everybody can borrow my tape when that happens. we've got the sex tape, all ve r verbated, you can use the subtitles subtitles. see you monday. msnbc live is next. good morning, everyone, i'm dara brown in new york at msnbc world headquarters. 7:00 a.m. in the east, 4:00 a.m. out west. here's what's happening -- strange bedfellows, president-elect trump meets with hundred of his fiercest rivals during the campaign. we'll tell you what could come from that powwow. nchlt mixed reception. v.p.-elect hears from both sides as he attends a big show on broadway. it's the message afterward that's grabbing attention. the first three picks, what do they tell us about a donald trump administration? there are plenty of critics, and we'll hear from both sides.

wintry weather. a storm sweeping across the great lakes headed to the northeast. bringing cold and snow, the latest forecast up next. we begin with one of the president-elect's most high-profile meetings since winning the election. mitt romney, one of trump's biggest critics, is being vetted for secretary of state. rnc spokesperson sean spicer says the conversation with romney is just that. an opportunity to hear his ideas and his thoughts. governor romney is among a group of potential administration officials trump will meet with today, including michelle rye, former -- michelle rhee, former chancellor of the d.c. public schools. today's meetings come a day after trump's transition team officially announced the picks for three key posts. retired general michael flynn for national security adviser, kansas congressman mike pompeo for cia director, and alabama senator jeff sessions for attorney general. governor nikki haley, another reported contender for secretary of state, has some scathing criticism for the party.

here's what she said at the federalist society's convention yesterday. >> the american people did not vote for him because he had an "r" next to his name. he ran against both parties, against the political system at large, a system he argued was fundamentally broken. an argument that the voters subscribed to in massive numbers. they rejected the political class of all stripes, republicans included. and we have no one to blame but ourselves. >> new reaction from the trump organization after the president-elect reached a $25 million settlement in all three of the lawsuits filed against trump university. one of the cases had been scheduled to start in two weeks. the deal doesn't require trump to acknowledge any wrongdoing. the president-elect has strongly denied the allegations and said during the campaign that he wouldn't settle. a spokesperson says while we

have no doubt that trump university would have prevailed at trial, based on the merits of this case, resolution of these matters allows president-elect trump to dwoet his attention to the important issues facing our nation. vice president-elect mike pence will be at trump's new jersey weekend home today. this after being greeted with a mix of cheers and boos at a performance of "hamilton" in new york city last night. the actor who plays aaron burr had this message for pence during curtain call. >> we, sir, we are the diverse americans who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us. [ cheers ] our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sirment we truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our american values and work on behalf of all of us. [ applause ] all of us.

joining me, nbc come msnbc senior editor beth filly, and author of hrc, jonathan allen. great to have you both this morning. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> beth, first, the trump-romney meeting, any indication that this is something more than a courtesy call to a political rival, or might romney get serious consideration for secretary of state? >> our reporting through nbc news definitely indicates that he is a contender for secretary of state. that's obviously huge news. what we've seen so far out of donald trump is that his appointments have gone primarily to people who were extremely loyal to him during the campaign. mike flynn, senator jeff sessions, et cetera. so to bring in romney who, as you said, was one of his major republican critics, probably the major republican critic during the campaign indicates that, you know, trump may be strangely, willing to put bygones be bygones and hear what romney has to say and would he serve his country in this capacity. >> we know they both said ugly things about each other.

how will this meeting look? >> well, they both did. trump called romney a choker and loser. romney called trump a phony. i mean, it was pretty tough. it went a little beyond the normal scale of political discussion. as you know, politicians do have the ability to put that sort of thing aside typically. in trump's case, we've seen him feel really singed and burned by criticisms from others. maybe as president-elect he's decided that trying to step out and unifairfax county parkway the party by bringing in somebody who's a critic is the best thing to do for the country. >> and jonathan, i want to talk to you about senator jeff sessions for context. you wrote a cluck suggesting that he's unfit for the cabinet. many senate republicans, even jeff flake, who was a vocal trump critic, have come out in favor of him, though. what are his confirmation hearings going to look like? >> i think there are going to be some scars put on jeff sessions as he goes through. the truth is, he's almost certain to be confirmed by the

senate. he'll have unanimous support among republicans, and i think at least some of his democratic colleagues will come across. they don't necessarily need to because of rule change. democrats made in 2013, they are not able to filibuster the cabinet nominees. >> jonathan, you said he might be getting the democratic support, as well. how do you envision the republicans and democrats actually siding for him, and is it going to matter for him when they vote? >> we've already heard joe manchin, senator from west virginia, say he's going to cross the aisle to support sessions. susan collins, perhaps the most moderate senator on the republican side from maine, has said she's going to support him. i think the confirmation hearings will bring up concerns people have raised including myself. my concern is that he's not necessarily been protective enough of the least among us at times. but i expect him to sail through confirmation. >> beth, we heard from nikki haley yesterday, somewhat critical of trump even though

they met on thursday are. you surprised? and does that indicate that she expects no role in a trump administration? >> you know, she's been a critic of trump's for quite some time. she's a rising star in the republican party, definitely a republican, republican party, not so much the more populist route that trump has taken. and she wants a future for herself. she wants a future in that party. she's indicated that people of other backgrounds, other races, need to be welcomed in to the republican party. i think she's setting up a warning signal for that. i mean, face it, she's -- she's still south carolina governor, she has a future of her own to think about. so aligning with trump, you know, leaving the job that she's in, aligning with trump who she's always had some discomfort with might not be right for her now, given that she sees that the republican party needs to go a different direction. >> and beth, you talk about aligning. how critical is it that trump selects someone outside of his group of loyalists, and how much do you think that that's going to matter for those who vote for him? >> that's the thing.

this romney visit certainly defies what he's been doing so far. trump has definitely shown that he wants to reward the people who were with him through thick and thin with spots in his administration. and romney was not somebody like that. but at the same time, he's listening to other voices, undoubtedly telling him that he needs to hear and listen to people who are not just, you know, reflecting back his own personal world view. and take other -- other views into account. that's certainly the case for romney as we know, a very, very strong critic of russia. vladimir putin. trump and his national security adviser, flynn, more sympathetic with russia, want to have a better relationship. if trump is told he needs to hear from others, that's a good sign. >> jonathan, what about trump actually reaching across the aisle and possibly picking democrats to fill some of the cabinet spots? >> traditionally there's somebody from the other party in a new administration. i haven't heard too many democratic names floating

around, but they've still got a number of petitions to fill. i wouldn't be surprised if a democrat landed the transportation department or somewhere else. i think trump now is busy trying to figure out the top end of the administration. and that will probably be all republican. >> and jonathan, if he doesn't pick someone from across the aisle, it's going to turn into an echo chamber. is that potentially dangerous for trump? >> i'm not sure necessarily how much the other parties' representative in the cabinet the last couple of years has influenced the president's thinking on other issues. you know, if donald trump wants ad vase from democrats, i'm sure donald trump will be -- advice from democrats, i'm sure donald trump will be able to get plenty of advice from democrats, by californiaing or watching them on twitter. it doesn't necessarily have to be somebody in the room. and to be fair to donald trump, i mean, his politics, you know, cross party lines. this is somebody who gets, you know, sort of has gotten the population on where republicans are, and also a good number of democrats are.

>> beth, same question to you. what's your take on that? >> well, he's -- definitely true what jonathan said. he's not really a traditional republican in so many ways. that's what helped him win. but that means that he's taken positions that are going to be at times at odds with the republican leadership in congress. he's very critical of trade agreements, as we know. paul ryan and most of the republican leadership very pro-free trade. his position on immigration is tougher than certainly the republican leadership has been willing to go. but you know, he's representing a lot of rank and file. both on the republican side and the democratic side. so the question is when he can take that, what appears to be, you know, a mandate for his own personal view of the world and make it turn into legislation somehow. >> interesting days ahead. beth fouhy, jonathan allen, thank you very much for your time. >> thanks. and for more on the president-elect's meetings this weekend, let's bring in kelly o'donnell. she's in bridgewater, new jersey, a short distance from trump's weekend home. good morning to you, kelly.

>> reporter: good morning, dara. this, of course, is not trump tower. it's a different setting for team trump this weekend where the president-elect will be holding some meetings at his private golf resort, his home where he often goes on weekends. one of those meetings will be with a very high-profile critic, mitt romney. and at the same time, some of his top team members will be here trying to brief reporters, give updates about what's happening with the transition. there are no weekends off when you're getting ready for a new administration. there's just eight weeks to go. the motorcade pulled in to what may soon be known as the jersey white house. donald trump's weekend home at his bed minister golf resort, to work on transition plans. today's big meeting could be awkward. >> here's what i know -- donald trump is a phony, a fraud. >> reporter: eight months ago, mitt romney led the charge against trump's candidacy with a withering takedown.

their relationship that once included trump's endorsement. romney in 2012 had unraveled. >> mitt romney choked, pure and simple. he choked like a dog. >> reporter: today, trump will host romney for a private fencemending meeting. romney may have opened the door with a congratulatory tweet of best wishes. advisers say the meeting is more about sharing ideas than a cabinet job interview. friday the president-president elect filled three key positions. attorney general, alabama senator jeff sessions, trump loyalist, immigration hardliner. trump advisers defended the pick, citing operation from fellow senators who would need to confirm -- citing praise from fellow senators who would need to confirm sessions. 30 years ago he was blocked from becoming a federal judge after being acused of making racially charged comments. he denied it. trump turneded to kansas

congressman mike pomp weo for national security, on the benghazi committee. and lieutenant general michael flynn. vice president-elect mike pence enjoyed in downtime friday evening taking in "hamilton" on broadway. his arrival getting very mixed reviews. [ cheers and boos ] so you heard both applause and some very audible boos there at the theater on broadway. there it was more to it, dara. after the production, after the curtain call, the star of the show playing aaron burr, brandon victor dixon, addressed the vice president-elect on behalf of the cast with a message of inclusion saying there are many americans who are afraid that their rights will not could protected with a new administration -- will not be protected with the new administration and imploring him to do that. especially after the theme of the show, to try to work on behalf of everyone. highly unusual. something those who bought tickets never expected they

would see in person. dara? >> and kelly, before you go, i saw you tweeting last night about yet another possible cabinet pick. would you like to share? >> reporter: we can tell you that there are so many names being floated about. i was in direct touch with former massachusetts senator scott brown, an early donald trump endorser, especially in new hampshire where it counted back many months ago. and he tells me that he has spoken to the vice president-elect and the president-elect about a job at the veterans affairs department. and that would be a post that he could perhaps lead because he spent 34 years in the military retiring as a colonel in the army national guard. the former senator is up for the v.a. cabinet spot. >> kelly o'donnell. great seeing you. thank you very much. and protecting america's national security, the men selected to do it and the political baggage that might come with them. anything meant to stand needs a stable foundation.

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today i'm here to talk to you about three crucial twhoowo that should be at the center always of our foreign policy -- peace through strength. >> president-elect trump, then a candidate in september, talking about national security. joining me now is retired colonel jack jacobs. a medal of honor recipient and an msnbc military analyst. great to have you here this morning. >> good morning. >> first, let's break there down. what does a national security adviser do for a president, and what goes into that role? >> in an ideal world a national security adviser delivered fully alloyed advice on national security to the president.

he's something of an honest broker. it depends on both the president and the national security adviser. some of the national security advise advisers, kissinger, breezezins have just been operational with no experience. flynn is an operator with thin academic experience. and it remains to be seen whether or not he's going to be able to driver -- to deliver the goods. it's important to remember that the nature of the national security situation has a great deal to do with it. if we remember back during the bush administration, the national security adviser was brent psycho craft. a great combination of both academic experience and operational experience. and he presided over the blunder to go into iraq. so i think anything is possible. >> and general flynn has already been criticized in the media, including an article by "the new

york times" editorial board concerning remarks about scrisl and secretary clinton. others have praised him. some accuse him of being dangerous. do you think he is? >> reporter: anybody can be dangerous. when you're at the top of the food chain, anybody can be dangerous, including the -- any president of the united states, what's really important is how he fits in to the overall attitudes in the west wing, to the extent that the president permits the national security adviser to decide what's going to happen, there's always the possibility that there's going to be danger in any decision that's made. the president surrounded -- is surrounded with lots of people. and in any national security situation, it's not just a national security adviser who advises the president. it's the other people who the president surrounds himself with, too, dara. >> we talk about how dangerous this could be. how much of the president's ear

is he going to have, and what could that do to actually put danger -- put us in harm's way? >> a lot actually, potentially. don't forget that the national security adviser is one of the few people with whom the president deals every single day. everybody else -- anybody who has to be confirmed by the senate, the cabinet officers, the secretary of state, secretary of defense, and so on, they're running large bureaucracies. they're not in direct contact with the president of the united states every day. so you can argue that perhaps among the most influential of all the people around the president is the national security adviser, so watch this space. >> colonel jacobs, a report from reuters says that with flynn's guidance, north korea's nuclear program will be a high priority under a trump administration. is that where the attention should be, and what can they do that the obama administration is not doing?

>> well, there are lots of places where there needs to be lots of attention, and north korea's one of them. and the pacific generally is one. the only way you'll be able to influence north korea is also about influencing china. china's the independent variable without which nobody can influence north korea. if the administration wants to get something done, wants to keep north korea from continuing down the path it's been going, it needs to work very, very closely and intelligently with the government of china, and that's where the administration needs to focus. >> and real quick, congressman mike pompeo, mr. trump's pick to lead the cia. he's humbled and honored. in the past he's defended tactics that the cia used after nevin saying these men and women -- after 9/11 saying these men and women are not torturers,

they're patriots. will this affect his leadership? >> only in ways that the people in the administration and congress permits in the day. this is a form of democracy. i know we've got a republican congress. but a republican congress is also very closely in touch with the feelings of the american public. the congress, if the congress permits it, it will happen. but if the congress doesn't and there's going to be lots of oversight, there will not be very much change in policies like that. i think that congress is is the most important aspect. >> colonel jack jacobs, great to have you. thanks for being here. >> thank you. a powerful storm heads east bringing lots of snow with it. the places that will see the most snow coming up next. i have asthma...

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simulation initiated. ♪ [beeping] take on any galaxy with a car that could stop for you. simulation complete. the new nissan rogue. rogue one: a star wars story. in theaters december 16th. a major snowstorm has already produced blizzard conditions in part of the northern plains and midwest. parts of minnesota seeing several inches of snow.

joining me for more weather headlines, the weather channel's kelly cass. what is happening out there? hey there, we're looking at crazy weather moving out of the great lakes into the northeast. our first real significant winter storm of the season. even some lake-effect going here on the back side as winds are going to be quite fierce across michigan. windy in chicago even though the snow or rain, whatever you had, is tapering off. toward the south, you've got the drier, cool conditions. unfortunately, smoke is still an issue in the south with the wildfires going on. here in michigan, this is where the focus on the snow is going to be today. three to five inches expected in the northern parts of lower michigan. otherwise, a general one to three. and then as we head toward sunday, the lake effect kicks in across new york state. the western parts of new york. the tughill plateau. talking several inches of snow with whiteout conditions possibly and temperatures definitely cooling down, 45 for the high in new york. west coast, also getting active with much-needed rain into the southern portions of california. there's a closer look at the

northeast. you've got the rain over new england as that cold air starts to filter in. we're talking up to two feet of snow possible in upstate new york. back to you. >> kelly, thank you very much. coming up, a conflict of interest. how to handle a president with extensive business dealings. yeah, so mom's got this cold. hashtag "stuffy nose." hashtag "no sleep." i got it. hashtag "mouthbreather." yep. we've got a mouthbreather. well, just put on a breathe right strip and ... pow! it instantly opens your nose up to 38% more than cold medicine alone. so you can breathe ... and sleep. shut your mouth and say goodnight mouthbreathers. breathe right.

the search for relief often leads here.s, introducing drug-free aleve direct therapy. a high intensity tens device that uses technology once only in doctors' offices. for deep penetrating relief at the source. new aleve direct therapy. welcome back. i'm dara brown at msnbc world headquarters in new york. at the half hour, here's what we're monitoring -- for the fourth straight weekend, huge crowds of south koreans gathered in downtown seoul today. they're demanding their country's president step down amid an explosive political scandal. she's accused of afl loui-- of allowing a confidante to control fromm ethe shadows. 50,000 turned out for the demonstration. back to politics and the election of druonald trump. a new challenge, how to handle a president with such extensive business dealings and. what's a conflict of interest

and what is not. we have more from trump tower. tammy, good morning. what do we know about the future. trump's businesses once he takes office? >> reporter: good morning. that's unclear. you know, i'm here at the crown jewel of the trump empire. and he's not here this morning. he is in new jersey at a country club that he owns. the trump brand is everywhere. it's unclear at this point what will happen to that brand once he takes office. a trump aboutface. on friday, the president-elect agreed to settle the $25 million lawsuit against trump university alleging fraud. after insisting all along he was not going to give in. >> i don't settle lawsuits, very rare. once you settle lawsuits, everybody shoes you. >> reporter: the trump organization admitted no wrongdoing and said "we have no doubt that trump university would have prevailed at trial." while the new york state attorney general, a democrat, said "the victims of trump university have wait years for today's result."

>> trump university was a business to give out business advice that literally went out of business. >> reporter: on fox news last night, an inside look into mr. trump's lavish lifestyle. a guided tour by the man himself before he was elected. >> i had parents who spoiled me. my father was tough. and my mother, maybe in her own way was tougher, but she spoiled me. >> reporter: questions linger about when the campaign and a trump presidency could hurt the brand. trump telling "60 minutes" last week -- >> i don't care about hotel occupancy. it's peanuts compared to what we're doing. health care, making people better. >> reporter: meanwhile, ivanka trump took heat for wearing an $11,000 bangle in the interview which she later hawked through her jewelry company and then apologized. ivanka also criticized for sitting in on a meeting with the japanese prime minister, exposing a conflict of interest since trump's children are said to take -- set to take over the family business.

>> if you drew up a list of the top 10,000 experts on japan, i don't think ivanka trump would be on that list. >> reporter: and in new york city, a very literal sign the trump brand could be tarnished. three buildings bearing the name "trump place" took their signs down after renters petitioned. >> he is gone. he is a persona non-grata in this city and to us. >> reporter: as the conservative "wall street journal" calls on trump to liquidate his stake in his company, "mr. trump could put the cash proceeds in a blind trust." he's been talking about setting up this blind trust and letting his children run his businesses. it's unclear if even that would clear him of conflict. dara? >> reporting from new york city. interesting times ahead. happening now, president obama is in peru today appearing at the annual asia-pacific summit. the last stop on a three-nation foreign tour. it is his last overseas trip as president. nbc's ran ron -- ron allen is in

lima. what's on the president's agenda today? >> reporter: well, i think the short answer to that is that donald trump is on the agenda here. everyone in this part of the world, asia-pacific region, latin america, trying to understand what the election of donald trump means. of course, that's no surprise. here the big issue is trade. the president is here to meet with the leaders of 21 nations, that's apec. nations like russia, china, japan, south korea, philippines. the issue is the transpacific partnership deal that we've talked about in recent weeks that apparently is dead. remember, president obama, a lot of his approach to the world has been to focus american foreign policy toward asia and the pacific where he sees more potential for american opportunity for growth. donald trump seems against that. he is, in fact, against that. so leaders in this part of the world are wondering what does the future look like between america and this part of the world. there's a meeting that the president has with the leaders of some of those tpp nation

that's are here as part of this bigger gathering. interesting to see what he says to them, what the president has been saying in germany and greece before arriving here is that american foreign policy, there are some constants in it. that the united states is not going anywhere, that it will remain engaged in this part of the world. certainly it appears not at the level that he wanted america to be engaged in. and certainly the trade deal appears to be dead. donald trump said aggressive things about china, calling it a currency manipulator and a trade manipulator. saying that it has done awful things to the united states. i'm not going to use some of his more blunt language. the chinese are wondering what does that really mean. there was a phone call between the chinese president and donald trump days after the election. the president has a meeting with the leader of china here today. on the sidelines, there may be a meeting between president obama and vladimir putin of syria, looking to see if there's a move

order for a cease-fire, that eases hostilities in that part of the world. >> ron allen from lima, thanks. now the latest in the battle to retake mosul. isis is threatening an increase in suicide attacks against the advancements u.s.-backed iraqi troops are making in the city. the offensive in its second month and moving slowly. nbc's lucy cavanaugh joins us from erbil with more. what are you hearing about the new threats from isis? >> reporter: good morning, dara. well, isis may be outnumbered by the iraqi forces. there's 100,000 iraqi and kurdish soldiers on the ground. an estimate 3,000 to 5,000 isis fighters. what they don't lack is the willingness to i do for their cause. -- to die for their cause. they are pledging more suicide attacks, car bombs, things that are tremendously damaging to those soldiers on the ground in mosul, trying to retake the areas. but let me set the scene for you a little bit. mosul is a large city.

it's split in half by the tigris river. the eastern part of the city is where the fight is currently taking place. and iraqi soldiers have continued to fight against the militants in about 15 of 50 districts. there are still large numbers. civilians trapped within the area. that is in part what is slowing down the fight. other things that are slowing the fight is the checks for those civilians. for example, some folks i was speaking to who were on the front lines with iraqi soldiers say that once they clear an area, they have to look through the civilians to determine who might have i.s. links who is a legitimate civilian. that means lining up men from the ages of 13 and above, checking their names, checking what they have on them against data bases of known isis fighters. it is a slow, painstaking process, and that's not even the military portion of this fight. so it's incredibly difficult, incredibly lengthy. other threats that the islamic state fighters are pushing forward against the soldiers are ieds. mosul is known for its plastics

factories. it is an area where a lot of plastics are produced. we were speaking with demining organization who told us that in fact isis has been commissioning these plastic factories to make personnel, anti-personnel mines, explosives that are harder to detect which they have planted across the city. dara? >> lucy cavanaugh live from erb erbil, thanks. ahead, what donald trump's cabinet picks so far say about how he'll govern. and in the next hour, looking ahead to the 2020 presidential election. the oddsmakers have already been at work. gary johnson's surprising odds coming up. all finished.

umm... you wouldn't want your painter to quit part way. i think you missed a spot. so when it comes to pain relievers, why put up with just part of a day? aleve, live whole not part. painter: you want this color over the whole house? today president-elect trump is meeting with a number of cabinet and adviser hopefuls at his estate in new jersey. among them, 2012 presidential candidate mitt romney, who once described trump like this -- >> here's what i know -- donald

trump is a phony, a fraud. s promises are as worthless as a degree from trump university. his domestic policies would lead to recession. his foreign policies would make america and the world less safe. he has neither the temperament nor the judgment to be president, and his personal qualities would mean that america would cease to be a shining city on a hill. >> ouch. let's bring in rick tyler, former national spokesman for the ted cruz campaign and analyst, joe watkins, former white house aide to president george h.w. bush, and sarah isgar-flores, former deputy manager for carly fiorina and director for the rnc. great to have you here this morning. >> good morning. >> thanks. >> today, senator orrin hatch is saying that the president-elect is "very high on romney" and wants to have a friendship there. sarah, you advised romney in 2012. do you think he would really work for trump? >> i do, and i think it would send a powerful message to unite

the conservative movement and republican party. during this election season, every time hillary had a scandal after scandal, the democrats were lockstep, would never criticize her. that obviously didn't happen on the republican side. now we own this presidency. we own the congress. so the american people are looking to republicans, you know, are you going to have the solutions that you said you had? i think uniting the apartment and having mitt romney in the cabinet makes a lot of sense. and i think for to do it would send a powerful message, as well. >> sarah, do you think trump has the temperament to forgive? those were harsh words. >> i think donald trump knows that politics is politics, and governing is governing. so now that he's won, he should want to have the absolute best cabinet he can have. and i think we've seen that already. he's picked some great people so far. and he needs to think about the governing side of this. i think he will, and i think he wants to unite conservatives and republicans, as well. >> yesterday the trump camp announced its pick for attorney general. senator jeff sessions, accused of racist comments and behavior,

going back at least three decades, and allegations that he's denied, but cornwell william brooks, president of the naacp, says there is still cause for concern. take a listen. >> what we see here is a -- an administration in its early days signaling that it is hostile toward or indifferent to the civil rights agenda of the country. the question is if he was not good enough to be a federal judge interpreting the law, how is he good enough to be attorney general, actually enforcing the law? >> joe, do you agree? is sessions truly that dangerous? and what exactly would his justice department look like? >> cornell brooks makes a great point. at the ends date, whoever the attorney general is ought to be sbhoed protects the rights of all americans, no matter what they look like. and as an american of color, i want to make sure that my rights are protected. i want to make sure the rights of people who -- with whom the

attorney general designate or at least nominee may not agree with, i want to make sure their rights are protected, too. cornell brooks raises a good point. we want to make sure that everybody's protected. and -- and i think those are some of the questions that senator sessions has to put to rest if he wants to have the strong support of all americans, including americans of color. >> do you think sessions can actually protect those rights? are you saying he can or can't? what do you think? >> of course he can. i believe that he can. he's got to prove, he's got to show folks, african-americans, the lgbtq community, different -- the latino community, that he would be the attorney general for all people. and that the rights of people of color are just as important to him as the rights of every other american. he's got to show that. we've got african-american men who have been murdered by police in some terrible incidents around the country. this is a sad fact. and we want to make sure that the attorney general considers those kinds of incidents

important and won't say that what happens to black people is not as important as what happens to white people. >> and rick, i want to turn to you. a number of key senate republicans have come out in favor of the sessions pick. are these concerns about his past partisan, or are they legitimate? >> first of all, mr. brooks doesn't know the history of senator sessions. when senator sessions was a prosecutor, he filed two cases to segregate schools in alabama. moreover, mr. sessions prosecuted a klan member in alabama because that klan member had randomly kidnapped a young, black american and murdered him. and mr. sessions made sure that that klan member who was convicted got the death penalty. that resulted in the civil lawsuit which was $7 million which broke the back of the klan in alabama. so senator sessions has a very good record on protecting the rights of african-americans. and his record proves it. and mr. brooks either didn't know that or failed to mention it.

>> and rick, it's interesting, though, because trump is talking about bringing law and order back. and how is that going to affect -- it scares people about that. how is that going to affect when joe bripngs up the fact that police officers are shooting black people and we're having all these issues? how is that going to affect who he chooses for the role? >> yeah. it's a legitimate concern. law and order is law and order. police have to follow the laws just as citizens do, and i think that most people would have to worry about is senator sessions seems to -- does not support legalization of marijuana. that's going to be a conflict because a lot of the states including d.c. have made it legal. he doesn't think that's a good idea. i think jeff sessions, he'll be tough on immigration, yes, and tough on law and order. that doesn't mean that police should be abusing anybody's rights. >> and rick, when we take a step back and look at all the picks that trump has announced so far, what did they tell you about how he's going to govern? >> well, he is a -- he's

assigned key positions to his loyalists. that's expected at first. the first -- who really wasn't a loyalist was his -- mike pompeo who's now going to head the cia. he was a rubio supporter before a trump supporter. but look, it looks as though he's going to be tough on law and order. and that he will have a policy with mike flynn and pompeo to be tough on terrorism. so so far i'm liking transition trump. >> sarah, after campaigning for more than a year as an outsider, trump is appointing people who will have been in the government for decades. what do you make of that? >> well, i think we've been tossing around terms, outsider establishment, you know, take jeff sessions, for instance. he's been a senator for a long time. i don't think anyone considers jeff sessions to be part of the establishment. i think the question that president-elect trump needs to look for will these people shake up the status quo. will they look for solutions to the problems that our country has been facing now for a while,

instead of just backscratching and who gets invited to the latest cocktail party. i think that so far we have seen nominees that will do exactly that. again, jeff sessions is a great look, not just for what rick a what jeff was saying, and if you are a conservative and believe in the rule of law you want an attorney general who has the ear of the president-elect. >> when we come back, avoiding blurring the lines between business and government. next, what happens to trump's lawsuits and business dealings. ♪ and if you want to be free, be free ♪ ♪ 'cause there's a million things to be ♪ ♪ you know that there are ♪ and if you want to be me, be me ♪ ♪ and if you want to be you, be you ♪

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today donald trump is mulling further picks for his new cabinet, and national security adviser and director he named. and let's bring back our panel.

the trump camp released a photo of his meeting with the japanese. his daughter is sitting in. how precedented is that and how concerned is this? >> ivanka is somebody that trump has a lot of trust in, and she's a very smart person. she happens to be his daughter. there will be challenges going forward to make sure there are not conflicts of interest, and there are lots of other people that could have been there with him to meet with the prime minister of japan, and he has been a trusted adviser as well as his daughter, somebody smart and well internationally travelled and somebody that has the ear of the president and they will have to figure out how to avoid conflicts of interests to make sure it doesn't happen they are mixing personal interests with the president. >> what does that have to do with blurring the lines between

business and government? >> i think the american people knew what they got when they elected donald trump, and they did not hire somebody who was a businessman at one point in his life, and he has been transparent. on ivanka trump, we have a record of first daughters playing important roles, and so perhaps ivanka is take her cues and looking at the cheery blossoms around the memorial. >> trump has settled this lawsuit. it was a surprise against the university for $25 million because it was something he previously said he doesn't like to do. rick, first, did he have to do it? second, are there more to come? what would it looks like to have a sitting president hit with

outside lawsuits? >> he didn't have to do, but it was probably smart of him to do it. he negotiates things, and he says he will never do it and then in the end when it's the smartest thing to do, and for him it's a relatively small lawsuit so settle it and get it out of the way. there are others and they will probably get settled as well. >> joe, are you concerned about the conflicts of interests? shouldn't the president be beyond suspicion here? >> i am fought so concerned about those. i think they will have to be ironed out as time goes on. this is the first time that we had a president that didn't have an extensive background in government coming to the presidency, but america wanted an outsider this wraer and that's where bernie sanders was so successful on one side, and donald trump was so successful natalie, and we just have to work it out. i think it will work itself out and will be fine. >> trump is such a brand.

do you think he will be accused of monetizing the presidency? >> donald trump is donald trump. i don't think that will affect his decisions as president, and i think if we take him at his word, that he wants to clean unthe bureaucracy that has been in the government, and i don't think president has always been good for one's brand, and if he doing this he must be doing it for the right reasons. >> thank you so much for being here. >> thanks. that will do it for me this hour. i am daria brown. and betty nguyen picks up the next hour. [ cough ]

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