Pence and Trump Kids Now Leading Transition Team.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. You are watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin here in beautiful Washington, D.C. And on this Friday, and specifically on this Veterans Day, if I may just take a moment, yes, we live in a divided nation. And, yes, we have all just witnessed one of the darkest presidential races of our time. And even though I know so many of your emotions are still so raw, no matter where you stand on the outcome, we are all Americans. We are grateful to the men and women who sacrificed for us. And so just I wanted to say thank you, thank you for all that you do and for what everyone who came before you has done. Now to politics of the day. We have some news just into CNN, Chris Christie out, Mike Pence in. Sources tell CNN that Governor Christie has been relieved as head of Trump's transition team and that loyalty, or lack thereof, could be to blame. He is now a vice chair, along with several other Trump insiders, including Trump's grown children. So I have with me Dana Bash, our CNN chief political correspondent, and former RNC spokesman Kevin . So, great to see both of you.</s>DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Thank you.</s>BALDWIN: And first to you, walk me through a little bit more, as far as why we know it's vice president-elect Pence chairing that and also what we know about the chief of staff role.</s>BASH: OK. So, why is it vice president-elect Pence? Lots of reasons, but primarily it is because Donald Trump knows now that he can trust Mike Pence. He is somebody who already has a job. We know what his role is. And as part of that role already going into this, part of the reason why Donald Trump was comfortable picking Mike Pence is because of his deep ties to the political establishment and to the Republican world in particular. He was a former member of Congress. He knows the players there well. He knows sort of the players out in the country, because he's also a governor. So all of -- for all of those reasons, I'm told that they decided that Mike Pence should lead the effort. And why not Chris Christie? Well, look, he did a lot of work for months and months and months quietly on the transition, came down to Washington at least once a week to try to prepare for a Trump administration, even when people sort of laughed at the concept that a Trump administration would even happen. He's had a rough road, no pun intended, the past few weeks about the Bridgegate trial and the verdict, meaning that two of his former aides were found guilty. And so all of that combined with a little bit of tension, perhaps, over the "Access Hollywood" tape, we're told. Having said all of that, Chris Christie was very much involved in debate prep, helped lead debate prep with Reince Priebus, and has still been involved. He was there on victory night and so forth.</s>BALDWIN: On Reince Priebus, let me look to you on this one. All signs pointing yes as president-elect's chief of staff. This is what sources are telling CNN, as the RNC chair. And you know Republicans in this town. What does that indicate to you as far as perhaps what a Trump administration would look like and how he might govern?</s>KEVIN , FORMER ROMNEY ADVISER: Well, a lot like the campaign. Reince Priebus worked his way into the campaign in a trusted role for himself. He came -- he comes from an establishment wing of the party. He's tight with members of the House and Senate and all the members of the</s>RNC. BALDWIN: Speaker Ryan, who you know very well. : And Speaker Ryan. And he would be a good fit. I don't think it's a done deal, by any stretch. I think there's a number of people that could serve in that role. He would be good for it. I think he is going to be able to serve in whatever kind of role Trump wants him to be in, because he has earned his trust. And that's what Trump is really looking for. And Pence is an excellent person to lead the transition, because he knows the policy, he knows the players on the Hill, and he's very close with Paul Ryan. So it's a good start to hit the ground running.</s>BALDWIN: Chief of staff, yes, explain. People who aren't Washington insiders, why is that role so crucial for any president?</s>BASH: It's for so many reasons. And I want you to definitely add or correct me if I'm wrong on this, because he's been inside and so knows really well. But it's the gatekeeper to the president. It's the person who keeps the trains running on time. It's the person who puts the call into the president when there is that 3:00 a.m. phone call and something is happening. It's the person who helps shepherd legislation, helps shepherd priorities. And so all of those things are traits that some people, many people think that Reince Priebus has. But I think the other thing that Kevin really talked about which is really important is the bond. The president really has to have real trust in the chief of staff that things are not going to get leaked, that things are really in the cone, and...</s>BALDWIN: And if the chief of staff says, no, Mr. President, that may not be a great idea, you have got to listen.</s>BASH: Well, that's exactly what I was going to say. And the other thing, especially with a President Trump, you have got to have people around who are going to be as willing to say no as they are to say yes and be able to convince him of that. Now, is Reince Priebus that guy? We're not 100 percent sure.</s>BALDWIN: Right.</s>BASH: The other person who is out there who apparently raised his hand for the job is Steve Bannon, who I am told has a much -- has a real trust and has a real bond with Donald Trump, because, even though Reince Priebus, the RNC chair, and Trump became very close as the months went on, he was still the chair of the party and that was and his is first job, which meant being the go-between and also having to criticize him publicly, like he did with the "Access Hollywood" tape, because that was his job as party chair.</s>BALDWIN: Right. Let me move off that and more, Kevin, to this list that I have. So, the Trump team has released this list of people who will be involved in the transition. And on this list, you have Jared Kushner, who is Trump's -- who was integral in this whole campaign behind the scenes. He was here at the White House just yesterday, the son-in-law. But then you also have Don Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump. Is that a conflict of interests?</s>SHERIDAN: His closest advisers have always been his family. He's a one-man band, but he has...</s>BALDWIN: None of them have government experience.</s>SHERIDAN: True, but I assume they are relying on...</s>BASH: But they have Trump experience.</s>SHERIDAN: Yes. They have got Trump experience. And I assume they're relying on other people who do. Look, he has got broad latitude to pick whoever he wants. He's beholden to no one. He ran his own race. He does not need to go in a traditional way and pick party elders and typical political operatives. He can -- they can choose from any group in Washington.</s>BALDWIN: He could pick you. He could pick me. I'm just trying to think of smart people.</s>SHERIDAN: He could go inside media. He could go anywhere. He's beholden to no one.</s>BALDWIN: To no one.</s>SHERIDAN: So this is a really interesting time. And we could play the name game all day about different types of people that could possibly serve there. We will know soon enough. When the chief of staff is announced, I think then we will get kind of a...</s>BALDWIN: An indication.</s>SHERIDAN: An indication of the direction he is going to take, whether it's a Steve Bannon or a Reince Priebus. And that will be the first indication I think we will have of which way he is going to go.</s>BALDWIN: What do you think about the kids being involved? I meant that jokingly about -- but someone who would actually have government experience would be a plus. And aren't they running the business and...</s>BASH: Well, yes, yes, exactly.</s>BASH: This is the transition, right? So this is to help get their father's administration up and running. And, no, they don't have government experience. But I said it sort of half-kidding that they have Trump experience. They know their dad.</s>BALDWIN: Sure.</s>BASH: They know because they have the experience running his company. They know what will work and won't work for him. And with regard to his son-in-law, he was incredibly involved. I mean, he was on the phone with the RNC working on budgets and things. He was so deep in the weeds in the campaign.</s>BALDWIN: He could go beyond the transition team. You know where I'm going with that.</s>BASH: But -- but there was a law passed in response to the -- or because of JFK putting his brother in as attorney general. There is a law -- there's a nepotism law, basically. And what is unclear is how a son-in-law falls into that. I mean, our Abigail Crutchfield was looking at the law. And she thought that it does say in-laws as well, but we will see what that means for how he could possibly put them in more formal roles or whether it's even legally possible. We just don't know.</s>BALDWIN: OK. OK. Thank you both so much. So much happening. What a week it has been. We have much more also on this transition and the process and the names. That's coming up. But, first, as anti-Trump protests and these demonstrations enter now day number three, there have also been more isolated reports of divisive and hateful behavior and some of them in schools. In Pennsylvania, for example, three students were suspended for chanting "white power" while parading the halls with Trump signs.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: White power. White power.</s>BALDWIN: A wall in Durham, North Carolina, vandalized with the words "Black lives don't matter and neither does your votes." Some Trump supporters have also reported instances of harassment themselves. This has all put teachers and counselors and school administrators in some pretty tough positions of navigating all these young people and their emotions. So, joining me now, Chad Velde-Cabrera. He's the principal of the International Community School in Atlanta, whose school has a massive immigration and refugee problem -- or program. So, Chad, thank you so much for joining me. I'm from Atlanta. I'm very well-acquainted with your school. It's excellent.</s>CHAD VELDE-CABRERA, PRINCIPAL, INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SCHOOL: Thanks, Brooke.</s>BALDWIN: So, here's my question. When you heard of the election results, I know that you sent off a letter to your teachers. What did you tell them?</s>VELDE-CABRERA: I told my teachers that the students are going to be experiencing a lot of different feelings on Wednesday. And I told them what they need to do is just create space for students to talk with each other, let students share one at a time. Let students sit down and write what they're feeling. So they have got express what is going on. And they have to know that we, as a school, as their teachers, their administrators, we care for them and we will keep them safe through everything that is happening right now, because the students are afraid.</s>BALDWIN: What have you -- I mean, talk a little bit more about the fear.</s>VELDE-CABRERA: Yes.</s>BALDWIN: Have you seen, though, also, any elation? Or walk me through the spectrum of emotions for these young people.</s>VELDE-CABRERA: Right. So, Wednesday morning -- I greet my students outside the school every day. And kids came off the bus crying. They came off the bus crying. They came up to hug me. One student said, "Mr. Velde-Cabrera, am I going to be sent back to my country? I don't want to go back to my country." And so there was just a lot of crying, a lot of fear. But I really want to commend my teachers, because they created that space. And all of my teachers were assuring the students that they're safe in our school, that they're not going to be sent back. And I have seen so many examples of students stepping up. I remember I saw one student telling another student, like, I know you're afraid right now, but we're here. We're together. You're not going anywhere. You're staying here with us.</s>BALDWIN: Kudos to those teachers, if I may take a moment.</s>VELDE-CABRERA: Yes. Yes.</s>BALDWIN: My own mother was a teacher. And we need them and they're amazing and especially at times of transitions like these. Last question.</s>VELDE-CABRERA: Yes.</s>BALDWIN: Are your young people, Chad, are they finding a way forward? Is there a sense of hope in your hallways?</s>VELDE-CABRERA: There is a sense of hope. Our students are incredibly resilient. Fifty percent of our students are immigrants and refugees; 50 percent of our students are born in the U.S. And when you have a school that -- where there's over 30 countries represented, over 25 languages spoken among the student population, you learn to get along with each other, and you realize that we're in the struggle together. Whatever you're going through, I'm going through it with you. Even though we don't look alike, we believe different things, we're together because we're trying to create a better world. And that's what we do at International Community School. And it's a great place. And I'm really glad that our students have the support of our staff and each other during this time.</s>BALDWIN: Chad, thank you for all that you're doing in Atlanta. Chad Velde-Cabrera, I appreciate your voice and your role here. Coming up next, we will discuss this -- he just alluded to it, some the fear across the country and new reflections from the Clinton campaign about why she lost. Hear who is actually getting a big part of that blame. I'm Brooke Baldwin. And you're watching CNN.