hour two, you're watching cnn, thank you for being with me. right this moment donald trump is meeting with his future vice president as is drama is

mounting inside trump's transition team. a source described this internal confusion and jockeying for white house cabinet picks as a quote/unquote knife fight. another source told cnn this is like the "game of thrones." can vice president-elect mike pence now at trump tower bring order to this process? pence officially leads the transition team, that happened friday it is a team that's having second thoughts about rudy giuliani filling one of the pop positions in the cabinet as secretary of state. giuliani, who's stuck with trump through many challenges, made it crystal clear he would like the job. here's what he told the "wall street journal." >> john would be a very good choice. >> is there anybody better? >> maybe me, i don't know. [ laughter ] [ applause ] >> let's go to phil mattingly who has the details about this possible concern they've hit through giuliani vetting. what's the potential roadblock,

phil? >> past business dealings. what have they done in their business career that could raise red flags as you try to get through that always-difficult confirmation process. when it comes to rudy giuliani, it goes to two past jobs. the current work he has done for his law firm and jobs in the past firm. the past firm raising the red flags inside the transition team. rudy giuliani's work with the country of qatar. his security contracts with that country, past contracts and what those might mean in potential conflicts of interest. you have work with the vs venezuelan government, too. as these names go forward, you see potential concerns be raised as well and there's a good reason. if you have a cabinet pick, that pick will be picked over, if you will, before they go through the confirmation process. you don't want to leave them open to getting shot down.

particularly in the wake of an election as nasty as this. i'm told he is the leading contender but i'm told as with any cabinet pick, be cautious because no decision is final until the flex says it is. >> phil, thank you so much. let's have a bigger conversation. i've got gloria borger joining me. with chief political analyst. l lanhee chen used to serve as public policy director with mitt romney and peter emerson is with us as well, a writer for the huffington post who has been involved in two presidential transitions and every democratic presidential campaign since 1972. greet to see you. gloria, let me begin with you. you heard phil on his report in. you have some intel. take me behind closed doors at trump tower on fifth avenue. what the heck is going on? >> i'm not sure we know

definitively. i know donald trump trusts his vice president-elect mike pence and we know mike pence has a list. he's bringing it in, of people he considers potential choices for cabinet posts and i think they'll go over it. there are lots of things that matter to donald trump first among them is loyalty and one of the reasons you're seeing rudy giuliani's name being tossed around for such a high level job and whether he gets it or not, and jeff sessions for a.g., is because they have loyal to donald trump from day one. the most loyal people i think will have a shot at getting the jobs they want provided by they are qualified, provided by they can be confirmed and provided by they can pass a vote. those are all big ifs but i think on donald trump's personal

list they will be there for him. >> when you hear some of the words describe describing the conversations within the transition team, like knife fight or buffoonery, is this par for the course or worse than normal? >>. >> there's no normal here any longer. as i wrote about months ago, we here in the kardashian age. this is the first president? the kardashian age, this is a reality show. if the trump people wanted it to be the no-drama obama transition then trump would make it happen. but they don't. so we're seeing it all played out in 24 hour time cycles that obviously could be different if they want it to be but they don't. >> you're saying they're choosing to have the bumps in the road? >> they're choosing to not have trump lay down the law. in previous transitions it's

been top-heavy. that is to say either the president or his designated advisor have said no leakage to the press, we'll do everything internally. in this case because it's reality tv show to a large extent that's not the case to the fact that it's a knife fight or "game of thrones" makes perfect sense to me. >> the fact that we know, lanhee, the roadblock being on potential appointment is secretary of state with rudy giuliani because of his previous business dealings, we know he wants the job, he was the mayor of new york, rose to the national spotlight in the wake of 9/11 what foreign policy chops does he have? >> i think he could make the case that after his mayorship of new york city he's had private sector experience that would be leveraged on foreign policy decisions. the broader a question now is

over these next four days will we see the toll the campaign took on the transition. usually you have vetting happen in the last several weeks and months of the campaign but because of the way the campaign went, does that put them behind? i don't think we'll know. >> brooke, there's no list of usual suspects to be dragged out because a lot of them, particularly people in congress who have a certain degree of authority on foreign policy -- say john mccain or lindsey graham, for example were never -- lindsey graham was a never-trumper and john mccain unendorsed him. >> the lirs thest narrowed? >> right. so you don't have a large pool of people that you would have that could fill the slots. >> here's a voice jumping in on all of this, former president

george w. bush. this is what he told a group in dallas, here you go. >> i understand anger and some people might have been angry when i was president. [ laughter ] but anger shouldn't drive policy what needs to drive policy is what's best for the people who are angry. >> gloria, what do you make of that? >> i think what he's saying is you have to listen to the voters and he's saying what drives policy is trying to make angry voters feel less angry about their country and more a part of it. it's interesting coming from him because i think he is an adept politician and he's looking at where the votes were for donald trump and he is reading that like everyone else's which is these are people who not only felt disenfranchised but they felt the economy left them and their families behind and that those are the people you have to make sure feel like they're a

part of this country again. >> but once bush 43 left the white house, he disappeared. what about obama? do you think he'll kind of go away? >> i think to some degree he will but i know there's still some movement, at least pressure on him, to say engaged. >> how engaged? >> well, i think he's going to have to make that decision ultimately but i think he will go away for several month despite the fact that he's going live in washington until his daughter graduates from high school. >> lanhee, big picture. i know you've given thought the first 100 days of trump in the white house. what are three realistic items on an agenda that he could accomplish, partially bipartisan, to make a splash? >> i think he definitely could

work with democrats on tax reform, certainly corporate tax reform, the u.s. has the highest statutory corporate tax rate in the industrialized world, that could make a difference, you could see him moving forward on health care reforms, obviously pressure in the base to do repeal and replace of obamacare but on the replace part is there some way to work with democrats. then infrastructure each agrees we have crumby infrastructure, horrible airports, if you've flown in and out of laguardia, you know that. so on those three areas opportunity for bipartisan support. >> how does he pay for it, lanhee. >> that's the million dollar question and i think obvious we have to get some economic growth and hopefully that's the kind of policy they'll focus on as we get into this 100-day period. >> lanhee and peter and gloria, thank you so much. coming up next, team trump

inquire iing about the possibility of whether his grown children could receive top-secret security clearance even though they will be running the family business, why would they want that? we'll talk live with a former secret service agent. also ahead, is president obama being a tad too soft? a tad too positive his outlook on this trump win. what about hillary clinton? when you talk to critics, mostly democrats, they would tell you yes. we'll discuss that. and he has been called a racist, misogynist, white nationalist and now he is going to the west wing. moments from now, the most powerful democrat in the senate will take to the floor and blast trump over his new advisor "whatcha doin?"

"just checking my free credit score at credit karma. "what the?" "don't you know that checking your credit score lowers it."

"actually, checking your own credit score with credit karma doesn't affect it at all." "i guess i could just check my credit score then." "check out credit karma today." parts a and b and want more coverage, guess what? you could apply for a medicare supplement insurance plan whenever you want. no enrollment window. no waiting to apply. that means now may be a great time to shop for an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. medicare doesn't cover everything. and like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, these help cover some of what medicare doesn't pay. so don't wait. call now to request your free decision guide. it could help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that works for you. these types of plans have no networks, so you get to choose any doctor who accepts medicare patients. rates are competitive, and they're the only plans of their kind endorsed by aarp. remember - these plans let you apply

all year round. so call today. because now's the perfect time to learn more. go long. is. welcome back, you're watching cnn, i'm brooke baldwin. as we've been reporting, rudy giuliani's past business ties may hinder his chances of becoming secretary of state. but what about his attitude and often his controversial style? his words. listen to how the former new york mayor described demonstrators protesting donald trump's election. >> people should stop doing what they're doing. he has no more control over them

than president obama or hillary clinton have over the goons and thugs that are in my city that are destroying property that are taking over streets and that are yelling and screaming at donald trump. >> we me now, symone sanders, political commentator and democratic strategist. she was national secretary for the bernie sanders campaign. and alice stewart is with us, cnn political commentator and republican strategist, former communications director for senator ted cruz. great to see both of you. alice, goons and thugs. can you defend giuliani? >> i think that language is not necessary when we're talking about protesters as a whole. he's clearly referring specifically to those that have been destroying property, vandalizing property and being more violent but as a whole -- >> what if it's not as a whole. is that language okay period?

>> i don't think using that type of language with someone exercising their right to free speech is the right way to go about it. clearly understandably they're frustrated, their candidate of choice won the popular vote but didn't win the election and they're frustrated and i support as donald trump has supported their right to exercise their free speech. at the end of the day we understand these protesters are paid by those on the left to organize and speak, donald trump has -- >> not sure they're paid. where are you going with that? >> the point is these are professional protesters that are throughout pussing a message of anti-trump. >> hang on, hang on. >> i think alice knows -- >> i want to hear symone because i know mr. trump was saying this the other night that they're professional but i'm not entirely sure they are. i go ahead. >> i think alice knows as well as you and i do that these are not professional protesters. this is real unrest in the streets and that talking point being passed around between mr. trump and his spokes is

dangerous look, violence is never acceptable under any circumstances. these protesters are not being paid and my question to folks is has there ever been an acceptable form of protest? people were walking down the streets of new york city in rudy giuliani's city peacefully protesting and that still wasn't enough for him. so the trump people need to learn that this, people are feeling unrest and we have to reckon with folk's feelings and the rhetoric and these protests are going to continue until people feel like they have been heard and their needs met. >> one thing that that is important to keep in mind, this is not the first time an electorate has been dissatisfied withen the t outcome of an election and not happy with who is the president of the united states. but so many people including the experts were so wrong about the polls and the voters and the outcome of this election what makes them think they're right about how donald trump is going to lead? i say we take cues from hillary

clinton. let's have an open mind, give him the opportunity to lead and we can take it from there. >> i will have an open mind when donald trump gives black people an open mind, latino, muslims, native american folks, people with disabilities. all we have to go off of is what mr. trump has said and the rhetoric he stoked across this country is very divisive so i think people are well within their rights to be concerned and the last thing i want to note, brooke, is that this is not normal. there's nothing normal about this election and we should not normalize this. >> but on hillary clinton and her loss, i'm curious, as two women, the clinton campaign staffer jess mcintosh said recently when she was asked why women voters did not go out for for hillary clinton and she said it was internalized misogyny. she said "we as a society react poorly to women seeking positions of power, we feel uncomfortable with that and we seek to justify that

uncomfortable feeling." symone, do you agree? >> i do agree to some degree with that. we know a lot of times instead of leadership quality folks call women bossy and have negative at tributes to them. >> but what about women not being ready for a woman? >> i think there are some. we have to look around the country. i would say black women were ready for a woman president, they voted for hillary clinton in 94% so i really think we have to talk to some of these voters, i would agree there are a lot of women out there that were not ready. if you look at the evangelical community people that subscribe to the notion that believe women can't preach in churches or hold positions of power where the man is supposed to be the head of the household, those are real ideologies and real things that people subscribe to and that can carry over to their political believes. >> alice, you know these communities. is that fair? it's true, not all women came out for hillary. >> certainly. but look at this, she became the

nominee of her party so you have to give her credit for that. it did not have -- the women that didn't vote for her i don't believe whatsoevered to to do with her being a woman. i think ultimately the biggest downfall for her campaign whether they want to admit it or not, they like to blame james comey, the biggest downfall in my leaf is her decision to have a personal server from the beginning. that made her give the impression amongst voters that she didn't have to play by the rules, didn't have to follow the law and gave the impression she was better than the rest of people and that was a big factor in people not wanting to get behind her. everyone else colors within the lines and when you have someone that colors outside the lines it doesn't sit well with voters. >> i hear symone saying trump colors outside the lines as well. symone and alice, i've been talking to y'all long enough to know your thought bubbles, thank you so much. just in here we've received

a statement from republican senator john mccain. he rips donald trump over his talks with vladimir putin. elise labott is joining me. what is snoirm saying? >> it's a very tough statement for senator mccain who has been very tough on russian actions in syria's support of the regime, particularly in the fight against aleppo. we've seen civilians killed, hospitals hit, and now senator mccain speaking in wake of this conversation between president-elect putin and -- president-elect trump and vladimir putin saying with the presidential transition under way vladimir putin has said he wants to improve relations with the united states. we should place as much faith in such statements as any other made by a former kgb agent who

has plunged his country into tyranny, murdered his political opponents, invaded his neighbors, threatens america's allies and attempted to undermine american elections. so you've heard a lot during this campaign from president-elect trump about how he wants to repair relationship with russia. work with russia to go against isis in syria. now senator mccain saying vladimir putin can't be trusted and a shot against the bow to president-elect trump to take what putin says with a grain of salt and look at his actions. >> senator mccain is speaking up. we're about to hear from harry reid, elise. moments from now on the floor of the u.s. senate minority leader harry reid is getting ready to blast president-elect trump of his election of a top advisor. we're standing by for that.

will your business be ready when growth presents itself? american express open cards can help you take on a new job,

or fill a big order or expand your office and take on whatever comes next. find out how american express cards and services can help prepare you for growth at open.com.

moments from now on capitol hill outgoing senate minority leader harry reid is expected to lash out again at president-elect trump. the outspoken nevada democrat hasn't held back when it comes to mr. trump calling him everything from the a racist to a sexual predator this despite others offering a post-election olive branch. jeff zeleny is there in the halls of capitol hill ahead of this lashing. what do we think he'll be saying? >> brooke, we know harry reid has been leading the charge among democrats going after donald trump after his hires of steve bannon and others. he is scheduled to deliver a floor speech on the floor of the u.s. senate when it opens after

4:00 this afternoon and go after him again specifically on the hiring of steve bannon. now, the president, president obama, has been trying to measure his words. we've seen him at his news conference yesterday and earlier today in greece, he's on the final foreign trip of his presidency but he's been trying to give draump the benefit of the doubt. hillary clinton is as well. she's say donald trump deserves our open mind. that is not what senator reid is doing at all. other senate democrats are weighing in calling out the trump elected administration. this is what jeff merkley said, the democrat from oregon, just a few moments ago. >> we called on president-elect trump to exclude the proponents of hatred from the ranks of his administration and that includes immediately firing steve bannon as his chief strategist it's time for president-elect trump to act boldly and powerfully to

put the nation on a path of healing. >> pa>> reporter: part of this responding to the hurt that's out there. senate democrats don't believe donald trump will follow their advice in terms of who he hires or not but this is just the beginning volley of what is sure to be a long-running conversation between the democrats and who he puts in his cabinet. but interestingly how harry reid is differing from most other democrats, he's preparing to take his leave after being up here on capitol hill for so long, brooke. i'm told his speech won't hold back at all. >> i bet it won't and we'll take it live. jeff zeleny, thank you on the hill for us. coming up, donald trump as compromiser in chief? my next guest, cnn's very own michael smerconish will explain why he thinks the nation perhaps just elected that very notion, a compromiser, and whether president obama is being too soft on the president-elect. i love getting more for less.

that's why this control enthusiast rents from national. where i can skip the counter... ...and choose any car in the aisle. on average, four out of every five rentals at national is a free upgrade. getting a full-size and paying for a mid-size? ♪ whoa, oh, whoa, whoa, lovin' every minute of it... ♪ as the boys from loverboy so eloquently noted... i'm lovin' every minute of it. go national. go like a pro. [ that's a good thing, eligible for medicare? but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company.

like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, they could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call today to request a free decision guide. with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients... plus, there are no networks, and virtually no referrals needed. join the millions who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp... and provided by unitedhealthcare insurance company, which has over 30 years of experience behind it. with all the good years ahead, look for the experience and commitment to go the distance with you. call now to request your free decision guide.

welcome back, i'm brooke baldwin. there is a deep divide in this country and donald trump, president-elect trump, is now tasked with bridging the gap. but it's not just about reaching across party lines to compromise, he must be a president to all americans, including the people who feel he marginalized throughout his campaign. let me bring in michael smer con fi -- smerconish who wondered outloud in the philly inquirer whether or not the nation elected a compromiser in chief. "i'd like to think i heard words from a man who wasn't a true believer, but as a deal maker, a

pragmatist who knows how to sell and close a deal. this former democrat who once contributed to the campaign he defeated showed an ideological commitment to any extreme before coming to a candidate. maybe that's what we'll get the white house." why are you hopeful? >> i'm trying to look at it as a glass half full. it occurs to me he is the 2 corinthians president. i don't mean he's someone who could quote scripture at the drop of a hat but rather someone who walk wardly made a reference to the new testament. i look back at that scenario and i say he's not a purist, he's not an eideologue, he wants to close a deal and you close deals by putting people together so i'm trying to give him a fresh start. you afforded me an opportunity over the course of the last year and a half to talk about this campaign and on many, many

occasions i was very critical of the style in which he campaigned. i'm not going to forgive or forget but i am trying to wipe that slate clean a la what the president said as you just made reference, as secretary clinton noted. i'm try nothing the sake of national unity to say it's a new day, let's judge him from this moment forward. >> on the glass half full note, you have president obama, you have folks like oprah, dave chappelle over the weekend on "snl" but they've been criesed for ur -- criticized for urging folks giving trump a chance. jamyla lemieux, she doesn't agree. she's the former senior "ebony" magazine editor. >> that last moment where he says "i am going to give donald trump a chance" didn't sit well with me. i was disappointed to hear it. i think it's the sort of -- i don't know if cowardice is the word but that willing to be

tolerant and accepting that defines the left is both a gift and a curse. this is someone who ran a campaign on hatred and bigotry, who has since he has been elected chosen some of the most dangerous people possible to staff his white house with. and so the idea that we should be tolerance to him as if our political differences make him a -- somebody who's has been disenfranchised or discriminated against, that we can compare donald trump to muslims, to women who are afraid to walk around wearing their hijabs, to transpeop people afraid of goin the bathroom, to people afraid of going to their churches because they see anti-latino sentiments scrawled on asy credit religious space, to say that we all just need to listen to each other, to give each other a chance, to try and get

along -- >> you wish he hasn't done that? >> i wish he hadn't done that. >> that was something i wanted to play again today what she said and my question would be if you were advising the president-elect, what could he say? what could he do? what could she he show to assuage the fears of americans like that? >> two things, if i might. first of all i, too, have received that blowback a la oprah or dave chappelle or the president or secretary clinton because i've tried to toe this line of national unity and we've been talking about it non-stop on my sirius xm radio program and many women reflect the woman you just aired. now let me give you a direct answer. there are a series of incidents at schools that are unsettling, one at the university of pennsylvania seemingly emanating from the university of oklahoma where african-american students were singled out for some hateful treatment.

i would love to see president-elect trump go to one of those locations. there's a a high school in my backyard that has been the scene of this unrest since election day. how great it would be if he would go into the belly of the beast, meet with students and say this is unacceptable and let me tell you why in the same way he looked into the camera in the "60 minutes" interview and said "stop it." get out of trump tower and go into environments with young americans and let them know you have zero tolerance for that kind of abhorrent behavior. >> maybe he's listening. michael smerconish. one more quick question. we know senator barbara boxer, huge, huge hillary clinton supporter, later today she will introduce a senate bill that aims to end the electoral college hillary clinton won on the popular vote, what do you

think? >> this is such a difficult time to have this conversation because people suit up in their usual jersey dependent upon whether they're satisfied with the outcome of the election a week ago so there's serious issues that need to be thought through and the dust needs to settle before we can do that. one example, i like in the abstract the idea of a direct election of president which is we don't have but, brooke, what if you have a repeat like we had in 2000 and you need to recount not just in florida because florida's electoral votes are at stake but the whole country. how the heck do you do that? and look at the attention heaped on small states like new hampshire. sorry, new hampshire, you're not getting that attention. the urban and suburban areas will get the attention and states will be ignore sod i say to senator boxer let's move

slowly, let the dust settle and have discourse about it. >> michael smerconish, always a treat tune in to watch him saturday mornings on cnn. thank you. new information about a roadblock for rudy giuliani as we talk about the trump transition team and cabinet picks. he wants to be secretary of state. hear why something about his past is raising concerns. is he qualified? we'll discuss with a former giuliani advisor. "credit karma, why are you checking your credit score?"

"you don't want to ride the 13l forever, do you?" "credit karma huh?" "yeah, it's free." "credit karma. give youself some credit."

rudy giuliani, former new york mayor rudy giuliani's strong play to take on a role within president-elect trump's cabinet could be in trouble. this is what we're hearing, a source familiar with transition talks is telling cnn that close trump confidante rudy giuliani may not be a lock for the position of secretary of state because of his previous business ties in places like qatar and the venezuelan government. that said while speaking to the "wall street journal," the former new york mayor dismissed talk of becoming trump's attorney general suggesting he prefers the secretary of state

j job. with me now, rick wilson, a former strategist for rudy giuliani's 2000 senate campaign. you're the perfect voice on this. rick, good to see you. >> how are you, brooke? >> wonderful. my question for you is, you know, with your knowledge of rudy giuliani, does he have the chops to be secretary of state? >> i don't doubt rudy has the chops to be secretary of state but i think you're seeing a game being played out inside the nascent trump administration and you're seeing the divisions already. there's a bolton camp and a giuliani camp for the secretary of state slot do i think you'll have some sniping back and forth in that regard. i would point out the irony of anybody worrying about business and other conflicts of interest about rudy, if they didn't call this that out with hillary their standing isn't as strong as it could be. >> i think there was definitely talk over hillary clinton's business ties in the cgi but

that's a thing of the past. we're talking about the nay zant transition team, as you point out. you have been a proud member of the never trump movement. let's play this game. if trump selects giuliani, would that ease some of your concerns about a president trump? >> as emerson once said, an institution is the length and shadow of one man so no matter how many folks he brings in from the outside, if it's basically a matrix of decision making based on donald trump's preferences and philosophies and ideologies and as assisted by steve bannon as his ideological sort of north star it concerns me, the direction that rolls downhill no matter who's in those various jobs. >> but another planet in addition to the north star is a reince priebus, then you have jared kushner, the son-in-law who, by the way, when you look at all three of them, they could not be more different -- age, politics, religion, ideology,

what does that say to you? >> well, look, the last time we saw a try yum vary rat in the white house was in the nixon administration and it's different than today but this is not going to be a team of rivals in the lincoln sense of the world. >> you don't think so. >> >> i don't see reince priebus -- for all the complaints by the trump folks about the establishment, reince priebus couldn't represent the establishment more thoroughly until this year. and i think kushner gives him a sense of stability and family, like a backstop with family connections and ties and unquestioned loyalty. he's inexperienced and doesn't know what's going on in that environment and the friction of a white house operation will become apparent once they have to start tackling consequential issues day to day and steve bannon is an ideological driver for this presidency to push him

out further and further into away from conservatism towards nationalism and towards the sort of globalist populism. so i think reince priebus wants to make the trains run on time. steve bannon wants a >> that's a perfect way to put it. >> what about -- what about president obama? you know, he was asked -- he has been answering questions. he was at the white house yesterday and asked twice whether he thinks president-elect trump would be qualified to be president and twice he dodged the answer. did you notice that? >> i saw it. and look, here's -- i think he has learned or picked up a lesson from george h.w. bush and george w. bush that, no matter how severe the idealogical differences are you are trying

to make the transition as seamless and as smooth as possible. i think what obama said on the trail about trump is probably what he believes about trump. he also knows that the guy has been elected by the people of the united states of america and he's going to not put himself in the noose of having, you know, questioned trump's legitimacy while he is sitting as president. >> rick wilson. thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> coming up next, all the talk of trump's transition team apparently inquired about whether or not the president-elect adult children could possibly receive some sort of top-secret security clearances. there has been no sign. they're stepping, away from trump's businesses so there are obviously questions about conflicts of interest. [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare?

that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, they pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call today to request a free decision guide to help you better understand what medicare is all about and which aarp medicare supplement plan works best for you. with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that

accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and virtually no referrals needed. there's a range of plans to choose from, too, and they all travel with you anywhere in the country. join the millions who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations... and provided by unitedhealthcare insurance company, which has over 30 years of experience behind it. ♪ call today. remember, medicare supplement insurance helps cover some of what medicare doesn't pay. expenses that could really add up. these kinds of plans could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. you'll be able to choose any doctor who accepts medicare patients. and there are virtually no referrals needed. so don't wait. with all the good years ahead, look for the experience and commitment

to go the distance with you. call now to request your free decision guide. this easy-to-understand guide will answer some of your questions and help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that's right for you.

could donald trump's adult

children receive access to some of america's secret? cnn has learned that the president-elect's transition team has inquired about the possibility of allowing three of his adult children plus his son-in-law some sort of secret clearance. let's talk about that with the former secret service agent who spent five years on president obama's security detail. you know a thing or two. >> yes. >> nice to have you on the show. >> thank you very much. appreciate it. >> let's begin with -- again, a caveat all this with they're looking into the possibility of maybe requesting the security clearances. if it goes through, what kind of intel would they have access to? >> it depends on what level of clearance they want to have. >> what's the highest they could have? >> there's secret and compartmentalized information. that's when you get into the real fidelity of secrecy of the united states and different programs out there. i don't think that the -- his adult children need that. but i think it's a great option for them.

we know that they're going to be part of the administration in some capacity. even tangential, just part of an advisory group to the incoming president. so why not go through the vetting process, just to clear the air and make sure that they have a top secret clearance that they can go back and stand upon, that there is no questions about, you know, foreign allegiances or any questions like that. i think it's a very good idea. >> that's interesting you'r saying that. they're' on the transition team. we don't know if they'd have a role in the actual administration. the rub would be they're integral in the trump business, so one could come into, you know, national security information or something that they could take a then use for business or vice versa. isn't that a conflict of interest? >> there could be. they'll have to set up some sort of fire wall to prevent that. today the president-elect received his first presidential daily briefing. >> yep. >> that's the highest security level they can potentially get. who is he talking about that to?

who in his inner circle is he able to say, wow, this is what i just heard. how am i going to plan my government? the president-elect needs to surround himself quickly by people who have the clearances and the ability to openly discuss the transformation of government and what's going on out there. >> okay. >> i think it's very important. >> what about the white house? the question i am getting at -- because president-elect trump mentioned maybe he would like to spend weekends up here in new york in trump tower, even president obama was caught -- it was a hot mike moment -- where he said he would have maybe liked to have stayed in chicago. here he was. >> so is this a residence -- >> so you live here as well. >> i wish i had the option. >> wish i had the option. is it an actual option? if president-elect trump wanted to spend a chunk of time in trump tower, would he even be

able to do that, allowed? >> he is going to be the president, so he -- at the end of the day -- >> that's a yes? >> he can do whatever he wants. the white house is the seat of power of the executive branch. there's a massive structure -- again, it goes to there is something beyond donald trump being the president. it's the presidency. there's, you know, a whole structure built around the presidency. whether it's national security issues, economic issues. >> but, as his secret service agent, would that have given you a coronary thinking of having to protect a president at trump tower where other people live. >> it's not unattainable. we will protect the president. we do it anyway. if he leaves the white house and goes to san francisco we move the white house with him. we move the security, you know, protective methodology around him anywhere he goes. so it's not unattainable. the biggest impact is on the people of new york. >> right! >> that's where the administration, again, needs to be looking at every decision

they make, every action that he takes is going to have an equal and opposite reaction around the world. specifically here in new york city. >> john, thank you. >> thank you very much. i appreciate it. >> thank you for coming on. i'm brooke baldwin here in new york. we'll send it to washington. jim sciutto sitting in for jake tapper. "the lead" starts right now. thank you, brooke. one of donald trump's favorite movies is "blood sport" which matches how some sources are describing the transition. "the lead" starts right now. one source compared it to a knife fight. another used a term i can't say on the air. as trump allies battle for key positions, some just heartbeats away from the presidency. and big announcements could come at any moment. from the reality tv boardroom to the situation room? what could trump's grown-up children see if they're granted security clearances. do coalition troops know where the isis leader is hiding now?