expertise to the incoming administration. this is a sign to us a sign of encouragement to continue good cooperation between the united states of america and federal republic of germany and that is in our mutual interest. we will continue this, i will continue this, i approach this with an open mind and i will do it on the basis of deep conviction with president-elect donald trump. secondly on russia, i can only repeat what the president said previously. this is all about respecting certain principles. and i'm saying this from a european vantage point, from a european, from a german vantage point, sorry. the fact that for over 70 years we have been able to enjoy peace, to live in peace, very much depends on territorial integrity and sovereignty of each and every european country being respected. in view of european history, the

reverse would be the start of a very bitter road down a slippery slope and we have to nip this in the bud. we have to stand up resolutely against any such attempts. we're pinning our hopes on political efforts. this is why we launched normandy process in close cooperation with the united states of americas. particularly from german perspective and european perspective, i can only say again, russia is our neighbor and look at poland, sort of european perspective this has so we have an interest in seeing this relationship be a good one. we have a lot of historical ties, a history we must share but this shouldn't keep us from whatever we fair that we have grave differences of opinion to raise them with them. again with political means and always trying to work for political settlements and this is what i'm going to continue on. the question whether i will put

up again to see i will do this at the appropriate time and this is not today. >> [inaudible]. >> translator: german press agency. mr. president, your country is divided. you as first black president, first african-american president who did so many things so differently, who raised so much hope all over the world, do you think that you have perhaps in a way put too much of a strain, maybe too much of demands on the americans? and to what extent you think your successor may be a threat to the rest of the world and security and after all nuclear weapons here in germany he has access now? will you want to be now, madam chancellor, see to it under this new administration try to make europe and germany less dependent on the united states and are you afraid of this wave of populism hitting germany and

europe as well. president obama, pay tribute to you as outstanding politician. you somewhat most sober when you described your partner, how difficult is it for you to take leave today of your partner? >> my guiding principle as president has been to try to do the right thing, even when it is not politically convenient. to look at long-term trends in our economy, in our society, in the international sphere and using my best judgment shape policies that will serve the american people, keep them safe, keep our economy growing, put people back to work, and best

insure peace, cooperation and stability around the world. and, based on current surveys of public opinion in the united states, it turns out that the majority of americans think i've done a pretty good job. that we have not in fact gone too fast as you describe it. but what is certainly true that the american people, just like the german people, just like the british and people around the world are seeing extraordinarily rapid change. the world is shrinking, economies have become much more integrated and demographics are shifting. because of the internet and communications, the clash of

cultures is much more direct. people feel, i think, less certain about their identity. less certain about economic security. they're looking for some means of control and what that means is is that the politics in all of our countries is going to require us to manage technology and global integration and all these demographic shifts in a way that makes people feel more control, that gives them more confidence in their future but does not resort to simplistic

answers or divisions of race or tribe or, crude nationalism which i think can be contrasted to the pride and patriotism we all feel about our respective countries. and, i think that our politics everywhere, are going to be going through this bumpy phase but as long as we stay true to our democratic principles, as long as elections have integrity, as long as we respect freedom of speech, freedom of religion, as long as there are checks and balances in our governments so that the people have the ability to not just make judgments about how well government is serving them but also change governments if they're not serving them well,

then i have confidence that over the long term progress will continue. and i think it is especially important for those of us who believe in, in a world where we're interdependent, that believes in mutual interests and mutual respect between nations, it is particularly important that we reach out to everybody in our countries, those who feel disaffected. those who feel left behind by globalization, and address their concerns in constructive ways, as opposed to more destructive ways. i think that can done but it's hard. it requires creativity. it requires effective

communications. part of what's changed in politics is social media and how people are receiving information. it is easier to make negative attacks and simplistic slogans than it is to communicate complex policies but we'll figure it out. so ultimately i remain optimistic about not just america's futures but the direction that the world is growing in, part of what makes me most optimistic, look at attitudes of young people. across the board, young people are much more comfortable with respecting differences.

and diversity and likely to express attitudes that divide us between us and them. they see themselves as part of a global economy, that they can navigate successfully. and are showing enormous creativity and entrepreneurship and reaching across others and across borders. that is where the future is. we have to create that bridge to the future. that means making sure we're paying attention to the wages of workers in countries. making sure we're investing in their education and their skills, that we are, growing the economy in smart ways and rebuilding our infrastructure and investing in science and

development. and that, you know, we, we stay true to those values that helped get us here. if we do that, i think we're going to be fine. >> translator: on the issue first of independence of germany, after the of initial socialism, germany has been given an enormous amount of help, particularly and also from the united states of america the fact that, we were able to enjoy european, sorry, german unification is due first and foremost to the help of the united states of america and ever since germany was able to regain its unity it is in an even stronger position to give ing it contribution to this order which we feel committed

and which particularly people in the german democratic republic stood out there in the streets to keep this up, to maintain this order particularly also in our country. we're trying to do more than it used to be 26 years ago and there are a number of other areas where we have to also make a stronger contribution. we will all have to make, do more in development cooperation. it's important that these disparities in the living conditions can not be allowed in this digital period to be to market. each and everyone must be given an opportunity to participate. which is why germany's fate in many ways depends on the firmness of its alliance with nato, with the european union. we can not stand alone with 80 million in this world of today, you can not just stand on your your own achieve much, even though you may be politically

strong. so alliances are part of our destiny as a nation, part of our future as a nation. this is what guides me as a policy and what guides my government as a whole. secondly this wave of populism that seems to engulf us, seems in your words to seem to come from the united states. look at european parliament. we, there are a lot of people who are looking for sim is policetic solution -- simplistic solutions, who are preaching policies of, well, very unfriendly policies. we have them here in europe too. we have them here in germany too. to take up what the president left off, digitization is a disruptive force, a technological force that brings about deep-seeded change and transformation in our society. look at history of the printing press. when this was invented what sort of consequences it had and

industrialization what sort of consequences it had. very often it led to enormous transformational process within individual societies. it took a while until societies learned how to find the right kind of policies to contain this and manage and steer this i think we live in a period of profound transformation, very similar to when we had transition from agricultural societies to industrial societies. when we, for example, see shifts of huge product lines from certain areas to other countries people tend to ask the question where is my place in this modern world? we have this in our country and in other countries. trying to keep a society together, trying to keep the older and younger people together, trying to keep those who live in rural areas together with those who live in cities is one of the mos important and most noble tasks of politicians these days. trying to see to it that each and everyone can find his or her

place but those that belong to certain groups say, we are the people and not the others that is something we can not allow to happen. that is something that i think at the time in the gdr, at the time when we had the dgrpeople stood in the street and said we are the people. that filled me with great joy. the fact that these people hijacked it have not filled me with great joy. we have to find new ways of addressing with people. new ways getting in contact with people. i'm optimistic we were able to do so. now taking leave from my partner, and friend, well, yes, it is hard, if you work together with somebody very well, leave-taking is very difficult. we are all politicians. we all know democracy lives off change. so in the united states of america, the constitution is very clear, stipulations on this. it's a tough rule.

eight years and that's it. out goes the president and a new one comes in. so, if it is in the german interests to have a good transatlantic relations, well, the task is also to look ahead but, personal, that we have freedom of movement in the whole of germany. if we want to see each other, well, i'm game. so we're not completely out of this world as we would say. >> [inaudible]. >> thank you very much. mr. president. you spoke in a great deal about what you have characterized as kind of a crude form of nationalism perhaps on the rise. i'm wondering if you would advise some of those protesters at home to stop demonstrating against some of the charged rhetoric that has been used by donald trump? and i'm wondering as well, if you advised your successor to be extra mindful of what you see is some very worrisome trends,

particularly when it comes to making his own potentially powerful staff picks? lastly, sir, in these final weeks of your presidency, do you believe you have any leverage to stop bashar al-assad and vladmir putin continuing to bomb aleppo? chancellor merkel, i would like to ask you, bashar al-assad described donald trump as natural ally. your foreign minister described donald trump as preacher of hate. i'm wondering would you tell americans that they now have a perception problem? >> one of the great things about our democracy is it expresses itself in all sorts of ways. and that includes people protesting. i have been the subject of protests during the course of my eight years and i suspect that there is not a president in our

history that at some point hasn't been subject to these protests. so, i would not advise people who feel strongly or are concerned about some of the issues that have been raised during the course of the campaign, i wouldn't advise them to be silent. what i would advise, what i advised before the election and what i will continue to advise after the election is that elections matter, voting matters, organizing matters. being informed on the issues matter, and what i consistently say to young people, i say it in the united states, but i will say it here in germany and across europe. do not take for granted our systems of government and our way of life. i think there is a tendency because we have lived in an era

that has been largely stable and peaceful, at least in advanced countries, where living standards have generally gone up, there is a a a tendency to assume that is always the case. it is not. democracy is hard work. in the united states if 43% of eligible voters do not vote, then, then democracy is weakened if we are not serious about facts and what's true and what's not, particularly in age of social media where so many people are getting their information in sound bites and snippets off their phones, if we

can't discriminate between serious arguments and propaganda , then we have problems. if people, whether they are conservative or liberal, left or right, are unwilling to compromise and engage in the democratic process, and areing absolutist views and demonizing opponents, then democracy will break down. and so i think my most important advice is, to understand what are the foundations of a healthy democracy, and how we have to engage in citizenship continuously, not just when something upsets us. not just when there's an election or when an issue pops

up for a few weeks. it is hard work, and, the good news is, i think there are a lot of young people, certainly involved in my campaigns and, think i continue to be involved in works, not just politically but through nonprofits and other organizations, that can carry this hard work of democracy forward. but i do think sometimes there is complacency. here in europe i think there are a lot of young people who forget the issues that were at stake in the cold war. who forget what it meant to have a wall. i will be honest, there are times when i listen to the rhetoric in europe where an easy equivalence somehow between the united states and russia and between you how our governments

operate versus other governments operate, where those distinctions aren't made. i've said many times around the world that, like any government, like any country, like any set of human institutions we have our flaws. we have operated imperfectly. there are times when we have made mistakes. there are times where i have made mistakes or our administration hasn't always aligned ourselves with the values that we need to align ourselves with. it is a work of constant improvement. but, i can say to the german people that the united states has been good for germany. has looked out for germany. has provided security for germany. has helped to rebuild germany and unify early germany and i can say across europe that many principles that have been taken for granted here around free

speech and around civil liberties, and an independent judiciary and, fighting corruption, those are principles that, you know, not perfectly but generally we have tried to apply not just in our own country but also with respect to our foreign policy and, and that should be remembered because in an age where there is so much active misinformation, and it is packaged very well and it looks the same when you see it on a facebook page or if you turn on your television, where some overzealousness on the part of,

a u.s. official is equated with constant and severe repression elsewhere, if everything seems to be the same and no distinctions are made then we won't know what to protect. we won't know what to fight for and you, we can lose so much what we've gained in terms of the kind of democratic freedoms and market based economy and prosperity that come to take for granted that was a long answer, wasn't it? i don't remember if there was a second part to it. i got caught all up in that one. >> i asked you to -- [inaudible] >> yes, i did. i did. he ran a extraordinarily unconventional campaign and it

resulted in the biggest political upset in perhaps modern political history, american history. and that means that he now has to transition to governance and what i said to him was that, what may work in generating enthusiasm or passion during elections, may be different than what will work in terms of unifying the country and gaining the trust even of those who didn't support hymn. and he is indicated his willingness to, his understanding of that but you're absolutely right, that has to reflect itself not only in the things he says but also how he fills out his administration.

and my hope is that that is something that he is thinking about. because he is not only is the president of the united states somebody that the entire country looks to for direction, but but sets the agenda internationally in a lot of ways. with respect to syria, we are going to continue to work as we have over the last five, six years to a political and transitional settlement. it would be naive to suggest with russia committed militarily as it is to supporting what in

many cases are barbarous tactics by the assad crush the opposition, the sort of indiscriminate bombing we've been seeing not just in aleppo but in many parts of the country over the last several years, it would be naive of me to suggest there will be a sudden 180-degree turn in policy by either assad or russia or iran at this point but we are going to continue to make the argument. we will continue to try to find humanitarian steps that can reach the people there. we're going to continue to try to obtain cessations of hostilities that lessen the human tragedy and the migration that is taking place. but ultimately the way this is going to be resolved is going to

have to be, a recognition by russia and a willingness to pressure assad, that a lasting, durable peace with a functioning country requires the consent of people. you can not purchase people's consent through killing them. they haven't made that transition yet but we're going to keep on trying. >> translator: i think i can speak for the whole of the federal government when i say that we are no longer in a way, in election mode in the united states. we're in postelection mode. there is an interest of the federal republic of germany to

cooperate well with the united states of america. this goes for each and every president on the basis of shared values and i believe that these are indeed shared values and should be shared values. so as to my position on president assad, assad as president has actively tried to kill his own people. he has bombed them with barrel bombs in a most terrible way. he has brought untold suffering over his people, if you look at aleppo and other places. when you talk to many syrian refugees who have fled here to germany, they will be able to tell you their own personal story and the majority of them, the great majority of them fled from assad. and most of them not even fled isis. i don't see him as an ally.

>> translator: thank you very much, mr. president, you, this cry of your hopes rather more in great historical terms, let me break this down to months and years. the fact that steve bannon was made as chief strategist, meeting mr. farage and the fact that prominent republican representatives did not decide to join this transition team, what makes you confident against a background of this, that president trump can be a real partner to the world and europe and germany? now, madam chancellor, if you hear those words of praise of the president with regard to you, this, what he said, can this not sort of demand too much from you and from germany? because too much is demanded and too much is expected from you, too great is the expectations that you can't meet them? >> i'm always optimistic.

there are times where i was in the oval office and people would come to me with all kinds of political problems and policy problems and international problems and my team would be getting discouraged and depressed and, i would say to them, i have to be optimistic because the odds of somebody named barack obama being president of the united states were very low and the fact that in my lifetime i have seen such enormous positive change in the united states and around the world, tells me that, that

although history does not travel in a state line, it moves in the direction of justice, and freedom, and a better life for people. but we have to fight for it. we have to work for it. what makes my cautiously optimistic about my successor and the shift from campaign mode to governance is, there is something about the solemn responsiblities of that office, the extraordinary demands that are placed on the united states. not just by its own people but

by people around the world, that forces you to focus, that demands seriousness, and if you're not serious about the job, then you probably won't be there very long because it will expose problems. even when you're doing a good job. even when you are attentive there are so many things that come across your deck that people are going to question you and you're going to have opponents and you're going to have critics, and you find that out pretty fast while you're sitting there.

i think the president-elect is going to see fairly quickly that the demands and responsibilities of a u.s. president are not ones that you can treat casually, and that in a big, complex, diverse country, the only way that you can be successful is by listening and reaching out to and working with a wide variety of people. and so, it is my hope that that is what will happen and i'm going to do everything i can over the next two months to help assure that happens. it is absolutely true that chancellor merkel is going to have significant responsibilities, has had extraordinary burreddens that she has had to to carry.

if she chooses to continue, you're right she will have big burdens. i wish i could be there to lighten her load somewhat but she's tough. and i have, i know what it means to carry burdens because the fact of the matter is if there are problems around the world, the first question people ask is why isn't washington doing something about it? this is why it's so important not to discount or take for granted the importance of the transatlantic alliance. this is probably the best place for me to end. in international forum, in g20s, in g7s, in the united nations, the united states and germany are not always perfectly aligned. america and europe are not

always perfectly aligned, but, the voice that speaks out on behalf of some dissident who is jailed in some jail halfway around the world, the voice expecting concern about a child in african village who doesn't have drinking water or subject to some terrible disease, the voice that insists on rules and norms governing international affairs, the voice that helps to to steer the world away from war wherever possible, that's our voice more often than not. and we're not always successful. but, if that voice is absent, or if that voice is divided, we will be living in a meaner,

harsher, more troubled world. and we have to remember that. and whoever is the u.s. president and whoever is the chancellor of germany and whoever is the leader of other european nations and democracies around the world, they to recognize that. there are going to be forces that argue for for cynicism, for looking the other way, with somebody ills's problems that are not going to champion people who are vulnerable because sometimes that is politically convenient. and if we don't have a strong transatlantic alliance standing up for those things, we will be giving to our children a worse world. we will go backwards instead of forwards. so whoever the u.s. president is, whoever the chancellor of germany is, we need to remember

that and our citizenry who decide who our presidents and chancellors are, need to remember that. >> translator: first, it is after all a very good thing if after eight years of cooperation the president of the united states says that this is a cooperation based on friendship, that we cooperated well. i feel that this is a very good, a very positive message and indeed and encouragement for me. now, secondly, i, fortunately know very many people and there are many, many more that i don't know and many politicians who stand up for the same values of democracy, of liberal societies, of open societies, of respect for the dignity of man and i feel that we are in a community of people here who stand up for these values, who try to

maintain them and wherever they are not yet respected, stand up for people's rights to enjoy them as he well. this is worth every effort. i think we're gratified to know that there are many, many people who feel committed to this goal. thank you very much. neil: all right. you're looking at two of the western world's long-est serving leaders. angela merkel, of course the german chancellor, has been in power i believe since 2005. barack obama in the waning months of his administration since 2009. but both took sort of a delicate dance around the prospects after donald trump coming into the oval office. the president blaming, really attributing much to mr. trump's success a rage, populist rage built in the united states and pointing out 43 million americans who could have voted, did not or assuming that majority would have voted for

hillary clinton or would, no right to complain about the results. president taking no blame for much of that tumult here. the president acknowledging unexpected developments the likes which we've never seen in american history. he also went on to talk about some of the developments going on in the globe and that hope as president trump would think twist about enacting trade deals with russia that would have only have short-term benefits but not address long-term ills. i hope mr. trump would not cut deals with rush that violate international norms. many would argue the president's own deals with iran and better than 1 1/2 billion dollars worth of cash payments to that government that might have violated some national norms. former national security advisor to vice president dick cheney, john hannah with us. john what do you make of this? >> i suppose for some people this was the president at his

best. very long answers, pensive, reflective, thoughtful. i thought it was, i mean, chancellor merkel ought to demand equal it time here. i thought this was a man still feeling like i had been run over by a mac truck on november 8th and wandering around recesses of his mind in extended disposition to the people of the world trying to explain what happened and as you said, neil, trying to take no blame for the fact as much it was rejection of hillary clinton it was painful, shocking and humiliating rejection of the obama legacy as well. neil: you know, john, he goes back they kind of like me and his own approval numbers and he couldn't reconcile that with rejection of hillary clinton outside of saying in the past it was kind of her fault that she didn't aggressively campaign hard. the democratic operation didn't go out in states like iowa where it should have not taking any of that blame.

that is a president will do on leaving office, put the best spin on his stewardship but the message i got from him for his successor is, don't really mess all the great things i did. which would be counterintuitive for donald trump who knows he got elected to at least mess some of that stuff up, right? >> yeah, no question. the president-elect clearly has a mandate on certain things and dismantling certain elements of the current president's legacy is very much part of that. i don't think there is any avoiding that. and in europe itself, i mean, part of the problem is the president's legacy is, has been a disaster. that the european union is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. nato is being challenged. russia's resurge gent. the threat of islamic terrorism has never been so high. very much as a result of president obama's policies and in places like syria, europe now

is being overwhelmed by the worst refugee crisis since world war ii. neil: you know, john, just your thoughts, i don't want to be too overtly political here, you askew that quite rightly, democratic presidents are generally more popular abroad than are republican presidents. in other words they admire and respect democratic presidents than they do republican ones. they're conservative cowboys or shoot from the hip or don't seem as sophisticated or erudite. i see that and read that in a lot of european press and how much they're going to miss barack obama. into that comes a donald trump, much like into that walked a ronald reagan, similarly dismissed by europe. how should donald trump handle that deal with that, should he worry about that, what? >> i think he has got to take the alliance seriously, neil, but i think donald trump comes in in a very strong position. i mean the fact is he has

created by some of his statements and postures a enormous amount of uncertainty, unpredictability in europe, as you saw in that press conference about what he is going to do. i think as long as he is committed to the security, stability and prosperity of the west, he ought to use that uncertainty about what he is going to do asireal leverage to get the europeans to get their act together, to step up and to once again become a, you know, a major pillar of western civilization in a very, very dangerous world. pull their weight, be an equal partner with the united states. neil: well-put, john. great having you. thank you very much for your patience through this, very long press conference, john. john hannah in washington, d.c. i want to show you something where the world is shifting its attention away from this president to this elevator bank. this is the elevator bank at the trump tower. it is getting to be like the old dick clark production room entrance where you make note of

everyone who waits outside of that elevator bank, presumably on their way to see and talk to, kiss the ring of one donald trump. sean spicer, for example, the communications head of the rnc just got off that. connell mcshane at this busy trump tower, what he season who he sees going in and out of tha. connell, what have you noticed today? >> it is quite a scene here, neil, i got to tell you. i don't think they're letting me in that elevator. you're right, we're looking at goes on vips moving in and out. i will give you a run down. as he moves the camera down the street here. fifth avenue looks like north lawn of the white house. reporters line upped for television. that is in the north lawn of white house where protesters, new yorkers and tourists walk up to you while you're doing the reports. those reporters are lined up on west side of fifth avenue. 56th street is closed down,

just south of trump tower. it is closed down from madison avenue a block east of here back to sixth avenue, back where you guys are. they have a white tint set up checking i.d.s and checking bags going in. as the bus goes by there up fifth avenue, you have the gucci store. mayor de blasio was talking about that a little bit yesterday. apparently not his concern. that is in the trump tower building. right out front security couldn't be tighter with members of the nypd heavily armed. a lot of people coming in and out, let me show you a screen that has some list of vips in there for today. likes of henry kissinger. we know governor nikki haley been in trump tower. as far as we know she is still there. the governor the south carolina rumored to have a job in the upcoming administration. governor rick scott. ceo of oracle meeting with mr. trump and military leaders as well. all this leads up to this evening, late this afternoon, this evening, prime minister of

japan shinzo abe, his first face-to-face meeting with a foreign leader. quite a busy day. neil: that is a foreign leader worried worried worried about voice mr. trump, not footing their bill to protect them and presence of u.s. troops and i'm sure he has got his worries? reporter: you know, there is huge presence of japanese media as you might expect to see the prime minister. neil: sure. >> reporter: yes, one of those issues would be the military protection. that is something we talk about throughout the afternoon. the other thing is trade, right? trump not only during the campaign but if you go back watch old interviews with donald trump back as far as the '80s talking about trade and cited japan. there are some concerns. reuters had a report that abe's advisors were telling him, don't take what donald trump tells you literally, which is fascinating some way when you think about the meeting between, well, world leaders who one will be a world leader here pretty soon.

neil: connell mcshane, outside there right now. this looks like could be a gucci delivery arriving or pizzas. again, he has got the perfect, who ordered the pepperoni? i have charlie gasparino here. he is keeping track of who's going and who's there just for show. what do you hear? >> i would say that is truffle pizzas. neil: looks pretty swanky. >> the big question i guess today, particularly around wall street is treasury secretary, who will get it, particularly after some of our reporting yesterday about jamie dimon still being on the short i list. neil: do they want one of their own there? is that the idea? >> i think donald trump wants jamie dimon. that is basically what i'm hearing. there was some marginal outreach a couple weeks ago, shot down by the trump people. in, since that time, at least in recent days from what i understand there have been increased pressure from the trump transition team on dimon to at least be considered to take the job. do you want the job? we would love you to have the

job. neil: why him? not as if hank paulson was firing on all cylinders? >> some people say he missed the financial crisis and had to put the genie back in the bottle. neil: no guaranty a wall streeter will give you anymore insight. >> i think he is considered a rock star in banking. remember when he was attacked by the obama administration, jamie dimon handled himself. neil: very good point. >> just a couple headlines here, neil. the trump people believe there is a 50/50 chance dimon will take the job. the dimon people tell me made it really clear to donald that he will be an advisor, like unofficial advisor, he will help out but the job is not suitable for him. they have told me that up until this very minute. one caveat, hank paulson kept saying no, no, to george bush and said yes. neil: i remember. >> you get the impression -- neil: what happens to mnuchin? >> we should point out he is being vetted right now. mnuchin is not -- if they're vetting anybody they are vetting

mnuchin. cron if they're vetting jamie. all these guys have issues in their background. you have to pass confirmation process. so, i don't know where that vetting says. i'm not saying i know anything bad about mnuchin. there is a process here. allegedly at the top of the list from what i understand. donald would love to have jamie say yes, is what i understand. neil: interesting. that is very interesting. charlie gasparino, thank you very, very much. you might heard a little bit of talk about the republicans that want to wipe out the deficit and deal with the debt, bring back earmarks. why were they doing that? speaker ryan shot them down but he didn't kill the idea off. why that worries a lot of folks who are worried about the debt getting worse under donald trump? , not better. after this.

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♪ neil: all right vice president-elect pence is meeting as we speak with speaker paul ryan. the issue came up yesterday surprised a lot of folks that republicans were kicking around bringing back earmarks, something speaker ryan for the time-being pushed aside outright cancel or say no chance in you know what. i want to get a read on that from former senator tom coburn. he made a career out of fighting, i would extend that to earmarks but any type of spending waste and abuse. senator, good to have you. what do you make of the talk republicans kicking around the idea? >> i think it shows you elitism, arrogance and careerism still invades and controls washington. the very fact that they're tone deaf after this election, that they would want to bring back one of the most corrupt process there are? you know, the republicans say,

well, administration will spend this money anyway. no, it won't. not if you say you can't spend it. and so it's again, this is a contrast of doing your oath, which is living within enumerated powers. or using the money that we don't have to feather your own nest and improve your chances for re-election. it is real simple process. city needs something, it is city's responsibility. if they get a congressman through a lobbiest to put in something that is earmark, congressman looks better, citizens of the city don't have to be responsible except our kids will be responsible. the most corrupt process in the world number one. number two, it violates their oath upholding constitution and him the nature of federal government. they're absolutely tone deaf, those that want to do this, they're the careerists and elitists really country ought to throw out. so when donald trump talks about draining the swamp, here are these guys come back and gals,

say, well, the swamp is just fine as long as it helps us. it is not about helping america. it is about helping them. neil: speaker ryan didn't say no way, no how. >> john boehner did. john boehner did. neil: i remember that. let me ask you, senator, one of the arguments for bringing up this type of talk of ear it might help a president trump get votes for some of the bigger things he wants to do, whether that is tax cuts, other initiatives but that, you would have to give a little on that to get the big stuff he wants. isn't that justifying more spending for more spending? >> sure. it is bribery. look, if i get an earmark, i'm obligated to vote for anybody else that gets an earmark, right? so any bill that comes through -- that is how we greased our way to $20 trillion of debt with earmarks. that is how we got it. you can't believe, i eliminate ad earmark for picking up duck poop in new york city.

i did it by embarrassing the person that sponsored it. it is all stupidity in the world. there are good things, i don't deny that but it is not the federal government's role to do that that is how we got 20 trillion dollars in debt. to me we don't have courageous political leaders stand up to do what the oath to the constitution says to do. instead they go easy way of corrupting the process and enhancing their own political careers. it is sickening to me and so disappointing. neil: we hope it is short lived. i have worries. >> the answer to that, taking power and limiting scope and jurisdiction of the federal government and bring it back home. weaken their power. neil: that is not a bad idea. that is not a bad idea. tom coburn, thank you very much. this is something tabled by republicans but has not been rejected. meanwhile taking a peek at the elevator bank that has become the most famous in the world.

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neil: it's another busy day at the trump tower. we will show you here that people go in and out and all the fuss that creates. there are other entrances to this building beside fifth avenue. do i lock don the elevators which of course the last couple days the likes of ted cruz. prominent republicans and even some democrats going in and out of there. these are perfunctory social visits are sent in more maybe a cabinet consideration. they will be going through shirley ted locke well, a meeting with the president elect today. he is mr. trump's domestic transition team.

when you're entering through the elevator, a quick wave to last. we much appreciate it. how are you? >> i'm doing fine. let me say at the top my wife said no more skype with neil cavuto, your handyman living proof that your head is bigger than his. [laughter] neil: i don't know. i have the edge there. i know you can't doubled confidence know what i expect or want you to, but it does seem like in the click a bunch of folks going through those elevators. are a lot of these just, you know, polite as they, or something more going on here? >> i don't know, but i think when you find someone, it seems that actually buys into the latin phrase from anyone. it is the notion that

president-elect trump invites president elect and has too little subtraction and division and now it is time for political and economic multiplication and addition. neil: as you're speaking sure enough, rumor treasury secretary just leaving trump tower right now. >> the speculation is a fun part of the whole process. what i want to establish today is that we have been visibly working since right before labor day, building a platform from which team trump can launch its first 100 days. as i said before, we took our cue from his gettysburg address where he in fact laid out the framework for how he was going to harness government and

unleash the energy of a growing economy and putting americans back to work again. i've been talking with coal miners come the steel workers, small business owners, folks who love the constitution. we are basically saying we will keep the promise. team trump will keep the promise of getting us going again and respecting laws, you know, the rule of law. neil: one other thing that comes up in this discussion is how the administration handled this transition with you folks. the president speaking in germany a few minutes ago seemed to dismiss the notion that the election was a repudiation or souring on his policies that he had nothing to do with this. what do you guys think about when you hear that? >> first, let me just say when you look at the labor

participation rate, if you just think of it in economic terms, you know, you can get in a back-and-forth. but when you actually understand that means income for families have flatlined and people are not working. people becoming more and more dependent on government. then you have to say what caused that drop in labor participation? what caused the anemic growth rate? when you hear president-elect trump talk about stimulating the economy through tax cuts and you hear him talk about unleashing the power of small businesses by in fact he regulating, look, you have to begin to say this is a contrast. elections have meaning and what donald trump ran on this time was pure and simple he was going to break up this embrace of the

status quo because the status quo is not good enough for america to go forward. neil: you're not buying what the president has to say this is nothing to do with me. >> it's not personal. the condition that our economy is and is not acceptable. neil: already. you should know is you and i were chatting here, a number of viewers have said and it comes down to atlanta just wrote me, e-mailing mr. blackwell need not worry about taking your big head thrown. you are far ahead of that. i thought i was a little mean, but that is just a quick snapshot of the viewers than what they are thinking. so nice try. very good seeing you. continued success. ken blackwell. a weight of the world on her shoulders that he handled that with a good sense of humor. the president elect a son-in-law a lot of attention because quietly, some would say just

ruthlessly working behind the scenes to clear the decks of non-loyalists and those who would not have his father-in-law shirts at play. real clear politics national reporter, you know that color editor in chief. so, if you are watching this and you're watching the quiet rule of the son-in-law who we are told was first and foremost to jettison for chris christie and all of his lieutenants on the transition team. you first of all by that? >> i do. jerry kushner and chris christie have a rocky relationship. a long history that tolerated each other throughout the campaign at the request of donald trump. now that that is over, there is a combination of things that happen. donald trump goes to the white house companies to the president. all of a sudden the trump transition team becomes aware that the task of taking a break government is much bigger than

it seems they been predicted. donald trump quickly gets rid of the christie element and focuses on having mike pence takeover this whole transition process because he needs someone to take the helm who has a lot of experience running something like this enhances the guide now. neil: i want to give people the back story on this. jerry kushner's father was pursued legally by ben attorney chris christie, spent about 18 months for tax evasion and lots of other things. i am sure that can't be forgotten whether it played a role here we will never know. we do know that christie is largely out of this administration to be. is that safe to say? >> i think so. donald trump ran a campaign against scandal, against potentially a clinton administration he thought would then play it by some as well

talking a lot about the foundation of course, the e-mails and all of that. to bring someone like chris christie who has that cloud still looming over him to be very controversial for this administration that wants to start out with a clean slate. jerry kushner as we know has been very involved in the campaign. it's very close and seen as a top adviser to his father-in-law , to the president elect and whether he plays a formal role in this administration are not, we can expect he will continue to be one of the few people that really has donald trump's ear as he prepares to take the oval office. >> or something very different about christie. it seems like the trump campaign weathered scandals. they always had scandals knocking at their door whether the candidate himself recorded on gas heat and yet they continue to process most of the time as if nothing was going on. something unique about chris christie that i don't think has been fully exposed to the public. jury kushner seems just as

likely a suspect in how this develops. neil: the trump folks do not want any lobbyists, former president, potentially future ones anywhere near their team and we're told a lot of the christie folks are just that, lobbyists. not all of them, but that was one of the compelling reasons. you almost in this town come in your town can't avoid lobbyists, can you? >> no come in 60 minutes interview that everybody in washington is related to lobbying in some way so to speak to paraphrase him. he campaigned as we know in favor of draining the swamp and some of his initial pics of advisors and people surrounding him, the fact that they were lobbyists are connected to lobbyists was controversial. this is a good step for the president elect team to take to them obvious from the campaign. they also talked today on a conference call again and lobbyists with connections to foreign governments. that was something controversial

dealing with paul manafort. treat to watch closely because that might involve the whole trump business empire. thank you both very much. meanwhile, democrats doing a little soul-searching. you heard the president of the united states not for blame for what happened, but a live look at a bernie sanders rally going on. there is a growing suspicion here that the party is going to take a hard charge less because that's where the voters are and that they feel is the future democratic party should be. to read from senator bob kerrey, former senator great state of nebraska. after this. this is my retirement. retiring retired tires. and i never get tired of it. are you entirely prepared to retire? plan your never tiring retiring retired tires retirement with e*trade.

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president-elect mike ponce -- mike pence meeting with nancy pelosi. they postpone the elections until presumably everyone can get their ducks in order here. that doesn't mean she wouldn't get the job but it's not a slam dunk or they would've voted already. democratic senator in the fine state of nebraska senator kerry. what do you mean by what has gone on as far particularly in your party as it tries to sort all of this out? a lot of finger pointing as to whether hillary clinton should have campaigned harder for you heard it all. but you think? >> frankly i don't find it interesting. much more important for me is can you find middle ground on economic policies and regulatory policies and social education is. i'm concerned as he sat in the warm up the democrat might move

to the last, but the president-elect has been decidedly moving to the right. it is a concern. if you're going to get the kind of unity that mr. trump called for on election night which we unquestionably need, you don't get the unity if you move further and further to the right and the democrats move further and further to the left. you can talk about draining the swamp, but it's not going to be a very pleasant place to see in washington to date. if the alligators on one side and the crocodile on the other, nobody's getting anything done. neil: you know, republicans have the run of the table. if the republicans turn a lot of what democrats did act in those first two years at a time barack obama next fix this, you know, we are in hard cash to get everything they wanted done done.

do you fear republicans do the same and as servers will we are in the same kind of sticky wicket? >> i don't fear it. what concerns me if they want to get the economy growing faster will take democratic initiatives come out large infrastructure investments and republican initiatives which is reduction in the corporate tax trying to get more investment into the economy as well as regulatory reduction. these things typically require bipartisan support. if you're not going to have demagogy and coming out of it. what happened with the stimulus package in 2009 which was in part driven by a phenomenal collapse in the economy associated with the collapse of the banking industry. that wasn't comparable from what we got today. the affordable health care act partisan assault and as a consequence the legislation and that being flawed as a result of that. it is very difficult to explain to the american people what is

being done because both sides are taking shots. neil: neither party has a piece of the argument for the other legislation. we love looking at the elevator, senator. >> my office is right next door. neil: do you have trouble getting in and out of there? even you. and now, you mentioned something real quick. you mention this idea of infrastructure and that is something donald trump wants and we are told might be included in the 100 day early initiative that would include tax cut on one of the concepts he is brought up is this idea of lowering or giving tax relief to companies that hold trillions abroad to incentivize money and use a chunk of it for infrastructure spending. when you think of that as a way to get those for the tax cut, votes from democrats for this, the whole nine yards.

>> i don't think it's so much getting votes, but an effort to find agreement in the middle. you always have critics on the right and critics on the left. if used guard all the way on the right, democrats are forced on the left. you don't end up with anybody in the middle willing to take a chance to do the right thing. for example, we still had the most compelling budget problem, entitlement. whatever you do to fix those entitlements, talk about social security. so that young people are getting screwed as they currently are, it's not likely to be popular over the age of 65. you need both righties together. otherwise both parties say i don't want to do because you can attack me in a primary and general. >> they've both got to jump up holding hands together. senator, good luck getting to your office. you should just walk right through. it's ridiculous. senator, thank you very much.

one of the things donald trump is promising for the first 100 days is immediately acting and regulations. remember when you put anyone out there, you should take two away. now he's gone so far to say you should get rid of a three to one, four to one ratio here. people are hinting that could be revolutionary. after this.

neil: keeping track of what is going on with interest rates and bonds lower in price than racking up meal ever since mr. trump is elected nine days ago. but that's two and a quarter% and the u.s. now it a fixed rate of 4%. it doesn't necessarily mean you read this. there acting to see the federal reserve will go ahead. it seems to be increasingly again and some folks with said economic activity as a result of

the election of donald trump. this matches the experts who can crunch it far better than i. two marriages here. gerry willis back with a spirit for economic director under president bush senior. todd, we will begin with you on these expectations that the market into a house. there's going to be a pick up one way or the other. >> president obama came into office and he was no friend of business. he picked off industries one by one. cole, boom. health insurance. no industries felt confident and therefore even though we had an economic recovery it was weak and business investment. if donald trump says i want to help you make money, i think the market is probably right to say they might be better to have a friend on our side as opposed to an opponent.

neil: you are also hearing this might be a belated response on the part of the bond market to finally see a pickup in inflation. you won't be dramatic but enough to justify what we are seeing. >> yeah, i think so. interest rates are going up before president-elect trump is elected. the trend was going that direction. no doubt trump is being thought of as a president. it is a business unlike the obama administration which was criminalizing basically lending behavior, business behaviors that would seem to be created. particularly a small-business owner in the housing finance days never was it more acute in terms of the imitation that we felt as business owners. we sought from the cost to build the house just from the regular tory dave, $8000 if you could

build an f1 50 for less labor costs. do you get a sense that the regulations can sometimes be more of a burden than any debate back and forth on taxes or interest rate because every day we hear is that they will be part of the 100 day agenda. regulations could be a leading part of it. >> i think it will have a impact on the economy. president obama has put into place some 392 major regulations. that means a regulation with $100 million impact. fortunately in dollars out of the economy each and every year. this was in a suggestion for congress. they were putting this through themselves. the support from congress or the

american people. these were ideas put forth. neil: they just added to the regulations. >> i can tell you back, but this is a huge earthen and everything as you were saying from paul to mortgages really across the board. he seen such static economic growth. you don't know what's coming down the pipe is not kind of world. >> and i would argue regulations on business hurt consumer confidence. for the last for years in the middle class families have lived in fear when the postman came to deliver mail, it would include an envelope from the health insurance company because of obamacare you no longer have health insurance. what did that due to consumer confidence? it hurt it. both the business side as well as consumers that ultimately feel the pitch of over regulation and strangulation put in place.

neil: where do you think it's going? if you look forward to things getting better, the other after all something that started with an uptick in rate and then went nuts. we had double-digit mortgages and we have an economy swooning. where and what do you see happening? >> it's kind of funny seeing headlines that see the rate skyrocketing. 3.95%. we can pause the country and probably rest assured we have a lot more room to go. >> i agree with you because i can remember that's what my wife and i were paying a day. what a bargain. dgc anything when you get used to something so low it doesn't take much to free spending.

>> historically takes six months for the market to really adapt to it. you have guys on the sidelines and they're kind of seduced and he taken them for granted. this could be stimulative in that sense. but what's really happening is you have 84 million millennial speared only a third of them at the homebuying age. the great thing is we have a bias towards living indoors. if those guys tried to start households, get jobs, see pay increases, i'm not concerned about it. question is what does it do to the price is? batman actually been good for millennial good if this out on the price growth and now they jump in. neil: interesting. we shall see. this might be a sign of how influential donald trump has become now that he's the president-elect of the united states. apple is kicking around the idea

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neil: all right. i think we have mike pence out of the capitol now. i don't know if the meeting just concluded with nancy pelosi, or whether he is going into another meeting but he is has been a busy guy. he is the transition team leader

here. remember, they kicked chris christie aside. he is sort of been there secretary of state trying to mend fences within the republican party, reach out to the democrats. we'll see how it is working. meantime new york's attorney general not happy with what so far a lot of donald trump's transition team is planning. we're learning a little bit more from charlie gasparino who has the details. what is going on, charlie? >> as we reported a couple days ago the trump transition team is looking at so-called blue sky laws. these are state laws that allow attorney generals, eric snyder essentially to go after wall street abuses to regulate wall street. wall street firms not just have the sec and justice department to worry about, they have to worry about 50 state regulators. they hate it. republicans hate it because think it is overregulation. trump's transition team, paul atkins, one of the leaders in the regulatory effort, some people say has inside track to

be new sec chairman to zero out the blue sky laws including one really onerous one known as martin act which new york attorney generals including eric schneiderman has been using to squeeze huge settlements out of wall street. this is what we're rather reporting. schneiderman remained silent until today. put out fairly lengthy statement, fairly troubled what trump is trying to do. setting stage for fairly interesting battle between state ags, particularly activists, liberal democratic state ags like himself, like kamala harris in california who is no longer ag. she won the u.s. senate seat vacated by barbara boxer, whoever her replacement, setting up battle if the trump campaign and transition team goes through with this, administration goes through with, between the trumps and state ags around the country who will see their power diminish if donald trump tries to zero out the laws.

the way he will do it, get congress to pass something called preemption. listen, when it comes to regulating banks, it's the federal law, not the state laws that matter. this will be a pretty interesting battle. schneiderman racked up billions of dollars in settlements against jpmorgan and all these other banks. one question, one issue i do have, you asked me about chris christie and where he sits in the transition going forward? does very a cabinet position? neil: right. >> i've been talking to people last couple days they say it is radio silence on him right now. that doesn't mean he won't get one. clearly his name is pushed down a lot. here is one thing i will say. other people might not make vetting process, his name might come back even with the "bridgegate" scandal. neil: for cabinet position or something else? >> lower level or under secretary. neil: okay. >> i'm saying radio silent on him right now. neil: amazing when put out a lot of his skin on the line for donald trump.

he is not going to be getting anything for it. we'll see. we'll see. thank you, buddy. >> anytime, my friend. neil: meantime here is a sign that you are getting things done, when the world shudders and not only calls you but tries to make nice with you. reports now that apple is considering making its iphones in the u.s. this is something that donald trump bemoaned during the campaign, companies like apple were getting away with sort of labor murder here by hiring workers abroad to make all of these fancy gadgets at fraction of the pay and bring the jobs back to the united states. to trump economic advisor steve moore on that. what do you make of that? >> we're making america great again already. i think it is a great development. i want as many jobs here in the united states as possible. if we can produce things here through a tax and regulatory climate makes it, incentive-based system where we're most productive in the world, fantastic.

this dovetails on your previous conversation about those rising interest rates. and i want to reiterate this point because i feel very strongly about it. i think the reason these interest rates are rising is bullish sign that people want to invest in america again. they want to buy dollars. they want to invest. there is more demand for capital. that is a good reason for interest rates to rise, especially when the stock market has been generally rising at the same time. this is indication that wall street and main street businesses understand hey, there is new sheriff in town. it will be more pro-business. neil: i will give you the half empty glass version of that from some economists. >> common, neil. neil: here is what they say. you can refute this and feel free. they don't think donald trump will be very serious about spending. that they think he is going to make deficits worse. the debt will be worse. that he has got infrastructure spending in the works. no matter how he comes about there won't be money for it. so he will go into the red. you say, what? >> let me just, even if all that

were true, i don't believe a word of it, let's say deficits will go up, look we had a president for eight years borrowed $10 trillion. what happened over that period to interest rates, neil, did they go up or down? neil: very good point. not as if steve moore, one the most important number thinkers, economists, you name it on the planet, is not worried about the debt. you are. >> no, of course i am worried about the debt. look, donald trump, i've been spending time with the transition team people. i mean we're going to cut spending. i guarranty you. these agencies, we've found so much waste. i will give you one example. new report came out recently from medicare agency, that finds over $50 billion of waste phil, sorry, fraudulent payments that are made by medicare. now can you imagine private company having a 12 1/2% fraud rate? i looked at visa,

american express, they're half a percent. we have fraud rates ad food stamp offices 10, 12, 15%. neil: they're never able to leverage off that around get it, you know what i mean? >> nobody took it seriously. neil: all right. >> nobody in washington is taking this stuff seriously, hopefully, i'm hoping, keeping my fingers crossed this president will make a commitment running government as a business. i think that is big reason he won this election. tired of career politicians, somebody who knows how to cut expenses meet a payroll and make a profit. so look, i think we will get this debt uncontrol but we'll grow the economy, neil. if you want to bring the debt burden down you have to get growth up to 4%. you never bring the deficit down 1 1/2% what we had for the last year. we have to get to 4% growth. we have a plan on energy, health care and regulation that is going to do that. that is why interest rates are rising. people want to buy into america now. great time to be in the stock market. great time. neil: are you going to be in that administration? >> i will do whatever

donald trump wants me to do. i have had time of my life working with them. i want to stay with you here, neil, at fox. neil: i can't blame you. what about all the wall streeters, jamie dimon rumored for treasury? >> great. i like jamie dimon. steve mnuchin. neil: you know who the person is? >> i know jamie dimon. neil: i think you know who the next treasury secretary is, you're not telling me? >> no. i think i'm hearing my friend steve mnuchin i worked with on the tax bill. neil: you're blinking very fast. >> if i knew you would be the first to know, neil. neil: steve, thank you very, very much. he is a power broker in his own right. steve moore. has ear of the president-elect and a lot of interesting ideas never tried before. this one shocked me when my staff first alerted me to this they're trying to arrange a meeting between donald trump and mitt romney. mitt romney of course, who had a lot of nasty things to say about donald trump, said he would be a

disgrace as nominee, even after he was elected barely said anything all right, he won. they want a meeting. i know that expression, fly on the wall is an overdone one. so we're not going to repeat the fly on the wall thing we heard so much about when barack obama and donald trump were in a meeting. picture any creature on any wall. that's big. more after this.

>> i'm jeff flock in lake station, indiana, with your fox business brief, talking gas prices. look at that one behind me. under $2 a gallon here in indiana. that is 20 cents cheaper than the national average, according to aaa stands at 2.14.8. pretty good price. where is the gas price slide coming from, opec deal, november 4th, they didn't get a deal together cutting production. we lost 3 1/2% on gas prices. sinces trump presidency, another 2.6% down on gas prices. where is it cheapest? look at midwest. oklahoma with the cheapest gas prices in the nation, 1.81. missouri and kansas not far behind. hawaii is the most expensive state. $2.88 a gallon. still well below $3. that is the fox business brief. nor neil cavuto "coast to coast." stay tuned.

neil: all right. we've been keeping very close eye on the people going to and from the trump tower. among them, jeff sessions, who apparently has very much impressed mr. trump, saying that he is unbelievably impressed with senator jeff sessions and his record as an alabama ag. whether that means that he is considering the senator to be

the next attorney general is anyone's guess, but these are little droplets. they pour. so i don't know what to make of that i know kennedy does, she follows this stuff closely. >> very closely. neil: when he mentioned he was impressed in session's case of his record as an alabama ag, what does that tell you? he was considered for defense. >> i honestly think donald trump is faking everyone out with so many appointments. i think he is just trying to get people talking. he is throwing smoke. he knows who all the finalists are. maybe he knows who are all the winners. neil: i think it is pizza guy. the pizza guy would be secretary of state. >> that would be awesome. neil: no one gone up to the penthouse -- >> more than the pizza guy. president-elect trump tweeted he is very comfortable with him. neil: talking about body language and what you do, i think a lot of them like jeb hensarling went to reporters, congressman apparently being

entertained for treasury secretary. >> i would like to see him as treasury secretary. neil: that would be interesting. but he went to the microphones when he got out of the elevator. he was going out of the front door and then came back to the microphones. is that a good thing? >> i think that is natural thing. congress is very crowded and when they see a rapt audience and cluster of microphones they can't help themselves. neil: right. >> like a methadone clinic to someone trying to kick heroin. neil: i think it is a bad idea if you're getting publicity for yourself. >> he can't help it. you're absolutely right. neil: if you're donald trump, seeing that upstairs, oh, that is not what i wanted him to do. >> then it becomes the jeb show instead of low energy, he is perhaps got bad judgment. and you don't want to exercise that. neil: we don't know. >> we don't know. he is a free market person. very interesting things coming out of the financial services committee and the house including the choice act i will

discuss on my show, 8:00 p.m. eastern here on the fox business network. neil: thank you. >> i think if he curtails a lot of dodd-frank he could be very, very interesting. he is close with mike pence. that is why he is my pick. neil: what do you make of what happened to chris christie? >> it is interesting because i think, you know, it has been natural assumption that all of the loyalists would get awarded with lollipops. neil: right. >> that is a phrase that has been thrown about throughout this entire process you but i really think you are seeing some people who are surprised at the victory and they are calling themselves to attention and they realize that perhaps loyalty is not the only ingredient in this all-important souffle. neil: if you think about ones being entertained for positions, they didn't come out the gate supporting donald trump. many of them, you know, it took a while to acknowledge even that he won, and yet they're getting the audience with the king.

>> shows you meeting with mitt romney and nikki haley is being considered. neil: nikki haley, that is big one. >> no support for donald trump. if he is talking about nominating her for secretary of state, that is a really big deal. that is outreach to the party, no, i'm really actually bringing everyone together. he is not as predictable as everyone thought. that is why he is the president-elect because he surprised people at every turn and that's why i wouldn't be surprised if a lot of these meetings are just to throw off the press. neil: that is interesting. that could very well be the case. the conventional thinking is that cabinets are invariably filled with conventional people. >> yes. neil: we bet the same kind of conventional results. a little bit more conservative with republicans, a little more liberal with democrats. they call come from the same petri dish of the world of politics for the most part. >> yeah. neil: if you saw that again would it worry you or what is your sense? >> i think i would be surprised.

i think there is unconventional thinking goes into it. he appears to be a very intuitive administrator and, you also wants to delegate. he has to delegate a lot of these responsibilities. but he campaigned against the establishment. when your whole thrust has been drain the swamp you have to make good on that. that is another reason to saw christie shifted out of power. neil: you can't have these in your cabinet. >> christie was talking to a lot of lobbyists, lawyers, that is why he was relieved some of his -- neil: "star-ledger," new jersey paper, he did that because he thought he could do that, what are you doing? he is a lobbiest. >> listen to any of the speeches staring at the back of donald trump's head? neil: exactly. "kennedy," 8:00 p.m. eastern. she is great interviewer. zings the guests. >> i do not. i learned from the best. neil: amazing.

you're laughing. we caught ken blackwell. he was here a few minutes ago. we caught him going in. we told him to wave. does he wave, guys? he doesn't wave. lovely wife going him. that was a wave, ralph! that little tip of the hand was a wave. not even going in the elevator, right? where the heck is he go egg? starbucks? 58 floors. >> maybe stairs, more after this. so that i can take my trading platform wherever i go. you know that thinkorswim seamlessly syncs across all your devices, right? oh, so my custom studies will go with me? anywhere you want to go! the market's hot! sync your platform on any device with thinkorswim. only at td ameritrade

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donald trump, who was, didn't say very nice things about her out on the campaign trail as you recall. so a member of the joint economic committee asked her directly, do you plan to quit. here is what she said? >> can you envision any circumstances where you would not serve out your term as chair of the federal reserve? >> no, i can not. i was confirmed by the senate to a four-year term, which ends at the end of january of 2018. and it is fully my intention to serve at that term. reporter: now, just for the record, donald trump never said if he was elected, if he were actually fire janet yellen. he said that he would replace her once her term, her time was up as he put it. neil. neil: he asked her to quit though? she has that term, right at the --

>> oh, yeah, fbi director, he can ask all he wants but their term is their term, right? >> that's correct. the heads of these independent agencies, fbi is part of the justice department, department of justice, but the fed and other independent agencies, they can, they can decline to quit if a president asks but usually, you know, if a president wants you to go, you kind of go. but i did look back at, you know the last six or so fed chairs and they all, they all stayed until the end of their terms with new presidents. neil: they serve out their terms unless they want to quit which rarely if ever happens. thank you very much, peter barnes. learning about mike pence who is meeting with. the next one is a biggie after this.

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neil: all right, it was away. we can now determine in a video examination, the trump transition team member, we told

to wave to us. that's a wave. that's a wave. there you go. there you go. director all over it. those who doubt me -- that was acknowledgment. we told him wave. it was a limited thing. it wasn't this thing but it's a wave. [laughter] neil: trish regan, that was a wave. trish: thanks, niel. president obama on his final world tour attempt to go sound the alarm in donald trump in berlin saying he hopes trump is cautious with russia and refusing antitrump protestors here in the united states to stand down, all this as german reporters asked whether trump will be a threat to the world. i guess the german press is less