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MTP Daily, Transcript 11/18/2016

Guests: Hampton Pearson, Ken Gross, Ben Ginsberg, Maria Teresa Kumar, Robert Traynham, Chris Cillizza, Robert Traynham, Maria Teresa Kumar, Doug Thornell, Chris Kofinis

Show: MTP DAILY Date: November 18, 2016 Guest: Hampton Pearson, Ken Gross, Ben Ginsberg, Maria Teresa Kumar, Robert Traynham, Chris Cillizza, Robert Traynham, Maria Teresa Kumar, Doug Thornell, Chris Kofinis

KATY TUR, MSNBC HOST: Yes, it`s Friday. There is a Friday night news dump. We`ll have some late breaking news on a settlement agreement in the Trump University case.

(voice-over): Tonight, charting the new course for U.S. National security. What Donald Trump`s three new hires mean for the next four years. Plus, we`ll talk Democratic strategy on Trump nominee confirmation hearings and beyond.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think you have to be really careful and particularly in a new administration with an untested president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUR: And how the president-elect could test the limits of conflicts of interest rules.

This is MTP DAILY and it starts right now.

(on camera): Good evening. I`m Katy Tur in New York in for Chuck Todd. Welcome to MTP DAILY.

We begin with some breaking news. Donald Trump and his legal team have settled in the Trump University lawsuit. It appears the president-elect will not have to go on trial before heading to the White House. Trump and his defense team agreed to pay $25 million. But the A.G.`s office tells NBC News the settlement doesn`t include any admission of wrong-doing.

Let`s get right to it with NBC News Justice Correspondent, Pete Williams. Pete, can you break it down for us?

PETE WILLIAMS, JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT, NBC NEWS: Well, you know, they -- to paraphrase an old expression, the prospect of a trial tends to concentrate the mind.

And Trump`s lawyers were worried that the trial that was going to start in California on November 28th would be a huge distraction from his transition duties. And they had asked the judge to delay it. The judge, meantime, has been urging all sides to settle and now a settlement has been reached.

New York`s attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, announced the settlement a moment ago and said it`s $25 million. Now, that`s not only for the case that he brought in New York, but also for the two other cases that were filed out in San Diego. One of which was the one that was to start right after Thanksgiving.

What Schneiderman says in his statement is that, for the longest time, Trump has insisted that there could be absolutely no settlement, that he had not done anything wrong.

Now, the big change, according to Scheiderman, that have -- his lawyers have agreed to a settlement, $25 million. Some of that will be paid to legal fees to the lawyers, of course. The rest will be split among the students who attended the university.

They had two claims that were coming to trial that basically say the Trump University promotional materials misrepresented the nature of this program, that they said it was a university and it wasn`t. that is was -- that it suggested it was affiliated with a university when it wasn`t.

And also said that Trump hand-picked the instructors which they said was not true. The -- they`ll be no trial here and it`s all over but their writing of the checks.

TUR: There`s no admission of guilt here, Pete, though. If you read between the lines. Isn`t the fact that he`s settling, period, an admission of guilt?

WILLIAMS: Well, of course, guilt isn`t the right word when you`re dealing with a civil lawsuit. There is no admission of wrong-doing, I`d guess you`d have to say. But that`s the way settlements go. And the people who will -- are -- those who are sued who settle, often times say that they didn`t because they didn`t want to go to trial and roll the dice. It doesn`t necessarily mean they`re admitting wrong-doing.

TUR: Pete Williams, thank you so much.

We turn now --

WILLIAMS: You bet.

TUR: -- to the other big story today, Trump`s cabinet full of controversies. And if you were looking for clues about Trump`s actual approach to governing, pay attention.

Trump officially named three cabinet level posts today. One is battling a past marred by serious allegations of racism. Another is under fire for making derogatory comments about Muslims. And the third is viewed as a Benghazi fire brand. They are all controversial picks and they are all about to face the most intense gauntlet in American politics.

Trump`s nomination of Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions says his attorney general is already facing blowback from civil rights groups. Sessions is a 15-year veteran of the Justice Department and a former U.S. attorney.

But in 1986, his nomination to be a federal judge was rejected by a Republican Senate. Some of Sessions` DOD colleagues testified that he called the NAACP un-American. They said he referred to a civil rights` lawyer as a disgrace to his race and said he thought the KKK was OK until he found out they smoked pot. He later said that was a joke.

And at the time, Sessions told the Senate Judiciary Committee, quote, "I am not a racist." And denied many of those statements. But he acknowledged making derogatory statements about some civil rights groups as communist- inspired.

(17:05:10]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JEFFERSON SESSIONS (R), ALABAMA: These comments that you could say about a county organization or something, I may have said something like that in a general way and that probably was wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUR: The Trump transition had launched a full-court press to defend Sessions, sighting, among other things, his vote to extend the Voting Rights Act and his vote to confirm Eric Holder has the first black attorney general. We should note that Sessions voted against Loretta Lynch, the first black female A.G.

But that`s just the tip of the iceberg on controversial appointments today. Trump`s pick as national security advisor, Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, is facing serious backlash in the Intelligence Committee. Flynn has a lengthy resume, including his stinted Obama director at the National Intelligence Agency -- excuse me, the Defense Intelligence Agency.

But I can report tonight that multiple senior intelligence officials have keep reservations about him. He`s been described as a hot head with an abusive leadership style. One called him shallow and reactionary. Flynn has gone on the record saying that fear of Muslims is rational. He`s also called the Islamic faith a political ideology.

Then there`s Trump`s pick to run the CIA. Kansas Congressman Mike Pompeo. He is a member of the House Intelligence Committee and a West Point grad. He`s also one of the party`s fiercest Benghazi attack dogs. At one point, he suggested the CIA, the agency that now he`s been tabbed to run, was misleading Congress.

That said, Pompeo has won bipartisan praise today, including from the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

Let`s dive right in. I`m joined by NBC`s Andrea Mitchell, Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, host of "ANDREA MITCHELL REPORTS" on MSNBC. And my fellow road warrior throughout this tireless campaign season.

Andrea, let`s get to the big picture first. What does this say about Trump`s approach to governing?

ANDREA MITCHELL, CHIEF FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT, NBC NEWS: It says that he is going to do what he campaigned on. He is going to shake up Washington. These are controversial appointments. The last first, Pompeo, has earned (ph) respect for being hard working, for being a, you know, veteran, for a West Point graduate, as you pointed out, a lawyer, and for being hard working.

So, he`s been praised by Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat as well as others, who say that he`s really a respectable and credible choice. And with a Republican committee sitting in judgment on him, more than likely he will be confirmed. He`s criticized the CIA. But, that said, there are a lot of people who have criticized the agency in the past and have also been put in (INAUDIBLE) and other House Republicans in the past.

Mike Rogers, by the way, who was removed from the transition committee and was not going to get the CIA. And you can probably tell me whether this is accurate or not. There are reports tonight that he might even become director of national intelligence which supervises all of the intelligence agencies.

But Jeff Sessions is going to be opposed by the NAACP legal defense fund. I just got off with them. They say that they are opposing him not just because of what he said back in the 1980s, but because of his record since. There are Hispanic Latino groups who are opposing him because of his hard line on immigration and deportations as well.

TUR: Well, let`s talk a little bit more about Jeff Sessions. He did not get through confirmations in the 1980s as you were just alluding to. Let`s take a listen to Democratic Ed Kennedy back then in 1986, talking about Sessions. And then, we`ll talk on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Mr. Sessions is a throwback to a shameful era which I know both black and white Americans thought was in our past. It`s inconceivable to me that a person of this attitude is qualified to be a U.S. attorney, let alone a United States federal judge. He`s, I believe, a disgrace to the Justice Department, and he should withdraw his nomination and resign his position.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUR: He just needs a simple majority to get confirmed. What are the Democrats going to do to try and stop that from happening? And do they have any chance of doing so?

MITCHELL: I`m not sure that the Democrats will all be aligned against him. I do feel that there is a certain tradition of Senatorial courtesy. It doesn`t always work. It didn`t work, famously, back in 1989 for John Tower who was the former head of the Senate Armed Services Committee and did not get confirmed to be the defense secretary for George Herbert Walker Bush.

That said, this is a Republican Senate. That was a Democratic Senate Committee led by Sam Nunn. And this is a Republican Senate Committee. Senator Grassley is the chair and Dianne Feinstein is the new ranking Democrat.

So, I think that there is, I would say, a likelihood that he will become the next attorney general.

TUR: Andrea, on Mike Flynn, in February, he tweeted, fear of Muslims is rational. Please forward this to others. The truth fears no questions. Is it going to be our national security posture now to fear all Muslims?

[17:10:10] MITCHELL: I doubt that that would be the case. But the fact is that he will be the last person to speak to the president after conflicts or arguments at the National Security Council. He`s going to be running a power house agency. It`s, basically, a 400-person national security council. It`s exploded in size inside the White House.

He will have unique ability to be the adviser on all things. He`ll be at Donald Trump`s side and you have a president who is less experienced in national security than almost any of his predecessors.

So, he`s going to have a very powerful role. And his views on the Islamic radicals and the Muslim religion, and he`s expressed in tweets and as he expressed recently on the Bill Marshal on HBO, are going to be profoundly disturbing to the Arab world and with whom he`s going to have to deal.

TUR: Andrea Mitchell in Washington. Thank you very much.

MITCHELL: You bet.

TUR: Let`s bring in tonight`s panel. Maria Teresa Kumar is an MSNBC contributor and Voto Latino president. Robert Traynham was an adviser to the Bush-Cheney campaign and is now with the Bipartisan Policy Center. And Chris Cillizza is an MSNBC contributor and founder of "The Washington Post Fix" blog, also one of my favorite people to follow on Twitter.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: Oh, thank you.

TUR: Chris, your reaction to these picks. What do you think it says about how President-elect Donald Trump is going to govern?

CILLIZZA: Well, to be honest, I don`t think we should be terribly surprised. The first few picks that a nominee typically makes are people that he feels closest to. People he trusts. Sort of his inner circle. Now, President Obama shook that up a little bit by naming Hillary Clinton in the relatively early going of this.

But, look, I think what one thing you have to accept is this guy won the election and he is going to put in some people at least that are going to directly counter to many of the people who have those jobs currently. This is -- you know, I think voters voted for a radical change in Donald Trump. And I think he views this as delivering on it.

I -- what I`m interested in, Katy, is, you know, once we get beyond these first couple, does he pick a Nikki Haley or a Mitt Romney, for example? I think Romney`s unlikely. But does he pick people who are both not in his inner campaign circle and maybe even people who are critical of him?

TUR: You know, that is the question. Does he go and find somebody that wasn`t necessarily a supporter during the campaign? So, far, we`re finding that that has not been the case. But Nikki Haley is a name that`s out there. We`re going to find out how serious it actually is.

But keeping the focus on the cabinet that we know today, Robert, the NAACP`s legal defense fund reaction today was to say that it is unimaginable that Senator Jeff Sessions could be entrusted to serve as the chief law endorsement officer for this nation`s civil rights laws. Do you believe that those fears are grounded?

ROBERT TRAYNHAM, FORMER ADVISOR, BUSH CAMPAIGN: Of course they`re grounded because based on what -- allegedly, what Senator Sessions said almost 30 years ago.

But I want to go back to Chris`s earlier point. You know, Donald Trump is a loyalist and this is not surprising that he is appointing or at least nominating loyal people that have been loyal to him in the first cabinet picks.

The real question is whether or not he takes a page out of Barack Obama`s playbook or even Abraham Lincoln`s playbook with a team of rivals. Where he in -- he puts some people in place that, quite frankly, were against him. Whether it`s a Jeb Bush, whether it`s a Senator Ted Cruz, whether it is a Mitt Romney, that NBC news has reported that he will be meeting on later this weekend.

That`s a true test of character and whether or not you want to put those right people in those positions that really have significant influence. Not to suggest that the attorney general`s office does not because clearly it does. But when you talk about the secretary of state slots. When you talk about secretary of treasury.

When you talk about the power positions, if you will, the question really becomes is whether or not Donald Trump will put loyalists in those positions or whether or not he`s going to put true, qualified people in those positions, regardless of whether or not they were critical of him in the past or not.

TUR: Well, talking about Romney and speaking to sources in the Romney world, they say that they believe this is ultimately going to be a courtesy call. That they don`t think it`s that serious, especially since the men had so much to say about each other during the campaign.

But I do want to try to keep the focus on Jeff Sessions if we can, because I feel like there are so answer -- so many questions surrounding what`s actually going to happen, if he is confirmed, when he is confirmed, and when Donald Trump takes office. Especially when we`re talking about immigration. He helped draft Donald Trump`s immigration policy in the early stages.

So, my question to you, Maria, would it be that he is going to be the -- basically, somebody who`s going to enforce all of these more extreme statements that Donald Trump made on the trail, enforcing a Muslim ban or registry or something like that, enforcing stop and frisk across the country, leveling sanctuary cities or refusing to allow them to maintain themselves in sanctuary cities.

And then, what about immigration? I mean, is --

[17:15:00] MARIA TERESA KUMAR, PRESIDENT, VOTO LATINO: Well, (INAUDIBLE) of things, Katy. What you`re saying is a (INAUDIBLE) of things.

And this is what`s interesting is that the day after Donald Trump was elected, everybody said that they voted for him because of the economy. So, you would expect that the folks that he`s putting forth in a lot of these positions or that the first nomination that he`s going to put forth as a part of his cabinet would deal directly with building the economy.

Instead, we`re getting the juxtaposition (ph) position of individuals of an incredibly charged when it comes to racial profiling. And when it`s been folks that have really contested civil liberties. The main point of the attorney general is to protect those individuals that are most vulnerable in our country.

Jeff Sessions is completely the opposite of that. He is someone that opposed the Voting Rights Act. He`s opposed the Violence Against Women`s Act. Most recently, he has denigrated Latinos. He definitely has an opinion when it comes to African-Americans. And this idea of who should be an American.

And so, that, for a lot of folks, makes people feel really uneasy. Because, again, Donald Trump said that he -- that his election was testament to people wanting economic change. But the cast of characters that he has recently put up is not -- has nothing to do with the economy. It has everything with people who have tried to define who is and is not American.

TUR: Chris, last question to you right now. Let`s talk about the Democratic strategies. Some on the left, they want to go nuclear over these picks. But so far, not Senator Schumer, at least not yet. Here`s a sneak preview of what Schumer told Chuck Todd in an interview airing Sunday on MEET THE PRESS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. SCHUMER: I`m not going to make any quick judgments on any of them. And we`re going to give them a very, very thorough examination and vetting. These are such important appointments that you want to make sure that they are qualified that they will do the right thing. I think you have to be careful and particularly in a new administration with an untested president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUR: The Democrats don`t have a lot of power here. But what are they going to try do in the next at least two years to try to find a way to reassert themselves?

CILLIZZA: Well, I think Schumer is doing the right thing there which is he`s not saying I`m not going to oppose these people and oppose them immediately. He`s just saying I`m not deciding on what we are doing yet. Even if he has a say, he`s not going to tell anyone.

I think what`s difficult though, Katy, and you note this, is even if every -- all 46 Democrats and the two independent (INAUDIBLE) with them line up and say, I don`t want Jeff Sessions to be attorney general. As long as Republicans get the 51 or 52 Republicans, he`s the attorney general.

And I also think that Sessions will benefit from the fact the Senate is among the most exclusive clubs. They may bang him around a bit like they did with Chuck Hagel when he was -- when he was confirmed. It may not be 90 to 10 with a vote. But, again, in this day and age, I think Pete -- not Pete. Jeff Sessions would be thrilled to be confirmed 52-48 right along party lines and that may wind up being what happens.

TUR: Exclusive club does not sound like drain the swamp to me.

CILLIZZA: No, it does not.

TUR: Maria, Robert and Chris, stay with us. We`re going to talk about it more coming up a little later.

But up next, we`re going to keep talking about the Democrats and the job that Senate Democrats almost couldn`t give away. We`ll look at the Democrats` leadership scramble, plus the big question of how they`ll govern come January.

And later, from business dealings to family ties, the potential conflicts of interest facing President-elect Trump. Plus, we`ll have more on the Trump University lawsuit settlement. Stay tuned.

[17:18:27]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TUR: As president-elect Trump stocks his cabinet, we know attorney general and CIA director are off the board. But what many see as the most prestigious appointment in the cabinet is still available, secretary of state.

A House of contenders are reportedly in the running to be in the nation`s top diplomat, including a surprise, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. Remember, she wasn`t the biggest Trump supporter before the election, but listen closely to what she had to say this morning at a federalist society reception in Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. NIKKI HALEY (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: We, as Republicans, are going to lead effectively and have staying power as a governing party. We must accept that Donald Trump`s election was not an affirmation of the way Republicans have conducted themselves. The president-elect deserves tremendous credit for the way he was able to connect with the electorate. But he did not do it by celebrating the Republican Party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUR: Here`s a question, was Haley praising Trump for running in the face of an out-of-touch establishment or was she suggesting that Trump abandon Republican values on the path to the White House? Statements like these get overanalyzed in the cabinet -sweep -- overanalyzed, excuse me, in cabinet sweepstakes. We`ll see if they have an impact on potential cabinet decisions.

Coming up, though, we`ll talk Democratic strategy in the post-Trump world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TUR: Welcome back to MTP DAILY. If you need another sign highlighting the mess the Democrats are in, here`s a big one. Nobody wants to run the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The post was suspiciously not mentioned earlier this week when the Democrats rolled out the rest of their leadership. It`s one of the most difficult jobs on the Hill right now.

Democrats will need to defend 23 seats in the 2018 mid-terms. Plus, the two held by independents who caucus with the Democrats. Ten of those seats are in states Trump won in November. According to Politico, Cory Booker, Al Franken, Chris Coons and Jeanne Shaheen all side stepped the post.

The big winner, or should we say loser, Senator Chris Van Hollen. It`s an unusual responsibility for a Senate freshman and a tall order. And earlier this week, it sure didn`t seem like he was gunning for the gig. He said, quote, "I`m really focused right now on orientation. I haven`t had a chance to focus on it. I`m not planning on that."

In a statement today, Senator Schumer said Van Hollen was his first choice for the job.

Chris Kofinis is a Democratic strategist and CEO of Park Street Strategies. Doug Thornell is a Democratic strategist as well and former top adviser to Senator-elect Chris Van Hollen and senior DNC official.

Now, Doug, you`ve worked closely with Van Hollen and the DNC. So, what does it mean that nobody in the party wanted this job?

DOUG THORNELL, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I think they got the right -- they got the right guy. And I think Chris was probably the top choice. He`s run the DCCC, the House campaign arm, two cycles. He won 20 plus seats. He knows very -- he knows how to win in very tough districts. He also knows a lot of the senators who are up this time around.

And remember, look, this map is not good for Democrats. But it`s also the map that was in place in 2006 when senators -- when Democrats won back the Senate. So, it`s doable. And I think if we continue to see the Trump administration behave like they are, I think it gives Democrats a real opportunity to maybe not win back the Senate, but keep their losses to a minimum.

[17:25:03] TUR: It`s a difficult job for a freshman senator though, and certainly not one that he seemed like he was gunning for. Am I wrong to say that?

THORNELL: It is a difficult job especially for a freshman-elect. But, look, if anyone can handle it, it`s Chris Van Hollen. He`s the most talent -- I think he`s one of the most talented Democrats in Congress right now. And he`s been in very tough situations before, whether it`s negotiating very important deficit or debt deals or being a top adviser to Nancy Pelosi, prepping Joe Biden for his debates with Paul Ryan. He`s done just about everything you can think of in politics. And this is a challenge for him, but he`s going to rise to it.

TUR: And, Chris, speaking of Nancy Pelosi, she`s been leading the conference for 12 years. But Tim Ryan is making the argument that Democrats need a new direction. He says, basically, that they needed a new quarterback. Earlier on MSNBC he also said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TIM RYAN (D), OHIO: We got our clocks cleaned in 2010. We barely won seats in 2012. We got the clocks cleaned in 2014 and then here in 2016. And we`re going to put the same leadership in. Look, I come out of the world of sports. And when you are in sports, if you`re a pitcher and they keep hitting home runs on you, you take the pitcher out of the game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUR: Chris, is this a compelling argument?

CHRIS KOFINIS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, it`s a difficult argument to argue against, to some extent. I mean, listen, there is a brutal reality that Democrats, I think, have to accept. We have to accept if we`re going to acknowledge what needs to change in order to become more competitive.

You know, this election, I think, was an incredible shock for Democrats who are still kind of struggling trying to figure out exactly what happened and the reasons and where do you go from here?

Now, in terms of the actual reality of Congressman Ryan winning, you know, the minority leadership, I think it`s going to be a tough haul, given the incredible amount of support that Nancy Pelosi has in her caucus. But -- and I also don`t think, to be honest, and I know there`s a lot of, you know, back and forth about what does this mean.

I actually think it`s a good thing. We should not be rushing into anything right now, whether it`s DNC chairs or minority or majority positions, whatever it might be. Well, I should say minority positions, because we need to, kind of, step back, figure out exactly what we need to be doing from message-wise to tactics on the ground so we can become more competitive in the next cycle.

Talking about that, the DCCC said in their post-election assessment that in 2018, the Democrats need to tie Trump and House Republicans together. But they tried to do that all year and it was not something that was effective. So, Chris, how is this going to work in the mid-term if it didn`t work in the general?

KOFINIS: Well, I mean, I think it`s going to depend a lot, in terms of what he promises. I don`t think you can -- you can apply the same old traditional playbook to Donald Trump. And if anyone thinks you can, I`m not sure they got the news bulletin that we got our clocks cleaned because we tried to apply the same old kind of playbook.

He is going to be a much more difficult individual to, kind of, frame. I think the way we kind of have to do this, we`re going to have to hold him accountable to what he has promised. He`s promised the sun and the moon. And those promises, the American people expect him to hold. But if he does do some of those, particularly the ones that are going to have a negative impact on this country, we have to hold him accountable for that as well.

So, I think a lot of it`s going to depend on what he does. But in -- simply to apply this logic of how he does, we can then somehow win back these Senate and these House seats. We, meaning the Democratic Party, have to come up with an economic message, a vision for the country that is distinct from Republicans that appeals to a wide swath of voters. We haven`t done that. We didn`t do that the last election. If we don`t that, we are basically battling around the margins.

TUR: And, Doug, when President Obama came to office, Republicans were obstructionists and it worked. Donald Trump is coming to office with a super majority. Obstructionism, though, never quite worked well for the Democratic Party. Is it going to be a viable tactic going forward for them to push back against a Trump administration?

THORNELL: Well, I think they should push back in certain areas. Look, when Trump wants to destroy Medicare and take coverage away from folks who have preexisting conditions or take coverage away from 20 million Americans or provide huge tax breaks to billionaires, I mean, or build a wall or deport undocumented people, I mean, those are things that the Democrats should fight against.

But, look, on certain things, such as investments in infrastructure, investments in urban areas, or Trump said he would think about raising the minimum wage, I think those are areas where Democrats could be supportive of him.

But, you know, look, I think Democrats are probably going to give him a better -- a better shot at the beginning than Republicans ever did with Barack Obama.

TUR: Why do you think that is? Why do Democrat do that when Republicans won`t?

THORNELL: I think that`s a question that you should ask Republicans. You know, I think that they made a decision early on that they were going to oppose everything that Barack Obama did for political reasons. And that was not in the best interest of the country.

And I think Democrats, right now, are probably focused on how we can, you know, get things done for some people who are hurting, but also stand up for issues and for beliefs we care about.

TUR: (inaudible), thank you so much.

THORNELL: Thank you.

TUR: Still ahead, could some of Donald Trump`s fiercest critics on the campaign trail become his closest confidants in the White House? Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TUR: Last night on Twitter, Donald Trump took credit for uphold campaign promise. Keeping U.S. companies from moving jobs to Mexico. He tweeted, "just got a call from my friend Bill Ford, Chairman of Ford, who advised me that he will be keeping the Lincoln plant in Kentucky, no Mexico."

He followed it up with another tweet saying, I worked hard with Bill Ford to keep the Lincoln plant in Kentucky. I owed it to the great State of Kentucky for their confidence in me.

But it turns out it`s not quite that simple. The Ford motor company tells NBC News there were no plans to close the Kentucky plant, just to stop producing Lincoln model to make more room to produce more Ford Escape. That was based on the contract negotiated last year with the united auto workers.

The "Wall Street Journal" is reporting though that even though the Lincoln move to Mexico would not have cost any jobs in Kentucky, Executive Bill Ford saw the movement "a relatively painless but authentic way to give Trump a victory even before he moves into the White House." More "MTP Daily" just ahead. But first, Hampton Pearson has the CNBC Market Wrap.

HAMPTON PEARSON, REPORTER, CNBC: Thanks, Katy, and a happy Friday to you. We had stocks sending the week to the downside. The Dow shedding 35 points, the S&P down by 5, the Nasdaq dropping by 12 points.

One of today`s big decliners was Gap. Shares sinking 16 percent after report of a seventh straight quarter of sinking sales late Thursday. It also said 2016 earnings would be lower than expected.

And Volkswagen is cutting 30,000 jobs as it struggles to bounce back from its emission rigging scandal. The plan would help save nearly $4 billion a year. That`s it from CNBC, first in business worldwide.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TUR: Welcome back to "MTP Daily." Back to the breaking news we told you about at the top of the hour. Donald Trump and his legal team had settled the three Trump university lawsuits. Trump will pay $25 million, but the settlement doesn`t include any admission of wrong-doing. It does mean the president-elect will not have to go on trial before he is sworn in.

Just a moment ago, the Trump organization released a statement saying in part "we have no doubt that Trump University would have prevailed at trial based on the merits of this case." Well, that headache has been wrapped up. The rest of Trump`s business empire is leading to a number of conflict of interest questions.

First, there is the question of Trump`s adult children taking over his company. He said throughout the campaign he would hand over control of the Trump organization to Ivanka, Don Jr., and Eric. But in reality, that may not be enough to put these questions to rest.

Trump`s children and son-in-law Jared Kushner had all the name to his transition team. Then they`re all at Trump`s overseas business holdings. Trump controls more than 500 companies and has business dealings in at least 22 countries.

Let me bring in my guests. Ben Ginsberg is a lawyer for the republican party, former general council for the RNC and Mitt Romney, and is an NBC News political analyst. Ken Gross, an expert in the election of conflict of interest law, also somebody I get on the phone quite a lot lately. Let`s talk about the Trump University lawsuit. Ken, specifically, are you surprised that Trump went in to settle this so quickly?

KEN GROSS, ELECTION LAW EXPERT: No, I`m not surprised at all. I would have been surprised if he hadn`t. He certainly didn`t want to be testifying and I`m sure he is happy to have that one in his rear view mirror.

TUR: And then let`s talk a little bit about Ivanka. She was in the meeting with Japan`s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe the other day. We are not going to show you the picture of it because it was just a handout picture.

But talk to me, is it appropriate for Donald Trump`s daughter to be doing that? Especially since she doesn`t have security clearance number two, and number two, she is by all of the accounts going to be running his business.

BEN GINSBERG, FORMER RNC GENERAL COUNSEL: Well, as you said, she doesn`t have a security clearance and probably there were no sensitive issues talked about.

TUR: But how do we know that?

GINSBERG: Well, because you basically just know it. I mean, remember that Donald Trump is not a government employee yet. Therefore the conflict of interest rules that I think your question is premised on don`t yet apply. There is an appearance issue as there always is in this. At this stage of the process, the Trumps get to decide what the appearance is.

TUR: Conflict of interest laws are not going to apply to him in general, but the appearance thing is I think what`s tripping a lot of people up. Let me talk to you, Ken, about this. His children will be running the business. It is not necessarily a blind trust.

The "Wall Street Journal" today published a page urging Trump to liquidate his stake in the company, reading progressive groups will soon be out of power and they are already shouting that the Trump family wants a profit from the presidency.

The political damage to a new administration could be extensive. If Mr. Trump doesn`t liquidate, he will be accused of a pecuniary motive at any time he takes policy position. How did the appearance harm a Trump presidency going forward?

GROSS: This is going to be a constant thorn in his side. Every time he takes a position on an issue, domestic or international, let`s say he`s dealing with China and he takes a position in negotiations with China. They go, oh, that`s not about China, that`s about your loan that you have at the bank at China or some investments or something you are building there a hotel.

It may be totally unfair, but it`s going to come back to haunt him six ways until Sunday as far as I can tell. And when it comes to international issues, there are even some legal problems having to do with constitutional issues.

TUR: Ben, I know you`re saying to basically trust Donald trump on a lot of these things, but Jared Kushner who is Ivanka`s husband is considering it seems like a job in the west wing. He is married to Ivanka.

If there are dealings going on where he is let in on security issues, he is let in on governmental affairs, foreign affairs and he is married to her, can we presume rightfully that there is going to be a wall between the two of them in talking about business and talking about governing?

GINSBERG: Well, there will always be scrutiny of this as there should be. They will take the appropriate to say that they will verify. This will not be the first couple where one spouse was in government and another spouse was in private business. But remember this, it`s not like anything is new. The American people knew it when they cast their ballots and presumably that was built into the vote.

TUR: Ben, last question to you specifically on Mitt Romney since you know him so well. They`re going to have a meeting this weekend from the Trump`s side. It sounds like they want to offer him or potentially consider him for secretary of state. Is this something -- is it even an offer that Mitt Romney would be interested in?

GINSBERG: I think so. Mitt Romney has always told everyone who has worked with him that you owe a duty to the country. This is a time where I think Mitt Romney although he and Donald Trump were certainly rivals and no one can accuse Mitt of pulling his punches, he is willing to talk with Donald Trump.

Donald Trump is willing to talk to him. That all in all is a very good signal that Donald Trump is reaching out beyond the tight circle of advisers who are on his campaign.

TUR: Even if he is not offered this role, just the appearance of the two men together if there is a photo that comes out from it, what does that going to say to the country?

GINSBERG: Well, I think it`s very reassuring to certainly the establishment republican branch and I suspect the rest of the country that someone of Mitt Romney`s experience is being considered for this job. TUR: Thank you Ben Ginsberg and Ken Gross.

GINSBERG: Thank, Katy.

TUR: Still ahead in "The Lid," why President Trump has President Obama putting off retirement. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TUR: "Meet the Press" will have more on the transition for both parties. Donald Trump`s new white house chief of staff, Reince Priebus, about how Trump`s cabinet is shaping up. The big question for democrats, now what?

You can see more with Chuck`s interview with senate minority leader Chuck Schumer plus an exclusive interview with the democrats new outreach chair, Senator Bernie Sanders. We`ll be right back with "The Lid" right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TUR: It`s time for "The Lid." Sixty-tree days until President Obama leaves the oval office, but his career in politics may extend beyond Donald Trump`s inauguration.

In an interview with the New Yorker, President Obama said he was planning on handing over control to Hillary Clinton and riding off into retirement, but Donald Trump`s election changed his plans.

He said, I think I now have some responsibility to at least offer my counsel to those who will continue to be elected officials about how the DNC can help rebuild and how state parties and organizations can work together.

The panel is back. Maria Teresa Kumar, Robert Traynham, and Chris Cillizza. Maria, let`s start with you. Obama`s rule going forward in the rebuilding of the democratic party. How the party goes from here? Let`s talk about it. Does Nancy Pelosi keep her role and if she does, what does that mean for how the party is going to potentially change?

MARIA TERESA KUMAR, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF VOTO LATINO: I think that the democrats are -- to say that they are in a difficult position is an understatement, Katy. They got the wind knocked out of them last week. And so when you`re looking at realignment and trying to listen to the voters, that is the totality of the progressive movement should be.

So not just Latino, Asian, African-American voters, but also making sure that they are bringing back white progressives. That is the challenge. And people would say that Pelosi, while an incredible leader for the last 14 years, that perhaps it`s time for her to realign and give -- hand over the reins to someone else.

And it may be to Ryan, to someone that folks don`t really know very well, but that at least seems to have the semblance of trying to bring in a whole bunch of different groups together at the same time.

TUR: Robert, Obama said that basically, Trump saw it coming or he saw it coming and he couldn`t stop it. Have they learned their lesson?

ROBERT TRAYNHAM, VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNICATIONS AT BIPARTISAN POLICY CENTER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I don`t know, but I think I will take the words from Tim Ryan. Tim Ryan said, look, if you have the same leadership team in place that`s lost elections for the past three to four cycles, maybe we need to have a new leadership team. And the question becomes, quite candidly speaking, is whether or not President Obama should be a part of that or not.

Look, the reality is, he has a very high favorable rating, about 55 percent when he leaves office in a month and a half, but the question then comes, is whether or not he was part of the problem in some of these congressional districts, and candidly speaking where he campaigned, if he actually helped.

The reality is that the Clinton campaign thought that the president and first lady being out on the campaign trail would boost African-American turnout and also people of color turnout in terms of the Latino community. We now know that simply wasn`t the case, particularly in Philadelphia and some of the other states, where senator -- or Secretary Clinton underperformed.

So I think the real question is twofold. One, is the current leadership team in place on the democratic side, is that the right team moving forward, and then secondly, how does President Obama, who is a very popular -- a very popular former president, how does he fit into this.

TUR: Chris, I`m not sure if you saw this, but the "Hollywood Reporter" interview with Steve Bannon, who`s been one of the most mysterious figures on the campaign trail this year, I want to put up for our viewers a couple of the comments from this.

Darkness is good. Dick Cheney, Darth Vader, Satan. That`s power. It only helps us when they get it wrong. When they`re blind to who we are and what we are doing. He also said, I`m not a white nationalist, I`m a nationalist. I`m an economic nationalist. And the media bubble is the ultimate symbol of what`s wrong with this country. It`s just a circle of people talking to themselves who have no effing idea what`s going on.

I mean, the media by large got this election wrong with the poll numbers, the pollsters got it wrong, Trump`s internal polling got it wrong, the RNC`s polling got it wrong. I mean, is Bannon a much more -- I don`t know, intelligent and forward-thinking person than he`s given credit for?

CHRIS CILLIZZA, JOURNALIST AND POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah. I mean, I have no -- no knowledge of his intelligence. I assume he`s pretty smart. He`s a successful investment banker. He`s founded a successful media site, and now he`s the senior adviser to the president. I haven`t done any of those things. So, I give him all that.

TUR: There`s still time.

CILLIZZA: Well, yes, I`m 40 now, Katy, there`s not that much time for me.

(LAUGHTER)

TRAYNHAM: And Chris, you`re smarter.

CILLIZZA: Thanks.

TUR: You`re better on Twitter. Anyway.

CILLIZZA: What I would say is that I think what he`s doing with some of those quotes like, you know, darkness is good. If the ultimate goal of a senior adviser to the president is to help further the cause of the president, burnish his image, whatever you know, whatever you think it is, that is not helpful to Donald Trump.

This stuff about trying to clarify whether he`s a white nationalist or an economic nationalist, you know, that`s not terrible. But some of that stuff, where it sounds -- he sounds, those first quotes you read, Katy, I thought this when I was reading it, he sounds like Yoda. Like there a lot of things.

KUMAR: Yoda, come on, now, Chris, come on.

CILLIZZA: There`s a lot of stuff in there where you`re like -- I don`t totally understand where he`s going. Like, we need to, only if we`re blind that -- so I don`t know if it helps.

(CROSSTALK)

KUMAR: . one of the things that we should actually pay attention to is that right after he was named senior adviser, the Breitbart report basically promised they were going to open four bureaus around the world. Is he going to have a hand in opening up those bureaus.

TUR: That`s exactly the question that I want to ask you. If Donald Trump has this media wing at his disposal, this idea of a post-fact news world or a post-truth news world, what does that mean for the way that this country is educated?

Do they just stop listening to people that may have differing opinions, listening to facts, and only find the eco chamber that they want. Is that what`s going to happen? Is he going to take credit for things like this Ford plant they were talking about earlier that he doesn`t necessarily deserve credit for?

CILLIZZA: Yes.

KUMAR: Katy, that.

CILLIZZA: I think -- sorry, Maria Teresa. I thin he will Katy, but I don`t know that -- that`s not something that`s new, to be honest.

KUMAR: But I think -- Chris, I do think.

CILLIZZA: . extension.

TUR: I want to hear what Maria Teresa has to say.

KUMAR: Katy, I think the fact that all of a sudden these reports are coming that people are paying attention to fake news and we don`t have control of it, it`s an increased vulcanization of media and this is where we really need to have digital literacy.

I give this for one second to public service as one, we need digital literacy in our school, we need digital literacy in order to graduate from college because you would be surprised how many times when I go speak at college campuses, how the information that`s fed back to me, it`s just not right.

TUR: Journalism literacy is what we need.

KUMAR: Exactly.

TUR: We need to educate the public on what does it mean to be a journalist. I am told -- they`re yelling at me in my ear, I have to go.

(LAUGHTER)

TUR: Maria Teresa Kumar, Robert Traynham, and Chris Cillizza, thank you very much. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TUR: In case you missed it, president-elect Donald Trump is the reality T.V. star and in case you missed it, Donald Trump really likes T.V. stars because he`s considering them for his cabinet. Sarah Palin, a possible pick to run the interior department wasn`t just Alaska governor and a V.P. nominee. She was also the star of "Sarah Palin`s Alaska" on TLC.

And we all remember former Texas governor, Rick Perry, a possible pick to run the V.A., "Dancing with the Stars" on, yep, "Dancing with the Stars." Former governor, Mike Huckabee, according to the "Jerusalem post," may be the next ambassador to Israel, we`ll see on that, had his own syndicated showed on Fox News filmed in front of a live studio audience.

Even Laura Ingraham who seems likely to be the next press secretary has her own show. It`s on XM Radio, but we`ll so count it. Television: it just doesn`t rot your brain. It might be a fast track to the White House. Maybe it`s both.

That`s all for tonight. "With All Due Respect" starts right now.

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