being briefed on the biggest secrets this nation has. a special edition of "the lead" starts right now. >> as i have said from the beginning, ours was not a campaign but rather an incredible and great movement. >> democrats thought it was impossible, polling said it was improbable, even some of the republicans running his own campaign thought it was a pipe dream. but president-elect donald trump knocked the establishment down and out as hillary clinton steps aside. >> donald trump is going to be

our president. we owe him an open mind and the chance to lead. >> like the most blaring morning hangover in history for the democratic party, hillary clinton calling for unity as the highest and hardest glass ceiling remains firmly in place. and roughly half the voters in this nation are jubilant while the other half are desolate. many hurt specifically by trump's own words. can the nation heal? and how? welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i'm jake tapper. president-elect trump is about to move into the house behind me for any number of reasons, including specific policy proposals, promises that his voters expect he will implement. just some of trump's promises? repeal and replace obamacare, build a wall along the southern border with mexico and get

mexico to pay for said wall. deport all 11 million to 12 million undocumented immigrants in this country including children, appoint a special prosecutor to investigate and potentially jail hillary clinton. temporarily ban muslims and others from coming into the united states. throw out nafta and scrap the tpp, the transpacific partnership, two trade deals that shape what our economy looks like plus impose tariffs on chinese and mexican goods unless the countries give the u.s. more favorable returns. cut taxes. tear up the iran deal. renaes renato. fix infrastructure and change libel laws. all of this is more mr. trump said would make america great again. now he has a republican congress. how much of this stated agenda will president trump actually

achieve and how much will he actually push for? to jim acosta outside trump tower. jim, you said early last night trump advisors thought they would need a miracle to win. apparently the voters provided said miracle. >> reporter: that's right, jake. donald trump and his team were huddled behind closed doors in trump tower behind me working through the shock of that miracle and planning for a new administration that promises to transform the nation as you just mentioned and as the president-elect likes to say, drain the swamp in washington. it's no longer mr. trump. it's president-elect trump. and the incoming 45th president of the united states is so far trying out a new, more unified message. >> now it's time for america to bind the wounds of division. have to get together. >> reporter: that theme is filtering down to his top aides. in response to hillary clinton's concession speech. senior trump advisor jason miller did not use the term

crooked hillary. trump's gop critics are saying the right things too, from jeb bush and george w. bush and john mccain and mitt romney after a campaign that alienated hispanics, muslims and women. trump is sounding an inclusive tone. >> it's a movement comprised of americans from all races, religions, backgrounds and beliefs who want and expect our government to serve the people and serve the people it will. >> even the proposals trump talked about in his victory speech have broad appeal. >> we are going to fix our inner cities and rebuild our highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, schools, hospitals. we're going to rebuild our infrastructure. we will also finally take care of our great veterans. >> reporter: trump has also promised a more partisan agenda. repealing obamacare.

building a wall on the makes condition border. renegotiating trade deals. waterboarding terror suspects. he'll have a republican congress led my paul ryan backing some of his plans. >> donald trump heard a voice in this country that no one else heard. he connected in ways with people no one else did. he turned politics on its head. and now donald trump will lead a unified republican government. >> reporter: trump's administration should have plenty of familiar faces. rnc chair reince priebus and chris christie are mentioned as favorites for white house chief of staff. as is mike flynn for national security advisor. kellyanne conway and stephen beenon are likely to become senior advisors. sources say the cabinet could feature. newt gingrich. bob corker, and rudy giuliani in powerful positions. >> he went way out to make sure everybody heard him loudly and clearly that he will be the president for all americans. >> reporter: these potential new

members of the trump administration say americans need to give the man they know intimately a chance. >> he is a reflective person. he isn't a bombastic guy that the media tries to portray. he is a gracious, personable guy with a lot of qualities that make him endearing. he wants to be a great president. and he will be. >> reporter: now donald trump is being swept into the important business of running this country and being president of the united states. he has now been cleared to receive the same national security briefings that president obama currently receives. president obama has extended an invitation to donald trump to meet him at the white house tomorrow. jake, i should point out, it's kind of an amazing scene out here outside of trump tower. protesters and a lot of security. it's almost like the election didn't happen. but oh, it has. jake. >> it has indeed. jim acosta, thank you very much. joining me now me now rob

portman, the reelected senator from ohio. mr. portman, congratulations on your big night. >> thank you, jake. good to be on with you. >> i outlined trump's stated policy pledges that he made during the campaign a few of them. building a wall along the southern border that mexico pays for. appointing a special prosecutor to investigate hillary clinton. temporarily banning muslims and immigrants from terror prone nations from coming into the u.s. deporting undocumented immigrants. are any of those proposals you would get on board with? >> you missed some of those that i think we can find a lot of common ground. one would be tax reform that he's talked about that a lot. we need it desperately. jobs and companies are going overseas and investments not coming back here. $2.5 trillion locked up overseas, much of which could come back with the right policies. infrastructure. i think that's one where we

could find common ground. health care. the sky rocketing premiums and high deductibles, i don't think anyone sees as sustainable. >> one of the reasons he was able to win the state of ohio by such a significant margin is because of so many mainly white working-class voters in parts of your state and michigan and pennsylvania feeling as though elites in washington have sent their jobs overseas with these trade deals that have benefited corporations and wall street and hurt them. do you agree with his basic construct of that, that these trade deals are the reason why some of these parts of the country are in such bad straits? >> i think we should be tougher on trade enforcement. i have taken a lead on that as you know. i won by 21 points in ohio. 15 points ahead of mr. trump in part because i have actually

accomplished things that help our steel workers, paperworkers and tire workers in ohio, that's to go after companies that send products here illegally because they dump it below their cost or subsidize it. also the currency manipulation issue he's talked about. i think people want a fair shake. that's understandable. people are smart. they look at what's happened. it's not just the trade agreements. we only have trade agreements with 10% of the world. we send 60% to the 10%. that's not really the issue as much as the fact that trade is not on a level playing field now. people want to see the trade enforcement. i think that's one reason he won michigan and ohio, certainly. i think it's something he can deliver on. i think there are a lot of members of congress who would like to see a more level playing field. expanding exports, yes. but ensuring that we are cracking down on unfair trade coming our way. >> cnn senior international correspondent clarissa ward in is moscow gauging reaction to

president-elect trump. officially in russia, the kremlin and president putin issued a politecrati congratula. privately one popping open a bottle champagne. there was a round of applause in the parliament. does that concern you at all, or do you agree that the united states and russia should be closer allies? >> well, it would be great to be closer allies. it would be important, you know, for global peace. i think we need to be careful with regard to some of the specific policies. as you know, i have taken a role on this eastern european issue of pushing back against russia, not just crimea but also what they're doing on the eastern border of ukraine. i think the sanctions are appropriate. yes, of course, we want a better relationship with russia, china and other countries around the world. and there is an opportunity here. this could be a fresh start. does that sound familiar? we have to be sure that it's based on the right kinds of policies and that it's in our national security interest.

>> after that "access hollywood" tape came out, you said that you were not going to vote for mr. trump, you were going to write in mike pence. i am assuming that you did that. what do you want -- >> i did. >> -- to see from president-elect trump going forward so that he can unite the country and bring senators like you and democrats who have been offended by things he's said into some sort of unity, into a moment where the country comes together? >> yeah. it's not about me or even my colleagues. it's about the american people. what i want to see is what i saw last night. i thought he gave a terrific speech. he talked about the fact that we need to come together to solve problems. he said he'll reach out to every american. he said, for those who haven't voted for me, i want your guidance and your ideas. i like that. i also thought hillary clinton's comments were hopeful when she talked about keeping an open mind, this is a fresh start. president obama also, as you know, spoke this afternoon and set pretty much the same tone with his remarks. i think there is an opportunity now, jake.

look, i think it's in everybody's interests because it's the right thing to do but i also think it's what the american people want. our campaign was premised on the legislation i had gotten passed that's happening families in ohio right now. they wanted to know what have you done for me and what's your vision going forward? i am hopeful that democrats, republicans and alike will understand that this is the right thing to do and it's not bad politics and let's figure out a way to find common ground going forward. i know voters don't want a replay of the last four or eight years. >> senator, thank you and congratulations again, sir. >> thanks, jake. always great to be on with you. keep an open mind and give trump a chance. that from hillary clinton as she bowed out of a brutal 15-month race. the concession and her call for unity next.

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welcome back to "the lead." while millions of american

families are thrilled that finally someone who cares about them and their needs is heading to washington, d.c., to shake things up, there are also many, many americans who are desolate about the glass ceiling remaining unbroken. a lot of little girls and boys swallowed tears with their orange juice this morning. hillary clinton came the closest any woman ever has to becoming an american president. after an extraordinary campaign cycle the former first lady. new york senator and former secretary of state fell short. while she put off her concession speech for several hours. when she did speak she apologized to supporters and urged people to give president trump on open mind and a chance. brianna keilar joins me. the clinton camp went into election night firmly expecting a win. >> they sure did, jake. and they ended the night, you can only describe it as crestfallen and then in tears

today, audible sobs as hillary clinton gave her concession speech in new york. hillary clinton ending her run, shocked, saddened and gracious. >> we must accept this result and then look to the future. donald trump is going to be our president. we owe him an open mind and the chance to lead. >> apologizing to those who worked on her campaign. >> this is not the outcome we wanted or we worked so hard for, and i am sorry that we did not win this election for the values we share and the vision we hold for our country. >> with a nod to young supporters and to women. >> especially the young women who put their faith in this campaign and in me, i want you to know that nothing has made me prouder than to be your champion. >> as polls closed tuesday night, cheer gave way to concern, then disbelief and tears at clinton's election night party.

battleground florida, for the campaign was confident about victory going red. north carolina doing the same. then the blue firewall went up in flames. trump scooping up reliably democratic wisconsin, surging in michigan, still too close to call, and pennsylvania, where clinton consistently led in the polls, ending her hopes as it turned red. gathered beneath the glass ceiling of the javits center the supporters expected a sequel of her 2008 concession speech. >> though we weren't able to shatter the highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you it has about 18 million cracks in it. >> workers emptied confetti cans meant to imitate shattered glass, clinton falling short of her goal. >> i know we have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling, but someday someone will, and hopefully sooner than we might think right now. >> in the end, the polls were

wrong. almost all of them. and clinton irreparably damaged by her own deeds, including the use of a private e-mail address and server while secretary of state. >> the server will remain private. >> president obama's argument that clinton would protect his legacy not enough. >> it is no secret that the president-elect and i have some pretty significant differences. everybody is sad when their side loses an election. but the day after, we have to remember that we're actually all on one team. >> clinton also urging unity but acknowledging the hurt her supporters feel. >> this is painful, and it will be for a long time. but i want you to remember this. our campaign was never about one person or even one election. it was about the country we love and about building an america that's hopeful, inclusive and big-hearted.

>> and though not widespread there is some finger-pointing going on within the democratic party, jake. i spoke with bernie sanders' top surrogate and a biographer of bernie sanders. he said we told the party bernie movement, and they would not listen. he said, no, they had to anoint her. it was like an alcoholic family not willing to have an intervention. he had specific choice words for the former chairman of the dnc debbie wasserman schultz, that i cannot repeat on your family program. >> today hillary clinton is once again yielding to the will of the people, continuing a tradition of conceding to the winner. obviously, i would rather have won, vice president walter mondale said in 1980, but i also see a reason to rejoice, for we are privileged to be a democracy. for a dozen or so hours today the american people quietly

wielded their staggering power. i want to bring in pulitzer prize winner author doris gershwin. >> it surprised me like everybody else. what's been hopeful today is listening to the speeches of trump and obama and hillary. a classiness of accepting this peaceful transition of power in a way we might have worried about before this election happened. i think that gives anyone on either side a good feeling about our democracy, at least as of this moment. >> trump did not reach the total vote number achieved by either mitt romney or john mccain, trailing behind by one to two million americans. the problem was not so much a surge for trump but clinton failing to reach obama's total by something like five or six million. was this election, do you think, about trump's strength more or

clinton's weaknesses? >> oh, it's probably about both. but i think the hardest thing for the person who lost, which is mrs. clinton right now, is to imagine that it was in part about her weaknesses. you think about what we feel about politicians and we somehow get very cynical about them. yet, they put themselves forward in front of the country, and the loss is monumental. everybody in the world knows that she lost this election right now, and yet she handled it with a grace and with a classiness. her emotions were clear within her. i know from other presidents who have talked about it. president bush sr. said it hurts, it hurts. president ford said, it's harder when it's close because you keep saying, what if i had done this or that. i'm sure the clinton campaign is saying what if we didn't have the e-mail problem, if we handled the bernie problem differently. it's difficult. you have to give them a degree of emotional support and understanding and empathy for this moment that she is facing right now.

>> when president obama took office in 2009, democrats controlled the house, they controlled the senate, they controlled 29 governorships. this january, republicans will control the building behind me, the white house, the senate, the house and at least 33 governorships. what happened, and do you think that that reflects at all on president obama's legacy? >> well, i think clearly we're going to have to look back to that mid-term election in 2010. as you say, the democrats came in with the control. health care got proposed. somehow during that summer before the mid-term elections it was never explained in a way that people understood it. perhaps there were not simplified enough bullet points. they talk about death panels. the tea party got going. the democrats lost the state houses and the reapportionment that happens in that decade time. i think, looking back at that moment, that will be a hard moment for the party and for the obama people to look back, even though they have accomplished so much in between those times. >> i know we're just writing the

first draft of history right now, and you are not a first-draft of history type person. you are a years and years of research type person. what do you think happened last night? a lot of people reaching out to people in the media saying, i didn't expect this at all. what happened? >> i think, if i were to look at it historically, that what happened is the country was changing in ways that a lot of people were not happy with. it had to do with the loss of jobs, but more importantly the loss of themselves and how they felt they were part of a middle class with upward mobility and no longer felt that. lots of immigrants were coming in from abroad. there was a feeling of a huge gap between the rich and poor. and somehow donald trump told a narrative, told a story, that touched those people. we will make america great again, as if somehow we were going to go backward and create a world that no longer exists. you saw the huge divide between rural and diverse areas, so people who felt like something had happened to their lives were able to project the problem onto

other people. whether they be immigrants or people in the cities. and somehow he was able to tell a story that made those people feel like i'll make america the way it used to be and the way you want it to be. that story on out over the idea of being stronger together. it's always about a narrative. that's in a certain way how people respond to a very complicated campaign. >> donald trump, of course, didn't just win the white house. he will have a republican senate, a republican house, a chance to effect the supreme court for years to come, at least one supreme court justice, maybe as many as four. what does our nation's presidential history show when presidents have all of those other bodies on the same side, in the same party? >> well, the interesting thing is it sometimes shows that hubris sets in. you then think you have even more of a mantel than you actually do and you may move the country too quickly into a direction they're not ready to move it. the cautionary thing is, as it

did for roosevelt in 1966 he went to court packing and he had a huge mantel to do it. warnings should be there. even though it allows you to move in a way you can't when you have a broken congress, the one thing the country will be interesting to see, we've been decrying gridlock. now one party will have a lot of control. let's see whether they use it in a measured way, whether they're able to gain to their popularity because of it or whether they move too fast in directions that the other people who didn't vote for them won't be happy about and they'll lose in the next cycle. what goes around comes around. >> thank you. always an honor to talk to you. president obama said repeatedly donald trump could not be trusted with the nuclear codes. now that trump is president-elect, how will the rest of the world work with mr. trump? stay with us.

welcome back to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. earlier this morning donald trump, the soon to be leader of the free world pledged to, quote, get along with all the

nations as long as they're willing to get along with the u.s. but during his campaign he wasn't always so diplomatic. suggesting that more countries should get nuclear weapons, complimenting vladimir putin, saying he would reconsider, tear up again the iran deal, even proposing to not automatically protect nato allies. let's bring in cnn global affairs correspondent elise labott. >> congratulations pouring in from around the world. many laced with shock and uncertainty. u.s. allies in europe and asia are nervous about trump's promise to remake p much of the world order. while in russia, hope of a new day. tonight world leaders pledged to work with president-elect donald trump. but with a healthy dose of anxiety over how he would confront world challenges with his foreign policy of america first. >> i want to tell the world

community that, while we will always put america's interests first, we will deal fairly with everyone. we will seek common ground, not hostility, partnership, not conflict. >> the question for many american allies, with president-elect trump make good on his controversial campaign pledges to rip up trade deals, build a wall against the mexican border andb bar muslim immigrants. in russia the champagne was popping. lawmakers breaking out in applause over the election of trump who has praised president putin and promised to work closely with moscow in syria and the fight against isis. he's tied hacking of u.s. political groups to the kremlin. an enthusiastic putin sept a telegram to the president-elect expressing hope in a trump administration. >> translator: russia is ready and wants to restore full-fledged relations with the u.s. >> reporter: in asia, anxiety

over how trump would lead. japan's financial markets tumbled. trump's call for both japan and south korea to defend themselves hit close to him. trump threatened to undo the iran deal. >> translator: a future u.s. president-elect is obliged to stay committed to this multi-lateral nuclear deal. >> reporter: after warning that the fate of the world is at risk with a president trump -- >> this guy is temperamentally unfit to be commander in chief. >> reporter: the white house now turning the page. >> the peaceful transition of power is one of the hallmarks of our democracy. and over the next few months we are going to show that to the world. >> reporter: across europe, congratulations but unease that the u.s. will now move closer to rush and away from nato, which trump said he could abandon unless allies pay their fair share. >> i will discuss with

president-elect trump the way forward regarding how nato shall continue to respond to a new and more challenging security environment, a more dangerous world. >> reporter: leaders of the european union are holding an emergency meeting this weekend to discuss the implications of trump's election. the eu has invited him for a summit as soon as possible to chart the next four years. some leaders want to talk to the president-elect immediately to clarify some of these controversial foreign policy positions. today the french president said the election of donald trump opens what he called a, quote, period of uncertainty, jake. >> thank you so much. let's bring in our political panel. kirsten powers, ron brownstein, nia-malika henderson, kaleigh mcenany. what happened? >> it's a story of unbalanced or

disproportionate mobilization. donald trump blew the doors off. he won non-college white voters by more than ronald reagan did against walter mondale. he dominated outside of urban areas. look at these maps of wisconsin and pennsylvania and michigan. there are just a couple little blue -- a couple blueberries in this red sea. everywhere outside the metro areas. clinton did not collapse in the democratic coalition, but she sagged slightly among minorities and millennials. and among college-educated whites she gained ground as we expected, but not nearly as much ground as we expected. and in this kind of just cultural civil war, i think that this election was, she fell just short in those three states. pennsylvania, michigan and wisconsin. that ended up deciding it. she lost by a point or less. she will probably, almost certainly, win the popular vote, but the size of -- by the way, it wasn't a big increase in the share. it was the margins, the consolidation around donald trump in blue-collar white

america was overwhelming, hillary clinton and decisive. >> speaking of the popular vote, we should note that in 2012 when it looked as though barack obama would win the electoral vote but mitt romney would win the popular vote, which didn't ultimately happen, donald trump tweeted the electoral college is a disaster -- [ laughter ] >> there it is. >> yeah. >> november 6, 2012. >> doesn't mean it now. yeah. >> doesn't feel that way now. >> nia-malika henderson, one of the things that's interesting, is at least last time i looked trump had not achieved the vote count that mitt romney or john mccain had. close but behind a million or two. it was the plummeting, hillary clinton lagging five or six million votes behind barack obama which is why she lost. who didn't come to vote for her? what happened? >> you know, i think one of the things we saw in the hillary clinton campaign -- first of all, i want to say a lot of us were wrong, including me. we were talking just yesterday about the hidden trump vote,

apparently there was a hidden trump vote. it came out strong yesterday. i think one of the things hillary clinton did was that she was to the left really of any other democrat i can remember in terms of issues of race, racism, and immigration reform. and i think she wasn't able to sort of swell the african-american vote and the latino vote in the way that she expected by moving to the left, and she also, i think, alienated college whites by doing that. bill clinton had sister soldier moments, right, with african-americans and even barack obama was able to not even necessarily have sister soldier moments with black folks but essentially say i am with you without openly court them. he would go to black audiences and talk about not racism but black behavior. in that way i think she misjudged the electorate. she leaned into too much to the race issues and it alienated

some college-educated whites and non-college whites. >> interesting. kevin, let me start with you on this side. what do you think -- where can there be immediate action with this republican white house, republican house, republican senate? where will we see progress? will they do an infrastructure build that they wouldn't do with president obama? >> gloria borger pointed out last night, probably one of the more astute observations. we have a populist coalition. it's more focused on some of the economic concerns that many of these voters that really came out for president-elect trump. and so things like infrastructure, definitely border security, and the other hidden issue, i think, out there that was animating a lot of voter concerns, which is the obamacare premium spikes that came towards the end of the campaign and really did give

president-elect trump the momentum he needed at a crucial time when he was trying to get out his vote. so those three issues, i think those are areas where, amongst that populist conservative coalition there is probably a lot of common ground up on capitol hill. >> what do you think he should take on first, jeffrey? also. jeffrey lord and kaleigh mcenany, congratulations, your candidate won. what do you think -- obamacare is the first thing? >> yes. >> just repeal or replace it with something? >> replace it with something, but don't federalize the structure. i mean, take -- i mean, this is where we perpetually get in trouble. this is why this city is physically constructed the way it is and why so many people in -- outside this beltway have such resentment. because you pass legislation that creates some enormous federal program and then you basically wind up hiring people at $100,000 a pop in here and set up lobby firms to lobby them and it's a self-perpetuating situation. for heaven sakes get it out of

here. put it back in the states. fut put it back in the situation where individuals have control of their own health care. in my own state, it appeared -- front page of the pennsylvania papers a week before the election that their premiums were going up 33%. i mean, that's -- that was the killer. >> 23. >> no. 33. >> 33 in pennsylvania. average 23 nationwide. >> can republicans throw the people off the millions of people who now have health care because of obamacare? >> he has put forth a plan where chem it purchase health care. he has talked about leaving in place some of the things that have worked. allowing those with preex isiis conditions to find health care. paul ryan has a good plan and i think it should be the plan put forward.

before obamacare i think donald trump should set a precedent of putting ethics back to this town. five-year bans on executive officials from being lobbyists to foreign governments. give the government back to the people. >> drain the swamp. >> patti. i don't have to tell you there are a lot of very sad people who supported hillary clinton. >> i am one of them. >> a lot of people who are worried because of some of the things trump has said during the campaign about muslims, immigrants and et cetera. what would you -- if donald trump said to you, patti soliz doyle, tell me what i need to do to unite this country, what would you tell him? >> first let me agree with you that, yes, democrats are devastated today because, you know, he is going to take office with a republican senate, a republican house, and possibly be able to appoint two to three supreme court justices in his term. and that's devastating to us.

i hope that donald trump first reaches out to all of those people that i think he has alienated, insulted -- i know you don't agree with me, but we feel insulted. women, disabled people. african-americans, muslims, latinos. hispanics. i hope he reaches out to them. i hope he has a diverse administration. i hope that he has a diverse cabinet. i hope that he reach -- gives an olive branch to democrats. i think he needs to start with an apology, honestly. >> kirsten, what do you think? >> i think the problem is, what often happens -- we've already seen trump people saying that he has a mandate, right. and this happens seems like anytime anybody wins an election regardless by how much they win an election they always believe they have a mandate.

the reality is she is probably going to win the popular vote which means we have a really divided country and a lot of people didn't vote for him. so can he be somebody who can somehow try to reach out to everybody and not just say, this is the way it is. and look, everyone has their grievances. the deplorable thing. that is a fair grievance. for hillary clinton to have referred to the basket of deplorables. that's a fair grievance. so i think trump is now going to be the president, so he has to, i think, set that aside and say let's move on and let's start fresh. >> mary katharine, you have been in an awkward situation bus you are a conservative and you have not been a trump fan. >> i got real comfortable with awkward. >> what do you -- if he was asking -- the same thing i asked patti and kirsten, what would you say to him and he said, i really want to unite the country. i don't know that he would say this. i know people were offended by things i said. what do i need to do. what would you tell him?

>> i think he needs to speak in a more respectable way about these groups of folks and address that. i think he can try to do that. look, he broke all the rules getting here. there is not a lot of incentive to change what he's doing. when it comes to the mea culpas, part of understanding the process is there were a bunch of experts who said things that were wrong. not just in the election but in public policy. a bunch of promises made about obamacare and telling folks this is how it's going to work and they were wrong. they were wrong. people reading that are saying, look, there is good reason not to trust you guys and there is good reason to be angry when i am told, sit down, little people, and we'll figure this out for you. i think that's where so much of the energy came from that i frankly didn't think would be enough to get him across the line but it was. >> thank you so much. really appreciate it. he may know trump voters before than anyone. today he says trump and clinton supporters are, quote, living in two separate countries. insight into what really

propelled trump into the white house, next. don't just eat. ♪ mangia! bertolli.

. welcome back to "the lead."

many of hillary clinton's loyal supporters are still in complete disbelief, but for many of his nearly 60 million voters, today is a thrill. and long overdue. especially for working-class white voters, including voters from the rust belt who helped to pave the way to the white house for a self-described billionaire from fifth avenue. >> i think it's going to be a big surprise and an incredible shock to a lot of people, but i say trump's going to win. >> donald trump's historic election is shocking. yes. but unpredictable? not for the trump supporters we spoke with this year. >> he is a great man. he never lost at nothing he's done. he goes up, never down. put him in president and he'll go up. he'll take us up. >> revitalizing the economy was a message that resonated nationwide. >> it's just the lack of job creation in this country. we seem to want to ship more jobs out. the way things have been going here lately that's pretty much

status quo on what the problem is. >> author jd vance violated trump's white working class appeal in no uncertain terms. >> so long as the democratic party can do little but cheer about how great things are, they're not going to attract these voters because for them, it's not great. >> when they say they feel ignored they're kind of right. >> it's definitely true. people feel neglected. maybe they'll stomach it for an election cycle or two but eventually it catches up to the political moment and that's i think what happened. >> the trump's campaign turned the tide in traditionally blue states such as pennsylvania. philly is a democratic city. >> sure is. >> i wonder, do you hear from trump supporters, are there any around here? >> we kind of get a lot of leaners, which, you know, people say, i am voting for trump. a lot of people are kind of like, they're wondering, are you voting for trump? we just want somebody to be in office who is going to take care

of the blue-collar workers. >> for millions of americans the president-elect represents new-found hope and, yes, change. >> your vote counts. and you need to respect that. many times i voted and the guy i voted for didn't win. so this is one time i hope it does. >> both hillary clinton and president obama today tried to convince their supporters to get behind president-elect trump, but emotions are still raw for so many of them. last night van jones spoke about how he felt after it became clear that donald trump would be the nation's 45th president. >> people have talked about a miracle. i am hearing about a nightmare. it's hard to be a parent tonight for a lot of us. you tell your kids, don't be a bully. you tell your kids, don't be a bigot. you tell your kids, do your homework. be prepared. and then you have this outcome, and you have people putting children to bed tonight, and

they -- they're afraid of breakfast. they're afraid of how do i explain this to my children. i have muslim friends who are texting me tonight saying, should i leave the country. i have families of immigrants that are terrified tonight. this was many things. this was a rebellion against the elites. true. it was a complete reinvention of politics and polls. it's true. but it was also something else. we have talked about race. we've talked about everything but race tonight. we've talked about income, class, region. we haven't talked about race. this was a white-lash. a white-lash against a changing country. it was a white-lash against a black president in part. and that's the part where the pain comes. and donald trump has a responsibility tonight to come out and reassure people that he is going to be the president of all the people who he insulted

and offended and brushed aside. yeah. when you say you want to take your country back, you got a lot of people who feel that we're not represented well either. but we don't want to feel that someone has been elected by throwing away some of us to appeal more deeply to others. >> joining me now is cnn political commentator van jones. van, donald trump and hillary clinton both said they want to work together to unify this country. obviously the onus to a large degree is on the president-elect to reach out to people like you and people that you were referring to last night. what would you suggest that he needs to say, and do you think he would try? >> i hope that he will. i think, you know, the president has asked us to have an open mind about this. i think hillary clinton has said have an open mind about this. i want you to know, i have muslim friends who are asking, you know, should they leave the

country, are they going to be interned. you can't imagine the level -- all they've heard is ban you, ban you, ban you. they don't know what that means. he needs to clarify what he is talking about. i have a lot of latino friends. i had staff members today crying on the staff call because they have families who are just terrified. should i sell my house. i think you have one conversation that's sort of very, you know, easy and, oh, well, let's talk about the polls, this and that. and you have people who are in terror right now and who are hurting and who are afraid. who are afraid to send their daughters to school, and their jocks, becau jobs because they don't know what's going to happen. it's not just the president, though. all of us have to figure out a way to reach out to each other. with obama, everything was wrong, obama had to fix it. no. it's a country that has to come together, not just a political class. >> you have a new series you're hosting called "the messy

truth." you went out before the election to talk to trump voters. you spent some time with some voters in gettysburg, pennsylvania, site of one of the bloodiest battles of the civil war. in this clip you speak with a trump supporter named kim about the divide in this nation. >> this is so good! and you're making me angry with things you're saying to me. and -- but i love you for it. and i just -- why can people -- why can't people just agree to disagree. >> part of the frustration and the heartbreak is not that we're mad at you. it's that we need you. like, we need each other. you know. liberty and justice for all. >> i know that you want to engage in those kinds of conversations for the country to heal. how hopeful are you? >> look, i am hopeful. listen, we got some hard things to say to each other, but you know, in other words, the trump phenomenon is a complex

phenomenon. it is a righteous rebellion against the elites. it is a righteous stand for economic opportunity. it is a patriotic movement. but it is also marbled with all kinds of other stuff, all kinds of xenophobias and, you know, the kkk endorsements and all these other things. and we can't be in a situation where we only talk about the things that are offensive, or we can't talk about the things that are offensive. we've got to be able to talk about both. and that requires real trust. and trust is earned over time. but i went to -- listen. i was able to sit in the home with trump voters. if you want to look on my facebook page, you can go. you got three episodes there called "the messy truth" where we really go back and forth. but it's heartful and honest and it's hopeful. i believe that we're either going to turn to each other or on each other as americans. everybody has to take responsibility. nobody has to leave their truth at the door. we have to be willing to hear

each other's truth. and not agree. democracy doesn't require that you agree but you have to understand. we've gone past the level of being able to understand each other anymore, and that's the danger. >> so, a lot of trump voters that i have spoken with this season would say -- let me play devil's advocate and say what they might say to you, which is they don't agree with the clku klux klan. they're not racist. they don't believe washington is broken. th this isn't against someone. this is for themselves. what would you say to them? >> i would say, listen, you are right to have real grievances. it is, in fact, true, there was a bipartisan elite consensus to throw the working class under the bus. both political parties signed these trade deals. deregulated the banks, built prisons everywhere and left us

to buzzards. that happened. that is true. yet, these throw-away lines to you about muslims, mexicans, land like bombs in the lives and the ears and the homes of other americans. and you have to take responsibility for the fact that some of those things really, really hurt. maybe to you all that was -- oh, he's joking, he really means this. if you're the muslim mom sending the little girl out the door with the hijab on, you are going to be hurt. when someone is hollering, they're hollering because they're hurt. you can't keep telling people your hurt doesn't matter. you didn't want us to say your hurt doesn't matter in the rust belt. don't say our hurt doesn't matter elsewhere. let's all come together. >> van jones, thank you for coming on. >> thank you, brother. >> check out van's facebook page to see his three-part series right now "the messy truth." you can also follow me on

twitter or follow the show @"the lead" cnn. i turn you over to one mr. wolf blitzer who is in "the situation room." thank you for watching. happening now, breaking news. transition of power. after a shocking election victory, donald trump begins the process of becoming president of the united states. he is considering names for his cabinet and white house staff and his advisors have delivered plans for his first 100 days. path forward. hillary clinton makes a painful concession speech, calling on supporters to focus on the future and give the president-elect a chance to lead. president obama, who will welcome donald trump to the white house tomorrow, says we are americans first and should be rooting for trump to succeed. keeping promises. the president-elect has vowed to build a border wall, rip up trade deals. repeal obamacare and