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Ben Carson Now Accepting White House Position; Trump Nominates Haley For Ambassador To U.N.; Betsy DeVos Accepts Secretary Of Education Job; Trump Downplays Business Conflicts; Trump Nominates Nikki Haley. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired November 23, 2016 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, I'm Brianna Keilar in for Wolf Blitzer. It is 1:00 p.m. here in Washington, 6:00 p.m. in London, 9:00 p.m. in Baghdad. And wherever you are watching from around the world, thank you for joining us.

Up first, the Trump administration taking shape. We have learned about more --learned some more about President-elect Donald Trump's choices for key positions as well as some new information about some of the top contenders.

A tweet from Dr. Ben Carson just a short time ago implied that he's poised to accept the role in the Trump White House. Carson tweeted this. He said, an announcement is forthcoming about my role in helping to make America great again. It's pretty clear there.

Carson originally said he didn't want a cabinet position. But Donald Trump asked him to consider becoming secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

And we've also learned that Donald Trump has nominated South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley as ambassador to the United Nations. Haley was a

vocal opponent of Donald Trump during the campaign before reluctantly supporting him. The Trump team was asked about the choice of Governor Haley during a conference call this morning.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

JASON MILLER, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL TRANSACTION TEAM: She's done a fantastic job with the state of South Carolina in helping to improve the economy, that's included a number of overseas trade and business recruitment missions.

I think there was also a natural chemistry between the two when they met and started talking about their vision of how we wanted the United States represented on the world stage.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

KEILAR: A source says that Mitt Romney is seriously considering the secretary of state position. He met with the president-elect over the weekend. Transition sources say that Romney is a leading contender. They also, though, say, there are still others in consideration.

Let's get more now on the latest Donald Trump transition developments. CNN National Correspondent Jason Carroll joining us from Palm Beach, Florida where the president-elect is spending the Thanksgiving holiday.

So, Jason, tell us what more are you're hearing from Dr. Ben Carson about this role with the Trump team?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly seems like something is coming, something possibly this afternoon. When you mentioned that tweet, he says an announcement is forthcoming. I mean, that pretty much says it, doesn't it, Brianna?

I mean, also, when you look at what he posted out there on his Facebook page where he said, after serious discussions with the Trump transition team, I feel I can make a significant contribution, particularly to making our inner cities great for everyone.

So, it appears that there's going to be some movement with Ben Carson there. We are expecting something perhaps this afternoon. I think a lot of people not surprised to hear about Ben Carson so much, but I think there was some surprise when --that the name of South Carolina's Governor, Nikki Haley sort of went out there. So, we're going to have to hear what's going to happen with that a little bit later.

But for right now, it appears that if we are going to hear something about Ben Carson, perhaps Brianna, this afternoon.

KEILAR: And people were surprised, Jason, about Nikki Haley because she was so critical of Donald Trump during the election.

CARROLL: Right. Right, you know, it's interesting when you hear -- you know, on that transition call, when you hear that the two had natural chemistry because that's certainly not what one expect when you look at their history.

I mean, Nikki Haley, as you know, endorsed Senator Marco Rubio. She really went after Trump, especially during the primaries. I mean, she went after him for not releasing his taxes. Went after him again for not, in her estimation, disavowing former KKK leader, David Duke, quickly enough.

So, she really went after him --went after him, in some ways. But then, when you look what Donald Trump says about her, that he really feels as though she is a governor that is able to bring people together. Obviously, referring to her abilities after the shooting there in South Carolina and the controversy dealing with the confederate flag. She received high praise for that.

She's receiving high praise from a number of people, even though she's also being criticized for not having enough foreign policy experience. But you listen to what Jason miller was saying, basically that she does have experience in dealing with overseas trading. You have Tim Kaine who's come out, basically in support of Nikki Haley as well. But, once again, an interesting choice. Haley saying this about what is going on. She's saying, when the president believes you have a major contribution to make to the welfare of our nation and to our nation's standing in the world, that is a calling that is important to heed. So, it looks as if these two people, Haley and Trump, have buried that hatchet and are ready to move forward and work together -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Jason Carroll for us in Florida. Thank you.

Let's bring in our super panel to discuss all of this. We have Bakari Sellers, CNN Commentator and former South Carolina House member. Kevin Sheridan is a former senior advisor to Romney for president. Carol Lee is White House reporter for "The Wallstreet Journal."

[13:05:03] Also joining us, "Washington Post" reporter Davis Nakamura and Jackie Kucinich, CNN Political Analyst and Washington bureau chief for "The Daily Beast." There we go. That was a mouth full.

All right. So, Bakari, you're --you have some, obviously, perspective as someone from South Carolina. And you heard what Jason Miller said about Nikki Haley having experience doing, basically, trade negotiations. What are you --what are you hearing about what must be a lot of surprise from people in your state?

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN COMMENTATOR: Well, let me first say that I actually served Nikki Haley in the South Carolina House of Representatives. We sat -- our desks were side by side for two years. And I consider her to be a friend.

I think that Jason Miller was overselling the experience quotient just a tad. Here, we don't deal with the complicate issues that our geopolitical friends and foes will pose to her being U.N. ambassador.

But I find myself applauding this decision by Donald Trump because Nikki Haley is a statesman. Nikki Haley is more than competent. And Nikki Haley surrounds herself with good people. She's an American story. She's the daughter of immigrants.

And I think that she will serve well for young girls throughout the world looking at -- for a beacon of light in this Trump administration. So, I do applaud him for making the nomination.

KEILAR: All right. Carol, I wonder what you think about this nomination of Nikki Haley. Because, I mean, you look at the Obama White House, and he's moved foreign policy in, sort of, this in-house operation. This is someone who could have a lot of influence, right?

CAROL LEE, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, "WALL STREET JOURNAL": Yes, definitely. The U.N. ambassador has a lot of influence on the president. She will now have three women, if she's confirmed, in a row. Is in all of the major meetings.

And I think it's going to be interesting to see how Donald Trump runs his foreign policy, because what he hasn't before, which was very clear from President Obama, was a vision, a doctrine. And we don't really know what his is.

And so, you know, if she is confirmed, she could have a tremendous amount of influence.

KEILAR: One of the knocks on some of the selections, Kevin, has been that there hasn't been a lot of diversity. You had five white guys who were picked but now you have Nikki Haley. She is, as Bakari said, sort of this American story. And Ben Carson, it appears, is going to be coming on board. Is this going to quiet some of those critics?

KEVIN SHERIDAN, FORMER SPOKESMAN, RNC: Yes, and he's talking to Michelle Rhee. And let's just let the process play out. He's only four picks in now and I think Nikki Haley is going to be a heck of a U.N. ambassador. She's a hyper-confident, very successful governor. She stepped into the breach, as we all know, when the shootings in Charleston happened.

And then, she really brought the state together and the country together along with the victims' families and brought the flag down. And that was a real moment in this country's history and for racial healing.

So, she now gets to go to the U.N., you know, test out her skill sets in a different way. But I think it's a great pick.

KEILAR: Let's talk about Mitt Romney especially you having been a former top adviser to his campaign. So, we mentioned that he's seriously considering the job of secretary of state. Not all Republicans are onboard with this. Let's listen to what the former governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee has to say about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE (R), ARKANSAS: He attacked him on a personal level about his character, integrity, his honor. But when you do that, there's only one way that I think Mitt Romney could even be considered for a post like that. And that is that he goes to a microphone in a very public place and repudiates everything he said in that famous Salt Lake City speech and everything he said after that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: OK. Well, listen to how the Trump team --this is how Jason Miller responded to that.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

MILLER: We very much appreciate the support and all the help we've gotten from Governor Huckabee. And I think he's been a fantastic advocate for the president-elect. What's really going to drive the president-elect is the judgment and decision-making strength that he looks at with potential applicants to any position.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

KEILAR: A lot of people, Jackie, think Romney has a shot here. But you also have Newt Gingrich who's pouring cold water over this idea. What's going on?

JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: OK. So, let's just back up a little bit.

KEILAR: Yes.

KUCINICH: Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney do not like each other. This goes all the way back to Iowa 2008.

KEILAR: Personal beef here.

KUCINICH: Personal beef. And the same thing with Newt Gingrich. Let's not forget that he won South Carolina in 2012, and then Mitt Romney came back in Florida and sort of blew him off the map.

So, these are two individuals, in particular, who don't have a lot of love for if Mitt Romney was, you know, up for any position. They would have something nasty to say about Mitt Romney on his birthday.

So, it's one --it's one of those things where, you know, all of these guys have had -- you have to consider the source. That's all I'm going to say.

KEILAR: On his birthday?

KUCINICH: OK.

DAVID NAKAMURA, REPORTER, "THE WASHINGTON POST": What's really interesting to me though is whether --you know, for someone like Mitt Romney to come into the administration to bury the hatchet on both sides would give a signal to a lot of the GOP foreign policy establishment in Washington that's trying to wonder where they fit in and or whether they would serve if asked?

And, you know, I think I saw one here actually in your studio who's going to tape a show for later who, you know, is very well respected on policy and himself wonders about, you know, whether there's a future for him in this administration.

[13:10:06] This could give a signal that it's OK to step in with Donald Trump. And maybe a signal that Trump would accept some of those who were leading the never Trump movement of which we know there were 50, you know, senior Republican operatives on foreign policy who said, you know, we would never want this guy as a --as our commander in chief. Now he is. We'll see if they can bridge that divide.

KEILAR: It seems like, Kevin, in talking to Romney folks, a little on lockdown as we see what is supposed to be a private process play out. But it sounds like he really has a decent chance of doing this. So, how -- whether it's in Mitt Romney's case or it's in the case of someone else, Nikki Haley who had disagreements with Donald Trump and is much more hawkish on foreign policy, how do they bridge that gap?

SHERADIN: I think it's a good sign for the party that it's coming together. I mean, two weeks ago we were breaking up a party and now we're all on the same page getting together again. And whether or not he ends up picking any of these people that we've talked about --

KEILAR: It's a miracle.

SHERADIN: It truly is. Whether or not he picks Romney or not, I have no inside knowledge to it whatsoever. I just know what I read in the "Wallstreet Journal" and other places. But I think this is a good sign for the party. It's a good sign for the country. And he has his pick of anybody he wants. He came in. He did it his way. And now, he can pick anyone inside, outside the party, who is against him or for him.

KEILAR: And it seems like a lot of people are saying -- Petraeus is saying this. Hey, if I'm asked, I'm going to do it. And they're saying country first, right, Carol?

LEE: Yes, a lot of people are. And, you know, you see this all the time. There's the battle of the campaign and you move into governing and people put things aside and move on.

I do have to say that if you're a Newt Gingrich or a Rudy Giuliani, you're, like, what am I getting for being in so early?

KEILAR: Right.

LEE: You know, it's almost like -- I mean, that if you're --if the president-elect is looking at a Romney over a Rudy Giuliani for secretary of state, you must feel just a little bit, kind of, left out or wondering, like, --

KEILAR: It just didn't matter.

LEE: Yes. You know?

NAKAMURA: Even President Obama did the team of rivals in the beginning, especially on foreign policy and Hillary Clinton, of course, kept Robert gates at the Pentagon. So, it's not unheard of. Maybe they weren't -- not quite pitched battle that we saw this around with the name-calming and what happened between Romney and Trump. But there's precedent for this.

KEILAR: Let's talk about this "New York Times" meeting that Donald Trump had. It seems like he's really back pedaling from what he said. Whether it's on waterboarding, he seems to have rethought that. Whether he's having more of an open mind about the Paris climate change agreement. Is this him actually back pedaling or is he just -- does he just reflect, sort of, maybe what he --

KUCINICH: The last person we spoke to?

KEILAR: That's right.

KUCINICH: There is that --there is that part of it. But this is one of the things that you heard critics of Donald Trump warn about throughout this election, be it the primary, be it the general, is that since he doesn't really have --he's not an ideologue. He's not something that came with --someone who came with a set of policy positions. And, as a result, he has a lot of flexibility.

He's also a negotiator. That's how he fashions himself. And he has said that, no, you know, when I said, insert X, that was where I was starting. My mind can be changed.

KEILAR: OK. We actually have a -- as we were just here talking, we have some news. A transition of power alert. We have learned that Betsy DeVos, she's accepted the nomination of secretary of education in Donald Trump's cabinet. OK, she is a charter school advocate. So, now we know that it's not going to be Michelle Rhee. This is someone who is a charter school advocate as Michelle Rhee was. What does that say about the priorities here, do you think, in terms of who he's appealing to and maybe what this means?

SHERIDAN: Well, I think Donald Trump has said all along that he's going to take on Washington. He's going to take on the teachers' unions in some way, probably. Betsy DeVos a long-time advocate for that. Charter schools are very important to the Republican Party and part of our platform. So, I --this is a good pick and it's another -- it's another woman.

SELLERS: Brianna, if I may.

KEILAR: Yes, go ahead, Bakari.

SELLERS: If I may , I think that this pick is a bit ironic. I mean, one of the things Donald Trump ran on was draining the proverbial swamp. And here, he chooses the -- his secretary of education is one of his largest donors.

I was listening to the descriptions that we used to describe Donald Trump as somewhat creating policy based upon the last person he spoke to and then being a negotiator. Donald Trump is also very transactional.

And what we see here in this pick of secretary of education, one of the things that everyone knows in the Republican Party is that you have to go through the DeVos (ph) to make sure that you get those checks in. This draining the swamp versus this pick for secretary of education is very clearly transactional and it kind of flies in the face of this new mantra of draining the swamp.

KEILAR: Has it --but it seems like many --this is even what President-elect Obama found as he was coming in. It was supposed to be a different kind of politics. But when you real --when it comes down to it and you need someone to have institutional knowledge and to do the job, you really only have a certain pool to pick from, right, David?

[13:15:00] NAKAMURA: Right, and the people who are trying to influence your campaign have something to gain from that as well. They have policy positions that they are pushing, as she does.

And, you know, but I think Trump also is someone who's promised to break up, you know, traditional ways of thinking. Charter school movement has been around for a while now. We see it in D.C. even where Michelle Rhee was the chancellor.

But, you know, this is something, you're going to try something different if the status quo is not working. And so I think he's committed to that, or the party's committed to that. It's another way to say, you know, we're going to try it outside the box, try different ideas.

KEILAR: Do you -- I wonder, Bakari, as you listen to some of what Donald Trump has been saying lately, he's brushed aside questions about the conflicts of interest when it comes to his businesses, and really if there's going to be this firewall. Some people have suggested, there's no way for there to be a firewall if his children are in charge of his business empire. What do you make of him saying, basically people knew what -- what I was up to personally, professionally, during the election when they voted for me, this really doesn't matter?

SELLERS: And he also made the strange statement in "The New York Times" sit-down meeting that he had, that because I'm president, I can do it. There are no conflicts of interest because they don't apply to the president. It sounded -- it was eerie because it sounded relatively Nixonian. And every single day we had these new stories that come out. Oh, the irony of Donald Trump getting paid $150,000 to his foundation from a Ukrainian olengart (ph) for a speech that he gave. I mean these ethical gray areas that he plays in on a day-by-day basis will continue to have these conflicts of interest. And unless he can -- unless he just divests completely from Trump enterprises, which we know will not be the case, he's going to continue to have these. We have a story today of Donald Trump Jr., actually in October, going to Paris to meet with Russia and talk about Syria. I mean we just have a lot of these different conflicts that involve his children.

KEILAR: Yes.

SELLERS: Ivanka Trump sitting in on meetings. And it's just a big cloud. And I think this is going to be our generation of Nixon. It depends on the journalists of how we cover it.

KEILAR: We will see how this turns out. Much time ahead of us.

Bakari Sellers, thank you so much. Jackie, David, Carol, Kevin, thank you.

Governor Nikki Haley was once a major critic of the president-elect, as we were just discussing. She called him out on his campaign rhetoric, also for his refusal to release his taxes, among other things we should mention. So, does today's nomination bridge the divide between Donald Trump and the never Trump Republicans? We'll be asking one after the break.

Plus, it is the strongest chokehold yet on ISIS in Mosul as Iraqi-led forces surround the city completely. We are live on the ground in Iraq later this hour.

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[13:21:28] KEILAR: Welcome back.

We just found out before the break that Betsy Devos was selected as secretary of education. Now, that's not the first cabinet announcement today. Nikki Haley, South Carolina governor, was tapped to be U.S. ambassador to the U.N. And relations between President-elect Trump and South Carolina's governor, they were less than cordial. You'll probably remember, they were quite critical of each other during the election. It seems to have changed, though. In a statement announcing Haley has been nominated to be U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Donald Trump stated this. He said, "Governor Haley has a proven track record of bringing people together regardless of background or party affiliation to move critical policies forward for the betterment of her state and our country."

Let's discuss this turn of events now. I'm joined by Congressman Adam Kinzinger.

And, congressman, what was your reaction to this, especially as many people say she doesn't have a whole lot of foreign policy experience, but they also are feeling better, Republicans are, because she's a little more hawkish than Donald Trump?

REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R), ILLINOIS: I think it's a great pick. I mean its -- it shows, again, something that literally from Donald Trump's kind of election speech where he came out and it wasn't like gloating or bragging. It was -- it was -- there was a sense of humility of, hey, we need to come together as a country. We need to unite as a party and a country. And I think this furthers that, not just for the internal sides of things, but Nikki Haley has shown an amazing frankly diplomatic skill set, not just in her job at governor, but in, you know, the really sensitive time after the church shooting and then dealing with the confederate flag issue. I think she's a great pick for Donald Trump and I'm excited to see her and I'm excited to see, frankly, all of the new picks that are coming. It seems like Donald Trump is focused not just again on uniting the party, but in also uniting the country in saying, look, we're going to put the best people around in this job to -- so that we can have some success here.

KEILAR: But what about the lack of foreign policy experience? I mean your point is certainly well taken, that following that what was -- what was really potentially a crisis in her state, she did handle that very diplomatically. But without that substantive experience, we've heard Jason Miller say that she has this experience with trade, international trade, but, you know, you talk to people and they say that's not really true?

KINZINGER: Well, you know, I mean maybe she has that experience, maybe not, but I can tell you, when it comes to being a diplomat or it comes to being an ambassador to the United Nations or frankly to any other country, it's a skill set where it's more about bringing people together, negotiating solutions. I mean she's not going to be at the United Nations basically independently making decisions about U.S. foreign policy. Those will be given to her by the administration.

But where the skill set really comes in is the ability to negotiate issues, to bring maybe Russia and the United States and China together to deal with whatever the next big issue on the plate is to say, how do we come to a solution for the, you know, the sake of peace, humanity and everything else? And so while foreign policy experience is always good to have and in frankly any job, the ability to bring teams together and negotiate is what's most important when it comes to somebody in this position. I think she's a fantastic pick and will do very well.

KEILAR: I want to talk to you, congressman, about -- I wouldn't say it's a unique position that you find yourself in, but some people would look at it and say that it might be a little bit of an awkward position. I want to play for you what you said about Donald Trump back in August.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KINZINGER: Donald Trump, for me, is beginning to cross a lot of red lines of the unforgivable in politic. And so, you know, I'm not going to support Hillary. But, you know, in America, we have the right to write somebody in or skip the vote and vote for Mark Kirk in Illinois, for instance. And that's what it's looking like for me today. I just don't see how I get to Donald Trump anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:25:13] KEILAR: OK, you said that then. You said that you might write someone in. Did you?

KINZINGER: Yes, I mean, I -- I'm honest about that. Yes, I followed through on what I said. But, you know, the campaign is one thing. And there were a lot of things that he said in the campaign that I disagree with and I was very open about it. I was asked about him. But the moment after the campaign, now you have a president-elect. And now it's about supporting that president-elect, bringing people together that, you know, in a campaign felt wounded or people that were angry or anything else and saying, OK, now that process is over. Now it's about being president of the United States. And I, frankly, have been very excited by what I've seen come from Donald Trump and as a Republican I think it's going to be a good opportunity and as a country, you know --

KEILAR: Which -- which things are you excited by?

KINZINGER: Well, I think there's things like, you know, actually doing tax reform. I think there's issues like dealing with an infrastructure bill. Seeing a new versus of foreign policy from this administration versus the inaction we've seen from President Obama. So there's a lot of opportunity.

But the other thing I want to make is this. I think you're going see a President-elect Trump reach out, not just to Republicans to unite them, but say, in areas we can work with Democrats, we ought to do that. I think it's the right thing to do. There's always going to be stuff that, you know, Democrats don't agree with what we're doing. That's the nature of politics. But in areas like infrastructure and tax reform, I think there is an area to have Democratic input and I'm excited to see if, as a country, we can work together like that. KEILAR: All right, we are going to wait and see. We have a few weeks

yet ahead of us here. Adam Kinzinger, congressman, thank you so much. We appreciate your time.

KINZINGER: You bet. Happy Thanksgiving.

KEILAR: You, too. Happy Thanksgiving.

Representative Keith Ellison has garnered heavy support from top Democrats, but one group that's not onboard with this Minnesota congressman is the Obama administration. Details on this battle brewing over DNC leadership, next.

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