and thank you so much for joining us. ac 360 starts right now. good evening. john berman here in for anderson. breaking news tonight. donald trump is in florida. he arrived about two hours ago for thanksgiving at mar-a-lago but not before making a ton of news back here in new york. he sat down with the editors, the publisher and top media and political writers at the "new york times." he said a mouthful about everything from putting hillary clinton in prison, no longer a priority. to conflicts of interest that there are no conflicts of interest when you are president, to peace in the middle east. the president elect says his son-in-law might be able to make it happen and he was apparently serious. we begin though with breaking news. more evidence that the seemingly unlikely prospect of mitt romney becoming secretary of state could be growing more likely. cnn's sara murray has the last

word or late word joining us from trump tower. what can you tell us about the romney team and whether he's seriously considering the position is this. >> reporter: well the suspense continues about how this will all shake out and the final decision. but we are told that mitt romney is seriously considering the possibility of being secretary of state that he's talking it over with his family members. there has been contact between romney's world and trump's world. which is an indication this is a serious discussion. not just something that was done from a photo op. now, to the best of our knowledge. mitt romney doesn't want to say he's going to accept unless the offer is on the table. donald trump doesn't want to make the offer unless it is clear mitt romney is going to accept. i am told by sources that mitt romney is a leading candidate. he's not the only candidate in the mix though.

rudy giuliani is still under consideration for this post. so still a few days of suspense ahead i think john. >> so sara, these men exchanged incredibly harsh words during the campaign. is that all buy gones and that's all away? >> not just incredibly harsh words. they have incredibly different views of the world. remember mitt romney is the guy who was criticized for calling russia america's number one geopolitical foe when he was running for president in 2012. whereas donald trump has spoken about putin in much more favorable terms. so i think that is another issue we're seeing. trying to trying ironed out. but i do think the romney team wants to send a signal they are willing to send --. >> it is fascinating, a lot of discussions will be had over the thanksgiving tables for the trump family and the romney family. now donald trump's session with the "new york times."

all the news to print on that. you know, political analyst and "new york times" correspondent maggie haberman was in the room and tweeting all about it. joins us by phone right now. first of all, what was the atmosphere like inside that room? especially given the fact that mitt romney had -- not mitt romney. donald trump sort of canceled the meeting on twitter and then decided to uncancel the meeting. and the fact that he actually went to the "new york times" and said the usual which is have everyone come to him in trump tower. >> thanks, among other things for taking me by phone. it was a cordial meeting. he started out defensively. his arms were crossed were tightly as he delivered the pretty calm and diatribe against our coverage. -- that it was very tough. that we were the toughest, you know, and then said -- and this is what surprised me, that he believed that having a good relationship with us would make governing easier for him in

terms of what he would like to co-and it went forward from there. and after that loosened up and he was very e gajd. he was as he is often is in these meetings very charming. look, the "new york times" is still his hometown paper and it has a different place for him. and sort of always has throughout the campaign but we covered an enormous amount of ground. >> you sure did. >> about where his head is right now. >> covered a lot of ground. made a lot of news during the meeting. curious what you think was the biggest piece of news to come out of it? >> two things. i think him sort of retreating from some of the most extreme positions he had taken. and again the retreating, i'm still not quite clear where he is. but on climate change he allowed for the possibility. said he thinks there is some connectivity, was his words, between humans and climate change. that is very different from what he had said. he had this tweet many, many years -- not that many but a

number of years ago about how climate change was a hoax. and he suggested that he was open to the paris accord. a little more muted on that. and he also basically said, you know, yes, i'm -- i'm still at my business. i'm still doing things and declared that it is not possible for the president to have a conflict of interest. just because anything could be a conflict of interest. pretty breathtaking statement. he's said and he's correct that we've never had a situation with an incoming president with as sprawling a set of enentanglements he has. -- but it does mean there are a lot of different complications. -- those two things are mutually exclusive. a blind trust is not run by your children. and he dropped the blind trust today. didn't say it at all.

made it clear he's phasing out as you said of overseeing most of the business. >> it is interesting though he's willing to give on interests of the climate change, for instance, and at least opening the door on that but not willing to open the door at all or give at all on the issue of potentially conflict of interest. he seems pretty dug in. >> he was not hearing any of it. and as ironic, as i was listening to sara speaking just now and i have very similar reporting about where romney stands in all of this. you know, the main objection within the trump campaign and there are two camps. a rudy camp and a mitt camp. the objection to rudy is about vetting over business conflicts of interests and ties. so it is kind of ironic, as we are with what's goes on with trump and it sort of doesn't matter, i can't be healed to that. he also said what role he saw for his son-in-law jared kushner in the administration which he

has said he wants him to do something. and he basically said i'm probably not going to do something like that because i don't want to open jared up to criticism. but then went on to suggest that, you know, there still wouldn't be a problem with it. and when i pointed out there are anti-nepotism laws he sort of brushed right past them. >> he also suggested that his son-in-law jared kush ner plight be good at reaching peace in the middle east which is something obviously that administration after administration and expert after expert has been successful in. but he thinks his son-in-law would be successful in that. >> but he thinks he would be successful in that. trump's talks about that pretty contently in the campaign. he's frequently said he thinks the people have given up on the concept too easily. he would like to revive it. i've not heard him talk with jared kushner in conjunction with it. -- helps craft trump speech before the group aipac earlier this year. and has been sort of the one of his advisors on issues related

to israel. but certainly not an issue that kush ner has decades of diplomatic experience. >> but he was serious just to be clear. >> he was completely serious. >> you asked him all the paper, everyone asked him about the alt-right and these racist groups that met over the weekend. this one racist group, neo-nazi group. and you tweeted trump on alt-right support, this is not a group i want to energize and if they are energized, i want to look into it and find out why. so this was trump finally after days directly addressing this and denouncing it, yes? >> sure. except i don't know what it means in the sense that he said that if he had learned that steve bannon was connected to quote unquote alt-right and this was his phrasing then i wouldn't have even had him work here.

bannon said in july breitbart is a platform for the alt-right. and trump said i want to know if stuff comes up. bring to it my attention. so it is true that he's disavoid hi >> what are the big stories today even before donald trump spoke to you, the transition team had opened up the possibility that donald trump in his administration would not seek to investigate or press charges against hillary clinton. what did he have to say about that? >> he was very -- i began actually with that question. and asked him to clarify. he was talk about the e-mails and the clinton foundation. he was talk about both in terms of backing away from an investigation. he maid clear he recognized there is a limit to what power there is in the white house. and in fact the president is supposed to have nothing do with

this in terms of the department of justice. it is supposed to be independent which was always a criticism of the fbi investigation into clinton, was, you know, his and other's argument was --. he said he thinks that she has suffered enough. that she's been through -- i'm paraphrasing. sees been through too much. this was a brutal campaign. and then says that the clinton foundation some say has done good work. which is a little bit different than, you know, it's a scam line we heard from him and rudy giuliani for most of the final weeks of the campaign. >> more like the donald trump who through his foundation actually donated to the clinton foundation years ago. that was before he ran for president against her. maggie, a fascinating discussions you all had with him. thanks so much for coming on and sharing your insight from that meeting. appreciate it. >> my pleasure. >> joining us now. democratic strategist maria cardona. and kristine gwynn.

and kayleigh mcenany and more. there was a lot to discuss about that. let's start with the business side of this. maggie was talking about christine the fact that donald trump really won't budge on the idea there might be conflicts of interest between how he's behaving during this transition period and his own personal business interests. what do you make of his answers there? >> i find it bizarre that if you are the president of the united states you can have no conflicts. it is like a mega papal blessing he gave himself that he's ab solved from all of this. it makes so sense.absolved from. it makes so sense. in government you have to be particularly careful disclosing all of your outside interests. recusing yourself from any business that has anything to do with it. we would have counsel members recuse from votes on school

funding for schools where their children went. that is how specific it gets in government. nonetheless, what multi national, international foreign interests he might have and we're hearing reports if they are true of him meeting with leaders from great britain pushing against a wind farm because it might block the view of his golf course. that is like neon bright light conflict of interest if it is true. >> there were people in that conversation who said it was true. donald trump was asked about that at the meeting today with the "new york times" and he actually said i don't remember whether it came up or not but certainly didn't deny it. jeffrey lord. student of history. excited to have your here with us tonight. when president elect tump says the law is totally on my side. the president can't have a conflict of interest. sort of sounds like when the president does it that means it is not illegal. so how are these two things different jeffrey? >> well, first of all presidents have always had conflicts of

interest. the most -- perhaps the most famous example in the last 50 or 60 years was the kennedys owning the merchandise march in chicago. when president kennedy took office they not only did not sell the merchandise mart they head the head of the merchandise mart director shriber of the peace corps. nobody said a peep about it. the only difference here really is scale. admittedly that is what draws all of this attention to it. >> i may not have been born so i want to be clear on the kennedy situation so i don't think i could have said a peep or on the johnson thing being very young. no offense jeffrey. >> and jeffrey is right there have been presidents in the past that have had a lot of businesses that have been very rich. guess what, most of them put their assets in a blind trust. >> a real blind trust. >> a real blind trust.

clearly donald trump is parodying what i think has been told to him what the founding fathers have put in the constitution that they aren't -- the president is exempt from a lot of the rules that the rest of officials are -- have to go with, because he is the president. he or she is the president. and they can't just easily recuse themselves from something that could be of national security. but that doesn't reassure people who have no clue what's in his taxes and who have no clue how deep and dangerous his business ties around the globe are that he could owe money to. russian banks, german banks and then be influenced by it. >> we're going talk more about this. and we're going to talk about apparently giving hillary clinton a free pass and also going to talk about the statements about the alt-right or this racist group that met over the weekend. a lot more to discuss coming you haveem

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that donald trump made today at the "new york times." including this. i asked the president elect trump what role he sees for kushner, meaning jared kushner. trump indicates formal role unlikely. but he could be a player on middle east peace? a word, wow. errol lewis. this is a big project attempted by many people. many diplomats with years and years of experience. and donald trump is suggesting his 35-year-old son-in-law with no government experience might be able to somehow help forge it. >> by all accounts he's a capable young man. as a special envoy he would certainly have the president's ear. so i wouldn't rule it out automatically. if he's got connections and an aability -- look we've all been through this since the time i was a kid and i remember the 1973 war. it's been really the same five

or six issues. stats of the jerusalem. refugee status. land swaps for peace. it really hasn't changed. how you get from here to there though is the question. and i don't know if you need to have a wall full of degrees or years of experience or know all of the different players to know that it is a gourdian knot. if there is something that jared kushner can bring to the table apparently because of the anti-nepotism laws there is not a lot he can do with government but that particular job me height be able. >> apparently he's very smart and did a very good job helping the trump campaign. but there is an area where so many have tried and failed. every secretary of state, every president has tried and to some degree failed. and i'm just not sure that expectations should be set high on someone with no experience. >> but i think that kind of makes the point. look we have had statesmen come

in with all the degrees that errol mentioned and i think errol makes a good point that perhaps trying something else. you never know what could be achieved. and i want to echo something that my good friend jeff lord said last your. you had a peanut farmer from georgia come in and forge peace from egypt and israel. >> he had been governor of georgia and also had been elected president at that point. and also had a full cabinet and staff. to compare jimmy carter and the jared cukushner. >> a bright guy. executive of a company. why not try it. he is jewish faith and understands one side of the argument and might be able to bring light and understanding between the two camps. >> anna do you want to jump in here? >> i think so many have tried and failed. the they want to throw out jared kushner, he brings the complete

support and ear and confidence of the president of the united states his fournl. that is a plus for him. if he wants to try and fail okay. if he's able to make some progress, the best for it. i do want to go back though to the previous subject which was the conflict of interest. we talked about the legality of the it. what we haven't talked about is the political cost to it. it's been only two weeks since donald trump has been elected president of the united states and there's already been a steady drip drip drip of stories about political interest. ivanka trump sitting in with the prime minister of japan meeting. and --. the wind farms in england. one after the other. and republicans are going to be in congress are going to be in a very difficult position. they honed in on the conflict of interest issue on hillary clinton for years now. it is going to be a lot of egg on a lot of people's faces in

congress if they don't exact the same kind of scrutiny and toughness on donald trump. legality or not, i can tell you it is not going to pass political muster and people are going to be bothered and donald trump himself made such an issue of conflict of interest, of crooked hillary. so we're going to have what knew? instead of crooked hillary? we're going to have don the con trying to make profit out of presidency? i'm not sure the american people will stand for that. and i'm not sure the u.s. congress, including the republicans in there can do so either. >> kayleigh, do you want to respond to this? is this draining the swamp all of a sudden work on your family's business at the same time as the nation. >> every day he sates with his accountants and lawyers to assure him that everything he's doing is right. we heard reince priebus say our white house counselal is going to look strenuously to make sure his business efforts are not flowing into his official government work. he's taking the precautions where he never gets to a

position lake hillary clinton was -- >> but kayleigh, kellyanne conway also called this his day job. said his day job well-being the presidency. does that mean he's also going to have a night job which is helping -- >> no he's passing that to his children. they are taking o every the business. his interest is one, sole, unified interest. which is the business of the united states. >> the problem is he has said he's going to pass on his business to his children. guess who has been in all of the meetings with him thus far. we only have gone through two weeks of the beginning. he has done nothing to reassure the american people that he's going to take care of these conflicts of interest. can you imagine if hillary clinton had won and chelsea clinton was in any of the meetings she was having during his transition? there would be hearings. there would be fox news specials. there would be calls for independent prosecutors. not just the conflict of

interest is jaw dropping. the hypocrisy is just unbelievable. >> all right. we have a lot more to talk about. we still haven't even got on the hillary clinton yet and the idea that donald trump doesn't want to go after her. we still haven't gotten to the idea of the alt-right racist groups that met over the weekend. what trump had to say about that and what he sad to say about steve bannon and how his hiring has stoked enthusiasm with white supremacist groups. that's next and preservatives liquid gels delivers the powerful cold symptom relief you need without the unnecessary additives you don't. store manager: clean up, aisle 4. alka-seltzer plus liquid gels.

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for the first time donald trump spoke today about the neo-nazi and white supremacist groups that have been bolstered by his victory. yesterday saying in general terms that president elect was against racists but critics calling on it to speak out himself at least with the same intensity he has against hamilton and "saturday night live." and he was asked several times about the white supremacists who have been celebrating his win. according to the "new york times" he said it is not a group i want to energize and if they are energized i want to look into it and find out why. one way to look into it is to

see what happened over the weekend at the neo nazi meeting in washington. >> hail trump, hail our people. hail victory. >> this rally happened just down the street from the white house. >> perhaps we should refer to them in the original german. >> reporter: celebrating donald trump's victory, the rhetoric, an unmistakable of neo-nazi hate and donald trump's campaign slogan. >> for us it is only normal again when we are great again. >> the founder of a group that calls themselves the alt-right but the message is anti-semitism, anti-immigration, neo-nazi. >> america was until this past generation a white country, designed for ourselves and our posterity. it is our creation. it is our inheritance. and it belongs to us.

>> the crowd gathered this past weekend for the annual conference for spencer's think tank. the national policy institute. many in the crowd cheering on spencer's speech with a nazi salute. the video is so alarming, the national holocaust muse in washington wrote a letter in response warning that quote, the holocaust did not begin with killing. it began with words. comparing spencer's words to hitler's. but what used to be a small, obscure extremist group operating on the internet now feels emboldened by trump's campaign rhetoric according to this man. >> they identify with trump for whatever reason and they view him as a champion for their cause. >> reporter: and the hiring of the steve bannon in the trump white house has only intensified the criticism. while bannon once reportedly bragged his website breitbart.com was, quote, the

platform for alt-right. he later told the wall street journal that he has zero tolerance for those anti-semitic tones. though trump said today quote, if i thought bannon was a racist or alt-right or any of the terms we could use, i wouldn't even think about hiring him. >> back now with the panel. jeffrey lord, do you think the president elect went far enough today disavowing this neo-nazi group that spoke just a few blocks from the white house? or do you think he should hold a news conference? do you think he should look at the camera and -- >> they are not worth the attention. they are nazis. they a socialists. nazi, the national socialist workers party or whatever it is called. don't give them the time of day. one of the things i've been talking about identity politics for years as being racist and this is why. everybody gave a pass to other groups talking about their racial identity and this was the be all and end all.

and now suddenly up pop a group of white people. this is exactly what happens. this is a really disgusting thing. >> sorry, sorry. what did the left do here? they didn't hold the meeting at the reagan center over the weekend? >> the left -- whether it's black lives matter or la raza and you can go back and back and back. groups -- groups that identify themselves byace provoked this group to identify by race. this is america -- >> -- this is a problem with your argument jeff -- >> go ahead christine. >> they are not identifying by race. this isn't a meeting of, you know, the german club or something like that at a high school. this is a group of individuals, jeffrey who stood in a room using adolf hitler's language of people who saluted him -- >> racists, racists. >> -- and using trump's name. the president of the united

states. he has an obligation to denounce it. not say if they are energized. jesus christ how could you be more energized than that. jeffrey stop saying my name because i'm not stopping talking. i have a right to identify as part of the lgbt community and they don't have a right to say i should be killed because i'm a member of that community. >> you have -- >> -- insight anyone by being who i am. and being proud of it. >> jeffrey. >> hillary clinton was endorsed by the communist party. i'm still waiting for her to denounce that. >> hillary clinton is not the president elect of the united states -- >> anna, go ahead. >> look. here is the problem with jeffrey's argument about identity politics and attacking identity politics. he supported a candidate who is now president elect that has spent the last 18 months using identity politics as the wedge issue. do you think when he calls mexicans rapists and criminals that is not identity politics.

do you think when he goes after muslims and says we're going to put them in the registry [ i don't know what you call it but a this's identity politics. and donald trump has to take responsibility. he's unleashed the cracken. that why. it is not a coincide after he got elected hate crimes spiked u. it is not a coincide the kkk celebrated his victory and wanted a parade in north carolina. it is not a coincide these white supremacists were -- >> -- >> it is not a coincide if he wants to put the cracken back in its cage he needs to take leadership and take ownership and he needs to know he has a responsibility in this and he needs to go out and try to unify the country. stop fighting with broadway. stop fighting with the "new york times." fight the division in the country. fight the white supremacists. stand up and be a unifier for god sakes. >> anna that's what he's done and this is what those who don't like trump choose to ignore. he started out his presidency

pretty much the first words out of his mouth were i want to be a president for all races and religions. and a statement last night denouncing all racism on behalf of the administration. and today he told the "new york times" i don't want any of this. stop it. he looked in the camera in 60 minutes and said cut it out. he's done this four times. -- >> -- >> -- let me finish. in he were up to you he would spend every day standing on top of the trump tower saying i'm not a racist. he's not going do that. he's going to work for the american people and he's not going baited into these traps. >> let me tell you something that probably doesn't happen to you. i get stopped by children who are afraid of going to school. i get stopped by muslims who are afraid of going out in the street and having the scarves torn off their heads. becau >> -- >> -- if he wants to unite the

country he use should use the bully pulpit now. he is responsible for unleashing the cracken. >> i hope -- >> -- is responsible for legacying and empowering. it is not a coincide they are celebrating his victory. >> i hope you are responsible when you answer those children and you say to them do not fear donald trump has said the first thing out of his words in this presidency, i want to be a president for all -- >> don't -- do me a favor and don't lecture me on responsibility. -- >>[chatter]. >> -- when you are standing in front of a u.s. citizen, kid afraid his parents are going to get deported. when you are standing in front of aen eight-year-old girl who's afraid her --. do not lecture me on responsibility. do not lecture me on responsibility -- >>[chatter]. >> maria cardona.

>> -- quell those fears. >> honest point. and to your point kayleigh. we can't tell those children not to be afraid. because donald trump has said himself he is going to take away the dream act. he's going make 1.5 million kids who have been here through no fault of their own, he's going to make them subject to deportation. so if we say that it would be a lie. >> so -- >> so to the point that donald trump said oh i don't know why they are energized and i need to look a into that. guess why? because for five years he was the person to push birtherism, the make our president of the united states something other than american because he was african american. >> guy, what we're going to do. this is a big conversation obviously a lot of passion here. we have a lot more to discuss. we're going the take a quick break. be right back. i really did save hundreds of dollars on my car insurance with geico. i should take a closer look at geico... geico has a long history of great savings

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things got a little heated before the break. they have cooled off now. back with our panel. errol louis. the discussion was about this neo-nazi white supremacist weekend over the weekend which the trump team did directly

announce until today when donald trump asked at the "new york times" disavowed and also said if these groups are being energized he wants to find out why. jeffrey lord say this is identity politics. and anna navarro speaks to the fact there are people who feel threatened by the incoming presidency. the fact that it did take donald trump these days to comment on it directly. does the passion that we saw here before. is the risk by not addressing it more directly that you will raise all of these questions that have been raised by people who are concerned? >> i think it is a positive thing he said. if they are being energize by something i've said or done i want to find out kbr. it is a little frustrating to hear that. i don't know how many editorials or statements were made on the debate stage saying you are waking up a disgusting vicious group of people who have no place in american politics. we want them to stay under the

rock they are currently under. they themselves have said we like what we're hearing from trump. and he himself made i they series of deals with the devil, directly or indirectly he and his team to sort of give a wink and nod to some of these people and now it is perhaps much worse than he ever realized. and the marching in the street, the people in a state of panic who are not interested in giving him a chance who don't think that this can be normalized. who think that something broken in our democracy has to be addressed every day and that is why they are marching in the streets. >> jeffrey lord, if you are still with us. i what tonight bring you in. what you said about this glup, very quickly was much more em passioned than the trump team did initially or donald trump did initially and just by saying it, doesn't it put the matter to bed? >> he's done this over and over and over again. >> i don't know jeffrey. what he did is obfuscated and

didn't answer the question until later and this was sort of like that where he let it slide and then answered i directly. >> he called david duke a racist and said he doesn't want any part of it in 2000. when is the last time president obama denounced one of these groups or in the last 24 hours or anybody else. i'm just saying we keep picking over this over and over again. he want nos part of them. he's disavowed them. wants nothing do with them. they are racist. they are nazis. the end. that's it. don't give it the attention. 200 people in a hotel room are racist. big deal. stay awith from them. >> it is not actually at this moment in time about what donald trump wants. we are seeing meetings -- this meeting happened. we have video of it. we are seeing documented hate crimes and hate graffiti and hate language -- >> people are beating up trump supporters --

>> please. please. we are seeing people -- and they shouldn't. but we ar seeing hate crimes statistically documented by law enforcement go up. and i believe, and i've always believed that elected official, nonetheless the president elect of the united states, have a bully pulpit that when they use it, it cannot only embrace survivors of hate crimes, it can send a message that will drive them down. i know that from when i ran on crime victims assistance agency. i know that from the work i've done. and let me tell you, people are fearful and hurting. and a message bigger and louder to donald trump. you know where he would say i denounce all hate crimes and support the victims and this is not going to happen in my america. i've seen mayors do it, new york. i've seen governors do it. it can literally change people's behavior and save lives. we have a real problem right now. it is not about identity politics. it is about hate and violence

and harassment. and i really, really urge the president elect to not make it about himself but about helping americans who are being targeted. people i know. who've gotten that kind of hate in the mail where they live, with their children. >> the president of the united states, president obama was abroad just the other day and was asked to denounce the people t protesters that were in the street causing violence in portland and elsewhere and he declined to do it and said he didn't want to silence them. i didn't hear anyone speaking up to criticize him on this. >> we're talking a -- let's stop pivoting. this is about donald trump's responsibility. >> one -- >> that no. he is the president elect. >> jeffrey, jeffrey, jeffrey, jeffrey, jeffrey, jeffrey. jeffrey. this group that met over the weekend in washington d.c. questioned whether -- were people. >> they're racist. >> i understand. but you are drawing an

equivalence to them and the protesters on the street and whatever they broke or whatever violence they did is abhorrent but it is not questioning whether jews are people. so there really is no equivalent there. >> -- the same thing. >> no it is not. >> no it is not jeffrey. >> it is the dna of violence. >> you love to compare things with president obama. so let's compare something with president obama. in 2008 if you recall the reverend jeremiah wright controversy. a good friend of president obama's. he said some horrible things. and what did president obama do? he didn't pretend that jeremiah wright didn't say them. >> maria. >> -- let my finish! let me finish. let me finish. >> quickly. >> he gave a speech that showed the kind of leader with the kind of backbone that you need to lead as president of the united states that will actually bring people together. donald trump has an opportunity here. he needs to step up to the plate to do exactly that.

>> what we're going to do is take a quick break. ahead we're going to talk about this. we're going to talk about what americans many of whom supported donald trump and many of these key state, what they are making of this discussion. i'm going to speak to jamie vance, outer of the hillbilly elegy. r body too. no wonder doctors and patients have trusted advil... for their tough pains for over 30 years. relief doesn't get any better than this. advil. see me. see me. don't stare at me. see me. see me. see me to know that psoriasis is just something that i have. i'm not contagious. see me to know that... ...i won't stop until i find what works. discover cosentyx, a different kind of medicine for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. proven to help the majority of people find clear or almost clear skin. 8 out of 10 people saw 75% skin clearance at 3 months. while the majority saw 90% clearance.

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tweets, these people are really angry. trump said the people who supported him in formerly democratic states, they're the forgotten man and woman. it's an expression trump has used before, forgotten man and woman, white voters overwhelmingly did vote for him, helping him to clinch key rust belt states. now that he's won, what do these voters now expect? joining me now is j.d. vance, former marine, yale law school graduate and author of hillbilly elegy, a member of family and culture in crisis. it's his story of growing up in a small town in rural ohio. you know, j.d., i don't know you if you had a chance to listen to the discussion we've been having here over the last several minutes. it had to do with this group that met over the weekend in washington, d.c., this white supremacist neo nazi group that had awful things to say and trump had a few days to directly denounce it. this is a small group of a few hundred people. this is not the people that you write about in these rust belt states, many of whom or most of who voted for donald trump.

what do you think they make right now, these trump voters? these forgotten trump voters, what would they make of this discussion we were having, about this group that met and trump's response to it? j.d., you hear me okay? i don't think j.d. vance is hearing me. i want to bring back in our panel. joining me is kayleigh mcenany, donald trump supporter, christine quinn and maria cardona are here. there's a fiery debate here inside the new york studio about what's happening in washington, d.c. there's a whole country out there, many of whom voted for donald trump and many who didn't. these voters in these states that we're just talking about right now, they know this discussion is going on, they must know this discussion is going on. what do you think they're making of it? >> you're referring to the hate conference in washington, d.c., right? >> yes.

>> i think most voters are watching and they know donald trump is not a racist, they know no one he's appointed to his cabinet is a racist. they understand that the left is desperately trying to appoint him as so. what they are concerned about is how they're going to get food on the table for thanksgiving, how they're going to ensure they have a job come next january, how they're going to afford obamacare premiums. that is what they're concerned about, because they know this is a narrative being sewed by the left and it's a false narrative. j.d. vance, are you with us now? >> i'm with you. >> fantastic. a technical marvel. you just heard kayleigh mcenany and i hope you heard our discussion before about this hate group that met over the weekend in washington. >> i did. >> again, i'm curious, the overwhelming number of trump voters clearly not associated with this group in any way, but what they make of the discussion about this group and donald trump's response? >> well, so many of the voters i know who voted for donald trump didn't love the rhetoric, some of the rhetoric implored by the

campaign in the first place. so i know a lot of trump voters are probably saying to themselves right now, that's a really good move. it's right for him to condemn these folks. so a lot of folks might be thinking he's flip-flopping, even, but i don't think that and i think a lot of the voters are excited he's talking about these very deplorable people in the way that he is. >> so there's no risk to him for speaking out against it, because some people say, oh, if he speaks out against it, he shines a light on it. you know, he could do it sooner if he wanted to and not offend his voters, correct? >> yeah, i think that's definitely true. and it's an interesting question about why he didn't speak out sooner. it may just be that the campaign didn't feel like they were important enough. so i won't psychoanalyze him personally, but i know a lot of folks who supported him are celebrating the fact that he's talking about the alt-right in this way. >> so there was a lot of news made today in donald trump's meeting with "the new york times," covered a lot of subjects. one of the areas that came up the most was this idea of potential conflicts of interest of interest between the trump business and the business of the

country. and donald trump essentially said today, there are no conflicts of interest. my family is going to keep on working here. i'm not necessarily going to put this in a blind trust, and it is what it is. there's no governing law here. does this coincide with the "drain the swamp" rhetoric the "i'm going to change the way washington is run" notion that was so attractive to so many of these voters? >> well, it's probably a little too early to say, you know? it definitely is true that the optics aren't perfect right now, but i think a lot of folks are taking a very patient wait-and-see approach. they don't necessarily think that things are going to get better immediately. they recognize that a lot of the folks that are going to staff his administration are maybe coming from prior administrations and so forth. so i really do think that most people will give him some time, will actually wait and see whether once he's president, these conflicts of interest really reflect his administration. but until then, my sense is that it's not really going to hurt him. >> so was it that they voted for him, you know, in spite of the business, and the connections there, or because of it?

i mean, that is a question that a lot of people are asking. >> well, maybe not either. i think that a lot of folks recognize that he's a successful business skm businessman and they liked him because of that. but really what drew most people to him was this really fundamental recognition that politics as usual wasn't working. it was a rejection, of course. both of the republican elites, back in the republican primary, but also the democratic elites, obviously, in the general election, so, i don't think that his business dealings really influenced his voters one way or the other. i do think that it could cause some problems for him, if once he's president, it's clearly that he's allowing his business interests to affect his decisions. but until then, until he's making those decisions as president, i think folks are going to give him a pretty long leash. >> it is interesting, right. he ran against in some ways the influence of money. he wanted to drain the swamp. he wanted to get campaign contributions and the like out of washington. he bragged that he was self-financing during the campaign, even at times when he was you not. and that was very popular to voters at the rallies, that i went to.

>> sure. >> nevertheless, i mean, in a way, money is still involved in politics, maybe his politics, his governing is making money is still part of what his family and in some ways he will be doing. >> well, absolutely. if that ends up being the way that he runs his administration, it will certainly affect him. folks are definitely sensitive to the idea that money influences politics, and it influences politics in a way that's against their interests. but at the end of the day, if once he's president, that doesn't influence the way that he governors, if he gives folks some things on the economic side that really make them feel like they were justified in supporting him, i don't think it's going to affect him. i really do think the run-up to the election, or sorry, this run-up to the inauguration, the transition team and so forth, people are sort of taking a wait-and-see approach. i think that's the approach that most voters are taking. of course, if he takes the wrong approach when he's president, i don't think that people are going to continue to give him that long leash.

>> i thought of you when the video was released yesterday, he kept on emphasizing jobs, jobs, jobs. keeps on going back to that word. his team keeps onoing back to that word wherever he can. and i have to believe that's incredibly attractive to a lot of people. >> oh, absolutely, it is. that's definitely, i think, why i think most folks who voted for him ended up voting for him. that's a large part of the reason why a lot of rust belt white working class voters switched from obama to trump in 2016. and i don't think folks expect things to turn on dime. i don't think trump will be penalized in mid-2017 if all the jobs haven't come back. but if these trend lines don't move in the right direction. this opioid crisis continues to get bad, if the jobs crisis continues to influence and affect these areas where trump's voters are living, especially in an acute way, they're going to punish him for it, just as they did, frankly, obama and the democrats in 2014, just as they did republicans and bush in

2008. there's definitely a recognition that things aren't going especially well, so trump has some time, but i don't think he has unlimited time. >> j.d. vance, great to have you with us. really appreciate it. up next, another hour of "360." the president-elect heads to his florida time after telling "the new york times" that the president, quote, can't have a conflict of interest and he could are up his business in the country perfectly at the same time. more about that meeting and the president-elect's plans, that's next. afoot and light-hearted i take to the open road. healthy, free, the world before me, the long brown path before me leading wherever i choose. the east and the west are mine. the north and the south are mine.