after that, matt cartwright will talk about the house democrats' agenda in the trump administration. you can join the conversation on acebook and twitter. host: good morning, it's friday, december 2, 2017 and the hit-and-miss -- president-elect donald trump has announced another key cabinet selection. at a rally last night in cincinnati, president-elect donald trump confirmed he has selected retired four-star general james mattis to serve as secretary of defense, a break from the traditional approach of installing a civilian at the helm of the pentagon. he will need more than senate approval to lead the defense department. he will need the congress to aive the rule.

one democrat is opposing the waiver. donald trump kicked off what his transition team is calling a "thank you" tour of the states that helped propel him in victory in last month's election. and during those remarks, he repeatedly vowed to unify the country after the bitterly devisive campaign which leads us for today's question -- can donald trump bring the country together? republicans can call 202-748-8001. democrats can call 202-748-8000. d i-n-t's can call 202-748-8002. -- and independents can call 202-748-8002. you can also reach us on facebook and twitter. and more about president-elect

donald trump's remarks yesterday in cincinnati at a rally, the first he's held since his election from "politico." it states in his first public rally since winning the presidency, donald trump casually announced a pick to outline an ambitious unifying vision for the next four years before veering off script in his distracter's faces. during a free wheeling speech in cincinnati on thursday night, that was a prototrump harkened back to his rough and tumble campaign style, he encouraged chance of lock her up by invoking hillary clinton's name which incited boos of john kasich, mocked independent candidate as a nobody and attacked the nasty dishonest press. but president-elect donald trump also made a point of giving a unified message particularly on

the portions of the speech where he read from a teleprompter and stated on script. let's take a look at what he said what success will mean. president-elect donald trump:2016, we must enlist the effort of all americans. for too long, washington has tried to put us in boxes. they separate us by race, by age, by income, by geography, by place of birth. we spend too much time focusing on what divides us. now is the time to embrace the one thing that truly united states us. you know what that is? america. america. [applause] because when america's unified, nothing's beyond our reach. you're going to see. we're going to have a country that was never so great, you watch in so many different ways. you hear a lot of talk about how

we're becoming a globalized world. but the relationships people value in this country are local. family, cities, states, countries, they're local. will compete in the world. we want to compete in the world. but we're going to compete in the world where it's a two-way road, not a one-way road. [applause] president-elect donald trump: the advantages are going to come back to our country and they have not for many, many years. host: eric is calling from white plains, maryland from our independent line. eric, do you think that president-elect donald trump can unify the country? caller: good morning, america, first, and thank you for taking my call. yes, of course, i believe he can unify the country. and he has already started. actions speak louder than any

kind of words. mr. donald trump >> gets 1,000 jobs in indiana. this is the kind of message, this is the kind of action we need. cnn and most of the liberal media are really keeping fanning the flame of hatred but i believe with his action, he will unify this country. host: eric, did you support mr. trump in the election? caller: sure, i am black, african-american, and i voted for him. so i supported him 100%. that's it. host: ok. karen is calling in from youngstown, ohio, on our democratic line. karen, do you believe that donald trump can unify the country? caller: no. he's a liar.

he's an evil person. you just look at his apolicies that he's making. he's showing his entire cabinet with people from wall street. it's the opposite of what he says he is. he's not a man of the people. he's a man of the ultra rich. and that's who he's going to help. and i really have a problem with the media showing this clip of him repeatedly everywhere on your local stations to your national stations. you just see this clip of him with his rhetoric. you don't see the thousands of people who are protesting him everywhere he goes. and i have a problem with this line because during the election when i called this line, my calls were not answered and republicans got and so-called independents. that man who spoke before me was not an independent.

that man was planted there. host: ok, karen, we take the calls as they come in and sometimes, we do have a lot of calls waiting. is there anything that president-elect donald trump can say or do now that you think will help bring the country together after the election? do you think it's possible? caller: no. the man cannot change who and hat he is. and the media's job is to not show who mess and not be a accomplice and just continually show his propaganda clips and take calls from his trolls. you are not doing your jobs. host: ok. a little more on president-elect trump's pick, the head, the pentagon from "u.s.a. today" says james mattis, a retired four star general achieved mythic status within the marine corps as an aggressive combat commander, an innovative

strategists whose speeches and writings define the warrior ethos. donald trump's decision to name mattis to head the defense department is a strong signal that the president-elect is looking for a wartime leader at the pentagon and not someone to just manage budget. at a rally thursday night in cincinnati, trump noted that mattis has been chosen for the post during the campaign trump said he would overhaul the u.s. strategy and he said the current plan isn't working and suggested military leads had been coulded by the obama administration. next, we have patrick calling from oklahoma city in our republican line. good morning, patrick. caller: good morning. host: do you think that the president electoral can bring the country together? caller: i think he can. i think he's the best chance he had since ronald reagan. host: why is that? caller: because he's a christian. he's going to giant the country.

he's going to bring the country together again. e's got democrats on his side. 'm a nickel submariner and donald trump is going to restore the navy. and i have a patent that donald trump is using to give us -- go ahead and ask your question. host: there are a lot of people who are still -- the election is fairly new. there are a lot of sporers of secretary clinton who are worried about donald trump as a leader. what would you like to see him say to bring easy to people on board and get them to give him a hance? caller: i like him to be open and truthful and speak his mind

ike he does. host: marcus calling in from arkansas, our independent line. deporning. -- good morning. caller: i'm a viewer for years and finally got through and i appreciate that. every man deserves one chance to accomplish what he says he can do. the biggest problem i have is his statement of we are going to drain the swatch. if you're -- swamp. if you're going to drain the swamp, then his political appointments in the non-competitive civil service should not be entitled nor eligible for federal pension. the example being the lady who ran health and human services who was allowed to retire five years and one day with $100,000 pension for life. that's not draining the swamp.

if he's going to drain the swamp, his political appointments every words for supporting -- everyone who's supporting him should not be eligible for the federal pension system. host: we're talking about uniting the country today which was a big theme in president-elect trump's speech last night. do you think he can be a uniter as president? caller: i don't know as much as he's going to be a uniter because the people who oppose him to this day are not getting equal time. we are -- news media is basically turning around and praising him to the high he was. - heavens. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016]] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] folks are working 60 hours a week if they have a job. i'm retired. so i'm allowed to have some more hours to get information.

i don't just listen to one. i listen to them all, ok? some people putting forth on his platform. some people are not. but at the same time, the average individual is only getting 20 minutes of news a day. and the 20 minutes they get is the channel they tune to. host: ok. let's take a look at a little more about of what president-elect said during his remark in cincinnati about an inclusive society. president-elect donald trump: we're going to seek a truly inclusive society where we support each other, love each other and look out for each other and that means that people coming into our country have to be people that have the potential to love us, not to us. [applause] president-elect donald trump: we condemn bigotry and prejudice in

all of its flaws. we denounce all of the hatred and we forcefully reject the language of exclusion and separation. we're going to come together. we have no choice. we have to -- and it's better. it's better. host: bob is calling from closer, wisconsin. boben our republican line. bob, do you believe the president-elect that the country will come together? caller: yes, i do. and the first thing, americans need to realize there's all the lies and propaganda that the democrats put out there against mr. trump, our president. we in wisconsin are going to -- i find that a waste of time. the democrats laughed at mr. trump when he said -- now the democrats are saying that these liberals -- so we're having a recount. he's our president because we wanted him to be and we are

looking for an opportunity to grow. he'll grow us. and the first thing is we got to know we're all americans. i'm really tired of african-americans, mexican-american, german americans, when you're born here, this is my -- i'm a veteran. and i'm very proud of america. he will put people in place and after you get rid of all the lies. i believe in mr. trump. thank you. host: ok. and one senator who had vowed to come out against general mattis in his goal to be the head of the defense department is senator kirsten jill brand of new york. according to the hill, she came out against donald trump's gillibrand is the

first lawmaker to oppose waving to the prohixon on -- host: that's according to the "hill." a little more about that waver that is required for former military officials to take a cabinet post according to the "associated press." a civilian control of the military is ingrained in american history and was set in stone in the u.s. constitution which decrees that the president shall be the commander-in-chief.

u.s. military can wage combat without a formal declaration of war. the principle of civilian control of military is anchored in a belief of balance of power, it sets the u.s. and other democracies apart from countries where military choose to overturn the government. back to our discussion of whether donald trump can bring this -- the country together after a bit per election season. jody is calling from rockville, maryland, on our independent line. what do you think, jody? can the president-elect bring the country together? caller: i question whether or not he could bring the country together. at this point in time, all he has done is continue to give credibility to white supremacists, to segregationists and he is one of the best out there of going on twitter and

letting people know how he feels. well every single day, he needs to go out there and tweet that this is unacceptable and making america great again. we can't have americans saying horrible things about other americans based on color, race, reed either this si, religion. i mean, will from a lot of people out there are that afraid of the people that he's stirring up, that he's giving power to, that people that he's putting nto the cabinet. host: is there anything he can say now? if he had that message, do you think he can change your mind? caller: what i think he needs to say is strongly, that these type of people that are saying these segregational types of comment,

these white supremacists that they are actually not part of the trump movement. he does not -- he disclaims them. he does not want their support. he just -- you know, he doesn't want them part of making america great because they will make america worse. so if he will come out and say this fraction is not who i want supporting me. this is not the fraction that will be part of making america great, yes, then i think we should give him a chance. but now he has supreme power to make those comments and he's not, you know? and that's what a lot of this rioting is about. people are afraid. they're afraid of the people who have done, not everybody who has done is a white supremacists and there's a group of them that are out there and their hatred is boiling and boiling and he is not putting a top on that pot and he needs to close that pot. host: ok.

a call from our republican line. what do you think, keith? can president-elect trump bring the country together? caller: he certainly can. the last caller is a little bit on the paranoid side. i live here in adamsville, indiana, and we don't have that racially motivated stuff going on here. we all get along. we don't have all them problems that everybody's got since. we read through the lines. trump's going to be a great president. everybody needs to give him a chance. and stop picking him apart. let him do his job. and also, i still believe that bill clinton should be going to jail for getting on that airplane. i want to make a point about that because even if the , they still got to go to court and see the judge.

host: there are still a lot of people who have doubts. what do you think the president to ay or do to bring -- calm so much their fears and to bring some more on youity to the country? caller: they should have a designated holiday for all the ethnic people to get together like a picnic there or something and show that we all can get along together. i mean, we have to get along together. host: ok. the president-elect started the day yesterday in your home state of indiana at a carrier furnace plant where he announced more than 1,100 jobs will remain in the united states. and he talked about the consequences of businesses that they'll face if they leave the united states. let's take a look. president-elect donald trump:

and i said to some of the folks. i said companies are not going to leave the eyes anymore without consequence. not going to happen. it's not going to happen. i'll tell you right now. we're losing our -- we're losing so much. we're going to be lowering our business tax from 35% hopefully down to 15% which would take to the highest tax nation in the world to one of the lower tax, not the lowest yet. the other thing we're doing is regulations. he regulations -- if i said -- you might say it's -- i thought taxes would be number one, regulations would be up there someplace. believe me, these great leaders of industry and even the small business, people, which is being

crushed if they had their choice between lower taxes and a major massive cutting of regulations. they would take the regulations. i don't know how you peel about that, greg. but i just noticed that i wrote down because i heard it -- since about six years ago, 260 new federal regulations have passed. 53 of which affect this plant. 53 new regulations, massively expensive and probably none of them amount to anything in terms of safety or the things that you would have regulations for. host: donald trump's appearance yesterday drew some praise from people who praised his actions for saving those jobs, helping to save those jobs. but some democrats had a different view. senator bernie sanders wrote an op-ed piece in "the washington post" where he said that donald trump showed corporations just

how to beat him. senator sanders said in essence, united technologies, which is carrier eagles parent company, took trump hostage and won. and that should send a shock wave of fear through all workers the country. dorothy is calling in from arkansas on our democrat line. what do you think, dorothy? caller: i think trump will bring this country together. it will be back like the hoover days when people were just early starving to death. host: why do you think, dorothy? if he continues this message of unity that he talked yesterday, why do you think that won't work? caller: he can call it unity all he wants but he's out for donald trump and that's all. host: all right. nick is calling in from sarasota, florida, on our independent line. do you think the president-elect

can help bring the country together? caller: i absolutely do if the people will cooperate just like a couple of your last callers. in my opinion, the last three generations of college professors, high school teachers and textbook publishers have left out everything about being an american. and so that's why donald's leadership is going to get this turned around. this is a capitalist country, not communist. but you wouldn't know it but the school teachers and the stuff they put out there. one teacher in college were saying a week before the election, what's the first things hillary clinton should do when she goes into is? that's pretty prum, but it's how they think. kd

host: randy is calling from the republican line. caller: i believe trump will bring the country together. i'm a middle-aged black man and i voted for barack obama. you know, i wanted to be part of history, the first black african-american president but instead under his administration, i just seen lot of diversity. i mean, we're looking at the backlash of obama doing. now, again, back to trump now, if you look at his cabinet, he have a pretty much diverse cabinet. he got three females on his cabinet so far and he had one african-american person, dr. carson benson. but if you look at trump, he came into he's selected to be president but look what he did in indiana. he is saving these family's jobs. and -- families jobs.

this is a major step in bringing communities. host: some people remain skeptical about the president-elect. is there something you think he can say or do or should say and do to convince people that he is the president for everyone? caller: yes. well basically, you know, he's reaching out to the black churches. he's reaching out to hispanic communities. he's getting votes on hispanic communities. nobody thought he would do as well in the black community but by him reaching out to the black pastor scott and a few others, i think he's doing a great job. we just got to give him a chance. if we give him a chance, let him get in office and see how he does once he's in office. host: ok. and the president-elect has announced that more key picks will be coming soon as he assembles his administration. and also takes a look at the

supreme court to fill the vacancy that has been there since the death of an tin scalia ack in february. president-elect trump said on thursday he would soon be unveiling his scourts nomination in an interview with hannity, he says he's down to two or three candidates. they're terrific people, he said. highly respected. brilliant people. and will be announcing that -- we'll be announcing that pretty soon. in that interview, the president-elect touted his talk with mitt romney, the second time that the two have met this week to discuss a potential secretary of state post. joe is calling from omaha, nebraska on our democratic line. do you think president-elect trump can unify the country? caller: i'm having problems with the president leck's --

electoral's appointment. -- president-elect's appointment. and ross at commerce. all the companies in america and some in india. so if the steelworkers want nod other jobs, ask the new secretary of commerce. he sold them to india and became the billionaire. i'm worried about appointments, yes. host: and do you think well, joe, let me ask you this, since we're talking about unity, do you think if donald trump, for example, reaches out to democrats as he dons build his cabinet or people who have had different views that that could help the unifying -- be a

unifying factor for the country? caller: i'm going to say the jury's still out on that. i'm going to have to see. i'm prepared to wait and see. but the one thing i do believe as a 25-year retired military officer is the country will survive. donald trump good or bad. we will survive. host: jolene from our independent line. do you think the president-elect donald trump can bring the country together? caller: it's funny you should ask that because what you said to the caller right before this last caller was i remain skeptical. i saw a part of his speech about carrier when he said how about carrier's day and i didn't mean carrier, i meant that as an euphemism and i thought what the heck does that mean? i thought he was real when he talked about carrier staying.

what other things does he mean as a euphemism? and the fact that he said at a speech last night, revealed to the head of defense is going to be and then he made -- i'm not sure he wasn't supposed to say that. he kind of -- it could have been staged what is i'm saying. i still don't trust whether he is authentic as he seems. when he talks to people, sometimes the things that he talks right through you. he's very good at talking you but he's a showman. o i'm so sure. i just don't know what to think. i'm just going to hold on and watch but i do remain skeptical. host: ok. in other news this week, new members of congress continued their orientation and part of that was choosing their offices where they will be in the up coming legislative session and it was represent-elect and former florida governor who drew

the worst number in the lottery system that determines who will get what office. here's a moment between chris and his colleagues when he drew that number. you can see a little bit more from the "tampa bay times" in a piece they talked about how office assignments didn't go so kel for him. we have bob calling from henderson, kentucky, on our democratic line. bob, do you think that the president-elect will be able to

unify the country? caller: no, i don't really think o. i vote for the person. jobs in indiana carrier, he didn't save those jobs. it was his vice president that saved them. a president can't just come up and say i'm going give you $7 million. that $7 million, it came from the state of indiana. and he didn't say nothing about the plant 30 minutes away is losing 700 and some jobs from carrier. he didn't say 700 and more jobs from that same factory that he saved 1,000 jobs, he said. it's over 1,400 people from carrier still going to mexico. and he says oh, i'm going to charge you 35% if you come back. he can't.

they signed a bill that said what would be charged and everything and he just can't bring it off the top of his shed and say i'm going to charge you 35%. well, there's millions of other companies that's already coming back with a product and telling you nothing. host: let me ask you this on the subject of unifying the country. if the president-elect continues as he tried to do yesterday and focus on jobs and saying that that's going to be a priority, do you think that that is a message that people can get behind? i mean, his actions with carrier at the very least it drew some praise from both republicans and el -- democrats. can he bring more unifying messages like that, do you think? caller: you know, you've got to quit this lying. and he's known for being the biggest liar on earth.

you just can't keep lying about everything when you know you can't dog it. tax 's given $15 million rate to the richest people on earth. and he says he's giving the middle class and the poor a break. well, you know what, they're going to stay right where they're at. it's proven that if you're a rich man, you're going to get millions, hundreds of millions of dollars. but if you're middle class, you're going to average $100 or $200 tax break. it's proven by the economists that you know, he -- i don't know. he's just got a good gift for gab but we've got to give him a chance because he's going to be our next president. no, he's going to help the rich. he ain't going to help us average people. host: ok. from arkansas, julie is calling on our republican line. goodni