i'm sandra smith, in for megyn kelly tonight, and this is "the kelly file". ♪ ♪ welcome to "hannity." president obama is imposing sanctions on russia over allegations of election hacking. i'm kimberly guilfoyle in for sean tonight. kellyanne conway and former u.s. ambassador john bolton will be here with reaction. first, earlier today the obama administration punishing russia with sanctions, including expelling 35 russian diplomates from the u.s., and closing russian-owned compounds in new york and maryland. russia responding by threatening to retaliate and saying the move was done to hurt the incoming administration. and president-elect trump is reacting by putting out a statement that reads, quote, it is time for our country to move on to bigger and better things.

nevertheless, in the interest of our country and its great people, i will meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week in order to be updated on the facts of this situation. joining us now is incoming counsellor to president-elect trump, kellyanne counsellor. kelly, thank you for joining us on the show tonight. always a pleasure to have you. lots of news on the international front, and certainly these developments as it relates to russia are concerning. have you spoken to president-elect donald trump about this? >> i have. yes, i have been with him most of the day in meetings including on this topic. >> okay. and what are his thoughts? >> well, you see them clearly reflect in his official statement, kimberly. he does believe it is time to move on and look forward to the next administration. also, in the interest of the country he's agreed to receive an intelligence briefing next week, probably in new york, by a number of intelligence officials to learn more about the current situation. i think those who are trying to

bait him into a bigger response, i would say two things to them. number one, you can't have it both ways. you can't on the one hand say, hey, just one president at a time, and we have one now for the next 22 days or so named president barack obama, but at the same time you want the president-elect to make new policy. i was really disappointed to read in david sanger's "new york times" piece this evening the allegation or the supposition that perhaps one reason that these sanctions are taking place is to, quote, box in president-elect trump, forcing him to take a position or otherwise once he takes office. i hope that this isn't motivated by politics even a little bit, but i would also note to folks, kimberly, this is great political fan fare and largely symbolic, but will it have impact? will these sanctions have impact? it is unprecedented for us as a nation to expel that many operatives over that short period of time. even at the height of the cold war we didn't do that.

at the same time, would argue these operatives don't really travel here, they don't keep their assets here. so one wonders, you know, what the teeth of the sanctions really are. i see russia has already retaliated against our alleged retaliation. i think there was this calling on closing the angelo american school in moscow. they also put on a scathing statement that this is just lame ducks and political corps, quote, unquote. those are their words, in the obama administration, doing a flurry of activity in the final weeks. so it is concerning and it is all new, but the president-elect was very brief and very firm and very consistent in his statement tonight. >> all right. what do you expect and foresee for president-elect donald trump in terms of his relations with russia? what do you think will be one of the first steps that he will take? >> well, that's a larger question, apart from the sanctions and certainly apart from the current issue at hand. we have complicated relations with russia, we have for decades

as the united states, but at the same time the president-elect has made clear that he is willing to work with countries who want to work on big solutions together. for example, if there are countries that want to come together with the united states and help eradicate -- not just contain and not just pretend they've gone away, but eradicate isis, then we would entertain that assistance, depending on the terms. i mean i would say it is just remarkable to me that we are talking about sanctions against russia just days after i would call sanctions against israel with that horrible u.n. vote where really i think secretary kerry before his speech and certainly after his speech has lost a tremendous amount of credibility in just up ending u.s. policy with respect to israel. you will see president trump have a much stronger relationship with israel. we will -- you can't put daylight between the u.s. and israel diplomatically, militarily, technically when you're talking about president

trump's administration. so i think within the last couple of days you see this flurry of activity by a tough president obama as he exits office, and i guess is burnishing his last couple of moments, you know, semi colons worth of his legacy. but at the same time the new president will have an opportunity to reexamine our relationships geo politically across the globe and make a decision that is always america first and the best interests of america, americans, our allies and their interests around the world. >> it seems already that, you know, benjamin netanyahu already has a confidence in developing a very good relationship with president-elect donald trump. it seems he is very much looking forward to january 20th and trying to really restore and rebuild relations with israel, which is a very important democracy and ally for us in that region. >> it is our greatest friend, our best friend in that region, and, you know, stabilization of the middle east is a goal for president-elect trump overall, but we want our friends in

israel to know that they -- that help is on the way, and president-elect trump tweeted that out yesterday. we heard so much positive response from all across this country, including people who may have voted a different way in these elections, kimberly. thank you for saying that, they say to president-elect trump, that thank you for even saying hang on there, israel, january 20th is fast approaching or will be here soon, something to that effect. because it is so bore that israel and the middle east and the rest of the world know we will have an incredibly strong relationship between the u.s. and israel, and mr. netanyahu knows that, ambassador durmer knows that and we want the world to know that. this vote over the weekend was clearly just remarkable and it was such a break with u.s. policy and just so weak. >> yes, certainly it is not helping in terms of our relations, and elreally a departure of u.s. foreign policies with israel. let's talk a little bit about the relationship between president-elect donald trump and current president barack obama. did they actually speak

yesterday late in the evening, and what was the nature of the call? >> so president obama and president-elect trump spoke yesterday afternoon. some of us on the senior staff were there when the call was being received, so i know it was in the afternoon, and president-elect trump went out and told the media that they have a very productive conversation that was broadly reaching on a number of issues. they spoke at length. they speak fairly regularly, which i think is very healthy for our democracy and very auspicious for a peaceful transition from administration to administration. president-elect said something else last night at mar-a-lago to the press i would like to emphasize, which he said our staffs are working really well together. that is true. you have the current chief of staff and our incoming chief of staff in touch, the two press secretaries in touch, spicer and josh earnest, i certainly understand, it is certainly valuable and other staff members reached out to me personally and often. we're feel our cabinet nominees,

others involved in senior level in the incoming government has had good contact with, very positive contact with and good relations so far with the outgoing obama administration officials, and we hope that continues because that really is the only way to make this work for the american people in the next couple of weeks. january 20th will be here quickly, and it is very important to all of us, i think it is very important to america that you see that peaceful transition of power from administration to administration. >> okay. that's good news then also that president-elect trump feels, you know, personally supported and has this open, communicative relationship with the current president certainly. what would you like to see happen over the course of the next three weeks to feel very well-prepared and in good position for the start on january 20th? >> kimberly, one thing is something just to modify our previous conversation, is something that the president-elect tweeted yesterday too, which is he sees some road blocks sometimes from president obama. we do wonder about the rush to do all of these things in the

next couple of weeks by the obama administration, how that may upend long-tank u.s. policy as it seems to be or how it maybe, as the "new york times" put it, trying to box in the president-elect. we hope it is not true. evidence has been to the contrary, so that would be good. we would like to know as much as we can to prepare for the first ten days, 100 days. we're very excited about the president's agenda. he has put -- president-elect's agenda. he has put it forth as anybody can see. he talked about his 100-day plan on the campaign trail, and you knee this guy is very consistent so it hasn't changed. i will tell you what i think what i want people to know is that the president-elect is not just -- not only is he not a politician but he is a successful businessman. what that means as president is the way he has run as a chief executive, successful, brilliant, change-making, things move very quickly when you employ tens of thousands of people, when you generate billions of dollars in revenue, when you are accountable for

results and you want to deliver on a regular basis, not just when congress is ready, not just when you've studied or the commission is done with its work, but he wants to do things very quickly and i believe he will because he is very focused, and he has been working around the clock here at mar-a-lago, meeting with different people. i think he and vice president pence have spoken with over 85 or so leaders on the telephone in preparation. so we want to be as ready as possible to get to work and not just say, hey, we need a couple of months to figure it all out, find our way around the west wing. this is a man who has always been able to deliver and produce very quickly and deliver and produce the way he has promised you and the way that makes an impact on people's lives. that's what i want to do, make an impact on people's lives very quickly, a positive one. >> and you are certainly doing that, at personal sacrifice and moving with your family. we want to wish you all the best to you, your husband, your children on your move to d.c. >> thank you, kimberly.

come and see us. >> okay. i will. >> take care. >> take care. >> and coming up, more reaction to president obama punishing russia over hacking allegations. former u.s. ambassador john bolton is here next to weigh in. plus -- >> i'm very, very strong on israel. i think israel has been treated very, very unfairly by a lot of different people. >> president-elect donald trump is standing firm with israel after the latest incident with the obama administration. israeli's ambassador to the u.n. joins us with reaction. all of that plus anthony scaramucci from the trump transition team will be here. that and much more straight ahead on "hannity." ♪

♪ live from america's news headquarters i'm patricia stark. a powerful noresater dumping

snow on parts of new england along the i-95 corridor. a storm warning remains in effect into friday morning, and by the time it stops as much as 8 inches of snow will have fallen. coastal areas of maine were seeing heavy snow earlier in the day, the main turnpike dropping speed limit to 45 miles an hour. it is turning to freezing rain, making driving even more hazardous. elsewhere in the world iraqi forces launch a new offensive against isis fighters for control of mosul. elite special forces are pushing into several enableds. explosions shaking the city. columns of dark smoke in the air and machine gun fire is echoing through the streets. isis fighters are putting up stiff resistance to keep control of the city they held more than two years. i'm patricia stark. now back to "hannity." ♪ welcome back to "hannity." newly-imposed u.s. sanctions against russia are elevating tensions between washington d.c.

and moscow. what could it mean for the incoming trump administration. joining me now is former u.s. ambassador to the u.n. and fox news contributor john bolton. thank you for joining us on the program tonight. obviously very disturbing news and developments on the tail end of an administration. what do you think it means for president-elect donald trump? >> well, i don't think it binds him at all. i don't think it locks him in if he doesn't like this executive order, he can simply reverse it. i think the harder issue is determining whether we really understand the full extent of what the russians, the chinese, the iranians, the north koreans and others have been doing in the cyber world for eight years and beyond that that we have not responded to effectively. i think what president obama announced today is incoherent, and if the reports about what russia did are in fact correct utterly inadequate. i think we need a much stronger response because we want to get into a position where russia and everybody else who has been doing this kind of interference

in the united states knows that we can cause a lot more pain to them than they can cause to us, and we create structures of deterrence to make them stop it. >> well, if president obama had knowledge that there was interference or at least the intention to cause interference going on, why now is he doing this at this stage of the game with very impotent sanctions in my opinion levied against russia? to what end? >> well, i don't think we can really say, but i think once january the comes, obviously trump administration appointees will be able to talk to people in the intelligence community and find out why it was, if they were so sure back in september and october that this was going on, they didn't announce it them. some have speculated because it was because obama thought that hillary clinton would win the election anyway so why risk messing that up, and so now they're upset about it. i can't say. but i tell you, it's not just russia, it is not just the hack of the dnc or john podesta's

e-mail, it is eight years going back of persistent efforts by foreign governments and others to get into our government and private sector computer systems. look at the chinese hack of opm personnel records, millions of records of americans working for the federal government basically stolen by beijing. what did we do about that? i don't know. patiently nothing. >> nothing. yeah, nothing. you're right, this is a far greater and far sweeping problem that needs to be addressed. just the abysmal lack of any kind of cyber security in this country is really woefully inadequate, and you see people and countries rather like china, like russia, like the north koreans, you know, making a mockery of the u.s. security systems, and it does have a deleterious impact on u.s. national security. >> no, absolutely. i mean i think we've got a kind of missile gap here. i have no doubt america is capable of much stronger action

both offensively and defensively, but i don't see that the obama administration has put a priority on it until today. and so when the president announces a bunch of weak and ineffective sanctions but says other steps will be taken, we can't talk about it, he just has no credibility in that regard. i understand why you don't make public actions in cyber space or elsewhere until they've happened, but i do think in order to not simply impose pain on the russians but to shame them publicly as well, to let the whole world know including other potential hackers like beijing that if you act against the united states we will impose such costs that you will not want to do it again. >> i imagine that would be your advice to president-elect donald trump, and he will have a markedly different approach as it relates to these actions against the united states. ambassador bolton, always a pleasure to have you. thank you so much. >> glad to be with you. and while tensions are escalating between washington and moscow, the obama

administration's relationship with one of our closest and most important allies, israel, continues to deteriorate. today the associated press reported that, quote, relations between obama/anti-anti-camps hit rock bottom. meanwhile, the incoming democratic senate minority leader shuck schumer released a part that reads in quote, while he may not have intended it, i fear secretary kerry in his speech and action at the u.n. has emboldened extremists on both sides. last night president-elect donald trump had this to say about israel and the actions. the u.n. security council. >> i'm very, very strong on israel. i think israel has been treated very, very unfairly by a lot of different people. you look at resolutions in the united nations, you look at what happened, they're up for 20 reprimands, and other nations that are horrible places, horrible places, that treat people horribly, haven't even been reprimanded. so there's something going on, and i think it is very unfair to

israel. >> and joining me now with reaction is israel's ambassador to the u.n., danny danone. thank you for being here. >> good evening, kimberly. thank you for having me. >> absolutely. this is so important what is going on now and the relationship between the united states and israel is crucial. it is integral to world stability, and israel already has enough countries after them, surrounded by people that would like to see the end and the demise of israel, yet the u.s. doing this, issuing essentially a very crippling, inappropriate blow to israel. your thoughts? >> we have a very strong relationship with the u.s. and we appreciate that. we have the same values, we share the same principles, but what happened last friday at the security council was shameful. it was -- we were disappointed to see the u.s. teamed up with venezuela, senegal, malaysia, passing a one-sided resolution, a ridiculous resolution. when you read the resolution it says the jews cannot be in

jerusalem, in the jewish quarter, in the western world, western side. we are disappointed to see the administration decided in the last minute to allow such a shameful resolution to pass in the security council. but we are hopeful. we listened to president-elect trump and we hope to have some changes at the u.n. we need to reform the u.n. we need to make sure that the billions of dollars the u.s. is giving to the u.n. is going to the right placis and not to promote and insight anti-semitism against israel. >> let's talk about how it came to be. is this something your country was given any advanced warning in the form of some kind of courtesy to relay to israel the u.s. would take this position? >> we knew they would try to pass this resolution, we spoke to our colleagues and were aware of that, but we did not expect that the u.s. would join it, support it and encourage it.

in 2011 there was a similar resolution that the u.s. vetoed. ambassador rice was there and vetoed it. in 2014 there was a similar resolution that the u.s. blocked. what happened now that the u.s. decided to join our enemies and to allow such a shameful resolution to pass? and when you read the resolution, you know, the people of the u.s. would not support such a resolution. president obama said -- spoke at the u.n. and said, if you want to promote peace in the middle east, don't come to the u.n., to the security council, urge both parties to sit together and to negotiate. that's what we need to do, to sit down and negotiate. but passing a resolution that actually gives the palestinians everything is not encouraging peace. it is encouraging the palestinians to continue to come to the security council. >> right, who also encouraged acts of terrorism and paid people to commit acts of terrorism against israel. so let's talk about this though. how is it that there's some allegations that were made that, in fact, the united states was

com police i thi complicit in putting this resolution together at this time? do you believe it to be the case? >> in the security council in the u.n. every resolution connected to israel, the u.s. is the holder. you cannot pass a resolution about israel without the support of the u.s. that was the case on friday, and we expected more from our closest friend. we expected them to stop this resolution. it is legitimate to disagree with some of the issues, to criticize israel, but it is not to choose the venue of the u.n. when it is so biassed and to allow such a resolution to pass. >> president-elect donald trump saying to israel they're a friend, a strong ally with the united states and will be treated as such, saying hold on until january 20th. >> we are looking forward to work with governor hailey, the new ambassador to the u.n. with a new administration, and we are hopeful. celebrating hanukkah, we're used to such resolutions, but we will prevail. >> thank you for your time. >> thank you.

>> appreciate it. coming up next right here on "hannity." >> we're going to create a prosperous country. we're going to have jobs again, great jobs, not bad jobs, real jobs, and it is going to be something special. >> president-elect trump promised voters he'd get americans back to work. anthony scaramucci will weigh in next. and later -- >> this morning i watched president obama talking about get m guitmo, guantanamo bay, which we are keeping up. >> that was president-elect trump telling voters he will keep guantanamo bay open. now president obama is reportedly racing to release detainees before he leaves office. dr. sebastian gorka will join us with reaction. that and much more straight ahead on "hannity." ♪ jack be nimble, jack be quick,

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we are going to massively cut taxes for the middle class, who i call -- who i call the forgotten people. i will never, ever let you down. we will become a rich nation once again. and that was president-elect donald trump vowing to bring back jobs to america, and it looks like the president-elect is already making good on that promise. watch this. >> because of what's happening and the spirit and the hope, i was just called by the head people at sprint and they're going to be bringing 5,000 jobs back to the united states, and also one, a new company, will be hiring 3,000 people. so that's very exciting. so we have a combination of sprint for 5,000 jobs and that's coming from all over the world, and they're coming back into the united states, which is a nice change, and also one web, 3,000 jobs. that's a new company. >> and joining me now, the

author of "hopping over the rabbit hole," trump transition team executive committee member anthony scaramucci. a man with a lot of titles. >> thank you for having me back. >> it is wonderful to have you back. this is something people are very pieted about in this country because they feel they have been left behind. this was an integral part of his campaign and this movement across the country. he spoke to people, rallies that turned out thousands and thousands of people and said, forgotten men and women, you will not be left behind anymore. >> love it. >> we are going to put america first, we are going to hire american, we're going to bring back jobs here, and this has been part of the whole framework of his plan for this country. >> and, listen, he's a great marketer. i mean he has so many great skills, but one of the great things is symbolism of the whole thing. so standing there at mar-a-lago and announcing the 5,000 and then the 3,000, he is sending the symbolic message to everybody. you know, teddy roosevelt once said about the presidency there's a bully pulpit. nobody is going to use the bully

pulpit better than donald trump. he is going to get out there and express his hopes and dreams for the american people, he will inspire them at the inaugural, and he is sending a message to businesses all over the world that the united states is open for business, kimberly. so lower taxes, more simple. regulation that will be fair and not over regulated. the message to working class families is we will set you back up where you can be aspirational. sean talks a lot on this show 8 million people dropping below the poverty line. mr. trump wants to lift them above the poverty line again, but get them thinking the way we thought growing up. my dad was a laborer, started with a lunch pail, and told us to do our hardest to work hard, to go to school and then we can become successful. that's the message of president donald j. trump. so i'm hugely excited about the whole thing. >> yeah, and you've been a big part of that in terms of a member of the transition team, executive member of it, and talking about some of the job ideas, these principles, because people really feel in this

country they can't even dream, have these aspirations to open a company or do something, and so much of that contributes to the job force, the working force. >> no question. we've been stuck because of the low growth. we've had a declining wage cycle over the last ten years, wages are down about 9.4% for middle class and working class families. so his focus in addition to bringing jobs back is bringing real wages back to the united states. we have talked in the obama administration about $15 an hour wages. that's not going to be the president trump plan. the president trump plan is high living standards, high living wages. kimberly, let's start the consumption cycle again where we can get people back to work and get the growth we need. that will also lift the rest of the world, kimberly. >> yeah, hire american, guy american goods, put america first. these sound like simple statements but they have profound results and impact on the market. >> you can see it in the psychology, look at consumer confidence numbers, best in 15 years. >> yeah. >> and that's coming from him.

even the pundits who don't like him have to admit he is inspiring people and he is changing the game. you know, we went from jimmie carter where people were in a malaise to ronald reagan where we were carrying flags and the torch of america and we're returning back to the american dream, which is inspiring for a lot of people. >> you bring up a great point because during the time reagan was president you saw people, like households had more confidence. there was, you know, consumer purchasing was up for sure. >> exactly. >> when he talked about every family to have two tvs, two vcrs, to be able to do that, that's something that can move the numbers forward. we have seen the market already boyed by the fact that president-elect trump is coming in, in wall street you see it reflected in the index. that's been favorable. >> no question. i'm hoping in two or three years, kimberly, we get a new hat that says making america greater, and we drop make america great again because we have already done it. >> we're on to something. anthony scaramucci, always a pleasure to have you.

>> happy new year. >> to you as well. coming up next right here on "hannity." >> this morning i watched president obama talking about gitmo, right, guantanamo bay, which, by the way, we are keeping open. which we are keeping open. >> fill it up. president-elect trump promised voters he will keep gitmo open, but president obama is now reportedly rushing to free detainees before he leaves office. dr. sebastian gorka is here next with reaction. and later, legendary conservative thomas fellow is retiring after a fascinating decade long career writing about politics. we will ask him about president-elect trump and much more. stay with us as "hannity" continues. ♪ as a control enthusiast, i'm all-business when i travel... even when i travel...

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♪ we have incompetent leadership. we have incompetent people. this morning i watched president obama talking about gitmo, right? guantanamo bay, which by the way we are keeping open. which we are keeping open. [ cheers and applause ] >> and we're going to load it up with some bad dudes, believe me, we're going to load it up. >> that was president-elect trump out on the campaign trail promising to keep open the u.s. military prison at guantanamo bay, cuba. according to reports president obama is rushing to transfer detainees from the prison before he leaves office on january 20th. according to the latest report from the director on national intelligence, an alarming 30% of transferred gitmo detainees are confirmed or suspected of reengaging in terrorist activities. here is the author of "defeating jihad, the winnable war," dr. sebastian gorka. dr. gorka, this is serious. it can have tremendous consequences if these individuals are allowed to

reengage in terrorist activities. >> absolutely, kimberly. let's be very clear here. these aren't bank robbers, and just because the facility is called the joint detention facility, it is not a prison. it is, in fact, an intelligence facility. these are individuals who are picked up in war zones, people who cannot be prosecuted and should not be prosecuted in a court of law, but who have very, very high intelligence value or who simply should be kept away from other people because they are a threat to national security. the figure you quote is an official figure. if you listen to the amazing individuals like tom jostin and bill wojo, the recidivism rate is upwards of 40%. these are people who as soon as we release them go back to the lifestyle of jihadism. as a result i'm very, very glad to hear what president-elect trump just said, that we are

keeping that facility and we are going to fill it with bad people. >> all right. well, so that seems to be the suggestion from intelligence individuals that know the difference about smart national security, keeping america safe, and these are individuals that have information that we need to get, and we don't want them to go back out. as you said, it is an alarming recidivism rate that they engage in. they just want to be let out to go and rio fend. now, given the fact that president obama is aware of these numbers that we even think might be lower than actuality here, why would he do this? is it just to honor the legacy and please his constituents because it was one of his campaign promises? >> i cannot explain it. it is simply spite. it is ideology. it is -- as my friend chris plant, the radio host says, on the left reality is optional, and this is exactly the same case. these are bad people. they are guilty of crimes. they shouldn't be prosecuted in

a regular court of law because they are picked up on a battlefield. they are not prisoners of war because they are in breach of the geneva and hague conventions. as a result, by international law, not by some crazy bush era judgment, by international law we can keep them in custody for as long as we are fighting jihadis. that's the law. why we want to release them? the lord only knows, kimberly, why obama wishes to release them. i think he is desperate once again to fulfill the promises. remember, do you remember that photo opportunity where he was signing the decree to close gitmo the day after the inauguration? what does it look like if eight years later he can't do it? so he's embarrassed. maybe it is just as simple as that. >> well, that's the problem. so it is his own ego and him worried about being embarrassed and putting that ahead of american national security. and what troubles me is who is

making these decisions about who should be release and who should be transferred and where they're ultimately put? >> probably people like ben rhodes, an individual whose qualification goes are a masters degree in fictional writing. you can't make this stuff up. if you read it in a tom clancy novel you would say he's lost it. it is completely unbelievable, but this is what is happening. it is the incredibly dangerous cocktail of arrogance mixed with ignorance. that's the explanation for the last eight years of disastrous obama foreign and national security policy. >> yes. you heard ben rohdes making comments about this in addition to making comments about israel and the u.n. council, and it is unbelievable because somebody who basically is writing harry potter type stuff is deciding u.s. national security. that ought to alarm everyone. >> remember, kimberly, what about the truth? what about national security? it is about the narrative. it is about spin.

the white house for the last eight years has prioritized spin and false narrative over the truth. it is time america gets back to protecting americans and to the principles of the founding. >> you're absolutely right. dr. gorka, i think about the many terrorists that were released, dangerous terrorists. like you said, these aren't the run-of-the-mill stealing bubble gum from walgreen's. these are people that want to commit acts of jihad internationally and bring the downfall of the united states, western civilization and anyone else that they can get. it is unfortunate to me when i think about it, as we sit here and talk tonight that they're out there, so many of them that this administration has released, planning and plotting and recruiting on our u.s. dime. >> just think about the fact of the matter, you're so right. in the last two-and-a-half years since al-baghdadi declared the

caliphate from the grand mosque at mosul, a city that we used to own, our marines bled to hold and capture that city, since he declared the caliphate we have killed or arrested 125 isis terrorists in the united states alone, not 25 or 35, 125. the threat is real. the threat is here. from christmas parties in san bernardino to marathons in boston to marine corps fun runs in new jersey, this is the reality of what a leaderless world creates. it is time for america to find its place again, and i truly expect having met mr. trump, having worked with general flynn, that all of this is going to change on the afternoon of january 20th, 2017. >> all right. dr. sebastian gorka, the author of "defeating jihad." thank you so much. >> thank you, kim. >> and coming up, legendary conservative columnist thomas sowell is retiring, and he joins

us next to reflect on his remarkable decades long career. plus, we will ask him about the incoming trump administration. later, after terror attacks in europe, new york city is increasing security for the massive times square new year's eve celebration. rick leventhal will have a full report later tonight. stay with us as "hannity" continues. ♪

♪ welcome back to "hannity." conservative columnist thomas sowell is retiring. he wrote his fair well column three days ago and in it he noted how much has changed in politics, especially citizens trust in the government. joining us is the author of "well, policy and politics" and

from stanford university, thomas sowell. what a pleasure and honor to be able to interview you, sir. thank you so much for all of the incredible work you have done, your incredible writing for this country. >> thank you very much for having me. >> so i really enjoy your work, as do millions of americans an people across the world. what do you think has really changed in terms of american politics as we see it today? >> i think government has forfeited a great deal of trust on the part of the public. i still remember when john f. kennedy took this country to the brink of nuclear war with the soviet union. he had just been elected narrowly, been in office two years, and, you know, we trusted what he said. he said that they had to get those missiles out of cuba and so on, and we knew he was the president and he knew more than we did and that was it. i think what has happened since then was first lyndon johnson and then richard nixon lied to the public so outrageously that

they destroyed not only their credibility but, more important, they destroyed the credibility of the office of the president, and we haven't recovered from that yet. >> it is unbelievable. now, in your column you also wrote, we cannot return to the past. even if we wanted to, but let us hope that we can learn something from the past. what is the biggest lesson that you believe, professor, the past has taught us as americans? >> wow. i guess one of the biggest is that both the government and the people have to be guided by facts rather than by rhetoric. it is painful to me that there are people out there who judge, for example, the schools according to what they say rather than what they do. one of the most encouraging things i have seen in recent years is the proliferation of topnotch charter schools in ghettos across the country. we're turning out kids able to meet the highest standards on

tests and whatnot, and they do so in the very same buildings where other students are unable to get even close to that because the charter schools -- the ones that are successful -- have a totally different outcome using the same students from the very same neighborhoods in the very same buildings. and yet i'm appalled to find out that this administration, the obama administration, has lined up with the teachers unions to try to stop the expansion of those charter schools when they're one of the most encouraging things that's happened in education for low income people in my lifetime. >> you know, really the importance of education and the successes that you have been able to achieve in your lifetime really are truly remarkable. what message do you want to say to the young people out there that have dreams and aspirations? >> my heavens, try to get into one of these schools that actually teach rather than the usual kinds of public schools

where they just wile away the time and are concerned only with maintaining the jobs of the teachers. >> yeah, it is very important i think to be able to get that, you know, education. you yourself have multiple degrees, and it didn't come easy because you came from a family background that you didn't even have running water, electricity, you fought hard to get that education, to educate yourself to be able to reach millions of people. so we want to tell you just on behalf of a grateful nation, we thank you for all that you have done for this country to really open up our eyes and our minds to what is going on in the world. thank you so much. >> thank you. and coming up, new york city is beefing up security to protect the more than one million people who are expected to ring in the new year in times square. rick leventhal joins us next with a full report. stay with us. ♪ at godaddy, our goal is to make you look awesome online.

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welco ♪ welcome back to "hannity." the nypd is beefing up security ahead of saturday's new year's eve celebration in times square. what is being done to ensure party goers are safe as they ring in the new year? joining us in the heart of new york city is rick leventhal. hello, rick. >> reporter: hey, kimberly. you know, new york city's police department is dwrooed to

securing large scale events and there is none larger than new year's eve in times square with at least a million people expected here. nypd is telling us it will be stricter because of the environment, and the threat in the environment around the world. one of the things we have not seen in the past that we will see is the employment of large sanitation trucks and sand trucks blocking avenues and cross streets to create a secure perimeter so anyone coming into the area will see the trucks. they will prevent anyone from potentially driving a vehicle into the crowds like we saw in nice and berlin. the nypd also will have some 7,000 uniformed officers deployed across the city to secure times square and other events as well as plains clothes officers and the usual contingent of canine dogs, explosive detectors, snipers on roof tops, helicopters in the air, boats on the water,

kimberly. they will be out in force like we've never seen before. one of the things i wanted to ask the nypd commissioner earlier today was whether he was worried officers might let their guard down because things have become so routine and every new year's eve has gone off without a hitch. here is what he told us. >> how do you guard against complacency? >> it is new york city police officers. this is something we do every day. they know a few times during the year, 4th of july, new year's eve, the tree lighting, this is where everybody has to be on their toes. i know complacency can set in at times, but certainly not at an event like this. >> reporter: so very confident, kimberly, which should make you confident, but also locked in he told me. these guys will be ready. >> they do an incredible job, and this is my eighth new year's eve. i think you have me beat. you have worked on the most new year's eves of anybody. i am so impressed with the incredible job they do, the men and women in blue, god bless them, because it is really

well-contained and very safe down there. but i'm hearing what you are saying that they are increasing the security. so quick question, is that based on any specific credible threats or is it based mainly on what you have seen with, you know, berlin, like we said, and nice before? >> reporter: well, they tell us that there are no specific credible threats that they're aware of, but of course they're paying attention to world events. that's why they're moving in these sand and sanitation trucks to block the cross streets and avenues. they will have 100 plus more blocker vehicles on these streets as well in addition to the big, heavy trucks. you know, they formed a lot of counterterrorism teams in the nypd over the past year or so because of the threat environment, because they need -- need more people out here, and they know they need more heavy weapons and that sort of thing. so they're responding to the world events and they're going to be out here in force. >> all right. how about any dos and don'ts for the party revellers planning to go to times square. tell them how to behave and what they need to do. >> reporter: well, behaving is one thing.

what you can carry in is another. no large bags, no backpacks, no street. you know they have layered security check points you go through, they will look at your stuff. if you are carrying a big bag they will take it from you or you won't get in. once you get into one of these pens up and down 7th avenue or broadway, you can't leave. some people get here at 8:00 in the morning, they're stuck here until the ball drops at midnight. >> so true. well, they seem to let through a lot of engagement rings in that security check because every year somebody is proposing. anyway, very interesting. rick, we will see you there. we will be there together. thank you so much. >> reporter: looking forward to it. thank you. >> all right. before we go, a quick reminder, programming note. please be sure to tune into the fox news channel this saturday night for our all-american new year coverage. i will be co-hosting along with eric bolling from 11:00 until 1:00 a.m. jessie waters and kennedy kick off the pregame

coverage at 8:00 p.m. that's all of the time we have left this evening. we will see you right back here tomorrow night on "hannity." ♪ go t. ♪ ♪ >> good evening. i'm ed henry in tonight, again, for tucker carlson and sometimes you just have to give president obama credit where credit is due. bear with me on this. today president's aides say he took bold aggressive action against russia. ordering sanctions and retaliation against alleged russian interference in the 2016 race. sure there are skeptics wondering whether the president who along with his one-time secretary of state hillary clinton, of course, pushed that button on the russian reset and trying to look tough and salvage some kind of legacy on the way out the door. this is where the credit comes. in i mean, i also covered the previous presidential race in 2012 and the president was way, way ahead of the curve in calling out russia as a major national security threat, right?