>> we'll see you there. >> and this could push dow 20k. >> here is to the entrepreneurs, hopefully a better business environment for them in the next four years. maria: yeah, like simple mills. have a great day. here is stuart varney and "varney & company." stuart: thank you very much. it should be a week of celebration. instead it's turning into a week of confrontation. good morning, everyone. on friday donald trump becomes the 45th president, but at least 20 congressional democrats will not be at the inauguration. congressman john lewis is leading the exit. he said trump is not a legitimate president. the effort to undermine the new administration has moved into high gear. in the new york times this morning, mr. trump is called to letcher and his election tainted. countless celebrities refuse to perform at the inauguration and there will be attempts to disrupt it yet today, mr. trump will meet with martin luther

king iii at trump tower. here comes another confrontation, with china. beijing says it will take the gloves off over trump's support for taiwan and they're name calling. mr. trump, they say, is a rookie. tomorrow, leader ping speaks as a leader according to the chinese news agency. mr. trump has engaged in some confrontation, too. told the drug companies that medicare and medicaid will negotiate drug prices, lower drug prices and going off bmw importing from mexico. yes, it's confrontation week. one last headline. the debt will hit $20 trillion just before president obama leaves off. politics and money, it's still very intense and "varney & company" is about to begin.

♪ >> today, the markets may be closed, but fox business is open for business. bringing you the insight and analysis you need and can't get anywhere else. while cnbc is showing reruns, we'll show you how to make your next move. no wonder we're america's fastest growing cable network, fox business network. stuart: it's irresistible, to poke the competition a little bit. the markets are closed, but the other guys are still sleeping, and we've got plenty to go at. congressman john lewis says he will not attend the inauguration because mr. trump's election was not legitimate. roll tape. >> i don't see president-elect as a legitimate president. >> you do not consider him a legitimate president? why is that?

>> i think the russians participated in helping get this man elected and they have destroyed the candidacy of hillary clinton. i don't plan to attend the inauguration. it will be the first one that i miss since i've been in the congress. stuart: i believe mr. lewis did not attend the inauguration of george w. bush in 2001 is. here is how mr. trump, donald trump responded on twitter, always on twitter. congressman john lewis should spend more time fixing his district which is falling apart, not to mention crime infested, all talk, talk, talk, no action or results. congressman lewis is one of more than two dozen democrats who say they're not attending the inauguration. tammy bruce is here. now, there's a lot of media outrage about what mr. trump said in response so john lewis,

but no outrage that i could find about what mr. lewis said if the first place. >> because that's their narrative from the beginning, that's what they've been moving from the start. hillary's party after the election in new york, donors are complaining is all she is talking about is james comey and the russians and interestingly, here we are, near the inauguration, and it's again, james comey and the russians. their only hope, they have to ignore their own failures, they have to hope to be able to send the message that it was stolen from them. now, that does not help democrats, it does not help the inner city. all of those democrats going now, i would have loved to have seen the democrats coming together as a former community organizer who talk about the bloodshed in chicago or unemployment rate for young black men in many districts in this country of over 50%, but we haven't seen that and representative lewis, beyond his own district, he is a sort of representative nationally, taking that position. where has he been in the degradation of the inner cities and when it comes to employment? >> do you think he went too far

in saying mr. trump is not a legitimate president? i take it, you do? >> well, i do and he is now, unfortunately, look, of course the civil rights icon. this is martin luther king, jr. day, but he has become a politician. just like being a marine, a marine every day. stuart: he's a leader in black america, why did he say that right before mlk day and the inauguration? timing here? >> and he sent out a fundraiser pretty much after that. a fund raising letter. it's cynical on their part and it's a shame. these are the messages we want to send. we understand our past, we've become a better country and a better people, but we want to continue to do so. the democrats now have shown that they are a part of almost a rejection of the actual infrastructure of what makes america great, like the peaceful transfer of power during a presidential election. stuart: never seen anything like it before. >> no. ashley: no. stuart: i want to move on, more

confrontation between mr. trump, now he's threatened bmw with a border tax if they bring cars built in mexico back here. did you say 35% border tax. liz: he said if you build that plant in mexico, by 2019, yes, you could get hit with the border tax, we're watching the trading in german car manufacturers down in frankfurt. bmw, daimler, vw-- i'm sorry, he also went after mercedes and listen, he said we have a lot of mercedes driven here and elsewhere, no chevies you see in germany, but now we've got the german economic minister just retaliating and saying you do that and you will see more expensive cars in the u.s., donald trump, your policies. you're going to tax car parts as well. stuart: i don't think that mr. trump cares if the german car prices go up.

ashley: buy them anyway. liz: and moments ago they said we're going to build that plant in mexico. stuart: they're defiant. liz: defying. and they have 75,000 workers in the u.s. >> and a plant-- >> another part of con prontation week. and mr. trump is making headlines on health insurance. "the washington post," trump vows insurance for everybody in obamacare replacement plan washington post as of right now. joining us, grace marie turner. how is he going to pay for insurance for everyone. >> there's not a lot of daylight between what he has said and speaker ryan has said. everyone will be able to get health insurance, but that does not mean that the federal government will mandate it. we've learned from obamacare what that means. it brings of tens of thousands of pages of washington rules and regulations.

universal access to care, absolutely, we can do that and make sure that people at the lower end have help purchasing. those have been republican points all along. stuart: you can get rid of the mandate and the insurance companies can offer whatever they like across state lines. >> it involves giving the states more authority to actually meet the needs of consumers. let people decide and let competition work in getting prices down by giving them more choices than the cookie cutter plans that obamacare has ordered. grace marie, he went off on the drug maker, the health care industry basically and said being, look, medicare and medica medicaid buy an enormous amount of drugs in the world, they're going to negotiate on a big basis, negotiate lower prices. how do you think the drug companies are responding to that?

>> well, first of all, medicaid already has a requirement that drug companies provide their best price to medicaid purchasers. but that also involves having to pay a tax in the form of rebates for participating and medicaid. that involves its own set of disportions. the congressional budget office says there's no savings from having the federal government negotiate drug prices for medicare. look at part d, prescription drugs benefits that passed in 2003. that program is coming in at half the expected cost. and prices for the average senior for their monthly premium, over 11 years, since this started in 2006, have only gone up $6. and that's because private plans negotiate drug prices to offer seniors the best choice of plans. that's the model, stuart. stuart: we should have started right there.

because that's fascinating. that's how you keep prices under control. >> yes. stuart: grace marie turner, please come back because you're going to be in the news for a long time to come. here it is, sports fans. exciting football playoffs in dallas. they erased a deficit to tie with 30 second left and they gave quarterback aaron rogers too much time left on the clock. in one of the throws of the year, rogers running to his left and off balance passed a perfect pass down the sidelines for 36 yards and setting up the game winning field goal. packers win 34-31 and they hit two fold goals, 51 yards plus in the last minutes. they win and the packers move forward. to kansas city, the chiefs down by two points against the steelers, went for a two-point conversion, the left tackle on

the chiefs was called for a penalty and pushing them back. and next attempt fell. and patriots and steelers next sunday in new england. >> you sound like espn. >> incredible. >> except neither one of the losing team is blaming the russians, i know that much. stuart: i like that. speaking of football, do we have a star for you this morning on today's program? jim brown, nfl hall of famer, one of the greatest players ever to take the field is also a civil rights icon, worked with martin luther king in the '60s. you'll hear from him at 11:00 this morning. he's working with trump. but first, more liberal lunacy. violent protests shutting down breitbart columbiaists, one of the breitbart columnists. free speech under attack on our college campuses. we're on it.

and the obama administration releasing he ten more from gitmo. there were over 240 prisoners there when president obama took office in 2009. thousands of bikers attending the inauguration on friday, they plan on forming a wall of meat, stopping protesters from interfering with the event and it's shaping up to a very confrontational inauguration. isn't it? back in a moment. ♪ there's a lot of places you never want to see "$7.95." [ beep ] but you'll be glad to see it here. fidelity -- where smarter investors will always be. if only the signs were as obvious when you trade. fidelity's active trader pro can help you find smarter entry and exit points and can help protect your potential profits. fidelity -- where smarter investors will always be.

>> now, the president-elect telling the times of london, he wants a trade deal with britain within weeks of his taking office. now that's the opposite of what president obama said before the brexit vote. who could forget this. >> our focus is in negotiating with a big block of the european union to get a trade agreement done and u.k.'s going to be in the back of the queue. stuart: the brits in the back

of the line. ashley: one of the contributing reasons that brexit was people telling and talking to them: i want a deal, i want it quickly, inviting them to visit him at the white house soon after he gets there. he says brexit is a tremendous thing, people, countries want their own identity and the u.k. wanted its own identity, it's a wonderful thing and i see it happening more and more in europe. stuart: i've got to say i like it. ashley: yeah. stuart: we have a theme at least for the first hour of the program today, confrontation overshadowing celebration. congressman john lewis among 28 democrats planning to, they say they're not going to attend the inauguration this week. now, look at this, president-elect trump's press secretary tweeting last hour, today we observe the birthday of martin luther king. donald trump will meet with martin luther king iii to

discuss his legacy. big picture, it seems like black america, in large part is rejecting donald trump. what say you? >> well i don't think it's black america large part rejecting donald trump. and i grew up in the neighborhood that gave us martin luther king and my elementary school was by the church. it's a shame to see what john lewis is doing. he was my representative when i was growing up in atlanta. when you look at the restoration of two-parent household. problems with education choice. good quality, small business entrepreneurship and economic growth and of course, the problems with criminality and gang violence as you see in chicago. that's where john lewis should be focused and all of these black leaders such as with the congressional black caucus should be focus not just touting the message of the democratic party. stuart: allen, i want to focus

on this, the founder of bikers for trump told us on friday they're headed to d.c. to quote, build a wall of meat in case things get out of hand. watch this. >> bikers are certainly used to be outnumbered and prepared to build a wall of meat, we're certainly that they've learned their lessons in chicago and arizona and anything like cleveland, that they're going to have everything under control. stuart: allen west, any kind of violence would mar the inauguration, wouldn't it? >> well, of course it would. but i think that that's something that the george soros backed leftist liberal groups should think about because they're planning on doing that. when you have anarchists groups saying they will break windows and seek to damage property, that's what we've seen as a mantra of the left, but i think you're seeing these

individuals, everyday americans and full disclosure i've been riding motorcycles since 1985 and ridden in rolling thunder a couple of times, these are good, hard-working everyday americans, a lot are veterans and stamping up for the oath that they took to this country. they respect free speech, but they do not respect violence and disruption of the peaceful transition of power in this country. stuart: all right, allen west, look, thanks for joining us. i don't know whether you're riding your bike down there to d.c. this friday or not, but we wish you well at the inauguration. good luck. >> thank you so much. stuart: for the first time ever, china's leader, china's president will attend the economic forum in davos. he wants to take it over. trump is not going. we're on that story. back in a moment. at angie's list, we believe

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for a free quote today. liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance. >> germany's angela merkel reportedly trying to meet with president-elect donald trump. what's that about? >> well, according to german government official that angela merkel will try and meet with donald trump sometime this spring. she says i'm not going to talk to him until after he's

actually sworn in. don't forget that trump in a recent interview called merkel's decision allowing a wave of immigrants a catastrophic mistake. stuart: he did, didn't he, catastrophic mistake. >> she wants to meet with him. >> like donald einstein. stuart: the elites, the elites are gathering in davos, switzerland and president ping of china will be there, first time ever. you know, i think that he's trying to take over this elitist confab. it's all about globalization and open borders and he's going to try to lead it. trump is not going. >> they're two opposite. china relies on globalization and relies on those connections, what's happening not just in the united states, but worldwide in this, in europe, rejection of the people by this dynamic. biden and kerry will be there. president obama seems to be

doing as many things as he can, to reassert frankly his agreement with china and other nations regarding globalized dynamic so i think we're going to have, we being the u.s. under obama, have an interest in china taking that position and making things as difficult as possible for incoming president. stuart: it's confrontation, the elites, globalization, open borders, ping, kerry, biden versus-- >> everybody else. stuart: america and the inauguration of president-elect trump. >> this is how the global civil war is ungolding. stuart: i've got a big smile on my face. >> i wonder who is going to win? >> he hai've got a good idea. next, a member of trump's task force, there are 68 projects across the country are ready to begin under president trump. how about that? cia director brennan blasting president-elect trump saying he doesn't understand the threat

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>> this is the day we honor martin luther king. the markets are closed today, but we are on the air, in honor of martin luther king. now, the infrastructure,

obviously, a big part of mr. trump's plan to revitalize america, compare the plan and revitalizing america to president obama's shovel ready projects. do you remember that? do you remember when president obama said this? >> shovel ready was not as shovel ready as we expected. stuart: that's quite an admission. there were lots of shovel ready projects that were funded back then. who is here now? norman anderson, an informal advisor to the trump infrastructure program. >> good morning. stuart: 68 projects that you say are ready to go under president trumps. what kind are they? >> across the board, bridges, traffic between u.s. and canada, a bridge project on hold for ten years, electricity transmission projects. unbelievable number of projects. you've got to address the regulatory issues. stuart: now, are they paid for? who is going to pay for these projects? >> a lot of these projects are

ready to go and the private sector can pay for them. it takes an average of nine and a half years now to go through the approval process. that's what president trump wants to address, we need to get that down to one and a half years. stuart: have you lined up financing from private enterprise. >> absolutely. stuart: it's lined up? >> it's lined up. 40 billion worth of electricity transmission projects ready to go as soon as we move through the approval process. stuart: i'm the taxpayer, i'm not paying for this. >> i am not paying for this. stuart: that's the direct opposite of president obama's shovel ready projects and infrastructure program. >> if you think about infrastructure right. we're changing the way it gets funded. rather than funded by your taxes, it's funded by the private sector. stuart: how many jobs would this 68 projects, how many, how many? >> about 750,000 good paying jobs. 60 to 80,000 a year jobs and we've got support from everybody, from the unions, from the engineering companies, and finance.

stuart: and could anything hold this up, lawyers, environmentalists, greenies, you can't do that, we don't have the right number of studies? >> i think what we have to do is get going. i think it makes sense to put these 68 projects in a basket and say we'll get these projects underway in 2017, we're going to create these jobs no matter what, and then we'll come back and look at phase two as you go forward. stuart: you're part of the infrastructure tax force? >> i'm an informal advisor, i don't want to overplay my role. stuart: but there is such a task force, considering projects that could start immediately. >> absolutely. there are a lot of projects that can start immediately. we've got a list, but there are over 150 good projects ready to go now. stuart: you seem gung-ho about this, as if it could really be done. >> i've been doing this all my life, stuart, it's fantastic. stuart: one of my problems in america the last many, many years, you can't get things down, actually do something, for heaven's sake. you're telling me those days are over?

>> i'm telling you that we've got a builder who is going to be the president of the united states beginning on friday, and if it builder can't get it down, nobody can get it down. stuart: norman, if you're not careful, you'll be invited back. thank you. and do you remember this, riding the elevators at trump tower and they were talking about the f-35 fighter and getting the price down. liz: remember donald trump tweeted out the costs were out of control. the ceo says yes, we'll bring the cost of the next batch of f-35's down. they're going to deliver 90 more planes. so the military head of that program of the f-35 says it could see cuts of 7% reduction in the cost for this program. at the same time, the ceo of maryland houston of lockheed said we will create 1800 jobs at our fort worth factory. so two things happening,

bringing the costs down for building it and creating jobs. stuart: so do we accept this as a success for mr. trump in pressuring business, keep jobs here, get the price value to the taxpayer, get them value, it's a success. liz: another notch in his belt and just have to say this editorial comment. he's doing what chuck schumer told obama to do. he told him don't focus on health reform, you should create jobs. chuck schumer said. that trump hasn't sat down in the oval office and-- >> mr. trump is pressuring bmw, more pressure if you bring it from mexico. liz: germany is pushing back. stuart: president trump tells one chinese policy is up for negotiation. an editorial in the chinese state-owned newspaper, china daily responds, the name calling, they say mr. trump is

a quote, rookie and goes on to say, if trump is determined to use this gambit to take office, a period of damaging interactions will be unavoidable. beijing will have no choice, but to take off the gloves. ominous. lt. colonel ralph peters is with us. confrontation, do we win? >> not this way. stuart, i think we all agreed that we need to take a much firmer line with china, but there are two factors that jump out at me. one, when you publicly confront china, you make it impossible on this. make con eggs is -- and the taiwan issue, i'm glad that trump took the phone call, it's not the right leverage to deal with the big problem with china, trade imbalances, currency manipulation, et cetera. and the second thing, this is very important, is got to get your priorities straight.

china is a competitor and sometime adversary. russia is our enemy. we need not-- we mustn't forget that. stuart: so you don't like the way china is being confronted. let's move on to russia. there is a confrontation between trump and the cia on this issue. here is outgoing cia director john brennan on fox news sunday. roll tape. >> i don't think he has a full appreciation of russian capabilities, russia's intentions and actions that they are undertaking in many parts of the world and that's what the obligation and responsibility of the intelligence community is. i very much hope our relationship with russia improves in the upcoming administration. stuart: mr. trump responded in typical fashion on twitter of course, outgoing cia chief john brennan blasts president-elect trump on russian threat. does not really understand, oh, really, couldn't do much worse and buildup of russian nukes

not good. was this the leaker of fake news? now, colonel, you've been very critical of mr. trump's relationship with russia. what do you make of the spat with the cia? >> well, i do wish that president-elect trump would stand up for the united states against putin instead of standing up for russia against our intelligence agencies. just this weekend, stuart, president trump made the ignorant and foolish remark that nato is obsolete. nato is the most successful peace time alliance in history. it is a bargain for the united states. and putin wants it broken up. trump's people raised the issue well maybe we could do something, some kind of trade on nukes with russia. the kremlin spokesperson already rejected it this morning. the russian papers are absolutely rejecting it, but they're celebrating trump's remark about nato being obsolete, i really think that-- >> doesn't trump want european

members of nato to start paying some of the bill themselves? because at the moment it's almost all america. >> they have been paying more of the bills themselves. and when you talk about the post soviet collapse defense cuts, remember our withdrawal of forces from europe, our cutbacks dwarf those cutbacks of the european states. you've got to look at it both ways. europe is trying to rebuild its military. stuart: are they? >> yes, they are, they are. they are indeed, stuart and they're worried. they're worried about-- very worried about vladimir putin. they're clinging to nato and if we destroy nato, we are absolute strategic fools. stuart, we don't need a fresh start with russia. russia needs a fresh start with us. the sanctions in conjunction with oil prices are working. russia gdp has fallen two years in a row and putin can't fund

his military buildup and ruble has virtually collapsed, you can't get basic medicines unless you're one of the elites. russia needs a deal with us, if you want a deal with russia, we need to drive a very hard bargain and that means getting them out of eastern ukraine, helping rebuild what they wrecked and also no alliance-- an alliance with russia to fight terrorism? russians are terrorists in syria. we're not going to align with iran and hezbollah. aligning with russia against terror would pit us against some states that are our allies. stuart: i'm not laughing -- i'm bemming your fire on a monday morning. ralph, we better come back and discuss this again. >> putin is a bad guy. stuart: a lot to discuss this. he got the last word in. and look at this, snapchat, they're going public this year, but new investors are not going to get what, they're not going to get voting rights? >> they could launch in march,

as soon as that, valuing the company around 20, $25 billion. the owners are expected to retain 7 p -- 70% of the voting power. investors will have different class of shares they don't want to give up control. stuart: if i was going public with my company, and could raise 20 billion for my company and i'll keep control. if the public will give me 20 billion and keep control. ashley: apparently they can. stuart: very interesting. listen to this, ringling brothers barnum and bailey circus, the greatest show on earth, shutting down after 146 years. ticket sales have been in decline especially after they had to phase out elephants. the final performance is in may. the eight richest men in the world are now worth more than half of the entire world's population. somehow or other we will deal

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>> new this morning, more gitmo prisoners being transferred out. what is it, ashley? they're going to oman? >> oman, ten prisoners, we don't know who they are, they could be the worst of the worst. but this came at the request of president obama who asked oman to take them on. they said, we will, we will give them temporary residency, where do they go from there? we don't know. at last report there were 55 prisoners remaining, take these away 49, and 19 other prisoners are set to be freed, there are reports. and brings it back, there with 242 when president obama took office. stuart: he's got a few days ago and might still-- >> doing everything else to clear them out. stuart: four days left. >> we know at this point 30%, a

pretty high number, but we've now learned 30% of people released from gitmo are returning to the fight. and this is what we face our troops with. ashley: donald trump said on the campaign trail, he not only wants to keep it up, but load it up with bad dudes. stuart: in typical direct. not only is martin luther king day, but religious freedom day and president obama issued a proclamation for it. part of america means guarding against bigotry and speaking out on behalf of others, no matter their belief, whether they're wear an hijab, a baseball cap, a yarmulkah. maybe a jab. tony, in what ways do we not have religious freedom right now? >> first of all, let me start

with the practicemation, i left my cowboy hat at home. the president has the lingo down. in eight years he has the lingo, b hisctions fall short of holding up religious freedom. an organization that helps the poor in our society, they persecuted and prosecuted them because they didn't come in line with his policies on abortion and contraception. hobby lobby simply wanting to live out their faith. religious freedom is not simply the ability to read the words of scripture. it's the ability to live out the principles and the precepts found on pages. that's what this president dismantled policy by policy. >> i know that you've got strong views on what we should do to restore religious liberty. number one, what would you do in the military? >> well, first in the military, i think we have to bring back the idea that men and women who protect that fundamental

freedom, that first freedom have the same right to exercise it. that was, by the way, placed into law about two years ago, we worked to change the national defense authorization act to ensure that men and women in the military have the freedom to live their faith, even when it contradicts with the president's liberal policies. unfortunately, the law, has not been upheld by this administration. i'm optimistic maybe in the incoming administration, maybe not so much words, but actions that uphold religious freedom. the words are meaningless, this proclamation meaningless. what we need is an administration that will return to the fundamental understanding of freedom of religion. that's the freedom to live your life according to your faith, and that's what we're losing in this country. stuart: what about in foreign policy? i'm concerned that christians who are clearly persecuted in the middle east are not given free rein to come to america.

>> stuart, you and i have talked about it. we're deeply disturbed what happened, the third consecutive years accord to go open doors usa, a historic level of persecutions of christians around the globe and that's happened really because america has lost its voice. our state department needs to make this, as is statutorily stated, a priority once again rather than all of these liberal social engineering policies we've been forcing on other countries. we need to return to advocating those values that made america an exceptional nation and chief among those is the idea of religior religious freedom. that must be what they're advocating around the world. stuart: tony perkins, must come back and explain in detail. >> got it, stuart. stuart: new report, the world's eight wealthiest people have more money than half the world's population. that sounds like a statistic

trick, liz. liz: yes, it's coming from ox with in time of davos, what's ignored the billionaires employ, you know, millions of people, and so, it's about free market capitalism has lifted 100 million out of poverty last year. so the top eight have basically the wealth of the bottom half, meaning the poorest of the poor. but look where they live. they live in places that don't allow free market capitalism like china, true free market capitalism. the conclusion is where the mind comes to rest, such as hope and change, let's not get into the good benefits of capitalism. it's all about income inequality. stuart: that's what davos is all about. they'll pound that in even though they're the wealthiest. liz: what fixes income inequality. stuart: capitalism. liz: there you go. not in that report. stuart: free speech under attack on our college campuses. violent protests at uc davis,

shutting down an event for a controversial breitbart columnist. we'll have that in a moment. your insurance company

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>> i'm rob lowe and i have directv and i'm super creepy rob lowe and i have cable. stuart: okay. that was both of them were rob lowe. very much in support of directv. however, he has changed his tune. what's he say now? >> use today love the commercials. that's hilarious. he had a different message this sunday. he tweeted hi, i'm rob lowe and i'm screwed over rob lowe with directv that cuts off my ability to watch nfl games there's a dispute going on

between directv and some local tv channels, fox tv channels, he couldn't get to see the playoffs so he says i do these commercials for you and this is what i get. he's very upset, but it was pretty funny. stuart: in the introduction i thought he was leading up to something about trump. ashley: no, no. stuart: it was just about the nfl on directv. ashley: some great games, rob, sorry. stuart: how about this? we told you at uc davis, leftist protesters tore down barricades and smashed windows with hammers before an event put on by a conservative activist and martin shkreli. what do they have about martin, breitbart? >> he challenges the status quo. he's flamboyant and gay and his tour is using the f-word, and what he does, he is out there with the commentary and what the left does, of course, he brings it out.

now, nat hentof just died an activist in the line of lenny bruce, that deliberately challenge the notion that we should all be quiet and i think they don't know what to do with milo, because he is gay, he's proud of that and he's also somebody who cares about free speech and individualism and that's what apparently these days upsets the left. stuart: they shut him down, i take it? >> they did, managed to shut down the speech and came back the next day with a bull horn in the middle of the campus and drew, what, 200 people who want today see him and had the last word and also apparently has a book coming out, but that's also underfire. today's new left is really fascist, it's not the kennedy schrivar, notion of something you don't like. stuart: it's not going away. >> oh, no. stuart: on american campuses, this is moving forward.

ashley: so much aggression, to tammy's point. not only do they disagree with you, they're very, very aggressive about it, it's not going away. liz: and he was permanently, i think suspended on twitter, right. >> he was permanently removed. this is not just about disagreeing with someone, this is about actively trying it shut them down. stuart: got it, tammy, thank you. coming up, my take on the fight, the big fight between congressman john lewis and president-elect trump. deep divisions going into friday's inauguration. confrontation overshadowing what should be a celebration. "varney & company" two minutes away.

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stuart: week before the inauguration and right before i can't like that good the trump president flew that saddam was not legitimate.

trump is a racist trumpet the fact is that he lost the popular appropriate aggression interfered. because of the stature of john lewis, his words had even greater impact. he is a brave man. he was badly beaten in salamat and over five decades he has become an honored and respected civil rights leader. it broke new ground when he said trump would not be a legitimate president. with those words, mr. lewis made racial division even worse. members of the black congressional caucus are going to follow his lead and not attending another ration. and when he tweeted strong criticism of lewis, the media was outraged at charm. the media had signed on to delegitimize trump, that movement again worsening our division. what a shame. there should be a week where we put aside our differences. we did in 2000 after the florida recount and we did in 2000 after electing our first president. instead, we are going into

inauguration week with protest and division. let's not forget, this is martin luther king day. the second hour of "varney & company" is about to begin. me is not -- ♪ trade to the song you are herein, the eagles get over it and i think our producers are trying to send a message to the left. we are four-day survey not your ration. some last minute -- they are getting ready for this already. liz: gigantic inauguration dress herself where they have members of the army, a man and a woman like they were donald trump and melania. evidently they were standards as well for hillary and bill

clinton. nice to march down pennsylvania avenue as pennsylvania avenue after favoring the parade. they are preparing. three quarters of a million people to be there. stuart: on the other hand, the left continues to insinuate that they are going to disrupt the evacuation. 28 democratic congresspeople say they are not going to attend. however, we do have performers who will perform. ashley: toby keith, leah greenblatt, three doors down was made fun of by "saturday night live." so-called a-list celebrities when it comes to the evacuation, i want the people in capital letters. it's not about the celebrity of the future into camera go back to those boycotted. is it growing? >> it's growing. russian interference in the

review to civil rights activist john lewis. new york representative said when he was old john lewis tommy insults america. train to the boycott list is being added to in part because of mr. comes criticism of john lewis. >> sensei that will go >> sensei the lakota protest, not to be a part of the actual ceremony. turn to john lewis called the presidency legitimate. let's have a look at that. roll tape. >> i don't see the president-elect as the legitimate president. >> you do not consider him a legitimate president. why is that? >> the russians participated in having this man get elected. they have destroyed the candidacy of hillary clinton. i don't plan to attend the inoculation. it will be the first one that i've missed. since i've been in congress.

stuart: that was john lewis. immediately, mr. trump in third on twitter sameness good congressman john lewis should spend more time fixing them up in his district in horrible shape and falling apart, not to mention crime infested, rather than falsely complaining about election results. all talk, talk, talk. no action or result. bad. i read new york is here. clearly an attempt to delegitimize mr. trump's presidency. do you think it's going to be successful? >> it's certainly getting a lot of attention. i think you have to look at the substance here. there was no doubt that when trump responded to john lewis' attack that they would be a twitter friend c. and indeed there was. the important thing is to look at how many democrats are joining john lewis. the answer is democrats are kind of all over the lot on this. some have said they clearly disagree with him. joe mentioned, democratic senator from west virginia said the rhetoric was uncalled for.

david axelrod, the longtime obama aides said he disagreed with it. bernie sanders would not go there when he was pressed about it and the white house chief of staff, denis mcdonough would also not go there. a lot of democrats do not want to be involved in any of this illegitimacy top. stuart: do you think it's all about race? is that the issue at the heart of this divide russian mark >> that the main part of it just because of john lewis' history and martin luther king day in all of those things. you talked about the people, the members of congress who are going to boycott the inauguration. that's not just members of the congressional black caucus. i wrote last night at john lewis' ratings than he has the six most liberal lifetime voting record of anybody. all 435 members of congress right now. there are 41 democrats who have perfect liberal voting records in the last year. my guess is the group of

boycotters will come out of that as opposed to any single group like the black caucus. stuart: i just wonder how it turns out. it will play out at some point. thanks for joining us. we will see you again later. president-elect trump treating about the divided country. for many years they have been divided, many say it will never change. the hatred is too deep. it will change. democrats, doug shown. i know you want to take issue about the john lewis matter. but who divided us? do you think president obama has some responsibility? >> of course, but all sides have divided us and there is a larger message. because when we are divided, regardless of the cause, we lose as a nation.

stuart: in what ways have republicans contributed to this racial division? >> first of all, to call it a racial division i have enormous respect for donald trump. i have been on mr.'s expert john lewis to just turn this into a racial battle i think is wrong. one member of congress that have been unfortunate i think in error. donald trump overreacted here john lewis is a symbol and what i would do if i were donald trump, pick up the call -- phone, call mr. lewis and salad love you to come to the inoculation. i'm sorry if my language was hurt all and i hope you'll acknowledge that i won this election fair and shared. treated to john lewis says it's not a legitimate president. that is an extremely strong and very divisive thing to say. don't you think mr. trump is entitled to respond -- actually in the same way. >> he's entitled, but it's not

affect it. stuart: biased the media outrage? why is the media outreach diatribe, but not outraged at john lewis who is a great man. i'm the first to admit it and say it. he's a great man, but there is no outrage when he tried to delegitimize the incoming president? >> you read out and indeed many democrats have distant themselves from john lewis. i tried to make a point you are resisting that unifying the country is a larger issue than according lame. if the president-elect rises above it all as serious as it may be and extends an olive ranch, we will win and it will not be not yet as a political matter. stuart: donald trump is meeting with martin luther king at trump tower today. that's an outrageous it not? >> it is that i hope there's more of that. if you can meet with steve harvey, hopefully he can meet with john lewis. stuart: tim brown on the show

later. he is working with donald trump. >> i'm pleased he's working for the country. stuart: president obama on 60 minutes as the are not good or put that on tape. >> are part of the site that was two weeks ago we are the first administration in modern history that hasn't had a major scandal in the white house. stuart: you've got a strong opinion about the president's legacy. >> i think his legacy is the symbol of his election as pope, presidency being attacked -- taken apart by bit. we have chaos all over the world, which donald trump is speaking about 16 and frankly, remember the irs scandal of targeting who could forget. back to me is the real scandal. they got away with it.

i think going after james rosen, making an an unindicted co-conspirators are was an outrageous action i take it to be a reflection of government out of control. stuart: is it a failed presidency? >> not a successful presidency. people like me who are still democrats remained disappointed, stuart. profoundly disappointed. stuart: defang to have a hard time in 2018? here's how i think. donald trump is successful on a couple of fronts. growing the economy, bringing jobs back. democrats lose big. >> with 25 members of the senate, only eight republicans, it is laid up with something like that happens, republicans should increase their gains. stuart: i think democrats should be restraining impulse to delegitimize. >> i don't know if there's an

opinion on that. there thinks democrats can agree with that part of the infrastructure and say i with and disagree with others. stuart: i think were in agreement on this one. >> not so sure. stuart: thanks for joining us. president obama spending another 10 gitmo detainees to the middle east before he leaves sawfish. the 10 transferred out are going to oman. the president -- they have not been named. officials say they accept it be and make that mr. obama's request. there are 42 that didn't get out. there were more than 240 mr. obama took office. michael moore disrupt the ban on duration. he says he is can't stand to go unnoticed or will be right back.

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>> i have a dream by four little children will one day live in a nation while they will not be judged by the color of their skin but the premise of their character. stuart: obviously martin luther king obviously martin luther king, and a very famous a dream speech august 1963. you've got two more quotes from not beach.

liz: just to mark was good when he says i have a dream and is speaking to african-americans, what is your dream? become a notch for newer. on your small business of the small business are quoting martin luther king. we must accept finite but never those infinite hope. the second one is about faith taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase. on my african american. taking hope in what martin luther king said about capitalism, the free market. this is a conversation they are having today about the legacy of martin luther king and the impact on their lives. they're essentially saying what mark mccook and have come about in china or north korea or iran. business people and african-americans. i see the traffic on social media. remembering i'm okay, what is his legacy, the fact we can on her own and be entrepreneurs. stuart: i hear it. august 1963. michael moore and currently flat

out disruption of the non-duration. just disrupted. not merely protest, disrupt it. david hart, the author of this book. michael moore is a big white man. engaging title. david, i get your point of view on michael moore and its spread by many people are not audience. i have to ask you this. what real effect does michael moore have? how many people can he actually mobilize? >> i hate to admit it, that basically michael moore has become irrelevant. i hate to admit it because it means i've become irrelevant. in terms of mobilizing people, he has an old, a small cadre of followers who are loud but have no real world effect. so i very much doubt it's going to be successful in doing

anything. stuart: do you think it's people like me because we do feature him frequently. he does say outrageous things. we put them in the headlines, make him a story. maybe it's our fault because he has no real influence. we shouldn't be making him the story. >> are you describing michael moore or donald trump? stuart: michael moore on our coverage of him. >> i know. in a way that's the problem because in fact, he thrives on this thing. he desperately wants to be noticed and doesn't want to face the fact that we are over the hill and he would do anything to generate coverage. so in a way and then on the other hand it's good entertainment. stuart: 25 years ago i worked with michael moore at a speech in connecticut. i asked him, you've got a lot of

money. would you do with it? he said i give it all away. is that true? >> i'm glad to see he still has a sense of humor. now, he's got a nearly $2 million apartment in new york city. he has or had a $1.2 million place in michigan. those who have dealt with him say essentially that they've never dealt with a more greedy and in their entire life. no he does not give it away. at least not most of it. stuart: defang tubby disrupting the non-duration? >> now. he will make a little noise then that will be about it. there may be others trying to distract the inauguration and they may have larger numbers, but i don't think he will matter much. stuart: i am sorry we demolished him because that reflects on your boat i guess. thanks for writing the book. thanks very much for being with

us today. >> sure. stuart: come again. all right, look at this pay video from the czech republic. students are playing a game of floorboard. they ran for their lives. i see that matt come down. the rest of the roof was certainly buckling. wait for it. i believe it's coming down. there it is. they have 16 inches of snow on the roof. newly built by the way. down at team. ashley: in a controlled manner. stuart: a new report, listen to this. ukraine tried to swing the election in favor of the democrats. the ukrainian officials liberally gave information that would hurt the trump campaign. more on that story coming in a moment. [vo] quickbooks introduces jeanette

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for a free quote today. liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance. stuart: well, this is new. a new report says the ukrainians were trying to sabotage the trump campaign. you better tell us what this is about. ashley: ukrainian government officials allegedly tried to help hillary clinton and

undermine donald trump by publicly questioning his fitness for office and his ties to russia. they tried to put out the document that link is then campaign manager paul manafort and trump to russia. this did not sit well with the ukrainians who appears to be in their minds from a to russia. clearly the russians are much better at this business then ukrainians. but manafort was an ultimately resigned from the campaign. there is a sense out there that ukraine tried, also gives some background and research work that needs to see if they could get any more dirt on trump and his links to russia. stuart: they were wildly unsuccessful. ashley: wildly, spectacularly. the russians were widely successful in stopping hillary clinton. so that's a juxtaposition. >> web see if that story gets picked. we have vans. the nearby can get this one

right. the dallas cowboys, green bay packers, they had two field goals 50 yards plus. tickets on the resale or of the super bowl dropped 20%. all the way down to three seconds. how about this. damon himself, popular online for the political commentary on the show last friday. he said obama has failed black communities. a clip from that trade next interview is now widely successful online. watch this. >> he's done more in the last eight weeks than obama has did in the last eight years.

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stuart: markets are indeed closed today. but i want to bring to your attention some of the big-name stocks that have done well this year. you're looking at facebook. of course it's now january the 16th and already so far this year facebook is up 11%. i think there's a lot of big gains by other tech companies. liz: yeah, amazon, netflix, google, they're up all of them across the board. average 6%. $90 billion to market value since the beginning of the year. remember the thinking was silicon valley, they don't -- it doesn't get along with donald trump. they don't like his immigration policies and visas for high school workers. there was a selloff right after the election in these stocks. all of a sudden they're popping at the beginning of the year. stuart: january the 16th with two weeks into the new year. some of these stocks like facebook up 10 or 11%. huge move for those stocks. liz: for those stocks. correct. stuart: well, the market opens tomorrow morning. we'll see what happens then. meanwhile we have this for you. repeating this. congressman john lewis civil

rights icon brave man, yes, indeed. he says the trump presidency is not legitimate. and because of that, he will not go to the inauguration. crystal wright is with us. she's the author of conjob and a frequent guest on the program. i want to deal with this in two parts. what is your opinion of john lewis saying the presidency of trump is not legitimate? your response to that, first of all. >> john lewis' comments about president-elect donald trump are completely disrespectful. and apparently john lewis only think so a legitimate presidency would be one that hillary clinton was running. and, you know, what i want to know is what is john lewis done since he marched on selma? really? he's riding on the coattails on something that happened over 50 years ago. and it's just -- you know, to me, his position in congress is illegitimate. stuart: okay. right after

mr. lewis said that, donald trump tweeted the response. saying, look, mr. lewis, you should really take care of your own district. you're all talk, talk, talk. no action. now, after trump tweeted that, there was a very strong response against trump because he had gone off against a civil rights icon. and a lot more people joined the boycott of the inauguration. what do you think of trump's response to john lewis? >> i think trump had the appropriate response to john lewis who showed utter disrespect to the president-elect. oh, so donald trump, our future president is supposed to just allow these attacks because john lewis is so-called off limits? he's protected because he's a black democrat congressman who happened to march and fight for civil rights? give me a break. what's good for the goose is good for the gander. stuart: now, at the heart of

this movement is race; right? >> absolutely. if donald trump was not white and a republican, john lewis would have no problem with anything that he said, how he's conducting his presidency. using social media, by the way, stuart, to connect with the american people directly and bypass the liberal mainstream media that wants to distort everything he says. and if john lewis was not black, nobody would care what he was saying. if he wasn't a black democrat, a member of the congressional black caucus, john lewis has done more for himself over the last 50 plus years than he has for black people. stuart: well, how about the two black ladies who have become youtube stars? diamond in silk. on the show friday talking about mr. obama's legacy. roll that tape. >> he is on the platform that we're going to rebuild these, your honor, and i urban cities and all of this crime is going to stop because he said he was going to do it, and we believe that he's going to do what he

said he's going to do. >> and his track record speaks for itself. he has done more in the last eight weeks than obama had did in the last eight years. stuart: i would like to tell everybody that that clip appeared on facebook feeds to more than 2 million people. what's your thoughts on it, crystal? >> well, i think diamond and silk offer a lot of comedy. but somewhere in their comedy is always colonels of truth. they're i think absolutely right. donald trump in the mere eight weeks since he was elected president has done more for black americans than president obama did for eight years. even though blacks overwhelmingly voted for president obama. and namely let's talk about carrier. this jobs that donald trump saved at the carrier plant in indiana, over 50% black people work at the plant. and donald trump is addressing a promise that affects black americans. i don't know homicide going on in cities like chicago and donald trump saying, hey, i get it. i'm going to do something about it. and you know what, varney?

donald trump is meeting with so-called black advocates in trump tower. he's not even in the white house yet. he's saying, hey, i want to hear. what are your problems? you know how long it took president obama to meet with the congressional black caucus after he was elected? it took a whole year. because what you know? black votes mattered to president obama. not black lives. . stuart: all right. crystal wright. thank you for joining us. appreciate it on this day. thank you incoming press secretary sean spicer says the white house pressroom, horror of horrors may move. roll tape. >> what we're doing is looking at spaces in the white house that will allow more journalists to cover. and so i think sometimes change is scary but change can be good. stuart: howard kurtz is with us. media buzz post, the program of that name. i'm being sarcastic here. horror of horrors the pressroom is moving. is it a big deal or mr. trump

having a go at the press? >> it's actually a bigger deal than you might think, stuart. a lot of people may think it's just a winey dc media elite. but, you know, the pressroom can accommodate a lot of people in standing room only and, you know, i understand sean spicer and donald trump wanting to open these daily briefings to bloggers, commentators, talk radio hosts, and others. what this is really about is, like, all awashington real estate, location, location, location. when you work right there in that small but somewhat shabby space, you get to talk to some of the lower level press agents, you get to see important people coming and going. it helps you do your job. i think this is as much of controlling the washington press core and sending a signal about making sure there are enough seats. stuart: now, mr. trump says that he's going to keep his twitter account even as the president of the united states. let's roll that tape. >> so i've got 46 million people right now.

but including facebook, twitter. so when you think that you have 46 million there, i would rather just let that build up and just keep @realdonald trump. stuart: howard, if you were to give him media advice, would you advise him to drop the twitter account? >> well, i would say if he's going to tweet, and let's face it, he's going to do it constantly. he sees it as a very broadcast channel, keep @realdonaldtrump, the usual @potus account, you can put out official announcements or whatever. so to to be picking these fights simultaneously on twitter. after january 20th, tow has focus on the big issues, tax cut, health care, and some other things that he wants to do. and i'm not one of those journalists that, oh, it's so unpresidential, it's so terrible because after all the targets are us.

the news business. stuart: but there wasn' there was a reaction when mr. trump took on the cnn reporter at the press conference last week. there was a reaction that he was not presidential. that it was really inflammatory and harsh. i think there are a lot of people who would like to calm things down a little in the relation between the president and the press. >> i think that's right. and i think that 140 characters is not always ideal for discussing let's say a nuclear policy. but i think donald trump will find the rhythm when he actually is sitting in the oval office. i mean, he -- it doesn't make any sense for him to give up this method of bypassing and communicating directly with the people and everything he tweets and should be news. but at the same time, any president has to pick his battles. and if he's going to be fighting with lots and lots of people, you know, including john lewis, it will take some of the focus off the big-ticket items that he's trying to accomplish. stuart: i know that you met with mr. trump. i think it was last week, and i'm sure you cannot tell us what it was about. but did you advise him to drop

the twitter account? >> i did not give the president-elect any advice. but i did get an insight into his thinking, and i learned that he's the same guy that he very closely monitors what is said about him in the media. that's why he's still beating up on saturday night live and alec baldwin. and he conducts these meetings at trump tower back-to-back, eight, ten hours a day. you can say anything about donald trump. half the country likes him, half the country is not a fan of him. but he is not low energy. stuart: i hope if i make it to 70 years of age, i would have half of that energy. i would love it. thank you, howard. >> good to see you, stuart,. stuart: protests at the university of california davis after a scheduled appearance by a conservative journalist. ashley, what happened? ashley: well, it was scheduled to take place but it didn't because hundreds of protesters chanting, yelling, getting very upset. they do not want this commentator to speak, so they

denied his free speech. the president of that university saying very disappointed that this had to be canceled. we are a college campus and all voices should be heard. by the way, on the same bill that day was martin shkreli. the former executive who is also controversial in his own right. but, again,milo did go back to the campus put out some things and he accused the university of pandering to black lives matter. but. stuart: the story is still free speech being expressed on american campuses. that's the story here. liz: both of them kicked off twitter. both martin shkreli and -- stuart: i not seen this video but let's have a look. a plane hit by lightning moments after take off. it's not a video. a still shot. the 747 just left moscow's washington airport. passengers unharmed but clearly i would be terrified. liz: i would. stuart: meanwhile a spike in border crossings before the inauguration. people from mexico, central

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ashley: congressman john lewis calls president-elect trump's

presidency illegitimate. lieutenant colonel allen west says he's disappointed in those remarks. >> i grew up in atlanta, georgia. same neighborhood as martin luther king. my elementary school was right across the street from ebonies baptist church. and it's a shame of what senator john lewis was doing. but i was congressional representative as i grew up in atlanta. but when you look at the problems in the inner cities communities, the problems with the restoration of the two-parent household. the problems with education choice. the problems with good quality small business entrepreneurship and economic growth. and of course the problem with criminality and gang violence in chicago, that's where john lewis should be focused.

. stuart: do you remember this? president obama issuing a warning to britain last summer about leaving the european union? roll tape. >> our focus is negotiating with a big block of the european union to get a trade agreement done. and uk's going to be in the back of the queue. stuart: okay. you heard that right there. president obama is saying, hey, you brits, you'll be in back of the queue if you leave the european union. well, they left the europe union. ashley, what is mr. trump saying about it? ashley: well, they ask him, does u now go to the front of the queue? and saying quote i think

you're doing great to the british press. he says, look, i want to secure a trade between our two countries very quickly. a deal that will b good for both countries, right after he gets into the white house. stuart: that's interesting. a direct bilateral trade deal. ashley: correct. stuart: that's very -- ashley: i will say the european commission saying huh-uh you can't do that, uk. you have to get out of the eu first. which is so typical and the reason why they want to get out of the european union in the first place. stuart: by the way, tomorrow prime minister teresa may will detail her plan to get out of the european union. it's at 6:45 in the morning tomorrow. we're going to cover it. fox business will cover it because it's a very important speech. there are has been a huge increase in the number of immigrants crossing the border just ahead of the inauguration. come on in, former county sheriff paul. you're in the -- almost on the border. that's your jurisdiction. very, very close to the

border. is it policy that we let these people in? are we just letting them in? is it policy? >> it has been under barack obama. and that's going to come to an end this friday. and so we've had this lenien cy and this amnesty that has existed in the united states where illegals have been released in our communities and let go. stuart: what did she i'm going to interrupt you want to for one minute just a second because we know that they're coming across. we know that the border service stopping thousands of them. 1,300 a day. but for those who get in, even if we catch them later, we don't send them back? >> largely that's the case. in november alone, there was nearly 50,000 illegals that were apprehended. there's a huge surge that's been going on. that's an increase of 44%, stuart, from prior years. so we've seen this. there's a rush. even now up until this friday.

and these numbers that we're talking about, 50,000 a month, those are going to be part of the historical record because all that is about to come to an end. stuart: okay. when -- after friday when mr. trump is the president of the united states of america. >> yes. stuart: and you have these folks who have come into the country, right before the inauguration, do they get to stay? >> well, that's going to be announced by the president and not just his executive orders but also those people he appoints like general kelly as secretary of homeland security. much like what jay johnson issued a six-page memo directive, which actually had the effect of law by giving orders to all those sub organizations like customs and border protection, which is the border patrol and customs. so all of this is about to be reverse. not just through trump's executive actions but those he

wishes to carry out for america. which is secure borders and enforcement of the laws. so these are the laws on the book. we're going to have secure borders and not have 50,000 illegals a month coming across and those that are here? guess what? there's a new day. and those initially to be targeted are those with severe criminal records, which is a million plus and 74% of them have convictions of felonies. these are dangerous criminals that are going to get out of our country for good. stuart: i've only got 30 seconds left. can you tell me how much illegal immigration costs your county? >> well, not only it has cost millions here. just for the state of arizona, the estimates are as much as 3 billion every year. this is just my state. there's costs like that all across america for every stat s. stuart: got it. paul. sheriff there. thank you for joining us. appreciate it. >> thank you. stuart: listen to this. ringling bros. iconic service

is going to close. they've been in business for 146 years. why are liberals celebrating this? ashley: i'm celebrating it. how demeaning to animals. i've hated circuses for the longest time. making tigers and elephants. no, it's terrible. stuart: never told us this before. now be quiet. liz: public opinion shifting that it's wrong to capture animals and exploit them in their suffering for entertainment. so ricky who is a comedian tweeted this out. after last, after 146 years closing, now the end to seaworld. . stuart: okay. are we done with this? ashley: sorry i feel that way but i do. do you like seeing elephants put on balls and -- liz: i think it's awful. ashley: i think it's horrible. liz: i agree with ashley. stuart: i love taking my kids to see the elephants and the horses and the tigers. liz: so you're going to capture an animal and make them suffer for your entertainment? . stuart: i believe humanity has been doing it for 4,000

years. ashley: doesn't make it right. stuart: maybe 5,000 years. liz: still doesn't make it right. stuart: we're going to have to disagree to disagree. and you're totally wrong. a cow rescued in okay. the homeowner was sipping his coffee when he heard snorting sounds coming from the backyard. ashley: went to find her husband. stuart: found a 1,500 pound cow in the pool. used tow straps to get the cow off the pool. the cow is doing just fine. apparently they got him out. two legends coming up in the 11:00 hour. both have something to say about trump. more varney in a moment

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trump, gave money to his campaign, and that prompted a boycott of ll been by the left. here's how some of our viewers reacted. first of all, from donald. stuart, because of the unjust boycott of ll bean, i just ordered my wife a pair of ll been boots. tj says this. placed an aorder with ll bean. would how to. last one from susan. just ordered an ll bean hat with a logo and will wear it everywhere here in liberal, southern california. i could see that coming to my office. ashley: yes, and good for them, and i'm very tempted to do exactly the same thing. because these liberal elites say, oh, no, this company did business with donald trump. linda bean did business with donald trump. huge backlash on them. good. stuart: good. liz: and i like the california guy. stuart: susan. it was a lady. liz: i beg your pardon, susan. she's amazing. i hope it's not a wool hat. but, yes, you don't want

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stuart: good morning, everyone. good these developments. trump says to bmw, you bring your cars here from mexico, and you will face a border tax. trump says to the drug companies, medicare and medicaid will negotiate lower drug prices. trump tells lockheed martin, hey, do something about the huge cost of the f-35 fighter. this is the president-elect just over the weekend keeping up the pressure on business, keep jobs here, a better deal for taxpayers. if you don't play ball with us, we will hit you. this confrontation with business

is not getting much publicity. it has been overshadowed by the left's attempts to delegitimatize trump's presidency but it should be front and center. confrontation is trump's style, and it has had some success. no business executive wants to be trump's target. and in the long run, much more will come from pressuring business than talk of an illegitimate presidency. that is just talk. job creation in america is action. we have a big third hour. "varney & company" is about to begin. ♪ stuart: yes we do have a big show for you. yes it is martin luther king day. we're on the air while we believe the other guys are still asleep. i know that was nasty. we have two big nfl stars coming up.

super bowl winning quarterback joe theismann. he was in office when mr. reagan came in. we'll get his take on mr. trump. legendary jim brown. he was recently at trump tower. we'll find out why he was there. that is interesting. first let's deal with the speculation, at&t could spin off cnn, to get the time warner deal okayed by trump. okay? have i got this right? that is mike pence right there, at, at mlk day? now i want to get back to at&t and time warner. they want to get together. they both had meeting with mr. trump. the speculation that trump is saying i'll okay the deal if time warner spins off cncnn. liz: wells fargo analysts are saying that to spin off cnn. also moffitt. basically at&t, by only randall stephenson who met with at&t,

not time warner. stuart: you're right. liz: at&t said they're only interested in time warner's entertainment business and hb, not cnn, not the news part of it. call street is saying that maybe cnn could be spun off. remember trump was very angry with cnn. stuart: very much so. i would see cnn's value spinning off bearing in mind boeing after cnn -- liz: he has been upset with cnn since before the election. he said that in a tweet. stuart: questions at the town hall meeting. liz: trump said in a tweet we will look at this merger, you know. stuart: lou dobbs and i were founders of cnn back on day one in 1980. ashley: then you got out. stuart: we did can. left in good time. get back to my take you hopefully saw at the top of the hour. mercedes schlapp joins us. mercedes, i say mr. trump's success in pressuring business, and he has had some success, has

been overshadowed by the left's attempt to delegitimatize the presidency. i'm saying essentially the left is making a lot of noise and maybe winning on the delegitimatizing donald trump. what say you? >> i think the left is definitely trying to delegitimatize the presidency. obviously it makes it incredibly difficult when you have a civil rights icon like congressman john lewis making this statement. but i have to say i think it falls short. when you look at the majority of american people, obviously those who supported donald trump, they have got to be disappointed with john lewis's remarks. it is very, i believe in my mind it is disrespectful and irresponsible. i understand if you don't view trump, you don't his support his policies and be outspoken about it but to go as far as saying that trump is not a legitimate presidency, i think that is really, it really impacts the delicate balance of our

democracy. these are very serious allegations. i feel i'm actually very disappointed as to how congressman lewis and his followers are basically backing him up. stuart: it wasn't just mr. lewis and his immediate followers. senator dianne feinstein says the russians interfered, altered the outcome of the election. listen to this bite please for a second. watch this. >> it's pretty clear that the hacking was in both political parties but with the aim of hurting hillary clinton. >> right. >> if hillary clinton were to win, the aim clearly was to weaken her. stuart: now, at this moment, 28 democrats in congress led by congressman lewis will not attend the inauguration. they're on the screen right now. >> right. stuart: i say this is, it is a successful attempt to undermine

mr. trump but could it backfire on the democrats? i don't think americans want to see the inauguration disrupted like this? >> first, they, democrats should give 28 tickets to trump supporters in the heartland of america who really want to see donald trump become president of the united states. it is an honor to be at a swearing-in, part of american history. there are many americans, hard-working americans who would love to take the place of these democrats who are protesting and arguing against donald trump. you know, i think that the democrats are walking a very fine line but i think they're trying to sell this message to their supporters because they just simply can not believe that donald trump has, won this election fair and square. they can put the blame on the russian hacking. they can put the blame on comeye herself. hillary clinton was a very flawed individual candidate who obviously did not connect with the american voters. the enthusiasm was never on her side.

the trump campaign knew exactly where to find the voters. they were in the rust belt states, battleground states. those obama white working class voters who supported president obama back in 2008 and 2012, they shifted, they shifted to donald trump because they believed in his economic growth message, something that hillary clinton failed to do. stuart: you got it. mercedes, thank you very much for joining us this day. we appreciate it. >> thank you. stuart: now this. donald trump is going after yet another carmaker. he is threatening bmw with a border tax for cars built in mexico but sold here. is this a 35, do we know 35% tax? liz: that is what become -- bmw is responding to 35% tax they have a factory in mexico. bmw for its hat, we have 70,000 workers in the united states. the german economic minister saying that this is bad move by

donald trump to threaten this. if donald trump want the border tax, what about all the car parts that make up u.s. cars? will they be taxed too, 35%. that will increase the cost of cars. ashley: this makes the markets nervous. i understand what he is saying, however -- stuart: most car companies thus far caved to some degree or tried to get on mr. trump's good side. bmw is not. they are pushing back. we'll build the plant and do it. ashley: that is fascinating. stuart: wait for this, stuart varney does football. dallas erased a 18-point deficit, tied the game with 35 seconds left. they gave the packers led by quarterback aaron rogers too much time on the clock. in one of the throws of the year, rogers running to his left off balance, tossed a perfect pastored the sideline. that set up the winning field

goal time expires. packerses won 34-31. they play the falcons next sunday. they hit two field goals, 50-yards plus to win the game. that was exciting. pity we couldn't stay up to watch the end of it. ashley: i did. stuart: i'm early to bed guy. next case, kansas city chiefs went went for 2-point conversion. left tackle was called for penalty, pushing it back 10 yards. it failed. they play the patriots in new england next sunday. did i get that right? liz: yes you did. stuart: thank you, tom. super bowl quarterback joe theismann, he was the quarterback when mr. reagan was elected. what does he think about the comparison between reagan and president-elect trump? we will ask him next. ♪

>> so we go forward today a nation still mighty in its youth and powerful in its purpose. with our alliances strengthened, with our economy leading the world to a new age of economic expansion, we look to a future rich in possibilities and all of this is because we worked and acted together not as members of political parties, but as americans. stuart: if you notice the late senator kennedy in the shot there. he was at the inauguration of ronald reagan second time around even though he opposed him throughout his first term as president. now, we have with us a special guest. our next guest played for the washington redskins, lived in d.c. during the reagan presidency.

you know this man. even i know this man, joe theismann, former redskins quarterback and super bowl champion. do you think there is parallel between the mood which was not necessarily accepting of ronald reagan back in the day and the mood today when there is really intense hostility to president-elect trump? similarity? >> well a little bit, stuart, simply because first of all i want to say you did an excellent job of reading the highlights of the game yesterday. i compliment you on that. if things don't work out where you are you can move into sports broadcasting there. is a little bit of synergy for you. stuart: great. >> there is a little bit. go back to 1981, late '70s, interest rates over 21%. you had a lot of unrest. what president-elect trump wants to do is reduce taxes. something that ronald reagan talked about. he wanted cuts. he wants to cut government spending which is something that ronald reagan did. president-elect trump wants to talk about that he wants to

increase spending whether it comes to the military. those were part of reagan mom -- reaganomics that existed at that time. in 198we went to the super bowl n this particular community, in washington, d.c., things were exciting. there was a time for great change back in the early '80s, just as there is time for great change as we enter a new decade with the 45th president of the united states. stuart: you're right. there are a lot of parallels. they're coming out as you speak. i want to talk to you about the super bowl. maybe i shouldn't indulge anything to do with football with a british accent but i will do it. my team is the packers. i support them because of their ownership structure. essentially the people of green bay own the time. not a bunch of billionaires distant. no the people of green bay they own the team. so i'm a big supporter of them. what do you think of chances are getting to and winning super bowl? >> stuart in the spirit of full

disclosure i'm an owner of the green bay packers as well. i bought a share a you few years back. i thought it was iconic franchise, privilege to have an opportunity to be that. i like the four teams. atlanta with their offense, what air rogers has done latter part of the season and throws making last couple names are phenomenal. the packers are there pause of aaron. tom brady's throws against houston earlier in the week, on saturday they get overlooked what happened on sunday. when you look at matchups with pittsburgh and new england and green bay and atlanta going i think it will be a great football weekend. four great quarterbacks going against one another. i happen to think the green bay packers will be able to have an opportunity to try to get to the super bowl. but i believe it will be atlanta that winds up going there. i think new england patriots will be the team that represent

the afc. new england and atlanta i picked them a long time ago, i'm still living with them. stuart: if you want to get out of the sports business and come over to political commentary and financial commentary there is a role for you, young man. >> i had a conversation with president-elect trump, he asked me, are you interested in politics. i said, no, sir, that's your bag. thank you very much. stuart: we still have open invitation. anytime you like. joe theismann, great guy. appreciate it. >> you're welcome. stuart: lockheed martin, their see row rode the elevators and met mr. trump. emac i think they were talking about getting a price cut on the f-35. liz: trump tweeted out that costs are out of control. they are basically delivering. they will cut the cost of that. 90 more jets expected to be delivered to the u.s. government. the military head who runs the program, the f-35 program saying up to 7% reduction in the costs. that is what they're negotiating now.

the f 30 if i have represent 1/5 of lockheed martin sales. this is big feel. lockheed martin, marilyn houston saying our fort worth, factory, 1800 new jobs we'll bring in. stuart: mr. trump has leverage with a company like lockheed martin. they're defense contractors. liz: that's correct. stuart: mr. trump runs the defense budget. liz: he is doing things in brand new way. two things done here. bringing costs down. meaning deficit spending down and jobs, 1800 jobs promising in the fort worth plant. stuart: it is all overshadowed by furor of the inauguration and boycott. these are genuine successes. >> forget all the successes. he is illegitimate, that's the story. stuart: ladies and gentlemen, we're doing more football. we have another football legend coming up. nfl hall-of-famer jim brown. he met with the president-elect. he says he fell in love with him. now he is going to work with him. he is on "varney" too, coming up.

stuart: we're going to get back to this story. ringling brothers, barnum and bailey, greatest show on earth, shutting down, they have been in

business 146 years. ricky gervais is happy about it. here is the tweet. after 146 years, ringling brothers circus closing permanently. victory for humanity. next, empty the tanks. i think that is reference to seaworld. liz: referring that public opinion is shifting away to wrong to capture and exploit animals and make them suffer for entertainment. stuart: just wait. just wait. they held a news conference earlier to discuss why they're closing. roll tape. >> we saw a much steeper drop in sales and, we monitored that through the, you know, through the rest of the year, and when we looked at the ticket sales from last year and then what we were seeing in advanced sales this year, it led us to this

decision. we, you know, were no longer, no longer able to see this as a sustainable business model. stuart: wait, wait. they got the, ticket sales came down after they got rid of the elephants? liz: correct. stuart: cheering this on? you can't take your kids to see the elephants. liz: the elephants aren't meant to be captured and parading around. supposed to be roaming free. stuart: no zoos. liz: i personally don't like zoos. stuart: how about a fick tank? ashley: don't like that. set them free. stuart: nothing at all. you can't show children any kind of animal in any kind of a cage. liz: sure you can, documentary at sea in the ocean. stuart: only can see it on video. liz: it is medieval to do it otherwise. stuart: i say you're totally wrong. ashley: no, we are not. liz: how do you feel about it, ashley. stuart: it is my show. ashley: set us free from the studio. liz: we'll roam free out of studio. stuart: very important hire, jim brown, he is a legend.

even i know this man.lly is. see him right there? he was on the show. with us next. very important guy.

stuart: the left is pressing very hard trying to delegitimatize the trump presidency even before he takes office. it has escalated just since congressman john lewis said he wouldn't attend the organization because mr. trump is not a legitimate president. watch this. roll tape. >> i don't see this president-elect as a legitimate president. >> you do not consider him a legitimate president? why is that? >> i think the russians participated in helping this man get elected. and, they helped destroy the candidacy of hillary clinton. i don't plan to attend the inauguration. it will be the first one that i missed since i've been in the

congress. stuart: that is congressman john lewis now. now congressman dennis ross joins us, republican from florida, and trump transition executive committee member. congressman, 28 democrats say they're not going to attend the inauguration and there appears to be an attempt to spoil the inauguration with disruptive demonstrations. how do you read this? >> you know, it's a shame, stuart. it is really a shame. remember when it was like back in october when president obama said, mr. trump, quit your whipping about the russian hackers. everything is fine. you need to go out and get votes. john podesta tried to influence the electors. they have had recounts. look, in the words of vice president biden when he was chairing the electoral vote college, it's over. it's over. let's get on with it. it pains me to see such an icon as john lewis feel this way. we've got to unite this country. we've got to come together. this is a very legitimate

president-elect who won under the rules that have that been in place under our constitution for over 240 years. we need to move on. we need to unify. it really bothers me they feel this way. we will continue to reach out to them. we've got to have a bipartisan congress to get things done. stuart: from my point of view, just looking at this, as newly-minted american citizen i'm looking at this i don't like the idea of spoiling the inauguration of any president, i don't care what you think of him. you don't spoil the inauguration. this is part of the democratic process but i got a suspicion that this is spoiling of the inauguration will rebound against the left? >> it will. stuart, it will. let's look at this way. first step of grieve is denial. they are in a state of denial. the left are in absolute state of denial. they want to take their ball, they want to go home. they will have to get acceptance. as country starts to rebound and optimism grows and capital flows

into the system, people feel successful, the left will have to come over to accept this legitimate president and future is so much better. stuart: mr. trump as president must win a couple of battles. he must bring jobs back. he has got to get the economy going. he has got to fix obamacare. he has to do all of the above, if he does that, my opinion again the left is in real trouble in 2018. >> couldn't agree more. he has yet to take the oath of office he saved jobs from carrier, from ford. things are happening. people want to be successful in this country again. i will tell you with obamacare, we not only repeal it, but replace it with a patient-centered market forces system that will give consumers their choice and doctors to treat patients without government interference. we'll do it legislatively but through the regulatory system which so much restricted our individual freedoms over the last year. stuart: mr. ross, thanks for joining us. there will be a lot of noise this week. that's a fact.

>> it will be exciting. stuart: dennis, thank you so much. >> thank you. stuart: now this, on thursday, former nfl legend, jim brown along with the national diversity coalition for trump will be throwing a preinauguration party benefiting jim brown's ameircan foundation. joining us, is mr. jim brown. welcome back, honor to have you with us. mr. trump being called a racist, and his presidency, they say, some say is not legitimate. why are you working with him? >> well, i'll tell you, when you win against all odds, and you defeat those who are against you, and i was for hillary. so i'm one of those who mr. trump defeated, but he is the president-elect of the united states. i'm a citizen, i'm not asking him to do everything.

i will pitch in with some of the things i do with like-minded people i represent. stuart: you met with mr. trump at trump tower. you were on this show before you went to meet with him or right afterwards but you certainly met him. what is your impression of the man? >> well he is his own person. he is flamboyant, controversial individual, that, he is a little thin-skinned, and i is a little reactionary but, he won in my opinion, fair and square and i'm going to support him as president of the united states. stuart: i was looking for examples how you proposed to work with mr. trump because you said that you will do that. and i wanted to know what american will actually do in the black community. then i found out -- >> we will -- stuart: sir, i found out you held a meeting in your house between the bloods and the crips

and you brought them together for a peace conference successfully. is that the kind of thing you're doing, in the community? >> oh, absolutely. i'm a community person. i deal down in the community where you have a lot of young people that don't have fathers, they don't have direction, they need help. they're willing to respond but you have to take off the gloves and go down in the belly of the beast, and i'm so proud of them because the 15 years, we had a truce in watts, violence went back basically to zero, homicides. so i am a person of the little man, so-called little man, and they are responding. so i'm on your show today to give them credit and to say that american will support the president and everything we can. we love the fact he believes in jobs. we love the fact that he is a person that believes in violence

intervention and those are the things that i am most interested in. as i tell all of my friends, i'm not a quarterback. i don't know everything. i was just a running back, so i'm not going to pretend every issue you're talking about today, that i'm an expert in, but i do have the community's ears and we have a record that is fan fantastic. i want to represent those young people out there that are doing everything they can do. if our president does what he said he would do, then he will support american and it is efforts, the bottom line, it teaches people to being responsible for their own actions. that is all of our young human beings need out there. not to blame anyone, not blame the system, get up, stand up and contribute to their own development. we condition of course help them. stuart: okay, jim brown, i don't know much about football. i know you're one of the

greatest players ever. it is an honor and privilege to have you on the show today, especially working with the president-elect. we appreciate your presence, sir, thank you. >> thank you very much for having me. stuart: yes, sir. now this, this is completely different. there is a brand new report. it says this. the ukrainians were trying to sabotage the trump campaign. that is news to me. ashley: it is. interesting story in "politico," ukrainian government officials basically tried to undermine donald trump, putting out documents about trump's alleged ties to russia, and at the time one of his top campaign aides paul manafort. you remember eventually manafort was forced to resign, that was part of a an effort by ukraine to delegitimatize donald trump and saying he was not fit for office and he is in bed for the russians. stuart: the ukrainians don't like the russians. ashley: they're at war with

russia. stuart: they think maybe mr. trump is very close to the russians so they supposedly intervened against trump. ashley: went into the hillary clinton camp to see what they could find. put stuff out there. clearly they weren't as good -- stuart: successfully through -- threw the election to trump. eight richest people are as rich as half the world's population. seems like one of those crazy statistics liz. liz: this is from oxfam that the findings are grotesque. bill gates and jeff bezos. 426 billion, what half of the population of the poor own. there are so many errors in this. last year they said it was 62 people had half of equated to half of the poor's wealth. stuart: i just don't trust the statistics.

liz: same wealth as poorest half. let me corrects myself. same wealth as poorest half of the global population. stuart: if you want to raise people up, the best way is capitalism. is that the way things are and always have been? liz: not acknowledged in the report, 8 richest billionaires hired or created jobs for more than a million people. stuart: that statistic will be front and center at davos. liz: they timed this. what fixes income inequality? stuart: tell me. liz: a job. stuart: very true. well-said, liz. thousands of bikers attend the inauguration friday. they plan a wall of meat stopping protesters from interfering with the event. "joe the plumber" is next. he says when you're facing down a biker you will need to keep your mouth shut. joe is with us, momentarily.

♪ stuart: friday's, i'm sorry, nfl quarterback joe theismann, former super bowl champ. he talked earlier on program about the pair else between mr. trump and mr. reagan. roll tape. >> you have to go back to the

1981, late '70s, interest rates as high as 21%. you had a lot of unrest. what president-elect trump wants to do is reduce taxes. something ronald reagan talked about. he wants to cut government spending the something that ronald reagan did. president-elect trump talked about that he wants to increase spending when it comes to the military. those were part of reaganomics that existed at that time. washington area we had gone to the super bowl in 1982. so in this particular community in washington, d.c., things were exciting but there was a time for great change back in the early '80s, just as we're seeing a time for great change now as we enter a new decade.

stuart: inauguration on friday is shaping up to be confrontational. the founder of bikers for trump said thousands will go to d.c. they will form a wall of meat around protesters in case things get out of hand. watch this. >> the bikers are certainly used to being outnumbered. we are prepared to form a wall of meet but we're confident that law enforcement, that they have learned their lessons in chicago and in arizona. if it is anything like it was in cleveland, they're going to have things under control. stuart: all right. come on in please joe wired sel-

wurzelbacher, "joe the plumber." >> flies to see you, stuart. stuart: i don't like this. i don't like violence at the inauguration. how do you see this. >> it is difference between a keyboard warrior mouthing on internet and looking at a 6-foot guy 300-pound guy in front of you. it helps keep people at bay so to speak. i don't anticipate issues. i've been on the other end of this stick once. you wake up the next day hurting. i don't see it happening. stuart: you do realize, obviously that the media will concentrate on confrontation. they will concentrate on the thousands of protesters who are there, anarchists, michael moore, all the rest, media will concentrate on that. if there is any violence, the inauguration could be spoiled here. i mean you see what i'm saying? >> yeah. but i understand what you're saying, but normally when violence occurs usually been the left doing it. we here on the right are conservatives.

we want to get things done. we want to make money. we want to make money and take care of our family. the ones on left, usually on violent altercation it is democrat pulling the strings. media is telling stories about themselves and acting like whining crybabies. go to the safe place and let the men take care of what needs to be taken care of. stuart: what is your response to mr. john lewis, congressman lewis, saying the trump presidency is not legitimate? >> you know, i give him the respect he deserves as far as being a civil rights icon in this way he is hurting america. he is not helping the situation. if anything, especially on martin luther king day when we're talking about, taking away the message martin luther king, jr., talked about bringing us together to make things happen. donald trump has proven he will work for america and americans. instead of serving politicians and republican party or democrat

party, he is here to serve the american people. a lot of people are getting behind it. 200 million americans quite frankly don't care what john lewis is doing, i'm one of them. we're here to get things done. that is what donald trump talked about all throughout his campaign is making america great again. john lewis needs to get on board or get it off the way. stuart: i have a new study, shows pay gap, pay gap between college graduates and everybody else has been the largest it has ever been. now do you think that is why blue-collar workers largely broke for mr. trump? >> well, absolutely. there is a lot of reasons. we can give you a lot of answers to this question, stuart. ultimately what it comes down to, there is stigma associated with people making a living wearing blue jeans and work boots. all throughout my son's high school years he was told to go to college. my son got journeyman's card for heating and air-conditioning, he make as lot of money. the problem with the jobs they are hard work.

kids raised with government are flush with entitlements. these kids want things handled to them. comes down to kids willing to work. a lot of jobs out there from mechanics to c and c operators, welders. they make great money. that is hard work. kids being raised today don't understand what it is to have work ethic. start building america and instilling a work ethic, words not used anymore, honor, courage hard work. those kind of things. stuart: i really like to see, joe, that elites stop looking down on everyone else. i would like to see that stop. joe, a pleasure having you on the show. sure you will be back soon. >> thanks, stuart. stuart: got it. the president-elect telling "the times of london" he wants a grade deal with britain in place after he is sworn in. that is opposite what president obama said during the "brexit" vote. who could forget this? >> our focus is in negotiating

with a big block of the european union to get a trade agreement gone. the uk will be in the back of the queue. stuart: things are different with mr. trump. ashley: another example why i think the vote was pushed over the edge in favor of "brexit." that caused a big stink in the uk. who are you to tell us what you will threaten us like that. someone asked in the interview with donald trump, the president-elect, so what about britain being at the back of the queue? are they going to the front. queue? i think the uk is going great. he will have theresa may to the white house. we'll do a deal between the two countries. we'll do a good gile for both. liz: that is the most pro-business thing or anything he ever said in his presidency in terms of using trade threats. the uk ever at the back of the queue when the u.s. needed the uk's help in any endeavor. ashley: should not have said that.

liz: it is a naked threat. ashley: he helped the "brexit" vote along. stuart: very much. still shot of the day. a plane hit by lightning moments after takeoff, boeing 747, just left moscow's international airport. passengers were unharmed but, i would have been terrified quite frankly. ashley: yes. stuart: much more, not on this, but on politics and money. that is what we do after this. ♪ at angie's list, we believe there are certain things you can count on, like a tired dog is a good dog. [ dog barking, crashing ] so when you need a dog walker or a handyman, we can help you find the right person for the job.

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stuart: monday morning. breaking news, here it comes. ashley, what do we have. ashley: reports that the wife of orlando nightclub gunman, omar mateen, who killed 49 people inside nightclub, has been arrested, his wife has been arrested by the fbi and charged with obstruction of justice. other reports saying she was arrested in san francisco. her name is noor saloman. stuart: thanks. a stud finds food stamp recipients, largest category of spending is soda, do i have that right? liz: yes you do.

stuart: which raises a question restricting what food stamps should be spent on? liz: one tennessee state senator says you should, the soda creates diabetes, high blood pressure and we have to pay health care for that. stuart: food stamp recipients, 5% roughly on soda? liz: correct. stuart: give or take a few percentage points. 5% on soda. liz: correct. stuart: that is a lot more than people not on food stamps spend on soda? liz: correct. stuart: let me ask you this. since you hate circuses and animals in cages would you stop food stamp recipient from buying soda? liz: yes. stuart: oh. liz: medicaid costs are up from health care problems and diabetes. ashley: should be guideline spent on healthy foods or variety of there oh?

is that nanny state? liz: taxpayer is involved. ashley: taxpayer is paying for it. stuart: there were moves in congress to restrict what food stamps could buy but that was vigorously opposed by food companies which didn't want any restrictions on purchase of products with food stamps. >> they would lose money. liz: what are you saying? stuart: this is not going to change. you're so totally wrong to be repressive of people not letting them buy soda. liz: i would love to hear your arguments. >> if i had time to get word edgewise on a show which bears my name. liz: you have plenty of time. stuart: stand by, viewers. more "varney" after this.

stuart: as we run up towards the unaugust ration on friday, we heard from jay johnson this morning, he's the homeland security secretary. he said there are 99 groups protesting at the unaugust ration -- inauguration, predominantly from the left. okay. that's the demonstrations at the inauguration. look at this, a list of 28 democrats in congress who now say they're not going to go to the inauguration, and, ashley, that list is growing. >> yeah, the list is growing. the reasons, russian interference, not a legitimate presidency and the rebuke of congressman john lewis. some are going to go, but they're going to join the protesters as opposed to being part of the ceremony. they're just throwing all their

toys out the pram. stuart: i think it rebounds against the left. >> you wonder how the american people are going to take it when they see such an important, historic event, it's the presidency, being hit by this. stuart: neil cavuto, sir, it's yours. neil: could you imagine, stuart, eight years ago if any republican congressman had boycotted the barack obama inauguration? stuart: unthinkable. neil: you know the reaction would be a little bit different in the media. all right, thank you very much. all right, we are following that. 27 is the latest count we have, it could go higher, but at least 27 democratic congressmen who are following in the footsteps of john lewis who had claimed donald trump is not a legitimate president, that has escalated to the point he's got 27 others concurring with him. we're going to be talking to one of those 28, but first, to tom bevi, this, i don't think we've