Lawrence O'Donnell Quotes

We now know that Mike Pence - Vice President-elect Mike Pence is going to be in charge of the transition replacing Chris Christie.

Michael Flynn is the national security adviser working next to the president, so in his time that he was the national security adviser, he is working in the White House. He should have access to the information.

[Donald Trump] has to have and he said he is going to have a transition element for those states, like in Florida, he's, you know, Republican governors who have put in some form of it. They has to be a transition through it.

I was honored when [Donald Trump] asked me to chair the transition effort.

I think there was a pretty smooth hand-off from the administration of President Clinton to the administration of President Bush, particularly in the counterterrorism area. The reason I say that is because there was, for transitions, I think a stunning continuity.

The Reagan Administration, generally regarded as having conducted the most successful Transition of modern times, had managed during the election campaign to build bridges to the Democrats in some areas, notably foreign and national security policy.

Adam Schiff, who is of course the ranking member on the House Select Committee said earlier today I'd be worried about an impulsive president with an impulsive national security adviser.

This is someone [Michael Flynn] who is considered a loyalist and as we have watched this transition process unfold, again roiled by reports of turmoil, Donald Trump seems to be really focusing right now in this initial phase on loyalists.

I am told that very early on in this transition process, to expect that [Donald] Trump will announce his nominee for the Supreme Court.

The [Donald] Trump transition team is already functioning as the worst transition team we have ever seen. And the good news is the slower they do their work, the better off we are.

I want to assure you that working in transition period is an ungrateful job for any honest government.

It is certainly not unrealistic to think we could have elections by mid-year 2004 and when a sovereign government is installed - my job here will be done.

But transitions from the politics of violence to democratic compromise are always messy.

I have directed all of my cabinet to work to prepare a transition plan for the incoming administration.

I had no difficulty as Secretary of Defense moving from the Bush administration to the Obama administration.

The transition is probably the most important part of the President's administration.

Compared to this [the transition] the election was easy.

President-elect Donald Trump says he's looking for a simple plan for defeating ISIS within his first 30 days of taking office. But even as ISIS has suffered setbacks in Iraq and Syria, its violent ideology continues to spread.

I promise you, I promise you that Donald Trump knows, Donald Trump knows that the primary role of the president is to keep us safe.

Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton is exceptionally qualified to serve as President Trump's National Security Adviser, and I fully support his selection.

We can't let Donald Trump put us at risk.

I was there when Gordon Brown basically was taking over - so right in the middle of that transition. It was fantastic; I learnt a lot.

We've just got to have American strength on the world stage. When Donald Trump becomes president of the United States, the Russians and other countries in the world will know they're dealing with a strong American president.

The problem in Burma is the problem in Egypt, the problem you refer to in Yemen, and the problem in a lot of these countries in the world: that you can get stuck in the process of transition, in what’s been called a competitive authoritarian… a pseudo democratic regime.

President's personal staff has a unique role. They're his intimate personal advisers, and the tradition and the precedent has been, even when I was national security adviser, that people in that position do not testify before the Congress. They talk to the Congress. They have meetings with the Congress.