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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Dilbert Creator Explains How Trump Won the Election; Obama Lays Wreath At Tomb Of The Unknowns; Michelle Obama's Initiative Promotes Hiring Vets; Michelle Obama's Initiative Putting Vets Back To Work; First Lady Meets At White House With Melania Trump; Brain-Mapping Offers Hope For Hidden Wounds; Mapping The Brain For Solutions To Mental Battles; Brains Scans Give Personalized Prescriptions; Songwriting Legend Leonard Cohen Dies At 62. Aired 4:30-5p ET

Aired November 11, 2016 - 16:30   ET

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

MIKE SHIELDS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Which, by the way, every Republican reform plan of Obamacare that's actually been introduced and contains those two provisions still staying.

[16:30:02] So, to say that -- they do, look at the bills that are introduced on the floor. The preexisting conditions and children age 26 under staying on your parent's insurance, that does not mean you're keeping Obamacare. There's two provisions that every bill, that reform bill -- serious reform bill that was already introduced on the floor contain those two provisions.

ANGELA RYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: With major restrictions --

SHIELDS: So again --

RYE: So, let's be fair.

SHIELDS: And also, you know, you're saying his insiders. You can't have it both ways. You can't criticize President-elect Trump for being outside and, look, you can bring Bannon in, that could offend people, but by the way, he's got some insiders, how dare he do that?

RYE: No, I'm saying --

SHIELDS: His campaign was involved with the campaign, they gave speeches at the convention. I think everybody knows, as advertised, that they are business people that are going to come and help guide him and his administration. I don't know they're going to serve in government, but they're going to be part of the transition team. I think that's exactly what people voted for.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: I wanted to ask you about the protesters see we're across the country. Obviously, there are horrific acts of violence and vandalism by people who are likely Trump supporters. And we've seen acts of violence by people who oppose Donald Trump. What is the solution to this? Do you think it's going to peter out on it's own or agree with Sean Duffy that both President-elect Trump and President Obama and even Hillary Clinton need to come out and start calming the country? RYE: I totally agree with that. I totally agree with that. I think

they all have a role to play, in part because again when you look at the electorate, the fact that Hillary Clinton did win the to play in terms of leading us out of this division. But so does that Donald Trump.

That means that in nighttime, when you are free willing it, you can't tweet out something dangerous, potentially treacherous, potentially egging on the protests or further exacerbating the protests and then turn around the next morning and encourage the protests. You have to be consistent and calming in your message. You have to reassure people that you're not here to destroy everything they loved about this president's legacy or to tear apart Hillary Clinton or to further tear her down.

At some point, you have to say you know what, I am now commander in chief, I do need to play a leadership role and even my 140 characters on Twitter will say something completely different. I'm now going to be a positive spokesperson.

TAPPER: Quick final thought.

RYE: Well, I think that's right. I mean, I think that it is up to the president-elect. He has to lead and bring the country -- had Hillary won, she would have had a dividing country with 60 million people voting against her as well. She would have had that responsibility.

President-elect Trump has that responsibility. So far, so good. We've seen signs, he's meeting with the president. He's meeting with Capitol Hill. Some of the people he's put on his transition team.

He tweeted another tweet after that one, corrected himself. So, I think so far so good. He's heading in the right direction.

TAPPER: All right. Angela and Mike, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Be sure to tune in to CNN "STATE OF THE UNION" this Sunday. My guest and exclusive interview with House Speaker Paul Ryan. It will all start at 9:00 a.m. Eastern, Sunday, only on CNN.

Which Trump will with see show up in the Oval Office? The one who goes on tweet rampages in all of the night about Miss University or the one who says he loves protesters' passion for our country? Our next guest says, we might get both of them.

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[16:37:13] TAPPER: We're back with more on our politics lead today.

Donald Trump's victory is one of the most stunning upsets in American political history. The polls were wrong, political veterans who had previously run successful campaigns were wrong. Pundits were wrong. But as viewers of THE LEAD may know, one person has been predicting all along that Donald Trump will be the 45th American president. Let's bring in that person. Cartoonist, Dilbert creator, Scott Adams.

Welcome back to the show, Scott.

SCOTT ADAMS, CARTOONIST: Thanks, Jake.

TAPPER: So, you predicted about a year ago that Trump would win because view, he's a quote, "master persuader", why do you think his persuasion skills were more effective?

ADAMS: Well, one of the things he does, and this comes from my background as trained hypnotist and someone who's studied persuasion for years, he speaks in visual ways quite often. That's just one of the things he does.

So if you look at his immigration plan, he talks about a wall. You know, something you visualize when he was answering question about his comments about women, he mentioned Rosie O'Donnell because you immediately go to that visual image and it takes you off the questions.

When he talks about ISIS, he says they're putting people in cages and chopping off heads. What he talks about his enthusiasm for his campaign, he says look at the crowds. Look how big the crowds are.

So, he always goes to the visual and our visual senses are most persuasive part of our brain.

TAPPER: Now that he's been elected, which Trump do you think will show up to do the job at the White House? The diplomatic presidential Trump that we saw yesterday speaking to President Obama or the one who waged a false campaign suggesting that the first African-American president in Africa? Which Donald Trump are the American people going to get?

ADAMS: Well, I think the good news is the office of the presidency is really powerful and it's going to control the person in it for the most part. And the people are watching through social media, and everything else, so there's that influence over him. But I think you'll see in Trump what I call AB testing. That's the phrase from the business world where somebody will try something and if it doesn't work out, they quickly reverse.

You've seen that with his immigration plan, started out pretty extreme, but with the public's opinion weighing in, backed off to something that's pretty close to what the current policy is. You saw when he misspoke about abortion and how his opinion about punishing women who got illegal abortions, it took all of 24 hours for the public to say, that opinion doesn't work for us, and he immediately changed.

So, you see it again in Obamacare. You see the public saying, yes, we like you emotionally. We like what you're saying about parts, but now he's free to say, well, some of the good parts he's going to see. You're going to see a business approach where he rapidly tests a lot of stuff and he's going to keep the good stuff and get rid of the bad stuff.

[16:40:07] He'll probably do it pretty quickly.

TAPPER: One last thing bore you guys go, I want to ask, you -- because you've been a Trumpologist and also seen in many times, many instances to have supported Donald Trump, you have experienced something of a backlash, even when it comes to speaking engagements. Is that right?

ADAMS: Yes, my speaking engagements dried up since I started talking about Trump. They went to zero, that's how many I have on the books right now. But people also came to Amazon and gave me one star reviews on my book and status because of Trump. People said they were calling newspapers to get Dilbert kicked out of newspapers, that sort of thing.

Now when I go out to get funding for my start-up, I don't know how hard that's going to be. So, my timing might be bad there.

But overall, it was also the most fun year I've ever had in my life and totally worth it. And if I could be part of, you know, letting the public see their options a little more clearly, that's good.

And I would say on Veterans Day, if anybody wants to find a way to meet in the middle, donate to a veteran's organization. That's the one thing everybody agrees on. And it's about time to look for some common ground now.

TAPPER: A great message at the end there. Scott, thanks so much. Good to see you, as always. We'll talk to you soon.

ADAMS: Thanks, Jake.

TAPPER: It may be one of the most unexpected meeting the first lady has ever had hosting tea for incoming first lady, Melania Trump. Inside into that meeting, next.

And it's one of the most covered songs of all time. Today, we say good-bye to the singer/song writer behind "Hallelujah".

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[16:45:00] JAKE TAPPER, CNN THE LEAD ANCHOR: We're back with our "NATIONAL LEAD" today, honoring the millions of Americans who have sacrificed so much for our nation on this Veteran's Day. President Obama today marking the solemn occasion with a wreath-laying ceremony at the tomb of the unknowns, thanking veterans and remarks at Arlington National cemetery, and offering healing words to a divided nation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But the American instinct has never been to find isolation and opposite corners, it is to find strength in our common creed. To forge unity from our great diversity, to sustain that strength and unity even when it is hard. And when the election is over, as we search for ways to come together, to reconnect with one another, and with the principles that are more enduring and transitory politics. Some of our best examples are the men and women we salute on Veteran's Day.

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TAPPER: Veteran's issues have, of course, been a major focus of First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden since launching a public and private sector initiative called joining forces in 2011, more than 1.4 million veterans and their spouses have been hired or received job training.

Joining me now to talk about veterans is Tina Tchen, Chief of Staff to First Lady Michelle Obama. Tina, thanks so much for being here.

TINA TCHEN, CHEIEF OF STAFF TO FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA: Well, thank you, Jake, Happy Veteran's Day.

TAPPER: Happy Veteran's Day. Do you veterans sometimes struggle to acclimate to the work force, 1.4 million jobs is a - is a big achievement. How did you do it?

TCHEN: Well, it was something that took all of our federal agencies, so much V.A., and Labor, DOD, all of that together. A huge participation by the private sector. You know, we had folks, you know, like JPMorgan, Chase leading the way and the chamber of commerce and small businesses.

TAPPER: Is it just recruiting, looking for veterans, is it educating companies to not be afraid of veterans?

TCHEN: Well, that second point is an important one. We say always that veterans are some of the best employees that you can have. And a lot of times sometimes employers are afraid, sometimes they don't understand the skills that a veteran learned in the military and how that translates to the civilian world. So a skills translators have been a big part of our work, make sure that the (INAUDIBLE) translate from the military to the private sector. And some of it's just a commitment and awareness on the part of companies. One of the things the first lady says is every time we've asked a company to step up, they've done it. And that' show we got to one and a half million in just five years.

TAPPER: That's great. And I know from my own experience working with veterans, that it's -- it can be a very emotional thing, because these people have given so much. I know there are probably too to many stories to tell, but is there one particular individual or couple that has really meant a lot to the first lady?

TCHEN: Well, I'll tell you on Veteran's Day today, I'm thinking about one family we've met over several times for the last few years, John and Melissa Meadows. We first met them two years ago for (INAUDIBLE) John served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and came back with traumatic brain injury and physical injuries. And Melissa was part of a small group of spouses that the first lady met with who really shared how difficult it was to support their veterans and the - and the militaries wounded warriors when they're going through treatment.

They have to leave their jobs sometimes and move to the treatment facility. You know, Melissa talked about how different John was and what he was going through. That little conversation led to the DOD creating spousal networks across other military folks -- medical facilities after seeing the first lady and how important that was to spouses to get together. First lady and Prince Harry saw John and Melissa a year later.

TAPPER: Oh, really?

TCHEN: John had gotten in the used art therapy and become a spectacular sculptor. The first lady commissioned that piece of sculpture for her to give to the president from John. Because an art through his TDI, he discovered, you know, this talent, and I got to see them this past August at a Castle's game when JPMorgan, Chase gave him the keys to a home.

[16:50:00] TAPPER: That's amazing.

TCHEN: And that just shows you an example of having the private sector step up, having leadership from the White House, having all of our agencies step up to help our families in multitude of ways that they need help and how much, you know, those of us who are not part of the military families owe to these men and women who served our country.

TAPPER: Obviously, this is a time of transition now. The First Lady Michelle Obama met with Melania Trump, the incoming first lady yesterday, tell us what you can about that meeting. It was a surprise, I think, that that was the meeting that took place, but beyond that, what did they discuss?

TCHEN: Well, I think as you saw the first lady had Mrs. Trump upstairs to the yellow oval for tea, showed her around the residence. They went out on the Truman Balcony. She then went to the state floor. Well, you've been on that before, where the state dining room is in the east room together with our curator Bill Allman, and showed Mrs. Trump around that historical floor and what a lot of the history of the art.

And then the two of them were able to walk over to the Oval Office and greet their husbands in the oval, before the Trumps left. So, it was very gracious and a warm time. I'd like to say it's a time for us as I think about, you know, this transition, I'm reminded that we feel in our experience how important it has been for the commander in chief and their family to step up for veterans and military families. It's something that comes we think with the job regardless of party, regardless of who holds the White House.

The White House should speak for the country and should lead the country and supporting our veterans and military families. And we hope that's something that will continue.

TAPPER: Amen to that. Tina Tchen, thank you so much, really appreciate it.

TCHEN: Thank you, Jake.

TAPPER: Yes. Millions of veterans suffer from often hidden wounds, and today, we take a look at a promising new technology that might offer those veterans hope.

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TAPPER: Over here?

DAWN PEREZ, LICENSED PROFESSIONAL COUNSELOR AT BIOFEEDBACK WORKS: Yes, please.

TAPPER: OK. I got it.

TAPPER (voice-over): This is not your typical military helmet.

PEREZ: And feels nice and snug?

TAPPER: Sure. That's one word for it.

TAPPER (voice-over): But some new research shows this technology has the potential to save millions fighting the mental battles that come after war. Namely depression and post traumatic stress.

PEREZ: Anxiety can look the same, but underneath the hood, it could be different things in the brain that we can't see.

TAPPER: Causing the anxiety.

PEREZ: Yeah.

TAPPER (voice-over): This cap is covered in sensitive data points, each one gathering information about the brain inside with the help of conductive gel.

TAPPER: What kind of data goes from these holes into the wires into the computer.

PEREZ: It's EEG which is raw waves that your brain produces.

TAPPER (voice-over): EEGs are nothing new, but now the information gathered from one can be compared with other patients scans and the medications that work for those patients. The result, personalized prescriptions based on the brain. Something researchers like in almost a targeted advertising.

DAN IOSIFESCU, DOCTOR AND STUDY AUTHOR: These big data efforts are used in many other places, for example, a company like Google would look at your previous shopping experience and then match that with a lot of other people's patterns and find recommendations for you that will come out as eerily appropriate.

TAPPER (voice-over): This new technology is being met with some skepticism, studies by the company that developed the technology, Mind Analytics have faced resistance from within the military, even after conducting studies at two military hospitals.

But the company insists that data from those studies does show that this matching system can shorten risky trial periods that are usually required with new medications.

IOSIFESCU: Each of these trials takes a long time. If it's not successful, the person is still depressed and at some point, they may just give up.

TAPPER (voice-over): For too many veterans, giving up on treatment might mean substance abuse, violence, or even suicide.

KELLY THRASHER, UNITED STATES ARMY RESERVE: Frankly, if somebody didn't ask me if I needed help, I probably wouldn't be here today.

TAPPER (voice-over): Colonel Kelly Thrasher deployed with the army five times, both to Iraq and Afghanistan.

THRASHER: I was very much on edge. I had an anger issue, I was waking up with nightmares. And my wife later told me that I had actually grabbed her, so it wasn't a really good place.

TAPPER (voice-over): Thrasher received counselling from the V.A., but was reluctant to try recommended medicine.

TRASHER: I had read, did a lot of homework about people coming back and starting the regiment of the different drugs and just being a zombie-ish.

TAPPER (voice-over): He says being matched with medicine specific to his brain activity has been key for him.

THRASHER: It's almost like kind of going into a stream, this way, it sort of gave you a map of how to get through that. So, you know where to step, you know where you weren't going to fall.

TAPPER (voice-over): Now, this technology is still being tested, and so far, neither the V.A nor the Pentagon offered database matching, but the recent findings do offer some veterans hope.

[16:54:50] IOSIFESCU: People are extraordinarily gratified that there is an - a clear objective test that is being performed in that, in a sense, validates their suffering as a real medical problem and not just something that is "in their head."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: And once again, to all those who have and continue to serve and sacrifice, from all of us here at THE LEAD and all of the members of the Tapper family, thank you. Happy Veteran's Day.

The "POP CULTURE LEAD" now, one big worldwide hallelujah, chorus of fans, mourners, and celebrities saying good-bye to Leonard Cohen. The legendary songwriter died peacefully yesterday, according to his family. His song "hallelujah" is one of the most covered songs of all-time. Leonard Cohen, dead at 82 years old.

A look at Trump's love/hate relationship with the press. That story is next.

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