is not on your side and to want the president to send you some signals. there's a danger we might start saying, don't send any signals to those guys. i believe joe biden is correct. if we reset this conversation, there is common ground. you have people who are -- he's got a bunch of older white heterosexual guys who are some of the best people in the country. they know a trade. they raised a family. they started a business. we need those guys to help rebuild this country. we need to know that we respect them. they voted against us, that's fine. vote against ah gain. but we need you. we need you to help us rebuild this country. you have kids in this country that need your example. if we start talking that way, we can get past some of these fears. if we don't, we'll be in another loop, another loop and another loop. >> when you see these pictures, what do you think? >> i think it's remarkable. i think that, again, it's like the steam is gone out of the tea pot and people are just -- those people are relieved. i think the challenges are obvious. we've all been talking about the challenges. but one thing is that they believe that joe biden can change things. can change the way they feel and the way life is. and another thing i want to say, given all the -- we've been talking about, will he be able to work with the republicans? will he be able to work with the liberals. the difference with joe biden is that when he tells you something, he is telling you the truth. and i know, rick, you know biden. and he can talk a lot and get on people's nerves and all the rest and you can talk about that. but he's a man who has devoted his life to public service. and he is a man who is known as somebody who told you the truth. when he was dealing with you. and that matters. >> he calls himself a transitional president. and the question is, will it be a transition from an era of compromise, good faith compromise or will it be a transition from that era to an era of zero-sum politics. i totally embrace what you said, van. but, you know, we have seen a penchant to weaponize our differences rather than search for common ground. and the political rewards have been there in the particular -- in the parties for that. you know, you can't, in a democracy, get ever -- ever get 100% of what you want. and the question is, are you willing to take 80 or are you not going to take 80 and are you going to make the differences, exploit the differences for your own political profit, or are you going to come together? we'll see. that's certainly biden believes that you, in the first. >> it's also so -- just again, we've just come through a campaign where on the democratic side, you did not see large gatherings of people, obviously, during the protests this summer, there were large gatherings of people in the streets. but to see these crowds this morning, the diversity of the crowds. a lot of mask wearing, which is certainly a good thing. obviously, not social distancing. and over the last several days, there hasn't been, because we've had this election, but, you know, it bears repeating. if we're in the midst of a -- >> well, this country has been a pressure cooker for the last four years. donald trump has had his hand on that dial. and this is the sense of relief there. >> totally. >> and the great thing about it is, it's coming out in joy. i use that word joy over and over because that's a word in the movement. there's adrian marie brown is this young instagram star who has been talking about this politics of joy. and these artists have been going out. you remember all those long lines, bringing the pizza, the music, and dance. they have created a basis of a positive culture. so i think that that's good. and, again, so you have to look for the good. look for the positive. look for the hopeful. they are not out there mad. they're out there celebrating democracy. let's build with those people and people right now who are mourning, let's make insure that -- come out to the party. this is about america. this is not about versus trump. it's about -- >> i'm sure joe biden loves seeing this. but it wouldn't surprise me if he also told everyone, you know what? celebrate apart rather than together right now because -- >> social distancing. >> because of the pandemic. because of the pandemic. i think that that has been his message and these are people who clearly want to celebrate, and they are masked i'm seeing, but who knows. they are close together. but there's a celebration going on. change sometimes brings that out in you. and i think, look, if donald trump has won, his supporters would probably be celebrating, too. i'm not, you know, i'm not saying this belongs to one side or another. but -- >> there would be the same sense of relief of his supporters, the same sense, but -- >> more trucks because they have the trucks and stuff like that. but, look, i just think so many people worked so hard. again, this particular -- the way that the biden campaign functioned, really let a lot of people just kind of do their own thing. it wasn't a super top-down thing. you had biden. a circle around him moving him forward. but in a pandemic, you couldn't do it the normal way. so people just started creating their own stuff. there's a campaign call with love that i was a part of. people made their own ads. >> one point on this. jen o'malley dillon, the manager of this campaign, came in after the primary. could not meet with her staff. could not meet with her candidate. had to organize in the midst of a pandemic, take a campaign that was underfunded and underorganized and turn it into a winning campaign. and did a remarkable job. first woman, i think, who has ever managed a winning presidential race. did a remarkable job in transforming this campaign under the most difficult circumstances any manager has ever -- >> kellyanne conway. >> oh, that's right. kellyanne conway. my apologies. but this task was just so prodigious and it needs to be said what she and the entire team did to take the campaign from where it was in the primary to where it is today, a winning campaign. remarkable. >> and you can't forget, too, in the primary, he was going down. i said he went from being a joke to a jugjuggernaut. give credit to clyburn. clyburn said, hey, guys. some credit? >> i'm taking jim out to lunch. >> but jim clyburn reached out and said, this is our guy. from the very beginning, the campaign was a little different than a normal winning primary campaign. and it brought that spirit of ordinary people in. >> and they stayed on message. they didn't sort of go after every bright shiny object. go after every tweet. they just stayed on their message. they talked about covid. they talked about health care even when it came to the supreme court. and the supreme court nominee. they stuck to what they knew. >> message discipline from joe biden. >> message discipline from joe biden. >> we should also talk about -- this is probably in politics to say, but the fact is there are a lot of people who were nervous. i wrote about what the campaign needed to be doing during the pandemic because if the president had seized the platform and led the country through this pandemic in a way that broadened his base, that could be a problem. but what really happened was biden was relatively quiet for many months and the president had the stage to himself. that turned out to be a plus for biden. >> let's go back to jake in d.c. >> congratulations are starting to come from not just prominent democrats but prominent republicans. we heard from john kasich, obviously, a few minutes ago on our air. jeb bush, the former governor of florida and who ran for president and lost in the primaries to donald trump. writes congratulations to president-elect biden. i have prayed for our president most of my adult life. i will be praying for you and your success. now is the time to heal deep wounds. many are counting on you to lead the way. a lovely statement from jeb bush. it would be nice if we heard similar from current republican office holders, not just former. but it is a nice thing to hear. >> i don't know if you caught this as you read it. the second line, i've prayed for our president most of my adult life. >> i'm sure he prayed for -- i'm sure he prayed for donald trump as well. >> yes. >> there was no love lost there. >> exactly. and listen, the -- obviously the goal of this tweet was to lead by example and to show what class looks like, which is, frankly, how the bushes have historically -- his father, george h.w. bush, was the last one-term president. there is no love lost. but that is somebody who is trying to kind of shout from the rooftop. i'm interested to see when and if his brother, the former president, does something. >> he will. >> yeah, he will. >> i'm curious about when. >> and i mean, i think a lot of republicans, let's be honest, probably feel exactly the same way as jeb bush does. i don't agree with all of joe biden's policies, but, you know, i think bush is saying here, this tweet, i think you can do the job. and, you know, and frankly, i'm okay with you doing the job. and i wouldn't be surprised if there were many sitting republicans in the united states senate who are looking at the situation and they are saying, you know, it's -- the chances of us holding on to the senate are pretty good. they like that. they like having control, the reins of the pace of the judiciary. they like having a break valve for the congress in general. and they're okay with a president less erratic who has given them a lot of heartburn over the last four years. if you are being honest. president trump has not made the life of some republican senators in particular, particularly easy. and a joe biden presidency, though they disagree, would be seen even, i think, in congress as a relief for some. >> not being chased after in the hallways about every tweet the leader of their party has put out there. not to say that he's not going to be tweeting. he is going to be tweeting. he's just not going to be -- >> they don't have to respond to it. they don't have to lie to reporters anymore and say they haven't seen the tweet. they can just oppose joe biden's policies or try to work with him. president trump as far as we know is still golfing. but outside the white house,

Related Keywords

Nevada , United States , Delaware County , Pennsylvania , Chester County , Allegheny County , Delaware , Jamaica , Whitehouse , District Of Columbia , Arizona , Montgomery County , India , Beaver County , Iowa , South Korea , Tucson , Clark County , Georgia , Maricopa County , Iran , Texas , Washington , Philadelphia , Wisconsin , Virginia , Togo , Michigan , Pima County , Las Vegas , Gwinnett County , Phoenix , Washington Well , Ohio , Capitol Hill , Maricopa , Americans , America , Chosen , American , Bob Casey , Adrian Marie Brown , John Kasich , George Floyd , Joe Biden , States Jake , Jeb Bush , Teresa Kumar , George Washington , Clyburn , Biden Harris , Jim Clyburn , David Axelrod , Kevin Mccarthy , Jake Jeff , Barack Obama , Mitt Romney , Rick Santorum , Mitch Mcconnell , John King , Jim Acosta , Brian Todd , Joe Biden Philadelphians , John Mccain , Hillary Clinton , Ted Cruz , Sanjay Gupta , Bernie Sanders , Joseph R Biden Jr , Kamala Harris ,