does he trust mitt romney to be mitt romney and which mitt romney? the one that dumps on him when he's down or the one that kisses him when he's up? you can always be nice to a guy who was just elected president but when he looked like he was losing he dumped all over him. why does mr. trump look like he's looking at the real mitt romney. why does he trust the guy who's all dressed up, looks nice, he behaved nice, he's memorized the right things to say. it's going to be groundhog day saying all the right things to win the love of donald trump, doesn't he know he just wants the job and that's how he's behaving this way? >> well, look in politics and especially in campaigns you have -- there's a little bit of political theater that goes into it and in all fairness the president-elect was critical of governor romney at various point s. but now they've had two closed doors meeting. there are several folks under consideration so we don't know who the president-elect will choose but these closed-door meetings and knowing each other is critical and we have

>> for mitt romney's perspective and trump lost mitt romney saw himself as elder statesman and come in and fix the party. that didn't happen so he is looking now at the possibilities. he is 69. he is not going to reason for president again. he has to look at where his future is in this party of which donald trump is now the leader. >> he doesn't get it, does he think this has been a successful moment for him? >> certainly been embarrassing for him. he's not going to win an office again unless he nominated to one. for him maybe he sees it as i can't lose. i've got to basically make myself viable again so it's a little bit of rehabilitation for himself in that he can now say, look. i got along with donald trump and respect what he did and he is the leader of us all. >> michael cranish, thank you for coming in. >> nice to have me. >> one color example of how to make things so much simpler has made them so much more implicated. that is coming up. go, go! [ rock music playing ] have fun with your replaced windows. run away! [ grunts ] leave him! leave him! [ music continues ] brick and mort

the election and romney after trump won in tonights edition of whiplash. the bullies, the greed, the showing off, the massageny, the on surd third grade thee ya tricks. >> i've been impress bid what i've seen. >> if donald trump's plans were implemented the country would sink into prolonged recession. and he continues with a message of inclusion and bringing people together. and his vision is something obviously connected with the american people in a you say wait, wait, wait. isn't highway huge business success? doesn't he know what he's talking about? no. he isn't and no he doesn't. a business genius he is not. all of those things combined give me increasing hope that president elect trump is the man who can lead us to a better future. >> we still don't know who paid for dinner. >> it's awkward because we do know some trump supporters don't like romney getting his attention. they remember all the ways he lost. >> there are a lot of reasons not to elect me. >> he had overconfident managers and pollsters, ground game and no biographical ads, hidden camera

if in fact he was fine with romney and romney had a pretty different view it would undermine the idea that he was searching for a russia stooge. we don't know. maybe that was a factor. >> jamie, what have you heard about the idea that romney and trump actually liked each other, in these meetings? do we know how they actually got along? >> they apparently -- and maybe this is the biggest surprise. they really apparently did get along. one person said to me, you know, mitt made it hard on trump because he surprised him. and when they came out of that dinner that we saw, i am told that trump said to people, you know, i really like him. as if he was surprised. but everything else i have been told was that, when romney went into this, he knew, as someone said, that this was going to be a knife fight, it was not guaranteed, but in his mind he was treated fairly, with respect, and that he was not being paraded because trump wanted to get him back for this, that he was in serious contention throughout. >> it was interesting, because when romney came out of that dinner out of trump hotel, the

does he trust mitt romney to be mitt romney? which one? the one who dumps on him when he's down or kisses up when he's up. look what he looked like when he was losing. he dumped all over him. why does mr. trump believe he is looking at the real mitt romney now? why did you think he trust this guy who is showing up at the audition? he is behaving nice. he has memorized the right things to say. it is like ground hog day. saying all the right things to win the love of donald trump. doesn't he know he just wants the job? pts why he behaving this way. >> there is always a little political theater. in all fairness, the president-elect was critical of governor romney over various points. again, as i said a moment ago, in addition to governor romney there are other folks under consideration. we don't know yet who the president-elect will choose. these closed door meetings. we'll have confidence that the president-elect is going to fick right person here. >> no matter what he said, no matter how outrageous and how much people criticized it. he wasn

>> romney is somebody you and i both oppose. i've watched the president-elect. he has expanded the number of people he's looking at. he has a very serious approach to finding the right secretary of state. if he ends up picking romney, which i hope he doesn't, but if he does, i'll support him. i think the president-elect is allowed to have the cabinet he thinks will help him best, but given the people he's interviewing, given the range of people he's brought in, i don't get a sense he's rushing to pick mitt romney. i get a sense he's looking for an alternative, and he's found first rate people who i think would be dramatically better as secretary of state. we'll see what he does. by the way, i like the fact that he's being disciplined and calm and doing it in a very serious way. >> all right. now, do you have an official role with president-elect trump? >> i'm a vice chairman of the transitionf that counts. >> no. i meant for when he becomes president on january 20th, and you knew exactly what i meant when you answered that. >> no, i didn't. >> yes, you did. i've

the romney people simply don't know and it makes a lot of people who love romney very uncomfortable to see him out there in this position but he would still take the job because he thinks he can soften trump for the world. >> former speaker gingrich is saying he's happy to say another and be a consultant from time to time but his speaking fee is raised because he has unique insights, we should pay him more. i don't know if mr. trump thinks it's helpful what he said about mitt romney but is that helpful to donald trump that i thought you were going to drain the swamp and now newt gingrich is cashing in? >> trump can make the case that he's bringing in these people to work for him on his agenda. maybe he might be able to get away with it. we're hearing piecemeal from trump's supporters about how they feel about the lack of draining from the swamp and many are like, we're give him a pass for now as long as he goes to washington and does what he should he would do. people gave him the benefit of the doubt on these issues. >> which way does the unemployment rate go, the growth rate. >> and

he matches the qualities trump likes in romney. he has a certain stature and gravitas and can travel the world with the authority of a world with the authority of a president. and then tillerson is seen as someone who carries himself in a similar way and i think when he came to meet with trump this week at trump tower, he was very impressive and they had a good conversation. that is what people are saying. those are the qualities trump is looking for in a diplomat. it is at this point a political calculation of whether he goes with romney, who is more of the party insider, at the risk of alienating his loyal base and advisors, or going with someone new like tillerson. charlie: is there pushed back because he praises the president? philip: not within the transition team that i have heard of. i think a lot of his voters are trying to give him the benefit of the doubt here. it is one thing to have a meeting with al gore because your daughter tried to set up a meeting and he listened to what the guy has to say. it is another thing to c

, i'm for romney. he has spent more than enough time talking with with mitt, and he accepted the call from taiwan, inmitt will understand trump is his own leader in important policy, and he's looking for somebody to be his secretary of state's, not the state department's. if he concludes romney can do patient way he's gone about this. he didn't jump in for romney. he didn't jump in against him. he hasn't jumped in for julian giuliani. and i can say, as trust as i've been in public, very aggressive deliberately about mitt, i have gotten no blowback from anybody, including reince. there's a sense of you're allowed to have your own opinion. this is like "the apprentice." when you get to the decision, let's all be on the same team, let's have an opinion. >> dickerson: the tv, what's more important, something you tell him in person or something on tv? >> something you tell him on tv. on occasion it helps to say that on tv. >> dickerson: it seems like some people, kellyanne conway, are sending him messages t

, a different appreciation of donald trump of mitt romney. just as donald trump has a different appreciation now of the current president, barack obama. charlie, i attended more than 70 trump rallies. there was not one scintilla of appreciation of barack obama the president, the man or american figure in history. donald trump now has all three of those things, a deep appreciation of barack obama the president, the man and as a figure in american history. so there is the potential of evolution with lect trump. he -- with president-elect trump. he's evolved with mitt romney. these are serious conversations. mitt romney is in the final two of an exhausting, ever expanding list of potential secretaries of state, and if he lands it, it will be among one of the most fascinating stories of the trump transition. >> rose: so much was said about temperament and being fit for the presidency, yet, with respect to romney, with respect to obama, the president-elect is reflecting a very adult behavior. >> it's an adult behavior but it's also a behavior i wo

people like mitt romney. i don't think you could find somebody that said worse things about donald trump than mitt romney and looks like he gave him a serious look for secretary of state. and others, he's had a parade of people you know he doesn't agree with. leonardo dicaprio? >> al gore. >> right. he had them in there. the tech meeting yesterday, all those people, they didn't vote for donald trump. peter thiel has been basically thrown out of silicon valley because he got behind trump early, but he met with them. i think it speaks to one piece of donald trump people worry about which is can he be the magnanimous person we've heard about. he was rough-and-tumble in the campaign, which as he put it was a nasty business and the other side of donald trump, he can be kind and welcoming and open-minded. if he feels he's in a fight, that's not the mode he's in. >> interesting, megyn, i come to someone like you said you would not support him along the way. said you would not vote for donald trump. when you dig deep

mitt romney has made his career in the private sector. i think there's a great deal of hypocrisy there. lastly, all the trump supporters have gone out and said you need to unify behind the nominee, get behind trump and that's exactly what mitt romney is doing. so you can't have it both ways. you should just be happy that mitt romney has sucked it up and has shown a willingness to help regardless of whether he gets the position or not. that's what donald trump needs to do if he should be successful and i'm glad donald trump is not repeating the ridiculous stuff that newt gingrich is saying. >> little curveball here. there's breaking news. we just learned from the trump transition call that donald trump tomorrow is going to meet with democratic senator heidi highcamp of north dakota, a conservative democrat from a state that is now a republican state. she's sitting down with the president-elect tomorrow and manu raju, our reporter on the hill, just sent a statement from her. it says i appreciate the president-elect inviting me for a meeting

what happened with mitt romney? >> it seems like mitt romney was brought in as a means of trying to coalesce the republican party. after a very bruising primary and very bruising election overall. mitt romney was very vocally opposed to donald trump as the candidate. and bringing in myth showed that donald trump was willing to extend his hand to those who were vociferously against trump in the white house. they seem to realize they would have had it great with mitt, and mitt is a moderate guy. if nothing else, at least mitt romney brings that to the table. some republicans are easier for democrats to stomach than others. they shouldn't necessarily take the dial to 11 every time. >> the cia reported that russian interference in the u.s. election was intended to help donald trump win the election. donald trump rejects that, calling it ridiculous. matthew you are a expert in russia and its tactics in the world. is that a likely scenario, do you think? >> the question i'm wrestling with at this moment, you look at the e

what is next for mitt romney. he was one of donald trump's top critics and could he ever credibly ever criticize donald trump again? now over to wall street with the dow closer to the 20,000 mark. here's the cnbc market wrap. >> stocks closed higher as they kept their eye on the fed meeting as well. the dowing 115 points and closing in on the 20,000 milestone. contributing the most gapes. the s&p inching up and the nasdaq rising 51 points. that's it from first in business worldwide. [tires screech] [car horn beeps] [texting keystrokes] all finished.umm... you wouldn't want your painter to quit part way. i think you missed a spot. so when it comes to pain relievers, why put up with just part of a day? aleve, live whole not part. painter: you want this color over the whole house? . >>> he won and is entitled to his appointments, but he is also responsible to do so in a way that is worthy of the positions he is appointing people to. >> that is house democratic leader nancy pelosi earlier today criticizing president-e

, if trump chooses romney, romney will know in no uncertain terms that trump put himself on the line for him and he better be loyal and i think the whole public kerfuffle over it is something that he doesn't mind because it let's romney know. if he paraded him out there and we know that romney ate crow publicly and a lot of romney folks i talked to it was kind of hard for them to watch that but they consider romney a patriot and would like him to have the job. but if he doesn't pick romney now after all of this, he could look a little vengeful. and romney could look a little dumb or humiliated, right? i mean, the stakes are now very high for both of them at this point. >> kirsten, donald trump announced his pick for defense -- did you guys want to add to that? >> i think it's all there. >> i think that's the best theory i've heard where donald trump doesn't seem like a total jerk in this situation. i think the way he's been treating romney has not been great and the way these people have been treating romney has been pretty bad. >> he also announced -- he's a showman -- he announced

but, you know he listens to these people. >> we are talking about mitt romney, for example, mitt romney is so critical of the muslim ban. how are they going to work out. he would never take the job because he morally opposed it. >> exactly. >> if you call it something else. it is really a muslim ban. >> he's not hiding it. he's doing it by skills set. the one thing all these people have in common, they're not somebody that's going to say yes, sir. >> why would he considered a guy like huntsman and took the job and ran against obama for re-election, you have to have some measure of loyalty or history of loyalty. you don't run against the guy who gave you fantastic post. >> there is a surprise number of reasons, one is he's moderate. the conservative is not going to say great, john. >> if you say china is everything right now. nobody knows china better than jon. >> and the mission on taiwan. he was the ambassador of china. >> as you point out the list of people who are not critical of donald trump. >> lets go to doctor carson. he's a likable person. he made controversial statements about

another critic was in new york, mitt romney, but romney steering clear of trump tower today. could his stock be dropping with the president-elect? >>> also on the agenda, saying goodbye. >> i didn't make it in life because of my athletic prowess. i didn't make it because of my good looks. i didn't make it because i'm a genius. i made it because i worked hard. >> a farewell ceremony getting underway right now for retiring senate democratic leader harry reid, and on tap to speak, hillary clinton. this will be her second public appearance since her stunning defeat. that will be any minute from now. we will have it for you live. >>> rounding out our agenda right now, sad news we are just learning about in the last few minutes. the last survivor of the original mercury 7 astronauts. john glenn, the first american to orbit the earth, also a great politician in his own right. he ran for president once. well, he has passed away at the age of 95. we begin this afternoon on that story. former senator, astronaut, american hero john glenn passing away. again, this news coming in in just

governor romney never did that. he criticized him. held multiple press conferences talking bad about him on national television before the national audience and then wanted to become secretary of state. >> his campaign manager did the same thing, criticized him before being his campaign manager. >> but the point is after that she became his campaign manager and supported him publicly. governor romney never had a time frame where he came out and said i support him, he should be the president, he is qualified. he never did that. he criticized him and then said i want to be secretary of state or was considered for secretary of state and i think he needed to apologize and set the record straight because he never came out and supported him and said this man is someone i believe in. >> i'm sorry. i thought we were supposed to choose secretaries of state based on who would do the best job as secretary of state not whether someone is willing to publicly humiliate themselves for the cardinal sin of having criticized donald trump. mitt romney d

if he concludes romney can do the job best, i'm for romney. what i'm impressed with is the he didn't jump in for romney. he didn't jump in against him. he hasn't jumped in for julian giuliani. and i can say, as trust as i've been in public, very aggressive deliberately about mitt, i have gotten no blowback from anybody, including reince. there's a sense of you're allowed to have your own opinion. this is like "the apprentice." when you get to the decision, let's all be on the same team, but until that opinion let's have an opinion. >> dickerson: the tv, what's more important, something you tell him in person or something on tv? >> something you tell him on tv. on occasion it helps to say that on tv. >> dickerson: it seems like some people, kellyanne conway, are sending him messages through tv or maybe we've got that wrong. >> dickerson: you're also communicating to the millions and millions of people. i've been out doing book people walk up to us routinely and say, "i don't want mitt." well, those people deserve to know there is a substantial

mitt romney. you know him well. why does he want this job so badly to be part of the trump administration, given all of the bad blood and attacks coming from trump's inner circle? >> well, again, i think his interest is driven by a sense of duty. i think that he believes that he has insights to offer on a lot of the foreign policy and national security challenges that this administration will face and that he can offer some experience and wisdom in that regard and he's pledged, like many others interested in his cabinet, to help this president-elect enact his agenda and that would be, again, a guiding force for him as well as a potential secretary of state. diverse opinions is not new but what's new is it's being aired publicly. running campaigns and being criticized as a governor and candidate, i don't think it affects him at all and it's a reflection of the many diverse opinions that president-elect trump has in his inner circle. >> it's not new but this is not typical. >> this is not typical at

why is he meeting with mitt romney? why is he meeting with some of the other people that he's been meeting with? >> look -- >> rahm emanuel, dead fish. he knows they are not his friends? he understands that? >> the president-elect is not -- >> he's smart. >> he is incredibly smart. he understands that what these folks are about. but he also is somebody who is trying to show america that he wants to be president of all of the people. something that he -- >> okay, i can accept that. that's smart. >> having these meetings is incredibly smart to show the american people he will take guidance and advice. whether or not he take the advice and adheres to the advice, he will at least listen from a lot of wide ranging voices and i think that those are some of them. >> to me, it is all about the agenda. there's no point in winning an election if you're not going to advance the agenda. the agenda is simple. extreme vetting. corporate tax 15%. rep repay triation. health care independence. education back to the state. building the w

now governor romney has made it official for facebook. he has posted this on his own facebook page, "it was an honor to have been considered for secretary of state of our great country. my discussions with president-elect trump have been enjoyable and enlightening. i have very high hopes that he will lead the nation to greater strength, prosperity and peace." this brings to a close a remarkable pageant where mitt romney, who had been so strongly opposed to donald trump and had denounced him in such certain terms during the campaign, was nevertheless paraded back and forth through the lobby of trump's apartment building and propped up in front of the cameras and made to say nice things with donald trump about the expectation that if he did so, it would be with him getting secretary of state. in the end, he got an erasure of his stance against donald trump and no new job. we'll be right back. e shelter, no intention of adopting. he was the very last kennel in the very last row. emaciated. he was skin and bones. usually what you see in negle

>> by first reaction is that governor romney was invited. this isn't something that governor romney sought ougt, d p dinner with donald trump. when newt gingrich dropped out in 2012 and romney became the nominee, newt gingrich said very nice things about governor romney, he offered a lot of good insight, insight that was very valuable for the campaign and i think that insight that governor romney was very grateful for. so i think there are -- there will be criticism throughout this entire process, transitions tend to get like that. but i don't think governor romney worries about it and i don't think the transition folks are procedure eworried about it. in david axelrod, at this point in 2008 when the president-elect was barack obama, how far along was the obama transition because a lot of people are saying this current transition, donald trump's transition, is moving at a much more quick -- at a quicker pace. >> yeah, i think that that is true. and i was one who said early on when people said it wasn't moving fast enough that that was very u

we have gore and romney. trump people have cited this and said but he's not going to be so bad on the environment. he met with gore. he considered romney for secretary of state. but what matters with trump is not what he says, it's what he does. so then he puts in someone who doesn't believe in the epa to run the epa. he puts in a oil executive to run our diplomacy worldwide. he tries to not make it so bad by parading romney around. >> i'm going to trademark paris logic. i love our conversation. thank you. >> any time, my friend. >> thank you to all of you. when we come back, how will donald trump change our policy in syria and will it do anything to stop the carnage? >>> one of the biggest challenges donald trump will face is syria. syrian regime forces have been making a push to reclaim aleppo from rebel forces who have held the city. as the fighting rages multiple sources accuse of mass executions. we have not verified that. let's discuss with a professional international relations and the co-author of isi

we all saw the romney-trump dinner. we heard romney's comments afterwards. there are reports from what you covered today that people audible to the press were saying no romney out loud, chanting it, during the trump event. and at least one other prominent oil company ceo's name was added into the mix today by this news organization. >> indeed. rex tillerson, a ceo of exxon apparently being considered for secretary of state, among those who president-elect trump is going to be meeting with. as well as lee raymond, who is a former ceo. what we're seeing, brian, and what i'm told behind the scenes is that this search and the scope of this search is now expanding, and one of the reasons is because you have this big divide within trump world over romney versus rudy giuliani. rudy giuliani, of course, a hardliner but he's been a loyalist all along. mitt romney, someone who has been an antagonist. we had kellyanne conway sort of publicly campaigning against romney saying he's not fit for secretary of state because he was critical of trump when he was a candidate. t

after all, romney picked paul ryan. romney and paul ryan are best of friend. there is no doubt in my mind there is a connection there where the new chief of staff is interested in repaying him for helping pick him as the vp. >> i lived through jim baker in the reagan white house who had run campaigns against reagan. and came in with the man who had been most close to reagan, ed meese. i watched jim baker cut him up every single day ended up cutting up reagan and bush both. i was there. i watched the disloyal i. i watched the disingenuousness. i think to some extent you will get some of that again and i think it's outrageous. lou: i look forward to talking with you again soon. americans mourning the death of an american hero. john glenn, the first american to orbit the earth died after being hospitalized in his he state of ohio. glenn circled the for nearly five hours in a tiny spaceship. the spaceship friendship 7. that was back in 1962. can you imagine this? in 1998 he made history again when all of s. senator at the age of 77, he became the oldest man to fly

it's interesting on mitt romney, given what mitt romney had not only said about donald trump during the election but also when he was running for president about russia that donald trump would be considering him in such a public way. >> so i think there are two possible interpretations, one which i have to confess is the dominant one, is that this is a very slow, public humiliation of mitt romney. >> really? >> romney has now been able to -- if you look at every appointment he has made, they have been hard core loyalists from the start. >> and loyalty is really important to donald trump. >> he prizes it. the alternative explanation, which i hope might be true, this is a way of reaching out to the establishment and unifying the republican party because, in a sense, mitt romney was the leader of the never trump force and so by bringing him on board, it would be a kind of -- the ultimate act of unifying the party. we'll see which one it is. >> you know, among the people on the short list, david petraeus has been over to see donald trump, bob corker, obviously rudy giuliani. we talked about

i was encouraged when he was talking to mitt romney. that maybe it was an indication he would make this long rumored pivot to be more presidential and he would be broadening the scope. i was relieved he wasn't going to nominate somebody as erratic as rudy guiliani. i'll be honest, this is a very surprising choice, somebody very much outside the diplomatic community and somebody who's frankly going to be bringing a great deal of baggage into this position. i think it's fascinating these reports he'll be paired with john bolton. john bolton is very aggressive and very very outspoken. it will be interesting to see how that particular marriage will work. >> i will move on quickly, i'm picturing double box, as we sane the news business, with a picture of mitt romney and rex tillerson, they're just so different, i'm baffled. >> it is. we will find out, i suppose, over the next couple of weeks, what attracted donald trump to this particular choice. obviously, this is the choice that would be most favored by the kremlin, by cell phovladimi and

, or in romney's case, a famous republican who's just not going to end up. all the names that john said, all the big names aren't really showing up in the administration. >> interesting. douglas, this is for you, as well. donald trump's pick for ambassador to china is also being well received, given his tough talk on china, and his controversial taiwan call. president george h.w. bush tweeted this and put it up, essentially saying the bilateral relationship is critical to peace in the 21st century and president-elect trump is wise to name terry branstad as ambassador. so far squr, conservatives are with trump's pick? >> very happy. >> he's going with the real conservative lineup. picking someone like scott pruitt at epa, after a day before meeting leonardo dicaprio, and before that, al gore, and just picking a climate denier. i mean, that's a dream for the oil and gas industry. i think what trump's going to try to do, though, out of the gate is get jobs and manufacturing back to the midwest and the south, but also do offshore drilling, money for states, and

what happened with mitt romney? >> it seems like mitt romney was brought in as a means of trying to coalesce the republican party. he was opposed to donald trump as the candidate, and bringing in mitt showed that donald was willing to extend his hand to those who were vociferous ly against trump in the white house. they seem to realize they would have had it great with mitt, and mitt is a moderate guy. if nothing else, at least mitt romney brings that to the table. some republicans are easier for democrats to stomach than others. they shouldn't necessarily take the dial to 11 every time. >> russian interference in the u.s. election was intended to help donald trump in the election. donald trump calls that ridiculous. is that a likely scenario? >> the question i'm wrestling with at this moment, you look at the effect that this hack has had in particular, the argument that it may have been intended to help trump, it's hemming trump in politically, it's weakening his hand, he has less political capital, in one area esp

or is trump merely toying with romney. at least "saturday night live" has cast their vote for how the trump/romney drama will work out. >> this isn't going to work is it? >> i don't think so. >> the thing is it's possible donald trump already has what he needs out of this, which is the appearance of a unified republican party, the blessing of people who are more mainstream republicans who have kept him at arm's length saying well if mitt romney can come sit at the table with him maybe i can too. it did produce i think erin probably the most uncomfortable looking photograph of the entire election season. >> yes indeed. already. thank you very much. wow it is going to be amazing to see what happens with that decision. next jeanne moos on the man who whose 50-year-old invention still sells in the millions every day. ...and his pants ignited into flames, causing him to stop, drop and roll. luckily jack recently had geico help him with renters insurance. because all his belongings went up in flames. jack got full replacement an

david, many of the so-called never trumpers looked to romney as a role model. now it seems romney is betting his political career on trump picking him as secretary of state is. that risk for his legacy? >> he was a role model when he gave that speech saying trump's brand of republicanism was not romney's brand of republicanism and detailed why he thought trump was a poor representative of the party. but now he's clearly signaling by his actions that the election is over and he feels like he can serve. the one place he risks his legacy is in the words that he says upon accepting that. the other night when he spoke, as gloria mentioned, after having had dinner with donald trump and his meeting, the one word that jumped out for me, wolf, is he said that trump was going forward in a spirit of inclusion. i thought that was a little strange of a word to use, because so far at least, i don't think president-elect trump has really given a full throated statement that he wants to be an inclusive president for all americans. >> everybody, stick around. we have more to di

policy experience romney just like trump he said he thinks romney looks the part. i think that is really important to mr. trump. romney has worked around the world in business he understands the art of the deal. looks like mr. trump is probably going toward picking people who know how to negotiate and deals. >> america's mayor rudy giuliani we heard a lot about him at the beginning, was a loyal trump surrogate throughout the trump campaign, very vocal. perhaps a little too vocal. he may have upset mr. trump a little bit by speaking about the secretary of state nomination just a little too early? >> rudy giuliani is probably the grass-roots favorite for this job. he was a loyal surrogate in the campaign. many people like chris christie actually dropped off the surrogate. beyond the loyalty factor, beyond the factor that the grass-roots love him, rudy giuliani has in my opinion the most crucial quality of everyone we talk about today. he has the president's ear. i served in two embassies overseas, what people are looking for in foreign countries when they are talking

what do you think about mitt romney? >> he certainly has a great kdel of experience and broad across the country but i think bob corker has greater experience in foreign policy. >> a new name that has emerged, rex tillerson who once represented exxon mobile has a relationship with putin. do you know anything about him? how would you deal with him? is. >> i don't. here's what i plan to do. i'm -- >> in the end you have to vote? >> i do. but i'm going to go to the hearings even though i'm not on the committees just to listen. i'll sit and listen because i want to hear the answer to the question. that's how i'm going to make my call. >> what do you think of the picks so far? >> i think you start -- again, i want to qualify and wait and listen to the hearings, to the questions. i will have an opportunity to talk to many of them one on one. general mattis and general kelly, i know from appearances before the armed services committee. well respected in the field. everything i hear about them is positive. and my own personal ex

, if trump chooses romney, romney will know in no uncertain terms that trump put himself on the line for him and he better be loyal and i think the whole public kerfuffle over it is something that he doesn't mind because it let's romney know. if he paraded him out there and we know that romney ate crow publicly and a lot of romney folks i talked to it was kind of hard for them to watch that but they consider romney a patriot and would like him to have the job. but if he doesn't pick romney now after all of this, he could look a little vengeful. and romney could look a little dumb or humiliated, right? i mean, the stakes are now very high for both of them at this point. >> kirsten, donald trump announced his pick for defense -- did you guys want to add to that? >> i think it's all there. >> i think that's the best theory i've heard where donald trump doesn't seem like a total jerk in this situation. i think the way he's been treating romney has not been great and the way these people have been treating romney has been pretty bad. >> he also announced -- he's a showman -- he announced

here's romney in march.

and whether or not donald trump ended up picking romney, what he did effectively was put romney in a place where he koulgd not then be in a position to continue to criticize him. so for donald trump, just meeting with mitt romney and having him come in for meetings was really a win for him in terms of kind of signaling that he has bridged or made bridges to those who have been unfavorable to him, that he is putting aside, burying the hatchet and makes romney in a difficult position of criticizing donald trump, particularly since he said that trump did something he could never do, which was win the election. >> because trump can come out and say sore loser, he wanted to be secretary of state and we know he's done that it before and may do it again. thank you so much. >>> happening now, a wintery blast packing heavy snow is making its way east after slamming the northwest. power lines were down with the snow causing highway pileups and thousands of flight cancellations. . let's go to mor began rath ford. how many cancellations and what's it like right now? >> there's already been more

>> i know he's talking to mitt romney. i think romney would be able to fit that. i think there are others he's talking to that would obviously be able to accomplish that, as well. but i think the president needs to understand that if he's going to implement a strong foreign policy, if he's going to take care of our national security, a strong secretary of state is absolutely essential to your ability to protect this country and to advance our interests in the world. >> dickerson: leon panetta, thanks so much for being here. and we'll be right back with our panel. tech wonders, with the geico app you can get roadside assistance, digital id cards... or even file a claim. do that.. yeah, yeah that should work. it's not happening... just try again. uh, i think i found your problem. thanks. hmm... the award-winning geico app. download it today. what's going on? oh hey! ♪ that's it? yeah. ♪ everybody two seconds! ♪ "dear sebastian, after careful consideration of your application, it is with great pleasure that we offer our congratulations on your acceptance..." th

he says, i hit mitt romney, too. now this strikes me as a different -- he is thinking, maybe i have some responsibility in all the bad language and bad blood that flowed back and forth. maybe he is serious about mitt romney. it's not building the expectation beyond the point of dalliance. i'm wondering what's going on. >> all these picks, you hear names. you hear leaks and you have innuendo. this is one that for me it feels like the president-elect is literally the only one who knows at this moment and he doesn't even know at this moment. >> i don't think we quite know. if you look at governor mitt romney aside the fact that they clearly got into words throughout the general election, look, he has picked nikki haley. it wouldn't be surprising if he brings governor romney into the field. governor romney, despite what people think of him, he is qualified for the position. this is a guy who is a governor. he has run an international business. he saved the salt lake winter games. this is a guy who obviously ran for presi