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Obama, Clinton to Hold Conference Call with DNC. Will Ryan Keep Speakership after Trump Elected; Trump Says He'll be More Restrained on Social Medial; Text Message Warning to People Living in War-Torn Syria; ISIS Putting Up Resistance in Mosul Battle. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired November 14, 2016 - 13:30   ET

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


[13:30:00] PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump recognizes he needs help and his team needs help coming in. It is a massive entity. Staffed to a level you can't imagine until you've been there. The building itself at a size you can't imagine until you get in there. There's a recognition President Obama is offering guidance and counsel to some degree and Donald Trump would be a fool not to take it. Donald Trump, if nothing else, is willing to listen to people, often, more than some advisers would like but he's willing to do that going forward. An interesting dynamic over the course of the next several days.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCDHOR: And the president also will be on this conference call later in the afternoon with leaders from the Democratic National Committee. Hillary Clinton will be on that call as well. There's a lot of anguish going on there, a lot of anger that they failed.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes. And they did fail. They failed massively. At least in terms of electoral college, in terms of some of were part of the Democratic base. So, they thought. States like Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, going massively for Donald Trump, and handing him the presidency. I think those callers on with Obama and on with Hillary Clinton are going to want to know how does the Democratic Party move forward? What is the new face of the party look like? I mean, in some ways, Hillary Clinton and Obama are old news at this point in terms of who leads the party? This is, in some ways, at this point, a leaderless party. Who emerges? What kind of advice or encouragement can Obama give them, or Hillary Clinton give them? Again, this is a party that is turning the page. It's looking for a new leader. Somebody like Keith Ellison? Martin O'Malley? Goodness, not a call either of these people, Hillary Clinton or President Obama, thought they'd have to make.

BLITZER: A tough decision Democrats have to make. Do they pick somebody more established or go with a new face?

ZEKE MILLER, POLITICAL REPORTER, TIME: If you look at the DNC now, it's kind of a shell of its former several. It has been neglected by this administration. Something folks around the DNC have said for years. Debbie Wassermann Schultz pushed out a sort of, over the summer. Needs a leader. And the question is, is the Republican National Committee now a model? Nobody will say said Reince Priebus is a great messenger but he is a good technocrat. He ran the party very well. You win, you're a genius, obviously. They did a lot of things right. They learned from mistakes and moved forward from that.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: He got Donald Trump elected.

MILLER: Yeah.

BORGER: His "get out the vote" movement, his analytics that actually worked for Trump, and got him elected. And I would think Trump would have had a harder time getting elected if it weren't for Reince Priebus's planning.

HENDERSON: Also raises the question, is there an outsider, right, party. No one thought Donald Trump. You thought Jeb Bush, Kasich or someone. Someone no one is thinking of at this point and not the standard people, like Corey Booker, someone like that.

MATTINGLY: To that point, what everybody is saying, there are systemic problems in the Democratic Party right now covered up by President Obama in 2008 and President Obama in 2012. Look at 2010, 2014, 2016, governors' races, state legislature legislatures, House, Senate, the party decimated. This idea, difficult questions that need to be answered. Pathways forward. There are real problems inside the Democratic Party and they need a path forward that starts that.

BLITZER: All right. Hold your thought a moment.

I want to remind viewers, six days since the election, but not everything is settled. The electoral map as it stands, 290 electoral votes for Donald Trump, 232 for Hillary Clinton. Still that little piece of yellow in the middle there. That's Michigan. Trump leads there by a slim margin, a little over 10,000 votes. CNN has not projected a winner in that race. Still counting votes in Michigan. They've finished elsewhere.

Here's the popular vote. Interesting Hillary Clinton leads President- elect Trump by more than 600,000 votes. 47.8 percent for Hillary Clinton, 47.3 percent for Donald Trump. Very close Hillary Clinton ahead in the popular vote. They still resuming, haven't finished, all of the popular vote count. We'll see what the final result once it's in.

Now that Donald Trump will become the next president of the United States, is Paul Ryan guaranteed to be the next speaker of the House? We'll ask our next guest, Congressman, Mark Meadows, a Republican from North Carolina, a member of the House Freedom Caucus. You see him there. He'll join us live from Capitol Hill, right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:38:43] BLITZER: The U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate are back in session starting today with plenty on the agenda during this lame-duck session. Among items this week, deciding the future of the House leadership, including the speaker, Paul Ryan.

A North Carolina Republican Congressman, Mark Meadows, joins us, from Capitol Hill, a member of the conservative Freedom Caucus.

Congressman, thanks for joining us.

REP. MARK MEADOWS, (R), NORTH CAROLINA: Wolf, great to be back. Thanks so much.

BLITZER: Where do you stand, members of your caucus, as far as Paul Ryan continuing on as speaker of the House?

MEADOWS: You know, I think this came in roaring like a lion. It's going to go out as gentle as a lamb. I think really Paul Ryan is going to end up running for speaker, unopposed. He'll have the vast majority of the Republican Congress, the vast majority of the House Freedom Caucus, because the focus is really not on the speaker's race any longer. It's on the American people and making sure that we actually take Washington, D.C., back, give it back to its rightful owner, the American people, and they're more focused on the first 100 days. What we're doing in the Freedom Caucus, we met last night, again today, on how to make sure that that first 100 days is the most productive in modern history.

BLITZER: What's your reaction to Reince Priebus, the Republican Party chairman, emerging now as the White House chief of staff under the new president?

[13:40:01] MEADOWS: You know, I would not only applaud that, but I know both Mr. Priebus and Mr. Bannon both, and have heard them talk about one another privately when the other one wasn't there. They both have been very complementary of the other. Obviously, it was a team that came together that produced unbelievable results. And so, I'm glad to have them both in the White House. And I think that what we'll be able to do is not only hit the ground running but hit it in a sprint.

BLITZER: Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader of the minority in the House, issued a tough statement on Steve Bannon, who is going to be top strategist, senior counselor to the president, quote, "Bringing Steve Bannon to the White House is an alarming signal that President- elect Trump remains committed to the hateful and divisive installation defined his campaign. There must be no sugar coating the reality that a white nationalist has been named chief strategist for the Trump administration."

I'm anxious to get your reaction to what Pelosi now says.

MEADOWS: Well, that's not a surprise coming from Nancy Pelosi, Wolf. I can tell you it's a mischaracterization of who he is. I've been able to spend time with Steve Bannon in private. He's not only a quiet counselor, but someone that has been consistent in trying to make sure that we actually rebuild urban areas. He campaigned and advised a number of people, that campaigned in western North Carolina in a very rural area where it doesn't get you votes. It's that consistent message that has made him a really chosen confidant of President-elect Trump. But ultimately, it is going to be Donald Trump who makes these decisions and we seem to be putting a whole lot of emphasis on those people around him. Certainly, they have influence, but President-elect Trump speaks for himself, and he'll be a great leader.

BLITZER: You heard on the "60 Minutes" interview last night Donald Trump saying that same-sex marriage, gay marriage is now settled law. It's the law of the land, and it's not going to be changed. Are you OK with that?

MEADOWS: You know, I think what a lot of people see in that, Wolf, and when we look at that, a lot of people will disagree with that. We saw actually laws generate from the halls of Congress, not from the courts, or at least that's the way our founding fathers set it up. We might have a difference in what settled law means, really what it was with Donald Trump hitting on that was the other things we are consistent with, securing our borders, a strong national defense, actually defeating ISIS and national security, and really jobs for all Americans. So, when we -- I thought he did a great job. The entire family did a great job last night in the way they projected the real part hoot they were.

BLITZER: You disagree with him on the issue of gay marriage? Is that what I'm hearing?

MEADOWS: It's not as much disagreeing with him, it's disagreeing with him that it is set of law. Yes, I disagree with that. I don't believe that's settled law. I believe it's going to take both the states and halls of Congress to weigh in on that. But certainly, as we look at that, there is a Supreme Court precedence, what he was referring to, and certainly he acknowledged that in a correct way.

BLITZER: Congressman Meadows, as usual, thanks for joining us.

MEADOWS: Wolf, great to be with you. Thanks so much.

BLITZER: Thank you.

Donald Trump has had a few so-called run-ins with the news media over the course of the campaign. This weekend, the president-elect took to Twitter to bash "The New York Times." Is it a sign of things to come? We'll discuss that and more right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:47:24] BLITZER: President-elect Donald Trump is blasting "The New York Times" in another Twitter storm. Trump re-ignited the feud Sunday tweeting this, "Wow, 'The New York Times' is losing thousands of subscribers because of their poor and highly inaccurate coverage of the Trump phenomena. " That was followed by two other messages criticizing "The New York Times."

Days earlier, said he would be more restrained on social media. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not saying I love it, but it does get the word out. When you give me a bad story, or when you give me an inaccurate story, or when somebody other than you and another network or whatever, because, of course, CBS would nerve do a thing like that, right, I have a method of fighting back. That's very tough.

LESLEY STAHL, CO-HOST, 60 MINUTES: You're going to do that as president?

TRUMP: I'm going to be very restrained if I use it at all. I'm going to be very restrained. I find it tremendous. It's a modern form of communication. There should be nothing you should be ashamed of. It's -- it's where it's at.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Joining us now, the president of the White House Correspondents Association, Jeff Mason, and he's the White House correspondent for the Reuters News Agency.

Jeff, thanks for joining us.

JEFF MASON, PRESIDENT, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS ASSOCIATION & WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, REUTERS: My pleasure, Wolf.

BLITZER: Talk about the problems. You represent the news media in dealing with this incoming administration. We know you've had a few since he became president-elect?

MASON: Yes. The biggest problem now is that we don't have a press pool, what we call a protective pool, traveling with the president- elect. We expect that there should be one in place. Should have been one in place, frankly, when Donald Trump was the Republican presidential candidate. The fact that is not in place now following him, what he's doing, traveling within New York or outside of New York, is a problem.

BLITZER: As traditionally, that's always been the case. Tell us why it's important that the president-elect of the United States, certainly the president of the United States, always have a small group of journalists there watching and observing?

MASON: Important because news can happen at any time. New can happen when planned and when not planned. The press needs to be there in case the president-elect has statement to make and in case something happens in the world or in case something happens to the president- elect. It's important to have that, to fulfill that role, to keep the American public and the world informed about what he's doing.

BLITZER: And so where does it stand now? Your discussions, as you're the president of the White House correspondents, I assume you're dealing with officials in the incomes Trump administration to make sure that protective pool is always traveling with the president on Air Force One, in those motorcades, because the press really is the representative, the eyes and ears of the American people. The American people want to know what's going on.

MASON: Absolutely. Right now, the Correspondents Association has formed a pool that's at Trump Tower and ready to be aware of any movements outside of Trump Tower. We have been in touch with the Trump transition team. They have given us assurances he will respect a White House pool, a traditional pool. Right now, we're waiting for that to be set up.

[13:50:26] BLITZER: The pool is usually some trip (ph) reporters and some representatives of the TV networks. There's always one representative from all the TV networks with the camera crew on the scene.

MASON: That's right. The point of the pool is you can't get the entire White House press corps into every event the president or president-elect has. We have members from the print press, the wires, television, still photographers and radio.

BLITZER: If Donald Trump were to come to the White House tomorrow to meet with the president, the outgoing president of the United States, would there be a pool on his plane?

MASON: Right now, there would not be a pool on his plane, but we would like to have one. We insist on having one and that's top and important criteria for us.

BLITZER: Jeff Mason, of Reuters, the president of the White House Correspondents Association, thanks for all the good work you're doing.

MASON: My pleasure.

I'm a little biased, because, like you, I'm a former White House correspondent and I covered seven years of White House. There was always a protective pool covering the president.

MASON: It's a First Amendment thing.

BLITZER: Very important, indeed.

All right, thanks very much.

MASON: Sure.

BLITZER: Terrified residents inside Aleppo, Syria, are told to flee or be prepared to die. Who sent the ominous message? Coming up, we'll go live to the region. We'll take a quick break, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:55:44] BLITZER: We now know the names of two of the four Americans killed in Afghanistan over the weekend. Sergeant John Perry, from California; Sergeant First Class Tyler Iubelt were killed Saturday. We don't have pictures yet. The two soldiers, along with to American military contractors, died from a suicide bombing at Bagram Airfield. The explosion also wounded 16 other U.S. servicemembers and one Polish soldier participating in the NATO mission. The Taliban is claiming responsibility.

The deaths come as the war on terror in the Middle East rages on. In Iraq, ISIS killed six people in a suicide bombing in an effort to keep control of Mosul. Authorities managed to thwart five other suicide attacks.

People living in war-torn Syria are now dealing with the aftermath of a very dangerous ultimatum, leave Aleppo in 24 hours or be bombed alongside rebel forces. The text message was likely sent by the Syrian government.

Our international correspondent, Will Ripley, is joining us now.

Those 24 hours are up, Will. Based on everything you're hearing, you're seeing, what's happening now?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We've been talking to people inside eastern Aleppo, Wolf, where a quarter of a million civilians and some 8,000 rebels are surrounded by the Syrian regime. There's also a Russian flotilla war ships just off the Syrian coast to support what is expected to be perhaps a final push on this rebel-held area of Aleppo. It could be a very difficult situation for the people who are still inside that city. There's been a month-long humanitarian pause. Before that, it was a month of relentless, really horrific bombing. 500 people were killed. There was one week when 96 children died in a single week during that bombing onslaught. And citizens have been told to prepare for the same, for these strategically focused bombing attacks. But CNN's own reporting from inside Aleppo has shown sometimes those bombs hits marketplaces, they've hit hospitals and even schools. So, people are bracing themselves for the worse, waiting for what potentially might come as the regime makes this push.

They're also doing, Wolf tactics similar to what they did in the suburbs of Damascus, surrounding entirely with ground forces the rebel-held area, and then they start bombing the area. They don't allow food, weapons or medicine to get in, and they send a message to the people saying, either you starve to death, we'll put you on buses and move you somewhere else, perhaps to another rebel-held area. It's a successful tactic, but criticized by the U.N. and others as being horrible in terms of human rights with the number of civilian casualties.

People are running out of food. The last U.N. aid supplies were delivered in July. They handed out the last of the rations last week. Winter is coming, Wolf, so people won't be able to grow the vegetables they been using to survive because the food prices are so expensive. One two-pound pieces of meat is going for $40. Most people can't afford that. They can't afford to eat.

BLITZER: As far as Iraq is concerned, ISIS is apparently digging new trenches, we're told, building wall, creating barriers on the major roads to keep Iraqi forces, backed by U.S. advisers, from taking Mosul, the second-largest city. What are you hearing?

RIPLEY: The progress has slowed significantly in the two weeks or so since those Iraqi counterterrorism forces punched into the eastern side of Mosul. We know ISIS has built a very elaborate underground tunnel network. They're using decoys, putting white flags over their weaponry and building huge banks over the Tigris River, including artillery. This is a city ISIS knows very well. They know the tunnels. They know their attack plan. You saw when Arwa was caught in that warfare, it's a house-to-house battle. These ISIS fighters have an advantage in the sense that they've been strategically building up this city like a fortress, like in Raqqa in Syria as well. It will be tough, slow going for these troops as they move through, facing suicide car bombing attacks and those ISIS militants willing to dye to try to fight back.

BLITZER: Who knows how many innocent civilians will wind up dead and severely injured in the process.

Will Ripley, thanks for that report.

That's it for me. To all of our viewers, thanks for watching. I'll be back at 5:00 p.m. eastern in "The Situation Room."

For our international viewers, "Amanpour" is next.

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

[14:00:10] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Wolf, thank you so much.

Good to be with you on this Monday.