mark: good evening. world andlism entertainment world are mourning the loss of gwen eiffel start with words from president obama. >> gwen was a friend of ours. she kept faith with the responsibilities of her profession, asking tough questions, holding people in power accountable, and defending a strong and free press that makes democracy work.

mark: we will talk more about gwen, but we will start with the day in politics. beenfaults name has floated as possible secretary of state. weekend, the next president feel the top who jobs -- filled the top two jobs. to reportre going directly to president trump and will be equal partners in running the administration. showspresident trump willingness to employ some d.c. swamp dwellers. the story of band and has unleashed a gush of criticism from civil rights.

democrats and some republicans bannon represents the nationalist and sometimes racist views that many think trump should reject. povertyhern center for called it a mockery. present obama had some tough love for critics of the team that trump is building. i have been encouraged about comments on election night about being the president for staffs,le and how he thefirst steps he takes, reset that can happen after the election, all of those things are things he should think about. the people have spoken.

donald trump will be the 45th president of the united states. it will be up to him to set up a team that he thinks will serve him well and reflect his policies. john: these two choices obviously big news and have been dominating conversation ever since they were unveiled yesterday. right previous, steve bannon. talk about the joint selection. mark: from trump's point of view, it is obvious. these guys played a big al role as anyone else in getting him that are loyal to him and he thinks will produce the white house he wants. if you take the two of them and mike pence, it is not a bad set up. you have three guys in a division of labor to get stuff trust.at trump trump should speak about bannon -- by notowing

addressing it. he is being seen as a negative light and rightfully so. they are creating a problem that they should address head-on if bannon is going to be a senior government official. needs to be accountable and trump needs to explain why he is willing to overlook over what breitbart has done. john: moore that he want to make embrace what breitbart has them. of argument today coming out some republicans is you see these incendiary headlines of right part. you can't hold steve bannon accountable for every headline. yes, you can. they did not write those headlines, and he ran breitbart and proudly trumpeted his notion that it could be a home for white nationalism and the alt right.

that is a toxic force in american life and a divisive one. are are picking -- you picking steve bannon. you're sending a horrible message to the country about morals you are willing to embrace that close to the seat of power. this is an incredibly controversial pick. pick at aontroversial senior white house level in our lifetime and it threatens to undermine whatever modest good donald trump has done so far by trying to be reassuring to people. it threatens to undermine all of that who has the worst fears about where this administration will go. mark: it is not just controversial with democrats and the media. it is controversial with republicans.

they need to address at a minimum, because i don't think they will fire him, the specific things. them, say i did not write but need he needs to address them and repudiate them if he has any hope of eating part of a unifying administration. he has a fuller resume of this, but he cannot hide behind that. he has to take responsibility, explain, and announced that people are rightfully really upset about. as donald tries out the role of president-elect, he seems to be toning down more than just his demeanor. during that interview on 60 minutes, trump was asked about several policy positions he took during the campaign and on a few, including immigration, gay marriage, and the affordable care act, trump appeared to solve them. >> are you really going to build a wall? >> yes. >> they are talking about a

fence in republican congress. accept a fence. >> that would be acceptable in some parts. >> that me ask you about obamacare, which you said you will repeal and replace. when you replace it, are you going to make sure that people with pre-existing conditions are still covered? >> yes, because it is one of the strongest assets. also with the children living with their parents for an extended period. we are very much trying to keep that. it adds cost, but we will try to keep it. >> the you support marriage equality? >> it is irrelevant because it is settled. it was settled in the supreme court. it is done. these cases have gone to the supreme court they have been settled. i'm fine with that. mark: this is unfamiliar. trump walks back controversial

statements and policy prescriptions at times, often claiming he had been taken out of context. in all that act and forth, it never hurt his standing at the polls. today, president obama suggested that shifting is an flexibility on policy may actually be an asset in the oval office. >> he is coming to this office fastfewer set, hard and policy prescriptions than other presidents might be arriving with. i don't think he is ideological. i think ultimately he is pragmatic in that way. that can serve him well as long has he has got good people around him and he has a clear sense of direction. mark: trump can go left, he can

go right. when he flip-flops, will he pay a greater price if he does it in the oval office then as he did as a candidate? john: it depends if he flip-flops and in what direction. there are many conservatives who did not get behind donald trump because they did not believe he was actually conservative. his wholen democrat life. on issues like health care, he was maybe further to the left than hillary clinton in his heart. one of the things we going to find out is how much donald trump actually understands policy and forget about ideology, but does he have any believes of any kind about what policies he would like to have implemented and what are those beliefs? i think there are a fair amount of people that think trump was saying what he needed to say to win the nomination and get elected. we will find out if there is a real donald trump and who that person is. if he moves to the center, he

will not pay a price at all because mainstream republicans and much of the liberal media will appreciate that if he does that. you ask me if donald that caress about about who people think about, my answer would be maureen dowd. they will figure out a way to about what isod happening, particularly economic conservatives. if they pass major tax reform early on, i think economic conservatives will be like, great. he will keep a lot of support in the republican party and i don't think social conservatives are going to turn away because trump will find some way to keep them happy. john: that is a concern, when he has to throw those pieces of red meat on to keep the right happy. what do they look like?

speech andng hate hate crimes that have been occurring since the election have not abated. the southern poverty law center has tracked more than 200 cases of election-related harassment and intimidation in the last week alone. donald trump, the president-elect, keeps saying he wants to unite the country. he had been silent until he was asked about it in that 60 minutes interview that aired last night. >> do you want to say anything? >> i would say don't do it. that is terrible. i'm going to bring this country together. >> they are harassing latinos, muslims. >> i am so saddened to hear that. i say stop it. if it helps, i will say this. i will say it right to the camera. stop it. john: we talked about the obligation donald trump has to

answer for hate crimes carried out in his name. he said it last night. enough. mark: i know you don't want to transition of play-by-play of these events, but he has never been mr. empathy. he has never been a guy who emotes and talked about these things in a way that i think the country needs right now. it will help him, it will help his presidency. i think he needs to talk more about it and maybe some of the specific and maybe do some symbolic event that would send a message that he sees this stuff happening and he does not approve and he does not have to be asked about it. here and iuld sit will not do it. if you go through this list of the incidents that have been recorded, many of them are horrifying. they are horrifying and many have been carried out by people who invoked donald trump's name

as they carry out these acts. this is an unprecedented thing. we have never seen anything like this in the wake of a presidential election i think donald trump singh stop it is nowhere close in the same universe of enough if this guy wants to be the next president of the united states and have the respect of more than the people who voted for him. even some of those people are probably troubled about what they are seeing play out across the country. you have got to do more. he ran a divisive and in some cases racist campaign that fostered some of the feelings that are playing out. part position, but he has got to man up or this will be a very ugly transition to power for him and the country. mark: the campaign is over. there is no reason i can think of to not do it. there is now a democrat with an inside track on the dnc chair job. we will talk about who that is and how he is getting to the top

in a crowded field after this. ♪

democrats still trying to suss out the future of their party and who they want to lead it. bernie sanders has thrown his weight behind keith ellison. he also has endorsements from elizabeth worn and harry reid. ellison became a candidate. would he be a good choice? john: i think he would for a couple reasons. he is becoming the unity candidate. he can get elizabeth worn, bernie sanders on one side,

harry reid, chuck schumer on the other. they are piling behind him. the idea of an african-american and muslim at the face of the party at the moment and the stark contrast he would make with donald trump. he is a well-spoken guy. he could potentially be a good choice. mark: he is a smart guy, he is principled, he is well-liked. can he raise big money? can he go on television at the highest levels? he is on tv all the time, what at the highest levels and really take on a president? can he be a member of congress and also run the dnc? a lot of people like howard dean are saying it should be a full -time chair. there are big question marks about whether he is ready to take the next level and be the voice of the democratic party. john: those are fair questions, could potentially

the face of the democratic party going forward. there will be no more powerful a vision than the image of a black man as the counterpoint to donald trump if things start to go in a nasty, racially-freighted direction. mark: he is a really impressive guy. there is a reason why people are coalescing around him. john: i want to get to this topic. hillary clinton basically said this weekend to allege donors that she thinks she lost the election because of james comey and his intervention in the campaign about 10 days out. do you think that is true? mark: it definitely played a role and i think it riled up republicans and maybe got some democrats riled up too. i think they are being way too ad hoc as to how they are handling this. many democrats are angry she is

why shecomey as lost. i don't think he should have done it, but i think they would be smart to have a more organized response. you're leaving a bad taste in some people's mouth. john: i agree. did james comey play, in the end, a decisive role? yes, possibly. we both agree that he should not have done what he did. it was an inappropriate thing to intervene in the election at that time. withry clinton showed up millions of fewer votes than barack obama got 2012. running against the candidate with liabilities as donald trump , she was unable to get the numbers in order to be in an immensely beatable -- eminently beatable candidate like donald trump. comey deserves some, but not

all. colleagueext, our josh green talks about the latest of what is going on in the trunk transition.

mark: talked earlier in the program about steve bannon. joining us now, a guy who is about the only reporter who can get steve bannon on the record. our colleague josh green. bannon knows he is controversial. what it is in him -- what is in it for him to become the lighting rod? josh: bannon fashions himself a

revolutionary. he thinks he is helping propagate the right-wing populist movement that swept across the globe and got from the gop nomination -- got trump the gop nomination and into the white house. bannon used himself as trump's karl rove. i think it is appropriate that thou trump is in the oval office, bannon will be there with him. mark: is it because he is loyal to trump? does he want to change america? is he doing it because it is an interesting job? what is the motivation? josh: i strongly suspect it is all three. if you look at what breitbart has done over the last few years, they have tried to leave this revolution in the republican party and drive out the old guard. they succeeded in doing that. i think what bannon sees himself as doing is formalizing the victory i taking a powerful role in the white house so he can

steer the country and help president trump realize the vision for a different kind of governing agenda than anything we have seen from republicans and democrats in the past. spot i will put you on the because you wrote a long profile of him about a year ago or so. a lot of things that critics of these moves are saying is that steve bannon is a racist, and anti-semi, that breitbart is a reflection of those flaws in his character. is he a racist? is he an anti-semite? josh: as george bush said of latimer putin, i can't look into his soul. maybe i have that backwards. i can't looking to ban and posture soul. he went to harvard business school. he was a goldman sachs banker. he is not a rube from the backcountry. on the other hand, he is a chief executive of breitbart news that

publishes articles that are intentionally flemish tory, propagate a lot racist and anti-somatic themes and that is far outside the bounds of anything we have seen in mainstream american politics before. the to what that does is trump as a president is so far outside the bounds that we have seen before. the fact that he is in there now, it is not that surprising that he would surround himself with people like steve bannon. he has been appointed along with reince priebus. bannon has talked about his desire to undermine paul ryan and the republican establishment as much as anything else. if you were on capitol hill, you are happy about right revis, what are you thinking if you are paul ryan about steve bannon josh: i imagine you are nervous.

if you look at the balance of power, bannon was more of an architect and pre--- priebus was. i think that they work well together. wright's previous -- reince priebus took a subordinate role to trump when he accepted that. i imagine that would continue in the white house, unless trump runs into trouble and feels he needs to shakes things up. mark: what is likely to be the role of breitbart in the trump administration? josh: i think that is an open question. when you think about it, it is difficult for breitbart to navigate the new terrain in washington. they have always happily and gleefully been outsiders throwing rocks at the republican

and democratic establishments led by steve bannon. that ban and is in the white house with a breitbart candidate will make it harder to play that role, especially if trump does what he says he intends to do and governance in a way that includes establishment republicans and even democrats. it will interesting to see if it will be the way it was in the past or a watered-down version. mark: you can read josh's latest story on her website. ♪

speed always wins. especially in my business. with slow internet from the phone company, you can't keep up. you're stuck, watching spinning wheels and progress bars until someone else scoops your story. switch to comcast business. with high-speed internet up to 10 gigabits per second.

you wouldn't pick a slow race car. then why settle for slow internet? comcast business. built for speed. built for business. i've spent my life planting a size-six, non-slip shoe into that door. on this side, i want my customers to relax and enjoy themselves. but these days it's phones before forks. they want wifi out here. but behind that door, i need a private connection for my business. wifi pro from comcast business. public wifi for your customers. private wifi for your business. strong and secure. good for a door. and a network. comcast business. built for security. built for business. mark: joining us on set is harold ford, kr.

jr. we also have a political strategist and registered libertarian mary matalin. i will start with you and ask you this question. how do you think at this moment the president-elect is doing? mary: i think he is doing great. what do we have to judge him by, 60 minutes? i think he did a good decision with reince, the chief of staff, making the trains run on time. a very successful governor. he gets a whole rust belt and sees prosecution in wisconsin by scott walker. i think he's also a good selection. from what i hear from the rest of the list, let's go make america great again. john: harold, there has been a huge outcry about the notion of

steve bannon given his pedigree, breitbart's role in our national discourse. what do you think about that on whether it is provocative? harold: i will agree with mary. as it relates to mr. bannon, he has to prove himself. there is a history with baggage. he is a former employee and deputies of his at breitbart making accusations about the company. i'm disappointed my candidate did not win. i think it behooves president-elect trump to make clear he wants to represent and serve all the people. it would be good for him at some point to make clear to the country that things happened at during the campaign and people should not misinterpret him and call of

those that are practicing some of this stuff in his name to stop. they have to prove themselves and i'm willing to give them a chance to do that. mark: as controversial as bannon john boltonif become secretary of state, that would be controversial as well. what would be your reaction? harold: my pastor was cautioning people that right now we know more about what donald trump is against than what he is for and hopefully we will find out. i think that begins to raise even more concern as it relates to policy and america's posture. i would find that disconcerting. i hope the 60 minutes interview and the temperament and tone he projected -- i certainly want people who not only want to make america great again, but make america first. america's role should not always to be an interventionist

but to be smart to go about doing this. bolton andearing possibly rudy giuliani. what do you think about the merits of those options? mary: let me say something about bannon who we think we know all about his personal history, but what we really need to focus on is what he has demonstrated in this campaign which echoes the same strategic imperative that bill clinton and keith ellison, who is the top dog in the dnc race, were absent from this campaign which is appealing to the marginalized rust belt, rednecks, who have been harmed by obama policies and have been dismissed by both parties. that is steve's strategy. if he continues that same strategic imperative, that is good. if we lost half the u.n., it wouldn't change our geopolitical

imperative. we know what giuliani did in new york. duringlton was there post-9/11 when we were having to face a new strategic imperative which is still exists today. i think both of those would be blessed to join the administration. gears andnt to switch i want to ask both of you to reflect on gwen eiffel. a sister, she was a girlfriend. daughter socher's she is always trying to do right no matter what because somebody was always -- whic h is how people of faith behaved. we will miss her. harold: she was one of the first

one, wish what you, -- to accomplish what she accomplished with such grace and a great example for such young journalists. the way she handled her illness was consistent with whom she is. i pray for her family and we have lost not only a great journalist but a great soul. john: one last question because you will not be on in the next block, is the rainy thing have seen from the president-elect where you think he is not handling this transition particular well and advice you would give him that he might want to try x, try x to make your life a little easier? mary: i think the hardest thing for an incoming administration, having been through a number of them, is to keep grounded and don't listen to -- continue to listen to yourself and continue

to hone your discriminating skills because people are coming at you and now everybody loathes. everybody who thought he is a goon will be lining up for jobs. and a lot of advice for people that are now for him. he needs to stay on track, stay where he was and not be buffeted hround by these things and pus politicians back which has created this nader and trump and bernie phenomenon in the first place. john: mary matalin, thank you for being with us. gerald ford, you will stick around. we will talk about the upsetting hate crimes around the country. if you're watching us in washington, d.c., you can listen to us on the radio radio at 99.1 fm.

we will be right back. ♪

♪ i did say toma: him as i have said publicly that because of the nature of the campaigns, and the bitterness and ferocity of the campaigns, that it is really important to try to send some signals of unity. minorityach out to groups or women or others that tenoroncerned about the of the campaign. that was more of president

obama from his press conference today talking about donald trump. hate crimes and the incidence of intimidation have been reported on sidewalks, schools and churches across the country. former tennessee congressman harold ford is here and we will be joined by a spokeswoman on the council of islamic relations. congressman ford, john and i have been saying that donald trump seems to like war. what would you call them up to say if he asked what to say? what would you say? harold: you nailed it. -- i willas not said repeat it -- the campaign was a campaign. i don't want people to believe that i am aligned with people for white powder, engaging in acts against african americans

and muslims, other minorities. i'm not for that. the campaign is over and i seek to represent the country. he has been with those in his own words. i think his tone on 60 minutes was spot on. the selection of john bolton, does that mean we will bolt from oddle with we call wit russia? making clear the acts of violence or intimidation is not what rubwho he is. mark: how damaging do you think to the national psyche what is going on is now and what would you like to see the president-elect do about it? guest: right now, there is a lot of fear and anxiety and concern especially among vulnerable minority groups that have been targeted and negatively impacted

by this election. i think we need a leader to unite our country and can bring together people from both sides of the aisle and calm fears and address some of the core issues that both sides are grappling with. part of that solution is specifically appointing top strategic and advisers who do not have a track record of and i anti-refugeei-semitism, rhetoric that has been promoted amongst their audience members like mr. bannon has. john: let me ask you this question -- a lot of people seeing what has been happening have suggested it would be a good idea for donald trump to do something symbolic like visit a send a symbolic all of branch to the islamic american community. do you think that would be helpful for him to do that or

without be seen as a token gesture that would do nothing to alleviate concerns on how he campaigned in his proposals? zainab: we know last night donald trump did publicly tell his supporters to stop the hatred and racism. unfortunately, words have to be backed up with actions. the damage that has been done over the last 18, 19 months will somedone just by soundbites. it will take concrete action. i think the message that was sent especially to immigrants and minority communities across the nation by the appointment of mr. bannon sends a signal that he is not ready to unite the country. he is not ready to heal some of the wounds that have been inflicted over the past 18 months. reaching out to the american muslim community specifically would be a strong gesture, or

show he is making an effort to unite the country and address some of the concerns of the muslim community. this has been an especially difficult time for many americans, but especially american muslims in the sense we have seen an unprecedented level of islamophobia during the past 18 months. just in the days following the announcement of the election results, we saw a number of hate crimes, incidents of discrimination, bullying spike tremendously even more than post-9/11. john: i want to ask you what you think what is happening on the democratic world. keith ellison may be the next dnc chair. give us a snapshot of how the democratic party is coping right now and what the road ahead looks like for the party. harold: there is ambiguity on both parts.

people are hurt, shocked about what has happened. the reaction you see on the streets is not only a reaction to what this young lady eloquently stated, the kind of climate that exists. politically speaking, the clinton family has been an integral part of this democratic party. my entire adult life, they have been the leaders. bill clinton has been such a supersized influence. the clintons remain an important part of the party but there is clearly a transition. clinton brought in a message with refocusing and re-empowering the middle class. donald trump was able to do that very well this election. we have to zero in on a message and platform that allows us to do that. i think keith ellison is a very good congressman. i want to hear that kind of commitment that these candidates will have for the party and

developing a party and how willing they are to go across the country, particularly the rust belt, and reconnect with voters that by definition should be democrats. i think the party has the best chance for the kids to grow beyond their means. thank yould ford, jr. very much. zainab, thank you. donny deutsch, the brash man from queens, joins us right after this. ♪

dose --w for your daily not daily, i hope not -- we have donny.

some dose of donny, donny deutsch, my friend. our occasional guest host. justieve you woulill be posting -- guest hosting soon. donny: you are going on your honeymoon? john: funnymoon. you are here because you think you can make people feel better about donald trump. you have some advice. donny: here is cautious optimism despite bannon. i would like to analyze the guy. there are four components. i say, you know what, this might work. number one, he is transactional. we all know what he did during the campaign and that not will be a formula. number two, he needs to be loved by the elite class that he ran against because that is his world. he does not want to be booed in new york city. he's a human being.

he's also a contrarian. everybody is expecting him to move hard right, flip the bird. the combination of those things gives a certain amount of hope that we might get. his ego -- he does not want to go down as richard nixon. he wants to be great. now i look at the hiring of steve bannon. my mother would say this does not take a scholar. he needs to walk things back, if he is a leader. if he doesn't do that, there is no explanation. it is a challenge. come out and say there is no room for hate. i will be a law and order campaign against that. if he doesn't do that, that is a very bad sign. you could write that speech, i could write that speech. mark: i want to go to the first thing on your list --

transactional. if he is dealing with paul ryan and conservative members of the house and he doesn't want to go as far right, what do you think happens then? donny: i don't think he is worrying about how anybody reacts with in washington. when i think transactional, what is a win? how does he get where he needs to get to which may be alienating or befriending paul ryan. my point is he looks at the goal line and says how do i get there and get there. john: why should i, if i am a -- whypset about trump should i not say, well, he's also a racist, a misogynist, a sexual predator. iy should i -- why should focus on those aspects? donny: number one, we cannot unvote him. i'

m trying to rally my organization and trying to say what he did was despicable. the reality is now you cannot protest from day one. you lose your credibility. you say prove it to me. show me. he starts making the wrong series of hires across the board, then you do it. the way you are ineffective protester, contrary and is starting out here. that is what i'm trying to do. he have to walk those things that. you are not effective if you go poo-poo. he won by an elect oral college point of view. john: we get your point. donny: i did not understand what that meant. john: donny deutsch, always a pleasure to have you on the show. you will be back soon on the show.

we will be back much sooner with thoughts about gwen eiffel. ♪

mark: as we have discussed throughout the program, america has lost gwen ifill, the coanchor of the news hour. she was one of the most influential reporters in the country. she was also a very gentle sou.. l. she started out as a newspaper reported and switched to tv. doing all she did as an african-american woman is one of the greatest achievements in journalism in the past half-century. gwen did what you did with honor, integrity, grace and humor. she was a mentor to scores of political reporters, including me. she taught me like she taught so many others by example that the

twin responsibilities of journalism is to tell the stories of our time and hold powerful interest accountable, the public interest. i'm sure she would want all of us to find out how to cover this new president who has not only shown respect for the public interest as fairly as possible. john: let alone for african-americans, for women. she would have been an indispensable voice in holding donald trump accountable with some of his worst moments. two things that stood out for me her for a longknew time. even though she became an iconic television figure, she have the heart of a newspaper reporter. she was never a part of the high and mighty. she was never like a tv pundit. she was always interested in the facts and being a reporter as much as she was about being a commentator. those elements of her identity, the african-american heritage,

female -- she was a black woman in a rare place of power with someone with that background infused her outlook and gave her a unique perspective on politics and life that really made her an important part of how we came to understand our time in politics and beyond. mark: we are all going to miss her. head to bloombergpolitics.com for more coverage of president obama's big conference today. bloomberg technology is next. until tomorrow, sayonara. ♪

courtney: president obama met with press for the first time since the election of donald trump. president obama: we are

indisputably in a stronger position today than we were when i came in eight years ago. my instructions would be to run through the tape. we must make sure we finish what we started, that we do not let up in these last couple of months. courtney: former goldman sachs minuchan has been selected to be secretary of treasury. the securities and exchange commission says mary jo white will leave office at the end of the obama administration. white was appointed by president obama in 2013 and her term does not end until 2019. a united nations spokesman with more than 54,000 people have fled their homes because of the military operation to retake mosul from islamic state. about three quarters of the people are sheltered in