Biden announces five-point plan to speed-up Covid vaccinations; Looming inaugural threats lead to militarized lockdown in DC; DOJ investigating growing number of law enforcement officers who allegedly took part in Capitol riot; U.S. reports deadliest two weeks of pandemic, on pace to reach 400,000 deaths by next week; Trump plans to depart WH morning of inauguration;
The Lead with Jake Tapper
CNN
3.5 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 15 January 2021
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Biden urges vaccinating all Americans 65 and older to speed effort; Biden vows better communication with states about vaccine allocation; Biden on Covid: Things will get worse before they get better; Policy changes will take time; Biden: “You have my word, we will manage the hell out of this operation”; Despite promise from Trump Admin, U.S. has no reserve of second vaccine doses; Biden: People 65 & older, essential workers need vaccines first; Biden: “Optimistic” about getting funding from Congress to speed-up coronavirus vaccinations; Wash. Post: Rioters came dangerously close to reaching VP Pence; Memo: Capitol police banned tours on day of riot after Democrats raised security concerns; Federal prosecutors: “Strong evidence” Capitol rioters planned to “capture & assassinate” lawmakers; Officer describes siege: Rioters yelled “kill him with his own gun”; Lawmakers demand 9/11-style oversight commission to investigate what happened during Capitol siege; 20,000+ National Guard troops in DC ahead of inauguration; Secret Service designates “green zone” in DC amid inaugural threats; 14 states activate National Guard, two shut down capitols entirely ahead of planned armed protests; Michigan activates Natl Guard ahead of planned armed protests; Michigan Attorney General warns state’s “Capitol is not safe”; MA Attorney General: “Thousands of threats” against state officials; VP Pence called VP-elect Harris to offer aid & congratulations; Pelosi stays mum on impeachment trial details; expected to send Article to Senate next week; Trump leaves office with lowest approval of his presidency; Trump explodes at Nixon comparisons as he prepares to leave office; Fauci: U.S. must get more vaccines in arms; Pressure on teachers as schools weigh in-person classes; Houston teacher: I feel like I must choose between my students or my health; Early studies show low risk of students spreading virus; 18 states yet to administer 100K vaccines as eligibility rules vary nationwide;
To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the lead I'm Jake Tapper on this Friday you've been listening to |
| 0:03.5 | president-elect Joe Biden who in just five days will be sworn in and will |
| 0:08.4 | therefore be responsible for guiding the United States out of this devastating pandemic that has as of now claimed |
| 0:14.6 | more than 390,000 American lives, 390,000 President-elect Biden, detailing his effort to |
| 0:22.2 | fix what he called a dismal failure, the rollout |
| 0:25.0 | of the coronavirus vaccines, Biden is asking all states to open up vaccinations to more Americans, |
| 0:31.1 | including everyone aged 65 and older. |
| 0:33.6 | Biden is also pledging to establish more vaccination sites and ramp up supply of doses. |
| 0:39.3 | He is still promising 100 million shots in the first 100 days of his administration. |
| 0:44.0 | So far, more than 31 million doses have been distributed across the US. |
| 0:48.0 | Only 12 million of those have actually been put into American arms. |
| 0:52.4 | Plus, despite the Trump administration's promise, |
| 0:55.2 | governors are now saying that the reserve supply |
| 0:57.9 | of the vaccine for the second doses |
| 1:00.2 | cannot be delivered. |
| 1:01.8 | Why? Because they don't exist. There is no reserve. That's the news today. |
| 1:08.0 | And while the nation has been so focused on the deadly terrorist attack on the Capitol from a week and a day ago. |
| 1:14.0 | It may be lost. |
| 1:15.0 | These past 14 days have been the deadliest two weeks for the pandemic in the US ever. |
| 1:21.4 | On Tuesday, the deadliest day ever, 4,422 people, 4,422, in one day died in this country from the |
| 1:32.3 | coronavirus. |
| 1:33.4 | CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from CNN, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of CNN and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.