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Trump Taps Gen. James "Mad Dog" Mattis for Defense Secretary; Insults Fly Between Trump, Clinton Aides at Harvard Symposium; Jobs Report: Unemployment Rate Hits Lowest in Decade; Trump Reaches Across Aisle to Build Cabinet; Crisis in Syria Called "Descent into Hell". Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired December 02, 2016 - 13:59   ET

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

[13:00:00] ED O'KEEFE, POLITICAL REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: -- and Republican intelligence made in the last few weeks, whether with regard to the Education Department, Mnuchin, and suddenly resumes will pour into the transition office because anyone who has a military mind in Republican circles sees that, goes, that's the kind of defense secretary I want to work with.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Heitkamp, he's meeting with a Democratic Senator --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: -- from North Dakota today.

(LAUGHTER)

And there's speculation she could be on the list secretary of energy?

O'KEEFE: This is a brilliant move. This is the way chess is played in politics. What he's doing here is signaling to Democrats, we may try to poach another seat from you. She's from North Dakota, a Republican state. There are Republicans lining up to take it, if she were to leave, and there are Republicans lining up to run against her.

That said, should Heitkamp not take the position or get offered anything, this helps her. And Trump, who we know has been talking frequently with the incoming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, is eager to work with Democrats. It could very well be Trump is trying to do Schumer and Heitkamp a favor, making her look good by getting a meeting.

(CROSSTALK)

O'KEEFE: Joe Manchin is being mentioned as well. He's in a similar predicament.

DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Look what he did with Nikki Haley. Nikki Haley could have been in a position as governor of South Carolina to challenge a President Trump after one term, and now is in the wilds of the United Nations, which is not exactly a high-profile area in this administration. And her lieutenant governor is a big Trump guy. GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALST: Right.

GREGORY: Yeah.

BLITZER: South Carolina.

BORGER: This is what he means when he says I like to cut deals, I like to negotiate.

GREGORY: Of course, President Obama did that with Jon Huntsman.

BORGER: Right, that's right.

BLITZER: Let me play a clip, and I want, David, you to react, and all of you to react. Jennifer Palmieri, the communications director during the Clinton campaign, and Kellyanne Conway, the Trump campaign manager, they had an exchange at Harvard University last night. It's supposed to be a very serious, intellectual discussion. That turned into this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER PALMIERI, HILLARY CLINTON, (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: If providing a platform for white supremacists makes me a brilliant -- a brilliant tactician --

(CROSSTALK)

PALMIERI: -- I'm glad to have lost. I would rather lose than win the way you guys did.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, SENIOR TRUMP ADVISOR & FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: If you think I ran a campaign where white supremacists had a platform? You're going to look me in the face and tell me that?

PALMIERI: You did. Kellyanne, you did.

(CROSSTALK)

CONWAY: Do you think I could have just had a decent message for white working class voters?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: That got a little unusually nasty.

GREGORY: Yeah, I think it did. Look, this is not just a -- a difference in ideological vision for the country. I mean, this was very personal, hard-fought. And the Clinton team made a bet to disqualify this guy on temperament and qualifications and lost the bet. They didn't turn on Democrats. I think, you know, going after them the way they did may be heartfelt. May be a lot of people that agree with that. I think it's self-indulgence to say, if you're a Democrat, oh, I see, you just energized white supremacists and that's why Hillary Clinton lost. It's a misreading of what happened. BORGER: Nobody's over it on the Clinton side yet, and I think it's

going to take an awfully long time. I've been to lot of these. I didn't go to this one, unfortunately. But I've moderated a panel like that. And usually it's all about the mechanics, and what were you thinking at this point while we thinking this and --

BLITZER: And everyone is very gracious --

(CROSSTALK)

BORGER: And everyone is gracious. This is way too raw. I think maybe it was a little too soon.

GREGORY: Yeah. Conceivable.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: All right, guys, stick around. Don't go too far away.

Up next, unemployment rate at its lowest point now in nearly a decade here in the United States. What behind the numbers? What it means for the U.S. economy, for the Trump administration.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:42:50] BLITZER: A look at the latest jobs report. President- elect Trump will be inheriting a strong economy and a low unemployment rate. 178,000 jobs created across the U.S. last month. The big surprise today, the jobless rate, a drop from 4.9 percent to 4.6 percent, the lowest rate since 2007. Wages rose as well.

Here's a look where the jobs were created. Business services, 63,000 net new jobs there. Health care, a diverse industry, a number of jobs, 28,000. The pain, though in the labor market, manufacturing, lost another 4,000 jobs.

Let's talk about the numbers. I'm joined by the United States deputy secretary of labor, Chris Lu.

Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for joining us.

CHRIS LU, DEPUTY SECRETARY OF LABOR: My pleasure. Great to you here.

# Manufacturing, let me get to that. Why another 4,000 manufacturing jobs last month disappeared?

LU: Look, this is -- again, we don't take too much stock of one month's job numbers. What is important is that, since 2010, 800,000 manufacturing jobs have been created under President Obama's watch. We've taken strong steps to bring jobs back to the United States and train workers for those jobs.

BLITZER: What's the strongest aspect of the U.S. economy now that President-elect Trump will be inheriting when it comes to jobs? LU: Wolf, the difference between where we are now versus where we

were eight years ago. Eight years ago, when President Obama took over, he lost 2.3 million jobs in the three months before he took office.

BLITZER: There was a recession?

LU: We were in the midst of the greatest recession of our lifetime. Unemployment at 10 percent. A stark contrast between the economy we inherited and the one we are passing off to our successor.

BLITZER: What do you say to Republicans, and they often say, yes, the numbers look pretty good, but it's misleading because so many are simply dropping out of the jobs market and have given up hope?

LU: Right. We need to get more people into the jobs market. We talk every month about labor first to participation and how to get more people off the sidelines, whether young adults who need skills to get new jobs, fathers and mothers raising kids at home and want to work part-time or paid leave to get into the workforce, older workers, all of that we need to do and we also need to continue to grow wages in this economy.

BLITZER: The decision by the president-elect intervened with Carrier and saved 1000-plus jobs in Indianapolis and we saw it unfold yesterday in Indiana. He says he'll do a lot more of that to save jobs, prevent people from going offshore, if you will, exporting jobs from the United States. Is that a good idea?

[13:40:22] LU: Look, it's always a good idea when more Americans make more products here in the United States. The real question is, whether that is a sustainable and scalable economic recovery approach. Again, I go back to the point that, since 2010, 800,000 manufacturing jobs have been created under President Obama's watch. This doesn't even include the one million jobs in the auto industry that were saved. So, again, we always applaud more jobs created in the United States, but is that a long-term strategy? I'll leave that to others to decide.

BLITZER: The criticism that Donald Trump is getting, including from the "Wall Street Journal," is that you are providing tax incentives, tax breaks to save some jobs, but it's really not a good idea to have the government intervene in these areas. They'd like to see the government stay away from these kinds of areas. Your reaction?

LU: Wolf, an important point. Would have been interesting to see what the reaction would have been on the other side if President Obama had taken an action like this. From our perspective, in the Department of Labor, it's how do we train people for the good-paying jobs of the 21st century, understanding technology changes, new industries are being created, other industries being moved offshore. That's our focus over the last eight years.

BLITZER: He also says one of the first legislative initiatives he wants is an infrastructure program. It's going to create millions of jobs, he says. But it's also going to rebuild roads, bridges, make sure the highways are safe, airports, which are a disaster, he points out here in the United States. A lot of Democrats support that. You would support that initiative. It's almost like a jobs stimulus program.

LU: Wolf, as you know, President Obama has been calling for this bill for years and he's been stymied in his attempts to get that. They key is there are good and bad infrastructure bills. If this is essentially a tax giveaway to developers for projects they already were going to undergo, that's not creating new jobs. It's simply a tax giveaway.

BLITZER: One final question, Mr. Secretary. You have been playing a very important role. The president of the United States, President Obama, assigned this role to you to help in the transition to the next president of the United States, and that's to be Donald Trump. He was elected president. Tell us what you've been doing and how it's going.

LU: At the Department of Labor, we are following the president's command to all of us, which is we provide the same level of cooperation and collaboration to the incoming time that we received from President Bush back in 2008. What we're committed to doing.

BLITZER: So you're helping the Trump transition, you're working with them on a daily basis?

LU: Absolutely. I talk to them on a regular basis.

BLITZER: Making sure they have all the information they need so, on January 20th, they're ready to go.

Secretary Lu, thanks for your service, thanks for coming in.

LU: Thanks for having me.

BLITZER: Coming up, President-elect Donald Trump says he's made his decision on several cabinet positions. Who are they? When will they be announced? We'll discuss that with a key member of Trump's transition team, Congressman Chris Collins. He's standing by live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:47:06] BLITZER: Donald Trump is steadily building his cabinet. Look at this. Like pictures from inside Trump Tower in New York City, serving as transition headquarters. People are walking in and out. Elevators right there. A lot of reporters standing by trying to get glimpses of individuals walking in.

The president-elect is expected to meet with a handful of people today. One of them is Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a North Dakota Democrat. Could it be an olive branch of sorts?

Joining us now, Congressman Chris Collins, of New York. He's a member of the Trump transition team.

Congressman, thank you very much for joining us.

REP. CHRIS COLLINS, (R), NEW YORK: Good to be here, Wolf.

BLITZER: You're the transition team's chief liaison to members of Congress.

COLLINS: Yes, I am.

BLITZER: What do you think about a Democratic Senator emerging potentially, let's say, as secretary of energy?

COLLINS: I think it's brilliant, especially since there's a Republican governor of North Dakota, and that would push us from 52 to 53 Senators.

BLITZER: So you're just looking to find Senators?

(LAUGHTER)

Democratic Senators, you can pick off, maybe? There's some speculation about Senator Joe Manchin, of West Virginia, for example. Would he be on your short list?

COLLINS: Let's just say there's politics and then there's politics. But when you a find a qualified person, and it's good politics as well as filling the best and brightest. I've heard extraordinarily good things about the Senate but you can't miss the nuance, it's a Republican state and we've already seen the Democrats, Senator Schumer and others saying, oh, my god, we can't let that happen. But, of course, we're playing chess and we have to be aware of these things.

BLITZER: Yes, and you're very much involved in this. And we know there was one Republican who served in the Obama cabinet. There was a Democrats who served in the Bush - in President Bush's cabinet. Presumably, you're looking for a good Democrat or two to serve in the cabinet?

COLLINS: Yeah. There may be a couple in the House we could find jobs for.

BLITZER: People are coming up to you all the time looking for work?

COLLINS: They are, including Democrats. You know --

BLITZER: What do they say to you, when they come up to you?

COLLINS: Many on the Republican side would say, this is a moment in time, a moment in history, a day we never expected, and I want to be part of it. It's not just members of Congress. It's people from around the country. But members of Congress who may be looking for positions that are not cabinet level, which I find a little surprising, but --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: They're willing to give up a seat for a subcabinet position?

COLLINS: Absolutely. Including things like the head of NASA, head of EPA, undersecretary in the treasury or something. No, it is truly people that want to be part of an administration that is a game- changer. I have Democrats coming up also suggesting that they could play a role, and if it's an undersecretary level, politics tends to be set aside at that kind of level.

BLITZER: People don't realize, there's 4,000 political appointments the new president has to make.

COLLINS: Right. What we're trying to do with my staff is call it 4,000 mail slots. In some cases, to move it along, find a person that can be seven levels down, someone that wants that administrative assistant to the deputy secretary to the undersecretary, find the mail slot, slide that resume in, at which point, highly qualified person comes highly recommended, we fill that spot. Then we can move on to the other 3,999.

[13:50:21] BLITZER: Let's say a Republican member of the House comes over to you, a friend of yours, says I really would like that this job, or a Democratic member -- I'm sure a few of them have come to you. You're the liaison. Donald Trump has picked you, the guy, the point person up on the Hill. What happens then? They say, I'd like to be whatever.

COLLINS: Well, I get a resume, because a piece of paper helps. We then feed that to Rick Dearborn, the executive director - he was Jeff Sessions' chief of staff -- to make sure they're on the list and being considered. And depending on the slot and the individual, I might then contact someone, which I've done a few times, to put my direct recommendation into the president-elect, or someone like his son-in- law, Jared Kushner, just to say, this is somebody I know and I can tell you he's loyal, he's the right guy, the smart guy, so I know the decision will be made by the president-elect, but for what's it's worth, here's my five stars.

BLITZER: So, Jared Kushner, the son-on-law, or someone else at a high level, they know you, they trust you. You were the first member of Congress to endorse Donald Trump. So, you have some cache with them. They think you have credibility?

COLLINS: Well, I've always been loyal, I've put Donald J. Trump first, always. And I've always reminded people of his vision of America, making America great again. And, of course, those close to Mr. Trump have recognized that role and I'd like to think that my advice or -- I'm an honest broker, as you know. I wasn't looking to move into the administration. This was something I did because it was the right thing to do.

BLITZER: You're a blunt guy from Buffalo, New York, my hometown as well.

COLLINS: That's how we are.

BLITZER: And you've always been very blunt with me. Who do you want Donald Trump to pick as secretary of state?

COLLINS: I would like to see either General Petraeus or Rudy Giuliani. I'd be very supportive of each of those. I don't know Senator Corker but, you know. You know what I said and I don't take it back about Mitt Romney. If he is chosen, I'll support him, but I would certainly prefer either General Petraeus or Rudy Giuliani. I know both of them. I know what a great job they would do.

BLITZER: When you head back to Buffalo, say hello to all our friends over there.

COLLINS: I certainly will.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Chris Collins, for joining us.

COLLINS: Good to be with you.

BLITZER: Good luck.

COLLINS: All righty.

BLITZER: Coming up, the growing crisis in Syria is being described as "a descent into hell" as U.S. and Russian officials meet to find a new agreement to stop the fighting. We're going live to Damascus after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:57:00] BLITZER: After five years of brutal, horrendous warfare in Syria, the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry maintains diplomacy, in his words, "is still alive." He made the comments during his meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Rome, where they were discussing the crisis. This, as Syrian government troops advance further into eastern Aleppo. Rebels are surrounded as good and medical supplies run low for the civilians are trapped inside.

Our senior international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, is now in Damascus for us.

Fred, tell us more about the situation. What are you hearing it's like on the ground?

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know the situation is miserable there in those rebel-held areas that are surrounded by the Syrian military, Wolf. And those rebel-held are appear to be getting smaller by the day. The Syrian military says that it's advancing further into some of those areas. It's remarkable to see those sweeping gains the Syrian army has made in the last couple of days. However, in the past two days, that has slowed down somewhat. And that is just to do with the weather over Aleppo because it was so cloudy, so rainy that the Syrian Air Force wasn't able to fly a lot of missions. However, that apparently changed today and we have been getting reports that there were fierce air strikes on those enclaves surrounded by the Syrian army. A lot of artillery shelling as well. Dozens of people were killed, many more wounded.

As you've mentioned, the humanitarian situation on the group getting worse by the day. The U.N. saying that it could be a "slow descent into hell" with already almost no food, and more importantly, Wolf, almost no medical supplies there left in those besieged areas -- Wolf?

BLITZER: So is the end near right now? What are the experts telling you?

PLIETGEN: Well, you know, as far as Aleppo is concerned, there are some who believe that this could very well be very close to the end. What's happened over the course of today is that the rebel groups remaining in those very small areas in the eastern part of Aleppo is that they've banded together to form what they called a unified front where they say they want to work together to fight off the Syrian military. But of course, that's becoming increasingly desperate. So they are massively outgunned. The Syrian military has air power as well, and the Syrian military is closing in. And the battle for Aleppo is one that almost everyone says is pivotal for Syria's civil war because it's the last place where the rebels hold any meaningful territory in one of Syria's largest cities, so if they lose that, this will largely be an insurgency that takes place in the countryside. So, it will be far less significant here in Syria, if, indeed, they lose that stronghold there in Aleppo.

So, a key battle, an important battle, and one that, at this point in time, appears to be going in the way of Bashar al Assad and, of course, his backers from Iran, Russia and Hezbollah -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Fred Pleitgen, be careful. We'll stay in close touch. Thanks for that report.

That's it for me. I'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in "The Situation Room."

For our international views, "Amanpour" is next.

For our viewers in North America, NEWSROOM with Brooke Baldwin starts right now.

[14:00:13] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, there. And thank you so much for being with me.