[closing bell rings] markets woke up from a very boring super bowl. turned it into a super monday for the bulls. nasdaq, biggest percentage gainer. that is conclude it for the "claman countdown." here come alphabet earnings. melissa: green across the board. all three averages ended in positive territory among earnings optimism dow at session highs. i'm melissa francis. connell: i'm connell mcshane. this is "after the bell." the s&p 500 extending gains. fourth straight day. shaking off early losses. melissa: nice. connell: very nice. settling in with hour than 1% gain ahead of big, big earnings. here is what is new at this hour. ♪

connell: outlining the white house agenda. president trump getting ready to deliver the state of the union address tomorrow night. president not ruling out another government shutdown in less than two weeks if congress doesn't agree on a plan to fund the border wall. new warning to the united states, the disputed president of venezuela message to president trump and report this hour that really could shake up the markets tomorrow, google's parent company alphabet, releasing quarterly earnings at any moment now. melissa: back to the markets. the dow surging in final moments of trading, boosted by technology stocks. let's go right to deirdre bolton on floor of the new york stock exchange. >> hey, melissa, around noon we really saw the gains start to solidify. you had this steady climb higher. if you look at the dow and its gains for the day, you had two tech stocks along with boeing, basically added 75 points to the dow. it was apple, microsoft and as i mentioned boeing.

those three together, plus 75 for the dow. look at apple's intraday stock, you will see some pricing. apple's market cap, surpassing amazon. number one poll position, largest u.s. company measured by market cap. apple, amazon vying. apple surpassed amazon for the day. you guys are waiting for google earnings. one thing i thought i would point out ahead of that number's release a lot of analysts i was speaking to today, they are wondering if this quarter is the quarter alphabet gaggle breaks out revenue and what they earn to youtube. believe it or not there are a billion hours watched around the world per day in a 24 hour cycle on google's youtube, alphabet's youtube. the company has never really broken out the revenue numbers. one analyst i was talking with today, you know what, last year it could have been in sales

alone $20 billion. this is just the analyst community going through what they think those numbers are going to be. then of course one of the theories, okay all these tech companies want to be more transparent. so maybe today's the day. meantime, guys, back to you. melissa: deirdre, thank you. connell: let's go to the market panel. adam lashinsky fortune es executive -- melissa: 12.77 is earnings per share. 12.77 versus 10.82. connell: just coming out guys. the revenue better than expected as ashley tells you live from the newsroom. what are you seeing, ashley? >> actual revenue coming in at 39.28 billion. that indeed is a beat of the estimate. it was 38.93. in the last quarter they missed on revenue, google so that is an improvement. quarterly costs per click on google, down 29%, but paid

clicks year-over-year up 66%. that is strong. looking at the operating margin. that is down. it was 25% in the last quarter. down to 21% in this quarter. but the tac, traffic acquisition costs, what google pays another words, to have people diverted to their properties, that coming in a little less. they paid less than expected, 7.44 billion. the estimate was over 7.5 billion. better news on the costs to get people to their sites but overall, the headline numbers, guys, google beating. connell: yeah, absolutely. ash, thank you very much. adam, i will go to you first on this. we'll get deirdre bolton involved as well from the new york stock exchange, along with adam and jonas. at first glance, ashley says these look pretty much across the board like food numbers. what are you -- good numbers about, what are you picking up though. >> decline in profit margin was

astoundingly large number we'll see if that is right, good performance is exactly what we could have expected given facebook's good performance last week. the people in the media industry's minds, these two companies are hoovering up all the advertising market. media companies like buzzfeed and vice, they are laying off because business is terrible, google's is quite good. connell: the stock which was up 2% in the regular session. went up. it looked to turn around down 2.3% after-hours but overall what's your impression? >> i got to say that is not good. that cost per click number is right that is what brought down the 2,000.com crash if we all remember. usually high ad rate. so many websites the actual rate collapsed, recession ultimately too. you know they have already hit half the digital advertising market when you combine them with facebook. they will hit a point where the

market only grows gdp globally. this will only grow 20% forever? if they keep click rates high or not getting people into the cloud business which is squeezing their existing user base there will be a growth problem here not this quarter, next quarter but a few years down the road. they will run out of ways to make money on advertising f the rates come down, you're talking about a huge beat on earnings per share and revenue that is top line and bottom line. that is it what we weren't seeing out of a lot of companies yet these numbers are right, it is weak. i think because this business model will run into future problems. connell: let me go back to ash real quick. he says he has more before -- go ahead. >> sorry, connell. i want to follow up on the cost per click on these google properties. it is a big number down 29%, but it is declining quarter by quarter. in other words they're earning less each time someone clicks on a search ad.

that is big part of obviously their business model. so when that is down 29% and declining by quarter, by quarter, by quarter, that is reason for concern. connell: down 29%. melissa. melissa: two more pieces cash and cash equivalents on hand at the end of the fourth quarter, 1.7 billion. i would -- 16.7 billion. i would be interested in the panel's reaction. cost per click, but paid clicks versus same quarter previous year, up66%. i don't know, if you want for the audience, tell them what is the difference between those stats and why it matters. connell: adam, you want to take that? >> no. i don't them in front of me. hard for me to take that without thinking about it. connell: that is fair. >> paid clicks go up if you acquire competitor. if you're growing the business as far as traffic, you're going to have increase in paid clicks but if people are i paing a lower rate per click that's a problem, you can make it up on

volume, like change on s&l, you can't have the cost per click rate decline. it either means combination of demand to pay as much for advertising is going down. by the way this company is under a lot of heat overdoing privacy stuff particularly abroad this is what you could expect to see if they couldn't squeeze your data. you wouldn't pay as much on a click over ad. they can't take advantage as much of your privacy. could be a warning. small businesses don't want to pay as much for ads, not getting good results. a lot of scary stuff. >> jonas, what you're say something very interesting and yet there is this beat on both the top and bottom line. so we'll have to reconcile that. two quick thoughts is that the cloud business and youtube, as we suggested earlier, might be better than what people had thought. somewhere that inconsistency, need to be reconciled. connell: the cause of bottom,

calls at bottom of this hour, conference call, maybe we or detail there. other thing melissa pointed out cash on hand. one of the questions coming in, about alphabet, whether there would be a new buyback program instituted since the old one was expiring. that is something to keep in mind or asking questions about, deirdre? we haven't heard from you yet. your take on the numbers. >> i hadn't chirped in, i agree with the panelists clicks down 30% that is not well. what adam covered so well with facebook and google they have twoth thirds of -- 2/3 of the digit call click market. amazon is not anywhere near those two but very much encroaching on the territory. as an addendum to the youtube part, trying to basically guess, along with the analyst community how much that means to alphabet

google, as i mentioned one analyst telling me it is probably $20 billion worth of annual revenue for youtube but there is also, most people say it might just barely, that particular unit, may still just barely be profitable. so it's a lot of what you're talking about. there is a lot of muscle and size and scope but, not sure, longer term what that means for the company. continued profitability. will be probably less. melissa: real quick, one of the things we're looking at the stock price, if you're trying to figure out why it is down more than 3%, it saw a big rally into these numbers today. this is another one of toes companies that tends to sandbag and comes out with better than expected and today in the lead-ups a people were anticipating these results, kind of looking at the tea leaves it had gone up quite a bit. not necessarily a -- >> positive sign on cost per click. if you're growing more abroad or emerging markets than the u.s. that would be normal thing.

a customer acquisition is not as valuable in a place where a customer doesn't spend as much money that could be explained. i don't know what is going on. >> i think most of that is great point. i was listening to news at the top of the hour, there is no good news out of apple in the last handful of days. it has been a bad story, bad story, bad story, yet they were up strong. i think perhaps you're on to something explaining stock price movement for google thus far. connell: this could be an interesting call. we'll see how it comes out at the bottom of the hour. maybe we'll go back to ashley later this hour to get details on this. deirdre, thanks. adam, usually point out for disclosure, adam has a special relationship with the google, is that right? >> i'm google spouse, yes. connell: per marriage. jonas thanks as well. we'll be back to the story obviously. melissa: president trump gearing up for his state of the union address tomorrow after being previously delayed by the

government shut down among other things. who will be there? what can we expect to hear from the commander-in-chief? that is coming up. connell: yes it is. we're also getting closer to a crucial deadline. can the united states and china get on same page with on going trade war. we're live in washington with new details. melissa: new poll revealing who has the best shot taking on president trump in 2020? who stands above the rest? we'll tell you later this hour. ♪ liberty mutual has just announced that they can customize your car insurance so that you only pay for what you need. this is phoebe buckley, on location. uh... thanks, phoebe. ♪ only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

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that everyone has for my dad. - [narrator] check out our huge selection of custom t-shirts and more, for teams, businesses, and every occasion. you'll even get free shipping. get started today at customink.com. connell: breaking news throughout the entire hour. we'll stay on the alphabet google story for the entire hour. we know that the stock is declining after the earnings report that came out a few minutes ago. none of this was a problem.

on eps better than expected, revenue on last quarter better than expected, as ashley webster pointed out to us a few minutes ago, the cost per click going down by fairly significant amount from last year. maybe a reason in the stock in the after-hours session is down 3 1/2%. the conference call begins at the bottom of the hour. we'll have new details and developments as they come in on alphabet google. now this. >> we'll have to see what happens on february 15th. it is that alternative. it is national emergency. it's other things and you know, there have been plenty of national emergencies called. we'll have a strong border. the only way you have a strong border you need a physical barrier, you need a wall and anybody that says you don't, they're just playing games. melissa: president trump leaving all options on the table as he prepares to deliver his state of the union address. while the clock ticks for congress to come up with a deal, to fund the government past next friday, blake burman is live in washington with the latest.

blake. reporter: melissa, president trump teased last week we should tune into the state of the union address tomorrow night because he might have announcement on declaring a national emergency. the white house not saying if the president will unveil the intentions tomorrow evening but is suggesting that the president will let the negotiations on capitol hill unfold first. >> president cannot be more clear that he has absolute right to declare a national emergency. it has never been his preferred option of first resort, second, 10th, 12th resort, it would be the last resort after congress completed its work. conferees are doing their work. we'll see what they come up before february 15th. reporter: february 15th, the timeline when they need to come up, folks on capitol hill, a deal or not. the president said a second shutdown is indeed on the table. the white house downplaying what effects that could eventually have on the economy. >> if there was a second shutdown we would have to go back doing the math the way we

did the last time you folks and i talked about it. but it looks like lasting effects will be very, very hard to see in the data. again there is so much momentum carrying forward into the year. reporter: somewhat of a quiet day at white house. we believe he is preparing for the big speech tomorrow night. melissa. melissa: joining me, dan henninger "wall street journal" editorial page deputy editor, fox news contributor. dan, this seems like one of those situation, if the president got out there in the speech, and he made a big offer to democrats, you know, put something on the table, that was border barrier, maybe didn't use the dreaded w word, and then talked about something bold, you know, like, permanent citizenship for daca recipients, something along those lines, would that work? would it shame the democrats and nancy pelosi into doing something with him? >> well, i have written at least twice now that he ought to do

exactly that, in exchange for the border security, the wall, yeah. i think it would shame them. i think it would force nancy pelosi, sitting behind him to stand up and applaud, a proposed legalization or path to citizenship for dreamers. but the white house is suggesting something along the lines of a national emergency declaration. so i suspect this is being debated as we sit here inside of the white house, which direction the president should go, conciliation or confrontation. melissa: i mean, conciliation, that is not really conciliation necessarily as much as leadership, if he offers both sides something they would love and something they would hate. then leaves it to them to sort out, if you look at the conference committee, they're, they're talking, they seem like they're very close together in terms of we need a border barrier of some type, that is a fence, some places blah, blah, you heard same song and dance.

you offered democrats something else. they have said that, if they come to an agreement they will bring it to the floor to vote on, whether nancy pelosi hates it or not. do you believe them? >> i like the, i like the word you just used melissa, leadership, really. maybe we should focus on that. i think that is what the american people are out there looking for right now from one of these two sides. they're asking, what do we pay you people for? why do we give all the authority and power in washington if not so show some leadership. i think the president is capable of doing that, but we've got to remember that both he and the democrats are in campaign mode. i suspect the white house is making sure whatever they propose is polling well with their base but i think the president at some point has to rise above that bays, that put him into the white house, pulling in more voters, more americans, act of leadership, as you sort of you suggest i think would go a long way doing that people are on the edge of their seats looking for exactly that.

melissa: i feel like the state of emergency is sort of the big stick hanging around in the background but isn't something they're really considering doing. there would be so much pushback and blowback, republicans don't like it. >> it would be litigated immediately and go into the courts. i have to be honest, i don't think state of emergency would move the needle at all. people would spend five seconds looking at it, go back to their daily jobs. they don't feel it's a national emergency, at least the way it normally has been described. we would be right back at negotiating table grinding it out. i think something larger than that is really needed tomorrow night. melissa: is there more focus on this now, because of the shutdown, because it was delayed and because of idea having nancy pelosi right over the president's shoulder as he is talking? seems like more there is more focus than there was before, what do you think?

>> split screen between president trump and nancy pelosi sitting there. mr. trump played last several days, bad cop, good cop, done that role himself. he will say something nice about her and something conciliatory, everyone will applaud. two days he could be back, blackjacking her again. there is a lot of pressure on both of them. melissa: by two days, you mean two minutes? >> two minutes. melissa: thank you very much. connell: negotiations underway on capitol hill, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle looking for solution to the funding battle, as of now, what is in, what is out? how about the president getting border wall money. unrest continues in venezuela. two leaders calling themself president there. more nations are taking side. the latest on the fallout after the break. ♪na

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connell: chaos in venezuela, nicolas maduro and juan guaido are calling themselves president of that country. one thing we did see a number of european nations come out an recognize guaido as the leader following united states. fox news's benjamin hall with details. reporter: hi, connell. there is a real sense now something has to give and it has to give very soon. you have all these countries coming on board with the u.s., well -- 12 in fact from the eu, supporting guide dough as president. russia and china on the other side and venezuelan military supporting nicolas maduro. he is totally defiant. how the two sides align themselves in coming days is anyone's guess. major protests erupted this weekend saw tens of thousands of people come out in caracas in support of guaido and maduro. 12 european nations including big ones, germany, britain, france, followed the u.s. and canada recognizing him as

president after maduro refused to call new presidential elections. >> that was the wealthiest country of all in that part of the world, which is a very important part of the world. and now you look at the poverty and look at the anguish, look at the crime, look at all of the things happening. so i think the process is playing out very, very big. tremendous protests. reporter: maduro survivesonly because of the on going support of the military, but there have been some high-profile defections over last few days, including a major air force general. maduro appears on state television almost constantly, often surrounded by troops. he issued a warning to president trump, not to stay in the white house with blood and risk another vietnam in that country. venezuelan economy is being hit hard. crude exports are declining sharply as new sanctions hit. on monday u.s. imposed new sanctions on venezuela

state-owned oil giant to prevent the sales reaching nicolas maduro. guaido is putting pressure by bringing in convoys. hopes the rank-and-file of military, allow those in, help people of venezuela starving or back the corrupt generals. he is hoping that might sway it. back to you. connell: benjamin hall, live for us. benjamin is probably right. something has to give on this pretty soon you would think. melissa: gearing up 2020. one democrat leads the pack taking on president trump. who is it? striking a deal with china. where do we stand in the current trade war. what a victory could look like for the united states. that's next. ♪ d a coach in high school. really helped me up my game. i had a coach. math. ooh. so, why don't traders have coaches? who says they don't?

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melissa: person-to-person. president trump wanting to meet with chinese president, with the chinese president before the end of the month to announce a possible trade deal but there is still a lot of work ahead before that can happen. edward lawrence is live at the white house with the latest on that. edward. reporter: yeah, a lot of work but a good first step the chinese are now taking. they're following through, at least starting to follow through with one of the pledges they made in the oval office. they bought two million metric tons of soybeans. if they follow through with the full five million metrics sons of soybeans it could be seen as an olive branch to the trump administration although trade representative robert lighthizer

says he doesn't want just window-dressing. he wants to make sure real structural changes are made. the u.s. is very specific what changes they need. punishments they want added if china fails to follow through. the chinese are trying to avoid tariffs going up on march 1st. a new u.n. report says if 200 million, or billion dollars worth of chinese goods goes from 10% to 25%, it could trigger a further global downturn. also the report says companies could shift supply chains out of china. analysts are saying market pressures on both sides are saying make a deal. >> the president trump hugs the chinese. they both announced they won, they do a big television event and each side can create victory. i think that would take the market to new highs. reporter: without a deal on march 1st, that is the deadline, u.s. trade representative robert lighthizer says the president has stood firm and is standing firm,

midnight on march 1st, if there is no deal, tariffs go up to 25% on $200 billion of chinese goods. back to you, melissa. melissa: like very exciting sees san finale. edward, thank you. connell: dan mitchell, joins us now the cofounder of center of freedom and prosperity. number one, the idea there will be a face-to-face meeting between president trump and xi xinping, how important is that, because it looks like it might happen, and how much does it matter where the meeting takes place? should the president go it in china? , wait for neutral site in asia or wait to meet with him here in the united states? >> assuming the trump administration is trying to get the chinese to engage in structural reform it makes sense for trump to go to china, that would be in effect signaling that you're doing something for me. i'm going to then come to you. there is a lot of issues of face involved. connell: yeah. >> who has the pride, who is giving up on something, but i do agree for once with the trump administration, they are pushing for the structural reform, not

just, buying some more soybeans or something like that. the problem in china, and it is hurting the chinese economy by the way, the problem, there is too much statism. the government is too involved. there are too many, state-owned enterprises. think of the economy as one big giant export-import bank. government is meddling every place. they need to liberalize. connell: boy, that, i mean it might happen bits and pieces but that happening on a large-scale seems to be overly optimistic, wouldn't you say? >> well, two things maybe me somewhat optimistic. connell: okay. >> first of all we did negotiate starting with bush and through some of the obama years, there were negotiations for a bilateral investment treaty that actually would have required structural reform. there was a big perception that the chinese leadership wanted that to overcome their own special interests at home. and then the other thing that the trump administration, for that matter, hillary clinton,

everyone threw it away, the tpp -- connell: yes. >> not perfect at all, but that was designed in part -- connell: supposed to counter china. then, we backed out of it for bet he or worse, here we are back in this position. say they do agree with the structural reforms you're suggesting and lighthizer and others are pushing for, the question is how do you enforce it? the so-called enforcement mechanism is lot speculation on that front as well. some of the things thrown out you keep tariffs in place you see to it what china says, they say what they will do, or have it so the tariffs are triggered if the chinese break a promise, what do you think? >> that is an option, keep in mind when you impose tariffs on american consumers you're not only shooting chinese foot you're shooting the chinese in the foot as well. it is not -- >> what is better idea, what is a better idea to make sure they stick to their word? >> what i wish we had done way back when at the start of the

trump administration utilize the wto, the europeans would have been on our side, the japanese would be on our side and wto, when u.s. files case but they win 89, 90% of. connell: the hard liners on trade, laugh that off, that is useless goes to the wto, takes forever, you don't get anywhere, what do you say to that? >> it does take time, a little bit bureaucratic but in the long run the wto has been very useful for american interests opening up foreign markets to american goods. the approach trump is taking, if we wind up not having successful negotiation, all of sudden he starts levying 25% import taxes, trigger a trade war, as your previous report was indicating, that is a real threat to the economy. we don't want to go down to the 1930s route tit-for-tat.

connell: everybody wants to avoid that. maybe a delay if they work that out. thanks for coming in, dan mitchell. melissa: people talk about diplomacy who goes where, they forget, that is diplomacy in business you always see the other person face-to-face. there is one-on-one relationship. he getting criticized so much, that is how ceos operate and how deals are done. connell: that is what dan was suggesting, you're right. it is out of government or in government i should say saying opposite, don't go to him, don't do it on his turf. melissa: most powerful people in business, you go see someone, have dinner. connell: shows them a lot. melissa: anyway, super snoozer. the lowest scoring super bowl ever taking a major toll on viewership. the numbers next. ♪ okay, i picked out my dream car.

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doesn't mean it really exists at a dealership. but with truecar, i get real pricing on actual cars in my area, i see what others paid for them and they show me the ones that match the car i want, so i know i can go to a truecar certified dealer and it'll be right there waiting for me... today, right now. this is truecar. melissa: breaking news. more from alphabet the parent company of google following a fourth quarter earnings revenue beat. go back to ashley webster in the newsroom. ashley. >> melissa, it's a mixed bag. we're seeing weakness in after-hours trading. beat in earnings per share handily. they missed revenue in the third quarter. they beat estimates well above 20% year-over-year in the fourth quarter. so they beat on the top and bottom line. where the weaknesses come in, this cost per click rate. it is down 29%. in other words they're earning less money every time someone clicks on a search ad and that

is a big part of their business model of course. the operating margin also down 21%. it was at 25% in the third quarter. so again the operating margin is squeezing in just a little bit. right now on the conference call we have ruth porat, the cfo of alphabet praising global search and google's role and talking about extra expenses, well above 20%. they say cost of revenue up on youtube content acquisition, data centers, hardware, adding more people to the country, close to 99,000 people. they added more than four thousand employees, many of those to the cloud division. there are more costs as they bring in the cloud but expensive for youtube to bring content. overall, strong growth in revenue. good profit report but there flies in the ointment they say, guys. melissa: when i see ads i'm searching, over it go to the real stuff.

>> we all do. melissa: thanks for clearing that up. we know exactly what they're talking about. ashley, thank you. connell: completely difficult story. may have looked like a boring super bowl. melissa: yes. connell: just about any measure it was a boring super bowl. the ratings show it. viewership 10-year low, matchup last night between the patriots and the rams. early reports reveal ratings dropped by 5% compared to a year ago. 10-year low. a lot of clicking around after halftime maybe i guess. melissa: i guess. before the president tweets about nfl viewership, we hope, no? connell: i don't know. he is usually, he likes the patriots. melissa: yeah. connell: but i don't know. certainly not that prediction business. melissa: we had fun watching it but the game was not, setting the stage for 2020. the potential democratic field getting even more crowded but voters suggest joe biden is the party's only hope. that's next. ♪

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♪ connell: with the iowa caucuses now just one year away, you can set your calendar, one year away. new poll out among voters in iowa, revealing former vice president joe biden is the only potential democratic challenger at the moment who can beat president trump in 2020, 51-49. robin biro, former obama campaign field director, we have trump 2020 advisory board member to talk about this. there are other candidates in the margin of error in president trump in iowa. biden is the best of a bunch in a field moving to the left, biden is many consider centrist, running the strongest. what is the message for

democrats? >> message there, he is familiar. he is always likeable. that is why president obama picked him to be his nominee, his ratings have always been great. look, there is arguement to be said for, you know, having a government that is representative of the people. i think majority of people are neither far left nor far right. so joe biden represents the interests. i would like to see some more fresh ideas. connell: well that is way of saying that the former vice president is getting up in years, which is going to be the issue for him in his campaign, madison, but from your point of view, looking from the current president's president's point of view, there a candidate, this one scares me a little bit, this would be a tough race and if so is that candidate joe biden as opposed some of the other ones already in or thinking about getting in? >> looking at field right now, democrats that haven't announced presidential runs likely to announce, i don't see somebody i'm scared of and i don't think the president is scared of

anybody at this point. he had really strong two years. we're look forward for another two years before the election and when we look at biden i do agree with robin in the fact he is more centrist. i do think that reflects the majority of democrats across this country, not the far, far left we're seeing with more vocal voices. connell: in certain states to me, biden would be the one, because, iowa is one thing but when you talk about the three that really matter that deliver the president, president sy last time around in pennsylvania, wisconsin, michigan, logic would tell you biden would run better there, robin, than other democrats. they are too far left on economic issues. >> absolutely. i like kamala harris, it will hurt her being a california democrat. beto has a lot of steam going for him -- connell: we don't know where he stands. maybe he is a little more centrist. we don't know a ton about him. >> exactly. biden is just familiar. he is likeable. so that is going to pull well in

his favor. i just would hope that we can get some fresh ideas. but it's a little early. get to the debates. that is where i really think we'll edge out some fresh ideas. connell: we saw it the last time around, madison, with republicans. it was matter how many you could fit on stage at once. i guess democrats will have to go through the same issue. the a debate, b debate, c debate, who is on which stage. biden is going to be on that a stage. it's a matter of how many others are with him. if you're him, think about it from the other point of view, madison, he has got that centrist lean right now. maybe mike bloomberg takes it away, biden is kind of the guy in that lane for whatever that is worth? >> i mean you mentioned ohio, someone else very centrist compared to some democrats would be sherrod brown. many consider him to be more centrist democrat rumored to look at presidential run. there will be a few other centrists ultimately get to the

debates. it is large field looking back to 2015. not one republican announced their presidential run in the primary season. right now we have six announce, six or seven announce democrats, multiple exploratory committees. we're looking at dozens. potentially 24 candidates. it will be insane. i don't think we will predict who the democratic candidate will be coming out on top because it is so unpredictable with field at large. >> we weren't even close to the escalator ride that started the trump candidacy at this point in the cycle. maybe we all should relax for a little while. robin, madison. >> thanks, connell. >> far from common ground. president trump standing firm on his demands for a border barrier funding as another government shutdown looms. where do we currently stand? we're live on capitol hill. that is next. ♪

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melissa: we have just 11 days left for congress to avoid a second government shutdown in 2019. where do we stand on the negotiations? joining me to break it all down is chad pogrom, fox news capitol hill producer. tell me where i'm going wrong here. you have got this committee together, the working group, who seems to be logical and diligent

and kind of want to make a deal and they have said they are going to put on the floor what they come up with, no matter what nancy pelosi is yelling at the time. to me that seems like there's a chance to get something out there that could be voted on and could work. where am i going wrong? >> i talked to one senior person pretty close to the process earlier today and they indicated that they were very optimistic. i pressed them on it, i said really? they said yes, there were staff talks over the weekend, more staff talks today. the senate is just in today, the house comes back tomorrow. we are expecting some member-to-member meetings in the next couple of days once everybody gets together. what i'm told is on wednesday there might be a classified briefing for bipartisan, bicameral members to hear from experts from dhs and otherwise and hopefully they can get something in legislative form over the weekend and put this on the house and senate floors next week. the trick is going to be tuesday night. i have been told this from folks on both sides of the aisle. they say if the president comes

out and uses language that's too strident or if he says i'm going to declare a national emergency or something like that, that could torpedo the whole deal. everything could hinge on tomorrow night and also, they have the enemy of time. what else they have been doing behind closed doors is this. they have been trying to separate the border security issues from non-border security issues. remember, this is the department of homeland security bill. it funds everything in dhs. so if they can kind of separate the wheat from the chaff, they can actually get something. from what i'm told they have been having very positive conversations. melissa: what is not border security? is that where you are talking about daca or about things that are completely separate? >> we haven't heard they will go far afield into that area. these extra territorial issues. there's just not enough time. there's a lot in dhs that deals with maybe cybersecurity, that deals with, you know, dealing with pandemic flu, all the sorts of things that dhs deals with that doesn't directly deal with immigration and things on the

border. melissa: do you have kind of these guys together in committee, then you have the president and speaker who are all talking to the media separately, do you get the sense is the bark worse than their bite? do you think speaker pelosi, for example, really wants to derail the whole thing, or does she want to continue the political pressure and the chatter but she wouldn't mind if something came together? >> she kind of faces multiple pressures. first, she's an appropriator at heart. she used to serve on the appropriations committee. she gets these kind of behind the scenes closed door -- that's what appropriators do. they fund the government. they fund the government. that's not the biggest part of federal spending, frankly. it's nondiscretionary spending. there's that part. she would like to see a seal. number two, she has to stay firm to her position, no border wall. third of all, she has all these freshmen democrats who are new to politics, new to capitol hill. they want to get a deal because they want to show they can get things done in washington. melissa: chad, you are fantastic. come back and keep us posted. we appreciate it.

i'm putting you on the spot. is it getting done? connell: no. melissa: i go with yes. that does it for us. "bulls & bears" starts now. david: we are now just one year away from the iowa caucuses and the field is growing with virtually all 2020 democrat presidential hopefuls announcing huge new trillion dollar spending programs, all paid for by huge increases and new taxes on the wealthy. is this what america really wants? let's ask the panel. kristina partsinevelos, jonathan hoenig, john layfield and gary kaltbaum. guys, isn't demonizing the rich an attack on the american dream? >> well, look, i would like to say that yes, it's a war on wealthy but more, it's a war on people who are trying to get wealthy. when you raise taxes and they are going to