new picks and new questions. donald trump is off to a quick start, building a team will help him carry out his agenda, and the ew names are giving us insight into what he wants to do and especially how he'll handle foreign policy. and with fewer than ten weeks until inauguration day, staff at the justice department are dreading what changes could be in store. officials are worried about chaos and potential retribution after trump returns to the white house. and in haiti, dangerous and increasingly isolated conditions after two passenger airplanes are struck by bullets while flying over the capitol. the latest on what happened and how authorities are reacting. we're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to "cnn news central. " today, president- elect

trump's incoming administration is really taking shape, as he's picking key loyalists for top spots. trump has offered south dakota governor kristi noem the role of homeland security secretary, according to sources. and if confirmed, noem's portfolio would include one of trump's top priorities, border and immigration enforcement. we're also told that trump is likely to pick former political rival turned ally florida senator marco rubio as secretary of state, and we're hearing he's asked mike waltz to serve as his national security adviser. i want to bring in national security correspondent, kristen holmes. tell us about these picks. >> i did just get a little bit more of a development of how this is shaping out. i have heard that donald trump is going to announce a slate of deputy chief of staffs in the coming days, of people who will serve by his side. these are people who don't necessarily have to go through the traditional traps here. they are people who are some of his

staunchest, loyalist. they are people on the campaign trail with him every month of the campaign. they include dan scavino who was a top adviser. also includes james blair who ron his entire political operation as well as stephen miller, which we reported yesterday. there are a couple of other names we're trying to run down to make sure they'll be part of that. but these are loyalists thatbe that team. will now let's talk about those big names, the ones that you just mentioned in terms of marco rubio, kristi noem, mike waltz. this is showing you how the trump administration is going to prioritize the next four years, particularly when it comes to national security. these are not necessarily when it come to mike waltz and marco rubio people who are going to beat the hammer home on this isolationist, make america great or america- first only policy. these are people who have a little bit more of a nuanced view. one thing they both agree on, they both agree on the fact that

china is essentially a number one enemy. and that was one of donald trump's big promises, to take on china. you're probably going to see a lot of that once they get into office. the other big thing we're watching, of course, is the immigration space. one of the most interesting things that donald trump has done, we talk about stephen miller, he's going to be the deputy director of policy, as well as tom homan, who is tapped to be a border czar. neither of those positions have to be approved by congress. and those two people are likely to be most powerful people when it comes to immigration. people who have already advised him, who are already making plans to implement some of that policy, particularly when it comes to mass deportations. >> that's a very good point. kristen holmes, thank you. boris? >> let's take a closer look at these latest picks with cnn's tom foreman. let's start with florida senator marco rubio, expected to be announced as secretary of state. he's had a unique trajectory to get to this point, especially in his personal relationship with donald trump. >> he's one of those guys who was trying to take down trump very hard, and then evolved.

look, 2016, trump was calling him little marco. he was calling trump a con artist. eventually, he backed him in 2016, then endorsed him in 2020, 2024, and he was a finalist for trump's vp this cycle around. but listen, listen for a moment as to how he reached this point, what they were saying about each other at one point. >> have you seen his hands? they're like this. and you know what they say about men with small hands. >> when little marco spews his crap about the size of my hands, which are big. >> donald trump is a con artist! >> after a long and spirited primary, the time for fighting each other is over. for leading us will be a man who stood up and raised his fist and reminded us that our people and our country are always worth fighting for. >> this is the kind of thing, as you know, drives a lot of voters crazy. they're like, either you didn't mean this or you don't

mean this. what do we do with it? nonetheless, he was on the intel and foreign relations committee. he spent ten years on the china threat, and he was sanctioned by china in 2020 for his stances on hong kong. and now, on board with the trump team, it appears. >> also onboard with the trump team, another lawmaker from florida, and that is congressman mike waltz, who you've frequently seen here on "cnn news central," he's being tapped to be the nsa adviser. >> a trump loyalist from the get- go, served in the middle east and africa. very, very hawkish about things. he's also a former bush white house policy staffer. very strong. he was one of the people who wanted to boycott the winter olympics with china, because he felt this was really a strong area to draw a firm line. he's onboard as well now at this point, it appears. and in his role as national security adviser, important role. >> yeah, you could argue, irrespective about how they feel about their policies, as far as the resumes go, these

are relatively conventional picks for these two positions. for dhs secretary, though, that's -- >> not a typical pick, you would say. >> not so much. south dakota governor kristi noem, he's the governor there, former congresswoman. he was a trump loyalist from the get- go, also. she was on the short list for vp, as well. and she would oversee customs and border patrol, i.c.e. , fema, secret service. these are big, big roles out there. and she's an interesting pick for it. she has also been very hawkish about the border and immigration. take a look at that. >> but today, many of those who are entering our country under the current policies of the biden administration are known terrorists. they're criminals. they're human traffickers, and they're drug cartel members. the united states of america is in a time of invasion. the invasion is coming over our southern border. the 50 states have a common enemy. and that enemy is the mexican drug cartels. >> so in that sense,

sounding the most like donald trump out of all of them. >> so, zooming out, what are these three picks tell you about the second trump administration? what does it portend for the future? >> it's interesting, for those who are looking for any kind of, as you would say, normal moderation, people who see it in sort of a normal sense, there's a little bit of that here, but also enough of that extremism, that driving edge that so many who support donald trump want. they all see the china threat as a real thing and something that has to be met. they all question open- ended support of the war in ukraine. marco rubio, for example, suggesting that basically ukraine should just give up the 20% of their country that russia has seized at this point, through some sort of settlement. some sort of a deal. they may have more details on that, but it's generally what they're driving at. they're all hard- liners on iran, and they all agree that there is a border crisis has to be addressed. in this sense, none of them would be a problem for donald trump. they're all pushing and pulling the same direction that

he wants to go. and whether or not there's moderation that will satisfy some other people who are a little concerned about that, we'll find out. >> tom foreman, thanks so much for breaking that down for us. brianna? the world is also watching president-elect trump's national security team take shape to see what it means for the war in ukraine, for the middle east, and for u.s. relations with china. cnn chief national security correspondent alex marquardt is here with us now. alex, let's start with ukraine and the middle east. what do his picks tell you? >> i think if you are ukrainian or palestinian and you're looking at mike waltz and marco rubio in those roles, you're getting pretty nervous right now. both of those men are seen as ally pro-israel and wanting to end the war if ukraine sooner in a way that would suggest potentially significant compromise by ukraine. that's not to say that they don't favor a strong and independent ukraine, they just disagree with the biden administration's level of

support, saying that we'll be with you as long as it takes. mike waltz wrote recently, that is a recipe for disaster. it's not just about ukrainian compromise, either. it's about pressuring russia in way, economically, militarily, that would also bring them to the table in a way that a political, diplomatic situation could be negotiated sooner. here's what the two men have both said recently about ukraine. >> i think the ukrainian have said incredibly brave and strong and standing up to russia. but at the end of the day, what we are funding here is a stalemate war, that needs to be brought to a conclusion, because that country is going to be set back 100 years. now, that doesn't mean that we celebrate what vladimir putin did or are excited about it, but i think there has to also be some common sense here. >> there is a way to drive this war to an end. we can do it economically. we can do it diplomatically. and let's end this war rather than ing it in perpetuity. >> so that, brianna, does line up with what we heard from former president trump about wanting to end that war

quickly as well. and he said very much similar things about the war in the middle east, saying that israel essentially needs to wrap it up. not offering too many details. both waltz and rubio seen as much more pro- israel, very critical of the biden administration, accusing them of not supporting israel enough when it comes to their needs and desires to eradicate hezbollah and hamas, accusing the biden administration of hamstringing israel when it comes to iran and going after their nuclear program. and, in fact, saying that israel should have gone farther in the most recent response to that ballistic attack by iran. >> and of course, rubio and waltz, they're seen when it comes to china as hawks. so what is that going to mean going forward, of course with the understanding that when it comes down to it, this is trump's call. >> exactly. these men are certainly seen as china hawks. and i think what this really does signal is a priority that china is going to be and

a much tougher tact that they are going to take. both walz and rubio do see the wars in the middle east and in ukraine as distractions from confronting the big adversary, the main adversary, which is china. when it comes to china's movements in the asia pacific, around taiwan. we have seen senator rubio be a leader in terms of identifying tiktok as a real national security threat. highlighting how much intelligence gathering and spying china hag doing. we've also heard from mike waltz, writing recently in "the economist," that china has been the biggest beneficiary of america's deterrence failures. another critique of the biden administration. i think you're absolutely right that of course, these men are well aware that they've got to fall in line and they're basically going to implement whatever trump's ideas are, but these are experienced foreign policy hands that are coming

in with some of their own strong ideas. >> alex marquardt, thank you so much. it's a lot to think about and how -- what it's going to mean for national security. boris? >> right now, lawmakers are returning to capitol hill after their extended election recess. and they face a shutdown threat and other critical legislative items on their to- do list. it's clear that donald trump will have his fingerprints on every piece of this lame- duck session of congress, beginning with who's going to lead each chamber. trump has made it known he wants to influence those choices, and he's heading to capitol hill tomorrow. cnn chief congressional correspondent manu raju ares on the hill for us. manu, what are lawmakers telling you about trump's visit? >> that visit is going to be on the house side with republicans, it will be a bit of a victory lap. republicans are in an extremely good mood, in both chambers, for maintaining their republican majority. but they are also waiting about -- to see what donald trump ultimately will do in the senate. of course, the senate did

flip from democrats, now, the republicans are expected to hold at least 52 eats, maybe 53 if the pennsylvania senate race goes its way, which it seems at the moment it may. but what donald trump does decide to do, if he decides to endorse, remains an open question. this comes as the three candidates are trying to align themselves with donald trump in different ways. they all put out pitch thirs members to explain how they would empower rank and file in their decision making and trying to advance the agenda. this is what john cornyn said in a letter earlier today. he said, i have also spoken with vice president trump, vice president j.d. vance, and i look forward to working with them to revitalize america, and he went on to talk about the changes that he would make in the senate. he said, in order to make america great again, we must make the senate work again. john thune had a similar pitch, saying, we have an ambitious agenda and it will take all of us, each and every republican

working together with president trump's leadership to achieve it. if we don't successfully execute on our mandate, we risk losing the coalition that swept republicans into office up and down the ballot. and finally, rick scott, who is seen as a bit of an underdog in this race, a florida republican senator said, i am running for senate republican leader because i believe now is a moment, we need dramatic change in washington to upend the status quo and make sure president trump's agenda gets done. and one thing that's clear here, boris, is that so many members of the senate republican conference are not saying what they will do, not saying who they will vote for, because this is a secret ballot election, which means it could really go any way. thune and cornyn are the leading candidates, but who wins that remains a major question, and donald trump may realize that's not weighing in, because he may endorse a candidate and republicans may choose to ignore that endorsement and it may look bad for him in his first week as president-elect. >> it will be interesting to see if he weighs in publicly tomorrow. we know you'll keep your eye

on that. manu raju live on capitol hill, thank you so much, manu. still to come this hour, why the judge in donald trump's hush money trial is delaying his decision about the future of the president- elect's felony convictions. also ahead, more airlines grounding flights to haiti after two jets were struck with gunfire. details in just moments. and later, how the army national guard is honoring harriet tubman more than 150 years after she was denied military benefits as a veteran. you're watching "cnn news central. " we'll be back in just a few moments.

the new york judge overseeing president- elect

trump's criminal hush money case is holding off on making any decisions in that case for now. >> this morning, judge juan marchon postponed all activity related to trump's conviction until next tuesday, and that includes whether to overturn the conviction entirely following the supreme court's ruling on presidential immunity. cnn's kara scannell joins us now. kara, what more can you tell us about this delay? >> the judge has agreed to this delay after both parties got together over the weekend and essentially sent letters to the judge saying that even the prosecution agreed to hold off on this decision on immunity and whether the conviction should stand or whether it would be dismissed, because of the fact that donald trump got elected president. it raises these questions which prosecutors say are unprecedented circumstances. so they have asked the judge to give them a week to sort through what their recommendation would be for the next epicenter this case. whether that would be continuing to proceed on the question of immunity and have the judge

issue his decision. if they want to continue to postpone that now that trump is in office. it's really unclear where that's going to go. and this is all because donald trump's team is pushing to still seek to have this case thrown out on a number of grounds. both this immunity question, in light of the supreme court's decision, but also because trump is now the president-elect. and there's justice department policy on federal cases, big questions as to whether that applies to state cases. it would be really key to see what prosecutors say next week about what the appropriate steps would be that would help guide what the judge is going to decide. either way, it's unprecedented in this time of whether we will see this case proceed and ultimately be litigated, expected to go up to the supreme court. is it on hold or does it go away? guys? >> we'll be waiting for next week. kara, thank you. we have cnn legal analyst eliot williams with us now. he's a former federal prosecutor. what do you think about judge

mar marchon's decision. there's two very important legal questions. both of which lead to donald trump not going to jail, but they're very different. can a president of the united states or president- elect even go to jail in the first place. the law is pretty clear that that's the case that he cannot while he's sitting as president. so you put that way. then the separate question of, is a president of the united states immune from certain acts that might have been conducted when he was a president, right? that's a hard one. that's what judge marchon was sorting out today. and i think, you know, it's notable that both parties agreed to take more time to sort this question out. they'll be filing briefs over the course of the week and we will see, but it's a hard one. >> if he does end up keeping the conviction in place, could we see a president- elect sentenced? and if so, then what happens? >> i don't think we can or quite frankly should. in reality, it's a moot point, boris, because on january 20th, he can't go to jail, he

can't serve a sentence. now, what can happen is that the judge could punt it to 2029. now, i know that might sound silly, but the simple fact is you have a defendant with some infirmity, that means he can't go to jail or can't be sentenced, but you can wait until after it's done. a great example is if somebody were overseas, you can't prosecute them then, but the moment they set in the united states, you. that can take years sometimes, but it does happen, it's not uncommon. it might sound odd, because most people want the result to happen either direction now. but you have a defendant with a once in a generation infirmity, i'm going to use that word, and you have to deal with it. >> infirmity. what a legal term. >> so strange. >> something to make it harder. >> it makes getting elected president like you busted your knee or something. >> like the infirmity you want. >> says the guy in a boot. >> so today the supreme court declined to allow mark eadows, who was trump's chief

of staff, or one of them, during his first time, to move his georgia election subversion case to federal court. what does that mean for meadows as trump is taking office? >> now, that case is sort of on live support for any number of reasons, but donald trump is a defendant there. even if you take him out on account of some of the things we're talking about here that apply in new york, there's still a couple dozen other defendant who is still can go to trial. and the mere fact that mark meadows was a federal employee does not necessarily mean that he had a right to bring his case to federal court. so that case could still go on. all of those other defendants could still be in trouble. forget donald trump, it's still a big prosecution that's not resolved yet. >> you still have some issues. >> yeah. >> appreciate the analysis, as always. and when we come back, president biden meets with president herzog as aid groups say that israel failed to meet a u.s. deadline for boosting humanitarian aid into gaza. also ahead, flights halted in haiti after gunfire hits commercial planes. and before we go to

break, new video just into cnn, this is the white house campus. hundreds of staffers cheering vice president kamala harris as she arrived today. the staffers gathered outside the eisenhower executive office building right next to the white house to applaud her. this was the first day that most white house staff was back after monday's holiday. stay with cnn. we're back in just moments.

new today, president

biden meeting with israeli president isaac herzog at the white house. the timing of this visit is notable. a u.s. deadline for israel to improve the humanitarian situation in gaza is set to expire in a matter of hours, and some aid groups say that not only will israel miss that deadline, but its actions on the ground right now are only making the situation worse. cnn's kylie atwood joins us now. take us through what happened at this meeting between biden and herzog and what happens if israel doesn't comply with this deadline? >> that's right. so what we're watching today is what, if anything, the biden administration does with regard to this 30- day deadline, that they actually put in place by themselves. what they said to israel is that if israel didn't make commitments, didn't make actions on a number of mandates that the u.s. was saying that needed to take, actions in terms of getting more humanitarian assistance into gaza, that they could effectively jeopardize u.s. military assistance that is coming from the u.s. to israel. now, these aid organizations

are out today, saying that not only did israel not live up to those demands that the u.s. made, but they've actually made the situation in gaza worse. now, we haven't gotten the formal u.s. assessment, the u.s. government assessment of what israel has done in the last 30 days, but obviously, president biden and herhtzog, they said they aren't going to make any policy changes, that they're going announce today any overarching policy changes, with regard to this letter that they sent israel. that is going to be incredibly frustrating for these humanitarian aid organizations who are saying that israel isn't only ignoring the united states, but making the situation worse. there's also a group of folks that resigned from the biden administration over the course of last year, saying that the biden administration should

have halted arms sales to israel. they're coming out today and saying, once again, that they believe that the biden administration should uphold their commitment to the demands that they made in this letter. i want you to listen to some of those voices in the new video that they put out today. >> we are calling on president biden to keep his 30- day promise. >> to uphold u.s. law. >> halt u.s. weapons sales to israel. stop the spread of the conflict and look out for america. >> you are still the president. >> it's not too late for you to do the right thing. >> obviously, president biden only has a few more months in office. they're saying here, though, it's not too late for him to do the right thing. they want him to take action to halt u.s. weapons sales to israel, because they say that israel is impeding humanitarian aid still from getting into gaza. it doesn't seem like there's a thirst, that there's an appetite from the biden administration to actually do that. this is a space that we'll

watch incredibly closely over the next few weeks. >> especially considering by january 20th, policy for israel is likely not going to go in the direction of those groups. some airlines are now suspending travel to haiti after two u.s.- based jets were struck by bullets while they were flying over the capital of part awe prince. one pitter crew member even suffering minor injuries. and now the state department is issuing new warning about the increasingly dangerous situation on the ground there in haiti. we have cnn's pete muntean here with the latest. this is terrifying stuff, pete. what happened? >> totally terrifying and really significant. other airlines are now shuttering their flights to haiti because of all of this. now the u.s. government is on high alert. the u.s. embassy in haiti actually putting out a warning to travelers, saying it is aware of what it calls gang- led efforts to block travel to and from port- au-prince. it says the security situation in haiti is unpredictable and dangerous and travel

within haiti is conducted at your own risk. remember, haiti has been in a state of unrest for months. the new prime minister was just sworn in yesterday. historically, commercial flight s have been hit by gunfire before, but this is very likely unprecedented that flights have been hit by gunfire back to back. this was the scene inside spirit airlines flight 951. you can see the bullet hole here on the outside of the airplane. i want to show you the bullet hole on the inside. this is the carry- on bag tray. these are the doors. you can see the bullet holes here and a little bit on this side as well. the good news here is that the crew noticed that they were under fire and went around, aborted their landing here in port- au-prince. they ultimately ended up going -- this flight was on its way from ft. lauderdale to port-au-prince. they ultimately ended up going to santiago in the dominican republic. they had to abort this landing and go around and

to a different airport to get to safety. thankfully, no serious injuries. a flight attendant, minor injuries. no injuries to any of the passengers onboard. but what's interesting that we're also hearing from jetblue that one of its flights yesterday was also hit by gunfire. they ultimately found this out after this plane left port-au- prince and landed at jfk. a member of the crew did an inspection of the airplane post- flight at jfk and found a bullet hole in the airplane. we're hearing it may have been in the wing of the airplane. jetblue says it's actively conducting an investigation. also working with the relevant authorities to try to get to the bottom of this. both spirit and jetblue, kind of goes without saying, have suspended their flights to haiti. american airlines also suspending flights there. so u.s. airlines really taking this into their own hands, not waiting for the u.s. government to act here. delta, southwest, and united all do not fly into the airport there in haiti. so really, this is very significant. and there's been a notice to pilots put in place by the

haitian government, essentially suspending all commercial flights in and out of port-au-prince. really developing all the time here. >> thankfully, it did end up okay, but this could have been incredibly bad. >> well, yeah. if a person got hit by something, it sounds like maybe the flight attendant was hit by flying debris, like a piece of fiberglass from the overhead bin there. but this could have been really serious. you know, this would have caused a rupture in the pressure vessel of the airplane. that's something that keeps the inside of the plane pressurized, high pressure inside the airplane, so you can breathe, the air much thinner outside. this could have caused a rupture in that way. thankfully, it didn't seem like that ultimately happened. this flight was able to fly at a normally high altitude when it diverted over. but this could have been really, really serious. there could have been major ramifications for people onboard, people could have been wearing oxygen masks, this could have been really, really a big problem. >> good thing they could go right to the dr there. pete, thank you so much

for taking us through that. the department of justice is bracing for potential chaos and possible retribution after president-elect trump spent years railing about their investigations. how some are preparing, next.

staffers s s at the justice department are bracing for an epic shake up under the second trump administration. the president- elect has already said he planses to fire christopher wray and a go after jack smith, and the classified documents case. listen. >> the day after you take the oath of office, you'll

have to pardon yourself or fire jack smith. which one would you do? >> i would fire him within two seconds. >> looming over all of this is the question of who president-elect trump will select to serve as his attorney general. you'll recall, he fired two ags with a third resigning during his last administration after they all went against his with. cnn's senior justice correspondent evan perez is here. evan, you report that staffers are worried about the independence as an institution of the department of justice from trump during a second administration. what are you hearing? >> that is the biggest concern, right? there is the disappearance of some of their work, the work that they've been doing, that that would be undone. the bigger concern, i think, is what you hear from the former president and the president-elect, which is, you know, that there is going to be some kind of retribution against people who worked on cases that affected him, including the jack smith cases, of course, the january 6th cases. he has said that he's going to pardon some of these people. there is a lot of concern

about whether these people need to go get lawyers to protect themselves, in case they're being investigated. and, you know, you could see why the justice department would be worried, right? this is a department that will be key to a lot of his initiatives. everything from the immigration executive orders, you know, some of the things that they're talking about in dei and so on. all of those things will go through the department. there's a reason why a lot of people consider this to be the worst job in washington, because you're always under the gun. you can see that list of people that he got rid of. jeff sessions, a truly loyalist. bill barr, a loyalist. and both of them ended up on bad terms with donald trump. now, in the last couple of days, we've heard from people who have been in consideration for the job. mark pay oletta is one of those, a conservative lawyer, a very smart guy. he has went publicly, on fox news this morning, and also posted on "x," he said the following. he said, if these

career doj employees won't implement president trump's program in good faith, they should leave. these employees who engage in so- called resistance against a duly elected president's lawful agenda would be subverting american democracy. the bottom line here, though, for the justice department is that, you know, a lot of the resistance doesn't necessarily come from the career employees. the former president ran into trouble with his own appointees. jeff sessions, there was a line that he wouldn't cross. bill barr would not endorse his claims of voter fraud after the 2020 election. and that's what angered the former president. one key thing that paoletta said in his social media post, he said, no one will push them to implement flagrantly illegal actions, right? and that's one of the things that i think people are very, concerned inside of the department. as far as the fbi director, that's a big, big job and one of the things that's being considered there is that the former president still

sticks by that idea or whether he really will fire chris wray. the expectation is, inside the transition and in the fbi is that he won't be fired, because he'll quit. he'll quit rather than be fired. >> yeah, trump has made pretty clear, even when he was in office, his dissatisfaction with christopher wray. hard to imagine he would stay in that role and serve out the ten-year term. evan perez, thank you. still more news to come on "cnn news central. " the maryland army national guard honoring harriet tubman nearly 160 years after the civil war. we'll actually speak to her great-great-great- grandniece when we come back. and before we go to break, donald trump making it official, announcing congressman mike waltz his pick to serve as national security adviser. in a statement on truth social, trump praised waltz as a nationally recognized leader in national security, a best-selling author, and an expert on the threats posed by china, russia, iran and global terrorism, unquote. we'll have much more on trump's cabinet picks in just a few

minutes.

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freedom fighter and underground railroad hero, harriet tubman, is now a one- star general in the maryland army national guard. the honor bestowed yesterday for veterans day more than a century after the abolitionist's death. tubman's great-great-great- grandniece accepted the symbolic ranking

on her behalf. born into slavery as one of 11 children, harriet tubman spent ten years guiding slaves out of the south beginning in 50. but monday's commemoration is the first official recommendation for what tubman did after that, her military service. she helped free 850 people during the civil war and she was also a spy and recruiter. here is tubman's descendant. what was it like to stand there in place of your aunt harriet, as you call her, and receive this incredible honor? >> thank you for having me. it was overwhelming and it was just wonderful and so emotional. being able to accept something that is long overdue for her.

having made application for her pension for being a spy and a scholar during the civil war. she was actually denied for that, but did receive some later as a nurse and then as a widow's pension. but to have her recognized for the role she did play in the civil war, something where she was commissioned or asked to go go down÷÷ to do that, she was just tremendous. and i just felt so happy for her and for us as a family. >> you're so right. as people recognize that, it's not something they did learn. and i know you once told cnn that you wish more people now about harriet tubman's contributions to the civil war. why do you think it's so important that people understand this part of her

life and that she gave that has been glossed over? >> because it shows that she's -- you know, the kind of person that she was, a person of integrity, a person of honor, a person of faith. she was a selfless human being. and she put herself in peril by going down into buford, south carolina, and to be able to do this, to be able to fight for the union, to be able to fight to have enslaved free and to be able to equally stand side by side with the white soldiers and fight for this country to preserve the union. she felt that the union was something worth preserving, even though it was -- what was happening in the united states at the time. she felt that it could the country that it wanted to

be, which was great. so she fought for that. >> tina, you said in your remarks yesterday, quote, we find ourselves in a different climate and there is no coincidence that she, harriet tubman, is blowing up like she is. what did you mean by that? >> i mean, everything that's going on now, i feel like is the antithesis, the feeling, the climate of what is being said and done. she was a person of faith and a person of love and kindness. she was a person that brought forth justice, equality, and also inclusiveness for everyone. that's what she felt would make this country great. and that's not something i'm seeing today, which is so opposed to the god that i know and the god that she knew. so i think what's happening

right now in the world is something that god is allowing for his purposes. we'll see what that is soon, at some other time. but we just have to continue to have faith and trust. >> well, she is an incredible example and it is wonderful to see her honored so that americans can learn more about her contributions. tina, thank you so much for being with us. >> well, you're welcome. thank you for having me. >> earnesttine tina wyatt, we appreciate it. president- elect trump down at mar-a- lago building out his cabinet. we'll have details on his picks and÷÷ what they mean for another trump tower. another hour of "cnn news central" starts after this short break.