heads into the white house, and so as he is prepared to actually govern and dell gate these tasks, delegate these tasks, there are people on the hill who think donald trump will be a deal maker. >> there say question of timing. which is important to consider. president obama, hillary clinton, thought it would be her there today. tomorrow is veterans day. president obama leaves monday for a foreign trip, his last scheduled foreign trip, to greece, to germany, to peru, world leaders, major u.s. supporters. president obama's trip was supposed to be a farewell tour and may be a lift bid at tpp. it is now all about trying to answer the rest of the world's questions. i suspect, and i hope we'll learn more during the readouts, some of today's meeting was so president obama in these meetings with angela merkel, in these meetings with western and asian-pacific leaders is to be able to say i spent an hour and a half with donald trump -- >> and we're going to be covering john earnest, the white house press secretary, he is scheduled to have a briefing

momentarily. we'll have live coverage of that. history unfolding behind us right here in the nation's capital. >> this is cnn breaking news. >> hello, i'm wolf blitzer. it's 1:00 p.m. in washington. wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us. a remarkable meeting has just concluded at the white house. the president and the president-elect putting aside their animosity from the campaign to fulfill a time-honored tradition here in the united states, the peaceful transfer of power. president obama welcomed president-elect trump to the white house this morning. they had an excellent discussion. meeting was supposed to last, at least accord to donald trump, only ten minutes, bub according to the president-elect, it lasted almost an hour and a half. here's what they said at the end of the meeting. >> well, i just had the opportunity to have an excellent

conversation with president obama-elect trump. it was wide-ranging, we talked about some of the organizational issues in setting up the white house. we talked about foreign policy. we talked about domestic policy. as i said last night, my number one priority in the coming two months is to try to facilitate a transition that ensures our president-elect is successful. and i have been very encouraged by the i think interest in president-elect trump's wanting to work with my team around many of the issues that this great country faces, and i believe that it is important for all of us, regardless of party, and regardless of political

preferences, to now come together, work together, to deal with the many challenges that we face. and in the meantime, michelle has had a chance to greet the incoming first lady and we had an excellent conversation with her as well. we want to make sure they feel welcome as they prepare to make this transition. and most of all, i want to emphasize to you, mr. president elect, that we now are going to want to do everything we can to help you succeed because if you succeed, then the country succeeds. please. >> well, thank you very much, president obama. this was a meeting that was going to last for maybe 10 or 15 minutes and we were just going to get to know each other. we had never met each other.

i have great respect. the meeting lasted for almost an hour and a half. and it could have, as far as i'm concerned, it could have gone on for a lot longer. we really -- we discussed a lot of different situations. some waufl and some difficulties. i very much look forward to dealing with the president in the future, including counsel. explained some of the difficulties. some of the high-flying assets. some of the real great things that have been achieved. so mr. president, it was a great honor being with you. i look forward to being with you many, many more times in the future. thank you. >> mr. president -- >> thank you, everybody. we're not -- we are not going to be taking any questions. >> all right, there you saw it. historic video from the oval office and the white house. we should be getting some details on this obama/trump

meeting during the white house briefing. it's expected to begin shortly. the white house press secretary josh earnest will go to the lectern over there and breech repo brief reporters. presumably, he'll have more information on what happened during that 90-minute meeting between donald trump and president obama. donald trump, the president-elect the united states, and the vice president-elect, mike pence, also meeting with house speaker paul ryan. pence meeting in the next hour with the vice president of the united states, joe biden. they'll be meeting at the white house, right behind me. while trump supporters certainly celebrate his victory, thousands took to the streets last night to protest. thousands of americans. demonstrations took place in at least 25 cities. meanwhile, back here in washington, this transition process has begun. our senior white house correspondent jim acosta's covering the trump/obama meeting for us. our senior political reporter manu raju is covering trump's

meetings up on capitol hill with paul ryan, the speaker of the house. mitch mcconnell, the majority leader in the senate. first, contrast the tone. it was pretty dramatic, of today's meeting, with the very harsh attacks that both the president and now the president-elect, they leveled at each other during that lengthy presidential campaign. >> that's right. going back all the way to 2011, wolf, you heard donald trump say during that meeting they never met before. remember in 2011 at the white house correspondent continue, president obama mocked donald trump to his face about his commitment to birtherism and so on and that was a moment that's it's been said made donald trump consider running for president. to hear those words in the oval office we just heard, donald trump referringing to president obama as a very good man, that is a far cry from what we heard

during the course of this campaign. put the birtherism stuff aside, at one point, trump referred to president obama as the founder of isis. so this is a huge leap forward in their relationship and trump looks forward to talking with president obama in the future, including seeking his counsel. that is something just about everybody did not expect. you said it yourself, these sorts of moments have a way of changing people. the weight of the presidency is something that can change people and perhaps it's changing trump as well. my sense it, having covered this candidate, and now president-elect, for the better part of a year, this may just be a time-out on these partisan words here in washington. donald trump is going to be meeting with the house speaker paul ryan, the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, in just the next hour or so. they have a very ambitious agenda ahead them. donald trump wants to repeal the

president's signature legislative achievement, the affordable care act, also known as obamacare. i was talking to a senior democratic aide last night who said that is actually feasible. even though the democrats have 48 senators, they may not need that supermajority in the senate. they could perhaps tear it apart through budget reconciliation where you just need a simple majority and so on. they're going to be hanlerring some of this house speaker out. we shouldn't get the whole world in the next 24 hours but they certainly have an ambitious agenda ahead. when you look at the past, and the kinds of words that were exchanged between donald trump and president obama, this is a huge, huge development we're seeing today, a major call for unity from both the president and the president-elect, wolf. >> and i assume zwraefr one assumes the president had an impact on trump during that 90

minute meeting in the oval office. stand by. manu, give us a sense of what to expect during donald trump tease meeting. which is about to begin with house speaker paul ryan. as a lot of our viewers know, there is no great love lost over this lengthy campaign between these two men. >> that's right, this relationship is going to be essential for trump going forward, having a good relationship with the house speaker. during the campaign, paul ryan repeatedly criticized trump, saying he could no longer defend trump, could no locker campaign with trump. that led to attacks from donald trump, calling paul ryan a weak and ineffective leader. since then, they've moved past it. at least paul ryan certainly has. pushing the idea of a unified republican government, campaigning of sorts for donald trump and appearing on the campaign stage with mike pence.

but this have not met face-to-face yet. paul ryan and donald trump have not met face-to-face yet for several months. they tried to meet once last week right before the election but that didn't pan out because of scheduling conflicts. the idea is to figure out where their agendas align and what issues they can push initially. jim mentioned about the idea of repealing obamacare. that's certainly something that's feasible through the budget process. at least significant chunks of that bill could be repealed. the health care law could be repealed. that could take several months to do. and the idea of replacing obamacare cannot be done through the budget process. he'll have to get 60 votes in the united states senate to get something enacted and that will require bipartisan support. there are a lot of things that both the speaker and the white house will have to coordinate over, trying to figure out their strategy and tactics because they don't want to be misfiring. one reason donald trump

afterwards is meeting with senate majority leader mcconnell, discussing their plans and the senate playing a critical role in deciding which ones they can confirm and which ones will be rejected. something that also would need bipartisan support presumably. so a lot of issues to go through. this is the beginning of several discussions. but clearly they want to have -- get off on the right foot after both mcconnell and ryan -- clearly just not sure what to expect from this new president, wolf. >> manu, very quickly, do we know if there are going to be joint statements to reporters in front of the cameras between the president-elect and the speaker? >> we're not getting any sense that's going to happen at this point. we expect to get readouts from aides from the room. i'm sure a lot of the details we'll have to figure out on their own. they're trying to present the best face forward, that this is going to be a unified party and i expect to hear a lot of kumbaya coming out of this meeting today, wolf.

>> all right, presumably get some still photos at least. manu, stand by. i want ton get back to you. our panel, david kateney, for u.s. news and world report. our chief national correspondent, john king with us. cnn politics reporter sara murray it cnn politics executive editor mark preston is here as well. john, we're moments away from the start of the josh earnest briefing. he's going to be providing details. we're going to take live coverage of that. he's going to be walking into the briefing room. and we'll hear presumably some more specific details what was discussed between the president and the president-elect. >> it will be interesting if josh earnest shares when the president said they talked domestic and foreign policy, how specific. did they have a conversation about if you decide to repeal obamacare, i urge you to not do this or do it this way. donald trump said we will bomb the -- i will let you fill in the word" out of them or we

should have seized the oil fields in iraq. i doubt we'll get specifics. what we're having today is cooperation, conciliation day in washington. after the most disrupptive campaign in in our lifetime. the republican nominee was not only at odds with this democratic president, he was at odds with his own leadership. he he doesn't fit the box of the republican party. we're not sure how this is going forward. it is a very safe bet it will not say this conciliatory. there are bumps in the road for every new president. but this is a very important signal to the united states and to the world that after this campaign when people were questioning would this work, what is going to happen, you know, the white house is still the white house. the capitol hill is still the capital. we don't know what comes next but the early signals of cooperation. the democratic president sitting next to the president-elect.

two men with a deep history of personal animosity between each other saying it's time to close that chapter. it's time for me to help you prepare to live in this house and have this awesome job in ten weeks. >> it is pretty enormous. pretty significant right now what is going on. we're all so fortunate to have the seat watching it unfold. >> it's amazing, walking in here today, i ran into a homeless gentleman on the street and he said why are people so glum right now, why are they gritting their teeth, why don't they give donald trump a chance. i thought it was a really interesting thing to say because if we do walk in the streets of washington right now, there is this still disbelief of what has happened. the enormity. the only thing i can equate it to in my short young lifetime is what happened in 1994 when republicans came in in a wave and took over the town, right. now, it's not on the same level but there was the same kind of failing. i think it's really important what we see in those pictures, as john says, listen, as a nation, we need to come together. you may not agree with donald

trump on 70% of what he says but the fact of the matter is he is the leader of the free world and not only is he going to deal with domestic issues but on the foreign stage. >> this is interesting, when you talk to people who knew donald trump, before donald trump became a presidential candidate who worked with him in business who lobbied for him, and who were supporting him early on and were traditional republicans so they were quietly supporting him early in his presidential bid. they groaned and sometimes made public their discontent with donald trump when he said things that they felt were inappropriate about women or muslims or about latinos. but they really supported him because they felt like he would be a good president. they felt like he was the kind of guy who could negotiate and who could get deals done and who would work across the aisle. for those people, they're now saying just give it a minute, let's see what he's like and if he is different as a president than as a candidate. that's going to be a very hard

pill for a lot of liberals to swallow. there's a lot saying oh, my god, how did this happen. but we're still seeing the peaceful transition of power. there are some people saying at least give this a chance. >> certainly, david, the president is saying all right things, thepy things for the good of the country. we've got to work together. we have to look towards the future. hillary clinton said exactly the same thing in her moving remarks yesterday. >> you have to credit both them sort of rising above it all. i can't imagine what was in her gut while she said donald trump is president, you have to accept that. i thought it was an exemplary performance for her. this country is so emotional right now. i keep getting texts from friends, how does this happen, is it going to be okay, why

didn't you tell me it was going to happen. because frankly no one thought it was going to happen. frankly these pictures, the kumbaya is not going to last. there's going to be big battles. but these pictures that are so striking are so important to try to calm the names of the nation. >> for barack obama to know his legacy is on the line. republicans are going to run this town in january. and so they actually can't -- >> hold on, josh earnest, the white house press secretary, just started speaking. >> well, josh, i had an opportunity to visit briefly with president obama about the meeting. there are many details in their discussions. a couple of things i can share with you. the president indicated during the pool they had an opportunity to discuss some foreign policy and domestic issues. some in the context of the president's upcoming trip

overseas. the president described to the president elect some of the issues he expected to come up with some of our allies and partners. so it's an opportunity to talk about those issues. there also is an opportunity for the two leaders to talk about staffing and organizing a white house. that's complicated business. and any white house is expected to be straushed in a way to deal with multiple challenges or even multiple crises at the same time. the president-elect expressed a lot of interest in the strategy of organizing a white house. that's something president obama has thought about extensively. they spent a large portion of

the meeting t ining discussing importance of properly staffing up and organizing a white house operation. looks, other than that, what the president heard from the president elect is a clear commitment to effective smooth transition that president obama has been vowing to preside other for the better part of a year. the president intends to make good on that promise. >> did the president leave the meeting any more reassured that president-elect trump will not try to dismantle all the work that you and your colleagues have done over the last eight years? did president obama make any pitch for trump not to get rid of obamacare or other significant policies? >> i'm not going to get into the details of their meeting. i think president obama came away from meeting with renewed

confidence in the commitment of the president-elect to engage in an effective smooth transition. that obviously is what president obama believes serves the american people the best. we are committed to doing on part to make sure that happens. the president was pleased to hear a similar commitment expressed by the president-elect. >> do you know if the president got any assurances about whether they plans to pursue what he discussed during the campaign about trying to incarcerate hillary clinton? >> listen, i'll let president-elect sort of read out his end of the conversation. but as i mentioned yesterday, the president was found reassuring, the kind of tone that the president elect convey ed his in election night remarks. remarks the president-elect delivered not just to supporters in the ballroom but to citizens of the country that were tuned

in to this historic election but also to people around the world. give be the intensity of scrutiny of his remarks, it's notable he chose that kind of tone. i think we saw similar tone just in the oval office 30 minutes ago. where he was, you know, indicating his commitment to working closely with the outgoing administration to ensure an effective transition. it doesn't mean they agree in all the issues. they obviously have deep disagreements. but what they do agree on is a commitment to a smooth and effective transition. that's a good thing for the country. >> did president-elect trump talk about looking forward to receiving president obama's counsel in the near future? did they agree to meet again? was there something put in place where they're expected to continue the conversation they had today in additional format?

>> i'm not aware of any additional meeting that's been scheduled but i wouldn't rule out future consultations. when president obama served, you know, over the last eight years, president obama has benefited from the kinds of conversations he's been able to have with previous presidents. i wasn't surprised to hear that president-elect trump indicated he feels like he would benefit from those conversations over the course of his presidency as well. >> was it awkward at all, given the rancor the two men exchanged versus each other on the campaign trail and even before that? was there a moment where they had to sort of break the ice and get past that? >> well to be as speck as possible about this, roberta, there's no staff in the room when president obama and president-elect trump sat down in the oval office for 90 minutes. so i think the question you'd have to ask the two of them. i feel confident in telling you

they did not resolve all their differences. i also feel confident in telling you they didn't try to resolve their differences. what they sought to do was lay the foundation for an effective transition from the obama presidency to the trump presidency. this administration at the direction of president obama has been preparing for this moment and this meeting for the better part of a year. and, you know, this obviously was an important early step, having the president sit down with the president elect to discuss that transition. and, you know, based on the kind of agreement that was evident about the priority that they both place on a smooth transition, it sounds like the meeting might have been at least a little less awkward than some might have expected. >> and you said that it was just the two them alone, there was no staff in the room? >> that's correct. >> for the entire time? >> that's correct. >> and the pool waiting to go

into the oval had seen some other officials, mcdonough among then, on the south lawn. i wonder if you can tell us a little bit about what other officials may have met, who was in those meetings going on at the same time? >> i know that the president-elect's spokeswoman miss hicks was here. i had an opportunity to meet with her. just briefly. to meet her, i guess i should say. while the president-elect was meeting with president obama. you noted that she also had longer meetings with some other members of two of my colleagues in the communications team. you noted that mr. kushner was here and had an opportunity to vitt with the chief of staff. those are the only two staffers from the president's elect team i had an opportunity to meet today. there may have been others that were with him but i can't speak to all the meetings that took place. i will just clarify there is a more formal process that we would expect would guide the

exer acti exer actions between the president's team and the president's elect team between two months from now and the inauguration. there is a formal process for that kind of consultation to ensure the smooth transition. the kinds of conversations today were more informal in nature. >> president-elect trump mentioned he learned about some high-flying assets and i wonder if you know what he was referring to. >> i'm not sure what he was remembering to but you can check with his team on that, okay. michelle. >> you're saying as far as excellent goes, is talking about a smooth transition and having a good tone, that's all that excellent means? >> i think when you consider the profound differences between the two gentlemen, when you consider the fact that they've never met before in person, and when you consider the high priority that the president places on a smooth and effective transition, i think that qualifies as excellent.

>> donald trump mentioned this was originally supposed to have only lasted 10 to 15 minutes, is that true? and why would it go on so much longer than that? >> the president allotteded more time on his schedule for that meeting than just 10 to 15 minutes but they did end up spending about 90 minutes talking about a range of issues including what i described to josh earlier. that would be an indication of a pretty robust valuable meeting. >> so just when you talked about the president still having deep concerns obviously and that everything he said on the campaign trail about donald trump was true. this meeting, considering all of that, it was a brief meeting. did it do anything to assuage any of those deep concerns? >> listen, as i mentioned yesterday, the president campaigned vigorously across the country, making a forceful case if favor of the candidate he

supported. and he did that right up to the night before election day. but on election day, the ballots were counted. and the american people decided. the president was never in a position to choose a successor. the american people chose his successor. the president people vowed to work with whomover the american people chose. they did not recreate a presidential debate in the oval today. they were focused on dock ting work of the american people, fulfilling constitutional responsibilities. on president obama's part that means laying the groundwork so that the incoming president-elect can hit the ground running. after all, as president obama said in the rose garden yesterday, we're all rooting for his suction ses when it comes to uniting and leading the country. >> so the president still has those deep concerned is what you're saying. >> what i'm saying is the forceful case at it president made on the campaign trail

leading up to election day reflected his authentic views about the stakes of the election and about the candidate that he went all in to support. >> obviously, there was nothing in this meeting that would change any of that? >> well, i guess what i'm saying is that the meeting was not convened to try to resolve the variety of concerns that president obama had raised on the campaign trail. the meeting was focused on the transition and it went well. >> given that some of trump's advisers have just prior to this meeting talked about looking for all of the ways they could roll president obama's policies back starting on day one, does the president fully expect that to happen? >> well, listen, i'm not going to prejudge what their transition process is. obviously, our goal is to make sure that the incoming president-elect can hit the ground running and kean joy success when it comes to uniting

the country. convening a meeting in the oval office today is part of making that promise. what priorities they choose to set is something you'll have to ask them. >> what does the president expect to have happen? >> i think the president's expectation is, you know, that the incoming president will set his own priorities and pursue them accordingly. our goal is to provide them the kind of advice that would give the president-elect and his team the opportunity to succeed in uniting and leading the country. that's what he's indicated he's made his priority. we certainly are prepared to do everything we can other the next 71 days to support him in that effort. >> does the president have any reason to believe donald trump is unfit to be president of the united states? >> the two men did not relitigate their differences in the oval office. we're on to the next phase now, all right, justin. >> you mentioned the formal

process, so i wanted to ask if there are meetings that have either occurred or have been set up with senior staff at the white house since donald trump won the presidency, especially national security or economic teams going forward. >> my understanding justin, is that the broader formal process has not yet commenced with meetings. there were a number of meetings between white house personnel and members of both candidate's transition teams in the months leading up to the election. i know there's been a number of consultations with the president-elect's team and the white house team. but the formal meetings i don't believe have started just yet. >> i wanted to ask about i guess press access today. the meeting with the vice president and vice president-elect pence and carol

reported that the obamas canceled a photo op. >> that's not true. >> can you talk about then why we didn't have a photo op and why there's no press access and particularly if this is -- >> you were just in the oval office. so it's not accurate to say that was no press access. let's just be cleesh about what happened. over the last eight years, i've enjoyed the opportunity to have many of you in my office over the years advocating for greater access to the president and the work he's doing in the oval office. what that typically means is you coming if and advocating for the opportunity to see the president of the united states sitting in the oval office photograph him sitting next to the person he's meeting with and then hear from both people about the meeting. that is the -- that's the priority that has been conveyed to me in countless meetings with all of you. that is exactly what was provided today.

that was not provided in 2008. i wasn't part of designing the press access in 2008 so i can't account for all of the reasons for that. the president access we put together today was based on the guidance we received from all of you over the last eight years about what the priority is. we're pleased to be in a position to provide that today. an indication of the excitement we have to transparency. at indication that the president has to build public confident in the shared commitment to a smooth and effective transition. what better way for the american public to understand that the president-elect and the outgoing president of the united states share a priority of a smooth and effective transition than to allow you all into the oval office to hear them talk about their commitment to that effort? >> one way to demonstration that you guys are committed to that i guess effective transfer of power would be to show the vice president or show the first lady

welcoming their successors into the white house, and so -- >> i think we would all just agree that would be lower in priority than what was provided today and what was provided today is unprecedented in terms of the kind of access that was granted to previous white house press corps. look, there's always going to be this back and forth. as i've stated before -- >> -- relevant and the reason i'm asking the question is while the president has come out and sort of put on a cheery face, we know obviously many people here are disappointed. the first lady spoke passionately about how she found donald trump to be an unacceptable choice. are we to read anything or putting aside whether we should read anything. because the first lady or the vice president didn't want to be photographed or -- >> absolutely not. in fact, i'm not aware that the first lady's os wffice was consulted. i certainly didn't consult with them. what we can do is we can go back

to the white house photographer and see if there are any photos from the greet so that you all can get some insight into how that went. so we'll follow up with you on that. >> last one, number of foreign governments from top allies of the united states turkey and the united kingdom, canada, have all said their leaders have -- president-elect trump over the last 24, 48 hours, beyond sort of congratulatory calls, is there concern among you guys as you try to pursue your -- that allies could be getting mixed messages on the u.s. foreign policy -- >> i'm not aware of any concern about that. it is not uncommon for countries that have important relationships with the united states for them to call and offer congratulations to the president-elect. some of those conversations are

facilitated by the state department. that's consistent with past practice. i'm confident that happened after president obama's election as well, okay. >> i'm kind of curious about that, the president, does he say you need to get a great chief of staff, does he say there's one job you never ever heard of but it's vital? or is it just, you know, obviously donald trump knows he has to staff the white house. how much precision is the president offering in his readation? >> well, i'll be honest, i didn't have a detailed conversation with president obama about this. i think he has built an organization at the white house with an eye toward surrounding himself with capable people and putting them in positions where they are given the authority they need to make decisions. also, he's ensured that they are given the authority they need to

elevate decisions to him if they need to be. so structuring a -- structuring the organizational chart effectively is not an insignificant matter when you're talking about life and death decisions that have to be made on a regular basis in this building. so, you know, the president will be taking some questions over the course the next week and maybe somebody can seek greater insight from him on that. >> looking overseas, the operations against the islamic state, the president recently sent 1700 more american troops there. you've long insisted they don't have a combat mission. these are combat troops. why did they go? are you saying they need 1700 more american troops worth of advice and assistant? we're starting to see some social media of americans who look like they're in frontline

operations, not in supportive ones. >> olivier, what we've made clear is our service members when they go to iraq, they're trained for combat, they're equipped for combat, because they need to defend themselves in a dangerous country. but they're not given a combat mission. that's an important distinction because the president does not believe the american troops should be in a conversation in which they're expected to be at the tip of the spear to go and take and hold ground. the idea of the u.s. military being an occupying force in iraq is not one that has yielded success for our country. so what the president envisioned and the mission they have been given, it is a dangerous one. it's one that -- in which american service members are asked to assume great risk so that they can be in a position to in some cases train -- or active security forces. in other cases so that he can

offer advice and assistant as iraqi security forces undertake important military objectives. there are even some situations where if some of those trainers or advisers end up in a dangerous position, then there are additional u.s. forces that are mobilized to get them out. this is dangerous work. this does put them in harm's way. it does put them in a situation where occasionally they have to use their combat training and combat equipment to defend themselves. but that is much different than income a situation which they are asked to take and hold territory. that's just -- that's a different strategy. it's a different mission. both of them are dangerous. both of them require courage and professionalism and skill and sacrifice. and that's what we have seen from our men and women in uniform. >> the kinds of troops -- >> all right, josh earnest, providing us some details on the meeting in the oval office

between the president-elect of the united states, donald trump, and the president of the united states, barack obama. the president invited donald trump for this meeting, to start this formal transition. donald trump will become the president of the united states in ten weeks on january 20th of 2017, inauguration day. that's when he's sworn in as president of the united states. the president, by the way, said it was an excellent meeting. donald trump called president a very good man. and we just heard josh earnest say that the president was deeply -- was deeply relieved, very happy, if you will, that trump -- he got a renewed confidence from trump there would be a commitment to a smooth transition. and trump called president obama once again a very, very good man. very different words than we heard clearly during the campaign. i want to bring in our panel. our chief political analyst gloria borger is here with me.

we're right in front of the white house. our cnn politics executive editor mark preston is here. our chief political correspondent dana bash. the renewed confidence that the president has that donald trump has a commitment to a smooth transition. both of these men are very upbeat, very positive. they've been saying all the right things since donald trump stunned all of us, stunned the world, by win beining the presidency. >> i think they're both grasping the moment in history this is. the fact that two men sit together who don't like each other is not new. i was communicating with mike duffy who is a friend of mine and co-author of the book "the president's club." and he was pointing out to me this is sort of the quintessential club moment here. because truman didn't like ike. help help he helped him anyway. ike eisenhower didn't like jfk, welcomed him into the white

house. lbj didn't like richard nixon much and did the same thing. each of these men understands, once you've been a president, you're initiated into the club, that it is your time to help the next person who's going to join that club, understand the surroundings, understand the enormity of it. which i think hits you the moment you walk in that door, the oval office probably. this is something we've seen in our history. if it worked any other way, that would be what would be sort of discombobulating to the nation about it. we are lucky enough to have this kind of smooth transition of power. i don't think it means that these guys really like each other anymore than they did yesterday. but i do think they understand the responsibilities that the office brings with it. >> you know, dana, it was a 90-minute meeting in the oval office without any aides. just the two of them one on one. >> right, agree there's no reason to think they're going to, you know, they were going to end that singing kumbaya and

being best friends, but the fact they have never actually met. >> i know. >> right. >> they were in rooms together like the white house correspondents dinner but they've never met and have had such strong opinions about one another. it's almost as if the only thing that each of them knew was the other's caricature. and now just in that intimate setting in such a monumental setting like the oval office, they got to know each other's character. and that says a lot. that says a lot. you know what, listen, we've all been in this town for a while covering politicians. and we know just even in congress in particular they scream at each other, they call each other names. they fight over very real political and philosophical differences. but they all, you know, get together not as month as they used to but they can have friendships across the aisle.

and this is a very, very extreme version of reminding everybody that these are two human beings but also two people who represent things way bigger than themselves. >> want to point out the pictures we're seeing in the upper left-hand part your screen. that's the motorcade, donald trump's motorcade. after leaving the white house, they drove up to capitol hill. donald trump is meeting right now with paul ryan, the speaker of the house, he'll be meeting with mitchcconnell, the senate majority leader, as well. these are also important meetings, mark, that -- >> can i just add one thing, what i thought in terms of the symbolism of all this, of course, he went to the oval office. the picture there where that motorcade is, that's outside the republican national committee or the capitol hill club where they're meeting. so he's not on capitol hill meeting with paul ryan in the speaker's office. they decided to meet on neutral ground. i think is interesting. >> why is that? why would they do that?

i mean, we've all been to the republican national committee headquarters where they're meeting right now. the whole area's called capitol hill as we know. but it's not part of the official government -- >> most importantly, he's the speaker of the house, he's got some pretty nice digs on capitol hill, gorgeous, gorgeous. i mean this view is nice, his view is nice too. >> outlooks the whole mall. >> exactly. i don't know the reason why they're not doing it there. i just think it's interesting they decided to meet on neutral ground which is exactly where they met the very first time they met. >> pens is going to capitol hill. mike pence. and that's familiar turf for him. >> exactly. >> unlike donald trump and the white house. >> symbolically, the pictures are -- they're so important not only here in the united states where we saw the protest last night. i'm sure we'll see them tonight. we'll see them in the coming days. quite frankly, again, we'll be talking a lot about this. on a global scale right now, how important that is. but the reality actually

governing in town, these meetings are really going to matter right now. there's the campaign rhetoric we saw donald trump talk about on the campaign in very volatile and what have you. and then there's the fact that there's the governing reality. and there's can you work with capitol hill, can you work with your own party, can you work with democrats. there are going to be some major clashes. the obamacare fight, right when he is elected president or sworn in, rather. that is going to be major. i think we're going to see this country even more divided at that point. but the fact is, is that he is the president and they've got to give him the respect of the office. >> what struck me, though, about what donald trump said, and i wonder how this is going to play with his base, was that he said that the president explained to him some of the really great things that he has achieved. we haven't heard donald trump talk about the really great things that barack obama has achieved over this campaign. >> or any one thing. >> so i'm wondering what they

were talking about. my guess is maybe the president was talking a little bit about some of the issues with obamacare, that the american public might not want to lose, keeping pre-existing conditions cover. but what were those really great things that donald trump heard? >> we'll find out soon enough. and, remember, that was then, this is now. it's a whole new environment, given the enormity of what's going on. coming up, this historic day in washington, as president-elect donald trump meeting with president obama and the house speaker paul ryan. he'll also be meeting soon with the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell on capitol hill. we'll have all the latest developments. stay with us. the breaking news continues. thanks for the ride around norfolk! and i just wanted to say, geico is proud to have served the military for over 75 years! roger that. captain's waiting to give you a tour of the wisconsin now.

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that just tastes better. with more vitamins. and 25% less saturated fat. only eggland's best. better taste. better nutrition. better eggs. during the campaign, president obama called donald trump unqualified, donald trump during the campaign called the president incompetent. that was then, this is now. today they clearly have moved past that bitter presidential campaign to begin the transition of power. let's bring back our panel. dana, today the president -- president-elect trump called president obama very good man. president obama said "my number one priority in the next two months is to try to facilitate a

transition that ensures our president-elect is successful." and donald trump said "mr. president, it was a great honor being with you, i look forward to being with you many, many more times." they spoke alone in the oval office for 90 minutes. >> and the fact that donald trump said it was supposed to be like ten minutes, it went 90 and it could have gone much longer. you know, i'm sure the president had a lot of words of wisdom and advise to impart both on process and on policy. but donald trump -- if i were in donald trump's shoes, i mean, i would want to just sit there for hours and hours. where do you even start on the questions to ask about how that job works? he knows how to run a business, he knows how to be a ceo, he knows how to be a reality star and now he knows how to be a candidate." >> you can see the motorcade

leaving on the republican national committee on capitol hill. it looks like they were there -- he left the white house at around 12:45 or so. it's 1:51 on the east coast, at least more than an hour, dana. that was the meeting between donald trump, the president-elect, and the speaker paul ryan. >> which is probably as important, if not more important, than the one that happened in that building. go ahead, mark. >> i was going to say, the irony is a week ago we were talking about how donald trump was not going to embrace a smooth transition of power and how the system was rigged and how he wasn't going to embrace it. >> but he won. >> but he won and look, we have this smooth transition of power, or at least we do now. look, i think for all the anger, anxious, frustration out there from those who lost, the bottom line is this is our democracy and this is how it works and he won. that's the bottom line. >> now you understand -- >> that motorcade we are being told included not only donald trump, the plekresident-elect, the vice president elect, and the speaker of the house paul ryan. they're leaving the rnc building

heading over to capitol hill to the u.s. congress itself. >> now we understand why presidents become such ardent students of history. if they weren't before the they want to learn how other people did it and coped with the cray seize that will inevitably come their way and how other people organized their white house and the pitfalls of the presidency and the difficulty of living in the bubble. >> and the loneliness. >> the loneliness of the job these are two men so i'm not sure they discussed the feelings part of it but maybe melania and michelle obama did. but there is a part of that job that is so alone and difficult and as david axelrod always says, the decisions that get to his desk get to his desk because

they're impossible and so the difficulties that face you from the minute you wake up in the morning and you get that national security briefing about the threats against this country to the time you go up stairs working. and i think that you just saw in donald trump's face today if you can read anything into it that when he said i respect -- i have great respect for him because i think the president opened a window for him on to what his life is like every single day from when you get that briefing at 7:00 in the morning. >> two things. just kind of an aside but very important. one is we'll have a young boy in the white house now. we had two young girl fwrs ts f last eight years. >> baron. >> baron who is 10 years old standing next to him on that stage looking so uncomfortable out of the spotlight and you could feel for that kid. >> have we had a young boy since

john-john? it's been all girls, right? >> so that will be interesting. >> it will be easier with the boys. >> or not so much. but what books are donald trump going to be reading? what historians is he going to try to meet with to find out how other people dealt with crises and learn more about it. it will be telling. >> and michelle as we were talking about earlier this morning, michelle obama is so important to tell melania what it's like to be a mom and raise your kids with any kind of normal life in the white house. >> she's done a very good job. >> well, she has and so did hillary clinton with her daughter. but it is tough. it's very, very difficult and i think that would be a concern of any -- >> we're looking at live pictures. you see paul ryan arriving, donald trump arriving, mike pence arriving. they're in the congress on capitol hill right now. they've just walked in, dana, you're familiar that location. >> we talked about the fact he's got nice digs. that's the speaker's office so

donald trump is about to see the majesty of the house speaker's -- it's not just an office, it's the whole suite, the whole part of the -- the whole wing of the capital which overlooks the mall. >> and let's not forget mike pence as vice president of the united states will be president of the u.s. senate like joebds. >> and he was a former member of the house republican leadership so he knows his way around there. >> mike pence will have an office right off of the senate floor. will be right there and, look, i expect he'll be spending a lot of time up there. >> in many ways mike pence might have the job that joe biden had which is being the emissary to capitol hill. makes sense. >> the picture we're looking at, mark preston and i when we were kids spent a lot of time in that hallway. >> so did i by the way. >> and to the left thereof is the senate floor and right around the corner is where the vice president's office is. >> and it's just -- you look at it and it looks so majestic.

it's not a very large space so you can -- you run into, you know, the great thing about covering clig is you ruin into everybody all the time in the hallway and it's very accessible unlike the white house in which you have to get behind guards to get anywhere and i think mike pence is on familiar turf. >> there he goes. >> he will have the role biden had, i believe. >> it's been, these past few hours, extremely important to the country to see the president of the united states, the president-elect of the united states now the speaker of the house. the vice president-elect of the united states. mike pence will be meeting with joe biden the vice president. so a very, very important day. we'll continue cnn's special coverage non-stop. that's it for me. i'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern

in the situation room for our international viewers. amanpour is coming up next. for our viewers in north america, brooke baldwin will continue our special coverage after a very quick break. sorry, ariana you gotta go. seriously? verizon limits me and i gotta get home. you're gonna choose navigation over me? maps get up here. umm... that way. girl! you better get on t-mobile! why pay more for data limits? introducing t-mobile one, unlimited data for everyone. get four lines just $35 a month.

>> more affordable and better. we're going to do a real job for the public and that's what we want to do. >> reporter: how does it feel to be in washington, the first day as president-elect? >> thanks, guys. >> reporter: are you going to put tariffs on -- >> thank you very much, everybody. thank you. thank you very much. tight pool. out this way, guys. >> you've been looking at pictures here down on capitol hill, first the white house here was