thanks for joining us this hour. topping the hour, house and senate republicans getting ready to do what they tried to do for years but couldn't with the president and white house holding a veto pen. in 17 days that will change. so many thinrepublicans will doy have been promising for a long time. jeff zeleny starts us off with a look at their agenda. >> do you solemnly swear -- >> reporter: the new republican order is taking shape. republicans are set to control the house, senate and white house. >> we know that the coming days are going to require hard work and cooperation from both sides. >> reporter: mitch mcconnell becoming senate majority leader as the 115th congress opened for business. paul ryan of wisconsin easily reelected speak er er of the ho.

>> this old chamber may look the same. but in the hushed whispers, you can feel the wind of change. >> reporter: in just 17 days, donald trump will join them as president, completing the gop's ascension to power. the optimistic applause echoing across the capitol will soon give way to the challenges of governing. for making good on their pledge to repeal and replace obamacare to passing tax reform and easing government regulations, republicans are crafting a bold agenda. speaker ryan called it a once in a lifetime opportunity. >> the people have given us unified government. and it wasn't because they're feeling generous. it was because they want results. how could we live with ourselves if we let them down? >> reporter: out of power, democrats say they will find common ground when they agree and hold their ground when they do not. in the house, republicans now have a majority of 241-194.

but they still need democrats with republicans holding 52 seats and democrats 48. most things require 60 votes to pass. >> you can't flinch, you can't blink. you have to look it right in the eye. analyze it, learn from it. >> reporter: the trump cabinet will be one early test. rex tillerson and defense secretary nominee james mattis. the new congress came with one old touch. >> we're having a conversation. >> reporter: vice president joe biden in his formal role, swearing in one final class of senators. it's one of his last official acts after 44 years in washington. >> anybody else want to be sworn in? >> jeff zeleny joins us. i understand president-elect and vice president elect pence will

be on capitol hill. >> very unusual for the president to come up 16 days before he leaves office. he will be trying to make the case to democrats to protect his signature piece of legislature, obamacare. he wants to tout the benefits to their constituents across the country, at the same time, though, mike pence will be trying to walk republicans through how they want to repeal and replace obamacare. now the question of repealing it is an easy one. replacing it is a difficult one. and that is the challenge coming up for the trump administration and all republicans here, because they know they will be taking something away from people. but the majorities in the congress, as they say now, republicans will repeal it, replacing it, that's the question, the bottom line here, but president obama trying to give one last pitch for his legacy when he meets tomorrow with all the democrats.

>> joinings now, van jones akal mcenancenany. pence is going to be trying to do the exact opposite. >> you know, that's where we are. we have a divided country, if not a divided government. one thing you're going to be watching now, you've got a lot of people in red states actually who have benefitted from obamacare. a lot of the coal meiners, a lo of their main health care is obamacare. so it's very easy to take something away, but when you take something away, people are going to ask, what are you going to do for me now. and i think the failure of republicans to really agree to any particular approach to replacement is going to be a problem sooner rather than

later. they got elected promising to do something. they're going to try to follow through on it we'll see how it goes. >> what can democrats actually to to try to prevent it? >> well, i think they have to -- >> go ahead, austin. >> i think they kind of have to rely on the, spreading the message that van's saying there of look, how many people are going to lose their insurance, and remember what it used to be like when they could deny you for preexisting condition when your uncle was 60 and couldn't get on medicare, but he had heart problems? they're going to try to use the bully pulpit to emphasize that, but i don't think, i don't know that they'll be effective. i think the republicans are going to, a, try to make it, they're going to try to take it away without making it seem like they took it away. so they're going to try to extend that as long as they can and say oh, no, it was dying on its own, we didn't kill it.

and then i think the second thing is, there is a lot of red states where a lot of people do benefit from it, but they showed at other points like with the expansion of medicaid, even if it hurt their own people, the republican governors in those states were still willing to turn it down. so i'm nervous for it, but i think that's where we are. >> kayleigh, do you think republicans are actually united on a plan about not just repealing it but replacing it, because president-elect trump during the campaign was very clear saying he wanted to keep people who had preexisting conditions, he wanted to keep that coverage. >> that's right, he did say that, and that's important component that needs to stay. i think republicans by and large are united around paul ryan's plan, it says affordable health care for all. i think the other guests are right to the extent that republicans have to have some sort of replacement.

you do stro tehave tens of millo now have health care, but to me and many republicans it means repealing it entirely. that is where obama says if you like your doctor you can keep it, that's not true. and premiums are increasing by 25% next year. there's significant disapproval of obama care on these fronts. if you don't repeal it and replace it, republicans are going to have a big problem on their hands. >> shouldn't democrats be receptive to work with them? ? >> i think one of the missed opportunities for hillary clinton, she could have said no plan is perfect from the beginning, if you elect me, we're going to have this program. i'm going to work with them to

make it better and better and better. we wound up saying listen, 20 million people have insurance, we were defending the status quo. we don't think it's perfect, but republicans have stopped us from making it better. now, here's the reality. i think both political parties have some peril. if the democrats stand in the way of good things that will make it better they're stretching on their own constituency. so both have to look down the barrel of what is going to happen to real americans over the next few years. >> how much would a repeal cost in the short term and in the long term? >> well, i think it's pretty clear what it would look like in the short term. it would actually cost money to repeal it. so they're trying to figure out ways to not make it cost money. i think, you know, if you look i think the republicans are at greater peril at this moment

than the democrats are, because the passing of obamacare, even the heralded saving $2500. that was compared to what would happen without it. so we have had high health care inflation for many decades, and actually, health care inflation has been at the lowest rate that we have sneeneen in a half cent. the problem is, once you do something about health care you own it, that's what has been barack obama's problem. but once you repeal it, change it or whatever, suddenly every problem that everyone's had with the health care problem becomes the republicans' problem. >> i understand the argument about inflation and not growing as much. but it's how americans feel, they've seen the price on their premiums go up. they're not getting much in return.

they have high deductibles. one third of american counties only have access to one obamacare plan, and this was a plan sold to us on a bill that it would give us more choice. >> in the exchanges. look, i'm not disputing that it is about feeling. once the republicans repeal obamacare or gut it. >> right. >> then prices are going to start going up again, even more than they were going up under obamacare, and then they're going to be mad at republicans. >> not if you open up the state lines and implement free market principles. >> which is what donald trump has been saying. we'll have more from austin and kayleigh coming up. donald trump's tweets casting doubts on the intelligence community. and also his tweeted warning to north korea and tweet on china and the fallout from that. we t, what is your nationality and i would always answer hispanic. so when i got my ancestry dna results it was a shocker. i'm from all nations.

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we began the program with breaking news on the report that russia was behind the hacking of the democratic national committee and hillary clinton's campaign chief. now there's more. president-elect trump will be getting a high-level briefing. he just tweeted, the intelligence briefing on the so-called russian hacking was delayed until friday. maybe more time to build a case. very strange. so donald trump just weighed in on this, essentially confirming that he's still skeptical of russian involvement and seemingly skeptical of the term intelligence for the intelligence community. >> it's remarkable how this is playing out, because for months, anderson, donald trump has questioned the veracity and the intelligence supporting the idea

that russia was behind the hack. and essentially, donald is coming out and challenging the agencies that will be working for him. i've spoken to intelligence officials who are frankly perplexed by it, that there was some sort of delay with this briefing about that comprehensive report dealing with the election hacks, because all along, as far as i've been told by officials, it was supposed to happen as early as friday and perhaps even later, because this comprehensive report hasn't even gone to the desk of the president. and when this high-level briefing does happen, anderson, it will be the first time that trump comes face-to-face with the leaders of the agencies that he has been challenging and questioning, anderson. >> so it's not clear, i mean, let me just be clear. can we say definitively there

was not a delay? or do we know? >> the people i've spoken with in the intelligence community, a couple of officials, have said they're perplexed, because it was never on the leaders of the intelligence community's schedule to go up to new york and brief the president-elect before friday, before, so there may be some miscommunication or misunderstanding about the schedule, but i can tell you, that as terms of the leaders of the intelligence community leaders that will be involved with this briefing, they were never on the schedule to do it before friday. so there is confusion about this so-called delay, and, again, it hasn't even gone to the desk of the president, and trump would be briefed after that happened. >> trump was far from the only one making headlines. he sent a sharp message to north korea. barbara starr has details on that. >> reporter: nobody knows if kim

jong un has seen donald trump's latest tweet. north korea says it is in the final stages of completing a nuclear weapon, capable of reaching parts of the u.s. it won't happen. and nobody knows how north korea's erratic leader will now react. >> their particular tweet is telling the north koreans, putting them on notice, that they are going to be watched very carefully by the incoming administration and that they don't have carte blanche. >> cutting edge arms equipment is actively progressing. an intercontinental test launch preparation is in its last stage. >> reporter: it's not clear how soon kim can be ready to launch a missile that could reach the u.s., but the prospect raises alarm. if a missile exploded over los angeles or san francisco, tens of thousands could be killed. even a non-nuclear attack into

south korea could also kill tens of thousands, including 30,000 u.s. troops based there. trump, on the campaign trail, was open to talking to kim. >> i wouldn't go there. that, i can tell you. if he came here, i'd accept him. but i wouldn't give him a state dinner. >> reporter: now trump wants to pressure china to get kem to roll back his nuclear program. china has been taking out massive amounts of money and wealth from the u.s. in totally one-sided trade, but it won't help with north korea, nice. but that message already largely brushed aside by beijing. >> translator: we hope to see all sides avoid remarks that would escalate tensions. >> reporter: the obama administration doesn't think north korea can threaten the u.s. with a nuclear missile yet. >> we do not believe that he at this point in time has the capability to tip one of these with a nuclear warhead.

>> reporter: the current u.s. military response focuses on defending against an attack with intercepters in alaska and california and ships in the western pacific. but in the face of a sudden imminent threat, u.s. officials tell cnn president trump could activate existing plans for preemptive attacks, so-called no-mercy strikes to destroy the regime and its weapons. a former defense secretary who called for a preemptive strike in 2006 now says it must not happen. >> a preemptive strike could bring about complete and total catastrophe to south korea and japan. so that is not an option. >> reporter: the person who also called for a preemptive strike against north korea back in 2006, the current defense secretary ash carter. anderson? >> barbara starr, thanks. lots to discuss.

joining me, cnn national security's -- i want to talk about the russian hacking brief being delayed. he puts quotes around the word intelligence and hacking. is he setting himself up for a difficult relationship with the intelligence community, and is that a bad thing? or is that maybe a wise thing? >> well, i'd be a little cautious how you do it. if he's pushing the intelligence community on its analytical products and what they're finding and what they're recommending, i think that's perfectly okay. where it gets a little dicey is if you're attacking the integrity of the officers who are out risking their lives right now trying to get information, that will backlash in a way that i don't think they'll anticipate. i hope they're not getting there, i hope that's not what this is. if he wants to s ts to challeng

remember, he's going to get the keys to every cabinet. he will have all the information he needs to make his own assessments. he can have dissenting agreements come to the white house and talk him through where he thinks he wants to be on a particular position. if you jeopardize the relationship between the executive and these intelligence agencies, i think that's really kind of a dangerous place to be, mainly, again, because these are almost living organisms. they're out there doing things every day. they didn't care about the election, they didn't care who won. they're out there doing their bit. they're gathering information, some risking their lives to bring it back and formulate an analytical product that would inform policymakers. if you disrupt the trust relationship between that, and i'm not saying you can't push them or give them the wire brush treatment, as a matter of fact, i think they would thrive in that environment, but if you attack the integrity of those

officials -- i haven't seen that, but it comes close. >> is there any way to know how north korea responds to trump's tweets? i mean, this is uncharted waters where a president-elect is tweeting 140 characters. >> clearly kim jong un saw that as a declaration of war. at the very least, a threat of using force imminently. and we know one thing about kim jong un. he's in an unstable regime. he's executed 140 people during his first five years. he's purged. >> of his own government. >> senior leaders in his own regime and government. and also, when you put in the junior officers, that's maybe 500 or so when you total it off, because they've been sent to the cappens, and we can't count that. for kim jong un, he has got to look tough, if he doesn't look tough, he knows he could die. >> chairman rogers, i don't know

if the question is the appropria appropriateness of tweeting to kim jong un. >> i didn't see anything that would conduct an escalation. there is convectional conflict. we have to change the dynamic that we're having with north korea. the way we have been handling it isn't working. now i'm not a big fan of using tweets to engage, because it's 140 characters can be misconstrued in a way where people have large armies and react in ways that aren't anticipated. but i do think it's okay for the president-elect to set out a path that says we're going to do things a little differently, including trying to engage china hopefully on the black market activities on the border that allows this regime to ten to flourish, and that really hasn't been dealt with. i think if that's the path we're

going down, i think it could be great. if we continue to use tweets after the president is sworn in on january 20th, i get a little concerned, because it is too easy to misconstrue those words, those 140 characters in a way that probably won't be helpful, and that's not a whole of government approach. you want a whole of government approach to try to rein in kim jong un. he has nuclear weapons. he has an intercontinental ballistic weapon that has been fired. all those spell danger. we're going to have to deal with that in a way we haven't dealt with it before. it tonight mean conventional action, preemptive strikes necessarily. i don't think we should take those off the table, but i don't think you ought to lead with those. >> do we know enough about what the impact of a strike against north drae would be? >> well, the thing we know is that north korea has chemical and biological weapons.

it has nukes on short-range missiles. intermediate range missiles. they could basically take out any south korean city they want. and when people talk about the casualties from the first couple hours of seoul alone, they're talking about the hundreds of thousands. that's why the military strike is absolutely the last option. but we have a lot of things we haven't done. we've tried almost every policy. the one policy we haven't pursued though is imposing doss on china. we know they have been selling uranium and yet we stand back and we don't do anything about it. and so this has got to change, and i think it will. in the end of the obama administration, we started to see the first sanctions on china. i'm sure that trump is going to continue on that path. >> interesting, gordon chang, appreciate your expertise. coming up next, can republicans in the house nearly gutted the watchdogs who were keeping them and others honest.

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at the top of the broadcast,

jeff zeleny reported on the gop asdwr agenda. they voted in secret last night to neuter the non-partisan office of ethics. but then came an outcry after a tweet from donald trump, and it was dead. my next guest is a former lobbyist who helped paved the way. he joins us tonight. >> i'm wondering what your reaction was when you heard republicans on the hill wanted to gut the ethics office. >> i don't know that they necessarily wanted to gut it. i think that there is concern among the members that some of the procedures of the office are not necessarily great. so they made what i think was a bad move to first of all deal with this as one of the first issues. obviously, the optics are very

bad, and in two, to put it within the confines of the members, probably not a good move either. i think what they should have been doing is remembering what the election was about in november and coming forward with a series of proposals to have reformed the other way and have less corruption and go after the things that frankly americans are upset about, not to to something like this. >> and when you talk about corruption, you saw this first hand. i know on "60 minutes" you, you said you owned up to 100 congress men. you would offer jobs to their chiefs of staffs or other key employees when they left so that while they were still in office, essentially, they were beholden to you. is capitol hill still as corrupt as when you were lobbying? >> well, i think there's a level of corruption that isn't quite necessarily what i was involved in or some of the people at the very tip of the spear are involved in, that's a more normal corruption, if there's such a phrase, where people feel

it's completely normal for people soliciting favors and acts from government officials to give those government officials things of value and offer campaign contributions. that, to me, is the level of corruption that america is sec of a -- sick of and want to deal with. i don't think you'll find lobbyists that have the resources to do the things i was involved with. but the every day corruption, the corruption they don't feel is corruption is the biggest problem, that they think is completely normal. >> at one point i think you said you were spending $1 million a year on tickets to sporting events for congress people for their staff. but that every day corruption that you talk about, explain that a little more. the rules are interesting. there are rules about, you can't buy a congressman or congresswoman a meal, you know, a hamburger, but you can throw them a fundraiser, and give them, you know, tens of thousands of dollars. >> right.

it's that kind of idiocy that people look at and scratch their heads and wonder what is wrong with these people. i travel the country and i speak often on campuses and other places. nobody, except people within the beltway, seem to not get this. everybody else seems to realize that if you give somebody who is a public servant something of value and you're asking that public servant to do something for you that's not a good thing. but people in the beltway feel that's part of the process and don't get upset about it. >> when you're lobbying hard and successfully, i think earning 20 million a year, i think you gave away a lot of that monte various groups. did you feel you were doing something inappropriate? and the congress people, the staffs that you were involved with, did they feel that this was corrupt? >> no, well, first of all, i can certainly speak for myself, unfortunately, i didn't feel that there was any problem with it. it was basically the way the system worked. i probably did more of it than i should have.

certainly did more than i should have, but did more of it than others did. i was just sort of an excessive version of it in my mind, but it was the system where basically lobbyists and others who were trying to get people to do something in government by natural course, particularly the congress men give contributions, provide meals, it's a little more difficult to do. trips, golf tournaments, tickets to the ball game, et cetera, that system is a system that's been going on for decades in this town and is not likely to go away until the people do what they did in november, which is throw the bums out and say we're fed up with this. >> i appreciate your time tonight, thank you. >> thanks so much. just ahead, where donald trump's threats about a border tack, were they a factor in decisions for ford to abandon a plan to build a plant in mexico. next.

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campaign and now during the transition, president-elect trump has taken a hard lean with america's auto makers, pressuring them to make jobs at home. and by pressure, we immediate threats of hefty border taxes. some wonder whether the car maker, ford, caved. mark fields was interviewed by poppy harlow. >> reporter: in a stunning about face, ford today scrapping plans to build a $1.6 billion small car plant in mexico. are you canceling the plans to build this huge plant in mexico

because of the president-elect? >> we do what's right for our business. this makes sense for our business, and we look at all factors, including what we view as a more positive u.s. manufacturing business environment under president-elect trump, and it's literally a vote of confidence around some of the pro-growth policies that he has been outlining. >> reporter: that plant was going to name it 2800 new jobs in mexico. now ford says it's creating 700 new jobs here at home instead. >> this business decision was done independently, but we did speak to the president and the, the president-elect and the vice president elect this morning. >> reporter: did he say he was going to stop with the tweets and attacks against ford? >> i don't think we got into that level. he was just appreciative for the announcements we're making. >> reporter: but there's little doubt that trump's threats of a tariff made that plant less

attractive. >> we have to understand, the reason we are canceling our plant in mexico, the main reason is because we're seeing a decline in demand for small vehicles here in north america. >> reporter: this is a trend we've seen. the president-elect calls out carrier. he gets jobs to stay here. he calls out boeing, he gets a cheaper air force one. he calls out lockheed-martin, and they say we're going to work with you. there is a concern among some that this is a form of cronie capitalism, that the president can cut deals with companies and they expect favor from the president in lureturn. >> we didn't cut a deal with the president. we did what's right for our business. >> reporter: you said as they review fuel economy standards. what about the concern from some who may look at this and say is this cronie capitalism? they may get more regulation on

fuel economy standards. >> we are very dedicated to improving fuel economy, but we want it to be a fact-based decision. we want to preserve customer choice and american jobs. >> reporter: trump and ford have quite a history. for more than a year, trump has repeatedly slammed the company. >> ford is leave egi you see them leaving michigan and ohio. >> reporter: ford shot back. will ford cut any u.s. jobs as a result of this move? one? any single one? >> absolutely not, zero. >> reporter: in october, chairman bill ford called trump's attacks infuriating. >> he knows the facts, but who

knows what the campaign trail is all about. >> reporter: this morning, the president-elect took on gm, tweeting general motors is sending mexican-made model of chevy cruze across border. and general motors responding to the tweet today in a statement saying that it quote, manufactures the sedan in ohio. all chevy cruzes sold in the u.s. are built in ohio. of i should note in an interesting, ironic twist, anderson, mary barra has recently been named by trump to a forum that will advise him, frequently, on jobs and on the economy, meantime, on this news, ford's stock closed up nearly 4%.

anderson? >> poppy harlow, thank you very much. trump ran as a pro-business candidate. but what are the implications? kay le kayleigh, is this a quid pro quo? >> i don't see it as a quid pro quo at all. i see it as a carrots and sticks approach. the carrots he is offering ford or gm are a better economy, an economy where you're not going to be hit with exorbitant taxes where he's promised that the corporate tax rate would be 15% maximum. the stick is the tariff. and i don't see any quid pro quo that something tangible we can point to was given to the ford ceo as a result of keeping jobs here. i think it was a promise of a robust economy going forward. >> the chairman seems to say we

have confidence that it'si goin to be a more pro-business economy. >> many republicans and most business people are probably pretty uncomfortable with the notion that whoever the president of the united states decides is going to get up and attack one morning that the market is going to attack them and that he's going to threaten them personally with taxes unless they do what he says. you know, i kind of think, have you ever been to a wedding where there's that one relative who nobody wants to give the microphone to make a toast? and then when he starts speaking, you know, the opening might be, i'd like to wish the bride a wonderful wedding, and everyone's like, oh, no, what's coming next? i think a lot of business community feels like that. so far, donald trump is saying that he wants to cut the corporate tax rate. they probably agree with it. but i think nagging in their meepd is this question of call it crony capitalism, sin singlit

people for a mob of twitter people to come after you. >> i think there is a version of this that has companies simply responding to trump's policies. there's a better marketplace with fewer restrictions, and that's why they're making these decision. i guess that's essentially what ford is saying. >> i think look, if the president-elect was clear on anything during the campaign, it was if you try to take advantage of the american economy but yet want to produce your goods elsewhere, like gm is a great example. the wall street journal says 20% of their products that they make are imported to mexico or abroad. you're going to suffer in the form of a tariff perhaps. >> be a little careful. >> go ahead, austin. >> i was just going to say, be a

little careful just concluding that it's about policy, because none of the companies that have not been targeted by donald trump are coming out and saying that they're going to do that. you doesn't sin't see cliesler out and saying that we're going to open this extra plant. it's only when you get targeted that they respond. there are a lot of business people saying wait a minute, donald trump's own businesses outsource their jobs, so how is he determining who he's going to go after. >> he's not even president yet. he's doing a pretty good job if he's gotten 700 new jobs from ford, 1,000 with carrier, lockheed-martin and boeing to rethink their pricing structure. >> but isn't it kind of weird that he's not singling out ivanka trump for manufacturing basically all of her clothing and all of her products overseas in a variety of countries. >> no, that's true. he's singling out companies he's

singled out all along the way. but as a businessman he did. he did outsource. that was him as a businessman. but he is promising to put policies in place that will allow clothing companies like ivanka trumps or others to produce here. it's not as great, not as easy to make a product here as it is in china. of c you can get it much cheaper there, buff i thi but i think p out, he has to be president before he can make any change like that. >> thank you very much. appreciate you being on tonight. just ahead, the video raising questions about president-elect's friendship with a convicted felon who rang in the new year together at mar-a-lago. the only one to combine a safe sleep aid plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve. now i'm back. aleve pm for a better am.

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by now probably heard about the new year's eve celebration that president-elect trump and his family hosted at

mar-a-largo. guests are getting a lot of attention. one raised questions. convicted felon. >> reporter: joseph cinque, joey no socks, celebrating next to the president-elect on new year's eve. cinque's current lawyer insists the art was legally owned but said pled guilty and conviction stands. given a conditional discharge and served no jail time. trump and cinque go bay wack. shared at stage at miss universe contest. >> joe is probably one of the most important men in the hotel industry. >> in 2011 trump given an award by cinque, one of many over a decade. >> would like to congratulate

and thank joe cinque for the work he does. >> and last year at mar-a-largo's new year's eve celebration. >> thank you very much joe. american academy is amazing place. >> again front and center. last may trump told associated press he didn't know cinque well and wasn't aware of his conviction. >> let's assume he doesn't know. wow so unaware and doesn't have people around him to warn him he's standing next to convicted felon. >> david k. johnson covered the rough and tumble rise of trump. new book "the making of donald trump" pulls no punches. >> i was shocked that donald trump would stand next to connected felon, claimed to be

connected to john goty credibly enough that thought was real connection. >> u.s. secret service refused to comment referring to the trump transition team who also refused to comment. several members and guests tell there was no secret service background check prior to the affair but went through metal detectors. the relationship rooted in the american academy, organization that over the years donald trump has been listed as ambassador extraordinaire. >> donald trump hangs awards, signed by joey no socks and as donald trump as chairman of the board. >> reporter: it's like trump giving himself an award. secret service says it's their job to protect physically the

president-elect and president, not their job to control the guest list. and referred cnn to trump transition team which refused to comment on the relationship. >> thanks. coming up. something to make you smile at end of the night, the ridiculous, just next. you missed it, buddy. it's all good. and much like this hero, courtyard is all about the game. one, two, three... waaaaave!

anything with a screen is a tv. stream 130 live channels. plus 40,000 on demand tv shows and movies, all on the go. you can even download from your x1 dvr and watch it offline. only xfinity gives you more to stream to any screen. download the xfinity tv app today. time now for the ridiculous. before we get to the meat of it,

help to have a little bit of a backstory. wendy's the hamburger place. everyone of a certain age remembers "where's the beef" but there's another slogan. >> if hamburgers were meant to be frozen, wouldn't cows come if antarctica? wendy's burgers made from 100% beef. way better fast food. >> apparently in the world of big hamburger everything counts. quoted just recently, our beef way too cool to ever be frozen. inok lus tweet. one that no one could have ai problem with right? but someone out there, i believe i will spend a large chunk of time arguing with the social

media account of this company. thuggy d. i will read the wendy's tweet and frank will play the role of thuggy. >> your beef is frozen and we all know it. you know we laugh your your slogan fresh never frozenen right? >> there's one more line. >> like you're really a joke. >> i like that. to which wendy's replied. sorry you think that but you're wrong. only fresh beef. >> deliver raw on a shot truck? >> let me pause here because you have to admit that's interesting question that thuggy d poses. this is where webdy's gets frosty. where do you store cold things that aren't frozen? a riddle. how will thuggy d respond. >> you should give up.

mcdonald's got you guys beat with dope ass breakfast. >> you don't have to bring them into this just because you forgot refrigerators existed for a second there. boom. thank you frank. excellent read. should come as surprise to no one as fully eviscerated by the social media account of hamburger chain thuggy d deleted his account. that's what we call ridiculous. thanks for watching. "cnn tonight with don lemon" starts now. breaking news. donald trump promising to hold a news conference next week here in new york. first in more than five months. meanwhile the president-elect battling the party today and winning with the