so, ha ha ha. >> no opinion? >> no opinion. but it is her choice. >> melania's old friends county criticize her husband but many are willing to give remarkably similar advice. as one say, donald trump should listen to his wife more. phil black, cnn slovenia. >> pretty incredible. thanks for joining us. anderson is next. good evening. thanks for joining us. the breaking news. donald trump reaching out for the first time to a leader who could not be more different than himself. someone who is quite literally worlds apart in experience, outlook and expectations so much so he might as well be from a foreign country and the also tonight his meeting with the shinzo abe. and someone who spent the entire campaign painting donald trump as the threat to decency and

democracy itself. mitt romney. the big question, is he now apparently being considered for secretary of state? is he interested? in a moment what trump advisor kellyanne conway has to say and astring of other developments in the development today and phil mattingly at the trump tower. you have been talking to the people. how real is this potential alliance between the president elect and mitt romney? >> reporter: that exactly question is the exact question, some iteration i've been getting from multiple republicans including top mitt romney allies. the reality right now is this. they will meet. our mark preston broke this story. and this is a very important meeting for one reason. it sends a signal and that more than anything else is what republicans outside of the trump orbit are taking from this. mitt romney never came around to donald trump and didn't mince words about that fact. the fact that donald trump would be willing to meet with mitt

romney. that mitt romney would be willing to meet with donald trump is a big deal. will donald trump be considering him for a cabinet position? that is something we're told is under consideration. mitt romney has made friends in the past that secretary of state would be a position he's interested in. the thing people are seizing on right now is the signal this is sending so republican, even those who are very opposed to donald trump throughout the game. >> the idea that mitt wrom rom would be interested in secretary state. wii don't know he's interesting in being secretary of state for donald trump, if that theory if he ever was to be back in government secretary of state would be the position he's interested? >> even though he's very well known for what he's done economically. he's always stated and you could look at his last book. that would be a position in general if he were to head back into government he would be interested in. that is not necessarily the case

from a trump administration. what here hearing from the trump side of things is this conversation between donald trump and mitt romney will be talking about the idea of governing and a potential place in a trump admission. >> also raising questions because mitt romney when he was running said russia was the number one geopolitical foe or threat -- i can't remember the exactly terminology, but was the number one concern for the eyes. he was ridiculed at the time, certainly by president obama. and donald trump has a seemingly different viewpoint from the campaign. >> it would seem they diverge on that. when you talk to folks who are still very proud of their association with mitt romney who talk often with mitt romney they consistently go back to the 2012 campaign and that mitt romney was relentlessly mocked. they also talk about mitt romney's comment about the middle east and a potential for a force like isis to be created.

they say repeatedly he was a right in 2012 and people should pay aattention to that. but on the issue of russia, i do think it is an important point to make. donald trump and mitt romney appear to diverge on toughness on russia. we'll have to see what donald trump says going forward but throughout the course of the campaign he's been dogged by the fact. and never really backed off that fact. in fact says consistently he wants an open relationship with russia. a restart if you will. that is not the position of the mitt romney. >> a short time ago i spoke about the romney factor with the kellyanne conway. so let's talk about the transition. cnn reporting now that mitt romney is going to be meeting with president elect trump this weekend and possibility of a possible role of secretary of state. is there any truth that that? >> there is truth to the fact that governor romney is expected to join mr. trump this saturday.

i know that mr. trump is very excited to meet with governor romney. governor romney was a successful job creator in the private sector. he did a great job in massachusetts on many difference things and he obviously was the last republican nominee for. i'm sure they will be able to compare notes. >> president elect and governor trump traded very personal insults, you know, throughout the campaign. governor romney came out and said a lot of things donald trump as well. in fact let me just play for our viewers just to remind them some of the comments made. >> donald trump is a phony a fraud. >> mitt was a disaster of a cad candidate. >> playing the people for suckers. >> romney let us all down. >> he gets a free ride to the white house and all we get a

lousy hat. >> romney choked like a dog. he choked. >> his promises are as worthless as the degree anyway trump university. >> i have a lot of friends. i have a lot of friends. by the way mitt romney is not one of them. >> and romney sad had then candidate trump's foreign policies would make america and the world less safe. critical of vladimir putin and russia. he named it as the top geopolitical concern for the united states when he was running. do you think they could actually work together? >> i do. and i think what happens when can consensus builders and good negotiator and successful businessmen who know you have to take the counsel of many different people, rival, allies is is that they find a way to work together if it is appropriate. in politics people look at each other through mr. blue and red lens. but people like romney and trump

try to solve problems and come together. i think it will be a productive conversation. i'm smiling thinking about how maybe that is how hillary clinton got the secretary of state's job after she had terrible things to say about barack obama and the -- >> not quite as tough though. >> that's what happens. but barack obama, senator obama at the time said hillary clinton will say anything to get elected. >> true. she was nice enough. >> it happens. it happens in the fog of war. bernie sanders and hillary clinton exchange barbs. i would say he threw some shade on her just week this week. >> george bush and ronald reagan as well actually. >> and goes on and on and then he chose him to be his running mate. at the same time these two men, not unlikely president obama of last week show their love for america and their interest in having a peaceful and democrat transition. >> -- numerous reports.

-- is that the situation now that the president elect is making the final decisions but that those three advisors are the top people who would have his ear? people have compared it if it is the case to under ronald reagan, you know, you had ed niese. jim baker and mike deaver wh who i don't know all had the president's ear and respect. >> the three member you mentioned rjt jared, steve and reince are all incredibly important to donald trump. during the transition and one can reasonably assume, take toyo it to the bank they will be very important and constant voices in the president elect's ear. what i've always found is plekt trump is an excellent listener and a even learner. >> and also reporting jared

kushner believes he would not be -- if he didn't take a salary and put his assets in a blind trust. is that your understanding as well. >> i read reports jared is conferring with lawyers about that very thing. he does everything by the book. i've discussed directly be jared kushner. and me told me this afternoon he had not applied for any job in the administration and not sought out a top secret clearance. but you can bet jared kushner will continue to be a very important advisor to his father-in-law. all the trump kids and their spouses support mr. trump and supported him tremendously in his presidential run and will continue do thamt but i'm sure if jared is pursuing in any further he first is doing his diligence. because that is the way he operates and that is the way he operates every time i'm in his presence and working on a

project with jared kushner, everything is by the book and fully vetted ahead time. >> a also a meeting today with jeff sessions particularly about his legal clear. is the president elect at all concerned that some raises sessions was denied a federal judgeship in the mid eighties at least in part because of he made racially insensitive comments. >> we're aware of 30 some years ago concession and the 15 years as the federal prosecutor. u.s. attorney i believe anderson, obviously in alabama and united states senator for i think about 20 years. representing the state of alabama. a man who i think was the only person in the united states senate who had neither a primary or general election opponent last time he ran in 2014. and i think if anybody had a problem with his record they would have just run against him and made that very clear. but senator sessions would be

qualified for any number of positions. >> final question to you. do you want to see, as when donald trump becomes president, do you want to see him continue to tweet? you and i have talked about this and we've talked object the candidate about it and donald trump has talked about it publicly. he's obviously tweeted less than he did before. it is -- from everybody i've talked to about this. he feels it is one way donald trump stays connected to people. he gets feedback from people. and continue with large rallies to continue that contact and break outside the bubble. do you want to see him continue to tweet as president? >> so my first and most important thing for president trump would be that he does continue to communicate with people. it is how he got here. the life blood of his presidency and taking the case directly to the american people and i predict he will continue to do that. not just through a tv cameraen

and o the world stage but literally going to visit americans and not just because he needs their votes. so i don't know what the secret service. i don't know what the protocol. i don't know what the presidential protocol will dictate in the case as social media platforms like facebook and twitter. i do know that many times if donald trump posts something on twitter or facebook there are 25 million people who see it who otherwise may not be aware of that article or that event or anyway opinion of his. but but at the same time so i'm sure there are those who are in charge of security and presidential safety that will weigh in on this particular question. i hope they do. but at the same time, i hope however donald trump can continue to show that he is connected to people which really was the secret sauce of his candidacy and how he became the next president of the united states that he will do it. >> thanks very much kelly. >> thank you. >> we shortened the interview for time. coming up next we'll talk to be

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before the break you heard kellyanne conway leave the door open to candidate's trump's arch enemy mitt romney could become secretary of state or some other role. he apparently expressed industry in the job theoretically. and we'll discuss it on saturday when the two meet. here to talk about it. our team oaf rivals. phillip, how real do you think this is? it is understandable there would be a meeting just to kind of mend fences. donald trump is going to be the president whether mitt romney wanted him to be or not. >> yeah it is very very hard to gauge and i think donald trump likes having it been very hard to gauge as well. one of the things we've seen though if you look at his transition team, for example. it is all focus there fairly early in the campaign. donald trump clearly values loyalty. so it is hard to imagine he and mitt romney, easy to imagine them breaking bread.

hard to imagine them working together for four years and hard to imagine mitt romney signing up for that job. >> particularly mitt romney back in 2012 talking about russia long before a lot of other folks. donald trump seems to have a different take on vladimir putin. >> and also general flynn who looks like he's likely to be national security advisor. also much more similar to trump. soft line on russia. wants to work with russia on syria. i think the problem for rom. i would be very happy as a trump critic. i would be somewhat relieved to see mitt romney. i think the problem is when you have a national security advisor much more on trump's wavelength, i don't think romney would have a lot of influence. i think he would be like colin powell because he's out of step with -- >> the benefit of having this meeting for donald trump is it doesish to peter's point, it makes those who don't like donald trump at least feel okay there are more establishment figures or people with experience in the room who are

being considered, whether or not they are actually going to get the job. >> i think it sends a very important message. there are few people that fought the romney candidacy as hard as mitt romney did. and i would tell you there was tremendous leadership from the mormon community in general. just a few weeks after losing to barack obama, mitt romney met with barack obama. he's great patriot. he'll put the country first. he'll put the countries interests above his own. i'm not surprised to see him go meet with donald trump. a man who i still think he has little in common with in hopes of influencing him for the better. in hopes of saying i'm here for a advice. i'm here as support ir, as an american now that you are president elect. >> one thing to meet with president elect. another to actually really be considered ads secretary of state and to want to be his

secretary of state. >> this is traditional. hillary clinton after all ran tooth and nail against barack obama and wound up as secretary of state. >> george h.w. bush against ronald reagan. i wanted to mention reagan before you did. >> thank you. you're getting the hang of it now. >> going to go for grooefr cleveland bishop. >> one more. mitt romney's father george in the nixon cabinet. >> -- he kind of regretted being in the nixon cabinet or didn't like the experience. >> in those days he was shunted off to what was seen as the side bar of the department of housing and urban development and i don't think he was particularly happy there. but it is a tradition in american politics and as the good one. >> and we've seen ted cruz going over to trump tower, nikki haley. so it is not -- mitt romney is not the only one. >> yeah and i think secretary of state was float forward haley as well. and some of the trump team is medsing with us. anyone who thought the

transition wasn't going to be about chaos and buzz worthy stuff and new york/new jersey grudge matches between kushner and christie you are out of your mind. this is what this is about. but there is some ambition there, a sense certainly among the foreign policy nerds in the fwlasht someone needs to go and serve president trump for the good of the country and i think he would be interested in doing that. and i think some of that is trump -- >> let's show some of what everybody was saying during the campaign, which seems like a long time ago and easy to forget. let's just watch t i. >> donald trump is everything we hear and teach our kids not to do in kindergarten. >> first of all she's very weak on illegal immigration. >> i will not stop until we fight a man that chooses not to disavow the kkk. >> she certainly has no trouble asking me for campaign contributions. >> this man is a pathological liar. >> lying ted.

liar. whew. >> a narcissist at a level i don't think this country has ever seen. >> bible high, bible high. puts it down and then he lies. >> the man is utterly amoral. a bully, a serial philanderer. >> to the best of my knowledge, not to me evangelicals come out of cuba. >> campaigns are one thing. governance is another. >> these campaigns are get ugly but they have always been that way. >> it does seem and we've talked about this before, how important loyalty is for donald trump. and we were talk about that. >> that goes again to peters point. >> and why i would love to see ted cruz as attorney general. and mitt romney as secretary. here is why. this is a possibly this is going to be a massively corrupt administration and a administration that tramples on the rule of law in disturbing ways. i would love to see members of the cabinet who i feel like are

not sycophant, who are independent enough that if donald trump crosses a line i believe that ted cruz orb mitt romney would actually call them out and that would be a really good thirng for the country. >> also remember it is making sense to keep your enemies or potential enemies close and ted cruz could very well come out as a potential contender to a donald trump is he is a failed president. if in a year or two it seems like a man who is imploding the presidency. you are going to see others try to emerge as stars and potential options for the republican party. -- and think she's got such a bright future. i don't want her to go into this cabinet. >> i would just point out that i don't know that the opinions you just heard expressed there i don't know they necessarily changed and i they mitt romney and ted cruz maybe to peter's points wanting to go in and serve and wanting to mach sure the stewardship of the united states doesn't suffer from someone they think is not qualified. >> the question is would donald

trump want those folks close by? >> gobt lisle if you go there this. you got to serve your president, no matter who it is. barack obama would not want people around him who are not loyal to him and neither would any president or should any president. >> far more likely bring your enemies closer than i want honest critique from my team. >> does this really help him as a future republican presidential candidate he then has all the bag oj of the trump presidency, could be dajsz. >> and mary katherine, congratulations on completing the the marine corps marathon. >> my knees still hurt. >> and tomorrow night at 9:00 a look inside both campaigns through the eyes of the cnn kor responsibiliti respondents who covered them. and unforgettable moments starting at the top of the next hour. just ahead more on the baggage that could follow senator sessions into a congressional

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kellyanne conway told me earlier the trump transition team aware of the controversial aspects of senator sessions past but don't see it as a problem. sessions met with trump today. here is what he he said. >> well i'd be honored to be considered and mr. trump will make those decisions. if he asks me i'll share with him but i'm not talk about my agenda at this point. i'd be pleased to continue to serve in the senator. >> thought to be contender for the attorney general or secretary of defense. attorney generals are responsible for upholding civil rights and secretary of defense for the military. either position might be complicated based on the racially charged hearing that sank a different nopgs of his through decades ago. drew griffin reports.

>> reporter: republican senator jeff sessions, the first u.s. senator to come out in support of donald trump was a u.s. attorney in al when then president ronald reagan nominated him for the federal o court. but the appointment broke down at the session's confirmation hearing when allegations of his alleged racial remarks took center stage. allegations that sessions angrily denied then and now. >> i am not a racist. i'm not insensitive to blacks. i have supported civil rights within my state. i have done my job with integrity, equality and fairness fur all. >> transcripts of that hearing show that tomas figures, a black former assistant u.s. attorney testified that sessions called him "boy" and joeblked about thu

klux klan. and gerald heaver a justice department lawyer also testified sessions called --. he said he thought they did more harm than good when they were trying to force civil rights down the throats of people who are trying to put problems behind them. in a heated exchange with then senator joe biden, sessions denied calling the national counsel of churching and naacp un-american. >> my opinion is they have not. they may have taken positions they consider to be adverse to the security interest of the united states. >> does that make them un-american. >> no sir it does not. >> does that make the positions unmanner? >> no. >> also denied a decision that he thought klan members were okay until he learned they smoked marijuana. >> this assertion is ludicrous. i detest the clan. >> he went on to certify i am

loose with my tongue on occasion and i may have said something similar or could be interpreted to that. seat on the court was denied. but ten years later elected to the senate and went on to become the judiciary committee's top member. >> that was not fair. that was not accurate. those were false charges and distortions of anything that i did. and it really was not. i never had those kind of views and i was caricatured in a way that was not me. >> today gerald hooebt tells cnn he stands by his testimony from 30 years ago. >> the allegations i made and things i had heard firsthand from him were things that demonstrated gross racial insensitivity to black citizens of alabama and the united states. hebert says sessions shouldn't be anywhere near the cabinet.

>> he's never backed off the comments he made at that time. never apologized for them. the fact he would be considered to lead a government agency at the cabinet level is very alarming to me. >> reporter: we should point out that hebert has not seen jeff sessions since that day they sat next to each other back in 1986. since then jeff sessions has gone on to become the attorney general of alabama and for nearly 20 years now a u.s. senator. anderson. >> drew, thanks very much. joining us now. --. kayleigh mcenany and van jones. so van, these allegations against senator sessions are from decades ago. he vehemently denies them. they were never proven. should those allegations be a disqualifier? >> look, i think that they are troubling. but you have got to give everybody a fair opportunity to have a hearing. this i think is going to raise a lot of concerns.

ernl you want the head of the department of justice to be someone everybody feels is fair. and given the tensions with law enforcement, black community that is going to be an even bigger concern. but i don't think you want to just look at things somebody said about somebody 0 years ago. he's got a 0 year record since that that would be looked at. -- 30 year. >> and i don't think we should be in the situation where rushed into labeling people based on thirty years ago. >> i couldn't agree with van more. that is absolutely right everything he said. i also want to point out on behalf of the senator sessions that arlen specter, one of the democratic senator whose voted against him back in 1986 came out and said i've got on the know this man. he's egalitarian and fair to all people and he's a great person. he has a long established history in government. i agree everyone should be vetted to the fullest extent but from every indicator i have senator sessions is a man of

unstanding character and in a great twist of irony did stuff. >> president trump, he won fair and scare and senator sessions is someone who endorsed him early on and been by his side. candidate, president elects want to have people who have been loyal to them in their cabinet around them. >> sure. so what we're going to see as we go forward, over and over again there is always this dual challenge. on the one hand the president has got to be able to put together a team that works for him or her. at the same time it's got to also work for the country. if you put too many people in your candidate that just begin to reduce the confidence of the country that does become an issue. you are serving the president and the president's seat. so what i want to do is to say look, if there are allegations and these type of concerns,

hears are appropriate. let's see the evidence. and information. let's also hear from other people and then let's make a decision. if you have been in public life more than seco13 seconds you ha been called every name in the book. let's give people fair hearings in america. >> the concerns also for any president elect is you are expending political capital for things that could be spent on other things just to get people confirmed so at a certain point you have to make a calculation, you know, you have to pick your battles and if you have a number of candidates for confirmation different areas who, you know, have questions about their battlegrounds at a certain point you have to pick and choose. >> that is exactly right. i think he wants a flawless smooth transition and flags are raised if you have republican senator saying hey pause on this. i'm not sure i can vote on this person.

rand paul has come out and has hesitation on some names for secretary of state. you want to take into consideration the fact that you might have members of your own party who might not vote for any given person. but that said where i trust donald trump and what i really like what i'm seeing is he is bringing people in interest the other side who have left political wounds on him like romney and hayley. and what that says is president elect trump want it is best person for the american people. this is about who has the skills the talent to serve the country most effectuallily and that is how every decision should be made. >> van do you want to add on that. >> i'm not in the business of giving trump advise. if he wanted to go further than just creating heals within his own party, which is very important and wanted to give an olive branch. the department of justice would be a good place to do that. if sessions doesn't meet that criteria he might want to reconsider. look at the overall set of

appointments in they all give discomfort to certain section of americans you want to look at that and make it better for the whole country, not just for yourself. >> just ahead new details the team is cede to be working on to track immigrants. [ inaudible ] defunct program that did draw fire from civil rights activists. details ahead. and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have a sudden decrease or loss of hearing or vision, or an allergic reaction, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis.

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tonight donald trump has just made the first big move to fill his policy and defense team. cnn learned his's offered the national security advisor job to michael flynn. general flinn ran the defense intelligence agency for two years under president obama. before that served as top intelligence officer in afghanistan. background now from barbara starr. >> i have called on hillary clinton to drop out of race t race because she, she put our nation's security at extremely high risk. >> retired lieutenant general michael flinn now considered a leading candidate to become

donald trump's national security advisor. flynn harshly criticized hillary clinton's handling of the sensitive information. >> this overclassification i excuse is not an excuse. if it is classified it is classified. >> but flynn's own regard has been called into question during his military career. on at least two occasions his handling of classified information came under scrutiny by the u.s. military. two former government officials with direct knowledge of the issue tell cnn during the time flynn over saw intelligence in afghanistan, he shared classified information with pakistan on terror networks responsible for killing american troops. intelligence, the sources say come from another agency. flynn wasn't supposed to share it. they say he was trying to convince pakistan to stop sheltering terrorists. asked by e-mail about the allegation flynn told cnn it is not true, not even close.

flynn declined to comment further for this story. in a separate incident the two officials cnn spoke with said flynn did not follow established security procedures when he shared classified intelligence with ald allies. flynn has ak nond that one. telling the washington post the investigation on me was for sharing intelligence with the brits and australians in combat and i'm proud of that one. that was substantiated because i actually did it. flynn says he had permission to share the classified information. in both cases sources say the retired general was informally rep manted at the time but never charged with wrong doing. and in 2010 while still serves as a senior officer he published an article criticizing the state of u.s. intelligence operations in afghanistan. cnn had tlaernd the cia was so furious at flynn for publicly disclosing short fall, it

complained to the pentagon which had signed off on the article. flynn joins tremendous access and credibility with donald trump. >> what makes general flynn different from so many others is he's the one can the real experience fighting on the ground and afghanistan and iraq. >> donald trump has offered the national security advisor job to general flynn. on the phone now mark hertling and jeffrey lord. what do you make of this officer to general flynn? what's he like. >> we were general officers together. we served in iraq together. he's a career intelligence officer. he's very intelligence and passionate about collection, assessment, dissemination and the use of intelligence. he has lots of time as the staff officer. i knew him when he was the intelligence officer for jsok in

northern iraq. he was giving up information on targets. as he passes into the role he's going to have to to be smartest guy in the room taking after folks like kissinger, skoe croft, hague, condaleezza rice. and he's got to build consensus with heavy hitters like the s.e.c. deaf, the s.e.c. --. and vice president and chairman of the joint chiefs. and he's going to help the president find the right solutions for some the most difficult military and diplomatic problems that he'll face. so this is a guy that's going to have to broaden his experiences from just collecting and disseminating military intelligence to getting into this strategic coordination and synchronization from many different resources and he's going to have to be the guy that stands up in the room and builds consensus among some folks with some big egos and big power plays. >> general hertling there were

some who expressed surprise at the level to which general flynn went out for donald trump on the campaign trail, some of the things he said about hillary clinton, about obama. were you surprised by that? and do you think he's up for it? up to the job? >> i was, anderson. i i thought some of the things he did say on the campaign trail were somewhat unprofessional and a little bit too passionate. you know, it is one thing to support a candidate. it is another thing to lead choruses of "lock her up" as he did at the republican convention. and he did get quite a bit of backlash from several active military general officers for the extent that he went in terms of campaigning for the president elect. but, you know, everybody chooses their own path. and even though he took a lot of feedback from serving general officers and some retired general officers, that is the way he thought he should go in

supporting this particular candidate. and i think part of it was he had such a disdain for the acting -- for the president at the time that that contributed to some of his commentary as well. >> is it clear to you what happened to him in the obama administration? i remember e reading he had met with obama for a long period of time. seems like he was frozen out at a certain point. >> no, i don't think you are going to see a director of the defense intelligence agency meeting a lot with the president. and i don't think he had much contact at all with the president. in fact he was asked at one point how many times he had met with the president and didn't describe how many times that was because it wasn't probably much. he filters all the defense intelligence through the chairman of joint chiefs and it is one of many realms of intelligence the president gets. that is the consensus piece of the intelligence building in the oval office.

not only national intelligence. it is cia, and all the different intelligence agencies coming together. so you are not going to put all those folks in one room and have them squabble in front of the president. i don't think mike really had a whole lot of input directly to the president. but i felt -- he probably felt the president did not give him due justice when he provided some information on isis as it was building. and i think he held that against the president for the rest of the time in. but again his boss at the time was the director of national intelligence. skmi think there were probably some issues with personalities between the various intelligence chiefs at the time. >> i also want to bring in professor of the university of california riverside and more. what do you make of general flynn based on some of the things he has said? >> well i think it is quite

concerning to think that our national security advisor, someone who of course is going to have to be dealing with a very real threat from certainly muslim majority countries has been on record saying things like islam as the religion is a cancer. that it is not even a religion. it is an ideology. he said fear of muslims, not fear of radical islam, muslim terrorists, fear of muslims is rational. i think these are going to be difficult ideas for him to reconcile with this new position that the president-elect has put him into. >> he's been loyal to donald trump, out on the campaign trail as we discussed. what do you think of him as national security adviser. >> i think it's a perfect fit for him. there was some talk during the

summer he may be the vice presidential nominee, i thought that was a bad decision. as the general said this has been a collection of this job of people who have been military leaders and academics like henry kissing kissinger. i think he fits into that as a 34i89ry man. >> in terms of that, do you have any concerns based on what you heard from general hurdling. >> no, that's a valid point he makes, he will adapt. this will be his job, he will have to do it. and i'm sure he will. >> this is an issue that is a hot button here, in the campaign, and in terms of president obama not talking about radical islam, et cetera,

i think there are a lot of people that have that point of view, and so it will be at the table. there will be people with other points of view and they will be there as well. >> general hurdling. is that a concern for you? >> it is a concern for me, anderson, i'm very concerned. i've read mike's book, it was very concerning to me, some of the things he's said in his book. i've seen some of the things he's tweeted out as well. and i think it is somewhat of an extreme view that mike has on many issues. and with a national security adviser from my read of history, that's the calming force in the room, they have to listen to other people's arguments and help the president make decisions. in fact, sometimes when you have a bunch of people who think alike on the same team, you really need a contrarian to be the napoleon corporal and say, hey, let's think more about this. and mike is a targeter.

he has done tactical intelligence all of his life. he's worked for other people on their staff as their intelligence collector. he's going to have to have a very broadened view in this job. it's going to be tough. >> we're going to take a quick break, continue this conversation, if you can all stay with us. it was always just a hobby

something he did for fun until the day it became something much more. and that is why you invest. the best returns aren't just measured in dollars. don algd trump offering michael flynn the national

security adviser job. general flynn is known as a passionate advocate. back with us mark hurdling and reza aslam. >> he clearly is passionately pro the president-elect, and so he was willing to put his reputation on the line to get him elected. certainly now he's being rewarded. i want to remind people, we are engaged in a conflict with the militant organization that believes that the united states is at war with islam, and the president-elect has just appointed a national security adviser who agrees with that stateme statement. >> in terms of working with muslim countries, trying to send the message to most of the muslim world which is not against the united states or fighting the united states, does

this hurt that effort? >> i think it does, anderson. and -- but i think you're seeing across the board that the trump team is beginning to understand things that were stated during the campaign are hurts him in many areas. we are talking about nato, asia, africa, some of the other things that they have mentioned which have been contain shouse during the campaign season. they are realizing now, other governments have their own national security concerns and they're not always going to do exactly what the united states wants them to do i think there is a requirement to get the intelligence right. even though as we mentioned, there have been some commentary about muslims across the board, and the ideology of islam, that will cause some challenges, that may not be the only problem the

national security adviser does. >> isis is only one of about eight things that that national security adviser is going to have to be worried about on day one of the presidency. >> he's appeared on russia a lot gone over there to speak. >> that's correct, but not only russia, but giving advice to turkey, so there is conflict of interest here. i think mike went to russia soon after his retirement. those are all concerning things, and truthfully, i think it's going to give many of our nato allies a great deal of pause to know how donald trump feels, but

also, to see what mike flynn has done prior to being named the nsa. >> his views in russia seem to be in line with what donald trump has said on russia. >> they go, indeed. and that is what each president wants. susan rice's view of the world is very much the same as president obama's. she's the national security adviser, that's what she does. there's nothing the least unusual about this, and i think therefore general flynn will serve president trump very well. >> is it important for donald trump to have a variety of opinions around him? >> sure, you can do that with people in your own government and consult constantly with people outside of your government. there's all kinds of people out there that would be more willing to sit down with the president of the united states and talk about their view of the world if the president's interested. which i'm sure donald trump would be. >> we have to leave it there.

jeffrey lord, great to see you. 360 special report, unprecedented inside the trump campaign. good evening, tonight a 360 special report, unprecedented inside the trump campaign. the 2016 presidential race was certainly epic, like nothing we've seen before. a billionaire businessman and former reality tv star, rocking the political world with his promise to fix washington. tonight we're going to hear from cnn correspondents who had a front row seat to it all. they were there for every moment that shattered conventional wisdom, from the front lines of the campaign trail, they saw and heard what the rest of us con the. they'll take us inside the battle behind the scenes and beyond the images that made it on air. first, to set the scene, some of the most unforgetta