last year will be in court. robert deer has been undergoing psychiatric treatment since a judge ruled he is not competent to standtrial. the judge will decide to release evidence from the case. and of course the ♪ >> president obama was in greece yesterday to meet with the greek prime minister. obama went to the birth place of democracy to say spoiler alert. that's right. obama began his final foreign trip in athens, greece, while job held his final toga party. >> good morning. it is thursday, november 17th. joe is off this morning. with us on set here in new york city, we have veteran columnist and msnbc contributor mike barnicle. managing editor of bloomberg

politics and host of "with all due respect" mark halperin and former ted cruz communication director. the transition continues. there is no reporting this morning. some which comes from joe himself. the trump administration will be moving into some key roles. a source close with the transition process tells nbc news that trump is widely expected to select -- this is one we should talk about. lieutenant general michael flynn for national security adviser. that's the position my dad held. flynn was at trump tower yesterday. he spent a lot of time with trump. "the daily caller" reports that flynn runs a consulting firm on behalf of turkish interests with ties to the government and its

controversial president and on election day flynn wrote this for "the hill." turkey is in crisis and needs our support in which he makes the case that turkey is the strongest partner against isis. stop there, mark halperin. any conflict? >> there are a lot of people tauted for jobs in this government that have private business dealings that deserve a lot of scrutiny. the united states current government considers turkey an ally and has not always sided with civil liberties and individual rights and held turkey's feet to the fire. his policy positions aren't necessarily out of whack. it's a question of whether he's received financial bits from the country and allied troops that deserve more attention. >> my understanding is he has a little bit of a reputation for saying things that are a little

bit inappropriate to say the least. he has spent a lot of time with donald trump. i know that they have a good relationship. what are the risks here? >> his appointment if it comes will be a manifestation of what is guiding this transition and a lot of transition wihich is loyalty. he's been very influential. temperamentally a lot of people have questions about whether he's the right person for the job. a lot of people had questions about the president-elect and his temperment and i don't think donald trump is going to shy away from someone because they have a big personality. >> he ran intelligence operations for stan mcchrystal in afghanistan and got very high marks when he was doing that. after he left mcchrystal in afghanistan, there are people in the intelligent community who feel that something happened to him personally in his objections to policies that were being conducted and he began quibbling

and arguing with every element of the intel community that he would interact with. i think that's where his reputation of being, you know, a contrarian actually began. >> i had limited dealings with him. i find his personality to be a lot like donald trump's. >> i'm concerned about extremely cozy ties with russia that i don't think he would have anything -- unless i'm missing something, correct me if i'm wrong, he would not help develop a strategic frame work for that relationship and he has crisscrossing ties with russia. some people call this a nightmare. he's been, i guess, known to have said very insensitive things. rick tyler, what have you heard? >> the national security adviser is an important role and as chuck todd reported last night it sets the tone for how donald trump intends to conduct national security and foreign affairs and the defense

department because he acts as the liaison between the secretary of state and department of defense. as we're reporting here this morning, he gets mixed reviews. his temperament is a lot like donald trump. that didn't seem to hurt donald trump so it's one of those that remains to be seen. >> the campaign is very different than being a representative to the world. >> it will depend on who else is around the president-elect. the national security adviser is in there every day. who is cia director? who will be secretary of state? they have their own separate intelligence operations. the defense department has its own separate intelligence agency. >> he's known for being a big critic of the obama administration. >> he was appointed by obama and left badly. >> he believes he was forced out of the obama administration because of the criticism he put forth publicly and privately of the obama administration saying al qaeda had been defeated. he said they haven't been

defeated. he went out after and some russian ties you're talking about, he became effectively an analyst for the rt network which is the russian government backed network. he would go on there and criticize president obama. some of the ties to russia you're talking about will raise questions. >> so i've got a script here that says it is said that rudy giuliani is still at the top of the list for secretary of state. i think i need to edit and say that rudy giuliani says he's at the top of the for secretary of state. i don't know who says that. does anybody here say that? >> it's written all over his face. >> i was at home yesterday trying to get some things done in my house. i walk in the room with the tv on and there's rudy going i've traveled to 19 countries around the world and i've got a lot of foreign experience. >> were you watching the national geographic channel? >> he was being interviewed again. i walk out of the room and there's rudy saying i know how to run things.

does the guy -- i worry a little bit that he's lost his filter or something because -- >> he acts like someone that already has the job. he says he's not going to be ag. that would be an obvious place to put him as a former prosecutor but he hasn't ruled out secretary of state. >> his words and his mouth. my point is for days now he's been saying i turned down attorney general. i'm at the top of the list for secretary of state. and you would think after a few days of being on the air saying that someone might say to him, hey, listen, this is really inappropriate. you don't get ahead of the president or president-elect, perhaps you want to tone it down. i turn the tv on last night and the guy is ramping it up. if you're going to be secretary of state, i think your president doesn't want you to get ahead of him and perhaps a little bit of advice, shut your pie hole.

>> he doesn't have his diplomatic face on. >> that would be the worst hire in the history of this country at this point. the guy has gone off the reservation. >> in the last few weeks of the campaign he was given wide birth within the campaign. another instance of loyalty. i believe it is still the case that until and unless someone dislodges him, he is still in line to be secretary of state. there is clear effort -- you see this with nikki haley as joe reported and another name or two may surface in the next 24 hours who are put forward to convince trump there's a better way to go on secretary of state. it begs the job of what job he can get. it's the only one he wants. >> if i'm wrong, i'll be wrong. i haven't been so far but i'll tell you right now donald trump would not hire rudy giuliani who has run his mouth about getting the job.

that sunk him. there are few things that people know about donald trump. here's what i know. here's the one thing i know. it's not a lot. he likes to leave people guessing and he likes a big reveal. that doesn't make him only a showman and comments that people make about him being a reality star. he likes to leave people guessing. that has value for something to have a magnitude when it's announced. if rudy giuliani is announcing he's been chosen at secretary of state, that will be yanked out of him so quickly because that's not how trump rolls. number two, he does believe in loyalty. you don't run your mouth. you don't run your mouth. you run your mouth, you're out. those are two things you can take right to the bank. >> my understanding is that rudy giuliani sees the president-elect a couple times or at least once a day, every day, and has since the election. so why wouldn't the president-elect after this has been going on publicly, for five or six days, say something to

him. >> maybe i'm wrong. if he hasn't been told to stop running his mouth, he's still running mi ning his mouth. >> imagine if the cabinet of the big positions ended up being nikki haley and tom cotton. >> that would change perceptions in a second. >> joe scarborough reports that john bolton is no longer under serious consideration for secretary of state and now a new name as mark mentioned has entered the fold. joe was first to report that sources say south carolina governor nikki haley is now under consideration. south carolina's lieutenant governor henry mcmaster told charleston's main newspaper they were being considered for cabinet posts. haley marked marco rubio in the primary and frequent critic of trump during the general

election but she did praise trump's tone in the days after his election. >> so far he's done -- president-elect trump has done as well. i hope he continues to do that. i hope he continues to be disciplined in his comments and what happens. i don't know. i don't know what we can expect out of communication. i'm hopeful because of the tone that he's had since he's been elected. i hope that he can continue to be that same person using that same tone that includes everyone and doesn't make anybody feel any sort of division whatsoever. >> such an interesting idea. we both, joe and i have met nikki haley. willie as well. had her on the show a few times. we moderated debates in south carolina when she was running for governor. she's always been seen as a shining star in the republican party. very up and coming and temperamentally i may not agree with her positions on a lot of issues, but temperamentally,

that's a good pick and for a lot of other symbolic reasons it's fantastic that she is under consideration. nikki haley will meet with the president-elect today at trump tower. also meeting with trump, former secretary of state henry kissinger. congressman jeb hensarling, governor rick scott, general jack keane. >> nikki haley is a star in the party. she may be president some day. if rudy giuliani's foreign policy credentials are in questions, where does that leave her? she came out strongly against

the muslim ban. beyond that, what do you know about the way she views the world or what her foreign policy is? >> you know, when you go to trump's offices and meet people there, people are buttoned up. heads are down. they're working. they are put together. and there's a hierarchy. never seen anybody like this in there. i just got to hope that -- >> you mean like rudy or nikki haley? >> i'm saying some people like rudy running around talking about themselves. it just doesn't happen. he runs a tight ship. it must be rudy himself who is floating this still. no one that i'm talking to and joe is talking to and we're talking to people close. joe often talks to trump himself. i'm not sure if they have talked about this. but that doesn't fly with the types of people that he hires. i'm not an expert. i just know two things about

him. he likes to keep people guessing, and if you run your mouth, you're out. those are pretty good rules by the way. >> he clearly likes to keep people guessing. and he likes to shake things up. i think when he dismissed chris christie, which i guess some people could see coming and mike rogers went with him, that certainly shook things up and changed the tone. if he does go with nikki haley, i think that would certainly change the tone. but i always see jared kutcher's proximity in this. i don't think trump wanted to oust corey but it seems like that was -- they deny it now but it seems like kutcher was --

>> look at pence. he clearly was interested in christie. clearly was interested in gingrich. people look now and say those two choices may have actually harmed him. i think, again, if that one example is the prolog here, he may well go with the more sober, serious credential choices rather than rudy giuliani or nikki haley. >> jared is a very nice person. he's very measured in his tone. he's really humble and he's very effective. >> he's competent in his own right. he has sacrificed his team and fortune to help his father in law get this far. >> don't underestimate what he was able to do to help donald trump especially in terms of gathering data and getting information out there.

he's going to go down in history when we learn more -- >> when you're a billionaire, your circle is small. you have to think what is their ulterior motive. donald trump has very small circle of confidants. >> one of the things you do worry about though if you're inclined to worry about these things, on intelligence apparatus of this country, you keep hearing or reading about people credentialed people automatically excluded from positions and no reason is really given. i'm talking about admiral mcraven who was vital in terms of killing osama bin laden. you've got former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff peter pace excluded. admiral mike rogers is being mentioned. you just mentioned it, mika.

there's no more credentials or intellectual or bright member of the intelligence community in this country than mike rogers. you wonder how far he'll go in the chain of perhaps getting the job. >> depends on who you ask. the trump transition team is either on track or in disarray after shake-up last week that set it off course a little bit. sean spicer says the first wave of so-called landing teams are set to be announced today coordinating the hand over from national security security council and just departments. there's been no contact between the new administration and the current one at the state department or pentagon, which has raised some concerns. a white house official tells "the new york times" agencies still are legally barreded from giving successors guidance because critical documents have not been handed over. vice president-elect mike pence was forced to sign new ones after chris christie was released.

code of conduct agreements are needed and as of last night those have not been turned in. the current and soon to be vice president met yesterday and vice president biden reflected on the transition. >> no administration is ready on day one. we weren't ready on day one. i never met one that's ready on day one. i'm confident on day one, everything will be in good hands. >> the gracious transition from the obama white house continues. to say the country is in good hands is a huge gesture. >> second-degree manslaughter is among the charges filed against a minnesota police officer in the shooting death of philando castillo. the immediate aftermath of the shooting was that unforgettable video live streamed on facebook by castillo's girlfriend. the prosecutor says castillo told the officer he had a handgun. however, he said there's no

evidence castillo ever tried to remove his gun from his pocket. also making news, two u.s. officials tell the associated press that the conductor in the september transit crash in hoboken, new jersey, suffered from undiagnosed sleep apnea. thomas gallagher was diagnosed after the crash. ntsb tells nbc news it is investigated possible undiagnosed medical impairments with the engineer that may have contributed to the accident. the train plowed into the hoboken station twice the speed limit going. one woman was killed in that accident. and finally, singer songwriter bob dylan will not be traveling to sweden to receive his nobel prize for literaturliterature. they have heard from dylan and that he has pre-existing commitments. >> what a jerk. >> he's got a show. he's got a concert. >> come on. it's the nobel prize.

you go and get it. >> is he going to do a video. hey, nobel prize committee. >> he's been cagey. not everyone is obsessed with awards. >> my gosh. the academy also noted that the award belongs to dylan whether he shows up to the ceremony or not. my dad is going. he's making a speech. >> you have to give a nobel address to the nobel committee or -- >> within six months. >> you probably have to put on a tie for that. >> what is that? all right. still ahead on "morning joe," leave it to bernie sanders to explain what democrats need to know and what they don't understand about trump voters. plus, donald trump's campaign manager kellyanne conway joins

us on set. and white house press secretary josh earnest traveling with the president in germany. first, bill karins with a check on the forecast. >> for the record, i wouldn't go either. >> right. >> i mean, i just do this because i like it. i don't want honors and awards and stuff like that. let's talk about two stories. a snowstorm and we also have a fire to talk about. first with the snow. blizzard warnings between south dakota and minnesota. first blizzard warnings of our upcoming winter season are under way. it's not going to be a heavy snow event but a large area of snow from wyoming through the dakotas today. let's talk about the fire. we are watching this. there's 37 large fires right now in the southeast. usually we say stuff like that in the summertime in the west. we get pictures from north carolina, tennessee, north georgia. this was picture yesterday of some of it. not huge big blazes but they are persistent and small and they keep firing them up.

leaves are adding fuel to restart fires after they've been cleaned up. for today, your travel forecast. we're extremely warm from texas through the southeast. no chance of rain the next seven days in the southeast and travel trouble spot colorado through the northern plains with that approaching snowstorm. new york city, mid-atlantic, new england, just great weather over the next three to four days. it's sunday when the cold air arrives in the northeast. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. afoot and light-hearted i take to the open road. healthy, free, the world before me, the long brown path before me leading wherever i choose. the east and the west are mine. the north and the south are mine. all seems beautiful to me.

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now, i will admit coming here tonight wasn't the easiest thing for me. there have been a few times this past week when all i wanted to do was just to curl up with a good book or our dogs and never leave the house again. i know this isn't easy. i know that over the past week a lot of people have asked themselves whether america is the country we thought it was. the divisions lay bare by this election run deep. please listen to me when i say this. america is worth it. our children are worth it. believe in our country. fight for our values and never, ever give up.

>> last night hillary clinton made her first public appearance since delivering her concession speech a week ago. senator bernie sanders also spoke last night and his speech and during a q and a session he tried to explain why so many people voted for donald trump. >> all across this country there are millions and millions of decent, good people, who are frightened about the world that they are living in. that is the reality that mr. trump perceived to be true. he said i hear you are hurting. i hear and understand you're worried about the future for your kids and i alone can do something about it and people voted for him. let us be clear. there are people in america who are racists. there are people in america who are sexists. who you are homophobes.

i believe that those people are a very small minority of the people who voted for mr. trump. i think a lot of people gave up on the democratic party in terms of standing up for working people and they said, okay, i'm going to go with this guy. let me also say and we should not forget this, trump enters the white house as the least popular person in this position in the history of this country. so don't think that everybody agrees with his sexists remarks, attacks on women, racist remarks, that would not be the case. i think there are a lot of people out of desperation like i'm hurting, i'm in pain, i'm worried about my kids. this guy says he'll do something for me. i'm going to give him a shot. when he comes up with ideas that make sense to working people, i think we should be working with

him. when he is racist and sexist and homophobe, we'll be in opposition. ordinary people have got to know that the democratic party has the guts to stand up to some very powerful people today whose greed is destroying the middle class and working class of this country. and if we can't do that, i don't see much of a future for the democratic party. >> just following up on sanders' thought there about racism and sexism, i guess it's worth saying. not completely highlighting that nothing like that has been done since the campaign stopped. so everyone watches and i think we have to for the good of the country, we have to press reset. having said that, that bernie sanders, that's the same guy in the primary, that's the same guy every step of the way, that was the guy that during the primary

got kind of laughed at, but i thought could win. for some reason he was never considered okay in polite society. >> on your first point, the appointment of bannon some people have seen as -- >> racist and sexist. >> that's an action that's being seized on. i think bernie sanders has been very bernie-esk in the way he's handled it. he's showing loyalty toward hillary clinton but saying what he thinks which is i would have won and she lost in part because she was too close to wall street. as everyone unpack what she did. the server was a huge political problem because of comey's role but her speeches and her fund-raising, she spent so much summer and into fall going to fundraisers and sanders points that symbolically and practically as a big reason why. >> and speeches taking $200,000.

we don't know if we're talking about hillary clinton or rudy giuliani here. mike, i got to tell you, i think the server and speeches, which i remember saying early on and to deaf ears, had a huge impact on the little guy who would hear this stuff and, go -- i say the little guy. most americans at this point. like that doesn't -- how does that jive? >> it reaffirmed the choice this was a change election and she represented status quo and people wanted change. i think democrats who are in transition here have wandered into a cul-de-sac so when you hear bernie sanders and harry reid on the floor sort of intimate that donald trump supporters have this racist element. is he talking about voters in wisconsin and pennsylvania? it seems to me if you want to track working class back, calling them racist is not a good start.

>> i think what bernie sanders said there was something different. he said, you know, they've been accused of being racist and said that's actually a small minority of the trump voter which i think is remarkable because it contradicts everything we've heard from democrats and from the left in the last eight days that racists push eed donald trp to the white house. sanders said that's not true. >> how could speeches and servers and hillary clinton making hundreds of thousands of dollars and bill clinton making million while she was secretary of state from a foreign country for four 15-minute meetings, why do you think that didn't resonate? >> i didn't say it didn't resonate. i think it did but only part of the reason why she lost. i think the biggest reason she lost was you cannot campaign for president of the united states basically on the theme of it's my turn. i think that's what a lot of people took from her candidacy. it's my turn. >> it's intermingled. it's my turn means it doesn't matter if i make millions from

wall street and state institutions. it doesn't matter because it's my turn. it doesn't matter if perhaps i get my own server and do my own thing and get things going on the side and help bill out. it's my turn. it doesn't matter at all. it's related. >> but that's been part and parcel of the clinton mo.o. for 30 years. we're in it for the greater good. trust us. don't you think it's the way it's been? >> bernie sanders made your point. the mistake we made is anointing a candidate. it's bad for democracy. we should have a debate over ideas and see who wins in the end. he says he hopes that's the lesson democrats take away from this presidential campaign. don't anoint somebody at the beginning. have a bunch of candidates. have a primary. have a debate. >> they were so busy sucking up to hillary clinton. >> bernie sanders would go on cable tv and stand on the floor. does he now want to be more than a commentator? does he want to shape the future

of the party and the country through hard work? that remains to be seen. up next, a team of rivals. hallie jackson has more on donald trump's cabinet contenders following joe scarborough's exclusive reporting yesterday. "morning joe" comes right back. you totanobody's hurt, new car. but there will still be pain. it comes when your insurance company says they'll only pay three-quarters of what it takes to replace it. what are you supposed to do? drive three-quarters of a car? now if you had liberty mutual new car replacement™, you'd get your whole car back. i guess they don't want you driving around on three wheels. smart. with liberty mutual new car replacement™, we'll replace the full value of your car. liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance.

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the transition process got thrown off when trump's children met at trump tower to go over appointments. a list of cabinet level and transition positions had been reviewed and signed off by chris christie and senator jeff sessions. that list was put together while the trump family was focused on the campaign. jared kushner sent michael flynn to the meeting and eliminated candidates for top defense positions including marine general peter pace, retired admiral billy mcgravel and former house intelligence chairman mike rogers. let's bring in nbc news correspondent hallie jackson. what do we expect today? any announcements from the trump transition team? >> reporter: question marks on announcements themselves. only because there is still a lot of discussion happening

about who gets what position as joe reported exclusively yesterday. south carolina governor nikki haley in contention according to sources familiar with transition in that secretary of state position. she reportedly will be here along with a slew of other names in and out of trump tower according to transition officials like henry kissinger and florida governor rick scott. transition team is being coy about why some of these folks are coming. some theyay are here to offer counsel. others are here to to do interviews. that's reflected in some of my sources inside the building that it's like a series of interviews. they were here late into the evening last night ordering pizza, bringing up food for the folks who were sticking around. alabama senator jeff sessions playing an important role. he was inside for about ten hours overall. today the trump transition team also pushing back on reports of turmoil. it's been clear that president-elect trump looks a lot like candidate trump adid. what we see in the campaign we're seeing in transition. whether it's infighting that

happens during changeover or jockeying for position and questions about leadership but part of the pushback they say these landing teams that will go in and work with federal agencies are being deployed starting today and that's focused on the state department, department of justice and national security community as well. a source of mine said there were question marks about whether the teams would get going until after thanksgiving. concern that there is a sluggish pace happening. at this point the trump transition is looking to move forward and get it going here, guys. >> before i let you go, mike barnicle asked me due to security apparatus he's having trouble getting into the gucci store to get loafers. >> let me know what you need. >> size 11 loers. >> he needs a clutch as well. >> thanks, hallie. must read opinion pages are coming up next. "morning joe" will be right back.

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democrats shook up leadership in the senate yesterday. senator chuck schumer was elected the new minority leader replacing senator harry reid who is retiring. schumer will meet with vice president-elect today. a leadership team will include familiar faces like senators

dick durbin and liberal colleagues bernie sanders and elizabeth warren. "the new york times" reports schumer will try to create a wedge between republican lawmakers and president-elect trump by finding common ground with him on a number of issues. the "times" says democrats are looking to work with mr. trump on infrastructure spending, child tax credits and trade agreements. speaking yesterday, schumer said despite possible agreements, he won't hesitate to challenge the president-elect and republicans. >> we will take it issue by issue, case by case, but i can tell the american people this. we're ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with republicans working with soon to be president trump on issues where we agree, but we will go toe to toe against the president-elect whenever our values or the progress we've made is under

assault. daniel writes about the new trump democrats in "the wall street journal" and he writes in part this. they'll work with donald trump if he becomes one of them, which is to say if he adopts the progressive policies and attitudes that just got the democratic party wiped out from the presidency down to dog catcher. this generation of democrats doesn't even know what the economy is anymore. there is no possibility that the democrats are going to gain began enough trump voters unless someone in their party stands up and shouts at these emperors of economic fairness aren't wearing any clothes. new senate minority leader chuck schumer has brought west virginia centrist joe manchin to his leadership team. they must defend ten senate seats in states donald trump won. if i were one of these ten, i would give the democrats 2017 to reboot their persona.

if not, i'd go over to the other side. mark halperin? >> there aren't a lot of specific policies. there's personalities. there's talk of different tactics. unless and until they have an economic agenda that has good ideas that speak to middle class and working class, they're going to struggle. >> they should pay attention to what congressman tim ryan had to say yesterday here on "morning joe." democrats for the past four, five, ten years said we have to retrain people that lost their factories jobs. everyone knows if you're working in a factory and the factory leaves town and you've lost your job, you're not all of a sudden going to be a tech guy. it's not going to happen. there's a lack of reality among some democratic leaders and democratic party operatives about addressing these issues. >> conversation we had with joe biden in philadelphia. remember sitting in the car at the convention where he said in july we don't talk to these people enough.

those are very people that put donald trump in the white house. one other thing i would say about chuck schumer for people who are terrified about a trump presidency and there are a lot of them and we've heard from a lot of them, chuck schumer is a good check against donald trump. first of all, because they have a relationship. he knows the guy. two new york guys. also because he's tough and he'll stand in the way of donald trump as he says for people who are worried about future of the republic, chuck schumer is someone to be heartened about. >> i think that's right. chuck schumer has to find a way. it's interesting because donald trump won tim ryan's congressional district in eastern ohio. he knows very well who these voters are. i find it interesting. people talk about counterbalance between reince priebus and steve bannon in donald trump's inner circle. you have schumer putting joe manchin, a rated democrat,

against bernie sanders who calls himself a progressive liberal. he has a counterbalance both sides. same thing going on there. the direction of the democratic party remains to be seen. right now donald trump has those voters. >> this group is heartening. i think joe manchin and bernie sanders and chuck schumer connecting on this level. elizabeth warren. you know, a lot of people see her as someone who has great future in politics. and a huge platform. i think it's going to be interesting. i've been watching her lately. she's still caught up in this election extremely strong on what went wrong and how wrong everyone feels, and i urge democrats who feel that way to move forward, to move through this and to be a little bit more self-reflective because that's not going to help. actually, we don't want to push the party so far left that we overcorrect on our mistakes and

then have a longer time getting back to where we need to go. but, i mean, chuck schumer is measured. >> you know, we've seen bernie sanders multiple times here this morning. elizabeth warren brings her passion. >> very passionate. >> every single day. at some point, at some point, we are eight years out from the collapse of the economy. you can't keep putting everything on wall street. the economy of this country has changed structurally and fundamentally over the past 10 or 15 years. that has to be addressed. >> elizabeth warren before trump so passionate about what happened to the middle class and so passionate about bankruptcy and banks taking advantage of people and people losing -- she studied this. >> those people put their faith in donald trump. >> yes, they did. >> not the democratic party. >> that's why i urge her to go back to what she was working on because she has this incredible platform based on experience and a real commitment to -- she had

more of a message, i think, than hillary clinton honestly. >> she electrifies the democratic base for sure. >> right now there seems to be with her and several others such -- i don't want to say hatred but disdain for trump himself and the things he's said and done legitimately so, i think it's going to trip us up. we have to press reset. we have to. >> they want to hear the democratic party say we're going to listen now. we were wrong. we weren't connecting. they got to do that. >> still ahead, here's how bob woodward describes leadership from overseas. >> loved obama. liked him. he was smart but no one was afraid of him. i think that set a tone in the world and trump obviously is going to come in and everyone is going to be afraid of him. now, how's he going to use that

power? it's in his hands. >> we're going to talk to a former top counterterrorism officer who thinks our new president will be tested sooner rather than later. plus, this is not the french revolution. that's what trump adviser steve bannon says about trump's election. bloomberg business week's josh green joins us next with his new piece. "morning joe" is coming right back.

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aspirin, or blood thinners. manic episodes or vision problems may occur in some people. may cause low sodium levels. the most common side effects are nausea, constipation and vomiting. trintellix did not have significant impact on weight. ask your healthcare professional if trintellix could make a difference for you.

joining us from washington, josh green. josh co-wrote a piece entitled "they were right." trump campaign ceo steve bannon told you this about the way he viewed trump's movement. he said he's the leader of a populist uprising but he's also an enormously successful entrepreneur who succeeded in real estate, media and branding. the voters who elected trump, bannon says, wished to par take in this story of america's success but not destroy the american system of government. this is not the french revolution says bannon.

they destroyed their society and changed their form of government. what trump represents is a restoration. a restoration of true american capitalism and a revolution against state sponsored socialism. elites have taken all of the upside for themselves and pushed the downside to working and middle class americans. crony capitalism has gotten out of control. trump saw this. the american people saw this. and they have risen up to smash it. also joining the conversation, former mccain senior campaign strategy and msnbc political analyst steve schmidt. and historian jon meacham. steve what do you think of that assess why from steve bannon? >> agree with it 100%. there is one set of rules for people at the top and different set of rules for everyone else. working class of this country which hasn't had a real wage increase in a generation. 20 plus years. bailed out banks to the tune of

almost a trillion dollars while 13 million regular people lose their homes, 12 million people lose their jobs, can't get ahead. the washington cesspool is as stinky and dirty as its ever been with the large sold out and his assessment of that is entirely correct. entirely correct. >> meacham this is not the french revolution. >> i knew you would be excited about that. >> you really can't do that here. >> willie gets overheated when we bring up french and indian war. i think people see the word restoration and in this cultural climate they worry. are you talking about a pre-1965 restoration? do you hear make america great again as make it about white men

again? and i think that that's a genuine anxiety in the country that the president-elect needs to address. the conversations i have, economic populism, absolutely. but there is -- he's not going to be able to govern and do things he purportedly wants to do if he doesn't address this larger cultural anxiety that he's about exclusion and not inclusion. >> so we are about 55 seconds away from the top of the hour now. you're watching "morning joe" on this thursday, november 17th. joe has the morning off. we are speaking with msnbc contributor mike barnicle, bloomberg politics mark halperin, historian john meachem, josh green and john schmidt. >> we spoke the morning after the election. i said you won. what will trump presidency look like? i was particularly interested to know how does a guy like bannon

who describes himself as a revolutionary, what do you do once you get into the oval office in the west wing and i think what he said with that french revolution quote is dial things back a little bit. we're not going to come in there and behead the elites like the french did. what we're trying to do is have a restoration, not just a cultural restoration but an economic restoration. if you read the back end of his quote, the idea that the middle class has been left out of the rewards and that we need to change the economy in a way that allows them to rise up again as steve schmidt said, that's a key part of trump's appeal, and i think it's why he was able to win disaffected former democrats especially in rural upper midwest states that had been hit so hard by the state of the economy since the financial collapse. >> josh, i get the economic restoration part. you reference cultural restoration.

did bannon give you any idea of what that means? >> i don't think that was a phrase in his quote. his focus in my talks was you can boil it down to it's the economy stupid. he thinks that this is really about people not seeing what they want to see in their paychecks. people liking obama on a personal level. he's got good approval ratings. but not liking the effects that obama's presidency has had in their own lives and own economic security. his big focus after the election was the economy and i think you see that in some of the ideas that are being floated by the incoming trump campaign and infrastructure bank building things getting america working again. >> we have two guys that want to get in here bad. did you talk to him in person? did you talk to him at length? yes or no? >> bannon? >> yeah. >> we talked for 20 minutes or so the morning after the

election. i think he was still in a state of shock. >> there are a lot of people, a lot of people, looking at bannon's record and are really concerned that someone with racist and sexist bends is going to influence this administration in a way that will be extremely destructive to this country and that his hiring is a setback for women and minorities. when you were speaking with him, did you feel like you were speaking to someone like that? >> i mean, no. not really. >> i'm just asking. >> not at all. look, the morning after winning a presidential election. he was not railing against other people but trying to figure out what a president trump is going to do. they are valid concerns if you look at breitbart news and stuff they publish. clearly a figure like bannon sun imaginable in any other presidency because he's so far outside of the bounds of what is considered ordinary and

acceptable. i think that just goes to show how different and unusual a donald trump presidency is going to be. >> dr. meachem, in your vast trove of memory and reference, can you recall a time in american history, american economic history, when we have been so emeshed in what i remember to as a shareholder economy in the sense that the factory leaves town, the plant closes, and the company that owns the plant that's closed, the idea of how to maintain profits is to lay people off and stock price goes up. and as steve points out, no one really in the working class has had a real pay raise in a generation. is there a point of reference in history for this? >> there's not. mainly because you couldn't move it. globalization, you didn't have

the kind of exporter manufacturing and rise of technology that's created the shareholder issue you're raising. the concentration of wealth has been hugely important and the south slave owning planters had most of the money. and in fact had to make common cause with poorer whites on racial grounds as opposed to economic ones often. obviously in the progressive era that was an answer to inequalities. in terms of -- if you were a steal magnate in what became the rust belt, you couldn't export those jobs, right? so the kinds of -- it's a paper economy. this is what populists all along have worried about. that wealth would be disassociated from creating jobs in a certain place. >> steve, do you think -- can you recall any time in recent political history where both

parties, both parties, seemingly just did not get what happened to so many people in 2008 and 2009? losing homes. losing income. losing whatever pension, 401(k) they had, losing hope. ever a time when both parties seem to just not address it? >> never. you never had a political business class as out of touch with the lives of ordinary people as we are now. i mean, part of it is the media fragmentation as we have more sources of information, people's actual horizons have become narrower. they look down. they're not exposed to opinions that challenge assumptions and confirmation bias. they go to sources to have opinions validated. eight of ten wealthiest counties in america are counties that surround washington d.c. it's like "the hunger games"

totally out of touch with the reality of working class people. you just spoke very loudly and clearly to a profound change of direction. a prime scream reallal scream a. >> with this as a backdrop, with this state of the culture and state of the economy, we had the perfect foil in hillary clinton. she represented all of those things to the voters who voted for donald trump. >> exactly. the trump message in the final couple weeks of the campaign was you're being screwed by a rigged economy with crony capitalism and look at clinton. she's got the e-mail problem. she gives secret speeches to banks. she's under investigation by the fbi. i mean, she really was the perfect foil and getting to steve's issue of economics, clinton's campaign was one that focused on demographics and not economics. they were looking to bring in

latinos, blacks, young people, women. they weren't focused on pocketbook issues in the same way that trump was. i think that's what cost her on election day. >> let's look at some of the new reporting this morning on who the trump administration will put into some key roles. a source familiar with the transition process tells nbc news trump is widely expected to select lieutenant general michael flynn for national security adviser. flynn was at trump tower yesterday. the daily caller was first to report flynn, who runs a consulting firm lobbying on behalf of turkish interests with ties to the government and its controversial president. on election day flynn wrote an op-ed for the hill highlighting our ally turkey is in crisis and needs our support in which he makes the case that turkey is the united states strongest partner in the fight against isis. as for secretary of state, joe scarborough reporting that john bolton is no longer under serious consideration for that position. a new name has entered the fold. joe first reporting sources say

south carolina governor nikki haley is now under consideration. south carolina's lieutenant governor henry mcmaster said they are both being considered for cabinet posts including secretary of state and mcmaster for attorney general. she backed marco rubio and was a frequent critic of trump during the general election but praised trump's tone in the days after the election. >> so far he's done -- president-elect trump has done well. i hope he continues to do that. i hope he continues to be disciplined in his comments and what happens. i don't know. i don't know what we can expect out of the communication. i'm hopeful because of the tone that he's had since he's been elected. and i hope that he can continue to be that same person using that same tone that includes everyone and doesn't make anybody feel any sort of division whatsoever. >> by the way, governor haley

will meet with trump at trump tower today. your impressions as someone that's been in this position of transitioning and creating new offices, new government. how is the trump transition team handling all of this? >> well, look, i think we'll know for sure in a couple of weeks. on the business channels today, they're not talking about chaos at federal express. there's no chaos at federal express. the packages are being delivered. everything is going on. so, look, i think it's obviously chaotic. i think it's entirely possible that the president-elect and vice president-elect and kellyanne and the team who are, you know, focused on the campaign wake up one morning and look down at washington and you have a transition that is stacked floor to ceiling with lobbyists. that's not what we want to do. get them out before it's too late. before they can burrow in. we'll know in a couple weeks.

a lot of names have been floated out there. not one of them is actually been announced. we don't know a single person who is going to be put forward for senate confirmation. though i would say this. you saw rand paul say to giuliani to bolton that he's not voting for them. 52 republicans. they can lose three votes. they can lose three votes. >> rand paul says he knows two or three others who would block. >> so i guarantee you, you put up a couple of these people with strange russian connections, apologists, i haven't talked to him, but i'm sure i know how john mccain is going to go on that and how lindsey graham is going to go on that and a couple of the other ones. the notion that there's an automatic rubber stamp to every nomination the president-elect puts forward is crazy. there will have to be serious

people put up that are qualified. nikki haley is a rising star in the republican party. she's very popular. you go to charleston, south carolina, you talk to an african-american cab driver, you talk to a white business owner, people love her down there. she's a very effective governor. i have no idea if she knows the difference between a sunni and a shia. i have no idea if she knows geopolitically the situation in the south china sea. i have no idea if she understands what's happening with russian expansion into the ukraine. the threat that baltics are under. you just don't know. i don't think she's necessarily ever been asked a national security question. so who knows. if she's even remotely qualified in a very dangerous world for that type of job. >> there's also word from the same source that we got this

that there's another heavy hitter that you're looking at. i think symbolically nikki haley already brings a lot to the table. i'm interested to see if there's a position that he puts her in. it would send an incredible message on many levels. >> including one of victory. >> that's the thing that i sort of thought of yesterday. here's a woman who gave a dramatic moment endorses rubio, which killed off governor bush, and her response to the state of the union she explicitly took trump on. >> it would show that trump is processing or learning or whatever the word is that people loyal to him along the way, he doesn't owe them anything and people in his words that were disloyal or not supportive of him along the way, that's the way they were. how are they going to be now? all of these people, if asked,

will be asked to serve the president. everything resets right now. i spoke to one of the most powerful women in the world who was outspoken about donald trump and advivisibly upset when he w and said she would support his presidency and we have to hit reset and women upset about this presidency happening have to press reset before they go on marches. we have to see what's going to happen. i say that actually because we've had to do -- this has been done for us when republicans have lost. and we have to be a little bit more able to give this presidency a chance. we're not the first people in the world to have lost. >> i think some of this, too, is we're having these discussions. i said this the other day. i believe that we're as close as

we've ever been to a coalition government. the trump party and the republican party fused together. the notion that republicans in congress are going to welcome a $1 trillion infrastructure package, maybe they haven't met a lot of these guys. but from a small c conservative perspective, not for it. you look at $19 trillion in death. lift sequestration off the military and balloon the deficit and debt to god knows what number. he's going to have to operate with democratic votes in a coalition government, which i don't think that -- i think we're used to a paradigm of politics that has potential to shatter if you make smart decisions. that's part of the issue with

steve bannon in the west wing of the white house and the position that he does in terms of poisoning the well with the ability to strike a coalition that for donald trump is transactional. trump to the left, trump to the right on any given issue. he can't get everything he wants to get done with just republican votes because republicans disagree with a lot of it. >> toss it to josh green for final thoughts. that's where i began this morning. one thing we know is he likes to make sure nobody knows what's going to happen. >> that is true too. also getting back to bannon and what he said. it was a message of economic populism and there are elements of that message that will appeal to democratic voters. we hear that chuck schumer may think of cooperating on infrastructure plans. if trump follows through with the vision that bannon laid out the morning after the election, it's certainly possible to see how he could put together some kind of a coalition government along the lines that steve described. it's going to take a level of

competence that i don't think we've seen yet from the transition team. >> all right. steve schmidt and josh green, thank you very much. still ahead on "morning joe," hold that thought, meacham. i know it's going to be something -- >> boring. >> inkrcredibly boring. >> stop. please. white house press secretary josh earnest joins us live from germany on president obama last overseas trip. and kellyanne conway will be here as donald trump continues to assemble his cabinet. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. world ugly and messy. they are the natural born enemy of the way things are. yes, ideas are scary, and messy and fragile. but under the proper care,

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military community by the end of 2017. i'm very proud of him. male vo: comcast. >> it's well known we have substantial differences and beliefs in ideology. he is a new york. he loves this city. i thought it was very important for him to hear what people are feeling. i tried to express to him how much fear there is. how much fear there is in communities all over this city. a whole range of people in biggest city in the country who are fearful about this current dynamic. nothing about people's fundamental beliefs changed in the meeting obviously. remains to be seen. look, the ball is in his court. people in this city and all over the country are looking to see what he's going to do. >> they met. that was new york city mayor bill de blasio speaking outside

trump tower after meeting with president-elect trump late yesterday morning. that's helpful. >> let's bring in nbc news national correspondent peter alexander. good morning. you're looking at the intention on trump's son-in-law jared kutcher and role he may play in the administration. >> he's a mystery to a lot of americans and multiple sources are telling me the president-elect's son-in-law is mulling whether to serve in the white house as special adviser or special counsel type role or stay put in new york and maintain an influential or informal role. he's as quiet as his father in law is loud. his will be an important voice in this new administration. wielding influence like few others, jared kutcher has proven to be a major player in the president-elect's inner circle. >> jared is a very successful real estate person, but i actually think he likes politics more than he likes real estate.

>> reporter: evidence of the role he might play, while trump met inside the oval office with president obama, outside the 35-year-old kutcher walked the south lawn with white house chief of staff denn. kutcher married eivanka in 2009. after critics accuse trump of anti-semitism over this tweet, kutcher defended his father in law as an incredibly loving and tolerant person. like trump, kutcher was raised in real estate taking over the family business after his father, charles kutcher, pleaded guilty to tax and conspiracy charges in 2005. the prosecutor, new jersey's chris christie. >> mr. kutcher engaged in a conspiracy with co-conspirators now kutcher could out st christ

and his allies from the trump team. >> couldn't be further from the truth. the president-elect seeks and respects his counsel very much. >> he has trump's ear reportedly urging trump to dump the campaign manager in june and coordinate the trip to mexico in august. an anti-nepotism law would limit his role in the administration prohibiting him from being appointed to a cabinet level position. >> it is possible though it's never happened, that a president could try to have a family member in an unofficial or advisory staff job that wasn't caught by that federal law. >> she's very tough. right, jared? >> still trump could put kutcher into a paid position. now as an outspoken political insurgent perps insurgent prepares to enter the white house, his son-in-law could become one of the most influential men in washington.

kutcher is being encouraged to join the inner circle. as for these questions that have been raised recently about whether or not jared kutcher would get security clearance, a transition official told me overnight that no request has been made but wouldn't rule out that that could happen down the road. willie? >> all right. peter alexander in washington. he's going to have an influence. >> like his father in law, he was underestimated. a lot of people said how can you have a guy at the top of the presidential campaign never involved in national politics and now he's clearly going to have a big role in a new world he's never been in which is running the federal government from inside. >> still ahead, kellyanne conway and josh earnest and reporting

of this presidential transition and more from hillary clinton's first address after conceding the election last week. she got emotional talking about her mother. we'll play that for you ahead. [burke] hot dog. seen it. covered it.

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he wears his army hat, he gets awalks aroundliments. with his army shirt looking all nice. and then people just say, "thank you for serving our country" and i'm like, that's my dad. male vo: no one deserves a warmer welcome home. that's why we're hiring 10,000 members of the military community by the end of 2017. i'm very proud of him. male vo: comcast.

28 past the hour. last hour we showed you hillary clinton speaking for the first time since she conceded the election last week. here's a little more of what she said last night about the impact her mother had on her life. >> i draw hope afrom a person that influenced my life every day and still does. i talked about her difficult childhood. she was abandoned by her parents when she was just 8 years old. i dream of going up to her and sitting next to her and taking her in my arms and saying, look, look at me and listen. you will survive. you will have a family of your own. three children. and as hard as it might be to imagine, your daughter will grow up to be a united states senator, represent our country as secretary of state, and win

more than 62 million votes for president of the united states. >> wow. pretty powerful. kind of incredible to see her. everyone was really -- this was before the children's defense fund last night, which is where she spoke years ago when bill was first elected. >> where she had one of her first jobs out of law school. >> a lot of ties there. all right. still ahead, white house press secretary josh earnest traveling with president obama in germany. . l is for loving the seasonal cuisine. a is for access to everything, including the aisle. r is for reclining in tailor-made bedding. and i, must be dreaming. s... so long, jet lag. polaris, from united.

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including migraine, psychiatric and depression medications to avoid a potentially life-threatening condition. increased risk of bleeding or bruising may occur especially if taken with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners. manic episodes or vision problems may occur in some people. may cause low sodium levels. the most common side effects are nausea, constipation and vomiting. trintellix did not have significant impact on weight. ask your healthcare professional if trintellix could make a difference for you.

joining us now, campaign manager for donald trump's winning bid for the white house, kellyanne conway. hello. how are you? >> fabulous. >> we'll talk about the transition and the chaos that's being reported. i put that in quotes. it's always chaos. how do you look toward the trump administration? do you see yourself as part of that? >> me personally? perhaps. mr. trump asked me immediately if i would serve with him and come to the white house with him. i think that was at 4:00 a.m. on election night into the next morning. i said right now because i thought maybe he would be going but i'm honored to be asked to serve. i do want to find out where my highest and best use is for him and for vice president-elect pence. i told him not to worry about

me. he's busy talking to world leaders and forming his cabinet and rounding out his senior staff and i'm sure your viewers can relate that mother of four young children is not who i saw. i've been with him every day since he was elected. he has come into this role beautifully. he's a guy who is very accustomed to being accountable for delivering and producing and for solving problems and for building things and he's approaching the president-elect job much the same way. >> i want to show you something. there's a lot of talk about rudy giuliani as secretary of state. i guess you've said that you know he would be an incredible one. that was tuesday. here he is talking about himself. >> there's a big merger that may go through. at&t/time warner. you could be attorney general. it could come up on your ledger in antitrust department. are these big mergers going to be opposed by the trump

administration? >> first of all, i won't be attorney general. >> you won't be attorney general? >> i won't have to decide that one. thank god. i can escape that one. >> i should ask jeff sessions that question, should i? >> wouldn't be a bad idea. i don't know who is going to be the attorney general. >> "wall street journal" reported earlier this afternoon that the choice for secretary of state in a trump administration is down to rudy giuliani and john bolton. i'm going to ask you these questions. >> john would be a very good choice. >> is there anybody better? >> maybe me. i don't know. >> kellyanne, from what you know from working with donald trump, would you say that that's the approach you want to take? >> well, mayor giuliani and president-elect trump are very close. the mayor was an inkrcredibly active. >> i know you're really good at this. i know you're really good at

this. there's no way that somebody getting out in front of himself saying i turned down attorney general when he asked me and now i would be the best secretary of state is sometng that donald trump would like to see happening with people that he's talking to privately about key top administration posts. can we be clear and honest about that? any way, shape or form that's the way to act? >> these conversations are always best in private particularly when you form cabinet and senior staff. no question. that's why i don't say too much about myself. i spoke at that same ceo council right after mayor giuliani. he felt comfortable in a room of 200 or so ceos. it was broadcast as well. it was a lighter environment than perhaps he would encounter in other situations. i think rudy giuliani would be phenomenal at many different positions in president trump's cabinet. i can expect him to be continuing to be an adviser. he would command presence around the world if he was secretary of state. i will tell you as somebody

that's highly involved with the transition, we have long short lists for every position. some would not surprise you and some would absolutely surprise you. >> if he says he's on the top of the list, is he wrong? >> i don't know. i can't answer that question publicly. >> one of other names reporteded by joe scarborough that governor nikki haley is on the list. >> she's coming to visit today. she and president-elect trump will meet at trump tower. and also a meeting with prime minister abe. we're sensitive that we have a president and commander in chief still in office so these meetings are far less formal than they will be once president trump is inaugurated. >> what is he meeting with nikki haley with? >> he's been talking to all heads of state and senators. she's qualified for many positions. we know often that sometimes

advisers and people on the outside looking in like to sort of populate the press with different stories that may or may not be accurate. it's a way to float a trial balloon and have the world as your focus group in terms of will this personi inbe on the st list for x position. >> do you believe that she would be qualified to be secretary of state? >> i didn't put myself out there for that. she's been a remarkable governor of south carolina and someone that came around toward the end to support president-elect trump and we appreciate her support. other people in south carolina who are republicans did not. and that's fine. i'm incredibly gracious even to those who didn't support us because i think when you're forming a government and when you're representing all americans as donald trump promised he would, the night or wee hours of the morning after he was elected, willie, it's important to walk that walk. i'm very happy that just this week you had everyone from president obama to vice president biden basically signaling they want to work together with a new administration but also in words

of vice president biden just yesterday after meeting with mr. pence, nobody should expect the government to be formed overnight. that's not how it works. it would be irresponsible and to hear vice president biden say that he's confident that this government will be in good hands with donald trump and mike pence and that's key. we look forward to welcoming governor haley to trump tower today. >> there are a ton of leaks and reports that confuse people and names are dropped. one of the leaks last reports has it that general flynn has eliminated admiral mcraven, peter pace from playing any role in the security apparatus, intelligence apparatus of this country. a, is that an accurate report? and b, do subordinates within the transition team have the ability to draw lines through people's names? >> the answer to your last

question is no and forms the first question, mike, which is that donald j. trump and he alone are going to decide who is in and who's out. these are decisions only he can make. he's the man elected president of the united states and commander in chief. i would politely say to everyone don't fool yourself into thinking that anyone else will have that ultimate decision. having said that, he takes the counsel of many people particularly those who were his close 8 to 10 advisers throughout. general flynn is one of them. he rode the plane with mr. trump. he talked to him national security issues during the campaign. that will continue. he's in the tower most days as well on transition. it's donald trump and donald trump alone who makes his ultimate decisions. only one person's name is on the ballot and it was his. >> do you have a time line for a first cabinet appointments and what's the goal for completing the cabinet? >> we took a look yesterday and

the day before on what the time line has been for past administrations and we're right on target. we're happy with that. nothing to rush through. those decisions are being made quickly and imminently but they'll be announced either before or after thanksgiving and then you'll see a number of announcements. so far they announced two senior staffers. reince priebus and steve bannon. i think he'll decide and he's probably closer to some of those decisions than people realize. you just don't know. nobody is in a rush to do the wrong thing. he's taking counsel of many different people. we're very happy. i was at transition office in d.c. this week. very happy with the buzz of activity down there. i saw everybody from old reagan hands who worked on his transition and administration to millennials born after president reagan left the oval office. it's exciting to see that type of activity. it's not glamorous work. it's important and essential work. >> we're going to pause for a second and go to berlin. white house press secretary josh earnest is with us now traveling

with the president. josh, good to have you on the show this morning. the president has really -- >> good morning, mika. >> a little bit of delay. we'll be careful about that. the president is meeting with merkel today. what are we hearing abroad about the incoming president-elect? >> well, mika, you know, there was a lot of chatter. president obama acknowledges over the course of the last year or so that there were questions from world leaders about what kind of decision the american people were going to choose about the future leadership of our country. and certainly there is a lot of interest that other countries including our close allies in greece and germany place on who the american president is. there is great deal of interest in the outcome of the election and a great deal of interest in what kind of foreign policy the president-elect will pursue and what president obama has made the case for is the long

standing strong bipartisan transition of strong relations between the united states and our nato allies. president obama dedicated a significant portion of his presidency to making sure that relationship was deepened and strengthened in a way that had enormous and significant national security and economic benefits for the american people and there certainly is a tradition of both parties choosing to pursue that but president-elect trump will have to determine the path he wants to chart from here. >> i'll jump to another topic. just this morning, actually started yesterday, the final and last children's hospital in aleppo, syria, was bombed. reports richard engel has talking to one of the doctors inside there asking for help once again from the west saying president obama has done nothing for us. as you look at it now, here we are in november now, just a couple months left in president obama's administration, what more can the united states be doing right now to help those doctors and those children in

aleppo? >> willie, what is true is that the tactics used by the assad regime and also used by the russians are disgraceful. they are frankly targeting innocent civilians trying to bomb them into submission including by targeting hospitals and playgrounds and other locations that are frequented by innocent civilians including women and children. it is an outrage. the moral outrage of the ternational community has been expressed loudly in opposition to this. the question really is what can international community do led by the united states to try to bring that violence down and try to make sure that innocent people are not caught in the crossfire. secretary kerry has been working in the face of difficult challenges to try to bring the parties together to resolve that violence. it's not worked. we have seen them target innocent civilians and bomb them

into submission to achieve their objectives on the ground that detract from our ability to focus exclusively on the extremists that target the united states. >> has president obama expressed to you regret for not interve intervening sooner in what's become a horrific crisis? >> willie, the president since the beginning has been very focused on a diplomatic solution. that is our only path. we said that from the beginning. there's no military solution we can impose on the terrible civil war inside syria. we've been working doggedly to pursue this option. it's complicated. we've worked successfully to build a strong international coalition focused on isil and protecting us from isil but also trying to resolve this diplomatic problem inside syria because of russia's intervention they put that diplomatic option farther into the future. we've made the case that actually is contrary to russia's interests. russia doesn't benefit from chaos continuing inside syria. the only place in the world

where they have a military outpost outside of the former soviet block. they are determined to prop up the assad regime and willing to engage in disgusting tactics to try to make that a reality. at the end of the day, the role for the united states and role that this commander in chief has played is to mobilize the international community and to go after isil and put diplomatic capital on the world to pursue a diplomatic solution to violence inside syria. we haven't made as much progress against isil in pursuing that diplomatic solution. >> josh, we realize he this is the only the second leg of the president's foreign trip. but the election was held a week ago. a little more than a week ago. what has been the level of concern? how high is the level of concern among our allies about a strike either in europe or domestically here in the united states by terrorists elements in order to

test the incoming president-elect of the united states and his administration? what's the level of concern over that? >> listen, mike, there's always vigilance about doing what is necessary to protect our homeland and to protect our allies. the truth is that vigilance would be in place regardless of whether or not an election just occurred. this is the kind of cooperation and coordination with our intelligence community, with our diplomats and militaries and our law enforcement that's critical to the success of our efforts to keep our country and our allies safe. we're actually talking about this in an appropriate place. here in germany there's been a robust domestic discussion about what role german law enforcement and german intelligence officials should play to enhance national security officials here in germany. what is undeniably true is that we have put in place some reforms that ensure civil liberties of the american people and citizens of our allies are well protected even as we share

the kind of critical information that makes it harder for terrorists to do harm either in germany or in the location of our allies or in the united states. that cooperation is critical. that kind of cooperation is built into the institutions of the united states and that's cooperation that we certainly expect and hope will continue into the next administration because it undeniabliableably a national security around the world. >> thank you. now back to our conversation with kellyanne conway. thanks for waiting. awkward pause. let's bring this conversation to you as we look at the transition talking about syria and russia. you look at what's happened over the last few years between russia and ukrne and killing of reporters. this relationship with putin everyone has been so critical. it's been too warm. he cozies up but some see it as admirable that there is perhaps

an effort to reset relations with russia, but it does have to be put together with a framework. terms. is the transition studied, stea this? i'm looking at flynn. i'm looking at nikki haley. i see the value on certain levels, but i don't see steady accomplished hands that could surround this president. >> there are many, and there are -- >> who are they? >> mika, i'm not really even sure where this starts, that he's got some relationship with vladimir putin. he has made very clear that he hardly knows him. they talk on the phone this week. >> i'm saying it's actually perhaps even admirable that he -- >> i understand. >> -- looks to sort of find a way to communicate and work with him, but it has to be based on something. it has to be based on history and based on what putin has done, exactly what his impact on the world is, his what his angles are. that is where studied, steady

accomplished hands need to surround this president-elect. who are they? >> well, there are many counseling him behind the scenes. i don't want to always reveal what is happening privately, but i will assure you that given the number of people in the national security and intelligence community available to president-elect trump and vice president-elect pence, everybody should feel reassured by that. frankly, we're going to look toward this administration also, and they have been incredibly helpful in promising to make a smooth and peaceful transition. i'm sure if president-elect trump wants to know more about that from the current administration, he'll learn it. there are many people who worked for presidents bush, president reagan, many folks in the intelligence community over the last eight years who have not been in the administration, obviously, but are professionals and know what's happening. i also want to make clear something that was said in the debates by pence and trump, which is if you can work together with putin on, say, something like coming together to defeat radical islamic

terrorism, if you can come together to really stop the advance of isis, which we do not consider to be the jv team, we do not consider to be enemies, we consider to be savage murderers who must be stopped. we had the one year anniversary of paris. so americans don't feel any more secure about that, if you look at the polling, one of the impetuses that caused him to be elected president. >> questions on foreign policy are no longer theoretical, as you know. he's the president-elect. he has the inbox now, the daily briefing. i put to you the same question i asked josh earnest. today, the last remaining childrens hospital in aleppo was leveled. children killed. doctors killed. huddling in the basement, and one man, one doctor said to richard engel, president obama has done nothing. what different now would donald trump do right away to stop what's happening in soar yeah? >> like any other problem. first you have to acknowledge it and then you have to take an

approach, critical and immediate steps to address it. sear qua is obviously, aleppo, syria, a humanitarian crisis and we should be aware of that. that's the doctors' point of view being on the ground there, but any of us in our cushy, luxurious lives looking at these pictures has to agree it's heartbreaking. i keep reting the statistics of the sheer number of children who have lost their lives or limbs or been maimed because of this. this is a place where i think a strong president as leader is important. to say this is going to be -- this is going to be a first priority to me. i thin pence and trump both addressed it in the debate. mr. trump has addressed it outside of the debates. the answer is not also to increase the number of syrian refugees 550% coming to america. i can tell you having campaigned with donald trump all across this country, that is one of the most popular things he was talking about, is helping the humanitarian crisis in syria if he were elected, but at the same

time, the answer is not to have people coming in here. >> being a strong leader means american force goes in there? >> all of that will be examined. he talked about it in the campaign. i'm not going to speak for him with respect to that, but he's made it clear his position. >> applause lines are a lot different, mike, i'll let you take it. he also talked about the wall. that got a huge applause line. we know more mexican immigrants are leaving than coming here. so it was kind of a farce. >> it's not a farce. >> to talk about the wall, they're pouring in. it was not true, and that was a big applause line. i want to be careful about applause lines. >> i'm sorry, it is true that people are coming in. >> pouring in? they're leaving, kelly ann. >> they're leaving because they can't find work here. it's not affordable to be here. >> then they're not pouring in. i just have to finish. >> i think america disagrees with that, mika, in terms of -- we either are a sovereign country that has boundaries or we're not. we have seen the footage from the border where people are

coming across. i think his entire immigration policy was different in this way. he took an issue that 2% or 3% and he elevated them into the conversation in a way that -- >> i get it, but we now have to be realistic about exactly what it is we're doing. i'll hold you over if you'll say stay, because mike has a question. we need to get to the top of the hour. kelly app conway, stick with us. >> i have an 8:00 a.m. meeting. >> we have much more ahead in just a moment. ♪ ♪ ♪ style lets you stand out from the herd.

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and work together in real time to help those that need it. the ability to collaborate changes how we work. what we do together changes how we live. all right. we're just at the top of the hour. one minute away. welcome back to "morning joe." we're here with kellyanne conway, mark halperin here with us along with mike and me and willie geist. >> i have one question. after the very gracious meeting with president barack obama in the oval office, what have you noticed? you have been traveling with donald j. trump throughout the fall and much of the summer. have you noticed any discernible difference in his demeanor, in his assuming the office of the

presidency? >> yes, but when you say difference, it would presume that somehow he's had some transformation. this is who he is. you can't be a successful businessman who brings together transactions and individuals, labor groups, funders, bankers, mike, and not be somebody who knows how to negotiate, build consensus, produce, deliver. that's what i see. he has been incredibly honored by the reception that he received from president obama. i know mrs. trump, melania trump, feels the same way about her meeting with first lady michelle obama. they could not have been warmer. by the way, the nerves are still very raw. that happened within 36 hours of being elected president of the united states. and president obama went out and campaigned very hard for hillary clinton, said things like my legacy is on the line, don't undo, don't let them undo things. was pretty vicious about donald trump, but they love america. and they both have interest in a

peaceful transition. >> i guess i'm talking about the weight and responsibility of the presidency, though. >> he knows it. he's there. and he assumes it. people are going to see a great president in donald trump. the man is brilliant. the man ran for all the right reasons. there is no prestige, fame position or money he was seeking. if anything, he and his family have sacrificed enormously for him to take on this campaign, in fact, this position. and he's ready. i actually love seeing how engaged he is during the transition because if anybody deserves a little bit of rest, a long winter's nap and a vacation, it's donald trump. he's there sitting at his desk. he's on the phone. he's taking the counsel of many people, and i see in him the next president of the united states, and it seems that perhaps president obama saw that as well, because yes, he was gracious and warm and welcoming, as he would, of course, be, but his comments since suggest that he and vice president biden feel, quote, comfortable and confident that mike pence and donald trump will be our next

leaders. >> they certainly are pressing the reset button in allowing the relationship to evolve. kellyanne conway, thank you very much. thank you for doing that for us. >> it is the top of the hour. we have new reporting this morning of who the new trump administration will be putting into key roles. a source familiar with the transition process tells nbc news that trump is widely expected to select lieutenant general michael flynn for our national security adviser. flynn was at trump tower yesterday, and for secretary of state, there's a new name in the mix. joe skrcarborough first to repo that sources say nick kki haley under consideration and kellyanne just confirmed she'll be meeting with donald trump today. south carolina's lieutenant governor told charleston's new newspaper they're both considered for cabinet posts. h haley for several posts, and

mcmaster for attorney general. haley will meet with trump later on today. we'll follow that meeting. we have a lot to talk about. i first want to sort of pick apart the flynn national security adviser position, mark halperin. there's some issues here. some might be very concerned about things he said in the past, things he's done in the past, and this coziness with russia that he has. can you explain? >> well, he's got stuff on his resume that people are going to look at. it's not a senate-confirmed position. if donald trump wants him, just like with steve bannon, he can say i don't care about the investigative pieces. i don't care what people say about his temperament. he has donald trump's trust. you have seen in president obama's first national security adviser, jim jones, if someone is in that job and they're overmatched by cabinet officials, defense, state, et cetera, that the job can be reduced in importance. >> right. >> and so i'm not sure what kind of a national security adviser he would be, except that he

would be controversial. and he would be someone who would have a chance to be a dominant figure, but i don't think it's a shoe thing. >> it makes state and defense more important if he's chosen. he has been there along the way. i think there's good reason to believe that this is serious. meacham? >> there's also, as you know better than anybody, the traditional role of the national security adviser is an honest broker, not as an advocate of policy but as someone who is supposed to bring the options to the president from the pentagon, from the state department. and be someone who makes sure there's a full and frank exchange of views. and so anyone who has a stronger idealogical disposition would, you would think, would tend to put their thumb on the scale. >> as i would know more than anyone, perhaps there could be friction between the national security adviser and the secretary of state. >> i don't know if that's ever happened. >> kissinger had both jobs. >> we'll ask henry. go ahead.

>> i was going to say, again, yes, it used to be an honest broker, but we have seen people who are architects of the entire foreign policy. i think one of the biggest open questions is how much is donald trump going to care about the day-to-day aects of foreign policy? i think the secretary of state and pentagon, as you said, will be a huge deal. flynn, i -- my guess is, will be more like an honest broker inside adviser than he will to try to run both pentagon and state. again, depending on who ends up getting those jobs. >> he has had an interesting career. he has -- he's a military guy who has always had, i'm told, sort of a chip on his shoulder about the military elite. the aristocracy of the military. he made his way up to general. he ran intelligence for stan mcchrystal in afghanistan, and by all accounts, did a very, very good job. but always would push back and argue, sometimes really vociferously, with other

intelligence agencies, with the cia, when he became head of the dia, the defense intelligence agency, the same pattern evolved. he would have his own information, his own strong opinions and would push back and argue against other intel that was brought to the situation by the cia or the nsa. but as we said earlier, it's going to be dependent on who is secretary of state, who is the new head of the cia, who is the head of the nsa. >> i think john mccain is going to be a huge factor here in how much he is a critic of the administration, as he is of the current administration, as he was of the bush administration at times on foreign policy. one of the big three jobs, they need someone who can talk to john mccain. >> is the impression that the last person in the room is essential with trump fair? the last person he talks to? >> the last person in the room is donald trump. >> exactly. >> you know what i mean. there's a conventional impression -- >> great story in the

"washington post" today about the circle of people around him who are going to be influential. we have never had someone announced not as chief of staff who reports directly to the president. you have bannon, priebus, jared kushner and mike pence all either in or around the white house that i think it's an open question. >> and jared is the last person in the room. >> he consults people the way bill clinton does. dolling around, who is available. he'll ask kellyanne about national security questions because he's just -- he doesn't have a hierarchical sense. >> jared is going to play a huge role and has a very interesting point of view that he brings to the table. in some ways, very much an outsider. and no experience in the process, but a brilliant, brilliant guy. but your point is the one to take home. donald trump's the last person in the room. and that is very clear. that's very different than things we have seen. >> interesting column from ross

in the "new york times," looking at what the trump years may bring. can trumpism survive a trump administration. donald trump's revolution was so sudden and sweeping that it raced ahead of itself, capturing the white house before the personnel and foot soldiers that actually operationalizing trumpism would require. he's a critic of the iraq war and neoconservatism. since he's malleable, it's quite possible if he appoints full spectrum hawks to key posts, full spectrum hawkishness is what we'll get. this is what a lot of people in the republican party are hoping for. to the extent that personnel is policy, they believe once we're well into the trump era, his populist sin thusis will look like a prop instead of a right-wing revolution. rick tyler is standing by. what are the chances this becomes a conventional republican white house?

>> i think ross is right and wrong. i don't know that -- he is trusting that he's got -- that he's got people on, that's the way he manages, right. he's not going to be the day to day, but again, like we said, he's the last person in the room. he's ultimately going to be presented options. he has a very keen sense of how to make decisions. so it's key that he picks good people. his group is going to be very, very small. i think, and he's going to let those people manage. he'll be offered options and he'll make strong decisions based on the options. that's the sense i get of how he's going to govern. >> rick, do you feel comfortable calling donald trump a republican? >> i never did. he has not been the idealogical, but look, mike, i'm kind of -- i'm a little optimistic actually. i have been a trump critic, but i do think he has the potential to be a very transformative president. if he would recognize the things that are wrong with this

government. a lot of it is, it is a rigged game, and there is a bureaucratic reform that is necessary. these bureaucracies were invented in the 1880s. they were codified into law in the 1930s. they were marginally good in the agrarian and agricultural age. they're completely inappropriate for the information age. it's why a lot of things don't work. if he could rethink government, which hasn't been done. the clinton/gore campaign tried to do it, but it didn't -- there was no serious effort. that's what needs to get done. if he can do that, he could be very transformational. >> jon meacham, before we go, bore me, please. >> not since the gilded age has there been something as important at the french revolution. throw it all together. history world salad. >> any update on the teapot scandal? >> very important.

>> i think they're more important now than ever in some ways. >> i'll e-mail you later. >> please. it will be like 18 pages long. i can't wait. >> any similarities between dolley madison and -- >> oh, my lord. >> how about the whiskey rebellion. >> very on point here. pennsylvania. >> you think i was kidding. >> it all goes back to pennsylvania. >> pennsylvania is incredible. that story in itself. jon meacham, thank you very much. still ahead on "morning joe" -- >> just mr. sander's refusal to concede in a timely way, constant harping that she was corrupt furthered mr. trump's message and contributed to the con man's catastrophic victory. what do you say to those critics? >> i say to those critics, number one, you could argue the exact reverse. that maybe i would have been elected president of the united states. >> bernie sanders lays out the

trump playbook, so democrats can try to understand. plus, we'll hear from hillary clinton herself in her first public remarks sincehe conceded the race. >> but first, bill karins with a check on the forecast. bill. >> and just for the record, if everyone is like me and they have to look up everything on google what meacham says, gilded age was the 1870s. >> go, bill. >> the snow storm in the plains is starting. we're going to move it right across the country. this is a wide swath for this time of year. the heavier snows will be north of sioux falls. blizzard conditions late tonight into tomorrow. that's travel trouble tomorrow. minneapolis gets spared. and how about the fires in the southeast? 37 large blazes that are burning now. fire personnel from around the country is convening and heading towards the southeast to help because there's no rain in the forecast over the next seven days. you can see where all the fires are located. nine large ones in kentucky. nine in north carolina, and six large fires burning currently in

tennessee. georgia has four, by the way. so the forecast for today, this will be the end of our record heat, by the way. 78 in oklahoma city. 80 today in st. louis. here we are only a couple days away from thanksgiving. but the cold air will move in behind the storm in the days ahead. the snow storm friday moves into canada, but the cold air will move into texas. for everyone east of the mississippi, you get two orthree more days of the incredible warmth. friday, 78 in atlanta. 68 in d.c., and mid 60s in new england. i feel bad for the ski resorts trying to make snow and let it melt every day. washington, d.c., your great stretch of weather goes from now until saturday. on sunday is when the colder temperatures will arrive for you. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back.

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here tonight wasn't the easiest thing for me. there have been a few times this past week when all i wanted to do is just to curl up with a good book or our dogs and never leave the house again. >> last night, hillary clinton made her first public appearance since delivering her concession speech a week ago. senator bernie sanders also spoke last night, and his speech during a q&a session, he tried to explain why so many people voted for donald trump. >> all across this country, there are millions and millions of decent, good people who are

frightened about the world that they are living in. that is the reality that mr. trump perceived to be true. and he said i hear you are hurting. and i hear and understand you're worried about the future for your kids. and i alone can do something about it. and people voted for him. let us be clear. there are people in america who are racists. there are people in america who are sexists, who are homophobes, who soar in the very ugly remarks made by mr. trump, somebody who they felt comfortable with. let me also say i believe that those people are a very small minority of the people who voted for mr. trump. i think a lot of people gave up on the democratic party in terms of standing up for working people, and they said, okay, i'm going to go with this guy. let me also say, and we should not forget this, that trump

enters the white house as the least popular person in this position in the history of this country. so don't think that everybody agrees with his sexist remarks, his attacks on women, his racist remarks. that would not be the case. i think there are a lot of people out of desperation saying i'm hurting. i'm in pain. i'm worried about my kids. this guy says he's going to do something for me. i'm going to give him a shot. when he comes up with ideas that make sense for working people, i think we should be working with him. when he is racist and sexist and homophobe and islamophobe, i think we're going to be vigorously in opposition. ordinary people have got to know that the democratic party has the guts to stand up to some very powerful people today whose greed is destroying the middle class and working class of this country. and if we can't do that, i don't

see much of a future for the democratic party. >> just following up on sanders' thought there about racism and sexism. i guess it's worth saying, not completely highlighting, that nothing like that has been done since the campaign stopped. so everyone watches. and i think we have to for the good of the country, we have to press reset. having said that, that bernie sanders, mark halperin, that was the same guy in the primary. that's the same guy every step of the way. that was the guy that during the primary, i got kind of laughed at, i thought could win. but for some reason, he was never considered okay in plight society. >> on the first point, the appointment of bannon, some people have seen as -- >> racist and sexist. >> so that's an action. >> okay. >> i think bernie sanders has been very bernie-esque in the way he's handled this which is

he's showing some loyalty to hillary clinton but he's mostly saying what he thinks, which is basically i would have won and she lost in part because she was too close to wall street. as people start to unpack everything she did, people talk about the server, and i think that was clearly a huge political party particularly because of comey's role, but her speeches and her fund-raising, she spent so much of the summer and into the fall going to fund-raisers, and i think bernie sanders points symbolically and -- >> and the speeches taking $200,000. we don't know if we're talking about rudy giuliani or hillary clinton here. >> that's not why she lost? >> mike, i got to tell you, i think the server and the speeches, which i remember saying early on, and to deaf ears, had a huge impact on the little guy who would hear this stuff and go, and i say the little guy. most americans at this point. like that doesn't -- how does that jive? >> it reaffirmed the choices.

ultimately, this was a change election. she represented the status quo, and people wanted change. the democrats who were also in transition here, have wandered entoa bit of a cul-de-sac. when you hear bernie sanders and harry reid on the floor intimmate that donald trump's supporters have this racist and misogynist element, is he talks about the same voters they lost in eastern ohio, in michigan, in wisconsin, pennsylvania? it seems to me if you want to attract this working class back, calling them misogynist and racist is not a good strategy. >> think what bernie sanders said was something different. they have been accused of being racist and misogynist. i think that's a small minority of the trump voter, which i thought was remarkable because it contradicts everything we have heard from democrats and left in the last eight days, that racists pushed donald trump to the white house. bernie sanders effectively last night said that's not true. >> mike, let me challenge you. how could the server story and the speeches, hillary clinton making hundreds of thousands of

dollars. bill clinton making a million while she was secretary of state from a foreign country for four 15-minute meetings. why do you think that didn't resonate? i don't understand. >> i didn't say it didn't resonate. i think it did, but it was only a part of the reason why she lost. i think the biggest reason that she lost was you cannot campaign for president of the united states basically on the theme of it's my turn. and i think that's what a lot of people took from her candidacy. it's my turn. >> coming up on "morning joe," will the trump administration be ready for that 3:00 a.m. phone call? we'll talk to national security experts on the immediate threats they could face. plus, the trump administration eyes completely reshaping american energy policy and the big headline today, the u.s. has discovered the biggest oil and gas field on american soil ever. we're back in a moment.

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before we get back to politics, can i show you the best big brother in the world? seriously. the cutest thing. all right, this is a home video,

like a camera video. look at this baby. see the baby on the changing table? and mommy got distracted. oh, best big brother in the world. >> what a grab. >> best big brother in the world. he gets a big hug. >> sign that kid up. >> oh, my goodness. best big brother. >> what a catch. >> look at mom. she's right there. she's like, i'm tired and -- oh, i love my little boy. >> look how he tracked that baby. >> that's makes me so happy. >> willie mays out there. >> i love it. mike, put your microphone on. gosh. >> democrats -- get dressed, okay. >> he can't find it. >> oh, my lord. are you good? >> you can use mine. >> democrats shook up their leadership in the senate yesterday. senator chuck schumer was elected the new minority leader. replacing senator harry reid, who is retiring.

schumer will meet with vice president-elect mike pence today. schumer announced a ten-member leadership team yesterday. and it looks pretty good. it includes some familiar faces. dick durbin, patty murray, and he brings on more moderate democratic senators, joe manchin, mark warner, as well as liberal colleagues bernie sanders and elizabeth warren. that's a good balance. in the house, nancy pelosi formally announced she's running for re-election as house minority leader. she wrote in a letter, quote, it is with both humility and confidence that i write to request your support for house democratic leader. as of this writing, i'm pleased to announce the support of more than two thirds of the caucus, so people are with me, she's saying. the move comes after house democrats announced yesterday that leadership elections would be delayed. reports have surfaced that some house democrats are trying to woo joe crowley and others are looking to tim ryan who is expressing his interest. it's been on the air a lot

talking about it. joining us from capitol hill, kasie hunt. kasie, a lot of big battles ahead in congress for democrats within their own ranks a with donald trump with his own party. >> mika, that's right. look, there's a lot of soul searching going on right now for democrats. and my feeling is that it's on the way to getting worse before it gets better. but chuck schumer, he's a different kind of leader than harry reid was. he was obviously has been the leader in the senate for quite some time, is now stepping down. what you're seeing schumer try to do is make sure that everyone person who might cause him a major headache in the next two years is as close to him as possible, is getting a seat at the table. that explains why you have bernie sanders standing there and joe manchin as well. the senator from west virginia. coal country. obviously, they're a little at odds idealogically or have been historically, and schumer himself reflected a little bit on the challenges that democrats are facing now that they have

lost this election. and explained his new leadership team a little bit here on capitol hill yesterday. take a look. >> last tuesday night was something none of us expected. i suspect that's true for many of you in the press. as well. it certainly didn't go the way we democrats hoped. it was a tough night, no doubt about it. when you lose an election like this, you can't flinch. you can't ignore it. you need to look it right in the eye and ask why. analyze it and learn from it. adding bernie, tammy, and joe to our team shows we can unite the disparate factions of our party and our country. the team is idealogically and geographically diverse. it mixes the wisdom of experience with the vigor of yug, at least in senate years. >> the vigor of youth in senate years. i think he underscored right there the real problem that democrats have going forward.

that's that their bench has really been stifle ed by these leaders in power for years, decades. the clintons would have been a good example. the senate hasn't had a lot of movement. on the house side, there's nancy pelosi who has been in her position since the president took office. she was previously speaker of the house. a lot of the angst you're hearing from house democrats is over that exact problem. a lot of the younger members of the party feel like they have never had a chance to rise. and it's unlikely still that she's going to get unseated because she does have the support of so many people in that caucus, but i don't know that it's going to sauv democrats' greater problems here, mika. >> mike. >> kasie, can you define the dierence between the relationships between harry reid and mitch mcconnell and chuck schumer and mitch mcconnell? >> that's a great question, mike. i think the relationship between harry reid and mitch mcconnell had become classified. the two were so used to the way they operated with each other, it was such animosity that

everything had ground to a complete halt. there is an opening here for democrats because chuck schumer is someone who has prided himself on having relationships with people across party lines. he views himself as a deal maker. he wants to get credit for the deals he makes. you know, he has something of a relationship, as a new york poll, with donald trump even. i think there is a potential opening here for the two of them to work together in ways that we haven't seen on the other -- in past years. the challenge is going to be that you're going to have two sets of battles up here on the senate side in particular. the first is going to be over confirming donald trump's nominees. so that does not promise to exactly be a warm and friendly conversation. and then you're likely to have the supreme court nomination fight. which is one area where there is very little common ground between people like chuck schumer and mitch mcconnell. that is one that when you talk to republicans about trump's win, the one thing they say is, well, this is definitely better because we have to deal with the

supreme court vacancy. so i think that is sort of foreshadowing people getting back in the trunchs on the sides we're expecting them to. >> kasie hunt in your element. thanks very much. we look forward to having you on the set tomorrow. >> just to add to the challenges of what chuck schumer is looking at. two years from now, we could look at a filibuster-proof majority for republicans in the senate. they have senators, democrats do, in ten states that donald trump won going away. if that energy and that momentum and that trumpism holds through two more years, democrats could be swept out of power in a filibuster-proof majority. >> i think this group we're looking at involving manchin, elizabeth warren, schumer, bernie, i mean, there's so much potential there for a good, strong, at times opposition. we have to wait to see exactly what trump looks like. and so i urge people not to just oppose him for no reason right now. and members of that group to

really kind of hunker down. >> an identity crisis. >> exactly. still ahead, we'll talk to tion security experts who served in the clinton and george w. bush administrations about the steps being taken to make sure donald trump will be able to hit the ground running on day one. "morning joe" is back in a moment.

this morning, the intense bombing campaign continuesn aleppo, syria.

u.s. officials tell nbc news the syrian regime is responsible for the latest aleppo attacks while the russians have been focusing on other areas of the country. among the latest destruction is the only childrens hospital in eastern aleppo. richard engel has more. >> reporter: the only childrens hospital in eastern aleppo was bombed, witnesses say, by syrian helicopters. it served 4,000 patients a month. no more. >> the children's hospital. >> one of the doctors filmed the aftermath for us. hospitals are targets in syria, and the regime has been bombing them ruthlessly. from the basement, the doctor spoke to us over skype. he asked us not to show his face. >> we must stop these attacks in aleppo. there are more than 90,000 children in aleppo. these children are not terrorists. >> nbc news has been filming at the childrens hospital for two

months. it had the only relatively advanced maternity ward in the rebel-held section of aleppo. now it's out of commission. the syrian regime has relaunched its offensive to take back the city, and people there are not expecting help from the outside. what do you think the change of power in the united states will mean for you and for aleppo? >> for me, personally, i'm not worried because of trump, because mr. obama didn't do anything for eastern aleppo. >> and the bombs are still falling there. rescue workers pulled a girl from under rubble. she survived. but this offensive is gearing up for what some fear is a final push on the city. >> nbc's richard engel reporting there. syria one of the many things in donald trump's inbox. clear reasons why the president-elect received intelligence briefings before taking the oath of office. as david axelrod described, officials were tracking what they considered a serious terrorist threat in president

obama's 2009 inauguration, including a possible attack on the ceremony itself. in fact, the incoming president had even prepared a statement to read in real time in case the national mall was targeted during his address. joining us from washington, former deputy national security adviser under president george w. bush, juan zarate. he was part of the security handover between the bush and obama administrations and is now an nbc news senior national security analyst. also with us, daily briefer at the cia, david priess. the otter of the book "the president's book of secrets." good morning. juan, what are the kind of things that president-elect trump saw and heard when he got his first presidential daily briefing? >> well, daily briefing tries to give the incoming president a sense of what's happening in the world and what the u.s. government knows and frankly doesn't know about key events. certainly, he would be briefed about the current terrorism threats that are facing the country. where a potential plot and

threats and vulnerabilities lie. where major events and muscle movements are happening in key areas of the world like syria and east asia. what the russians and the chinese may be doing. then looking at wild card events like north korea, probably giving him a sense as to north korea's movement and march toward nuclear weapons capabilities. so he would have been given a snapshot of what's happening in the world. probably not a deep dive in any one area of the world or any one event, but he certainly would have been given a sense of what's happening and frankly what the u.s. government knows and doesn't know. which is often just as important. >> david, at this period of time, in between today and the inauguration, there are many people in the intelligence communities who feel strongly that a combination of isis or al nusra or al qaeda or one or the other will do something to test the incoming president, to test the incoming administration, to

gauge their reaction and hoping that they would overreact. in the presidential daily briefing, would this be in there for donald trump? >> it might be in there. you have to remember that the president's daily brief is the president's. so this is still president obama's daily briefing. he's getting the information that he wants the way he needs it. that means there's a lot of threads that have been going on for weeks or months that are being updated each day. president-elect trump is just reading in on that, coming into the story in the middle chapters. so he's going to be having some catch-up work to do, some discussion with his transition briefers to get him up to speed on where the story is that president obama has been following for some time. >> juan, interesting to look as you go through history how each president has received his daily briefing. george w. bush wanted personal and oral presentations. ronald reagan almost never received an oral briefing, and jimmy carter, i love this one, scrapped the oral briefing all together, relied only on one on

one meetings with zbigniew brzezinski. every president is different. >> this is the president's process. the president determines how he wants to receive information, what the feedback loop looks like and how the follow-up continues. you have to keep in mind that the government is geared and the intelligence community in particular is geared to getting the president what he needs to help him and his team make decisions. and as we think through this transition process, you have to keep in mind the three ps, you have the preparation, making sure that the incoming president has the information he needs to understand what he's going to have to do and decide on day one. the personnel is key, who is around him. whom does he trust? what role will they play in advising him? and finally, the process. the process itself as to how the information flows and how the president's direction and decision making follows is really critical. i think watching those three ps

is going to be really interesting with president-elect trump. >> rick. >> i'm really curious about, as you say, and a great point, this is the president's briefing. how do you see trump's advisers, we don't know who they are, but their posture to the middle east and what do we expect in terms of defeating isis? seems to me he has to have a clear and decisive decision in the outset. >> every president brings in advisers that they want to start to get getting these briefs. they start getting into the briefing process. and then there's the getting to know you part of it. both between the president-elect and his advisers when it comes to actually thinking about making decisions instead of campaigning about them. and the intelligence community and these incoming customers, getting to know whether they set

the stage for the new administration on everything, from terrorism to the larger national security threat >> thank you both very much. up next, is jp morgan c.e.o. jamie dimond in the running to be donald trump's treasury secretary? and what that pick could mean for wall street and the economy. >> plus, hillary clinton makes her first public appearance since conceding the election, admitting it, quote, wasn't the easiest thing. nbc's kristen welker is tracking that for us just ahead on "morning joe." liberty mutual stood with me when i was too busy with the kids to get a repair estimate. liberty did what? yeah, with liberty mutual all i

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president-elect trump is in the process of building his cabinet right now, and it's going to be a solid gold cabinet full of all the finest snacks. this is kind of nutty. one of the names on trump's short list for attorney general is ted cruz. senator ted cruz, who, of course, was trump's bitter rival on the campaign trail. the man he call ed lying ted ovr and over again could become our nation's top law enforcement official. we're living in some bizarre waurld. don't be surprised if he names

hillary clinton secretary of state. >> that's kind of funny. lying ted. do you think he'll be a.g.? >> rick finds it less funny. >> if you spell lion, l-i-o-n. >> rudy said it was sessions. he offered it and he declined. >> i think he may feel he's safer at the pentagon. >> but rudy said it to an audience full of people, and he's on the inside getting handed positions like candy. >> we might go with the opposite. >> they're floating out names now. trying to make it look like -- because one of the criticisms is they have a shallow pool. >> they don't have a shallow pool. when the president asks, you say yes, unless you're rudy giuliani, aparbltly. >> i think donald trump wants someone who he trusts completely as attorney general. >> really? >> a lot less noisy in the attorney general's position than he might be in the senate.

>> let's bring in dominic chu. conflicting reports on whether jamie dimond is in consideration. i don't see jamie talking about this, though. >> talk about a guy who is maybe not under really that kind of talk or consideration for anything, i mean, shares of jpmorgan initially ticked lower yesterday on yet another report than said jamie dimond was going to be offered the treasury secretary job. we reported last week in nbc news has reported as well, his name was maybe being discussed by some trump advisers but he was not and remains not interested in the treasury secretary job. that being said, as the president-elect, donald trump has said, the only person who knows the final decisions and the final lists for his cabinet is donald trump himself. so that's an interesting development there. also, president-elect trump is getting advise from ibm krceo ginni rometty. she offers advice and suggestions on some of the steps the administration could take to better the lives of all americans through technology. among her suggestions focusing

on technical vocational based training and also investing in hybrid high schools that incorporate some level of college instruction, also using data and analytics to identify the biggest areas of waste in the government, as well as creating smarter infrastructure. ibm is america's biggest tech employer. then from oil to tech and gas. they have discovered the biggest continuous oil and gas deposit ever in the history of the united states. rirt out in west texas. it's called the wolf camp shale. and this deposit is estimated to have about 20 billion barrels of shale. for comparison, nearly triple the size of that north dakota shale they did back in 2013 and surveyed. a lot of stuff on the oil and gas front. >> back to ginni rometty, and everybody weigh in, keep me honest here. she was actually even ready to support hillary clinton before

the actual election. correct? >> i mean, so i'm not sure if she was actually going to come out and fully support -- it's been very controversial. >> ready to help. >> she was ready to help. i don't think it was in anybody's best interest on that front to come out at that point. there's been a lot of controversy about public company ceos saying they fully support one person. but with ginni rometty, it's a big deal because she employs a lot of people and they spend billions of dollars in the united states for research and development. that could be a lot of tech jobs in the coming years. >> i also think symbolically, that's really important for women to take a look at this. we have got to press reset. you know, and you have a female ceo writing a letter to the president-elect and saying, i'll wur work with you. if you'll work with me, i'll work with you. that is where perhaps i think we should begin before we just start marching and criticizing. there's got to be something we're marching for. not just everything we're marching against. when we don't know what it is

yet. everything resets, starting now. dominic chu, thank you very much. let's bring in white house correspondent kristen welker. you're following hillary clinton's first public appearance last night since losing the election. did she quell fears about the future? >> well, i think she started to begin the process. it was certainly a rallying cry. look, she has largely stayed out of public eye since her concession speech. however, last night, she spoke at the childrens defense fund right here in washington, d.c. of course, that's the organization where she began her career. it was a speech filled with reflection and also raw emotion. hillary clinton stepping back into the spotlight, greeted by an overwhelmingly supportive crowd, with a standing ovation. >> thank you. >> it was an event aimed at helping children in need. but clinton wasted no time addressing what everyone was thinking. >> now, i will admit coming here tonight wasn't the easiest thing for me.

there have been a few times this past week when all i wanted to do is just to curl up with a good book or our dogs and never leave the house again. >> a defeat, she tried to turn into a call of action. >> i ask you to stay engaged. stay engaged on every level. that's how we get through this. >> it's the first time clinton has addressed her stunning loss since she conceded a week ago. >> this is painful. and it will be for a long time. >> and while she was spotted by a hiker last thursday, clinton has otherwise stayed out of the public eye. >> i know this isn't easy. i know that over the past week a lot of people have asked themselves whether america is the country we thought it was. the divisions laid bare by this election run deep. but please listen to me when i say this. america is worth it. fight for our values and never, ever give up. >> and as clinton ended her

speech, emotions overflowed, remembering her mother dorothy rodham, who has a small child faced a difficult life with no way to foresee what her future held. >> and i dream of going up to her and saying, look, you will survive, and as hard as it might be to imagine, your daughter will grow up to be a united states senator, represent our country as secretary of state, and win more than 62 million votes for president of the united states. >> really was striking, mika, for how emotional she got. as democrats start to put the pieces back together again, clinton's former rival bernie sanders, of course, rival in the primary turned surrogate, has emerged as a leading voice. he earned a spot on senate leadership yesterday and also delivered a speech in washington, d.c. where he warned donald trump that democrats are prepared to block a supreme court justice nominee if they find that person unacceptable. mika, joe. >> nbc's kristen welker, thank

you very much. final thoughts for this morning. i thought the speech was beautiful. mark halperin, but her call to action was to stay engaged and fight. and i just -- i wonder -- i do think at some point we need to hear from her. maybe now is not the time. that we want a peaceful transition. >> she obviously didn't do what president obama and joe biden have done, which is to encourage people to support the new president. you can understand personally and psychologically and professionally why she doesn't want to do that at this point. it is a bit of a break from tradition. and it also is representative of the division within the party. >> what's a break from tradition? >> the loser normally mentions the winner's name. she did that the other day, obviously, but she chose not to do it yesterday. again, people are just looking to her for leadership about what posture to adopt come january when we have a new president. >> i have to tell you, if donald trump lost and he didn't say calm down it's going to be okay,

we have to support the president, which he might not have, i'm not saying he would have, there would have been a lot of voices around this table tearing him to shreds. >> she did that last wednesday. >> yeah. >> on the day after the most difficult moment of her life. >> we have an inauguration to get through, a transition to get through. we have a lot of public events where i think her voice is really needed. >> this is not her last act. there's a lot of opportunity for hillary clinton to go throughout the world, frankly, and do a lot of positive things. and it's a great opportunity. she wasn't able to be president. >> willie is right, she did it on wednesday. i cut her slack personally because of the situation she's in. there are plenty of d.s who want to be at the barricades from day one of this administration. that's their choice. but she chose a different route at least last night. >> all right. that does it for us this morning. stephanie ruhle picks up the coverage right now. >> thanks so much. i'm stephanie ruhle. this morning, so much to cover. action at the tower. a big list of potential picks

meeting with donald trump today. nbc has learned lieutenant general mike flynn now topping the list for national security adviser. and south carolina governor nikki haley now in play for secretary of state. we are tracking the latest. foreign affairs. trump's first meeting with the head of state just hours from now. face-to-face with the japanese prime minister after lots of tough talking on the trail. >> japan pays us 50% of the cost of defending them. i said, why aren't they paying us 100%? >> this as president obama meets with the german chancellor just moe moments from now. we're live in germany. krsz the aisle in washington, vice president-elect mike pence arriving on capitol hill right now. set to meet with republican and democratic leaders. >> plus, first appearance. >> coming here tonight wasn't the easiest thing for me. >> hillary clinton speaking out for the first time sin