Donald Trump To Rip Off The TPP; TPP's Uncertainty On Trump's Presidency; Trump's War With Media.
CHURCH: A warm welcome back to our viewers all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. I want to update you now on our top stories this hour. Activists say at least 27 people were killed in another day of intense air strikes in eastern Aleppo on Monday. Syrian regime forces have been bombing rebel-held areas relentlessly, killing more than 300 people since last Tuesday. There have been reports of chemical attacks on civilians. Authorities in China are blaming snow, rain and fog for a deadly car pileup. Seventeen people were killed in the 56-vehicle accident on a northern highway. China Xinhua news agency reports 37 people were injured. An official investigation is underway. Donald Trump says he will pull out of negotiations on the Trans- Pacific partnership trade deal once he is president. He made the announcement in a short video outlining his first 100 days in office. The Japanese Prime Minister quickly responded saying the TPP is meaningless without the U.S. involvement. Well, the clock is ticking down to Donald Trump's inauguration in January, and there are still many open positions left in his upcoming administration. CNN's Jim Acosta has the latest on Trump's search for the people who will help to carry out his presidential agenda.</s>JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to the latest episode of presidential apprentice. Donald Trump's cabinet candidates look almost like contestants parading past the cameras, the chance to be a part of the new administration.</s>SCOTT BROWN, FORMER MASSACHUSETTS SENATOR: I'm glad that he called. And he's going to obviously meet other folks and we should know I would think probably after Thanksgiving.</s>ACOSTA: There are transition surprises every day with democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard being floated as a possible United Nations ambassador, and past rival Rick Perry under consideration for energy, not to mention the ultimate cliff hanger, Mitt Romney. Transition sources say the 2012 GOP nominee is a real possibility for secretary of state.</s>TRUMP: Smart enough.</s>ACOSTA: Potentially shifting Rudy Giuliani over to homeland security. Even more unclear is the fate of Chris Christie who met with Trump after bumped from his role leading the transition. Trump has problems looming, like the growing course of white nationalist and neo-Nazis and the self-described alt-right movement who were cheering his election. In an alt-right conference in Washington, one of the movement's leader, Richard Spencer offered this disturbing take on the president-elect catch phrase "Make America Great Again."</s>RICHARD SPENCER, NATIONAL POLICY INSTITUTE PRESIDENT: For us, as Europeans, it is only normal again when we are great again, hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory.</s>ACOSTA: Trump's new chief strategist Steve Bannon is still being pressed on the sometimes racist and anti-Semitic stories featured on his web site Breitbart news. Bannon defended his views to the Wall Street Journal adding, "Breitbart is the most pro-Israel site in the United States of America." Former DNC Chair Howard Dean who is now running to lead the Democratic Party again described Bannon as a Nazi in an interview with the Canadian news outlet.</s>HOWARD DEAN, FORMER VERMONT GOVERNOR: He is a complicated guy. He appoints a reasonable person who is much more conservative than I am but for somebody who can talk to there was chief of staff and then senior adviser is a Nazi.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You called him a Nazi?</s>DEAN: Well, he is anti-Semitic, he's anti-black and he's anti-women.</s>ACOSTA: In response to the alt-right conference the Trump transition team released a statement saying the president-elect denounces racism of any kind. But that statement does not come close to the criticism president-elect had for the cast of Hamilton in its comments for Mike Pence. Jim Acosta, CNN, New York.</s>CHURCH: Along with possible cabinet candidates, leading members of the media also met with Mr. Trump Monday. They included executives and anchors from America's five biggest TV networks including CNN president Jeff Zucker and anchor Wolf Blitzer. Now this comes as concerns increase over how much access the media will get in Trump's incoming administration. And joining us now to talk about this is CNN's senior media correspondent Brian Stelter. Brian, always great to talk with you.</s>BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Thanks.</s>CHURCH: So, what all was achieved in this meeting with the president- elect and where does it leave this question of media access to Mr. Trump and his administration going forward?</s>STELTER: Now these meetings can be pretty useful. You know, from time to time, President Obama and past presidents have had off-the-record sessions with journalists. For example, every year before the state of the union address, the president meets with the big TV anchors before the address, talks to them over a lunch about his plans for the year ahead. This meeting, though, not quite so productive. According to sources who were in the room share there's only unanimously because the media was off-the-record. It was venomous at times with Donald Trump complaining about media coverage of his campaign and now this transition. He singled out NBC and CNN, two of the networks that were in attendance. However, Trump also said he does want to have a working relationship with the press. He recognizes the importance of the press and his aides said there will be a press pool. This has been one of the big issues involving access. When the president or president-elect usually travels anywhere a small group of journalists travel with that person. President-elect Trump say he will have that same arrangement, he will accept a press pool in the future. But the big takeaway is that President-elect Trump is the same as candidate Trump. Still angry at the media, still complaining about the media and we saw that on Twitter later in the day, as well. He commented about all of the coverage of conflicts of interest between his businesses and now running the government. He said the only people that care about that are the "crooked media." So, the same Trump we saw in the primaries and during the election is the same Trump we are seeing today.</s>CHURCH: Interesting. And then over the weekend, Brian, Mr. Trump tweeted about the reception that his V.P. pick Mike Pence received at the Broadway show Hamilton and he also tweeted about not being very happy with his own portrayal on the comedy show Saturday Night Live. Unlike other leaders the president-elect it appears unwilling to accept this level of free speech, how much concern is this causing?</s>STELTER: I think it's taken a while for him to understand that being the president means you are the most criticized person in the country, maybe the most criticized person in the world. But the way you see these stories really depends on the way you see Trump himself. Here's what happened.</s>BRANDON DIXON, HAMILTON CAST: Conversation is not harassment.</s>STELTER: That's Hamilton star Brandon Dixon responding to Donald Trump's twitter fight with the most acclaimed show on Broadway. Trump lashed out of the cast tweeting that they harassed future V.P. Mike Pence. After Dixon delivered this message following Friday's performance with Pence right there in the room.</s>DIXON: We have the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us.</s>STELTER: With the president-elect back in firm control of his Twitter account he's not letting go of any perceived slight calling the cast rude and writing, "The cast and producers of Hamilton, which I hear is highly overrated should immediately apologize to Mike Pence for their terrible behavior."</s>TRUMP: It was very inappropriate.</s>STELTER: And Trump's ire is not just reserved for Hamilton.</s>ALEC BALDWIN, SNL CAST: Google, what is ISIS.</s>STELTER: After SNL portrayed him as in over his head, Trump fired back on Twitter. "It is a totally one-sided biased show, nothing funny at all. Equal time for us." Alec Baldwin who plays Trump responded "equal time, election is over. There is no more equal time. Now you try to be president and people respond. That's pretty much it." Trump's former campaign manager says his fiery tweeting is a nonissue.</s>KELLYANNE CONWAY, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Why do you care? I view that and make a comment, spend five minutes on a tweet, you are assigning malice or you're assigning wrongdoing to him where it doesn't exist. And I think we all should have learned a lesson from the election that that doesn't fly with the voters.</s>STELTER: Some media watchers are worried that Trump's tendency to lash out could over time hurt free speech. Others say a thicker skin would just serve him well.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is going to be made fun of, as he should be, any president will be, and should be and he's got such a thin skin he can't just shrug it off.</s>STELTER: Shrug it off is exactly what Mike Pence did after the stars of Hamilton spoke up.</s>MIKE PENCE, UNITED STATES VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT: I wasn't offended but what was said. I'll leave it to others whether it was the appropriate venue to say it.</s>STELTER: Whether trump can take a cue from his V.P. and tone down his reactions remains to be seen. Rosemary, I think this is the divide in the nutshell. If you are a Trump fan you believe he is sticking up for his vice president, sticking to the elites. But if you are a Trump critic you say why is he grabbing his phone, complaining about a Broadway show? And by the way, the producers of Hamilton would love to have him come see the show. They've told me they have two seats available for him any time even other show has been sold out for a long time.</s>CHURCH: Yes, it will be interesting to see if he takes up that invitation. Brian Stelter, always a pleasure. Thanks so much.</s>STELTER: Thank you.</s>CHURCH: A quick break here. But still to come, Pope Francis makes another move toward inclusion and forgiveness. Ahead, the power he's extending to all Catholic priests.