conservatives that happens in maryland, 30 miles south of washington, d.c. we'll see the president about 60 minutes from now. bill hemmer, great to have you with us on "america's newsroom." >> shannon: it is friday. >> bill: long week but important day. we'll see how it goes. >> shannon: we'll go there live if there is anything to report to you. i'm shannon bream in for martha maccallum. the president's speech comes at a time when republicans hold not only the white house, both houses of congress.

mike pence making the argument that the time for republican unity is now. >> this is the chance we worked so hard for so long to see and time to prove again that our answers are the right answers for america. [applause] a strong military, more jobs, less taxes, respect for the constitution, and the values that have made america great and a deep and abiding faith in the goodness of the american people. >> shannon: chief white house correspondent john roberts is live with more on what we can expect at cpac today. >> good morning. what a difference it is this year compared to last. the biggest difference is president trump will be there. candidate trump didn't go to cpac. remember when senator ted cruz

said all the things he said about trump at cpac? >> so donald trump is skipping cpac. i think somebody told him megyn kelly was going to be here. or even worse, he was told there were conserve atives that were going to be here. >> donald trump put away ted cruz. beat him in indiana a couple of months later. he became the nominee and then went on to win the election. today will be all about president trump and his agenda. steve bannon, reince priebus, the chief of staff laying the ground work for that in their appearance at cpac talking about that agenda and one of the big agenda items that president trump has in addition to things like obamacare and tax reform and regulatory reform and when he returns from the gaylord across the bay here at noon or so, he will sign an

executive order furthering his efforts at regulatory reform that will create regulatory reform officers within a lot of the departments. it will create task forces to identify what he says are burdensome regulations that are preventing economic growth, stifling the growth of business. don't forget he already signed that two for one order that for every new regulation that goes into place, two of them have to be erased. shannon. >> shannon: there has been a lot of chatter today about reports that the white house tried to influence or discuss with the f.b.i. the stories regarding potential links to russia. what can you tell us about that? >> the story out there is the white house tried to pressure the f.b.i. into knocking down the story that came out on valentine's day about the f.b.i. finding that people who were involved in the campaign for donald trump had contacts with russia. the white house pushing back against this idea that there was any pressure put on the f.b.i.

after the story came out reince priebus was in an intelligence meeting at 7:30 in the morning with andrew mccabe, the deputy director of the f.b.i., as people were leaving mccabe said to priebus i need to tell you something. he told him that "the new york times" story was b.s. tland was nothing to it. priebus said can you correct the record? mccabe said call me back in a couple of hours. priebus called him back. mccabe said we can't get into the business when it comes to stories because we would be putting out statements every day. the intelligence committees will probably ask about this and maybe they can say something. nunez came out and said this entire story in the new york sometimes about these russian contacts was not true. later that day, reince priebus talked to comey who also according to a senior administration official said there was nothing to the story. it wasn't true.

priebus said can i say something about it? comey said if you want to go ahead and say intelligence officials told you the story is incorrect and overblown, go ahead. the next day or day after priebus went on "fox & friends" and here is what he said. >> what i told you is what the highest levels of the intelligence community have told me. it is an inaccurate and grossly overstated story and it is not true. >> so the president also tweeting sort of not necessarily about this of the f.b.i. ut about the this morning saying the f.b.i. is totally unable to stop the national security leakers have that permeated our government for a long time and can't find the leakers within the f.b.i. itself. classified information is being given to the media that could have a devastating effect on the united states. there is supposed to be a firewall between the white house and the department of justice when it comes to investigations. the white house insists it was

not related to the investigation. it was about a news story. therefore the communications that priebus had with mccabe after mccabe came to him were perfectly fine, shannon. >> shannon: john roberts live at the white house. >> bill: let's get analysis by chris stirewalt. good morning to you. let's first talk about the speech coming up in 55 minutes. sean spicer previewed it yesterday when he said there will be essentially paraphrasing a heavy emphasis on safety and security among other things. that's where we start. >> go with what you know. and start with the area of commonality and remember, this crowd isn't exactly donald trump crowd. as john and shannon were talking about. a year ago he was not their favorite. and that's because donald trump isn't a conservative in the traditional sense but on the issues of national security, border security, immigration, he and conservatives line up very well.

this is where you start. you start with that common area, which is defense and security. then you hope you can expand from there. >> bill: by my count it's the fifth time he has addressed cpac? this will be number five? i expect a reception to be a bit of a rock star performance so far today. >> he is the president. any time -- i suspect if barack obama had showed up that -- any time the president comes to your conclave you're happy. and they will be particularly happy to see trump. not just because of the national security stuff but the other areas in which they align. they like mike pence a lot, who is a down the line full bore conservative. they like neil gorsuch, the president's pick for the supreme court. they love that what he is doing at the epa and taxes and everything on trump's agenda. the things his team are putting forward and they say they'll deliver here in the next couple hundred days. these are all things that --

remember, most of them are younger, these are ideological enthusiastic young people. they'll love that stuff. >> bill: i thought yesterday was fascinating. they peeled back the curtain with reince priebus and steve bannon yesterday. when he talked about the agenda when he said this. >> he is going to continue to press his agenda and as economic conditions get better and more jobs get better they'll continue to fight. if you think they'll give you your country back without a fight you are sadly mistaken. every day -- every day it is going to be a fight and that's what i'm proudest about trump. >> bill: that was the most revealing comment to me. that shows a man who is in a war room in the west wing of the white house every day when he talks about it being a fight. how did it strike you >> he said the same thing what

he wanted to do to us in the press and he sees -- when you hear him talk, he has this worldview of there is good, there is evil. he is here to smash the evil. he is going to fight it and destroy it. that's not really how washington works, of course. the way washington and politics worse is you have to make deals, cut deals and figure it out and get things done and that's what voters want. but the base, the core of the base, what they want to hear is what he is telling them which is no compromise, the struggle, blood, dirt, gouge your eye out, do the whole thing. that makes them feel good. the way laws get made and things happen, you have to do the art of the deal. >> bill: well done. chris stirewalt there. it is. at the end of the chapter at the art of the deal. thank you. speech coming up in 50 minutes. "new york times" yesterday -- i'm reading two sentences now to put it in context.

not too many years ago cpac almost denied mr. trump a speaking slot because it feared he wanted to promote himself. steve bannon was banished from the premises when he was running breitbart news. it has all changed as of this morning and we'll see it play out together. >> shannon: interesting to see steve bannon and reince priebus sharing the stage and having a bit of a love fest saying there is no trouble. they found the way to marry the party with the new movement and they say you harness those two things together and they think they're unstoppable. >> bill: very revealing. that's coming up next. stay tuned. >> shannon: a new report now that president trump may be adding what military sources call some more muscle in the fight against isis. what could that mean for u.s. troops? there will be more on the ground? >> bill: potential supreme court battle looming after president trump resins a federal directive to schools regarding transgender students. what the white house is saying about that now. >> shannon: as we await

president trump's speech at cpac next hour obamacare is likely to be a big topic. congress is facing more struggles. >> president donald trump is leading the fight to repeal and replace obamacare. i can't wait for her to have that college experience that i had. the classes, the friends,

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the door to go grab a cigarette." along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. chantix reduced my urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. some reported seizures or sleepwalking with chantix. if you have any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental health problems, which could get worse or of seizures. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you have these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. tell your doctor if you have heart or blood vessel problems, or develop new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. decrease alcohol use while taking chantix. use caution driving or operating machinery. most common side effect is nausea. thank you chantix. ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. >> shannon: the supreme court setting a deadline in the case of a transgender high school

student. the parties have until wednesday to submit letters to the court expressing their views on how the case should proceed now that the trump administration has rescinded the obama administration's directive to schools telling them they must allow transgender students to use the restrooms and locker room facilities of their choosing. the white house says the issue should be left to the states. >> it's a states rights issue. that's entirely what he believes. if a state wants to pass a law or rule or organization wants to do something in compliance with a state rule that's their right. but it shouldn't be the federal government getting in the way of this. >> shannon: supreme court is set to hear the case march 28th. >> bill: another fox news alert. iraqi forces said to be making gains in the battle to drive isis out of mosul in northern iraq. the troops are backed by u.s. forces and moved into the city's western half taking full control of the airport. there is a lot of fighting to go here. this amid reports that

president trump may consider sending more u.s. troops overseas. vice president mike pence talking about some of those goals just last night. >> we'll start off by rebuilding the american military. we'll restore the arsenal of democracy. we'll provide our soldiers, sailors, airman, marines, coast guard with the resources and training they need to accomplish their mission and come home safe and we will hunt down and destroy isis at its source. so it can no longer threat en our nation. waleed farris, good morning to you. thank you for coming in today on january 28th the new president gave his military leaders james mattis and others a 30-day deadline. tell me how we can fight and defeat isis. they're coming up on that deadline. what does that look like do you believe? >> first of all we need to

understand the military component of the global plan will have to compare with the political component. and intelligence component. the pentagon will come up with multiple scenarios. one will increase the number of troops on the ground. if the political and intelligence components are agreeing on this. other scenarios use allied, friendly forces. a variety of plans to arrive to the desk of the president. >> bill: these iraqi forces do not gain ground without the help of u.s. special ops, agreed? >> that's true. >> bill: if that's the case, they need us to be a partner in this fight plain and simple. the question is, to what degree, waleed? >> that's a very difficult questions because it has one component which is the military. yes, they would need us on the ground or other forms such as air and -- but you have opposition to that, which is

iran and the iranian influence. they don't want much. and a lot of the american influence because there is always a political price to be paid. so that's why i'm saying there will be multiple military scenarios and political scenarios as well. >> bill: one could be a safe zone in syria. it came up a lot yesterday at the white house. do you support safe zones in syria? is that something that is realistic now? >> the principle, yes. if we don't have safe zones in syria what we have are greater waves of migrants coming to europe and eventually the whole debate in the united states and not just here, lebanon, jordan, turkey are really complaining about the high number of migrants. the principle is yes. if you look at a map we'll find out where these safe zones can be and there are three areas. one in the northwest that the turks would have to handle and then, of course, have the russians agree on that. but two other safe zones, one to the east where the kurds are

and where we have a military presence so far and a new one fought south where the jordanians have to play a bigger role. a lot of diplomatic back and forth with friends and others. >> bill: if it were that easy it would have been done by now, or not? >> i don't think so. under the previous obama administration there was opposition. the white house then still receiving a lot of these reports didn't go for it because the iranians said if you put safe zones on the ground it will break our strategy and we will go down with the iran deal. there was political reasons. no they don't exist. >> bill: would american forces be used to protect those inside the safe zones? >> there are scenarios where yes, we could do that but other scenarios which are regional like jordan and egypt could be of great help if they decide to do so. >> bill: do you generally

speaking do you believe even though candidate trump talked a lot about extracting u.s. influence and forces in different parts of the world. do you expect a contradiction in that statement now when it comes to the physical fighting of defeating isis? in other words, you can't beat them unless you go there to kill them and take them on face-to-face. >> right. during the campaign you talk about the philosophical, the political principles we don't want to be sitting around the world withstanding armies occupying or maintaining security. we want to reduce that. on the other hand as you just said, sometimes we have to go with our friends and allies, finish the job, the biggest question is who do we replace ourselves with? we went to iraq, we did a marvelous job in terms of military but the way we surrendered iraq to iran and the way jihadists came back that was the mistake. >> bill: four days away from the 30-day deadline. we have analysis today in

washington, d.c. shannon, what's next. >> shannon: bret baier with a pointed question aimed at senator ted cruz. >> i heard you today say it could be a supreme court vacancy by summer. you know something we don't? >> shannon: why the texas senator said it's time to brace for armageddon. then there is this. >> does the affordable care act need to be repealed and replaced? >> bill: the town halls continue while the recess continues on the outskirts outside of washington some republican lawmakers bowing out of the town halls. we talk to one of them as to why and what we get from that. coming up next here on "america's newsroom." see me. see me. don't stare at me. see me. see me. see me to know that psoriasis is just something that i have.

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>> bill: senator ted cruz surprising folks when he dropped a strong hint at cpac and then followed it up in an interview with bret baier suggesting a judge on the u.s. supreme court may consider retiring soon. >> most of my supreme has been a supreme court litigator. i think the odds are good to see a vacancy this summer if not next summer. the opportunity to shift the course of this court to put a five justice majority of constitutionalists on the court will be armageddon. we need to be prepared to make the case to the american people. >> bill: senator cruz didn't name names. two are in their 80s. the trump administration is awaiting the confirmation of neil gorsuch, the president's pick to succeed scalia who died a year ago. we go to shannon bream for her inside reporting and speculation. >> shannon: everybody always

thinks of justice ginsburg first, the oldest and with serious challenges. she is taking to at least next summer. the rumor i heard does involved next summer. i wouldn't be surprised if we have anybody who shows up in june and says i'm out. >> bill: there is a window there. six months, 18 months. you know. >> shannon: and i think -- >> bill: breathing room we could say. >> shannon: we'll say. i'm watching closely. >> bill: i know you are. >> shannon: republican lawmakers facing frustrated constituents in heated town halls across the country. angry voters coming out in droves to sound off on a range of issues. a lot of it is about healthcare. >> i know a lot of people have been helped by it. i don't deny that. other people have been hurt by it as well. [shouting] >> people being hurt are your neighbors. [shouting]

>> answer everybody who has asked a question, to answer the question. [inaudible] >> repeal and replacing. >> shannon: outrage getting so intense that many lawmakers are cancelling public events. david lee, any sign these town hall confrontations are actually cooling down at all? >> in a word, shannon, no. the confrontations between left wing constituents and republican lawmakers continued in town halls across the country. in some cases, though, things were not what they seemed. for example, some activists have called for town hall

meetings. that's what happened in las vegas when an angry crowd discovered they wouldn't be meeting with dean heller, the senator's office told the local tv station the organizers of the event intentionally misled people who turned out. at other town hall meetings voters and their elected officials have been going face-to-face. near tucson last night martha mcfally spent 90 minutes fielding tough questions from constituents. most of whom were democrats. the meeting for the most part was civil. a few tense moments. some cases, though, angry activists frustrated about not having the chance to confront their elected official took their case to the lawmaker's home and that's what happened when 200 people showed up on the doorstep of congressman near san diego. he was not there but we are told his staff handed out cookies. shannon. >> shannon: well, maybe we should show up, too if there

will be cookies. do we have some concrete information about who is behind these protests? whether they're organized or organic? >> it's not entirely clear. in many instances, though, this appears to be a grassroots movement. some of these are local constituents who are turning out. but we do know that a left leaning group called indivisible has published a handbook on the web giving step-by-step instructions how to confront lawmakers at town hall meetings as well as confronting them in other ways. the guide advises town hall participants i'm quoting to be polite but persistent and demand real answers and not give up the microphone until they're satisfied. tim murphy who didn't hold a town hall meeting this week says the indivisible guide book is a lesson in preventing civil discourse. >> they don't even have issues they want to discuss. it is orchestrated where they will sit.

boo when the congressman talk and cheer when someone else asks a question. they're told not to give up the microphone. how to treat staff rudely. that's not a respectful discourse and i won't put my staff through an unsafe situation as well. >> the indivisible group. the other side of the ideological coin says it wants to model itself after the tea party. the idea here relatively small number of people who are able to make a big difference. shannon. >> shannon: david lee miller, thank you very much. >> bill: another weekend of this. three more days and they're back in washington you'll see more video and rallies. >> shannon: a lot of them are doing telephone town halls. get them in a queue and they say it's more productive and safer. >> bill: really? others would call that phoning it in. >> shannon: yes, they would. >> bill: president trump is the may event at cpac 30 minutes from now. obamacare likely to come up. john boehner predicts republicans will not repeal and

replace. our political panel takes that on. >> shannon: vice president pence getting candid about his friendship with the president. >> the president and i have become good friends. it's the greatest privilege of my life to be vice president to a leader of such conviction, vision, and courage. ybe, a chans because shoulders were made for greatness. not dandruff. whattwo servings of veggies? v8 or a powdered drink? ready, go. ahhhhhhhh! shake! shake! shake! shake! shake! done! you gotta shake it! i shake it! glad i had a v8. the original way to fuel your day.

>> shannon: live to maryland just outside d.c. where we're awaiting president trump's speech at the conservative political action conference. we'll take you there live. obamacare likely to be a big part of the discussion today. top republicans insisting the plan to repeal and replace the healthcare law is on track. here is vice president pence. >> america's obamacare nightmare is about to end. [cheering] despite the best efforts of liberal activists in town halls around the country. the american people know better.

obamacare has failed and obamacare must go. [applause] this failed law is crippling the american economy and crushing the american people. >> shannon: fox news political analyst and author of "we the people." and the founder of high noon strategies. welcome to you both. lisa, in the meantime we're seeing a lot of arranging and conversing and strategizing by the gop. but they missed some of their own deadlines for getting this moving and now john boehner is speaking out. they'll fix obamacare. i shouldn't have called it repeal and replace. that's not what is going to happen. they're basically going to fix the flaws and put a more conservative box around it. he says it ain't going to happen in 25 years on the hill he never saw them agree on a single way to handle the healthcare law. he doesn't think the gop can do it now. >> we'll see about that.

look, i think he is right about the fact it's a little more complex than saying repeal and replace. it is not as simple as that in the sense that this is something that tentacles run team in the nation's economy. it is not a simple thing to fix, right? but i also think there is a little bitterness from the way things went down before he left and there is also some key differences in the sense from when he was there in the sense we have a republican president and republicans control both bodies of congress. the reality is republicans have to do something. the democratic party built a system that was set up for failure as evidenced by the fact insurers are leaving because they aren't making money. guess what? what democrats said would happen whether the sense of young healthy people signing up to support the old and sick is simply not happening. so look, the system is set up to fail. republicans absolutely have to do something here. >> shannon: the heat is on them and they'll own this whatever happens here. and you know, the conversation about do they repeal, do they

replace at the same time, do they do it concurrently or do they not. steve bannon took the stage yesterday at cpac and said don't be surprised, this president has made these promises about things like obamacare. he will get it done. and it is not going away, this effort. >> i think what john boehner says was if you just repeal it, then you'll be responsible because as he put it, you broke it. so this is a little bit of the pottery barn rule we know from war, you know, if you break it, it's yours, you own it. i think that's what he is stressing. so what we have not seen and i think lisa picked up on this is we have not seen a replacement plan that all republicans agree on. i think that's the divide. even when you come to a promise from president trump who says by mid-march he will have something, the question is what is a plan that could bring consensus among republicans in the congress? i think that's what john boehner is saying. he never saw a single plan that

all republicans could agree on in 25 years. don't ignore, despite vice president penn's comments last night the reality of town hall meetings where people were very concerned about the impact of taking away the current plan without understanding how they would get coverage for their medical emergencys and potentially catastrophic things. >> shannon: exactly. as i talked about yesterday, there were horrible crazy town hall meetings in the words of the critics back then in 2009 about this when they were getting ready to pass obamacare. democrats were great, we heard you at the meetings but they all voted for obamacare without a single gop vote. something to remember, the congressional budget office, nonpartisan has made dire predictions about republicans if they repeal without some kind of replace ready to go. they said that increase of uninsured in the first year would go to 18 million people. premiums would spike 20 to 25%. they estimate up to 32 million would be without coverage by

2026. so how critical is it that the gop have something in place clearly communicated to the pub like because they'll lose the p.r. battle otherwise that they have something to come in behind whatever they take away? >> it's very critical. to juan's point. americans don't have options now. 75% of americans in the obama -- counties in the obama exchanges that have one or two plans to choose from. there aren't options right now. that's a misnomer. but yeah, of course it is critical for republicans to have some sort of plan. that's what they are looking at. the complexity of this is great and the fact as you mentioned the democratic party did this without a republican -- single republican vote and they really did set up the system to fail because it was unsustainable from the start. we're seeing that play out as more and more insurers are dropping out of the marketplace because they aren't making money because what the democratic party promised them

and what president obama promised americans, if you like your healthcare plan you can keep it never was true and it simply isn't true. republicans have been dealt a very difficult hand in trying to figure this out. they absolutely have to follow through. they certainly did make a promise. to juan's point real quick and i'll concede the floor here. the fact that there is no lack of ideas here. there is a lack of consensus. that's the difficulty here for republicans. >> shannon: that's always going to be the difficulty getting something this giant together, juan. >> i agree. that's why it was difficult and that's why you had the idea came out of heritage republican conservative institution. romney in massachusetts, a republican governor. but the key point here is how many people get covered and what is the price? when you look at obamacare right now, you say oh, gee, what could really be as inexpensive and cover as many people as effectively? that's where the problem arises.

i think there was so much negativity, so much tearing down. >> it's very expensive. >> shannon: millions of people are covered through medicaid. that's a different situation. access is different than having insurance. juan and lisa, this debate will go on. >> we can all agree on that. >> shannon: good to see you guys. >> some people have remarked we're a little bit different. [laughter] i'm a small town guy. he is big city. i'm midwest, he is manhattan island. he is known for his bigger than life personality, his charm and his charisma and i'm like not. [laughter] as i said at the republican convention he was looking to balance the ticket.

>> bill: mike pence joking last night about the way he is different than president donald trump. pence going on to say when president trump asked him to be his running mate he said yes in a heartbeat. the way he described it last night. big reception for mike pence. you would expect that last night. familiar with that crowd. >> shannon: the president says all the time when he points to the vice president he will say smartest thing i ever did. i made an excellent choice. a lot of people who got on board with the ticket who mike pence was the right guy for them and this president apparently. president trump speaks in just a few minutes. obamacare is likely to be a big part of the address. we'll bring you that speech live. that guy, just warming up for the president. >> bill: steve bannon hitting one of his favorite targets yesterday the mainstream media. what he said about what he calls the opposition party. >> if you look at the opposition party and how they portrayed the campaign, how they portrayed the transition, and now they're portraying the

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>> they were dead wrong and just like they were dead wrong on the transition, they're absolutely dead wrong about what is going on today. we have a time grinding it through. when president trump promised the american people. the mainstream media understand something, all those promises will be implemented. >> bill: a rare public appearance by steve bannon there along with the chief of staff reince priebus. bernie goldberg to analyze their appearance yesterday and what's going on with the media. bernie, good day to you and happy friday in sunny miami, florida. i think the line that sticks out the mainstream media better understand something. all these promises will be implemented. the bar is set high, bernie. how do you see it? >> well, rule number one, and it is a rule you can take to the bank. you will never go wrong bashing

the media to a conservative audience. you will never get in trouble cheering for the cubs at wrigley field. you'll never go wrong bashing the media at cpac. steve bannon knows that and donald trump knows that. before bannon went there yesterday it was donald trump who said the press was the enemy of the american people and yesterday steve bannon said they were the opposition party. forgive me, bill, for stating the obvious. there is a coordinated war on the media. and bannon and company would say we didn't start this fight. they tried to delegitimize us, we'll try to delegitimize them. here is my question. what happens when they both succeed? we'll have a press that has less credibility than it has today, right? they bring a lot of it on themselves, no question about that. with their biases and we'll have a president who is less credible than he needs to be in order to be successful. tell me, who wins if they both

delegitimize each other? >> bill: it depends on who is paying attention and where you get your news. the supporters clearly are there. let me come back to that point in a bigger sense, bernie. first listen to reince priebus and his characterization from yesterday in that same conversation. >> president trump brought together the party and the conservative movement. i have to tell you, if the party and the conservative movement are together, similar to steve and i, it can't be stopped. >> bill: now just take that and take it can kellyanne conway's comments. growing pains when you get a grand movement. some of that can be understood, right? >> but you said a few seconds ago it depends on where you get the news and he has his supporters. according to a cbs poll only 22% say they will support

donald trump period. that's the word in the poll. 22%. he has got to go beyond his base. i mean, bashing the media works with the base. that's obvious, no question about that. but if he doesn't go beyond the base, if he doesn't -- >> bill: that's an interesting point. i'll grant you that. in the larger picture, bernie in the 30 seconds we have left here can you say 30 some odd days in now are they winning or losing in their battle with the mainstream media? >> they're winning where they don't have to win. they are winning with their base that already detests the media and the jury is out on what the rest of the people -- not the 22% that will support him no matter what, but what the rest of the people think. they don't trust the media, either. but if they succeed in delegitimizing the media and making them less credible they'll win. if they don't, then they will lose. the jury is out.

>> bill: bernie, nice to see you. bernie goldberg in florida today with us on this friday morning. the president is up in a couple of minutes. have a good weekend. >> thank you. >> bill: shannon. >> shannon: we're keeping an eye on that and take you live when the president begins speaking. in the meantime check this out. a pack of siberian tigers having fun with a very expensive toy. what happened next after that group managed to chase down a drone that had been flying inside their sanctuary. hello, i'm an idaho potato farmer and i finally found our big idaho potato truck. it's been touring the country telling folks about our heart healthy idaho potatoes, america's favorite potatoes, and donating to local charities along the way. but now it's finally back home where it belongs. aw man. hey, wait up. where you goin'?

here we go again.

>> shannon: just minutes from now the president will take the stage at cpac in national harbor, maryland. we think in a second we'll have video we can show you of him leaving the white house so you

can see him on his way. like many trump events people have been lined up for hours waiting to hear from the president. doug, what a run for citizen trump considering that just a few short years ago he was almost excluded from speaking at cpac. he is the president now. why weren't they so fond of him back then? >> the thinking was there was some consideration that mr. trump would not speak about conservatism, about conservative ideals but probably speak about himself. there was consideration given to not inviting him a few years back and considered last year he elected not to come to cpac. campaigning elsewhere instead. also consider that steve bannon according to a "new york times" report this morning was banished from cpac a few years back so he held a counter convention not far from him which he entitled the uninvited. well, in about half an hour from now mr. trump makes a

triumphant return as leader of a dominant republican party which controls not just the white house and two houses of congress but more than 2/3 of state legislatures and 31 governors offices. this auditorium is packed in anticipation. it is standing room only and a lot of people, as you mentioned, have been waiting here since 3:00 this morning. >> i traveled 6,000 miles to be here. i want to see firsthand his plan and vision for the first four years for our country. >> i'm pretty excited. he is going the rally the troops. we need to support him as a country, support him as his base. >> the president is expected to speak at 10:20. they've been running a little behind schedule. back to the white house to sign another executive order at noon today in which he will establish regulatory reform officers at all the federal agencies and regulatory reform task forces.

it all sounds like they mean business, shannon. >> shannon: and we understand we may hear from a key architect from the president and his tax plan. >> we'll hear from mr. brady, the head of the house ways and means committee, one of the more important positions in the house of representatives. he is going to outline his position on tax reform. reducing america's corporate tax rate from 35 to 20% allowing businesses to write off the full cost of new capital investments and ending the made in america tax by taxing all products at an equally low rate. he speaks at 2:00 this afternoon. >> shannon: thanks so much, doug. >> bill: here is video of the president leaving the white house a few moments ago. typically for the civilians in the audience you're about a 30-minute drive from central washington >> shannon: at least. >> bill: depending on traffic. >> shannon: you have the motorcade, it is all different. >> bill: president trump

leaving the white house on a beautiful day. he has also arrived at national harbor south of washington, d.c. so he is in the room and we expect matt schlapp who is running the whole thing at cpac to do the introduction. you'll see that when we come back. bring home don't stick around. use clorox disinfecting products. because no one kills germs better than clorox.

>> shannon: just minutes from now president trump set to address the crowd at cpac becoming the first president to speak there since ronald reagan. a very busy friday. i'm shannon bream in for martha maccallum. >> bill: i'm bill hemmer. good morning. this is the news story of the day. president trump had a somewhat complicated history with cpac but he has appeared there several times. last year cancelled his appearance. that was during the campaign. prior to that four times i do believe. this will be number five officially. >> shannon: new era in washington let's bring in chris wallace. host of fox news sunday. good to see you today, chris. we're waiting to hear the

president come together with this gathering that at times has been in opposition to him. he didn't show up last year. got 15% in the straw poll. now returns triumphant. his folks saying he put together the establishment and a movement and has married them together in a way that's unbeatable in their estimation. what do you think we'll get from him today? what kind of tone? >> first of all he will be received like a conquering hero. you could see that yesterday when reince priebus and steve bannon came there. look, i think there has been suspicion when he became an actual candidate about donald trump and was he really a true conservative or was he just saying some of these things to help get elected? but you look at the first month of his presidency and he has been true to his word. true to the campaign promises in pushing an extremely conservative agenda, putting together an extremely conservative cabinet. so i think that particularly with this crowd he will want to keep faith with them and say i

said i was going to do this on the campaign trail. now i'm president. with your support and i'm keeping my promises. >> shannon: some of the things he will probably mention possibly or things i would think this group would like, the nomination of judge neil gorsuch to the supreme court. the change in the mexico city policy. all these executive actions on regulations, on immigration. there are a lot of things for this crowd to be very happy about for him to be one month in and be able to come and talk about that. they are also ansi about things like obamacare and want to know when that gets moving. >> a lot of the things he accomplished so far i can't think of anything they would be opposed to. and you heard some very strong language from steve bannon yesterday about national security and sovereignty, about economic nationalism, about deconstructing the administrative state. that's one of the things that conservatives are most concerned about unelected

bureaucrats passing all these regulations and donald trump said he will put an end to that. there are a couple of key issues that are still out there that he is going to have to talk about and that he will talk about especially to his speech to ajoint session of congress on tuesday. you mentioned one of them obamacare, repealing and replace. certainly all for that. the devil is in the details. what is he actually going to do and tax reform. there is a big split inside the republican party and conservatives about things like the border adjustment tax. it is a way, a trillion dollars over 10 years to pay for lower rates. on the other hand a lot of conservatives who don't like the idea of raising a tax in order to lower taxes. i don't know expect to necessarily get into that kind of legislative detail before this group. you know, i think there is enough to agree on that he can sail through here. that is something will have to address on tuesday to a joint session of congress. >> shannon: something else steve bannon said the fight is just beginning.

we're in the top of the first inning. there is a whole lot of fighting left to do. it seemed he was trying to rally the troops. listen, you guys may be on a high we're just getting started and getting so many things done but he said if you think the left is going to be happy about you taking the country back, they aren't going down without a fight. it seemed like he was also trying to get folks motivated and reminded that this is just the beginning. >> absolutely. look. i think to some degree there is a split in the white house to some degree. some people who want to go slower and more moderate. steve bannon said hold us to account. keep our feet to the fire. i think he sees a lot of these people at cpac as people who support his arguments when it comes to some of the more aggressively conservative areas and so to the degree that he can keep them on his side, it helps him in the inner counsels

in the oval office to push donald trump to do more rather than less. >> shannon: he gave us a little hint saying the president's tone would be appreciative. these are his people now with cpac. most of these folks seem very excited to be there to see him. some lined up since 3:00 a.m. this morning. and as you said he may come in as that conquering hero. it sounds like he wants to say thank you today as well. >> absolutely. i don't know that this group particularly was the key factor but they were obviously a helpful factor. there were a lot of blue collar workers who put trump over the top but cpac was still in terms of its support during the primaries very important and you know, politics, shannon, i don't have to tell you is about

addition, not subtraction. there are a lot of different elements in the republican party in the conservative movement and you want to keep all of them fighting on the same side. the president will need all of that and more if he is going to get some of this ambitious legislative agenda through congress. >> shannon: we understand we're minutes away and seeing lou dobbs in the crowd who gave a speech. an excellent one setting up the president. chris wallace, we'll see you on sunday. we know you have a busy day. thanks for stopping by with us. >> bill: dobbs is like a conquering hero in that crowd. check him out. we're told through the white house it wants to ramp up the fight against isis. that might mean sending more american forces overseas in places like iraq and syria. want to get to the pentagon quickly. jennifer griffin is on that today. what are you learning about the forthcoming strategy? >> the pentagon's 30 day review is due to the president early next week and delivered before

mr. trump addresses congress on tuesday. the top officer was circumspect yesterday in terms of the military's upcoming recommendations but early indications as you mentioned suggest it will involve more troops. >> most of the problems that we're dealing with today don't lend themselves to simple solutions. the only people that have simple solutions to complex problems are refugees from accountability. if you are actually responsible for something, you actually have to take into account all aspects of the problem. >> he says a full range of options will be presented to the president in the coming days. one option under consideration is this hymar system. u.s. air strikes and that have helped iraqi take control of the mosul airport. this new territory could be used to base more equipment going forward. there are up to 3,000 isis fighters remaining in western

mosul. the last remaining isis stronghold in iraq. last week i traveled to baghdad with defense secretary jim mattis. his top commander in iraq says american troops are fighting closer than ever to the front lines. >> it is true that we're operating closer and deeper into the iraqi formations. we adjusted our posture during the east mosul fight and we embedded advisors a bit further down into the formation. >> he also said today that the u.s. has had conversations with the iraqi government about the u.s. and nato having a long-term presence in iraq training iraqi forces. so we will learn more next week when defense secretary mattis presents this plan to the president. >> bill: no one has said the battle over mosul will be easy but it is progressing. if you beat isis in mosul, is there a feeling or belief that

iraq would be free from the terror group? >> it's interesting, bill. remember, there are still some small pockets of sunni insurgents left in cities on the border with syria and in anbar province sunni militants reemerging. the iraqi government hasn't gotten it right and what led to the emergence of isis to begin with, that is if the governance piece is not in order and if the corruption is not in order, then the sunni militants find that they have a population that is suspicious of baghdad, which is being run by a shia-led government at this point. so unless the u.s. is there to help the iraqis have a fair government with regards to kurds balancing the interests of kurds as well as sunnis and shias, you will see these sunni militants, whether they call themselves al qaeda in iraq or isis reemerging over time.

>> bill: to put a fine point on this you think we'll see that new report when? >> well, we would expect that 30 days from the point when the president asked for this report on january 28th. that would be on monday. and with the president addressing congress on tuesday, i would expect that his national security team would be briefing the president and the president would try to prepare the american people during his address to congress on tuesday. especially if it involves sending more troops to syria as well as to iraq. >> bill: it's a big deal. jennifer, thank you. i know you'll stay on it from the pentagon. clearly you can see we have the cameras up inside the room and know president donald trump has arrived at the national harbor in maryland south of washington, d.c. we'll see him in a matter of moments here. this is the story of the day. the conference has been going on for 2 1/2 days. clearly this is the headliner when president trump steps on stage and matt schlapp will do the introduction.

stand by. we aren't leaving it. while they start their engines at cpac they'll do the same at the daytona 500 on sunday. as we await the president, we want to squeeze this in quickly. you can catch all that the big race over on big fox. but nascar great jeff gordon, and kevin harvick have been standing by patiently. if i have to cut you off, my apologies. the commander-in-chief gets priority. >> understood. >> bill: what is so special about this race? you were a winner 20 years ago. >> not only is it our biggest race of the year but this is a career changing moment for you if you win this race. so you realize the energy, the electricity, the build-up to this race. it's totally different than any other race. not to just kick off our season but the importance, the history that this race has and so when you wake up race day morning as a competitor or as a

broadcaster, you know there is something very, very special about to happen and you feel it within your body. >> bill: i can feel it through the television screen. kevin, you were a winner by about that much 10 years ago. you have new rules that nascar has set out this year. how is it going to go? how will you catch the gibbs team and the toyotas? >> well, i think for us we've been very competitive and run up front and had a chance to win both races we've run this week. our switch to ford has gone very well. i think there is a lot to manage this year. you talk about the new point system for the crew chiefs and teams and drivers. it will make it intense through the whole race all the way leading to homestead at the end of the year for our championship. i think for us the biggest challenge is trying to figure out how to balance the aggressiveness of trying to capture as many points as you can through the first two segments and also putting yourself in position to win the race. a lot to manage.

>> bill: can you win, kevin, on sunday? >> we can definitely win. our jimmy johns ford has been fast and continue it as we go into sunday. >> bill: handicap it jeff, who will take the flag? >> kevin is one of the ones to beat. it is so hard -- so many great competitors. we have the closest qualifying for the daytona 500 that i've ever seen. so obviously it is going to be tough to get an edge. we already saw young chase elliott. he is on the pole and won last night. last year's winner denny hamlin also won one of those duels. dale earnhardt junior. >> >> bill: jeff, thanks. we'll see you in he booth and kevin we'll see you on the track on sunday. good luck. gentlemen, thank you. big fox, 2:00 eastern time sunday afternoon nascar is back.

wanted to squeeze that in as we await the other main event. >> shannon: don't get sideways on that, bill. we're awaiting president trump getting ready to address conservatives from across the country at the cpac conference. attendees awaiting the remarks. lined up since the middle of the night. we'll bring you them live when the president takes the stage.

>> bill: as we drop back in at cpac during the commercial break they're asking the folks to take their seats and now

they're rising from their seats for a round of applause. that means we're getting close. when this happens here we'll take you there live. this is the way we believe it to play out. matt schlapp who has the honors of running it this year will do the introduction for president donald trump. there he is on stage with his wife, mercedes who had the honors yesterday of interviewing kellyanne conway and kicking off the main gist of this conference. >> shannon: i have to say the panel that schlapp did yesterday with reince priebus and steve bannon was fascinating. to see them talking about how things work inside the white house and talking about their relationship and talking about what they say is a lot more work to get done. it was really interesting because you don't see those two out publicly, not together discussing the inner workings. pretty fascinating. >> bill: it certainly was. on the cable side we'll get a bit of a pause here because we'll welcome in a lot of stations across the country who

will in all likelihood drop in and pick up the president's comments as we watch, wait and see what he has to say here. he has been here before. four times by my count. this will be number five. wasn't there a year ago during the heat of the campaign. as we await on that let's get a quick pause and continue. >> what i'm learning, how good it feels to have somebody -- >> bill: this is fox news coverage of president trump's speech at cpac. i'm bill hemmer live in new york city and any moment now we'll see president donald trump get ready to address the conservative pac in maryland south of washington, d.c. mercedes and matt schlapp on stage now. we were given a preview just yesterday on behalf of sean

spicer at the white house when he stressed safety and security will be a priority in the president's speech today. as we await rich lowry is with me now. editor of the national news. rich, good morning to you. there was a time when a lot of people thought donald trump should not even be afforded the opportunity to be inside this room. wow how things have changed. >> you have to take a step back and just appreciate what an amazing turn about this was as you alluded to, trump has spoken at cpac before but he did it basically as a side show, a highly controversial figure and now he owns the place, which is what happens when you successfully vanquish hillary clinton and presidential election and become president of the united states. >> bill: it was a remarkable thing yesterday steve bannon and reince priebus on stage together. for bannon it was a rare public appearance. their interview together was dissected by the media and has been for the past 24 hours to peel back the curtain as to how

things are working inside the west wing now. here the man of the hour as we drop in on president donald trump as cpac national harbor, state of maryland. ♪ [cheering and applause] >> president trump: thank you, everybody. so great to be with you. thank you. [cheering and applause] great to be back at cpac. [cheering and applause] the place i have really -- i love this place. [cheering and applause] i love you people. thank you very much. first of all, i want to thank

matt schlapp and his very, very incredible wife and boss, mercedes. they've been fantastic friends and supporters and so great when i watch them on television defending me. nobody has a chance. i want to thank matt and mercedes. [applause] and when matt called and asked, i said absolutely i will be there with you. the real reason i said it, i didn't want him to go against me. that one you can't beat. so i said absolutely. and it really is an honor to be here. i wouldn't miss a chance to talk to my friends. these are my friends. [cheering and applause] and we'll see you again next year and the year after that and i'll be doing this -- i'll

be doing this for cpac whenever i can and i will make sure we're here a lot. you know, if you remember my first major speech -- sit down, everybody, come on. you know the dishonest media will say he didn't get a standing ovation. you know why? you know why? because everybody stood and nobody sat. so they will say he never got a standing ovation, right? [cheering and applause] [crowd chanting usa, usa, usa] [cheering and applause] so this -- sit down. [laughter] donald trump did not get a

standing ovation. they leave out the part they never sat down. they leave that out. so i just want to thank you. my first major speech was at cpac and probably five or six years ago. first major political speech. and you were there and it was -- i loved it. i loved the people, i loved the commotion, and then they did these polls where i went through the roof and i wasn't even running, right? but it gave me an idea. and i got a little bit concerned when i saw what was happening in the country and i said let's go to it. it was very exciting. i walked the stage on cpac, i'll never forget it, really. i had very little notes and even less preparation. so when you have practically no notes and no preparation and then you leave and everybody was thrilled i said i think i like this business. [laughter]

i would have come last year but i was worried that i would be at that time too controversial. we wanted border security and a strong military and people considered that -- i've been with cpac for a long time and now you finally have a president, finally -- it took you a long time. it took you a long time. [cheering and applause] and it's patriots like you that made it happen, believe me, believe me. you did it because you love your country, because you want a better future for your children and because you want to make america great again. [cheering and applause]

the media didn't think we would win. the pundits -- you're right. the pundits didn't think we would win. the consultants that suck up all that money, oh, they suck it up, they're so good. [laughter] they aren't good at politics but they're really good at sucking up people's money. especially my opponent's because i kept them down to a minimum. but the consultants didn't think we would win. but they all underat -- underestimated the power of the people. the people proved them wrong. this is so true and this is what's been happening. never underestimate the people, never. i don't think it will ever happen again. [applause]

and i want you all to know that we are fighting the fake news. it is fake, phony, fake. [applause] a few days ago i called the fake news the enemy of the people and they are. they are the enemy of the people. [applause] because they have no sources, they just make them up when there are none. i saw one story recently where they said nine people have confirmed -- there are no nine people. i don't believe there was one or two people. nine people. and i said give me a break because i know the people. i know who they talked to. there were no nine people but they say nine people. somebody reads it and think oh, nine people. they have nine sources. they make up sources. they are very dishonest people n. fact, in covering my comments, the dishonest media

did not explain that i called the fake news the enemy of the people. the fake news. they dropped off the word fake. and all of a sudden the story became the media is the enemy. they take the word fake out. now i'm saying oh, no, this is no good. but that's the way they are. so i'm not against the media, i'm not against the press. i don't mind bad stories if i deserve them. and i tell you, i love good stories, but we won't -- i don't get too many of them. but i am only against the fake news media or press, fake, fake. they have to leave that word. i'm against the people that make up stories and make up sources. they shouldn't be allowed to use sources unless they use

somebody's name. let their name be put out there. let their name be put out. [applause] a source says that donald trump is a horrible, horrible human being. let them say it to my face. let [applause] let there be no more sources and remember this, not in all cases. i had a story written yesterday about me in reuters by a very honorable man and it was a very fair story. there are some great reporters around. they're talented and honest as the day is long. they're great. but there are some terrible dishonest people and they do a tremendous disservice to our country and to our people, a tremendous disservice. they are very dishonest people and they shouldn't use sources, they should put the name of the person. you will see stories dry up like you've never seen before. you have no idea how bad it is

because if you are not part of the story -- and i put myself in your position sometimes -- many of you, you aren't part of the story and if you're not part of the story, you know, then you sort of know if you are part of the story, you know what they are saying is true or not. so when they make it up and they make up something else and you saw that before the election, polls, polls, the polls. they come out with these polls and everybody was so surprised. a couple of polls got it right. the "los angeles times" did a great job. shocking, because, you know, they did a great job. and we had a couple of others that were right. but generally speaking i can tell you the network -- somebody said a poll came out. and i say what network is it? and they'll say a certain -- let's not even mention names, right, shall we? [shouting]

>> bill: the clinton news network is one, totally. take a look. honestly. take a look at their polls over the last two years. you would think they would fire the pollster, right, after years and years of getting battered. but i -- who knows, maybe they're just bad at polling or maybe they're not legit. but it is one or the other. look how inaccurate. look at cbs, abc also, look at nbc. look at some of the polls. so inaccurate. what that does is creates a false narrative. it creates this narrative that is just like we're not going to win. people say oh, i love trump but i'm not feeling great today. he can't win so i won't go and vote. i won't go and vote. it creates a whole false deal. we have to fight it, folks. we have to fight it.

they are very smart, they are very cunning and they are very dishonest. just to conclude, i mean, it's a very sensitive topic and they get upset when we expose their false stories. they say that we can't criticize their dishonest coverage because of the first amendment. they always bring up the first amendment. [laughter] and i love the first amendment. nobody loves it better than me. nobody. [applause] who uses it more than i do? but the first amendment gives all of us, it gives it to me and to you and gives it to all americans the right to speak our minds freely. it gives you the right and me the right to criticize fake news and criticize it strongly. [applause] many of these groups are part of the large media corporations

that have their own agenda and it's not your agenda and it is not the country's agenda. it is their own agenda. they have a professional obligation as members of the press to report honestly. but as you saw throughout the entire campaign and even now, the fake news doesn't tell the truth. it doesn't tell the truth. so just in finishing, i say it doesn't represent the people, it never will represent the people. and we are going to do something about it because we have to go out and we have to speak our minds and we have to be honest. our victory was a win like nobody has ever seen before. [cheering and applause] and i'm here fighting for you and i will continue to fight for you. the victory and the win was

something that really was dedicated to a country and people that believe in freedom, security, and the rule of law. our victory -- [applause] was a victory and a win for conservative values. [applause] and our victory was a win for everyone who believes it's time to stand up for america, to stand up for the american worker, and to stand up for the american flag. [cheering and applause] yeah, there we should stand up, come on. there we should stand up. okay. by the way, we love our flag.

by the way, you folks are in here, the place is packed. there are lines that go back six blocks and i tell you that because you won't read about it, okay? there are lines that go back six blocks. there is such love in this country for everything we stand for. you saw that on election day and you'll see it more and more. so we're all part of this very historic movement. the movement the likes of which actually the world has never seen before. there has never been anything like this. there has been some movements but there has never been anything like this. there has been some movements that petered out like bernie, petered out. but it was a little rigged against him. super delegate. she had so many delegates before the thing even started i said to my people, how does that happen? not that i'm a fan of bernie

but a lot ever bernie people voted for trump. you know why? because he is right on one issue, trade. he was right about trade. our country is being absolutely devastated with bad trade deals so he was right about that. but we got a lot of bernie support. so i like bernie, okay? i like bernie. but i'm here today to tell you what this movement means for the future of the republican party and for the future of america. first, we need to define what this great, great unprecedented movement is and what it actually represents. the core our movement is that we are a nation that put and will put its own citizens first. [cheering and applause]

[crowd chanting usa, usa, usa] for too long we've traded away our jobs to other countries. so terrible. we've defended other nations' borders while leaving ours wide open, anybody can come in. [crowd shouting build a wall] we're building the wall. in fact, it is going to start soon way ahead of schedule. way ahead of schedule [cheering and applause] way, way, way ahead of schedule. it is going to start very soon. general kelly, by the way, has done a fantastic job that he has done.

and remember, we are getting the bad ones out. these are bad dudes. we're getting the bad ones out. okay? we're getting the bad ones out. if you watch these people it is like gee, that's so sad. we are getting bad people out of this country. people that shouldn't be, whether it's drugs or murder or other things. we're getting bad ones out. those are the ones, they go first and i said it from day one. basically all i've done is keep my promise. [cheering and applause] we've spent trillions of dollars overseas while allowing our own infrastructure to fall into total disrepair and decay. in the middle east, we've spent as of four weeks ago, $6 trillion. think of it.

by the way, the middle east is -- it's not even close. it's in much worse shape than it was 15 years ago. if our presidents would have gone to the beach for 15 years, we would be in much better shape than we are right now. that i can tell you. [applause] be a hell of a lot better. we could have rebuilt our country three times with that money. this is the situation that i inherited. i inherited a mess, believe me. we also inherited a failed healthcare law that threatens our medical system with absolute and total catastrophe. [applause] now, i've been watching and nobody says it, but obamacare doesn't work, folks. i could say, i could talk. it doesn't work. and now people are starting to

develop -- the people you are watching, they aren't you. they are largely, many of them, are the side that lost. they lost the election. it's like how many elections do we have to have? they lost the election. but i always say, obamacare doesn't work and these same people two years ago and a year ago were complaining about obamacare. and the bottom line, we are changing it. we'll make it much better. we are going to make it less expensive. we're going to make it much better. obamacare covers very few people. and remember, deduct from the number all of the people that had great healthcare that they loved, that was taken away from them. it was taken away from them. [applause] millions of people were very happy with their healthcare. they had their doctor, they had

their plan, remember the lie 28 times? you can keep your doctor. you can keep your plan. over and over and over again you heard it. so we're going to repeal and replace obamacare. [cheering and applause] and i tell paul ryan and all of the folks that we're working with very hard, dr. tom price, very talented guy. [applause] but i tell them from a purely political standpoint the single best thing we can do is nothing. let it implode completely. it is already imploding. you see the carriers are all leaving. it's a disaster. two years, don't do anything. the democrats will come to us and beg for help.

they will beg. and it is their problem. but it is not the right thing to do for the american people. it's not the right thing to do. [applause] we inherited a national debt that has doubled in eight years. think of it. $20 trillion. it has doubled. we inherited a foreign policy marked by one disaster after another. we don't win anymore. when was the last time we won. did we win a war, did we win anything? do we win anything? we're going to win big, folks. we'll start winning again, believe me. we're gonna win. [crowd chanting usa, usa, usa] but we're taking a firm, bold and decisive measure, we have to, to turn things around.

the era of empty talk is over. it's over. [applause] now is the time for action. so let me tell you about the actions that we are taking right now to deliver on our promise to the american people and on my promise to make america great again. we've taken swift and strong action to secure the southern border of the united states and to begin the construction of a great, great border wall. [cheering and applause] by doing this and with the help of our great border police, with the help of ice, with the help of general kelly, and all of the people that are so passionate about this, our

border patrol, i'll tell you, what they do. they came and endorsed me. ice came and endorsed me. they never endorsed a presidential candidate before. they might not even be allowed to. but they were disgusted with what they saw. and we'll stop it. we'll stop the drugs from pouring into our nation and poisoning our youth. [applause] pouring in. pouring in. we get the drugs, they get the money. we get the problems, they get the cash. no good, no good. it's going to stop. by stopping the flow of illegal immigration, we will save countless -- the tax the dollars that we're losing are beyond anything that you can imagine and the tax dollars that can be used to rebuild

struggling american communities, including our inner cities. [applause] we are also going to save countless american lives. as we speak today, immigration officers are finding the gang members, the drug dealers, and the criminal aliens and throwing them the hell out of our country. [cheering and applause] and we will not let them back in. they aren't coming back in, folks. if they do they'll have bigger problems than they ever dreamt of. i'm also working with the department of justice to begin reducing violent crime. i mean, can you believe what is happening in chicago as an example? two days ago, seven people were shot. and i believe killed.

seven people. seven people. chicago, a great american city, seven people shot and killed. we will support the incredible men and women of law enforcement. [cheering and applause] thank you. and thank them. i've also followed through on my campaign promise and withdrawn america from the trans-pacific partnership. [applause] so that we can protect our economic freedom. we're going to make trade deals but we are going to do

one-on-one. and if they misbehave we terminate and make a better deal. none of these quagmire deals that are a disaster. nafta, one of the worst deals any made by any country having to do with economic development. it's economic undevelopment as far as our country is concerned. we're preparing to repeal and replace the disaster known as obamacare, we're going to save americans from this crisis and give them the access to the quality healthcare they need and deserve. we have authorized the construction, one day, of the keystone and dakota access pipeline. [applause] and issued a new rule. this took place while i was getting ready to sign. who makes the pipes for the pipeline? it comes from all over the

world. isn't that wonderful? i said nope, comes from the united states or we're not building it. [applause] american steel. if they want a pipeline in the united states, they are going to use pipe that is made in the united states, do we agree? [applause] but can you imagine -- i told the story the other day, can you imagine a gentleman, never met him, don't know the name of the company. i sort of know it but a big, powerful company, they spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the pipeline. same thing with the dakota. different place. they got their approvals in the case of dakota. then they couldn't connect it because they had people protesting that never showed up before. they spent hundreds of millions

of dollar with blood sucker consultants sucking the blood out of the company. don't worry, i used them all my life, okay? don't worry, we'll get it approved. i'm a connected. i'm a lobbyist. obama didn't sign it, bottom line. could be 42,000 jobs. a lot of jobs. didn't sign it. but can you imagine he gave up. a year ago, it was dead. now he is doing nothing, calling his wife, hello, darling, i'm bored. the pipeline. that has killed our company. knock knock, this is so and so. the keystone pipeline, sir, out of nowhere has just been approved. now, can you imagine the expression? the same part. the same blood sucking consultants that hit him for all the money and failed. they are now going to go back to him and say didn't we do a great job? we want more money.

that's the way the system works. that's the way the system works. we're preparing bold action to lift the restrictions on american energy including shale oil, natural gas and beautiful clean coal and we'll put our miners back to work. [applause] miners are going back to work. [applause] miners are going back to work, folks. sorry to tell you that, but they are going back to work. we have begun a historic program to reduce the regulations that are crushing our economy, crushing. and not only our economy, crushing our jobs because companies can't hire. we're going to put the regulation industry out of work and out of business. [applause]

and by the way, i want regulation. i want to protect our environment. i want regulations for safety. i want all of the regulations that we need and i want them to be so strong and so tough, but we don't need 75% of the repetitive, horrible regulations that hurt companies, hurt jobs, make us non-competitive overseas with other companies from other countries. that we don't need. we'll have regulations. it will be really strong and really good and we're going to protect our environment and we're going to protect the safety of our people and our workers, okay? [applause] another major promise is tax reform. we are going to massively lower taxes on the middle class, reduce taxes on american business, and make our tax code

more simple and much more fair for everyone, including the people and the business. [applause] in anticipation of these and other changes, jobs are already starting to pour back into our country. you see that. in fact, i think i did more than any other pre-president. they say president elect. president elect is meeting with ford, chrysler, general motors. i just wanted to save a little time. [laughter] because ford and fiat chrysler, general motors, sprint, intel, and so many others are now, because of the election result,

making major investments in the united states, expanding production, and hiring more workers. and they are going back to michigan and they are going back to ohio and pennsylvania and they are going back to north carolina, and to florida. [applause] it's time for all americans to get off of welfare and get back to work. you are going to love it. you are going to love it. you are going to love it. [cheering and applause] we're also putting in a massive budget request for our beloved military. [cheering and applause]

and we will be substantially upgrading all of our military, all of our military, offensive, defensive, everything, bigger and better and stronger than ever before and hopefully we'll never have to use it but nobody is going to mess with us, folks, nobody. [applause] it will be one of the greatest military build-ups in american history. no one will dare question, as they have been because we're very depleted, very, very depleted, sequester, sequester. nobody will dare question our t. we believe in peace through strength and that's what we will have. [applause]

as part of my pledge to restore safety for the american people, i have also directed the defense community to develop a plan to totally obliterate isis. [applause] working with our allies, we will eradicate this evil from the face of the earth. [applause] at the same time, we fully understand that national security begins with border security. foreign terrorists will not be able to strike america if they cannot get into our country. [applause] and by the way, take a look at what is happening in europe, folks. take a look at what is happening in europe. i took a lot of heat on sweden. [laughter]

and then a day later i said has anybody reported what is going on? and it turned out that they not too many of them did. take a look at what happened in sweden. i love sweden, a great country, great people. i love sweden. they understand i'm right. the people there understand i'm right. take a look at what is happening in sweden. take a look at what is happening in germany. take a look at what has happened in france. take a look at nice and paris. i have a friend, he is a very, very substantial guy. he loves the city of lights. he loves paris. for years every year during the summer he would go to paris, was automatic with his wife and his family. i hadn't seen him in a while and i said jim, let me ask you a question. how is paris doing? paris? i don't go there anymore. paris is no longer paris.

that was four or five years hasn't gone there. he wouldn't miss it for anything. now he doesn't even think in terms of going there. take a look at what is happening to our world, folks. and we have to be smart. we have to be smart. we can't let it happen to us. [applause] so let me state this as clearly as i can. we are going to keep radical islamic terrorists the hell out of our country. [cheering and applause] we will not be deterred from this course. and in a matter of days, we will be taking brand-new action to protect our people and keep

america safe. you will see the action. [applause] i will never, ever apologize for protecting the safety and security of the american people. i won't do it. [applause] if it means i get bad press, if it means people speak badly of me, it's okay. it doesn't bother me. the security of our people is number one. it's number one. [applause] our administration is running with great efficiency even though i still don't have my cabinet approved. nobody mentions that. you know, i still have people out there waiting to be approved and everyone knows they will be approved. it's just delay, delay, delay. it is really sad. it is really sad. these are great people. these are some great people. we still don't have our cabinet. i assume we're setting records

for that. that's the only thing good about it is we're setting records. i love setting records. [laughter] [applause] but i hate having a cabinet meeting and i see all these empty seats. i said democrats, please, approve our cabinet and get smart on healthcare, too. [applause] but we're taking meetings every day with top leaders in business, in science and industry. yesterday i had 29 of the biggest business leaders in the world in my office. caterpillar tractor, campbell soup. we had everybody. we had everybody. i like campbell soup. [laughter] [applause] we had everybody. and we came to a lot of very good conclusions and a lot of those folks that are in that room will be building big, big, massive new plants and lots of jocks -- jobs and they will be

building them in this country, not another country. meeting with unions, meeting with law enforcement and leaders from all around the world. where the white house doors used to be totally closed. they were closed, folks, you don't realize that. they were closed. they are now wide open. and they are open for people doing business for our country and putting people to work. [applause] and when they come into the white house, we're translating these meetings into action. one by one, we're checking off the promises we made to the people of the united states, one by one. a lot of promises. >> will not stop until the job is done. we will reduce your taxes. we will cut you