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MTP Daily, Transcript 12/1/2016

Guests: David Faber, Perry Bacon, Ron Klain, Jennifer Ruben, Xavier Becerra, Cheri Bustos, Hampton Pearson

Show: MTP DAILY Date: December 1, 2016 Guest: David Faber, Perry Bacon, Ron Klain, Jennifer Ruben, Xavier Becerra, Cheri Bustos, Hampton Pearson

CHUCK TODD, MSNBC HOST (voice-over): If it`s Thursday, the Trump rallies are back.

Tonight, the Carrier effect: the success and unintended consequences of saving a thousand jobs in Indiana. Did Donald Trump use persuasion, or threats? And can it be repeated elsewhere?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT ELECT: We`re going to have a lot of phone calls made to companies when they say they`re thinking about leaving this country, because they`re not leaving this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Plus, the Democrats` way forward: we`ll talk to one Democrat who`s had enough, and another who says she knows how to win back those lost voters.

And the Russian charm offensive. What`s really behind Vladimir Putin`s new praise for the United States under President-elect Donald Trump?

This is MTP DAILY and it starts right now.

(on camera): And good evening, I`m Chuck Todd here in Washington. Welcome to a Thursday edition of MTP DAILY.

There is the art of the deal and the unintended consequences of a deal. Trump`s deal with Carrier is raising questions about both.

And then, there is the big question. Is this how Trump is going to put the bully into bully pulpit as president? There is a lot of people who voted for him that hope that that`s exactly what we`re seeing.

This afternoon at a Carrier plant in Indianapolis, President-elect Donald Trump touted the deal to keep roughly 1,100 jobs from going to Mexico. But he also fired a clear warning shot at other U.S. companies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Companies are not going to leave the United States anymore without consequences. It`s not going to happen.

We`re going to have a lot of phone calls made to companies when they say they`re thinking about leaving this country because they`re not leaving this country. Leaving the country is going to be very, very difficult.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Trump also spoke in detail about how he battled Greg Hayes, the CEO of United Technologies, basically the parent company for Carrier. According to Trump, Hayes resisted the deal because the Carrier plan in Mexico was nearly built. Trump`s response to him was, who cares?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You know what Greg said? Greg said, you know, the plant is almost built, right? I said, Greg, I don`t care. It doesn`t make any difference. Don`t worry about it. What are we going to do with the plant? Rent it, sell it, knock it down, I don`t care.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Now, details of the actual deal were largely kept under wraps, but today Carrier said they got $7 million in incentives, mostly tax incentives in the state of Indiana in exchange for pledging to keep those jobs in the state of Indiana while also making investments in the business.

But that doesn`t tell the whole story. CNBC`s David Faber is reporting that United Technologies made the deal, in part, because it was worried about incurring Trump`s wrath and jeopardizing more highly-lucrative government contracts.

Then, you have critics like Bernie Sanders who say it was Carrier that strong-armed Trump in order to win extra tax benefits. Now, Sanders worries this deal will open the door for more private sector threats to fire American workers, not less.

He writes this in "The Washington Post." United Technologies took Trump hostage and won. Trump has signaled to every corporation in America that they can threaten to offshore jobs in exchange for business-friendly tax benefits and incentives.

So, what was this deal exactly? And what does it mean going forward? Well, I am joined by said CNBC reporter, David Faber, who is also, of course, the co-anchor of "Squawk on the Street."

And, David, that`s sort of, I think, what a lot of us are trying to figure out about this deal. Who had more leverage here? Was it United Technologies or was it Donald Trump as the head of the federal government?

DAVID FABER, REPORTER, CNBC: Yes, I think -- I think it`s a good point and it`s certainly a question we`re going to be revisiting. Those phone calls keep getting made, Chuck.

Here, though, you did have a somewhat unique situation where the candidate had certainly made a focus of his campaign. These jobs in Indiana and their potential for going to Mexico.

And you also had a unique situation in that United Technologies, as you pointed out, as we pointed out, of course, is a big defense contractor. It`s got about $6 billion in revenues that basically is tied to the U.S. government.

And what I have reported and I have heard from people who are familiar with what went on here and the deal that was put together is the concern of starting off on the wrong foot with this administration was far larger than the loss or the cost savings, I should say, that would have accrued to United Technologies Carrier unit from moving these jobs to Mexico.

TODD: That made a lot of sense to me that Trump owns that kind of leverage. I`m curious, what are you hearing in the business community about this tactic?

It is clear to me that this is how Donald Trump is going to operate. That he feels comfortable calling up a CEO and that he`s going to try to do business this way, a lot different than the last previously couple of presidents.

What is the reaction in the -- in the business world who don`t want their names attached to these things right now?

FABER: You know, it`s mixed, to a certain extent, to kind of wait and see. Saying that you`re going to make phone calls to all these companies who threaten to leave or move jobs overseas is one thing. Actually doing it will be another.

I think if we see a pattern here, you`re going to have some concern on the part of corporate America. I also think it`s going to be difficult for president Trump to really follow through, to a certain extent.

We`re talking about an economy, Chuck, that creates 5 million jobs and loses 5 million jobs in a given month; 300,000 of them can be manufacturing jobs. You can imagine here.

[17:05:12] Not to take away from the thousand jobs that were saved in Indiana, certainly very important to them and their families. But this is a much larger issue and it`ll be curious to see how it plays out.

What I hear from corporate America and the focus there, I think, and you, actually, in your reporting on this, will probably be a lot better than mine will be over time, is tax policy. And what the --

TODD: Right.

FABER: -- importance of that is going to mean, in terms of the way corporations view being based in the United States and what it means to their balance sheets.

TODD: David Faber, CNBC, good to have you. It`s been a while. Nice to see you.

FABER: Yes, it has been a while. Nice to be with you, Chuck.

TODD: You got it.

All right, let me bring in the panel. Ron Klain is a White House jack of all trades on the Democratic side. He`s done everything from advise campaigns to help run the stimulus. He`s been chief of staff to two vice presidents. He also was Obama`s Ebola czar.

Jennifer Ruben is a columnist with "The Washington Post" and Perry Bacon is a senior political reporter right here at NBC.

So, Perry, we have a clavicle (ph) here, man. You`ve got to give Trump credit. A promise made, a promise mostly kept, although we do need to remind people there`s still a net loss of jobs, not a net gain, but it`s fewer.

PERRY BACON, SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER, NBC NEWS: A thousand of people`s jobs are safe. That`s good.

TODD: Yes.

BACON: I mean, we do know that governors, often, in states will negotiate with companies --

TODD: All the time.

BACON: -- to give tax incentive. So, the governor in Indiana is working with Donald Trump. So, it`s not as so this is, like, an unprecedented thing that you have where you have taxes incentives given, jobs saved. That`s it.

If Donald Trump can somehow stop outsourcing of jobs in America, that will be a great thing. Today is not evidence of that so far, I would say.

TODD: Ron Klain, look, you worked for a president. He intervened in an industry -- in the auto industry. President Bush, I remember, made a big - - essentially intervened with the steel industry. And, at the time, everybody looked at it as pure, industrial, rust belt politics that he was playing there.

It`s not unusual for presidents to do this. It is unusual to do it company by company.

RON KLAIN, FORMER ADVISOR, WHITE HOUSE: Well, it is. I mean, look, I think today was a good day for Donald Trump. But I do think this is going to come back and haunt him. He stood --

TODD: Why?

KLAIN: -- because he stood there at Carrier and said, there will be consequences when jobs move overseas. And I promise you, that clip will be the first clip that runs in ads in 2018 when jobs continue to move overseas and president Trump doesn`t stop it.

After all, as you said, today 1,300 jobs did move overseas. And what were the consequences? Carrier got a $7 million check. That doesn`t seem very scary to me. It doesn`t seem like much consequences.

And I just think this is an act -- this is a one-time act. And as the jobs continue to move overseas, the statement he made today is going to come back to haunt president Trump.

TODD: Let me play devil`s advocate here, Jennifer. You know what? This is the Trump that we -- that he campaigned that he was going to do it this way. He`s criticized previous presidents.

You know what? They don`t do these things. They don`t intervene. They don`t (INAUDIBLE) good things, they don`t do this enough. This was the full Donald Trump today.

JENNIFER RUBEN, COLUMNIST, "THE WASHINGTON POST": It`s bringing hypocrisy, frankly, for conservatives to be cheering this as Paul Ryan is.

Because, of course, conservatives make the argument, and it`s a sound economic one, it might be a good political one, that you don`t pick winners and losers. That it`s not in our interest to have CEOs making political --

TODD: You stole my next segment.

(CROSSTALK)

TODD: No, no, no, but you`re right. I mean, that is a -- Paul Ryan, two years ago, would have criticized this practice.

RUBEN: Exactly. And the reason for that is you want CEOs making economic decisions not political decisions. This is the worst thing in the world for politicians to try to be figuring out how you get on his good side and how you stay off his bad side.

What`s more, this is going to run right smack into his huge conflict of interest problem. Every time he does one of these deals, people are going to start snooping around and say, is there a Trump hotel there? Is there a Trump deal there? What about his holdings on this? What about his kids` business opportunities and activities?

Because Trump has, so far, refused to drain the swamp, as it were, and I`m dubious that he`s actually going to sell his holdings, if he does go company to company, that`s just going to magnify the problem tremendously.

TODD: And, yet, I feel like many of the people that did support him, this is what they wanted. They wanted someone to just, sort of, rattle cages, stop this.

BACON: I think Ron`s right, the policy`s different. But I think today as he`s standing in front and on the stage saying, I saved jobs. That -- you know, we saw it on television. So, this is what he wanted.

TODD: And, by the way, I`m curious of the incentive the companies will have to find ways to look like they`re doing make goods. Because look at this, you`ve got Donald Trump essentially endorsing Carrier

(CROSSTALK)

BACON: All on television. Carrier is behind me.

KLAIN: Yes, again, I come back to the fact, Chuck, that he didn`t really wave the big stick today. He wrote the big check. And that -- I mean, I take your point.

TODD: No, no, no.

KLAIN: Those voters wanted to see him. And he said, I`ll have -- I`ll get tough with these guys. I`ll tell them I`ll punish them. I`ll put tariffs on. And all he did was put money in their pocket today.

[17:10:02] And so, I think that`s not a sustainable model. That`s not a viable plan. And that`s where the rub is going to come. Does this guy just talk tough or does he actually have a big stick?

TODD: I always thought the most effective phrase Sarah Palin ever came up, and I thought if she had wrote it for a long period of time early on, was the phrase crony capitalism.

RUBEN: Absolutely.

TODD: It was a terrific hit. And she was -- it did capture what does happen in this town and in New York sometimes.

How was this -- you can easily paint this. If this were a Democrat doing it, I have a feeling Sarah Palin would call this crony capitalism.

BACON: It would be criticized.

RUBEN: Absolutely.

BACON: By everyone.

RUBEN: And the other thing that`s crony capitalism is putting a bunch of billionaires in your cabinet who have given money to your campaign.

Another sign of crony capitalism is inserting in the tax reform bill, we`re going to have to wait for that, benefits that will tremendously help the real estate industry. Which if you`re taking his original plan seriously, it would do.

So, I think there are going to be grave contradictions in this administration. Because, on one hand, he wants to drain the swamp. On one hand, he wants to look out for the little guy.

But the method he`s using and the business that he knows really involves, as Ron said, bribing people. Putting money in CEOs and big corporations` pockets.

TODD: Let me go to the Bernie Sanders argument. The (INAUDIBLE) one. He`s attacked this from the other way. He`s, essentially, taken Ron`s point that Carrier shook Trump down.

BACON: I think there`s a lot to think about in that. And I`m not going to say I`m sure about that but there is an argument that you now created new incentives for companies to do this even worse.

And then, yes, they shook Trump down. That Trump saw this was a problem and inverted it. But, in reality, Carrier won and United won, not Trump.

TODD: General Mills -- and you`re going to -- you`re going to -- you`re thinking about offloading a thousand jobs, essentially, to Mexico. Do you announce 2,000 publicly?

RUBEN: Yes. Yes.

BACON: Yes, and then wait for the phone call.

TODD: All right, I`ll make it a thousand.

BACON: This is what governors do all the time. This is the problem. I`m going to move my jobs in Florida to state X because it has lower taxes.

KLAIN: (INAUDIBLE) in Indiana because Governor Mike Pence that wrote them a check to move them to Indiana and then they threatened to move to Mexico and didn`t give back the check. So, these guys are two-time offenders on this tactic.

You know, this is definitely going to be the latest game in corporate America. Call up the White House. See what I get for not moving.

TODD: But at the same time, there is -- Trump does still instill some fear, right? Carrier was worried about bad press.

BACON: Yes.

TODD: That`s an effective piece of leverage.

RUBEN: Well, instilling fear is not a good policy.

TODD: I -- it`s not a long-term -- it`s not a long-term way to govern.

RUBEN: It`s not. And his inclination to conduct economic policy in this way has real downsides.

For example, his infrastructure bill. He doesn`t really want to have expenditures where we have governors say, hey, we need three bridges and four roads. He wants to give, once again, tax breaks to people who might otherwise already be doing these projects.

So, I think the kind of use and misuse of government incentives is going to become a big issue. And how much this actually helps the economy?

TODD: What I`m waiting to see is how do the sort of -- the what I would call, sort of, the new school conservatives the last 20 years who have been much more small government. And truly very much more small government, private sector oriented.

How many of them stick to their guns when dealing with the president Trump?

BACON: He just got elected so I don`t expect a lot of people are going to criticize him.

The core question to me, though, is can Donald Trump get companies to not outsource their jobs without giving them tax incentives? Can just the president`s authority and the bully pulpit --

TODD: Can he do it with fear?

BACON: -- do it with fear alone? And that would be useful if the outsourcing stopped without paying taxes. That would be very useful.

TODD: All right. We`re going to pause here. You guys, of course, are around for in and out of the hour.

Coming up, though, the future of House Democrats. Is it fading? I`m going to talk with a leader who is leaving capitol Hill, Congressman Xavier Becerra.

And I`m going to talk to a Democrat who believes she knows how to recapture the rural vote and she wants her party to follow her lead. Stay tuned. Campaign filed an objection this afternoon.

[17:14:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TODD: Welcome back.

We`ve got updates for you right now in three separate electoral recounts. Yes, it`s December. But some races aren`t over, I guess.

First, of course, in Wisconsin, one of three states where green party candidate, Jill Stein, formerly fought for a recount. That recount of nearly 3 million ballots is now underway and they`re under a bit of a time crunch. Federal deadline to certify the vote is December 13th.

Senator Tim Kaine, by the way, addressed the recount process in an interview today with a Washington, D.C. Fox station. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TIM KAINE (D), VIRGINIA: If there is a recount, we have to be at the table and we are. And, you know, I think people are entitled to know that the results are fair.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Meanwhile, in Michigan, another state where Jill Stein filed for a recount. The process is on hold after attorneys for the Michigan Republican Party and President-elect Trump`s campaign filed an objection this afternoon.

And, finally, in North Carolina, we could be getting extraordinarily close to finding out who won the governor`s race there. But first, they have to finish a partial recount, about 90,000 votes in Durham County. They`re being recounted today by order of the state elections board.

The latest numbers have shown that state attorney General Roy Cooper`s lead over Governor Pat McCrory is now above 10,000 votes which means the state won`t pay for a recount if the vote is above 10,000.

We`re going to keep a close eye out for all of those results as soon as they come in. We do expect the North Carolina governor`s race, though, to finally get official or certified in Cooper`s favor in the next day or so.

We`ll be right back with two Democrats taking two very different paths to shape the future of their party.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TODD: One of the House Democrat`s potential speakers in waiting has decided to wait no more. (ONAUDIBLE) Democratic conference chair, Xavier Becerra, was named the next attorney general of California today, replacing the newly elected U.S. senator and elected attorney general there, Kamala Harris.

The move comes one day after House Democratic leadership elections return much of the parties` old guard to their leader post.

But Becerra was terminated in his leadership role and his departure means the loss of another potential next generation of House leaders while this current generation continues to stay.

Becerra, the highest-ranking Latino in Congress will now become the first Latino attorney general in California history.

Well, guess what? The Congressman is doing his first interview with us right now. Congressman, first of all, congratulations.

REP. XAVIER BECERRA (D), CALIFORNIA: Thanks, Chuck.

TODD: And I know you have to wait for a confirmation process, but let me ask this. I mean, you and I have had this conversation, and I`ve had many people describe you to me over the last five years, he will be America`s first Latino speaker of the House.

You can`t be that if you leave the House. Why did you leave?

BECERRA: You got to make a difference for your country when you`re given a chance, and I was given a chance to make a big difference not just for the country but for my state. The more than 38 million Californians who depend on our state leaders from Governor Brown to our elective leaders in Sacramento to be forward leaning. They are as forward leaning as you`ll find in any part of America.

[17:20:02] And I have to be there as both the defender and advocate for the rights and interests of all of those leaders and the more than 38 billion Californians.

TODD: Let me ask you, has this sort of stalemate of the House leadership on the Democratic side -- look, there`s yourself, there`s Chris Van Holland who was moving up the ranks and then decided he was going to run statewide. Steve Israel was moving up the ranks, he decided to retire.

It`s a whole generation of you that seems to be lost. Tim Ryan may end up running for governor in 2018, yet another potential leader. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, she`s sort of is -- has gotten sidetracked as well.

Is there -- are you concerned that a generation of House Democrats are being lost to House leadership?

BECERRA: I actually think a new gen -- a new generation of House and Senate and state Democrats are moving their way up and going to make a big, big difference.

We, for example in California, grew our delegation. We, in fact, in the House won seats in some people`s spots. Democrats actually won seats in the House.

And some of those new members are just as dynamic as they get, whether you`re talking about a Salud Carbajal in the Santa Barbara (INAUDIBLE) in the Bis Cabul (ph) area of California or a Stephanie Murphy in Orlando, Florida. We`ve got some phenomenal people who are going to assume office who are going to be generational leaders.

TODD: What do you say -- you know, there have been some really concerned House members, younger Democrats who are very unhappy that nothing changed. Despite three or four straight cycles where things haven`t gone well, nothing changed.

I`ll read you -- I want to play for you one spot (ph) from Congressman Schrader from Oregon. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. SCHRADER (D), OREGON: I`m very worried. We just signed the Democratic Party`s death certificate for the next decade and a half.

Unless we change and top (ph) what Tim`s been talking about which is really a working man and woman`s agenda. Regardless of who you are.

And so far, we show no effort, no inclination to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: What`s your reaction to him?

BECERRA: Well, I think we want to make sure we prove to the America people we`ve got their backs. And that means having an agenda that really does prove to those working men and women that we will fight for them to have, as a lot of folks have said, not just good-paying jobs but jobs that will give you a chance to send your kids to college.

We will do that. And if we do that, we will prove to people that we will bring them the change they need.

And so, I think, Chuck, it`s more an issue of standing by your values. And if we stand by the values that the Democratic Party has been a part of for so long, we will do well.

TODD: Do you understand, though, the concern many Democrats have that lessons aren`t being learned?

BECERRA: You know, this is a democracy. You`re always going to have different opinions and that`s what makes it great.

I think in the Democratic Party, we are as diverse a party as is America. And so, you`re going to have diversity views. But at the end of the day, I think you`re going to find Democrats come together.

And we will now make a clear contrast between Republicans who have everything in their control, the Congress, the White House. We`ll make sure there is a difference, a clear contrast that will let people know who we are and that we`ve got their backs.

TODD: There`s one thing I`m confident of is that you`re going to be on the statewide ballot in 2018.

I guess the question is, are you going to be running for a full term for attorney general? Are you going to be running for governor or would you consider the U.S. Senate? Would you rule out any of those three right here?

BECERRA: And so, what you`re telling me is that I will get confirmed to be the next attorney general. OK. So, if that`s the case, I`ll end it with that. I`ll be gratified if I do great if I can be confirmed to be the next attorney general.

TODD: But would you rule out the idea of running for another office statewide, whether it`s governor or U.S. Senate?

BECERRA: You know, right now, I`m thrilled that the governor will put this confidence in me to be the next A.G.

There is a lot to do. The governor is, as I said, a very forward-thinking guy. And there`s a lot that we have to accomplish.

And I`m going to have to be there as a chief law enforcement officer making sure we accomplish those things. I am looking forward to serving as the next A.G.

TODD: By the way, is Jerry Brown now -- right now the closest thing the Democrats have to leader of the Democratic Party, given he governs the largest state and it`s sort of the one place where there`s been Democratic success on the ballot?

BECERRA: With his vision and his achievements, he certainly could take that mantel. When you take a look at what he`s accomplished, --

TODD: Who would you give the mantel to?

(CROSSTALK)

TODD: Who would you give the mantel right now?

BECERRA: Well, I think we have a number of Democrats who are working their way up. Certainly, when we find out who will be the chair of the Democratic Party, that will help.

But, as you just mentioned, leaders like Jerry Brown have proven that Democrats accomplish great things for lots of people. No one can say they`ve done as much for 38 million people as Jerry Brown can.

TODD: All right. Xavier Becerra, Congressman, attorney general designate. I guess you`ve got to wait until you get confirmed. We`ll watch your confirmation here. And I have a feeling, it shouldn`t be too difficult. Your party does control that state Senate these days.

[17:25:01] Anyway, congratulations and enjoy not -- enjoy not having to do this commute as much anymore.

BECERRA: Twenty-four years of it.

TODD: Yes, there you go.

All right, I want to turn now to someone who`s hoping she can help shape the future of the House caucus in the Democratic side. It`s Illinois Congresswoman Cheri Bustos.

Take a look at her Illinois 17th Congressional District. It encompasses the northwestern part of the state, much of the quad cities area. A little more rural than anything close to Chicago.

She was reelected by 20 points over her Republican challenger. At the same time, Donald Trump won 12 of the 14 counties that make up her district. We don`t have the exact numbers yet but we know had he carried the district by a lot, estimates of about 20 points.

And this week, Nancy Pelosi nominated Bustos as co-chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee to hone the Democratic message to working class voters.

And she joins me now. Congresswoman, welcome to the show.

REP. CHERI BUSTOS (D), ILLINOIS: Hi, Chuck.

TODD: So, you heard, probably, part of my interview there.

BUSTOS: I did.

TODD: There seems to be a generation of House Democrats that have a lot to offer that maybe felt stuck and, you know, pursued other opportunities to work in Democratic politics. Chris Van Hollen, as you know, Avi Abisero (ph) just today.

Are you -- do you sense that there is that frustration in the caucus?

BUSTOS: Well, you know, if you`re good at what you do, you`re going to have opportunities. For Chris Holland -- Van Holland to be the next senator in the state of Maryland, good for him. He`s a great Democrat, he`s a great spokesman for our party.

And for Xavier, I couldn`t be more pleased for him. This opens up opportunities for other members to come in.

TODD: Sure.

BUSTOS: I think it`s not so much frustration as it is we want to be back in the majority again. We`ve got to figure out our path forward. That is what we`ve been talking about since the elections.

TODD: So, you won your district by double digits.

BUSTOS: Yes.

TODD: And Donald Trump, it appears, won your district by double digits. Who are the Trump-Bustos voters?

BUSTOS: Well, so, you showed the picture of my congressional district, but let me give a little more context. I`m the only Democrat in the Illinois congressional delegation outside of Chicagoland.

So, literally, I am surrounded by Republican districts. And Illinois is a big state.

Here`s what I have done to be successful. I`m -- I was just elected to my third term, so I`ve only been out in Congress for four years. I defeated a Republican to get here in the first place.

TODD: Right.

BUSTOS: But when I`m not out here in Washington, I am home. I am working every single weekend. I do something that we call supermarket Saturday.

So, I`ll literally walk the aisles of our grocery store and while moms are picking out frosted flakes, I`m asking her what`s on her mind and what does she want me to know when I`m back in Washington?

I do something that we call Cheri on shift which is, basically, me job shadowing working men and women. I`m a -- I`m a certified forklift driver now.

I have -- I have job shadowed a bee keeper. I have delivered UPS packages. I have processed carp coming from the Mississippi River. And my advice on that is don`t wear sandals while you -- while you do it.

But I`ve talked to people and I asked them what is on their mind? I asked small business owners and small manufacturers what is an impediment to your success?

TODD: Right.

BUSTOS: And then, we take that information. We come back to Washington and either write legislation or sponsor legislation.

And I work very, very well across the aisle in order to bring home results. Because when you`re in the minority party, if you can`t figure out a way work across the aisle, you`re not going to have success.

TODD: So, if Hillary Clinton called you up and say, Congresswoman, I got - - I got crossed in your district and you won it. What is it about Donald Trump that your voters and your constituents felt more comfortable with him than with secretary Clinton?

BUSTOS: I have talked from day one. I announced I was running for Congress in July of 2011. Since that day, I have talked about jobs and the economy. I`ve talked about the fact that manufacturing was our base.

And yet, we have corporations like Maytag that, 12 years ago, sent all 1,200 of its jobs over to Mexico overnight. And, to this day, the wages in that county have not recovered.

So, we talk about making sure there are no tax incentives for corporations who ship their jobs overseas. And on the contrary, there needs to be incentives for those jobs to come home.

We talk about training the next generation of work --

TODD: Yes.

BUSTOS: -- force for the next industrial revolution. And, again, I`ve worked very hard, not only to be a fighter on behalf of my congressional district, but to bring home results, too.

TODD: But to go back to my question.

BUSTOS: Yes.

TODD: Why did they pick -- why did those same voters, though, that voted for you vote for Trump?

BUSTOS: Well, they -- you know, they know me now. They know that I work - -

TODD: I understand you but why do you think they pick Trump? What is it - - what -- is it the core issue of Trump was talking manufacturing jobs and Clinton wasn`t?

BUSTOS: I think it was a frustration with Washington. They wanted to make sure that there`s change, not for the sake of change but to bring home real results. They saw that in me.

There were probably some questions about whether that was going to happen if they didn`t vote in somebody that`s very, very different from what they`re used to. My concern at this point is Donald Trump has thrown out a lot of promises. I will work with him and I will work with his administration where we can. I`m on the transportation committee.

I like the idea that he`s talking about a trillion-dollar transportation package, but I certainly don`t like the thought of the people that he`s brought in on health and human services where the thought is basically you take away patient right or somebody whose leading the Department of Education who doesn`t even believe in public education.

So , we will make sure that if Donald Trump and his administration is going down a dark path that we`re going to fight that.

CHUCK TODD, NBC NEWS POLITICAL DIRECTOR, "MEET THE PRESS DAILY" SHOW HOST: All right. Congresswoman Cheri Bustos. From the quad cities.

BUSTOS: Yeah.

TODD: . when I used to go to visit family in Iowa, you fly no hair and drive through the quad cities. I used to do that drive a lot. It`s a great district. It`s a wonderful area. Anyway, thanks for coming on.

BUSTOS: All right, thank you, Chuck.

TODD: Appreciate it. Coming up, from Russia, now truly with a little bit of love. Vladimir Putin says he`s ready to work with President Trump. We`ll look at what it means for the future of U.S.-Russo relations. Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TODD: It`s beginning to look a lot like Christmas here in the nation`s capitol. Just moments ago, the first family for the very last time lit the national Christmas tree at the White House.

It was the whole family there this time since it`s the last time that Malia and Sasha and all of them will get to take part in the ceremony. Hats off to the National Park Services centennial celebration.

Now, we have more MTP Daily right after this. But first, here`s Hampton Pearson with today`s CNBC Market Wrap.

HAMPTON PEARSON, REPORTER, CNBC: Thanks, Chuck. Manufacturing data and rising oil prices helped yield the Dow a record close. The Dow finished up 68 points, the S&P following by 7, the Nasdaq lost 72 points.

Starbuck`s chairman and CEO Howard Schultz is stepping down as the company`s chief executive. He`ll become executive chairman. Chairs dipped more than 3 percent in after-hours trading.

U.S. auto sales rose 4 percent in November, the highest on record. Analysts say the boost is due to black Friday deals and post-election confidence. That`s it from CNBC, first in business worldwide.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TODD: Donald Trump has been using cozy language for Vladimir Putin for months during his campaign, and today we heard back from the Russian president during his nationally televised end of the year address. He said, quote, we are ready for cooperation with the new U.S. administration.

It is important to normalize and start developing bilateral ties on an equal and mutually beneficial basis. Vladimir Putin stressed a joint fight against international terrorism. Today, Director John Brennan says that Russia has a long way to go when it comes to earning trust from the United States in trying to fight terrorism.

(START VIDEO CLIP) JOHN BRENNAN, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY: Russia is a country that will pursue its national interests frequently to the detriment of the interests of the peoples of the countries wherein it operates.

So I think president-elect Trump and the new administration need to be wary of Russian promises. Russian promises, in my mind, have not given us what it is that they have pledged.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: After a bipartisan call to investigate Russia`s connection to the hacking that they apparently did to influence these elections, is Donald Trump preparing to hit the reset button again?

Let me bring the panel back. Ron Klain, Jennifer Rubin, Perry Bacon. Jennifer, you are a national security geek. You like your international affairs. Putin -- it makes a lot of sense for Putin to throw out the olive branch today.

JENNIFER RUBIN, JOURNALIST, WRITES FOR THE WASHINGTON POST: Listen, he`s going to try to snow Trump as long as he can, and the job, I think, of the national security team for Donald Trump is to introduce reality, that there is a reason we don`t get along with Russia.

It`s not just because Hillary Clinton was mean to him or Barack Obama doesn`t know how to do a deal. It`s because they act in ways that are opposite in our national interest. They invade their neighbors and occupy them. They are not fighting terrorism in the Middle East. They are contributing to genocide in the Middle East by assisting the Assad regime.

They can go down the list of things that they are doing. There are real issues. And until Donald Trump learns or he loses interest and lets other people deal with it that countries have interest, and an equal relationship depends upon equal respect and equivalent behavior that we don`t have with Russia.

TODD: Look, Trump, Putin, we can throw in sort of Theresa May although it`s sort of been forced upon, but there is a nationalism movement in democracies around the world. The Turkey`s democracy and Russia`s democracy I`m putting in the quotes here a little bit.

RON KLAIN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE ADVISER: Yeah, big quotes.

TODD: But, they first got into office in a real election. So, the point is, isn`t...

KLAIN: There`s nothing about this that makes me feel good, Chuck. Nothing about what you said that makes me feel good.

TODD: No, but isn`t essentially this is how Trump wants to operate, is more in a nationalist America first attitude. He kind of understands Putin`s point of view.

KLAIN: Well, again, there`s nothing about that that makes me feel good. Look, Vladimir Putin is just a veneer above being a dictator in Russia. He runs a kleptocratic regime that abuses human rights, that has journalists killed, that has enemies jailed or killed, that advances Russia`s power around the world. And if that`s Donald Trump`s model, that`s a horrible model for an American president.

I hope Jennifer is right. I hope that when he comes into office, assumes the awesome responsibilities of president, it`s more than a twitter feed, it`s more than just firing off some press releases, he will learn and he will grow and he will adapt. But it`s very, very frightening to look at where he is right now. PERRY BACON, SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER FOR NBC NEWS: We`ve had two interests we reset with Russia.

TODD: Right.

BACON: We`ve seen how that went the first two times. I assume to learn the third time was in their interests and not our interests. I assume Donald Trump will learn that. Also.

TODD: Putin is involved, right?

BACON: Putin has been involved every time.

TODD: But, no, well, they did do some business for a four-year period.

BACON: It`s hard to see how Putin -- they`re all naturalists, I agree, but our interests and their interests are so different. You know, the picks on the cabinet matter here. If you have a Mitt Romney, if you have Petraeus, those are people who have seen this and know what to think about and so on.

TODD: I guess what I`m trying to say is that without violating the off-the- record agreement the last time that I spoke with the president-elect, but he gives off the sense of, you know, if it doesn`t have an immediate impact on America`s national security, he thinks some of these things are like, you know, hey, if Russia wants to spend their money on propping up Assad, let them do it.

That`s his attitude and there`s a lot of his supporters that believe this.

RUBIN: Well, it`s going to be the job of the national security professionals to explain why that attitude really isn`t in America`s interest. That our ability to influence events around the world for the last 70 years or so has kept the peace, has kept us prosperous, that our democratic allies depend upon us to break the rules of the road and bad things happen when the United States recedes.

The irony is that this was the republican criticism of President Obama, that he was too reticent, that he wanted to pull up stakes, that he wasn`t interested in the Middle East. And now Donald Trump wants to come down on that.

BACON: Interesting question. Do Donald Trump or do Americans really care about the Syrian genocide or the Ukraine, and the answer may be less than you and I and Jennifer wants them to. There is a real point that maybe Donald Trump foreign policy view is we should pull back, we should be less involved. This sort of anti Merkel-Obama view is one that more Americans share that I wish.

TODD: I understand the national security impact in all this, but I`m just saying the political impact is -- there isn`t a lot of desire.

KLAIN: I think there`s no question that Donald Trump ran on an isolationist platform, both economically and from a national security perspective, and obviously that resonated with some voters. Fewer voters and Hillary Clinton, but a lot of voters, no question.

But what I will say from having worked in two white houses, the world has a way of intruding. And particularly today in a highly connected, highly complicated world, the idea that we`re just going to build a literal or a metaphorical wall and hide behind it and not be involved in these problems is just wrong.

President Trump is going to learn that shortly after his first day in office, I promise you. That`s what all presidents find, democrat or republican. It`s not a partisan thing, it`s just the way the world works today.

TODD: I have to say I do feel like we`re reliving the `80s. Like Russia is back as a prominent story all the time in our foreign policy. All right. I`m taking a pause here. Just stick here. Up ahead in The Lid, Donald Trump`s fantastic terrific phone call with the prime minister of Pakistan. It`s just a beautiful readout. You got to check this out. Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TODD: Welcome back. It`s obsession time. And tonight, I`m obsessed about revisionist history, specifically the pipe smoking and chain stroking about the 2016 election that`s taking place on universities and on T.V. shows everywhere this week.

In a nutshell, here`s the new received post-election wisdom. One, that democrats can`t ignore working class white voters. That you can`t win by relying on identity politics. That Clinton had no positive message. That Donald Trump proved that an organized campaign, voter analytic and a good ground game don`t matter. That republicans now have a lock on the electoral college at least for the foreseeable future.

All right, fine. Right now, Hillary Clinton leads the popular vote by 2.5 million. Just because she is down by fewer than 80,000 votes total in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. So just shift those 80,000 votes she already has, whatever, about 3 percent of her total to those states.

And you know what the chain strokers would be saying today? If she won the electoral college and still had this 2.5 point popular vote lead, that democrats can ignore working class voters. That you can win by relying on identity politics.

That you did not a positive message against Donald Trump. And that Donald Trump learn that an organized campaign, voter analytic and a good ground game really do matter. And that democrats have a lock in the electoral college for the foreseeable future.

I will admit I`ve been a little guilty of this myself. But it`s a reminder to all of us to be a little bit humble in explaining what went wrong in any election.

Just imagine, instead of working class white voters and the problem for the democratic party, we can easily be talking about the Latino problem with the republican party. Just with moving a couple of votes. We`ll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TODD: Welcome back. Time for The Lid. We have to share this. Donald Trump has had a number of pro-formal phone calls with foreign leaders since election day, most just offering congratulations in most instances. The transition team for Trump just puts out a list of names, a running tally of who has politely phoned the president-elect to wish him well and introduce themselves.

But last night, the country of Pakistan put out a very detailed statement on the call between Trump and the Pakistani prime minister. It reads in part, quote, President Trump said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, you have a very good reputation, you are a terrific guy, you are doing amazing work which is visible in every way.

The prime minister reportedly invited Trump to visit Pakistan and according to the readout, Trump said this, he would love to come to a fantastic country, a fantastic place of fantastic people. The Trump transition hasn`t confirmed the account, but that definitely does sound like Trump`s voice.

They called the phone call productive and said they`re looking forward to a lasting and strong personal relationship with the prime minister. Let me bring back the panel. Ron Klain, Jennifer Rubin, and Perry Bacon.

Ron, you`ve been with people that get these phone calls, congratulate, pro- formal calls and all this stuff. And there`s no doubt part of it -- Donald Trump`s being just as polite. Oh, you`re great, but there is some diplomacy here that he may have accidentally messed up. Explain.

KLAIN: Yeah, look, Pakistan is a country with which we have a very complicated and nuanced relationship, particularly in terms of tackling terrorism.

And for Donald trump to just blankly say, it`s a fantastic place, you`re going a fantastic job, it`s all good, sends a message to foreign leaders that basically, if they call up the Trump White House, tell him what a nice guy he is, tell him that they would love to stay at one of his hotels that it`s all going to be good.

And I`m sorry, but it isn`t all good. We have real issues here.

TODD: And there`s the India angle, whatever you do with Pakistan, you`ve got to do with India, and then like -- I guess the rule is with a little bit of pinkie on the scale, right? Without Pakistan thinking that. Whatever it is. You`ve got to be careful. RUBIN: This is Ron`s point. He may not really understand that people pay attention to what he says. He may not care what he says. But in fact, they do. And people make calculations based upon that. Countries move troops, they make decisions, they make and un-make treaties based upon what they think the president is saying.

And what`s obvious from that is you could have had him on the phone with anybody. You could have talking with the president of Fiji and he would probably have said the same thing.

TODD: And basically he got played by -- it was in Pakistan`s interest to make that public. They were probably trying.

BACON: Also, we don`t promise presidential visits just randomly.

TODD: Trump was careful. He never -- as much as he -- he never did promise the visit. He knew enough not to -- that would have been, um, pretty problematic. Maybe switch to what I obsess with, the fact that it all started my executive producer is a Buffalo Bills fan. And he always jokes, the Scott Norwood field goal, right?

If it goes in, then people say, the run and shoot can wins Super Bowl. It was like basically a field goal from like all of these things that were written about the strength of Buffalo Bills. Ron Klain, you were Al Gore`s guy in 2000, you`ve lived with this for a long time, about.

KLAIN: Twice.

TODD: So many could -- how much wisdom gets written based on what literally was a lost by a coin flip?

KLAIN: Yeah. It`s a great point, Chuck. I mean, I think that it`s a lesson to not over-learn the lessons of these elections. She did win 2.5 million more electoral votes. To say the campaign didn`t work, it was a failure, is just wrong. And you shift a few votes and she wins the electoral college, too.

And so, you know, for 16 years, people ask me about the result in Florida, the result in Bush V. Gore, what if you had done this differently or what if had done that differently? My answer is, yes, sure, all of them. We lost by 500 points. Anything may have made a difference.

Here, of course, maybe one more visit there, one more trip there, a few more ads there. All of these things. It was a loss by inches. And more importantly, it`s a mistake by democrats to re-examine fundamental principles, fundamental strategies based on a loss so close.

TODD: What I learned, Jennifer, republicans do have have a Latino problem and democrats do have a working class problem, right?

RUBIN: Yes, exactly.

TODD: Both can be true.

RUBIN: Right. And lets be honest. Politics is also about the people. Hillary Clinton had a real problem. And that was for rightly or not, people didn`t like her. And that changes with every election. New people, new results.

TODD: You`re going to hate me. I`m getting yelled at. All right. The guy that`s here knows he has to take the abuse, right? When you work for the company, you know, we don`t shortchange you guys. Thank you all. After the break, the Selig Rule strikes out. Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TODD: In case you missed it, our long national baseball nightmare ended today. One of the sports` dumbest rules is no more. No, it`s not the DH. Sadly, that idiocy remains. America may play softball, national league plays baseball. But I`m talking about the Selig Rule. Named for the former MLB commissioner who instituted it.

He gave home field advantage in the world series to the team whose league won the all-star game. The idea is that it would make the all-star game more relevant, would make the players and the managers fight harder to win it, was supposed to make the game count. And it did, a little, but not really.

Most major league players would rather have the time off during the all- star break. They want the bonus check for becoming an all-star, but they would the vacation. The ones who do play aren`t on the field for very long.

Now the league`s collective bargaining agreement says home field advantage of the world series goes to the team with the best regular season record. How about that? Wow, what an amazing idea. And the players that do participate in the all-star game would be playing for a pool of extra money which is also a bit ridiculous, but at least it doesn`t give such a big reward for such a frankly meaningless game.

But you know what, at least they tried to make the All Star game cool again.

That` all for tonight. With All Due Respect begins right now, 15 seconds late.

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