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Trump And Transition Team Working To Form Government; Anti- Trump Protests Planned For Today; Trump Reverses Opinion Of Protesters In Tweet; Trump Commends Protesters For Passion; Violence Breaks Out In Protest; Hensarling Considered For Treasury Secretary; Mike Pence Role As V.P. In Trump Administration; Christie Pushing Trump To Hire Never Trumpers; DNC Chair Race, Who Will Lead the Democratic Party; Interview with. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired November 11, 2016 - 13:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. here. It's Veterans Day in the United States. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

As the days tick down to his inauguration, president-elect Donald Trump and his transition team, they are wrapping up efforts to form a cabinet and a government. In fact, he and his inner circle are huddling inside Trump Tower in New York City right now.

Tweeting earlier today, he said this, he said, busy day planned in New York. Will soon be making some very important decisions on the people who will be running our government.

Meanwhile, more anti-Trump protests are planned for later today. For three nights in a row, people took to the streets in several big cities and college campuses. Protestors wanted to make it clear they are very unhappy with the outcome of the U.S. election. Not all of them, by the way, ended peacefully.

An anti-Trump rally in Portland, Oregon quickly became violent as protestors confronted police throwing objects at police officers, vandalizing local businesses and damaging cars. Police arrested at least 26 protestors.

CNN Correspondent Phil Mattingly is outside Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Phil, Trump has had a busy day so far. Tell us about what's been happening, who's inside right now? This transition process, obviously very intense.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, as one Trump adviser told me, it's crunch time now. Both Donald Trump and his whole campaign apparatus recognize it's time to shift from campaign to governance. And that means positions need to be appointed very quickly. Key positions like chief of staff, top-line senior advisers in the White House. Those should be coming very soon, I'm told.

In terms of who's in the building right now. It's really a who's who of the closest inside Donald Trump's inner circle. You had Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, who was a very powerful voice throughout the campaign. Eric Trump, his son, in there, too. Top advisors like Steven Miller, Jason Miller, they're in there. Rudy Giuliani has been seen going inside and out of Trump Tower. He's actually considered a top prospect for a cabinet official.

When you talk to different Trump advisers and, frankly, when you talk to senior Republicans, Wolf, there is some question about how ready this transition team was to kick everything into gear.

Now, I'm told it's a smaller transition team than what Mitt Romney had set up in 2012, certainly smaller than what I've heard Hillary Clinton had set up. But it is a transition team that was prepared for the moment.

The biggest holdup right now, Donald Trump has to start making decisions. That is something, Wolf, we expect in the coming, potentially, hours and certainly next couple of days.

BLITZER: Yes, we do anticipate that. What about security over there where you are? Now that Donald Trump is president-elect of the United States, what's happening with the security over at Trump Tower?

MATTINGLY: Well, it's ramped up in major way. And, look, one of the interesting things, when you talk to law enforcement officials, this is something they simply haven't been confronted with before. Try securing a 57-story skyscraper in the middle of Fifth Avenue, and one of the busiest thoroughfares potentially in the world. That's what they're doing right now.

Now, there's more than a hundred NYPD officers that have a constant presence around the building, secret service now up and down the building. There's been new barriers placed all around the building.

But the reality is the secret service, when you talk to law enforcement officials, they are not comfortable with this. They would prefer he would be somewhere else. At least, at this point, though, there are no plans for Donald Trump to move out of this area.

How the NYPD and secret service continue to, kind of, debate these security precautions going forward, it's going to be something very interesting to watch -- Wolf.

BLITZER: He also has started tweeting a little bit more actively, Donald Trump, right now. He had laid off basically for a few days. And now, he's tweeting and there seems to be some mixed messages going on. Update our viewers on that.

MATTINGLY: Yes, it's exactly right. And a couple people said, Donald Trump got his phone back, got his Twitter back. Last night, tweeting about the protestors in here. We've seen them all over the country. We've seen them in front of Trump Tower the last couple of nights. A smaller presence last night but still a very constant presence.

And Donald Trump saying that it was very unfair. He thought that these were paid protesters and these were being driven by the media. Reversing course a little bit this morning, saying he appreciated the passion and that he was going to try and bring this country together. It's kind of an interesting reversal of sorts.

But, Wolf, he also underscores that this is a man who is now confronting the biggest job in the world, to kind of talk about that he's doing. Not only tweeting a reversal, not only dealing with transition but also had calls today with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, with French President Francois Hollande.

This is very real right now and I think everybody inside the campaign, inside the transition and inside the future administration, they're starting to get their heads around that fact -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Phil, thank you. Phil Mattingly outside Trump Tower in New York City.

Let's discuss all this and much more with my next guest. Texas Republican Congressman Jeb Hensarling. He's the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. Mr. Chairman, thanks very much for joining us.

REP. JEB HENSARLING (R), TEXAS, CHAIRMAN, HOUSE FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE: Yes, Wolf, happy to do it.

BLITZER: We've got lots to discuss. But I want to get your quick reaction to Donald Trump's sort of mixed message tweets about the protests, first criticizing the crowd then commending them for their passion. Do you think he can stay on message right now? And what do these mixed messages say about his behavior in these days, now that he's president-elect of the United States?

[13:05:13] HENSARLING: Well, if you would permit me to mixed a message here. It is Veterans Day and I'd just like to say, as an elected official, the father of two teenagers, any veteran within ear shot of this show, thank you for your service. Thank you for making our nation free.

With respect to your question, Wolf. Listen, people have the right -- the first amendment is sacrisent (ph). The freedom of speech. The right to petition your government for the redress of grievances enshrined in our Constitution. But there's no right to riot.

And so, obviously, the president-elect acknowledged that. But he also acknowledged that, listen, he knows he has to earn support of all Americans.

I think that -- frankly, I wish more of them would listen to what President Obama had to say, what secretary Clinton had to say and what incoming president Trump has to say.

And, again, nobody has a right to violence. They don't have a right to riot. And so, you know, president-elect sent out two tweets and I think the second one probably hit it where it needed to be hit.

BLITZER: Let's talk about you, for a moment. You know your name has been floated as a possible treasury secretary. Have you spoken to the campaign about that? Are they vetting you? Would you accept that opportunity if were offered to you?

HENSARLING: Well, Wolf, number one, I have a great job and the job I've always wanted in Congress. Currently, the phone is not ringing at home or office. If it was, I would take the call. I would certainly have the discussion. And since it is Veterans Day, you think, how can you best serve your country?

I'm very excited about Donald Trump's economic agenda for America, fundamental tax reform, getting rid of bank bailouts, getting rid of Dodd-Frank, having better competitive trade deals. I think I can do a lot to advance that agenda in the House.

Listen, if, for some reason, our president-elect or his incoming administration wanted to talk to me about something else, I'd certainly have the conversation with them.

But, again, the phone isn't ringing, at the moment.

BLITZER: Waiting for that phone to ring. I know you're close to the vice president-elect, Mike Pence. He spent more than a decade in the U.S. House of Representatives.

HENSARLING: Yes.

BLITZER: Have you spoken to him about what his role in the Trump administration specifically is going to be? And potentially, once again, about your role?

HENSARLING: Well, I'm trying to leave Mike alone, at the moment. So, we've had -- we've had some texting back and forth. What I know about Mike Pence is that Donald Trump chose an excellent vice presidential candidate who is now our vice president-elect.

And, frankly, has strengths where the president didn't, the president- elect. The president-elect has the vision. He has the passion. He understands the people.

Mike is somebody who knows how to translate that into public policy, into legislative language, help get it through the House.

And, yes, I've been very close to the vice president. He's a dear friend and ally when we were in the House together. That's something I think I can bring to the Trump administration as well. And whether I do that as chairman of the House of Financial Services Committee or in some other capacity, listen, that's his decision.

I'm happy to serve the president-elect. I'm happy to serve my nation and my constituents any way I can to best further the cause of freedom and free enterprise. And I just couldn't be more excited. Let's put it this way, Wolf. I'm a lot happier today than I thought I was going to be 72 hours ago.

BLITZER: A lot of people were very, very surprised by the outcome of this election.

But just to be precise, Mr. Chairman. If the president of the United States asks you to serve as treasury secretary, maybe some place else, you would accept?

HENSARLING: We will -- we would have the conversation if the phone rang. Like any job interview, you'd want to know what's expected of you and how would it all work out?

But I just want to emphasize, again, I just got re-elected to be congressman for the Fifth District of Texas. I expect I'll be chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and so much of what I've worked on can now be the reality with the president Trump as opposed to a President Obama or president Clinton.

But if the phone rang, again, I would have the conversation. I would be honored. It would be great. It would be a challenge. But I'd be happy to have that conversation.

BLITZER: I want to talk a little about the specifics of being treasury secretary. But our Jim Acosta is now reporting that there's been some indications of in-fighting in the Trump inner circle.

Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey, the head of the transition team, wants them to be open to selecting so-called never Trumpers. People who -- Republicans who said they could not vote for Donald Trump, didn't vote for Donald Trump. What do you think? Would that be a positive gesture to bring some of them into a new Trump administration?

[13:10:05] HENSARLING: Well, I don't think that I'm going to advise the president-elect on who he needs to surround himself with. I think, again, he has had a very conciliatory tone. I know he knows that he has to embrace all Americans. I think he's off to a wonderful start.

And, again, I would just advise him to look at who can best help move his passion for getting government by the people back, to get the economy working for working people. And who that might be, I don't know. That has to be his decision. But I hope -- I hope and trust it'll be based upon who can best help him move the agenda that the American people have entrusted him with to get the economy working for working people and to make sure that we have government by we the people and not them, the bureaucrats. That, again, we secure our border because we can't be a nation unless we have secure borders.

So, my guess is -- he's already been conciliatory and I believe he'll be, once again, as he looks for his cabinet selections.

BLITZER: I know you've got to run. One quick question, quick answer right now. If you were to become treasury secretary of the United States, what would be the single most important issue, policy, you would want to see advance?

HENSARLING: Well, I'm going to cheat and give you two. Fundamental tax reform, repeal and replace of Dodd-Frank. That will get the economy working for working people. It will mean small businesses will thrive. Consumers will, once again, have choices. We'll get rid of the bank bailouts. Nothing can say economic growth quite like fundamental tax reform and repealing and replacing Dodd-Frank. BLITZER: Jeb Hensarling is the chairman who's joining us right now.

Thanks so much, Mr. Chairman, for joining us. Good luck.

HENSARLING: Thank you.

BLITZER: Coming up, the outgoing leader of the Senate Democrats, Harry Reid. He goes off on Donald Trump big time. Wait until you hear what he has just said.

But first, Jane Sanders joins us to talk live about her husband's role in the future of the Democratic Party. There she is in Burlington, Vermont. We'll speak with Jane Sanders right after this.

[13:12:20]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:16:09] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back.

With the Democrats out of power in the White House and the minority in both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, the party is in search for answers and in desperate search for some new leadership. Former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean has actually put his name in for the new chairman of the Democratic National Committee. The former Maryland governor, Martin O'Malley, he's also considering a run. While others are backing Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison, and that includes Senator Bernie Sander, who was - who has - who was endorsed by Ellison when he was running for the Democratic presidential nomination.

So, who will lead the Democratic Party? Joining us now to discuss that and more from Vermont is Jane Sanders. She's the wife of Senator Bernie Sanders.

Jane, thanks for joining us.

JANE SANDERS, WIFE OS SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: Good to be here, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, so Senator Sanders says he's supporting Congressman Ellison as leader of the DNC, the Democratic National Committee, because, he says, it needs to be led, and I'm quoting him now, "by a progressive that understands the dire need to listen to working families." Here's the question, couldn't he be that voice, Senator Sanders, or at least play a leading role in the DNC? Is he considering something along those lines?

SANDERS: Well, he's playing a leading role in the Senate. And I think that everybody has a role to play, and politics has to stop being the cult of the personality. We need to bring more people into the process, not - people all over the country into the process, but also more voices in the establishment, whether it's the political establishment or the media establishment.

Keith Ellison has been the co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. He's a very influential and intelligent, articulate leader. And we think that he would be really good to lead the DNC. I think right now, Wolf, we can't go backwards. We can't be looking at

the moderate wing or the conservatives to try to - we don't want to re-create the DNC of yesterday. It wasn't the right - the right mix for this time. We need progressive leadership, not just at the top, but in the executive board and throughout the country. The DNC has about over 400 members. We need voices that understand what the reality of people's lives are.

BLITZER: So you don't think Howard Dean or Martin O'Malley fits that bill?

SANDERS: I like them both very much. They're both very decent people. But that's not all we're looking for any more. We're looking for people that have progressive, intelligent, different kinds of solutions that recognize that we need to address the pain that people are feeling out in the country. Fifteen states that Bernie won went to Trump. Ninety thousand people in Michigan voted all the way down ticket, all the other races, but didn't say anything in the general election, in the presidential race. We'll see that all over country. People are hungry for new direction. I think that's why Trump has won this election. They want change.

The question is, what kind of change are they going to get? We need to, you know, we all know all over the country, all over the world, there are populist movements and some of them are very, very good, some of them are not so good. And how America has judged them in the past is from a corporate perspective. My hope, my one hope with President Trump is that he said he's going go in there and he's going to represent the working people. We need to find common ground on issues such as trade and globalization, and jobs and infrastructure. We hope to find common ground with him on that.

[13:20:03] And then we need to fight him back on some of the other areas that he's talking about. Today is Veterans Day. Our veterans, we should - we owe such a debt of gratitude to them. They have fought for our democracy, which means that people of all races, ethnicity, backgrounds, are equal. Nobody's less than. And they're treated with dignity and they feel safe in our nation. So those are the two prong approaches that we need to really fight for.

BLITZER: Very -

SANDERS: Go ahead. I'm sorry.

BLITZER: A little question, then I want to move on. Senator Sanders I think still is listed as an Independent in the U.S. Senate, together with Angus King of Maine, although they both caucus with the Democratic Party. Does he now consider himself a full-fledged member of the Democratic Party?

SANDERS: You have to ask my husband that. I am an Independent.

BLITZER: All right, I'll ask him the next time I speak with him about that. Clearly he wants to have some influence in the Democratic Party. He ran for the Democratic presidential nomination. Last night -

SANDERS: Well, he will. I mean he will have -

BLITZER: Yes.

SANDERS: Uh-huh.

BLITZER: I'm sure he'll have a lot of -

SANDERS: He will have influence because -

BLITZER: I'm sure he'll have a lot of influence.

SANDERS: Yes.

BLITZER: And that - and I want to play a little clip for you, Jane. In my interview with Senator Sanders last night, I - I had this exchange with him, and I want to play that clip for you. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: But it never crossed your mind that you might have done better against him? You might have actually won if you had been the Democratic nominee?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: What good does it do now?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: I pressed him a few times on that. He really didn't want to get into it. Do you - you're an honest - you're an honest - a very candid woman. Do you think your husband would have had a better chance of beating Donald Trump than Hillary Clinton did?

SANDERS: Absolutely, but it doesn't matter. The election is over. What he has to do now is use his influence and work with people across this country to affect the change that they would have voted for had he been on the ticket, and they did vote for in the primary, despite all the irregularities.

BLITZER: Looking back - back with hindsight, Jane, right now -

SANDERS: So it's not about us. It's not about -

BLITZER: I understand.

SANDERS: I'm sorry. Go ahead.

BLITZER: But looking back with hindsight now - looking back with hindsight now, it was a very, very close race between your husband and Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. Do you believe it was free and fair that both sides had an equal opportunity to get the delegates they need to get that nomination at the Democratic Convention?

SANDERS: You know, Wolf, that's yesterday's news. I mean I think it's pretty clear that the DNC was on Secretary Clinton's side. We said that six months ago. So it was no surprise when it came out, when more information came out.

That is not what concerns the American people. What concerns them now is whether or not they're going to get jobs, whether or not their kids are going to be able to go to college, whether they're going to be able to afford child care, whether the planet is going to be taken care of in terms of climate change. I think the next few months are going to show a lot of things to us. It will depend on what cabinet officials President-Elect Trump decides to put in. I mean he said he was coming down here to, quote, "drain the swamp," and he was going to not let the corporate elite run the country anymore. Our hope is that that part of his promise is true. That he is not going to go and bring in all of the same old, same old faces, but that he will be - I don't know whether that's going to happen. The same with the DNC.

BLITZER: Very quickly -

SANDERS: The DNC's future is in -

BLITZER: Very quickly, Jane.

SANDERS: Balance.

BLITZER: Yes or no, would you be open to Senator Sanders running again for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020?

SANDERS: See, that's exactly the wrong question, Wolf. Nobody cares except the political pundits. He is not - he's concerned about 2017. He's concerned about our Muslim population in feeling great fear right now. We're hoping that President-Elect Trump will give them a reason to not feel that any more. He's concerned about the fact that people are hurting, that the water systems in Flint are still not repaired. Those are the things he's focusing on. And what happens in 2020 will happen in 2020. We'll talk to you in 2019, how that?

BLITZER: Well, we'll see. It seems like a long way down the road. But, you know what, not too long indeed. All right, Jane Sanders -

SANDERS: But, no, no, we - we'll talk to you every day! We'll talk to you every day on the issue, Wolf, every day, if you want us.

[13:25:05] BLITZER: All right. Every day. We'll continue this conversation. Best regards to Senator Sanders, as well. Jane Sanders, thank you.

SANDERS: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Coming up, Donald Trump reportedly at odds with his family inner circle over who should be named as his chief is staff. Who's he considering? What would each pick say about the next four years? Stay with us. New information coming in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:29:58] BLITZER: The Senate minority leader, Harry Reid, is wrapping up his 30 year stay in the U.S. Senate with a stern message for a Washington newcomer, President-Elect Donald Trump. Harry Reid saying this, and let me quote him, very, very tough words. Quote, "White nationalists, Vladimir