is because of their sacrifices. thanks to them. >> thank you all. if you have your own hit or miss, be sure to tweet it to us. that's it for this week's show. thanks to my panel and owl of you for watching. hello. welcome to a new hour of "america's news headquarters." >> topping the news this hour, president-elect donald trump sticking by some of his campaign promises, and softening his stance on others and he begins the transition process to others. iraqi forces pushing ahead inside mosul as they face a wave of suicide car bombings with isis desperately trying to hold on to that city. honoring the victims of terror. paris remembering the 130 people who lost their lives in a series of devastating attacks one year ago today.

but first, we start with president-elect donald trump. following through on one of his main campaign messages saying he's still willing to deport millions of people who are in our country illegally, but the ones who have criminal records, he says. it is his first major interview since the tuesday night stunning election victory he had as president. mr. trump clarifying in a television interview his plans to build that wall along the u.s. border with mexico, saying he would accept a fence in some areas. >> for certain areas, i would. but certain areas the wall is more appropriate. i'm very good at is. this is called construction. >> and for more on this, doug mckelway is live at trump tower who has been following the happenings upstairs where they're all meeting right now, doug. >> reporter: that's right, eric. so much of the acrimony which marked the earlier primary

season and the venomous relationship between his republican rivals at that time and donald trump appears to be waning. it appears many people of the republican establishment are moving towards donald trump and away -- rather than him moving towards them. he received congratulatory calls from governor john kasich of ohio. another call from carly fiorina and three other congratulatory calls from george h.w. bush, george w. bush, and jeb bush. still no names released on cabinet members there the trump administration, though there is lots of speculation. they continue their furious around the clock pace. the team expected to make an announcement today or tomorrow. the bets is on reince priebus for chief of staff. but steve bannon's name is coming up. he is expected to be a major player. >> the thing about steve bannon

people don't understand is that in this campaign, he's been the general, and he's worked very closely with reince priebus and the rest of us as part of that small core team. we couldn't have done it without priebus or bannon. i can say that unequivocally as the campaign manager. >> there are strong signs that action on health care could be a first priority for the administration, but whether it's outright repeal or replace or an amendment of obamacare remains to be seen. >> it would do what obamacare doesn't do, let you guy health insurance across state lines the way you can buy auto insurance and other goods and services, block medicaid to the states, create health savings accounts for individuals, which is a free market solution that works in the private sector in many places. >> reporter: conway said the president-elect will call for a joint session of congress which he will lay out his plans for obamacare and what to do with

it. in addition, we can -- you can hear the protesters, but we'll get to that in a minute. but a good gait for donald trump. >> between kellyanne conway, steve bannon, all these personalities in that transition team. does it raise the question whether the staff will be made up of washington insiders or outsiders or do we know? >> reporter: certainly right now it's composed of a variety of both. you take the chairman of the transition team, the vice president elect mike pence. seen as a sober minded, socially conservative guy who has a great deal of washington experience and inside knowledge, versus a guy like steve bannon, as much as he is portrayed as a flame thrower of the alt-right, he has fast experience as a commander in the u.s. navy, goldman sachs

executive, successful hollywood producer. that's one of the primary responsibilities, to weigh and balance different perspectives and be a filter to the president of the united states. >> priebus has a lot of washington experience, 44 years old. three times elected, knows his way around capitol hill. we can hear the protesters behind you. and kellyanne conway addressed them as they continued on a fifth day. >> the protesters and those who they supported have a responsibility, chris, to come together for a peaceful transition and in the name of the world's greatest democracy and recognize regardless of what they say, he is their president. >> reporter: so we're taking a look at yet another protest here on a sunday afternoon in

manhattan. anti-trump protests going into the fifth day. you're seeing the very tail end of a much larger protest. i would estimate several hundred people, police just a little while ago opened up the gates to allow that crowd to flow westward. so you're only seeing the very tail end of that. and if experience is a judge here, i expect that crowd to grow. kellyanne conway basically wants these people to pay close attention to the constitution and what it says and pay close attention to our history of the peaceful transfer of power. that message not resonating with people here. >> there's also sadly been a spate of racist graffiti around the country. governor andrew cuomo announcing an investigation of hate crimes in new york state on two of those. we'll stand by to see if there's any word from that transition team. if there is, we'll get right back to you. we're waiting to find out possibly who the new chief of

staff might be. in the meantime, the white house starting the process of transitioning power to president-elect trump. president obama pledging to work with his successor to make sure things go smoothly, just like former president george bush helped mr. obama prepare. >> it is no secret that the president-elect and i have some differences. but eight years ago, president bush and i had some significant differences. but president bush's team could not have been more professional and gracious in making sure we had a smooth transition. >> let's bring in now lou reyes, head of presidential personnel to former president george w. bush. also served on president bush's transition council. and good to have you here today. >> thank you for having me. >> talk to us how crucial is the template that's set during the

transition, as it sets the tone and direction of the way donald trump will run his administration. >> well, crucial is probably an understatement. i mean, we're talking about the foundation, the building blocks of the administration. it sets the tone for the first few years, and really is not only crucial to how the presidency is going to go and start off, but actually a matter of national security. you have to get this transition right. the country historically in a transition year is vulnerable. you saw 9/11 happen within 270 days of president bush taking office and the world trade center bombings before that. if you go back to the bay of pigs, it was during a transition year. so you have to get the people in, get them nominated and confirmed, and make sure you're doing it in a way that sustains national security. >> and lou, if you could stand by, because we have a fox news

alert for you right now. according to two sources with knowledge of the decision process confirming that donald trump, president-elect trump's chief of staff will be reince priebus. so this is, of course, as you just told us a very powerful position that will have a huge influence on shaping mr. trump's cabinet, as well as his relationship with congress, the chief of staff, of course, controls the president's schedule, who gets to see the president, as well as the papers that come in and out of the oval office. the chief of staff manages white house response to congressional mail that contains important policy questions and either chief of staff or one of his or her deputies, in this case his deputies chooses to go -- they go go on each presidential trip. the chief of staff has convened white house staff meetings. harry truman was the last

president to convene -- any way, that went away, so i'm going to go with my open thoughts here. i'm glad to have you here to talk about this. we are going to also let you know that former campaign ceo steve bannon is expected to be named senior counselor to president trump. so a lot more to come here. obviously this transition is very important as you were just telling us. so now we know reince priebus. what does this say in terms of the tone? i started out with that first question. now that reince priebus, who ha capitol hill and relationships with the more conservative and established wing of the party, what does this mean in terms of that donald trump made this choice? >> well, you know, it's not surprising. i think the president -- the president-elect obviously that's one of the most important and crucial decisions. you want to have someone that has experience and understands washington, understands congress for sure.

and, you know, under president bush, we had two of the very best in andy card, who was just amazing, and then josh bolten. both had previous experience in the white house and in washington. and so this doesn't mean that he's necessarily filling the swamp with insiders. it's about veterans who understand their way around the city and the system. and if you look at it from -- i guess one way to look at it, if you're managing in the big leagues, you need some veterans on your team. you may have great all-star rookies, but you need veterans. >> and of course, lou, you know that, you mentioned andy card, and you had president bush having two chiefs of staff. president obama had five. how do you think president-elect trump will maintain his relationship with reince priebus? they also had some words, if you will, during the campaign. but now it's game time.

>> right. it's time to pivot from campaign to governance and governing. in that respect, in making the choice, he is -- he's basically sending the signal that he trusts reince, and he trusts his judgment, his experience, what he brings to the table. just like anything else, they may not always agree on everything, but with giving him the nod, the volition is to have a very good working relationship, one that's incredibly founded in trust and then moving forward to execute the policy that's already been, you know, outlined. >> lou reyes, stick around for us, if you will. we are now confirming that reince priebus has been chosen as president-elect chief of staff. we're going to go now to doug mckelway who is out in front of trump tower. >> reporter: that's right. this is what we had expected for

the past several days, that reince would be in the chief of staff position. we're hearing that steve bannon will hold a senior position within the white house staff there, probably as senior counselor. i harken back to the election night at 3:00 in the morning or so when donald trump came out on that stage and singled out reince priebus and asked him to come up on stage and say a few words. it was a measure of his fondness for him. if you harken back to what reince priebus was facing in the early stages of this campaign, there was tremendous opposition to donald trump across the establishment board of republicans in washington. there was a view that donald trump could not win this election. yet reince priebus stuck by him. he did what he had to do as chairman of the rnc and supported the candidate, providing him all kinds of advice and data, which ultimate

hi head to donald trump winning this election. and then steve bannon on the other hand, also we saw very little of him during the campaign. he was always behind the scenes, kept a low profile. it was kellyanne conway out in front of the cameras. but she told chris wallace just this morning that steve bannon was the general of this campaign. he orchestrated the campaign in that sense. the guy has vast experience, and as much as he's portrayed as i said as a flame thrower of the alt-right movement, he has vast experience as a commander in the u.s. navy. that's a wonderful thing to be doing when you're working at the white house and facing incoming fire. he was an executive at goldman sax. a successful hollywood movie producer and a successful publisher of the breitbart website. so he has vast experience. the two of these guys will be major players in the trump administration. >> two distinct separate

personalities between the two. but the tea party patriots and conservatives are against reince priebus. they would say he served three terms as chairman of the republican national committee. some of them, do you think they'll be disappointed or say donald trump is going to really need some veteran washington hands who know how to pull the lever of power, and know where the bathrooms are and the clo t closets are in the capitol to get things done. >> reporter: that's right. and there's reince priebus for you right there. he has sound judgment. he kept his composure throughout all of the firing ammo at donald trump throughout the summertime. he kept his whits about him and supported donald trump. you also have this component of good cop, bad cop. you have reince priebus and steve bannon, who is an outsider and who, according to some

reports, is not fond of many establishment republicans, including paul ryan. so ultimately the decision making in this administration comes from the head guy, donald trump. he's got to hear that advice and sounds like from the way he set things up now, he'll hear both sides of it, from reince priebus and steve bannon. >> you have donald trump supporters who made a very strong outcry for newness, if you will, in d.c. how do you think this is going to resonate with them, that reince priebus is more, as we've been pointing out, more of the establishment? >> well, you've got players from both perspectives in this -- you look at the entire transition team, you see the dynamic at work here. this is sort of perhaps in some respects a blueprint of how the administration will be stacked up. you've got as the chairman of the transition committee, the

vice president-elect mike pence, always keeps his whits about him, very soft spoken. he has a lot of washington connections by virtue he was a congressman from indiana and he is now the governor of the state of indiana. in addition, you have some really key personnel who have nothing to do with politics until this campaign got under way, and that's the trump family. eric trump, donald jr., ivanka and his son-in-law, jared cushner. they're going to be playing major roles and weighing the advice from guys like priebus and ban non and many others, getting it to their father and loved ones. >> obviously, you always need someone there who is not just a

yes man. and it seems like reince priebus will not be in that model. yeah, doug? >> reporter: no, i was just going to add and someone who is looking out for the best interest of, in this case, their father. >> that's true, in terms of the family. doug mckelway, if we get anymore live pictures of either reince priebus or steve bannon, we'll bring that to you, of course. i was talking to lou reyes earlier. lou, i want to bring you back into the conversation. talk to us about what happens now during this transition period. >> well, you know, the major -- a major step was exactly what we just heard. the president has to put together his staff, at least the main pieces, because what he's now doing then is selecting -- finishing up the selection of the cabinet, if he hasn't already, and the other very crucial positions, which are

probably about 100 other positions in the subcabinet and throughout even the national security arena. he wants to nominate these individuals as soon as possible upon taking office. that means getting the cabinet confirmed within hours or days of being sworn in and the subcabinet by the end of march. so another 100 people by april 1st. so this is an incredibly fast and furious pace. because you have to get these folks vetted, and then nominated. and the vetting process is not something to take lightly. the last thing a president wants to do is stumble out of the gate with a nominee that gets dinged for nanny or taxes or things that should have been vetted out. and it's happened to the best. so it's a vetting process. it's a selection process, and it's 70 days to do it. we're talking about the transition to power and the most powerful country in the world in

70 days. >> talk to us now about the fact that now reince priebus is the chief of staff. what does this mean for donald trump, president-elect trump's relationship when he becomes president, sworn in with congress? because i think we americans are very tired of the eight years of gridlock that was there in d.c. do you think that will be eased up now? >> it all depends. the president is also going to have an assistant to the president for legislative affairs. but reince will lead the communications with congress. his established relationships will be very helpful to the president. and different chiefs of staff have different styles. there's different dynamics. but i think in terms of hitting the ground running, this is not unexpected. and the first thing i think the chief of staff will probably do is circle around with all those folks that he'll be working with very closely in trying to establish the right foot forward.

>> one more question for you. if you could recall the most difficult part of the transition from president george bush and president-elect obama at the time, and the most surprising, perhaps endearing part of that transition, if there was such a moment. >> sure. president bush asked us well before the election to put on the best transition in history. and it was a matter of country first, no matter who won. and so we took it -- we took that charge and tried to meet it as best we could by providing an incredible amount of access to both candidates before the election, and then after the candidates to president-elect obama's team. and so a difficult part was the sheer volume of information that we were passing on and trying to make sure that it was ingested by the president-elect. but one of the great things about it was the collaboration and the idea that this really was about country first, and i think president obama's team,

he's called us -- he called us very professional. i will say they were very professional, as well. i think they listened closely to what we were saying. they took the materials, and hopefully, and i think in president obama's view at least, it was one of the best ever. so that was heartening to see. again, it was all about the country at that point. >> absolutely. lou, stand by for us. we'll come back to you. >> brad blakeman is a former assistant to president george bush, served on the senior staff in the white house, on the television now. brad, what do you think of this pick of reince priebus? >> i think it's an excellent choice. the chief of staff is integral of the president, he's responsible for the management of the white house in all aspects, policy, staffing. and i couldn't think of a better choice to get president trump moving from day one.

>> specifically why? is it his experience as the three-term rnc chairman, he represents somewhat more of the establishment, the washington, d.c. establishment. he's got local roots in wisconsin, machairman of the republican wisconsin party. he erased $20 million of debt of the rnc when he first came in, so he has his own achievements under his belt. >> that's right. but most importantly he's a management expert. he's going to be able to form a west wing operation i think will be second to none. he also knows washington inside and out. he's well respected. and there is no better choice, i believe, for donald trump to have picked, if he wants to hit the ground running, no learning curve. and a president who doesn't have government experience needs those people around him who do. certainly this is the person who i think can build a staff that

is going to be in tune to what the president needs to do from day one. >> you have some tea party patriots and other conservatives who have warned precisely because of the strength that you just articulated, that he would not be the right choice, that they didn't want a washington insider, but someone that's maybe a mini trump. >> the reality is, it takes three to tango here in washington. it takes the judiciary, the legislative and the executive. in order to get anything done in washington, you have to be able to move legislation. and that requires expertise. there's no doubt if donald trump wants this aggressive outsider agenda to be successful, you need to know how the inside works. >> what about steve bannon? he's cut out of another cloth. breitbart news chairman, he does have experience at goldman sachs, and the navy, of course. but is he more like the

idealogical, you know, ego id that's going to be sitting over president trump's shoulder? you've got two competing personalities there. >> donald trump wouldn't be president-elect if he didn't have diverse people around him and people who had differing opinions who he took in his counsel. so it's complementary, if anything, and i don't think you're going to see donald trump moving away from one group to another group. i think he's going to be inclusive of all groups. >> what about the rest of the cabinet? that's going to be rolled out at some point. what do you think happening this next week? certainly there could be some announcements coming up. >> i think there will be some surprises and some great comfort for people to know that donald trump is surrounding himself with known quantities who also have the kind of resume of success that reince had. >> are you talking about rudy giuliani for attorney general? how about secretary of state,

when you talk about comfort. and talk about what you just said, surprises. >> i think people like rudy, and john bolton's name has been floated around as somebody to join the administration. certainly general flynn. but from what i understand, transition has cast a wide net to get the best and brightest to serve donald trump. and i think president trump will be successful if he surrounds himself with a diverse group of talent that is not necessarily cut from one cloth. >> brad blakeman, thank you for your insight and for your service to the country. also a professor at georgetown university in washington, d.c. deals with these subjects all the time and it's fascinating to see how the potential trump administration is now rolling out all these names. brad, thank you. >> my pleasure. >> as we wait for other guests here, it's donald trump, they promised that he was going to

act swiftly and act decisively and already he's off to a good start and setting a particular tone that perhaps will go over quite well in d.c. >> it's fascinating. that's what you need when you're president, you need someone in terms of bannon, someone to rely on privately, whose advice could be unvarnished and does not have to deal with some of the more public versions of what the chief of staff has to deal with. >> right now we want to bring in ed rollins, former campaign manager for reagan/bush in 1984. mr. rollins, are you happy with this choice? >> i couldn't be more happy. first of all, i was in the white house before i was the campaign manager. at the assistant at the

presidential level, steve bannon will be in every meeting with the president, the whole nine yards. so you've got somebody who knows the town and it's unfair to say he's a washington insider. he's an outsider who came to washington, helped the party get ready for this election. he was a tremendous asset to trump and the campaign. he built a structure that could compete with the democrats. and he understands the hill with great instincts. i think the reality is, he will be there and steve bannon, who is just an extraordinary guy, brilliant strategist who came in and drove this campaign, they will be a great combination. >> how do you think that combination, priebus and bannon, will get along? >> i can tell you this, having

been in the white house for two te terms, the first and the second, there's always a little bit of pushing and shoving. i think they're both smart guys who understand what mr. trump needs and they will basically -- sort of the hierarchy there, they'll make it work very well. you want several voices, things to be argued through. the president has a responsibility to make four or five very tough decisions every day. you want arguments. you want the best judgments. and i think it makes for a great team. bannon understands the communications side of the game. he's a tough conservative. mr. priebus understands the town, understands the players and the congress. you need the congress. this is a republican congress, and at the end of the day, to get things done, you're going to need them very much to be part of it. so i think the great -- this is

a great start. >> you pointed out how reince priebus is somebody who has been around washington and has relationships there. how do you think he knows how to get along, if you will, how do you think the congress, senate and house, will get along with bannon? >> well, i think the key thing is, bannon won't have to be on the hill. bannon is going to be in the white house. his job and responsibility is to serve president trump. you know, the chiefs of staff often times go up and he's sort of the last resort before things get to the president. there's 10 or 15 critical players in the white house, each with major responsibilities. he has to oversee all of that, the political affairs, the press operation, what have you. to a certain extent, bannon's job, he'll do whatever the president decides.

his job is helping drive the message. he'll be a worthy adviser to the president. both guys have been tested in the last four or five months. they've had to work together to make this campaign a successful as it was. so i think it's a great, great kickoff here. i couldn't be more pleased. >> and steve bannon will be chief strategist and senior counselor. he doesn't necessarily have to have direct contact with congress. but might he be someone whose ear folks in congress might want to get in order to get the ear of the president, president trump? >> what a white house can do is it can stop a lot of stuff. and you need dialogue and it's now the center of the town. it's all delegated by the president. so the decisions, the tough decisions, how you move forward

a legislative agenda is all decided in the white house. i think bannon will have a big input on that from a philosophical perspective to basically communications strategy. i couldn't think of anybody that could be a better strategist. >> and while we were talking, president-elect trump's camp made it official that steve bannon is the senior counselor and reince priebus is chief of staff. you said you're very happy with that announcement and said this is off to -- president-elect is off to a great start. we talked about that, but i want to ask you about his children, because we have seen them on the campaign trail. it is reported that they are supposedly going to play a very close -- have a close relationship with their father as he becomes the president. what do you think of that relationship, having the children involved and having strong influence over their father as president?

>> i think he trusts his three grown children as much as anybody, the fourth quarter has not been as involved and obviously the young son is not involved at this point in time. but the three major children all pictured here on your screen, you know, he has great faith and trust in them. he trusts their judgment. he sort of trained them to run the business. so they're not going to be there day-to-day, i don't believe. they'll be basically on big issues, but whatever the comfort level is what is important. being the leader of the free world is a very lonely place, and you've got to basically have some people you can bounce things off of that you can trust. it's going to be totally different than anything he's done before. there's a lot of anguish and a lot of ongoing crisises. every day a president has three or four big conflicts.

you get an economic stimulus every day, you have your senior staff meeting. there's plenty of work and responsibility that he and he alone estimate the decisions. so having his kids there who are all very smart, know how he thinks, i think that's very important. >> ed, even though you're praising mr. priebus, there are people who right now watch thing who are heart sick. they are heart sick, because the knock against him has been that he's another inside the beltway elite, and when mr. trump promised during the campaign to drain the swamp, they would say some of his supporters that he's putting his hand right in the muck of that alleged swamp by picking reince priebus and he's close to paul ryan. how would you respond to that, and how could you comfort them in their view that this was the wrong choice? >> it's definitely not the wrong choice. priebus came from wisconsin, and

wisconsin hasn't been once since 1984. he played a very critical role in the campaign i ran for ronald reagan. he played a critical role in basically not only building that for this election, but you remember, there's been four big elections in that state in the last five years which governor walker ha eer has been elected, recalled, re-elected. he understands the grassroots. he's never become a washingtonian. he shares the same kind of premise and philosophy that the vast majority of people that support mr. trump do. he came here early to try to change the town. he's not a part of the town. he understands where the swamp has to be drained and obviously, he understands the outside importance.

you can't basically just go there by yourself without having someone to understand the town. i think he's a good choice. so i'm very pleased by it. >> ed, what do you think about reince priebus being able to smooth over the relationship between president-elect trump and the speaker of the house, paul ryan? >> there's 1.5 miles between the white house and the hill. i've worked in both places. i worked as the chairman of the congressional committee. i was the white house director. the two don't think the same. the white house spends a lot of time and resources dealing with that. but it's two separate power centers. i think that reince can be a bridge between the two. it's a team, they have a clear definition. speaker ryan has his constituencies he has to deal

with. my sense is they'll have a good relationship on most issues. and those they don't, it's up to the president to convince the country to put pressure on those members. he's the perfect choice to make that all work. no offense to steve bannon, but he doesn't like to speak. basically has had his battling with them in the past. >> ed, i will tell the folks this, you wrote a book about politics. i would urge everyone to read it. "bare knuckles and bare rooms," you right about the top officials in the reagan white house. but this pick reminds me of reagan's choice of jim baker as chief of staff. talk about that interplay and why this could be a similar type of scenario. >> very similar and there's a lot of objections to that.

jim baker had run bush's campaign. there are plenty of pushing and shoving. so president reagan made it work. it's what he wanted. at the end of the day, this is what mr. trump wants. this is a smart guy that got elected. he knows their weaknesses and strengths and they know his. so i think the combination is superb and it's going to develop as time goes on. you just don't bring the same team in that you run a campaign with, because governing is different than campaigning. but you need someone that understands the element of that.

anybody that has doubts about priebus doesn't know priebus. he's a great guy, well liked by the community. a political community that the rnc is, and he knows the governors around the country. he's one of the two or three best chairman i've seen. i think he can make things happen. >> make things happen, that's the watch word from ed rollins, ed, who was associated with a pro trump pac, is a fox news contributor and is here and has tons of experience. again, your book "bare knuckles and back rooms." ed, thank you for your time on this. >> thank you very much. speaking of the white house, kristen fisher is there live now with more. what are you hearing, kristen? >> reporter: republicans on capitol hill have been watch

thing very closely, because it really was going to show you which direction the trump administration was going to go. did they want to get along with the establishment republicans, especially house speaker paul ryan, which they had been at odds with so many times during the campaign season. or were they going to go in the opposite direction and the fact that reince priebus has been put in that all-important role of white house chief of staff once president-elect trump is sworn into office, that is a very big step in the direction for congressional republicans to get along with the trump administration, especially, as i said, for house speaker paul ryan. he had a very contentious relationship with steve bannon, so the fact that he's not going to be in that role, and reince priebus is going to be in that role where he has to work more directly with capitol hill, i think a lot of republicans on capitol hill are breathing a sigh of relief. >> kristen fisher, stick around.

we'll bring you back in a little bit. joining us now is someone who has worked with reince priebus, the grandson of richard nixon. chris cox joins us now. chris, you were the mccain chairman here in new york state and ran for congress yourself on long island. before we talk about your grandfather and some similarities of mr. trump, what do you think of the choice of reince priebus? >> excellent choice. he's a great guy. he really knows both washington, as well as with the republican party base wants. this signals that donald trump is going to have one of the most extraordinary first 100 days. donald trump is signalling, i'm going to work with the republicans in congress and we're going to get things done. this is great news for america. >> you talk about, and we discussed this potential parallels between donald trump and your grandmother, president

nixon. both relied on the silent majority. the liberal elites disliked both of them. what do you see in terms oh of that? "the wall street journal" compared them both, calling it new neonixon-ism going on now. do you see an echo in donald trump of your grandfather, and potentially surprising people? >> absolutely. of course, my grandfather had an extraordinary administration full of accomplishments. the similarities between my grandfather and donald trump, they are both worried about forgotten america. my grandfather understood what that type of american was going through, and donald trump does, as well. so they are both speaking for those americans who feel like they've been left behind. i think the message is help is on the way. donald trump is going to do some wonderful things, bring jobs

back to america, create jobs in america. it's going to be a fantastic start to this presidency. >> i remember when your grandfather was in the white house with president bill clinton and gave president clinton advice and consulted with him. one of the notes i found in dealing with president clinton is your grandfather said he wasn't tough enough on russia. he was an expert on russia and he wrote a note saying that president clinton had not been tough enough when it comes to russia dealing with its neighbors. so let's look at that. this was written 25 something odd years. look what's happened with ukraine and crimea. what would your grandfather tell donald trump about dealing with russia? >> he would see some of the same problems that existed in the clinton administration are rearing their ugly head again today. a resurgent russia is certainly

presenting a problem and he would tell donald trump we need to take a hard line. we need a strong leader to stand up and protect the rights of those countries. he would also point out that russia today is expanding their nuclear arsenal, making stronger nuclear weapons and that's a major problem, as well. that's something else he pointed out to bill clinton that we needed balance. that also is a problem today. so he would see many similarities and would advise donald trump whereas we can work with russia, we need to make sure that russia didn't so aggressive in bullying other countries, in places like syria and the middle east. >> how would you say your grandfather would advise president trump in terms of dealing with russia today, how would that look? >> he would say it's important that we support countries in

eastern europe, what poland or estonia, who are part of nato or other countries that are looking for the west leadership, such as the ukraine. we should respect the sovereign boarders of those countries. >> does that mean military assistance? >> it would mean assistance from, whether it's providing weapons to diplomatic assistance, and military assistance, if need be. >> vladamir putin's spokesman has called on the trump administration to withdraw nato troops from the border along russia. what would you advise and what do you think president-elect trump should do if we come to that in a few months. >> we should not give in to russian demands and we need to have a hard line with our nato allies. and we need to show nato countries that the united states will be there and protect those countries.

he would tell donald trump that's of critical importance so that the world sees that america is keeping its word to its allies in the nato organization. >> i'm going to end, your grandmother pat nixon is watching the donahue show in 1977. your grand father wrote a note to donald trump. that's your grandfather. >> that's pat nixon to donald trump, 1987. can you believe that? >> it's incredible. it's a testament to my grandmother's ability to recognize political talent and to donald trump in is a tremendous political talent, one

we haven't seen in a generation. it was incredible that my grand parents could recognize that and be friends with him towards the end of their life. and donald trump has fulfilled that prophecy of my grandmother. >> chris, i want to take a slightly different turn. what would your grand parents suggest to donald trump in terms of what to avoid, mistakes that they learned from? >> sure. what they would tell donald trump is you have to stay true to yourself and it's important that you don't waver from the people that supported you and you reach out to all americans and you'll be the president for all americans. and whether someone has voted for you or not, you'll have to make everyone's life in america better. my grandfather did that by desegating southern schools. donald trump will have an opportunity to do great things

for america. >> chris cox, thank you for joining us here. we will talk to you soon. grandson of president nixon. >> thank you, chris. doug mckelway is out in front of trump tower in new york city. doug, you've been listening to some of the conversations. you're out there on the front line with protesters. i'm not sure if you've had a chance to share with the people out there about the news and get reaction. >> reporter: no, i haven't had a chance to talk to anyone here. they've blocked off the streets at either end of trump tower here. so there's no people i can talk to, to get their reaction to it. that said, a big question looms in my mind. i'm curious what the fate of kellyanne conway will be. she's done yomen-like work, often times filtering some of the more extreme messages he may

have sent, filtering it down to make it palatable to the listening office. she's proven herself as the only woman to win a presidential campaign in the history of the united states. so she should be playing a vital role. it reminds me of that remarkable piece i read by mark fisher in "the washington post" where he talked with senior executives who worked for donald trump in years past. it came to light in this piece that donald trump preferred the company of executive women in his inner circle, not men. which is -- sort of points out one of the unusual circumstances that we see. mark fisher interviewed a woman by the name of barbara rez, the former chief of donald trump's construction operation. she said donald trump preferred the company of women because he thought women were tougher, stronger, and smarter than men.

he called them, and this was in his term, "killers," which she said was the highest form of compliment that donald trump would make. makes me wonder what kellyanne conway's future might be. perhaps communication director, maybe press secretary. -- working as equal partners to transform the federal government making it efficient, effective and productive. they also worked together with vice president-elect mike pence to help lead the transition process in the run-up to inauguration day. . so a little taste of the press release. >> doug, talking about kellyanne conway, i'm reminded of louise sunshine who had been a top executive of the trump

organization here in new york. we all knew her and have known her for years. when you talk about the communications director versus press secretary, please describe the difference in that the communication director may not be the person who comes out every day for that presidential briefing. . >> reporter: that's right. that's the role of the press secretary. the communications director is responsible for all administration messaging across the board, not just talking to reporters in the briefing room every day. that role, we don't know who will assume that role either, but it's a vital role, whose key is to spin the message in as flattering a way as possible to the press. . but to do all of those things without lying. that's the key component of a press secretary. you can spin, you cannot lie.

>> thank you, doug. >> reporter: if you've got another minute, can i interrupt you? i wanted to talk a little bit more. i mentioned that mark fish eer piece. there was a critic of trump mentioned in that piece, the guy who ran his atlantic city casinos, whose name escapes me. he said that donald trump was fond of never having finished a book in his life. the point being, he's not a policy guy. he's not a policy wonk or a detail person, he's not going to get down into the weeds of policy in washington. he makes off times snap judgments, but he does so with an uncanny ability to make the right decision. . there was a passage in that

article where he talked about seeing a security guard at a tennis match years ago who ejected a fan. donald trump at that moment in time asked one of his su board nats to seek out that security guard. trump talked to him and hired him on the spot, of security for many, many years, a hunch, but it was a good hunch and an indication of how crump goes about making decisions. in the case of reince priebus and bannon, that was not a snap hunch decision. he has had a chance to work with the guys for months and of any component that anyone ever demonstrates to donald trump, the key component is loyalty. that above all others, and clearly they must have demonstrated that in donald trump. >> same story with donald trump's general counsel living in one of his buildings is involved in the board, and trump said i like what you do, come

together and meet me at 10:00 a.m. and he did not go and know it was serious, and he has been a general counsel to donald trump since that time. thank you, doug. arthel? >> we will bring lieu back in the deputy assistant and head of presidential personnel to former president george w. bush and served on the bush transition counsel and partner of ashcroft and sutton and reyes. we have been talking about the republican's action. how will this choice of reince priebus as chief of staff and steve bannon at chief strategist is resounding with the democrats on the hill? >> it is hard to say. i don't think it is any shock. this is -- the folks that helped guide him through the campaign. in some sense, who knows, the democrats may feel like it is someone would they know in

reince this they could be more predictable kind of folks to work with. it is unclear. probably different reactions. not surprised. >> but we talk about how important the transition of power is, the transition period for president-elect donald trump and the choice ofly chief of staff, talk to us about why it is so important in terms of national security. >> really, it is interesting, people are using the term "drain the swamp," but the swamp has been drained in a lot of ways in there are 400 positions that are going to be vacant january 20, or at least not with confirmed individuals in the leadership role. when you talk about national security you want to have your team assembled not only at white house but in the major cabinet and the subcabinet positions

very quick limit do you not want an empty government. with 270 days of the president assuming office historically, we have had attacks on the united states in 9/11, clinton had the world trade center bombings, george h.w. bush has invasion of panama. johnson, tonkin and bay of pigs with kennedy. things happen. you want to be fully teamed up and ready to go on day one or at least as close to day one as possible. arthel: on day one, we talked national security but policy, now that president-elect donald trump is working very diligently to get his team in place. how will they proceed in terms of their first 100 days as far as lay down new law in washington, dc. >> it is interesting because you need to already have been working on this before november

8. what the president and the president-elect and now his team are going to work on on poll side, day one, taking action. they are reviewing executive orders they could repeal. they are look at the path of least resistance to get things done immediately. i want to underscore something, arthel, the human capital component because without the right people you cannot have the policy. or you cannot execute the policy it is not just about selecting the right person overnight. you have to vet the individuals even in they are known commodities in the united states, before you nominate them. the last thing the president wants to do is nominate someone who wasn't vetted properly for whatever reason. and have that nominee stall. that would not an good start for the president. that would not help his policy execution. arthel: very good.

twitter has played a crucial role in the campaign. right now, newt gingrich tweeted the bannon reince priebus is tremendous, bannon for strategy and priebus for daily management. great team. before we go, lou reyes talk about the temperament of reince priebus. how much will his patience be tested? >> it is testing anyone's patience in that job. this is a job that is not only liaison with members of the capitol hill but a leadership component in be the chief of staff and a management component. managing the team inside the white house is part of that drill. his temperament could be tested from time to time. he has shown he has been able to lead and manage in tough situations and it would not surprise me if he is incredibly

successful as chief of staff. eric: there has been a lot of controversy about breitbart news and what they published and critics relaying what has been wren about and said. how do you deal with that when he is in the white house? guest: he will look forward not backward. as ed mentioned he he is not communicate on the front lines with the hill or in front of the press but advising the president. the communications teen him andd -- between him and the president will be in the oh supervise office behind closed doors. that noise would not get in the way. if they go down the path taken in the past. eric: thank you. we will be back here in an hour at 6:00 p.m. "the five," starts right now and we will see you hopefully at

6:00 p.m. >> i will see you in an hour with the latest on the pick of reince priebus and steve bannon as the first white house counselors for president trump. >> welcome to identity five," there is big breaking news on this sunday. president-elect donald trump has picked the first members of his administration. in a written announcement released moments ago the president-elect said he selected reince priebus to be his chief of staff. his campaign c.e.o., steve bannon, to be chief strategist and senior counselor to the president. he said and i quote, "i'm thrilled to have my very successful team continue with me in leading our country. they are highly quaffed leader whose worked well together on the campaign and led us to a historic victory. now i will have them both with me in the white house as we work to make america gre