those economic pressures and dislocations that people are experiencing. the problem was, i couldn't convince the republican congress to pass a lot of them. having said that, people seem to think i did a pretty good job. so there is this mismatch between this frustration and anger, perhaps the view of the american people was that we just need to shake things up. time will now tell whether the prescriptions being offered, whether brexit or with respect to the u.s. election, ends up actually satisfying those people who have been fearful or angry or concerned.

i think that's going to be an interesting test. i think the policies we put forward were the right ones. the country is indisputably better off. those folks who voted for the president elect are better off than they were when i came into office for the most part. but we'll see whether those facts affect people's calculations in the next election. >> translator: you asked if i believed that angela merkel could be convinced to make necessary steps for the recovery of the greek economy. well, my answer is i'm very optimistic. this for two reasons.

number one, angela merkel is a german politician and germans sometimes insist, sometimes they are disagreeable, but they insist that the agreement must be honored. and what is expected to happen with greece is that which was agreed last july, august, as soon as greece shows it has decided to proceed with courageous and difficult reforms that when the first and most difficult review is completed, then decisions will be taken, measures will be implemented to provide debt relief to greece so that greece can go out into the many markets and for growth to

return at a very high event in the greek economy. so the first reason for my optimism is just last -- the german finance minister used to say. this is a latin expression which we sometimes use, although we have learned not latin but a ancient greek in our schools. the second reason i'm optimistic is i have met angela merkel in person. so has barack obama. we were very close together during the period of the huge refugee crisis. our cooperation is very good. therefore, i'm of the opinion that she is a responsible politician. not only for germany or for the

political party. this was the manner in which she dealt with the crisis. with a deep sense of the future on europe and stability. with these two important reasons, i do expect she will be convinced these steps will be made. steps will not be a burden to german taxpayers. so greece can become not a part of the problem but a part of the solution for security, for growth and for solving the refugee issue for which greece pays an important role. and that is why i'm optimistic and i expect my optimism to be realized.

question number three. >> i'm the correspondent in washington for ethos newspaper and tv. you saidp times, mr. president, that the way europeans handle the economy, the economic crisis, had the opposite effect and also you talked many times against the ougausterity. and being you are right. why in your opinion you didn't convince the europeans to follow your way? what are you going to do the last two months to help greece and the greece people? also, i have a short question about cyprus. you talk about cyprus and the issue for me, in cyprus, how are you convincing the president of turkey to end the occupation of

cyprus? >> let me take the second question first. this is ultimately a negotiation between cypriots. turkish cypriots and greek cypriots. the good news is you have two leaders who seem genuinely committed to finding compromises and an approach to serve both their peoples. if, in fact, you can see a meeting of the minds between them, then the issue will be can we make sure that all of us, the international community, turkey, greece, the united states, support that agreement in a way that can be ratified by both

sides? and we've invested a lot of time. vice president biden's been actively involved in this. we are encouraged by the progress that's been made. i think there's a window in the next few weeks, months, where this issue was actually resolved. i think if we can find an equitable solution, it won't provide 100% of what either side wants. there may be some mechanisms for a transition from status quo to the future that both sides envision but i think it's achievable and we're going to do everything we can to support the process. with respect to the economy and europe, i think it's important

to recognize in some ways my job was simpler. because at least in the first two years i had majorities of my party controlling congress. and i'm just one country. so congress is hard to deal with. multiple parliaments and commissions and unions and this and that and the other. that's very complicated. and so the need i think to operate by consensus the fact that not all european countries were similarly situated even though their economy shared a currency, that made their task more difficult.

i want to make sure i'm clear that i don't envy the hard job that each european leader has in circumstances that oftentimes they'd inherited. what i try to do is just offer our best thinking. whether it's in resolving problems in banks quickly. because the quicker you resolve the problems with banks and there's transparency in that process, the faster they recapitalize and are able to make investments. when the economy's shrink, providing jobs, spending on things like infrastructure can actually increase revenue and drive down debt. and then there's going to be a time at which point debt has to be taken care of.

for example in the united states, our deficits went up in those first two years because we're engaging in a lot of emergency spending. our deficits have now been reduced by two thirds. primarily because we started growing again and we started taking in more tax revenue. there's some lessons i think are applicable for all countries. what we tried to do is offer the best advice that we can. understanding that when you're dealing with multiple nations but a single currency and then a european union where some people are in the currency, some people are not in the currency. a european parliament and european council. that's a lot of meetings.

>> translator: i will fully agree with what president obama has just said. in answering the question about cyprus. it is an international problem which has been going on for 42 years. as long as i'm alive. it is a problem of illegal invasion and occupation of the northern part of cyprus. we make our best. we do our best to encourage both sides to help them reach fair and equitable and sustainable solution. in my first visit to cyprus as a prime minister, i tried and i

did meet over and above the leaders of the republican of cyprus a number of representatives of the turkish cypriot community. i think that was the first time a greek prime minister was meeting with them. we are interested in making sure that the people of sue price will be able to live in a rue nighted cyprus where they are free, where there's democracy and freedom and cyprus is a member of the european union. so i would like to make it clear that as regards greece, we are in favor of solution. we stand at the side -- by the side of their president who is making the effort and we are only ready to discuss with turkey the part which is relevant to us. that is the guarantee. because since 1959, since 1960, this obsolete issue of

guarantees also concerned greece. but greece is not the country which has occupied and invaded cyprus. so i believe a fair and sustainable solution means the solution without the permanent presence of turkish troops on the island and at the same time i think that the best guarantee for the cypriot people to feel safe is the potential of fair and sustainable solution. and if this happens, things will change not only for cyprus but for the wider region in general for greek/turkish relations. this is how we are proceeding. i believe yes, president erdogan plays an important role, but it is not my responsibility to convince him. >> the final question will come

from chris jansing with nbc news. >> thank you. mr. president, ever since the election there have been protests on streets of the united states. and earlier this year, matt lauer asked you if you believed you helped create the environment for donald trump to run and you answered, talk to me if he wins about how responsible i feel about it. i wonder, do you feel any responsibility for the election of donald trump, and in the broader context, when you see his election, when you look at politicians, like theresa may, marie le penn, do you believe it is a movement away from or a rejection of your worldwide view? and mr. prime minister, you talked about your concerns about the rise of the extreme right in particular and about donald trump in particular, you said, i hope we will not face this evil. do you believe donald trump or his ideas are still evil? and if so, do you believe your

comments and the comments of other european leaders will make it more difficult for you to work with him? thank you. >> well, first of all, i think it's fair to say i was surprised by the election results. and i've said so. i still don't feel responsibility for what the president-elect says or does. but i do feel responsibility as president of the united states to make sure i facilitate a good transition. and i present to him as well as the american people my best thinking, my best ideas, about how you move the country forward. to speak out with respect to areas where i think the republican party's wrong, but to pledge to work with them on those things i think will

advance the causes of security and prosperity and justice and inclusiveness in america. i think it's important not to start drawing parallels, for example, between theresa may, a fairly traditional conservative politician who's now prime minister and le pen in france. those aren't the same. the situation in each country is different. i do think, as i said before, history doesn't move in a straight line. it zigs and zags. sometimes goes forward, sometimes goes back, sideways. i think at times of significant

stress, people are going to be looking for something and they don't always know exactly what it is they're looking for and they may opt for change. even if they're not entirely confident what that change will bring. as you know throughout my presidency, i'm sure as a matter of convenience i generally haven't paid a lot of attention to the polls. but since your questions directly related to the notion of a rejection of my world view, last i checked, a pretty healthy majority of the american people agree with my world view on a whole bunch of things. i know that that begs the question, well, how is it that somebody who appears to have a

very different world view just got elected? as i said, sometimes people just feel as if we want to try something to see if we can shake things up and that i suspect was a significant phenomena. i do believe separate and apart from any particular election or movement that we are going to have to guard against a rise in a crude sort of nationalism or ethnic identity or tribalism that is built around an us and a them. and i will never apologize for

s saying that the future of humanity and the future of the world is going to be defined by what we have in common as opposed to those things that separate us and ultimately lead us in the conflict. take europe. we know what happens when europeans start dividing themselves up and emphasizing their differences. and seeing a competition between countries in a zero sum way. the 20th secentury was a bloodbath. and for all the frustrations and failures of the project to unify

europe, the last five decades have been periods of unprecedented, peace, growth and prosperity in europe. in the united states, we knows what happens when we start dividing ourselves along lines of race or religion or ethnicity. it's dangerous. not just for the minority groups that are subjected to that kind of discrimination or in some cases in the past violence, but because we don't realize our potential as a country when we're preventing blacks or latinos or asians or gays or women from fully participating in the project of building

american life. so my vision's right. on that issue. and it may not always win the day in the short term in any particular circumstance. but i'm confident it will win the day over the long term. societies in which we are able to unify ourselves around ideals and values and character and how we treat each other and cooperation and innovation ultimately are going to be more successful than societies that don't. that's my strong belief. and i think i've got pretty good evidence to prove it.

>> translator: to be honest, i know very little of donald trump. i know his aggressive manner and the manner in which he defended some unconventional points of view during the election period. some have told me to read his book, the art of the deal. i didn't, but i don't think that was decisive to the result. still, let me point out that it was one thing what we know about donald trump when he was seeking to become the candidate for the

republican party. and now that he's the president elect, it's quite enough when he will be the president of the country that is a major play er. that is why contrary to my colleagues in europe, did i not rush to repeat some of the criticism that many of us have made. such as the united states which is very difficult. fear that this may happen. what we should be doing is build bridges not walls.

on the basis of common values. we have more to gain from partnership. from promoting our partnership. the future, not much is going to change in the relations between eu, greece and the united states of america. and rely on the common values of our people. >> president obama leaves the stage with the greek prime minister. let's talk about what happened. cnn political analyst, ron brownstein. cnn chief political

correspondent dana bash. cnn's chief business correspondent christine romans. and jim sciutto is our chief national correspondent. also cnn's michelle kosinski, she's traveling with the president. welcome to all of you. michelle, i'm going to start with you. because, as we zoom in on a very tight shot of your face. but michelle kosinski, i do want to start with you, because that last question by chris jansing from nbc was a tough one for the president. >> there was a lot in the press conference. only two questions from the u.s. side. this was a chance for reporters to ask him those kinds of qeps where it wasn't so much a platform for him to be optimistic or put the face on things. he had to get to the heart of the matter, right? so he talked about the troubling rhetoric. the word he used. he talked about what gives rise

to these pop euless movements. that there's inequality out there. and the president, the question about does he take responsibility for it, that's something he wouldn't really answer. help says his responsibility is to help see that america moves forward. he's not responsible for what the president-eelectric does or says. after he is somewhat responsible for what gave rise to the kind of election we saw. that's what he wouldn't answer. it's interesting that, you know, the greek side was asked, do you feel that donald trump is evil as you described what he stands for earlier. he also wouldn't answer that, saying only he doesn't know donald trump but ultimately the relationships between the u.s. and greece, the u.s. and the eu, are going to remain strong. but the president can really get into the nitty-gritty of what

caused this. he seemed to come to terms with the elements out there that led to it. he espoused his view that the way to deal with this anger, which he says he knows is out there. obviously the republican side doesn't feel that way and he sort of left it with, well, we're going to see how this ends up, but i feel that my policies are the best way forward. >> how he addressed a question about whether he felt he realized that much of the country was angry. let's listen. >> presidential elections always turn on personalities. they turn on how campaigns are

run. they turn on natural desires for change. if you have an incumbent who's about there for eight years, there's a temptation to think, did i recognize there was anger, frustration in the american population? of course i didn't. first of all, we've had to fight back from the worst recession since the great depression. i can guarantee if your housing values have crashed and you've lost your pension and you've lost your job, you're going to be pretty angry. so we fought back and we covered. but that left a lot of fear and anxiety in people.

wall street, my special interests in washington or what have you and that's been there. >> he said he recognized the anger out there that was still lingering from the great recession that we had. he also said his vision is the correct one and he points to his poll numbers as he's exciting the office of the presidency as proof of that. i have them right here. like how are things going in the country today. 54% of americans say well. how is president obama handling the job? 55% approve. >> which is pretty rare for the end of a second term. he's similar to barack obama, have gone out, you know, on pretty low note and that has not helped with the idea of electing a third term. which is what hillary clinton was running on.

so, you know, maybe i'm reading too much into this. but it seeps to me what -- the conclusion -- the only conclusion you can draw from what he said, my world view is right, my poll numbers are high. is hillary clinton was the wrong messenger at the wrong time. that that was what he was trying to say without saying it. >> i kind of got that sense too. >> look, on the campaign trail, the obama economy was just slammed again and again and again, right. but ironically are it's the obama economy that is the tail wind for president-elect donald trump. you heard the president talk about the job creation. you heard members of the greek press asking how did you do it and what are the parallels for us to get out of the marasse that greece is in. the president has these high approval ratings because i think people are coming to the realization that things are getting better. for those working class voters, they haven't felt it the way others have and that was the resonating tone. >> i'm going to play for our

viewers the next little sound bite from president obama on the issue of national identity. because i think he didn't realize many americans were feel a sense of loss about their american identity and their place in the global -- on the global stage, right, so let's listen to that. >> people are less certain of their national identities or their place in the world. it starts looking different and disorienting. and there's no doubt that has produced populist movements both from the left and the right in many countries in europe when you see a donald trump and a bernie sanders, very

unconventional candidates, having considerable success, obviously there's something there being tapped into. a suspicion of globalization. a desire to rein in its excesses. >> what is the president try to say? because the global economy isn't going anywhere. we still have to deal with other countries even though we're the united states. we can't control everything. even though we may be the great et country on earth. >> i think there are two really interesting things going on in that answer and that press conference. i think the first is you can see the president clearly struggling with finding the balance between being respectful to the result and participating in the peaceful transfer of power but also settling dourngs putting down some markers. donald trump's view of the world and america's role in the world and the way our society works domestically is utterly

different to what president obama believes and he has tried i think to send those signals that there are lines if donald trump crosses we may hear more from him. the president. but without doing so overtly that he seems to be disrespecting results of the election. the other thing i think is really striking, that he reflects this core democratic belief, that their problem, what drove the working class revolt away, the stampede away from the democratic party, was fundamentally economic. it was a sense of being left behind. never really recovering from the great recession. in fact, there's a lot of evidence that a lot of it was cultural. it was anxiety about the kind of changing cultural mores in the country in the way the democratic coalition embodies those changes. that's a much more difficult set to work through. the hope among democrats like elizabeth warren and bernie sanders is speaking to people's economic concerns would bring them back. it may not be quite that simple. >> it was kind of strange, jim

sciutto, watching the president speaking, you know, in greece, right, and then having a reporter in the audience ask the greek prime minister, who said donald trump was evil at one point, how he feels about the american president-elect now. >> well, i'll tell you, it's interesting, because tsipras, you could argue, is one of the first populists elected in this wave of populist also leaders in european countries. he was the protest candidate for european plans for the greece economy. i don't think the message from him about the election was really that delicate. it was delivered in delicate terms. he said the following, talking about the die vicive rhetoric that helped lead to the election of trump. he said, we know what happens when europeans start dividing themselves up. the 20th sent rcentury was a bloodbath. he says we in america have had experiences like this too.

divisions. he references the '60s. he's talking about the real and present danger here, he seems to be saying, that the political division we have right now in this country want go in a very dangerous direction. and relating that in terms that europeans can understand. he was making a reference to world war 2. he talked about millions of people killed. i'm not saying he's saying that's going to happen here, but he was emphasizing the stakes and where populism and political division and us versus them mentality he talked about. he talked about nationalism. out control. he was making what sounded to me like quite a dire warning about where this could lead. in terms of both europeans can understand historically but also americans with the reference to the '60s. i think it was a pretty stark warning from him. >> i have to agree. thanks to my panel for -- it was just fascinating listening to the president. i guess we have to stand by and

see what happens. i know that sounds cliche but we have to. all right, after a break, we're going to take you back to washington, d.c. there's a big leadership thing going on there. republicans are going to elect their new leaders. democrats want to postpone that thing. we'll take you live back to capitol hill next. you got it. just say show me millions of used cars for sale at the all new carfax.com. i don't want one that's had a big wreck just say, show me cars with no accidents reported pretty cool i like it that's the power of carfax® find the cars you want, avoid the ones you don't plus you get a free carfax® report with every listing start your used car search at carfax.com

gop leaders will speak at any moment. they'll hold a press conference just hours before they pick their leadership team to serve under president-elect trump. minority leader nancy pelosi announcing house democrats will now vote thursday on whether or not to delay their elections. manu raju, jeff zeleny, both on capitol hill this morning. what do you got, manu? >> good morning, carol.

actually, paul ryan going to be facing a vote this afternoon from his house republican colleagues. he's probably going to be fine. there's no challengers yet emerging. he has half of his conference actually formally nominate him for speaker. and then in january, that's when the majority of the house has to vote for him. we're looking at house republicans holding at least 238 seats on the the floor. that means he could lose 20 votes and still be re-elected speaker. no one's expecting him to lose that many votes. that doesn't mean there aren't some concerns on the right. yesterday, i had a chance to speak with a top member of that house freedom caucus, that group of detainers that have been a thorn in the side of republicans and he wants some change at the top. here's what he had to say. are you ready to support paul ryan tomorrow when he companies comes up for the vote? >> i haven't heard from him what he wants to change, you know, what's going to be did i rent

the next two years than the last two years. they keep telling us we won because of the better way, you know, a program that nobody in america knew what it was about, and, in fact, half of the people that knew about it thought it was a democratic program. if they keep talking about it, it how it was their brilliance in running campaigns that won us this election, then maybe they haven't listened to what happened. >> labrador actually voted for the speaker in 2015. that speaker lost ten votes on the house floor. maybe he could lose labrador's vote as well. still, not enough to stop paul ryan from being re-elected speaker. trying to showcase a lot unity at this republican conference. handing out make america great hats. a number of republicans wearing those hats. trying to align themselves with donald trump's agenda going forward. >> all right, manu raju, many thanks. let's talk about the democratic side where things aren't so unified. good morning, jeff.

>> good morning, carol. we have a bit of news here actually. just moments ago, the decision to put off the democratic leadership elections was made. now that vote will not be until november 30th, we're told. we were learning earlier this morning they would have a decision or talk about if they were going to put them off on thursday, but now we're being told this is going to happen november 30th. the question here, as we're talking to members coming out of this closed door meeting here on capitol hill, democrats really are trying to find a way forward here. they of course are licking their wounds but they're getting out as what one said a fetal position. the question is, will nancy pelosi remain as the leader of the house democrats. now, no one has emerged as a singular challenger to her. she has a lot of support of course throughout the california delegation. a lot of support among many. but the question here is, is the decision to put this off until november 30th, is that going to

create a vacuum here, or someone to challenge her? that's something we're going to have to be watching here in the coming days. across the democratic party, there is a call for a new direction, soul searching of course -- >> i'm going to interrupt you, jeff. here's house speaker paul ryan. >> all right, everybody, welcome to the dawn of a new unified republican government. feels really good to say that actually. this will be a government focused on turning president-elect trump's victory into real progress for the american people. our team is very excited. we cannot wait to get to work. we recognize the task ahead of us is enormous. if we're going to put our country back on the right track, weep got to go bold and be big. this country is expecting absolutely no less. in the days and weeks ahead, we'll be working closely with president-elect and his transition team to lay out our

ambitious path for 2016. that is led by vice president-elect mike pence and several of our own members. we want to make sure we hit the ground running in january so we can deliver on the new president's agenda. a better way, better days, lie ahead for our country. >> a lot of new faces here. what a difference one week makes. and in doing so, as the speaker talked about, we are working closely with president-elect trump and vice president elect mike pence. part of that is how we move forward. how we accomplish the promise also made and how the american public expects it to happen. yesterday, all committee chairs and myself sent a letter to all the government agencies requesting that no new regulations be moved forward. this is not a new request. this request actually happened

when barack obama won. rahm emanuel sent the same letter. it's now time to change the tide to get the economy moving. to get a health care plan that actually works. and get america back on the right track. we got these hats at conference today. and it's not just a great slogan. but inside the tag you see made in the usa. they're going to be a lot more things made in the usa when this new administration comes in. we've been talking to president-elect trump, to vice president-elect pence. and what an exciting opportunity that the american people have given us to work and go do the things necessary to get our country back on track. our members are excited about this opportunity. we're going to continue working in the weeks ahead to lay out and plan that first 100 days. and then the months after that are going to be so critical to move in this country forward again. rebuilding the middle class that spoke out so loudly. and finally getting our economy and our country back on track.

it's an exciting time. we know there's a lot of work ahead. that's why we ran for congress. is to have a moment like this where we can go big and go bold and pass the conservative solutions that are going to get our country back on track. >> this opportunity that the people have entrusted with us to advocate and to lead on their behalf is truly humbling. but it isn't a time for victory laps or to pat ourselves on the back. it's a time to turn our victory into real progress for the american people. it's a time to think big. to reimagine this government. and to return the people's voice to the center of it. because there's too many people all across this country that feel like they're doing all the right things. they're working hard. they're paying the bills. they're trying to pay their mortgage either month. and they're still falling behind. obamacare is making health care too expensive. the va isn't listening. government regulating jobs out of their lives. our unified republican government will take these

frustrations wear hearing and work together with president obama-elect trump to change the status quo. we'll got bold specific agenda items that will make a difference in people's lives. and we'll address some of the biggest challenges of our time. now, i believe each plank in the better way agenda is very important, but this election reminded me that at the end of the day, article 1 our constitution is what protects the people's voice in our government and it's our role. it's our mission. to restore that voice. >> the american people have sent republicans back to washington with a mandate for change. we have a government united together with the purpose of bringing commonsense principles back to our nation's capital. since the beginning of this year, we traveled across the country getting your feedback on

the better way agenda. this legislative priority is tailored to the problems facing our country. focus on empowering hard-working americans to achieve success. foremost among our priorities will bring -- will be bringing balance back to our broken tax code. by building a simpler fair flatter code. building a code that advantages all americans, not just the well connected. a code that drives investment and job creation right here in america. a code that gets america growing through good old-fashioned private sector investment. it's clear that the american people are ready for a change. with their voice as our guide, we are ready to work as a unified got to help built an opportunity economy for all americans. >> questions.

look, i would just simply say the president is going to be judged on his results. this is a person who helped him win an incredible victory. the president is going to be judged on the results of this administration. that's why we're eager to get up rounding to help him with his transition and make progress on the mandate that's just been given to us by the american people. we're confident about moving forward. we're confident about the transition. and we're very, very excited about getting to work for the mental people. those are decisions that are being made with the transition team. we are now sitting down with the trump administration and waiting for a lot of our colleagues. and also to come up with our game plan for 2017.

we haven't made any of those specific decisions yet. manu. >> the president-elect has signaled he'll use his adult children as advisers in his new administration. do you have any concerns about potentially getting security clearances and taking any steps to ensure there are no conflicts of interest -- >> look, i'll let the transition team comment. we're focused on doing our job in congress. donald trump is a successful businessman who has been successful because he surrounded himself with good people. he is a man who has made great successes, created tens of thousands of jobs because he gets goods advice from people around him in his life. what's wrong with that? that's a good thing. we're going to focus on our job in congress. he's going to focus on his administration. we're going to do everything we can to help him be as successful as he's going to be. i think he's going to be a very

successful president. we have an exciting agenda. we're very excited about getting to work for the american people. [ inaudible reporter question ] i'm not worried. i'm not looking backwards, i'm looking forwards. looking to how we make this work for the american people. how we help trump be the most successful president in our lifetimes. how we make good on the promises and get this country going. look, you've heard me say this so many times. 70% of the people in this nation think america's going down the wrong path. that's our job. our job is not to look backwards, look forward, make

president-elect trump move forward, so we can make good to the american people to fix this country's big problems. >> -- donald trump just won on a platform in many ways is not terribly conservative. are you prepared to lead a charge on those -- >> look, we're excited -- we're on the same page with our president-elect. i talk with donald trump virtually either day. i spoke with mike pence this morning. we're working hand in glove and we're going to make thursdsure s a very successful administration. we're going to make sure the voices we heard in this election from the american people are acted upon. you take a look -- to get to your specific point. if you take a look at what obamacare did to our entitlement programs. it made them worse. we're going to fix that. w're going to help fix these problems that are plaguing this country. whether it's skyrocketing health care costs. lack of jobs. regulatory red tape that's strangling jobs and businesses. fixing our national security. securing our border. these are all things that we are

excited about. rolling up our sleeps and getting to reasoning with our incoming president to make good on his promises. just as i said about the processes, these are things we're working on with the transition. that's what the congressional process is about. the point is donald trump wants jobs. i've talked to donald so many times just this week, which is let's make sure we get people back to work. let's make sure we get this economy growing. take all this uncertainty out of the economy and get people back to work. this is something we share. this is something we're excited about working on with donald trump. that is why i'm very confident that we are going to have a unified government that works hand in glove with this administration to make good on the commitments and to get people back to work and fix this

country's problems. thank you very much. appreciate it. >> paul ryan pretty much safe in his spot. republicans appear united and appear very, very excited about a donald trump presidency. you heard what he said. he said mr. trump creates jobs and that's what he's interested in. new policies for the american people. you also saw some of them brought out their donald trump make america great again hats. they did point out they were made in the usa. all right, let's head back to capitol hill. manu raju was listening to all of this. manu, tell us more. okay, he is not ready.

jeff zeleny is chasing people on the hill after giving us the news that on the democratic side it's not such a sure bet because they have put off their leadership vote until november 30th. all right, let's head back to capitol hill and check in with manu raju. it was a very enthusiastic energetic presentation on the part of the republican leadership. >> that's right. such a difference than a month ago when republican leaders could barely say donald trump's name. now they're enthusiastic about embracing his agenda. steve skal lease, one of the republican leaders, actually holding the make america great hat handed out at this meeting. paul ryan speaking about moving forward in a very unified manner with donald trump, talking about -- he said he's been speaking with donald trump a lot, so many times he said, in addition, talking with mike

pence, the vice president-elect this morning. now, paul ryan also would not criticize donald trump in any way whatsoever, even over that very controversial pick to name steve bannon, former breitbart news, as a senior adviser in the white house. saying donald trump will be judged by his results, not necessarily the people he picked. i asked if there are any concerns about donald trump's children potentially having security clearances as well as them running the family business if that was a conflict of interest in any way. and paul ryan really downplayed that. he said that he surrounds himself with good people and that's why he's made good decisions. so a real theme of unity here, carol. >> all right, manu raju, reporting live, i'll get you back to it. thanks so much. thank you for joining me today. i'm carol costello. "at this hour" after a break.

hello, everyone, i'm kate bolduan. >> and i'm john berman. all eyes on trump tower this morning maybe for white smoke signaling maybe we have a secretary of state or secretary of defense or an attorney general. you'll get a live picture right now from trump tower. we are expecting president-elect donald trump to announce key cabinet selections soon, maybe even today. vice president-elect mike pence, he's expected to arrive at trump turn shortly. he is now leading that transition process. a process now described as a cluster mess, but with different words. an insider describes a knife fight over key appointments and others call it buffoonery. >>