Thanksgiving, the coronavirus pandemic is reaching record levels of cases and hospitalizations across the United States. The danger of spreading the disease causing some to downside their celebrations or even spend the day alone this year. But millions of others chose to ignore warnings from Health Experts not to travel. With the tsa reporting more than 6. 8 Million People have flown through u. S. Airports in the week before thanksgiving, this black friday, retailers are encouraging shoppers to go online. This year its a lot less people. But some customers are still going inside stores, even waiting outside in lines for bigticket items. One Health Expert saying the Holiday Season could fuel the surge. Its not just postthanksgiving. Its black friday and the runup to christmas and new years. This is our Holiday Season. And every day from now on can add to the toll. Our hospitals are almost full to capacity. In some communities, they are full to capacity. Theres no more rooms in the icu. 1,232 people in the u. S. Were reported dead thursday from the coronavirus. More than 90,000 people are hospitalized with the disease, a record, with many hospitals already running low on beds and resources, one doctor says shes fearful of whats to come. Our hospitals are already at the breaking point. Many of us are already talking about opening field hospitals next week. Many of us have colleagues who are out sick reporter a Virus Outbreak among the Baltimore Ravens forcing the nfl to postpone their thanksgiving matchup between the pittsburgh steelers. He protects jackson who launches to andrews reporter espn and the nfl network citing League Sources reporting the teams quarterback, lamar jackson, and three other players have tested positive. And the pac12 cancelling a game between the university of Southern California and university of colorado boulder due to coronavirus, making it the 11th College Football game canceled or postponed this week. Coronavirusrelated deaths are on the rise in at least 27 states this morning, and one Health Expert reminds americans that its crucial to keep following safety guidelines, even during the holidays. It is a real test of maturity and also of safety to see whether or not we are able to keep our distance, continue to wear masks, because we are so close, given the vaccine candidates and where things are headed. Reporter now, here where i am in miamidade county, florida. There is mounting frustration by local leaders who say that they want Florida Governor ron desantis to do more to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Why . Theyre looking at the latest numbers. Here they are. This is according to data released by miamidade county. In the past two weeks, the number of hospitalizations has increased by 26 . The number of icus has increased by 37 . And ventilators, by 48 . John, you and i have talked about the state of florida a lot throughout this pandemic. And i can tell you that when Florida Governor ron desantis reopened the state in one swoop in late september, the other thing that he did was he clipped the powers of local leaders from being able to impose other mitigating measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus and these leaders, ive been in contact with mayor Frances Suarez and dan gelber, they are waiting to hear back from Governor Ron Desantis and he hasnt returned either their phone calls or the letter that mayor gelber sent him. I can add that ive been contacting his office to ask about why he hasnt contactedma heard back. Blocking the ability of local leaders to handle the pandemic in the way they think best, thats something. Rosa flores for us in miami, thanks very much. So President Trump taking questions from the press for the First Time Since losing the election. Its going to be a very hard thing to concede, because we know there was massive fraud. Just to be clear, if the Electoral College votes for joe biden, will you concede . Well, if they do, they made a mistake. Because this election but will you concede . Was a fraud. I cant say that at all. I think its a possibility. Between you people dont talk to me that way. Youre just a lightweight. Dont talk to me that way. Im the president of the United States. Dont ever talk to the president that way. How small, and im not just talking about the desk he was sitting at, but what a small moment for the presidency. Joining us now, cnn political analyst toluse olorunnipa, a White House Reporter for the washington post. Also with us, cnn Global Affairs analyst, susan glasser. A staff writer at the new yorker. He was yelling at jeff mason, one of the most mildmannered reporters youll find in america. I dont mean mildmannered in terms of how good he is as a reporter, hes just a calm guy. He doesnt attack anyone. The president sitting at that tiny desk is a metaphor at the moment. Like the desk you sit at during a Parent Teacher conference when youre sitting at a third graders desk. Thats what the president looked like, a large man at a small desk in a small moment spouting lies that were filled with rancor on thanksgiving. Well, thats right, john. I mean, i have to say, like many people, i was having my thanksgiving dinner when this was all playing out and its just so discordant to have a president of the United States who not only is refusing to concede the election, but is so selfobsessed at this moment during the pandemic, when people are separated from their loved ones, probably in many cases, for the first time in their lives, not having the holiday together. Instead, the president continues to be so selfabsorbed, and one thing i think thats been very striking. And yesterdays appearance underscored that, there doesnt seem to be Anyone Around him who can, you know, give him unvarnished advice about what this looks like. The president has always prided himself on appearing to be strong, to be a tough guy. Hes writing a new entry in the dictionary for sore loser. This does not project strength, needless to say. It doesnt project confidence in any way. And of course, it really seems so divorced from what the role of the president of the United States is in any other context. It tells you a lot that the main Headline News from that performance was the president saying he will leave the white house if he is voted out by the Electoral College on december 14th. This is not supposed to be a suspenseful outcome, folks. You know, this is just supposed to be how american democracy works. And yet, maybe its another reminder of what weve been watching for the last four years. We know donald trump does things his own way. But to your point, susan, that were now at this point where its, you know, a headline that he will leave the white house. Toluse, as we look at this, too, you know, susans point that theres no one there to tell him how weak this looks, theres also no one, apparently, to tell him, and likely he wouldnt listen, to tell him what you should do on thuanksgiving if youre addressing the country. Its not about your sour grapes. Its not about being concerned. If youre going to talk about the coronavirus, which is ravaging the country, its not about the concern that maybe joe biden would get credit for the vaccine. Those were the only two things he could bring up. Railing on the election and dont let biden get credit for the vaccine. Thats exactly right. We talked about how this is a small display of the presidency. This was a big this is a big moment in american history. We are having a major holiday in which so Many Americans have an empty seat at the table, in which many people cannot be with their families, so many people are being infected at this record rate of infections that were seeing with this disease. And the president didnt speak to any of that. He didnt actually try to level with the american people, show any empathy about the kind of loss, the immense loss that the country has seen over the past several months, which is really hitting home for a lot of people, as they sit around the table without their family members this holiday period. And he didnt really speak to that. Instead, he talked about his own personal grievances, talked about these baseless charges that there was fraud during the election, which happened three weeks ago and things will be coming to light very soon and hes been promising that for the past several weeks, and we havent seen anything other than a slew of court cases in which all of these allegations are being tossed out right and left by judges. So this is a small moment in the presidency, even though the country is going through a very big moment in its own history, with not only the holiday but the pandemic reaching record highs and so many people suffering and to have a president who is really checked out and not really focusing on the major issue facing the country is quite a stark moment in american history. And i think historians will look at this moment with a very questionable eye as they look at why the president did not decide to show leadership. He did go to the golf course. It wasnt just lashing out at reporters and lying about the election. He also did golf yesterday, so there is that. Susan glasser, one of the things he said was that joe biden should not be selecting his cabinet, which is obviously ridiculous. Any president elect has to do that during a transition, so you can begin your administration as quickly as possible. I wonder what challenges you now think that biden has. Hes named part of his cabinet, hes got to name his Economic Team and fill out the rest of the appointments and the area of health, which is obviously very important now with the pandemic. Ron brownstein observed before, that hes picked people who have experience, competence, relationships with him, but so far, not as much of the bridge to the future, which is something that he explicitly campaigned on. So how much of a challenge do you think that will be . Well, i think absolutely, when i look at this cabinet so far in the making, you see people who are biden loyalists, not only veterans of the obama administration, but even that subset within it, who worked very closely with the Vice President , as he was at the time. I also think, politically, he seems to be emphasizing picks that will essentially bridge any divide within the Democratic Party. He definitely seems to be wanting to avoid intramural disputes at a time when trump is insisting on prolonging the election itself and the rift in the country, biden continues to talk about unity in his messages to the country. And also, i think, hes aiming at unity within the Democratic Party, right . You know, the janet yellen pick is a very interesting example. She had been, of course, the first woman head of the Federal Reserve by picking her for treasury, he avoids any open conflict between the two camps inside the Democratic Party, i think, you know, both of whom seem like they will embrace her. So ill be looking for that, as you go forward in seeing what additional picks. I think its interesting that biden has not yet announced or settled definitively on the defense secretary. Michele flournoy had been widely expected to be the first woman secretary of defense under the Hillary Clinton administration if clinton had won. Shes been seen as the frontrunner all along in a Biden Administration, so i think thats interesting that that has not been finalized. I also think its really remarkable coming out of four years of the sort of leaking, backstabbing internal intriguefilled trump world that weve had so little of that kind of information and rumor and gossip come out from the Biden Administration in the making so far. It is fascinating, you think about all of the families who, you know, may have been looking forward to less politics at their thanksgiving dinner, because that didnt have to happen. Whats remarkable, i have to say, that came up a couple of times in the family zooms that we had, about people kept saying, oh, its so much quieter in what you do now as youre moving into this next administration. I wonder, toluse, do you think that will last . We know that this is what biden is going forward. We know that this is what he campaigned on, right . A little bit more normalcy, a little bit more quiet and its been that way, because youve got the contrast of the president and trying not to give that oxygen. But what is that feeling moving forward, as we start to see more of these picks. And perhaps people who voted for joe biden may not be happy with the direction that hes going in some of those picks. Right. Biden has been wellknown for making gaffes. But i will say over the past three weeks in the aftermath of the election, he has really avoid a lot of the mistakes and gaffes and sort of headlinemaking statements and actions that dogged him during the early part of his campaign. His picks have been largely wellheralded within the party and even republicans have not slammed these picks, mostly, or said that they would not be able to get confirmed. But i do think when biden says that hes considering maybe thinking about adding republicans to his cabinet or to his to belevel officials, that may cause some angst within his own party. There is sort of this bubbling angst on the left wing of the progressive base of the Democratic Party that says that if biden does not, you know, add more proigressives to his cabinet, if he chooses republicans or people who are seen as not progressive enough, then he may, you know, stir up some of that base that is really raring to go and really upset over the past four years and wants to have progressives in the government after having four years of watching President Trump. So it has been relatively calm over the past three weeks, especially with trump creating so much drama, but, you know, events happen to, you know, force themselves on president s and i wouldnt be surprised if the drama increases as we get closer to january 20th and definitely as he takes over, he will face a lot of cries ases a lot of challenges, which automatically means there will be drama and infighting and intrigue in his administration. It comes with every presidency and i dont think this one would be any different. Toluse, susan, thank you both for being with us this morning. Hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving. Thank you. So coronavirus hospitalizations in the United States have doubled in the last month. Cases continue to skyrocket. What does this moean for the net few weeks . Well ask a member of the president elects coronavirus advisory board, next. May your holidays glow bright and all your dreams take flight. Visit your local mercedesbenz dealer today for exceptional lease and financing offers at the mercedesbenz winter event. See yourself. Welcome back to the mirror. And know youre not alone because this. Come on jessie one more. Is the reflection of an Unstoppable Community in the mirror. Research shows people remember commercials with nostalgia. So to help you remember that Liberty Mutual customizes your Home Insurance, heres one thatll really take you back. Wow whatd you get, ryan . 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In places like el paso, weve been talking about accessing military hospitals. In other parts of the country, you know, were standing up field hospitals to increase our capacities. And so we already have this massive surge across the country. And its sort of like pouring gasoline on that, with thanksgiving and then the holidays after that. I think you also have to remember, Health Care Workers are really, really tired. Theyve been fighting this for months. They, themselves, would like some time off for the holidays. And we are functioning often with skeleton crews at the hospital over the holidays. So, all of that combined means this is going to be a very difficult stretch for patient care. In the breadth of where its taken place, weve spoken with exhausted Health Care Workers in texas and wisconsin and iowa and that makes it so much more challenging. I wonder if youve been seeing a