good day. i'm sheinelle jones in new york at msnbc world headquarters. high noon in the east, 9:00 a.m. west. here's what's happening. face-to-face, president-elect donald trump meets with one of his fiercest rivals in the campaign. what could come from their pow-wow.

mixed reception. vice president elect hears from both sides as he attends a big show on broadway. but it's the message afterward, and donald trump's reaction that's grabbing attention. plus, who is jeff sessions? and why does he have civil rights leaders worried? we try to separate fact from fiction. wintry weather already. a storm sweeping across the great lakes headed to the northeast, bringing cold and snow. the latest forecast, next. in an hour from now, president-elect trump will hold one of his most high-profile meetings since clinching the presidency. his face-to-face with mitt romney, one of his chief rivals during the campaign comes amid reports romney is being considered for secretary of state. but taking up some of trump's focus today, is the cast of "hamilton." [ jeering ] you hear in this video both cheering and booing during a performance of "hamilton" last

night. trump took to twitter this morning, demanding an apology from the cast which he claims harassed the vice president-elect. the actor who plays aaron burr thanked the vice president-elect for stopping by and had this message for him. >> we, sir, we are the diverse america, who are the alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us. our children, our parents, defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir. we truly hope this show has inspired you to uphold our american values and to work on behalf of all of us. [ cheers and applause ] all of us. this all comes a day after trump reached a $25 million settlement in all three of the lawsuits against trump university. one of the cases had been scheduled to start in two weeks. the deal doesn't require trump to acknowledge wrongdoing. the president-elect has strongly

denied the allegations and said during the campaign that he would not settle. there are big developments to report today. we are covering all angles. tammy leitner outside trump tower. we begin with nbc's kelly o'donnell in bridge water, new jersey, a short distance from trump's home. give us a preview of the romney meeting. and we hear there could be another announcement today, is that right? >> we know now the meeting will happen at 1:00 between governor mitt romney, intensely critical of trump during the campaign phase. this is at the invitation of the president-elect. aides tell us this is in part a chance for these two men who have at times been allies, like when trump endorsed romney, who was the nominee in 2012, and at times they have really been at least rhetorically at each other's throats. this is a chance for them to talk about ideas in common. some have hinted there could be discussion of a cabinet post, but we don't want to get too far ahead on that. but an announcement, you say.

well, advisers say it is possible that there could be an announcement, i'm told, at an agency level in the national security area today, if, in fact, the president-elect gets through the things on his to do list today and feels ready to make that announcement. so a bit of a hint from team trump. we don't often get those. we'll take that seriously and watch closely to see if there are developments today in filling out those all-important national level cabinet and department head and agency positions that will begin to shape the trump administration. there are overall 4,000 jobs to fill and about 1,000 of those require senate confirmation. and so we will be waiting to see how it goes. they have also given us a sense that some of this does take time, especially for some of the biggest jobs. we can tell you, some of the meetings that the president-elect is having today and tomorrow are in part thank you meetings to people who have been involved in his campaign. also potential meetings for

people being considered for these positions, so those could amount to interviews. sheinelle? >> busy weekend. kelly o'donnell, thank you. tammy leitner, for more on last night's "hamilton" scuffle. >> mike pence got more than he bargained for last night when he showed up at one of the hottest tickets on broadway, "hamilton," arrived to boos and cheers and as he was leaving the theatre, stopped by one of the cast members who plays former vice president, aaron burr. he delivered a plea, basically, on half of the entire "hamilton" cast that has gone viral, obviously. and this morning donald trump weighed in on social media. he tweeted out o our wonderful future vice president, mike pence, was harassed last night at the theatre by the cast of "hamilton." cameras blazing, this should not happen. he went on to send another tweet. that tweet said the theatre must always be a safe and special place. the cast was very rude last night to a very good man, mike pence.

apologize. well, donald trump did not get that apology today, though. he did get a response, though, from cast member brandon victor dixon, who tweeted out, donald trump conversation is not harassment, sir. and i appreciate mike pence for stopping to listen. now, this morning, conservative politicians have been all over twitter. echoing what donald trump had to say. and asking for an apology from the cast of "hamilton." sheinelle? >> so many people are talking about this. i'm wondering if we can expect a response from mike pence on this. >> reporter: you know, he has remained quiet on this one. so time will tell if he weighs in also. >> maybe he'll let everybody else do the tweeting. tammy leitner, thank you. joining me now, associate editor of "the hill" and political reporter for "real clear politics." say that 50 times. good afternoon to both of you. let's start with your reaction from really both of you on trump's twitter activity this morning. doesn't he have bigger fish to fry, or is this something he

feels he has to weigh in? >> well, sorry, i think that the issue of using the word "harassment" is probably a picture. he probably does feel he needs to weigh in the sense that it gets attention off the trump university lawsuit settlement. but my personal view, which is not a partisan one, is this idea that art shouldn't be dissenting, just flies in the face of literally centuries of h history. and, in fact, in all kinds of art forms, some of the most distinctive voices in america, guthrie, bob dylan, jackson, on and on, to, you know, public enemy, chris rock. these are all dissenting, artistic voices. the idea that the theatre or art world generally a place not fitting is a very peculiar one. >> caitlyn, what about the habit of tweeting? is it time for him to put it down or is this an implication

in what we can expect in the years ahead, if something happens he doesn't like, he goes to twitter? >> reporter: i think it's going to be very difficult to convince donald trump to put down his twitter feed, despite the best efforts of his staff. i think part of this was defending his running mate. you know, these are two people that are going to be real partners, i think, in the white house. given pence's experience in governing, and donald trump's lack of experience in governing for lack of a better term. so i think that's part of it. but i agree with niall. i think that mike pence took it as, you know, a conversation. the twitterverse, of course, takes this and runs with it in a different way. i think the news cycle will start to flush this out. >> speaking of the news cycle, niall, i want to ask you about your latest piece. so far, jeff sessions, mike pompeo, and general mike flynn, may be outsiders, but the pics

seem to be getting a lot of praise from government lawmakers. what's your take? >> they are to a degree getting praised by establishment republicans, but getting even more praised from conservatives who consider themselves grass roots conservatives who believe the dc establishment has not been principled enough and backing them up. now, the more establishment types, a caution welcome saying donald trump does what every president does. he appoints the people who supported him. but i think there is a little bit more unease bubbling beneath the surface of the republicans. >> speaking of which, caitlyn, your piece for real clear politics, highlights the early pics, certainly as he mentioned a reward to those loyal. let's talk about the trump/romney meeting. no loyalty there. >> certainly not. romney was one of the most critical republicans of donald trump. of course, giving that speech earlier this year as you see on the screen. they have a very interesting relationship, of course.

romney sought the endorsement and got the endorsement of donald trump when he was running. very different circumstances this time. they also agree on lots of different things regarding foreign policy, so if you're particularly when it comes to russia. that was something that was a highlight of mitt romney's presidential campaign, this going strong against russia. and so they have a lot of conflict there. the trump transition officials have been telling us that, you know, not to overread some of these meetings. that some of the meetings that donald trump is having with the host of different republicans and other figures is to seek advice and counsel. some of them are job interviews. others are not. i think a lot of republicans would take heart in this election of mitt romney and secretary of state. but i do think at this point no one really knows exactly where donald trump is going. if these other pics are any i believed occasion, he does reward loyalty, he does reward

those who had sacrificed some of their own political capital in some ways to support him. and others who have really had his ear and his back this whole entire campaign. >> at the same time, niall, trump is reaching out to other rivals who were highly critical of him, like nikki haley. what do you think the strategy is there, and really if he wants to create a team of rivals, why not reach across the aisle politically? >> i think there are a couple things. i agree with what caitlyn has said about rewarding loyalty. one of the difficulties for trump, having run as an outsider, it's actually difficult to fully staff his administration with loyalists. so he needs to reach out to governor haley and mitt romney. he needs to probably reach beyond his circle, just as a practical matter, to fill these posts. >> to pick up on what niall said, caitlyn. the trump picks seem to be hard-liners, really to key issues, including immigration, national security. is there anyone in the pipeline

that would suggest any softening, in your opinion? >> well, right now, you know, i think the election of someone like nikki haley or a mitt romney could suggest that. niall brings up a really great point about the idea that donald trump does not have a lot of people on his team who have experience in a lot of these different issues. and, of course, reaching out to them and including them in an administration would send a positive sign in terms of unifying and kind of putting past conflicts aside. in the pipeline right now, though, it's not clear. donald trump is at odds with the republican party still, on a lot of key issues. and some of his picks, i think, will either reflect what he campaigned on, and or if they don't, i think that will give a really telling sign of how he plans on governing. >> i want to get your reaction on this article from michael wolff and the hollywood reporter, a great article giving an insight on steve bannan, one

of the people most at the battle line. one of the people to have most clearly seen it. he absolutely mockingly rejects the idea that this is a racial line. he says, quote, i'm not a white nationalist, i'm a nationalist. i'm an economic nationalist. he quotes bannonby saying we're going to build an entire political movement, everything related to jobs. so bannonsurprised everybody with an election victory. could he surprise the country with a successful administration? >> i mean, it's within the bounds of possibility. clearly, most people, including me, did not see donald trump's victory coming. steve bannon did, and proceeded along almost precisely the lines he suggested. whether he's an economic nationalist, white nationalist, et cetera, those are much more contentious points, obviously. but i don't think people opposed to ban none should underestimate him. i think he does have a finger on

the pulse of a segment of american and society that has been somewhat ignored or at least not paid sufficient attention to, even by republican politicians and strategists. >> caitlyn, there is so much pressure on trump from democrats to dump bannan. do you think president-elect trump is impervious to those requests? at this point, he's done what he wants to do. that's for sure. >> he's done what he wants to do, and i think he's going to continue to do what he wants to do. i've talked to lots of democrats on capitol hill this week, when i was in washington, and they were saying that there are areas that they can work with donald trump on, particularly when it comes to an infrastructure or a jobs package, some tax reform efforts and those sorts of things. but that the selection of bannan hinted to them, they say, that trump wasn't as serious as they hoped he would be in terms of uniting all the different factions in government right now. and so if you talk to democrats, they're very disheartened by that pick. they have been calling on him to

let bannon go from his administration, but i can't anticipate that happening. >> niall stannich and caitlyn huey burns, thank you for talking with us today. nominated to serve as the 84th u.s. attorney general. jeff sessions. the head of the naacp coming up. for lower back pain sufferers, the search for relief often leads here. introducing drug-free aleve direct therapy. a high intensity tens device that uses technology once only in doctors' offices.

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at the top of the hour, mending fences. president-elect donald trump is expected to meet with mitt romney. the trump transition team also saying that today another appointment could be announced. let's bring in robert o'brien, former senior adviser to mitt romney, and ted cruz and author of "while america slept: restoring american leadership to a world in crisis." good afternoon to you.

>> good to be with you. >> trump and romney are meeting shortly in new jersey and romney under consideration for secretary of state role. do you think he would take it given the bad blood that has gone between them in recent months? >> the meeting is a sign by president-elect trump reaching out to governor romney, his rival. but there was also a time when they were fighting the same fight in the 2012 race. i think on governor romney's part, his whole life has been about service and service to the country and i've never met someone who loves america more than mitt. so my guess is that if an offer was extended that governor romney would serve the president and serve the country. >> i think the challenge is there are so many people at home who remember him calling him a phony and a fraud and he was on the "today" show, my other job, so to speak. and he was so passionate about why donald trump would be a horrible leader. >> well, donald trump was pretty tough on governor romney, as well. and -- but it's politics. it's not being big. and then the election happens

and we've got to come together as a country and move forward. and governor romney, there's really -- there are some great candidates out there, but i don't know if anyone more qualified than mitt romney to be secretary of state. he would represent the president and represent america well. so look, i think it's a win-win for both of them. >> i'm going move forward. really quickly, do you think he believed what he was saying about him being unfit? >> look, the president said the same things about donald trump. donald trump had tough things to say about the president and governor romney. i think the election is over and people now are looking forward to how they can represent and serve the country. and so no, look, i think donald trump is the president, and he's fit to be president. and i think governor romney feels the same way. >> you would know, certainly, better than a lot of us. what would a secretary romney/president donald trump partnership look like and how would other countries, in your opinion, receive it? >> i think he would be very well-received by other countries. governor romney has got a lot of experience in foreign policy. he ran the very successful winter olympics in salt lake after the 9/11 attacks.

and developed great diplomatic context there. and, of course, as governor doing trade missions and as nominee, has a lot of respect for folks around the country and around the world on that front. it's somewhat like president obama reaching out to appoint secretary clinton, a rival and also someone who could have been president or secretary kerry, a past nominee, for that very important position. so i think it would be a strong partnership. and i think that the governor would represent the president very well, as his chief diplomatic president around the world. >> and john bolt ton, who trump himself suggested as secretary of state. you worked with him at the u.n. how would that go over on capitol hill and nationally. >> john is a great diplomat. i had the honor of working with him for a year at usun, and he's a friend and, in fact, i've worked for both governor romney and they both make great secretaries of state. remember, that was before the

nuclear option that the senator reid put into place. so there is a republican majority in the senate. i don't think there would be any problem confirming john bolton. a consummate diplomat, never saw him in any bilateral meetings, behaving in any way as an outstanding professional and ambassador. and the american people that have been proud of him, had they seen him in those meetings and at the u.n. >> and republicans against him at the time. why do you think that is? >> look, there were a few. and you've got to keep in mind, it was a very difficult time with the iraq war, the surge had not yet been announced. you know, it was a tough time, and there was a lot of concern about the direction of u.s. foreign policy. at the time, ambassador bolton was serving at the state department for george w. bush. and so, you know, there were certainly i think some blowback because of iraq on ambassador bolton. i don't think there was anyone who would tell you ambassador bolton is not highly qualified and would not make a great secretary of state, if that's the route president trump wanted

to go. >> robert o'brien, good to talk with you this afternoon. >> great to be with you. thank you. happening now, president obama wrapping up his final trip overseas. will he meet face-to-face with russia president vladimir putin? our report from peru, next. ♪ i got the discounts that you need ♪ ♪ safe driver ♪ accident-free ♪ everybody put your flaps in the air for me ♪ ♪ go paperless, don't stress, girl ♪ ♪ i got the discounts that you need ♪ ♪ safe driver ♪ accident-free ♪ everybody put your flaps in the air for me ♪ i can't lip-synch in these conditions. ♪ savings ♪ oh, yeah

waiting for romney. the anticipation as at the president-elect's golf club in new jersey as his rival gets ready for a meeting. this is a live picture. reince priebus going into the building. our reporters are there. as soon as anything happens, we will bring it to you. hang with us. to win, every millisecond matters. both on the track and thousands of miles away. with the help of at&t, red bull racing can share critical information about every inch of the car from virtually anywhere. brakes are getting warm. confirmed, daniel you need to cool your brakes. understood, brake bias back 2 clicks. giving them the agility to have speed & precision. because no one knows & like at&t.

hon, i don't know if i deserve this - i don't really work with my hands. you change a ton of diapers! your usual? not for me - for him. hon, you have something in your hair. would you like an oatmeal scrub? i already ate, actually. hon, we listen to carol. make my eyes pop? is this supposed to happen? (screams) i'm just kidding. we should do this more often. hold hands?

no, sit in crazy chairs. get together and shop small on small business saturday. ♪ ♪ ♪ is it a force of nature? or a sales event? the season of audi sales event is here. audi will cover your first month's lease payment on select models during the season of audi sales event. (bing) welcome back. i'm sheinelle jones here at msnbc world headquarters in new york. at the half hour, here's what we're monitoring. as we went to break, we were waiting for mitt romney. of course, the anticipation at the president-elect's golf club in new jersey continues. there you go. we have governor-elect -- president-elect donald trump coming in with mike pence.

so, again, as soon as anything happens, we will certainly bring it to you. but obviously, they're heading in those doors there, shaping up to be a very busy weekend. also this morning, people in the nation's upper midwest are now dealing with the country's first big blast of wintry weather. it's being blamed for four deaths already. road conditions have been treacherous with more than 300 crashes in minnesota alone. we should let you know, we'll be checking in with meteorologist raphael miranda in au few minutes. president obama in peru converging for the abdominal asia-pacific economic summit where ron allen joins us. let's talk about this. what's the likelihood of the president meeting with russia's vladimir putin? >> reporter: well, there seems to be some likelihood of that now. we're being told by the white house that it would be an informal meeting as said in the parcelance on the sidelines of the summit. and new urgency condemning what the united states says have been

more attacks by the syrians, backed by the russians on civilian targets in eastern aleppo, an area under cease now for some time and an intensification of the bombing and the attacks in recent weeks. the united states is condemning those attacks and the strongest possible terms again. i should perhaps say. and that is why there's some urgescy between president putin and president obama. they have met before, of course, and been unable to broker some sort of a deal that would lead to a lasting cessation of hostilities in syria. and we know the president, president obama, is very troubled by the situation there. at a press conference the other day, he again said how he thinks about syria every day. this is a situation, of course, a civil war going on for many years. there have been millions of people displaced, hundreds of thousands killed and the president has faced a lot of criticism for not intervening more forcefully with u.s. forces. so there's that. also right now, the president is

sitting down to a meeting with the leaders of the transpacific partnership nations part of this apex summit. it's a little complicated. again, the bottom line, these are leaders here to talk about trade, and the issue essentially is how involved will the united states be in this region, asia-pacific, going forward with the president-elect trump. >> ron, i'm going to toss you a ball here. you may not know the answer to this. we've been talking about the things happening officially. but there has to be a buzz about donald trump. >> reporter: there's more than a buzz. that's what everybody, of course, in the world wants to know. >> sure. >> reporter: what is going to happen. and there's a lot of uncertainty. in his stops in germany and greece, the president trying to be reassuring to the world. to say, for example, to the europe yanls the united states is not going to pull out of nato. here this issue of the transpacific partnership, this massive trade deal the president has been negotiating for the past few years is in jeopardy. it's in doubt. the administration is trying to say optimistically there is pay

pause to it. but a lot of other people think it's dead. this is the centerpiece in this area. his pivot to asia, his rebalance towards this part of the world and away from europe and the middle east. so a lot of questions about what role the u.s. will have. what donald trump will do. end a lot of very aggressive things about china and currency manipulation and trade manipulation. so there's a lot of concern here about what donald trump will do once he gets to the white house. and, again, the president is going to try to be reassuring, but i'm not quite sure what the president can say, because, again, it's unclear what exactly mr. trump is going to do there. a range of policies where he has backed away somewhat. the detail we have to say. and i think it's what the president is saying to everyone. take a moment, see what's going to happen. this is not the end of the world. but clearly, there's a big difference now going forward from an obama administration to a trump administration. >> very true. all right, ron allen from lima, peru. thank you for talking with us this afternoon. as we told you, new video from bedminster, new jersey.

president-elect trump and vice president-elect pence as they get ready to meet with mitt romney. we know who they selected for attorney general, senator jeff sessions. joining me now is ben jealous, former president and ceo of the naacp, and visiting professor of princeton's boudrewoodrow wilso school. good afternoon to you. >> good afternoon. great to be here. >> accusations of racism, derailed sessions, confirmation to a federal judgeship in 12986. let me read to you in part a peace in the "weekly standard" about sessions' record. there are people who support him. as a u.s. attorney, he files several cases to desegregate schools in alabama ands were cuted henry hayes. later, sessions followed through and made sure hayes was executed. let me get your response to that. >> sure. look, jeff sessions is a guy who made a name for himself

prosecuting black folks, during voter registration. a case that was so notorious that that and his racist comments actually convinced republicans to vote against him becoming a federal judge. more recently, the southern poverty law center, who worked with him on the mcdonald case said he was so racist that they could not support him, even though he had given -- he had done good work on the mcdonald case. and so, you know, this is a man who has not changed his stripes. sure, he has not always done the wrong thing, but he's done the wrong thing so often there is reason for all of us to be concerned he would not respect most people's rights in this country. should he be named to this post. >> so do you think he's a racist? >> well, the southern poverty law center has said that as recently as the last two or three days. and, you know, this is a group

that we depend on to track hate groups in this country. and they said that sessions is so connected to hate groups like the center for strategic studies, i think it's called, or f.a.r.e., one of the groups, the center for strategic studies, one word off, is out there actually calling for a new to investigate claims that muslims have somehow -- have a shadow control over the u.s. government. similar to mccarthy's claims about communists 60 years ago. i mean, these are the types of folks that he associates with, and when a group that's worked so closely with him, you know, and said, look, he did some good work. but he keeps hanging out with these racists. he said racist things, even republicans rejected him 30 years ago, because he actually saw to prosecute and actually

did prosecute the man who had pulled dr. king's ox cart through the streets with dr. king's body in it who went on to be one of the great voter registration activists. and, you know -- it's like -- >> i don't want to cut you off, but i want to be honest with you. can i tell you, when i was prepping for this entire view and working with our producers and we were talking about whether -- asking the question about whether sessions is racist, i have to tell you, i'll be honest, i pulled back a little bit, because i have never interviewed anyone on either side, especially even when we talk about racism. i've never had anybody say when i asked them about somebody who is of controversial, that someone is a racist. usually it's because if you say someone is a racist, one, you can't really back it up or someone may be not necessarily a racist, but they say things that make people uncomfortable or they do things. there is a gray area. so it's a big deal, frankly, for somebody like you to say, you know what? you know, these groups have said

he is just an outright racist. they use the "r" word. >> right. and quite frankly, it's a very big deal for the southern poverty law center to say what they said in their statement yesterday. i mean, it's -- you know, it's -- you usually can't back it up. and yet we can here. i guess, you know, one of the reasons i'm a bit at a loss for words today, we have seen president trump go and trump put in bannon, a notorious white nationalist. then he pushes out sessions, who is, you know, the most troubling member of the u.s. senate when it comes to race. somebody who republicans have rejected to be on the federal bench because of his problems with race. somebody who the southern poverty law center said, yeah, great, you did some work on a lynching case once, but you've been so fixated on, you know, supporting groups like f.a.r.e., you know, that we can't even

embrace the good work that you did, because you've been racist towards people, you know -- muslims, from foreign countries. i mean, i really don't understand, you know, how trump can do this. i mean, it's just deeply disturbing. he has to lead the entire country now. we need people that we can all have faith in, and he's literally seems like every couple of days, putting out literally the worst actor we have in media, the worst actor we have in the senate. he can do much better. >> i want to play a clip for you and get your take. conservative talk show host, hugh hewitt, says the democrats don't fear his civil rights record but what he calls the pursuit of general liberty. take a listen. >> and he knows the doj, top to bottom. 17 years as an ausa and usa. he will turn that place upside down. i suspect he will appoint a special brush fire to look into the server gate and i suspect they will look into whether or

not whether the assistant attorney generals were involved in obstruction of those investigations. >> what do you think? >> look, if they want a conservative jurist, they can find one who is not so consistently associated with racist causes. no one is saying, don't appoint a conservative. no one is saying don't appoint a republican. no one is saying, don't appoint somebody who, you know, donald trump likes. what we are saying is don't appoint somebody who republicans have rejected because of their racism. don't appoint somebody who the southern poverty law center says is closely associated with some of the most racist groups in politics in our society. we're saying, look, appoint somebody who can -- who can actually convince most of this country he's interested in protecting their rights. and jeff sessions is simply not that guy. >> i'm sorry -- i'm sorry, i was -- sorry about that. elizabeth warren has asked donald trump to resend that pick. what can we expect confirmation hearings to look like if he

doesn't? >> you know, look. i think what you can expect is that the slim minority in the u.s. senate, the democrats, will be all over this guy. i mean, this is a guy who ted kennedy said was a real problem. that ted kennedy fiercely opposed when he was nominated to the judiciary because of the way in which sessions had persecuted voting rights activists because of the horrible racist things he had said in a sense that he was frankly someone who -- say, unlike george wallace, who had apologized and turned around. somebody who is absolutely unrepentant in their racism. and the fact that the southern poverty law center said recently, yeah, that's pretty much the case so we can't support him even though he did some good work on one lynching case. you know, you will see democrats i think every last one of them, fight to stop this guy and try to convince the few republicans who are still committed to some semblance of racial fairness in this country. some semblance of nondiscrimination against people

because of their faith. some semblance of actually welcoming entrants of all colors to this country to actually stand up with them and say, no, no, no. go ahead and support -- go ahead and appoint somebody who you like, mr. trump. just don't appoint somebody who hates all of us because of our faith or our color or, you know, is leery of us because we come here from a foreign country. >> i have to wrap. ben jealous, i have a feeling we'll be talking about this again soon. thank you for talking with me today. >> thank you. still ahead, what to expect when mitt romney meets with president-elect donald trump in new jersey. trump is there, as you see, at his golf course, waiting. what could come at this meeting? we'll talk about it, coming up. for lower back pain sufferers, the search for relief often leads here. 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.

now to the latest in the battle to retake mosul. isis fighting back in retaliation for new advancements made by u.s.-backed iraqi forces in this second month of the offensive to retake the city.

nbc's lucy calf joins us with more. >> reporter: iraqi forces backed by air strikes continuing their push into eastern mosul. this is not going to be an easy or slow fight. as mentioned, isis has vowed to strike back with suicide attacks, car bombs. this is a tool they have been using since the offensive began. and not just in mosul. we have seen them lash out in other areas like fallujah, targeting a wedding party two days ago to show they can essentially lash out if the news is tightening within that city. they're not just using car bombs. they're also using ieds. mosul is a known location where plastics are produced and we spoke with mining experts who said they commissioned special mines they have planted all across the city, really slowing down that offensive. now, on the ground, not just within the city, civilians are fleeing. the u.n. reports the number of civilians who fled has tripled

in just the last two weeks alone to nearly 60,000. we visited a refugee camp on the outskirts of mosul and spoke to some of the people there. i want to give you a look as to what is happening with the aid distributions they so desperately need. many families fled mosul with nothing but the clothes on their backs. they need food, water, shelter, virtually everything. they are no doubt grateful for the assistance that they're getting here from aid agencies, but most wonder when they'll be able to return home. and sheinelle, they're facing the prospect of a long, cold winter here. this fight not likely to wrap-up any time soon. weeks, if not months, we're told, from officials on the ground. sheinelle? >> thank you,lucy. my next guest was inside trump tower this week and chatted with steve bannon. i'll ask him what he saw behind the scenes as trump appoints key cabinet members. when heartburn hits,

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he spent his career building a business based on excluding people. and to have him in the white house making this the chief policy adviser to the president is just a very, very frightening fact. >> congressman john yarmuth earlier, one of the many democrats calling on donald trump to rescind steve bannon's appointment. michael wolff sat down with bannon just days ago, and joins us with some insight into one of the most powerful people on trump's team. good afternoon to you. >> thank you for having me. >> you were at trump tower there on tuesday. talk about the mood there and what did you see? >> the mood seemed great. it seemed like everybody was down to work, and doing what they're supposed to be doing. and putting together a team. and which was curious, because

the next day the "new york times," and i didn't see anyone from the "new york times" there, reported on the great disarray of the transition team. and i have no horse in this race. i can just tell you that this was a group of people hardly in disarray. >> it's interesting you mention that, because i was going to show that that they reported that state there, and that word "disarray" grabbed attention there. and you didn't sense that at all? >> quite the opposite. i think that was -- i mean, this is -- this is a theme that was tracked throughout this campaign. that i think the media, and particularly the "new york times," would like them to be in disarray. but frankly, they hardly seem to be in disarray. and they seem to be acutely focused and organized. >> it was an article that grabbed my attention. i told you before we went on camera. i want to look at a part that really grabbed my attention. it says, of course, bannon has labeled as anti semitic and

racist. he told you, quote, i am a nationalist, i'm an economic nationalist. how would you describe steve bannon and what are some of the biggest misconceptions? >> i did describe steve bannon. and i let him actually -- i wrote this piece in a very calculated way. it was -- you talk to me. you've -- you guys have been elected. it's your -- it's your show. tell me what you think. and that's what i reported. and he thinks -- he thinks that he is what he describes as a nationalist and economic nationalist, and what that means is, well, as bill clinton used to say, it's the economy stupid. it is all about focus being focused on jobs. jobs for everybody who needs a job. jobs for, in his focus, is entirely the working man in this

country. and they believe the democrats and the liberals took their eye off of that. they had their eye on it. and that is what they -- the constituency that they intend to serve. >> let's talk about that. there is another part, it says like andrew jackson's populism, we're going to build an entirely new political movement. it's really related to jobs. the conservatives are going to go crazy. i'm the guy pushing a trillion-dollar infrastructure plan with negative interest rates throughout the world. it will be as exciting as the 1930s greater than the reagan revolution, conservatives, plus populists, and an economic nationalist movement. what is bannon's vision in a trump administration and what does he ultimately, in your opinion, want to see happen? >> i think he wants to see -- well, his method -- i don't know what he ultimately wants. i suppose taking him on his word, he ultimately wants to see people put back to work. but let's go i think from a political -- from a political perspective how he wants to

accomplish the -- his success and the success of this administration is putting people to work. spending an enormous amount of money. $1 trillion on rebuilding the country. this is -- remember, this is really old-fashioned politics, as old-fashioned as politics can get. build things, put people to work. you do that, and they will vote for you. >> do you think he wants to scrap the republican party as we know it? >> i think that he is uninterested in those distinctions. at one point, he actually described himself to me. he said, i'm the real democrat. and i don't think that he cares. i think that he sees the -- he sees this as a new sort -- a new political movement. and the political movement is to shift the focus off of -- well, he described it as the focus has been on $9 billion market cap

companies that employ nine people. and he is taking this back. and in a kind of actual conservative way. let us go back. so it's not change forward, it's change back, change back to a time when the american working people had jobs. >> really quickly. we have to wrap it. the people would just be -- they would be upset if i didn't ask you about the race question. he mentioned when you talked to him last summer that trump would do surprisingly well with women, hispanics and african-americans. he says in addition to working men and hence take florida, ohio, and michigan, the election, that happened. but that is the elephant. it's the race issue. we were just talking with ben jealous and a lot of people are saying, listen, we may not agree with it, but we can deal with it. it's the race issue that seems to get people so upset. >> it doesn't get people so upset. it gets -- no. it gets liberal people so upset. >> not -- it gets a lot of people upset. not just liberal people. >> and i'm not sure how you can

say that. i mean, they won. half of the country voted -- >> but they're still people, whether they're liberal people or what have you, they're still a chunk of people. >> yes, there are -- there are -- their opponents. >> but it's an issue. >> who are calling -- that's what they're -- you say you're a racist. and that was, and many of us, many of the people i know, believe that would be the issue that deprived them of the white house. it did not. at some level, you then have to say, this is our issue and not their issue that we cannot -- we can no longer say -- >> i have to -- >> disqualifies these people from power. >> i have to wrap. we're waiting on mitt romney's arrival in bedminster, new jersey. we'll be right back. when it comes to healthcare, seconds can mean the difference between life and death. for partners in health, time is life.

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