Disaster Couldn't Put Obama Cabinet Member in Oval Office; Obama's Advice to Trump:  "You can't Do It By Yourself; Obama:  "At My Core, I Think We're Going To Be OK"; Obama Gives Message to Trump In Final News Conference; Obama Refuses to Comment on Inauguration Boycott
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: -- in secure, undisclosed locations, bunkers in some places, all of them within a reasonable distance from Washington.</s>WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Brian Todd reporting. Thanks very much. That's it for me. Thanks for watching. Erin Burnett OutFront starts right now.</s>ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Wolf. OutFront next. The breaking news, President-elect Donald Trump about to arrive here in Washington as the current President says his final public goodbye. Plus our interview with Mike Pence, the Vice President-elect talking inauguration, Russia, and the man he's turning to for advice. And President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush both in a Texas hospital tonight. The very latest on their condition this evening. Let's go OutFront. Good evening. I'm Erin Burnett. And welcome to a special edition of OutFront. We are live in Washington tonight. We begin with the breaking news, President-elect Donald Trump is about to arrive right here in Washington. Less than 48 hours before he's sworn in as the next President of the United States. He's -- it's a significant night. His final flight aboard his own private jet before being president. Of course we know that's the one with the Trump name emblazoned on the side, the T on the tail. The President-elect arriving at Washington's Reagan National Airport soon. Here to kick off a series of lavish inaugural events. Tonight a couple of exclusive dinners, one for Mike Pence, a second honoring his cabinet picks, some deep-pocketed donors at these with donations of up to a million dollars, this as a Trump transition official tells CNN Trump has written his inauguration address draft himself, a draft he says he began working on over the holidays at his Mar-A-Lago state. The changing of the guard is in full force today. President Obama making his final public appearance, the last news conference with several pointed remarks for Donald Trump taking the podium in the White House pressroom defending the role of a free press and the importance of asking tough questions.</s>BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: Having you in this building has made this place work better. It keeps us honest. It makes us work harder. You have made us think about how we are doing what we do and whether or not we're able to deliver on what's been requested by our constituents.</s>BURNETT: The president saying he has had cordial and substantive, those were his exact words, when he talks about his meetings and conversations with Donald Trump. Also weighing in one last time on the question of Israeli/Palestinian relations saying, "Trump will have his own policy, cautioning him, this is volatile stuff." We begin with Michelle Kosinski OutFront at the White House tonight. Michelle, the president trying to cover a lot of ground. I have imagine this was emotional but there were a lot of things he felt he need to say in this last press conference.</s>MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, it was broad, but, no, it wasn't the rollicking last chance, ask whatever you want, good time that at least some of us hoped it would be. Pretty much followed the expected script. It also wasn't hugely sentimental, but it was clear the President wanted to send some strong messages to the incoming administration, starting with right off the bat standing there in front of the White House press corps and lauding it for being essential to democracy itself. President Obama opened his final press conference as President by thanking the press corps, telling them they make the White House work better.</s>OBAMA: You're not supposed to be sycophants, you're supposed to be skeptics, you're supposed to ask me tough questions. America needs you and our democracy needs you.</s>KOSINSKI: And he defended his decision to commute the sentence of Private Chelsea Manning convicted of stealing and leaking sensitive military documents to WikiLeaks.</s>OBAMA: Let's be clear. Chelsea Manning has served a tough prison sentence. You know, I feel very comfortable that justice has been served and that a message has still been sent.</s>KOSINKSI: The president promised that a fundamental democratic principles are undermined in the days ahead he will not remain silent.</s>OBAMA: There's difference between that normal functioning of politics and certain issues or certain moments where I think our core values may be at stake.</s>KOSINKSI: And the president offered up advice he gave to President- elect Trump, cautioning him on who he surrounds himself with.</s>OBAMA: This is something I have told him, that this is a job of such magnitude that you can't do it by yourself. You are enormously reliant on a team.</s>KOSINKSI: As the first black president, President Obama said he expects he won't be the last to lead the nation.</s>OBAMA: I think we're going to see people of merit rise up from every race, faith, corner of this country, because that's America's strength. When we have everybody getting a chance and everybody's on the field, we end up being better.</s>KOSINKSI: And finished this last gathering my expressing his optimism for the future of the country.</s>OBAMA: In my core, I think we're going to be OK. We just have to fight for it, we have to work for it, and not take it for granted and I know that you will help us do that.</s>KOSINKSI: This is the President who's leaving very popular but his intended candidate did not win the election. He ran his historic campaign on hope and change but he ends by saying I think we're going to be OK, we just have to fight for it. I mean, that is not a very optimistic attempt at an optimistic message. But it was also clear he didn't want to be critical as he has been in the past. He kind of framed everything as a sort of warning or advice, and also he wouldn't weigh in at all on all these democrats in congress who are now boycotting the inauguration. There are dozens of them. And even though his administration has weighed in and said they don't think they're harming the smooth transition or contributing to division, this was President Obama's chance to weigh in himself on it, and he just wouldn't comment at all. Erin?</s>BURNETT: All right. Michelle, thank you very much. OutFront now Mark Preston, our Senior Political Analyst, David Gergen, former Presidential Adviser to four presidents, Nia-Malika Henderson, our Senior Political Reporter, David Axelrod, former Senior Adviser to President Obama, Kayleigh McEnany, Conservative Contributor for the Hill, and Michael Nutter, the former Mayor of Philadelphia. Nia, you heard what Michelle just said. His words, I think we're going to be OK. Is that calming or deeply unsettling?</s>NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: You know, I think it was meant to be calming, but in many ways the fact that he felt like he needed to be calming speaks to how unsettled at least half the country is. Certainly the 65 million or so who voted for Hillary Clinton. We're so used to Obama being optimistic often at times when maybe he shouldn't be optimistic. Talki about hope and change, yes, we can, all the slogans of his campaign, the rising sun from his campaign logo and this was such a downgrade I think in terms of his -- in terms of message and in terms of his brand. So, I think for some people it was -- it was unsettling that he's not more buoyant about Donald Trump's presidency and the future of the country.</s>BURNETT: Well, the context here of course, Mark is, the second biggest boycott in modern American history of an inauguration. Only Nixon's second term was bigger and that was about the Vietnam War more than it was about even Richard Nixon. John lewis saying he's an illegitimate president, and the President trying to calm people but it is deeply unsettling in a sense and he think we're going to be OK.</s>MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: No doubt. I mean, looking at more than 50 members, democratic members of congress who are not going to show up, which shows how divided the country is. And as much as we saw President Obama -- excuse - yes, President Obama today show some deference to Donald Trump. He also laid down the gauntlet and he said he's not going away, Erin. He said specifically on a couple of issues that he wouldn't go away when our core values are at stake, and specifically he goes at the idea of a free press and he also goes at the idea of trying to protect those children who were brought here unbeknownst to them and that the U.S. being the only country that they know. And the idea that he told -- and he said that today that he would directly challenge Donald Trump I think was telling.</s>BURNETT: And, you know, David, on that point, he did talk about his conversations with the President-elect. And they were very different than what he said during the campaign, when at one point he said that Trump was uniquely unqualified for the office. It was much kinder and gentler today. Here's how he described the conversations.</s>OBAMA: They are cordial. At times they've been fairly lengthy and they've been substantive. I can't tell you how convincing I've been. I think you'd have to ask him whether I've been convincing or not.</s>BURNETT: Lengthy and substantive.</s>DAVID AXELROD, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA: Yes. Look, I think from the very beginning since the election the President has tried to do for Donald Trump what George W. Bush did for him which is to provide an orderly transfer, to be helpful where he can be helpful and where his people can be helpful. And I think in this press conference he was trying to be helpful as well. Some of the advice that he offered there is good advice for President, David Gergen served I think half the presidents in our history.</s>BURNETT: In our history.</s>AXELROD: He knows -- he knows the -- he knows this but the notion you can't do it alone, that you have to rely on your team and that's important.</s>BURNETT: But a lot of it was in a -- it was criticism.</s>AXELROD: Well, I think it was more in the form of admonition, it was more in the form of admonition. The most important one I think he delivered was his point that it is absolutely normal for presidents to take the country in a different direction but he said, just make sure you think it through because there are tremendous ramifications to lurches in policy, and I think that's a really essential point.</s>BURNETT: And yet, Kayleigh, he did not. He refused to weigh in on the boycott, which was a very significant thing, right? He did -- he didn't want to comment on it at all.</s>KAYLEIGH MCENANY, CONSERVATIVE CONTRIBUTOR, THE HILL: Sure. He didn't weigh in on the -- weight in on it. I would have obviously liked to have seen that and to say, look, we should all come together, this is a time for unity. That being said, I have to commend President Obama because he has handled this transition gracefully, respectfully, and I think today when I heard him say we're going to be OK, I understood some saw that as dire terms, not quite as optimistic as they would have liked, but I saw it in the context of there is a boycott, there is this apoplectic view among liberals that we are not going to be OK, that this is somehow the end of the United States. And for him to say that, it was almost --</s>BURNETT: So you actually find it calming.</s>MCENANY: I did find it calming and I thought this was another part of him being graceful in the transition while I disagree with Obama on a lot, I have to commend him because he has done this transition very well.</s>BURNETT: Mayor, should he have weighed in on the boycott in some way?</s>MICHAEL NUTTER (D), FORMER PHILADELPHIA MAYOR: He said he knew what he was going to be doing. He's going to the inauguration. It's not for him --</s>BURNETT: The biggest statement he could make.</s>NUTTER: Yes. I mean, it wasn't a weigh in with the members of congress and a fight between congress and the incoming president and all that. He's trying to ease out in the most positive way that he can. He laid out as Mark talked about, three, four, five different things that he feels very seriously -- he feels very strongly about. And -- I mean, look, it's not like he said, oh my god, you know, the country is going to hell in a hand basket. He said I think we're going to be OK. He's being himself.</s>AXELROD: Can I just take one point? On the things he laid out, I think he laid them out not just in service of saying these are things on which I will comment if I feel I need to, it was also by way of telling people I am not going to be involved in the day to day, I am not going to get involved in policy fights. I don't think that's the appropriate role for a president. So, there are those who would love him to be the point of spear and to be some sort unofficial leader of the party. He is clearly saying that is not the appropriate role for a former president.</s>BURNETT: And this was his good-bye.</s>HENDERSON: Yes. It was his goodbye. We saw him last week in Chicago, the longer speech and this -- his goodbye and his parting words, the idea about being OK. I do think on the core issues he seems to also be saying that</s>BURNETT: All right. We'll hit pause for one moment. Next Mike Pence speaking to CNN, opening up about a former president who's now giving him advice about the job. Plus my exclusive tour behind the scenes of this year's inaugural ball. The glitz, the glamour, how it actually is all going to come together. Some of those fine details of fashion. And Trump's pick for Education Secretary asked if guns belong in schools answered this.</s>BVETSY DEVOS, NOMINEE FOR UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF EDUCATION: I would imagine that there's probably a gun in the school to protect from potential grizzlies.</s>BURNETT: The senator who asked that question is my guest tonight.