we appreciate you being here. i will be back in the studio tomorrow night, as well, so be sure to stay tuned and join us tomorrow night, as well. we have lisa boothe up next, filling in for laura ingraham. >> lisa: hi, congressman. how was your christmas? >> jason: great. >> lisa: in your home with your grandbaby. >> jason: yes. >> lisa: good to see you, congressman. >> jason: thank you. >> lisa: i'm lisa boothe in for laura ingraham, this is a "the ingraham angle" live from new york city tonight. coming up, the left once again politicizing a tragedy, blaming president trump for the death of a migrant child. we will tell you what really happened and talk to a border control agent about the challenges they face with the influx of illegal immigrants at our border for the president and first lady making a surprise visit to troops in iraq, affirming his pledge to defeat isis. why are the media still criticizing his commitment to military success? and, new development in a fight or fate, as the supreme court gets ready to decide whether a

cross memorial for ward 11 veterans is a religious symbol. there is a new filing to protect ones like this in arlington national cemetery. also, suggesting that making children sit on santa lap sends a wrong message in the wake of the #metoo movement. but first, we began tonight with a shutdown showdown. senators returning to capitol hill tomorrow on bartleby the sixth day of the border budget battle. democrats refusing to give president trump the money he needs to build the wall. the president of iraq earlier today saying he won't back down either. >> how long you think the shutdown will last, mr. president ? >> president trump: whatever it takes, we need a safety for our country. >> lisa: chief congressional correspondent mike a memo is live in washington, d.c., with all of the details. micah? >> good evening. today was the first business day after the christmas holiday of the partial government shutdown, and there appears no real movement. in a rocket from a

president trump was asked how long the partial shutdown wouldo sound like he is determined to fight for serious border security. >> president trump: whatever it takes. we are going to have a wall, we are going to have safety. we need safety for our country. the folks are saying, can we have drones, technology? technology is bells and whistle whistles. you need a wall. if so when you say how long is it going to take? when are they going to say we need border security? one of the democrats going to say -- don't forget, the democrats all believe that you need a wall, until i wanted it. >> the standoff between the democrats and president have been going on for more than two weeks for the president demanding significant funding for the water wall during his meeting in the oval office with the top congressional democrats. since then, leader national nani and chuck schumer have ripped the present for not bringing certainty to peoples lives. "different people from the same white house are saying different things about what the president would accept or not accept to

end his trump shut down, making it impossible to know where they stand at any given moment." tonight, longtime new york republican congressman said it is time for the leaders to figure it out. >> i have a thing against government shutdowns. i think they end up being counterproductive. now that we are in it, i think it is important for the president and the democrats to come to the table, find a way to negotiate a compromise. to me, the wall is essential. >> sources say the talks are all going through nancy pelosi, who faces a critical vote to become speaker on january 3rd, and some suggest she has no incentive to cut a deal until she is officially speaker. it then democrats would be the majority in the house, adding a whole new dynamic to this fight. at least suck. >> lisa: it's going to get interesting, thanks, mike. appreciate it. joining me now, arizona congressman's bigs, how are you congressman? you also recently sat down with

the president on saturday to talk about this very issue. what is it going to take to break the stalemate? >> what it is going to take is chuck schumer is going to have to bite the bullet and fond of the wall. they need to pay $5 billion, which is a substantial reduction from a $25 billion that it will take to actually build the wall. they need to move. it is all in chuck schumer's court right now. there is nothing on the president's desk, veto or sign, is a shutdown right now. >> lisa: what incentive do democrats have to come to the table and negotiate or give president trump any funding, nancy pelosi is going to take over, likely, as speaker of the house just next week. democrats are going to have control of the house. what incentive do they have to play ball here? >> what is going to incentivize them are two things, they love this country and recognize the border is insecure right now. we have to have a wall. that is one thing. the other thing i think we'll do it, is if they realize that their base, a significant number

of bureaucrats, and they aren't getting paid in a shutdown. they are going to get pressure from their base to come to the table. the reality is there the ones left chosen to shut this down, actually, not the president. >> lisa: congressman, isn't this a lot about politics? the way i see it, a lot of democrats, including senator chuck schumer, they voted for fencing along the southern border, therefore a physical structure along the southern border. isn't this just about denying president trump that he -- in the campaign promise he made? >> believe it or not, i have friends in congress who are democrats, and i asked them, what is the deal here? what is going on? once you give us anything for a border wall, i live in a border state, we are concerned. they said, i don't like the rhetoric that president trump uses, the other one said, we are not going to give president trump a victory. what i'm telling you is, it is

politics, lisa. that is the problem. they don't want president trump to have a victory. in so doing, they are preventing this country from having safety. just today even, more people from the border telling me, "andy, they are crossing our property, we have to have a border wall." that is what we need to do. not politics, we need good policy, which includes a border wall. >> lisa: speaking of the policy aspect, even beyond the wall, the big crisis faced right now on the southern border is asylum-seekers. we have seen a massive influx of people seeking asylum from central america. can you tell the viewers a little bit about what is going on with asylum-seekers, and why we are seeing this influx of central americans doing just that? >> what is happening, and asylum-seekers comes across the border, we do an immediate evaluation, and they end up staying -- we can't keep them longer than 20 days, so we can't process them because the influx is so great. there are thousands upon thousands. for instance, in the phoenix metro area, there have been

almost 4,000 of them released since october until about two weeks ago, the total from two weeks ago. coming here seeking asylum, they are released into the interior. we pay for them to go wherever they want to go because we can't afford to hold them. that is what is happening, catch and release, and we are giving them a notice, please come back, we say, for your court hearing to prove you really are someone who qualifies. and you know what, almost 90% of them don't even qualify for asylum, yet they are already here in this country. most never go back for the hearing. that is what is going on with the asylum policy today. >> lisa: something not reported as much, the deal with mexico, keeping asylum-seekers in mexico while they are waiting for their immigration cases. as you pointed out, 90 percent don't actually get granted asylum in immigration court. the problem is a lot of them go missing between that time and when their cases come up. why is this so important? >> if you can keep them in mexico, which, by the way, has

offered asylum. like the caravan, they offer them asylum. if you keep them there, it gives us time to process them before they get released into the interior. they are effectively loss until they commit a crime where we can track them down and i.c.e. can get hold of them. a century city, not going to cooperate with i.c.e. we have all kinds of obstacles that keep us from actually controlling the folks that are coming into our country. that is why the mexico, basically keeping them there until they are ready to come in, qualify to come in, is so important. there's going to reduce the number of people coming to this country illegally, that we can't track, we can't vent, we don't know who they are. >> lisa: is congress doing anything to address the asylum issues we are seeing? >> we have basically put together a series of bills, the freedom caucus has put together some ideas and some bills to try to get this going, but the first thing that has to happen,

really, is the border wall. when i talked to my border patrol agents, they say andy, we need the border patrol, i.c.e., we need the border wall first. once we have the border wall, it will put people into a channel so they are coming to ports of entry, we can control it better. then we can start dealing with interior problems like asylum. >> lisa: real quick, how long do you think the shutdown will last? >> well, since the president is holding firm and the democrats have said they are not willing to budge on this, i think we are going to go at least another couple of weeks, actually. >> lisa: all right. congressman, i appreciate you joining us in giving insight on the issue. thank you. >> thank you, lisa. >> lisa: as the border budget battle heats up, the left is using this opportunity again to politicize the death of a migrant child, blaming resident trump and is a demonstration for the tragedy there nancy pelosi saying "we all have a moral responsibility to ensure all children of god are treated with compassion and decency. the death of two children in

u.s. custody is unconscionable. saying house democrats will not stand idly by and watch other nations with fundamental values eroded, while innocent children are held like prisoners in cages, their lives at risk. democratic congressman bennie thompson going even further than that, saying it is clear that the administration's flyby mass detention policy and changes to the asylum process are not working. the welfare of children in our care must be a top priority. chief correspondent jonathan hunt's live in our west coast bureau with the real story. jonathan? >> good evening, lisa. as of the beginning of december, it was, according to the department of homeland security, more than ten years since a child had died in the custody of u.s. customs and border protection. now two children have died in the space of a month. the latest, an 8-year-old boy, felipe alonzo-gomez, first taking into custody on december 18th near el paso,

texas. they were come according to officials, given regular food, water, and welfare checks before being transferred to the alamogordo border patrol station on december 23rd. on the 24th, at around 9:00 a.m., an agent noticed the boy was coughing and his eyes were glossy. he was taken to a nearby hospital. at 12:45 p.m., he was diagnosed with a simple cold and given tylenol. around 30 minutes later, his fever has spiked to 103 degrees. he was held for further observation. 90 minutes after that, at about two: 50:00 p.m., he was released from the e.r. with a prescription for amoxicillin and ibuprofen. at the boy and his father were taken to a temporary cbp holding facility where at 7:00 p.m. felipe vomited. according to cbp, his father said the boy was feeling better and decline further help. at about 10:00 p.m., felipe was again nosh nauseous and taken

back to the hospital when he vomited again and lost consciou consciousness. hospital doctors could not revive felipe. he was pronounced dead at 11:48 p.m. they called it a tragedy and said agents do all they can. >> our job is to try to identify any people that need medical care and give get them to a hol as quickly as we can. we are doing that with hard every day. >> just three weeks ago, a 7-year-old guatemalan girl died after spending nearly eight hours being held at a remote cbp outpost in new mexico. her father had told cbp agents his daughter was in good health. although it is unclear that he understood what he is being asked, given his first language was neither english nor spanish, but in ancient mayan dialect. department of homeland security secretary kristen nielsen announced a series of steps today designed to identify

sick children more quickly and get them help. she is asking the center for disease control to investigate the uptick in six children crossing the border. the u.s. coast guard medical corps will assess cbp's medical programs, more for medical professionals being requested from that apartment or defense. and most immediately, all children apprehended by cbp will now get a more complete medical assessment as soon as possible. at the issue here, what does "as soon as possible" mean? it is august the undefinable. having been on both sides of the border, i have seen this, you get these agents who are working in very small teams, frequently coming across groups of very large groups of illegal immigrants in remote areas of the border. so the practicality of immediate medical inspections is questionable at best. lisa? >> lisa: jonathan, thank you. joining me now, vice president of the national border patrol

council, immigration attorney. thank you so much for joining me tonight. i want to start with you. we saw the quote from nancy pelosi and chuck schumer,y criticizing the federal government about what happened to this poor young child. obviously, our hearts are with this family, nobody wants to see anything like this happen. it looks like, at least according to a jonathan laid out, care was provided, and they were paying attention to him and monitoring him. so why is this the government's fault? >> first off, i hate to see when people are using a dying child or a sick child to further any political agenda. republican, democrat, it doesn't matter. that should not be used here for any reason. with that said, i don't think it is a matter of whether or not good care or bad care was given to the child, we heard earlier, a lot of the individuals coming over the border, spanish and english are not their language, most of them speak indigenous

dialects from guatemala. they might not have understood with the sickness was or what was going on with the child to communicate that properly. >> lisa: i want to go to you, art, how dangerous is the journey from a country like guatemala, i assume being around all of those at different people, they are around so many people, and also making a long track it, clearly isn't good for someone's health. how dangerous is that journey? >> it's got to be dangerous. not only are you having to deal with the actual traveling and the length of it, but they said earlier, if they had a problem with the language, how do they communicate when they are traveling through mexico? you have to try to communicate through nash mexico, proper food when you are traveling through there, you have to worry about corrupt law enforcement taking money from you. you have to worry about smugglers, the bandits, there are a lot of things that go into this. an average american citizen put their child through that, the united states citizen would definitely be prosecuted for

child neglect or endangerment. it is very tragic. >> lisa: what are the conditions like? >> it's extremely tragic. >> lisa: what are the conditions? >> where they are being held? >> lisa: yes. >> i was just a there a few days ago i one of the defensemen den facilities, and some of the doors were open, they allow the children to come out and talk to us once in a while. there was one particular 13-year-old guatemalan boy that i saw, and i called him over to my computer that i was at, and i asked him where he was from. he said he was from guatemala. we spoke briefly, he said he didn't know where his parents were. at that point, i said be carefu careful, stay safe, everything. he walks back to the area he is being detained, and i said grab some cookies. he grabbed cookies, there are cookies around, able to give them cookies. he said thank you, and i gave him. there were other kids out there watching movies, being taken care of. that is just an hour to detentn

facility, not where they are being held for longer periods of time. none of these kids are being mistreated. it is a very tragic thing that happens, but i think, honestly, people need to go and talk to the hospitals themselves and see what kind of misdiagnosis was actually done to this child. >> lisa: the dangerous journey and the different things involved. why are the meat and democrats why don't they discourage this kind of journey? it seems to me, the way to keep people safe is to discourage people from making those kind of trips. why are they doing more to do that? >> the journey has already happened, they have already gotten here, they are here with their kids. >> lisa: but even before that. to prevent further children and parents making the dangerous journey. i understand people are obviously already here. they have arrived at the southern border. what about future people, future caravans? shouldn't the media, should it democrats, senate members of congress try to encourage people

to not make that trip? to not make the dangerous journey? >> i completely agree. i have set for a long time, and like i said, it is not a republican/democrat thing, it is the deferment of homeland security, u.s. immigration services, they need to do a better job of vetting vacations out of the countries these people are from. getting them silent before they have to trek all the way through mexico. the problem is resources in their countries to be able to come over here. that is a problem, i practiced it first hand, i see it firsthand. the wait times are years and years. to them, it is worth the risk to come over here. that is the only chance you're going to get to ask for a silent paired >> lisa: art, what you think of that? >> i think it is a cop-out. i will straight up say it, i think it is a cop-out. >> lisa: why is that? >> to put the blame on the u.s., the apartment of homeland security, they are doing everything they can out there. there is a right way to do it in the wrong way to do it.

it certainly isn't crossing the border illegally, jumping a fence. they could easily ask for asylum in the areas they are at, they can go to the embassies of the u.s. they are. they were given some type of asylum within mexico, they refused to take it. there is a way to get into the united states through the ports of entries, and they don't do that. i understand, i understand they are going through rough times, i get all that. but you know what? there is a right way to do it and and a wrong way. if you come to my home, you knock on my door, not breaking through my window. it is that simple. it has nothing to do with race, it has nothing to do with what political i'll use it on, the reality is, we need to secure our borders, and the people that are elected, political positions, they need to start caring about the united states citizens and the people they truly represent. >> lisa: i want both of your takes on this other story that is going on. despite what many in the media, particularly liberal media, is reporting what the caravan being a bunch of innocent victims,

u.s. customs and border patrol said they caught more members of ms-13 gang and two convicted, previously deported sex offenders trying to cross the border. why is there the downplaying that somehow criminals cannot be in the midst of these caravans? obviously, the bulk of people trying to get over aren't bad people, but why is there the downplaying that somehow bad people aren't in the mix? secretary nielsen said, i think it was a wild, not too long ago, saying 600 criminals among the caravan peered why is a downplay of something that seems like common sense? >> i think the numbers in the hundreds are the exaggerations, there is no hard line proof of that. >> lisa: but, saman, it is also just common sense. if you have a group of people coming in, do not think that people are going to try to explain to that? >> every time. that has many problems for decades and decades. the caravan is not something new, something that is only happening now that we have president trump. the caravan seven coming to the

border for decades. if you remember when obama was president, a plane landed with hundreds of children on it. people remember that, those children were treated, separated from their families, this is something that has been going on for a long time. i will say it again, it is a systematic issue. i'm not attacking dhs, is a process, and their system has to change. the system doesn't change, we will keep running into the same problem. >> lisa: my issue is not the caravans have been going on, the issue is the downplaying of the fact there can be bad people in the mix. that was the point i was making. thank you both for joining me tonight, i really appreciate it. thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you for having me. >> lisa: president trump makes a surprise visit to troops in iraq and doubles down on the pledge to defeat isis. why is the liberal media: we trip a failure? the debate after the break. stay with us.

♪ >> lisa: welcome back. president trump headed back to the white house at this hour after a whirlwind of surprise trip to visit troops in iraq and germany. the secret mission comes a week after the president announced he was withdrawing u.s. troops from syria, a decision that has fueled backlash from both sides of the aisle. lucas thomas men has the story tonight. >> more than 5,000 troops currently deployed to iraq, including a special operation forces. they are used to train and advise local iraqi forces, but could be used to launch isis strikes if necessary. president trump says the terrorist group isn't nearly as threatening today. >> president trump: two years ago, when i became president, they were a very dominant group. they were very dominant. today, they are not so dominant anymore. >> since the president announced all of 2,000 troops would be

leaving syria, the pentagon says more than 30 air strikes have been launched in eastern syria, killing hundreds of isis fighters. more evidence the terrorist arm isn't quite defeated peered u.s. officials warn isis and its ideology have spread to other continents, including europe ans have been launched in recent days. in iraq, not all troops -- they have been shelling isis positions around the clock in eastern syria. the last known isis stronghold is a city within the range of those cannons. at its height in 2014, isis controlled an area the size of ohio. during president trump's first year in office, air strikes against the terror group increased 33%, roughly 40,000 40 bombs were dropped in isis last year. this year, sharply reduced as fewer isis targets remain on the battlefield. today, isis only hold 1% of the territory it once held in iraq and syria. despite gains against isis, the security situation in iraq

remains tense, one of the reasons the president's visit was secret and they only spent a few minute hours on the ground. the president spoke to iraq's new prime minister over the phone. security concerns prevented a face-to-face meeting, but president trump hopes his iraqi counterpart can visit the white house next year. outgoing defense secretary jim mattis did not make the trip to iraq. mattis' deputy patrick shanahan takes over as acting deputy next week. >> lisa: thank you, lucas. the liberal media has been hammering the president for not visiting troops in war zones for a month. now that he has gone to iraq, they are still not satisfied. watch this. >> what donald trump did by going to al-assad airbase, essentially the minimum. by not meeting with the host government, i think what donald trump did with essentially reconfirm what not only baghdad but also governments around the world

suspect, he sees no need for partnership. he sees a transactional relationship. >> there was a bout of gas lighting about what u.s. troops are doing in other theaters, less of a focus on the ongoing stabilization mission, counterterrorism mission the forces in iraq are performing. >> lisa: joining me now is buck sexton, a former cia agent. vice president of foreign policy at the heritage foundation. hi, guys. buck, i'm going to start with you. can president trump ever win? >> not in the mind of his critics. this is astonishing. the media organizations, they had big blue check folks on twitter, as well, who were just hammering the president in the hours leading up to his visit for never having been to visit troops in the war zone. at the line after where was that the shamed him so effectively in the days before, it takes a

weeks to plan a visit like this. there is also the criticism of his time there. anyone can see in the video, the troops are happy to see the commander in chief, any commander in chief that visits the field, particularly with trump. he didn't meet with the host government, his speech was too much, too political, they never give him any credit, lease. it is just trump derangement syndrome with no boundaries or borders. >> lisa: retired really know my career animal john kirby said this. want your opinion after this. listen to this. >> it is a campaign slogan, campaign item, completely inappropriate for the troops. you're not supposed to do this, and i'm sure there are bosses at seeing that, they're not going to be happy about it. the president has to take ownership of this, too. every time he is around military audiences, depoliticize as a peer brings in complaints

outside of the realm of military policy. >> people complaining about trump being trump since before he ran for president. he is never going to change. all of this does is obfuscate the reality. into his presidency, what is happened? we are not having a million refugees flooding from the middle east anymore. isis, the physical footprint, they big problem of isis to begin with, it disappeared. thousands of foreign fighters not flooding into the middle east. iran has been put on notice. i think his record speaks for himself. if any other president, except donald trump, people would be trumpeting this as a triumph of two years of successful foreign policy in the region. >> lisa: let's get to the policy a little bit about the decision to pull out of syria. president trump on the trip talked about how the stated goal was to defeat isis. we have accomplished that job. have we? >> we have certainly put isis on

the defensive and taken away the caliphate, which was the stated mission. the reason the president has done this, has made the statement, and quite honestly, i think it could have been done in a way that was maybe a little more time and collaborative with some of the other decision-makers he is going to have implement this. it was unveiled rather quickly. the reason he is doing it, he is trying to shift the u.s. away from what has been going on since i was a sophomore in college, we invade countries, stay in those countries, we never leave those countries. we are then responsible for rebuilding, training, funding, preventing security collapse, during iraq, afghanistan, he does not want that to be true in syria. they are obviously concerns about the kurdish allies, the possibility of an isis resurgence, but there is always going to be downsides to not having the single greatest military in history of the world in a country holding it together. we are never going to reach a point where it is a better thing for us not to be in a place like

syria, so i think the president is trying to do what he can with the realities of the timetable he has. >> lisa: i think a lot of people are split on this issue, like myself, but for individuals that are proponents of staying in syria, when is ever the right time to leave for those people, do you think? >> there is no good argument for keeping a footprint in syria. at the notion that somehow, if we can hold onto peace and syria, we will provide space to participate in the political sentiment, there is not going to be a political sentiment. syria is owned by the iranians and the russians, that is not going to change unless somebody wants to fight world war iii. the issue we have with the president is not to say we are going to transition our footprint in syria, it makes perfect sense. it is how we do that. quite honestly, i think, by the way the president announced it, we still don't really understand what the plan is for syria, i think that is what is the concern. do it anyway we don't sacrifice the gains we made and can intend

you to their interests. we have increased military activity since he said that. obviously, we are not just walking away. i think there is a bit of too much stress here. the same thing in iraq, advise and assist mission, keeping it so we don't have to go back. i think we'll keep a footprint in afghanistan, but the same thing, we are not there permanently, providing of advie and assist. trying to walk a line between running away from things like obama did and trying to solve problems by invading countries as we did in the previous administration. >> lisa: thank you both for joining me tonight paired >> thank you, lisa. >> lisa: coming up, world war i cross memorial under siege and heading to the supreme court for this could impact hundreds of monuments nationwide. we will talk to one of the people suing to tear it down. the attorney general leading the charge to keep it. that debate next. i don't miss it. starkist saves the day. sweet and spicy tuna in a pouch!

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♪ >> lisa: i want you to take a look at this world war i memorial. it stands 40 feet tall and has been there for nearly 100 years. now, some non-christians are up in arms over its shape, and they want it taken down. back now with new details as fox news' chief correspondent jonathan hunt. jonathan, what is going on here? >> good evening again, lisa. this is a case that focuses on one memorial in, but it could have far-reaching consequences impacting monuments across the

nation, including some at arlington national cemetery. the memorial at the center of this case is a cross that honors world war i veterans in maryland. its construction was started by community members and mothers whose sons died in world war i, and it was completed by the american legion. a lower court ruled the cross should be removed because it violates the establishment clause of the constitution, which, of course, reads "congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." an amicus brief filed by 30 states sent to the supreme court, "should reverse the lower court's call for its destruction. as it is placed in our national tradition and broader cultural context, making clear the memorial honors both the service members it was built to honor and the constitutional ideals,

including in the first amendmen first amendment, they died to defend. west virginia's attorney general, who led to the group of 30 states in challenging the lower court said "we owe a great deal of data know my gratitude to the brave men and women who sacrificed everything for our country. honoring that sacrifice with memorials that include religious symbols does not violate the u.s. constitution and is one of the many freedoms these men and women fought to preserve." the challenge of the cross began with the american humanist association, a nonprofit atheist organization that has, of course, lisa, filed similar lawsuits across the country. lisa? >> lisa: thank you, jonathan. joining us now is west virginia attorney general patrick morrisey. he is leading the 30 state charge to protect the memorial for fred edwards, former executive director of the

american humanist association and a plaintiff in the case. fred, i want to start with you. why are you against a memorial that honors those who paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect freedom like the first amendment? >> because we want to honor them all. that is our main thrust. we even have a hashtag, #honorthemall. it because we feel, and we recognize, that a 40-foot tall latin cross on government land broadcast clearly that only christian soldiers are being honored. >> lisa: fred, it is honoring all of the men who died, listed on that memorial. how is it honoring them to remove it? that doesn't make any sense, despite your hashtag. >> in 1985, the cross was declared to be in honor of all veterans of all wars. all veterans were not christians. all veterans include muslims,

hindus, buddhists,, atheists, everybody. we wanted to honor them all. that is the whole point of our case. >> lisa: but it is a memorial honoring them all, the people who passed away. >> no, it is not honoring them all. it is a christian cross that is 40 feet high. illuminated at night, you drive by it. i >> lisa: i don't care if it is 1 feet high, is honoring people who lost their lives. i want to go to the attorney general on this. a lower court ruled in favor of fred and his group, but you are leading the charge along with 30 states, filing an amicus brief with the supreme court, arguing against what they are trying to do here. why are you doing that? >> a couple of reasons. first of all, thank you for having me on. it is a very important issue because of the supreme court doesn't reverse what just happened in the fourth circuit, we could be dealing with a

situation where hundreds of memorials across the country may be forced to be torn down. we think, just as you indicated, the purpose of this memorial is to honor the war dead. we know when the peace cross was first put together, this was done to honor 49 individuals who fought in world war i, and they were commemorated. across the country, there are memorials very similar to this. but you have to look at the context in which of these memorials are set up. peered the states. individuals have the right to commemorate the dead. that is different. that is not a purely religious purpose, quite the opposite, that is a secular purpose. we think this fits very cleanly within the establishment clause to dispute come we think the court can clarify this going forward. i think the peace cross was done with private funds, this piece cross was unchallenged for

almost 90 years. it has been part of the fabric, the historic tradition within the community. there is really no reason to tear it down from a legal perspective. >> lisa: fred, i want to talk to you about the slippery slope problem the attorney general just addressed. and i want to read you a quote. we have the quote. this great stone is bulldozed to the ground, it is only a matter time before the wrecking ball turns on arlington national cemetery and hundreds of other memorials like this across the country." i want to know what you think of that, fred. not only that, you look at military awards given out, the armies distinguished service cross, the navy cross, the air force cross. are those not okay with you? >> no. this is not a gravestone. it is a 40-foot tall latin cross on a highway median.

there is no doubt a highway median is one, the government land, and it two, not a cemetery. >> lisa: do they coerce you to changing our belief by civilly saying something? >> it gives the impression that no jews are welcome, it present as though it is a christian enclave. when i first saw that cross, when i moved out here in 2003, i thought that is ridiculous. that gives the impression right off -- right at the start. it is unmistakable. when it is illuminated at night, all you see is this cross floating in the darkness. you don't know what is supposed to be a war memorial, you can't tell. in fact, the war memorial aspects of it are so small and so minor, they are dwarfed by the size of the cross. in fact, when i first saw -- >> lisa: i want to get the attorney general's response to that. to me, fred, it seems like you're trying to please you opinion on everyone else in the

state of maryland, as well. attorney general, respond. hold on, fred, i want to get the attorney general backing here as well. >> this is a war memorial, one of several at the location. there is a memorial to other wars that were held throughout the country's history. we know the inscription on the memorial is a secular in nature, talking about valor, talking about honor. you can actually have a memorial whose purpose is mostly secular. in fact, if you go back and you look at how many individuals who came back from world war i were honored, they were honored by crosses, poems, their stories, talking about the rows of crosses set up. it is meant to honor the dead. you can really distinguish that. it takes a stretch to say this is purely for religious purposes. i think the history bears out that this is primarily for

secular purposes, and that, once again, if this cross were allowed to fall, you could see arlington, some of the cross as they are in trouble. in my home state of west virginia, whether you are in the state capital, there are number of capitals that could fall because this starts to stretch first amendment jurisprudence, and not the way the founders intended. >> that is just ridiculous. we have worked with arlington national cemetery to make sure that humanists and other non-christians -- on their tombstones, we want a variety of symbols on tombstones because we want to honor them all. those war memorials, across the street from the bladensburg cross, or secular in nature, and we do not challenge them. we support them. we only challenge the one that is a 40-foot tall latin cross. >> lisa: we got to get going. i'm sorry, fred, i don't agree

with you. thank you both for joining me tonight. >> thank you so much. >> lisa: coming out, santa claus in the #metoo, lebron james learning how jobs work. and the disturbing new video in the wave of his felony sexual assault charges. all of that next. >> of course they are going to say i am being disrespectful, not playing by the rules, like i ever played by any rules before. i never did. and he loved it. (male announcer) savings are in season

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♪ >> lisa: actor kevin spacey releasing a chilling and bizarre video. on christmas eve, after being charged with felony sexual assault of a teenager back in 2016. >> oh sure, they may have tried to separate us, but what we have

is too strong, too powerful. after all, we shared everything, you and i. i told you my deepest, darkest secrets. i showed you exactly what people are capable of. i shock to you with my honesty, but mostly i challenged you and made you think. and you trusted me, even though you knew you shouldn't. we are not done, no matter what anyone says. and besides, i know what you want. you want me back. >> lisa: i am officially creeped. channeling his inner frank underwood, as you saw there, told people not to rush to judgment without evidence or thought, but a new report reveals part of the alleged assault was caught on the alleged victim's snapchat video. >> if i didn't pay the price for the things we both know i did do, i'm certainly not going to pay the price for the things i did do. i feel surprisingly good.

my confidence grows each day that soon enough, you will know the full truth. >> lisa: still creeped out. joining us now, conservative commentator andrea decker, and democratic strategist michelle ritchie. that was weird. >> very. >> lisa: if you are charged -- and there have been something like 30 people who have come forward and made allegations, and they are allegations, facing the felony charges now. >> video evidence. >> lisa: with video evidence. does this help them to release the creepy video? >> it doesn't. when i watch this, i'm wondering, is he denying that all of this is happening, or is he choosing to ignore it? if the apologetic? is enough? when you release this kind of video when you know you're going to be charged come january, just a few weeks from now, it looks like he is not apologetic and is disconnected with the reality that he is living in. i think the american people, thanks to the #metoo you movem,

they're not going to have a pure he is really owning up to his actions, the fact that 30 people are now in the wake of his actions, whose lives have been affected because of what he has done and who he is. >> lisa: what is your reaction? >> it is weird and creepy. i am a huge "house of cards" fan. i finished the season last week, and when i watched it, i missed the character frank underwood. i feel like kevin spacey has this weird connection to frank underwood, because if you watch the show, you noticed frank has a lot of skeletons in his closet, right? it seems that kevin spacey might have a lot of skeletons in his closet. i think it was cheesy, but i think it is a little insulting, as well, to the issue of sexual assault and people that are victims of sexual assault. i don't think it is going to do well for him in court at all. >> lisa: do you think that was the point? as they pointed out, people love "house of cards," tapping into this, people forgiving him because they missed him on a show or something? >> i don't think so. >> lisa: i'm trying to wrap my head around it. >> the timing of this, right, right before his court date, it seems like he is trying to move

on, move past it. he says in there, i'm coming back, all of that, it alludes to the fact he is trying to push through the reality, and not face the consequent as what he has done. >> lisa: we are all in agreement on this one, it is creepy. let's get your take on the story, as well. nba star lebron james found himself in the hot seat this week after comparing nfl owners to owners. watch this. >> the nfl, they have a bunch of old, white, men on teams, and they have that slave mentality. this is my team, you do what the [bleep] i tell you you want to do, or we get rid of y'all. >> lisa: i'm not following, what is he trying to say here? i don't see the correlation. >> i think when you use the term "slave mentality," specially talk about white people, there is the automatic reaction to being directed to all white people. a slave mentality is something

people use to describe a relationship, you're working for a boss, a bad boss. let me finish, i also see conservatives called black democrats slaves, and there is no outrage about that. >> lisa: hold on. the average nfl player gets paid $2 million. >> so what? >> lisa: how is that an abusive relationship? >> because african-americans -- >> lisa: regardless of race. >> because a person has been given a certain amount of money and to some sort of success, you should be able to violate them? you should be able to insult them because of their race or their gender or their preference? what do you mean, how is that happening? the nfl has ignored the fact, the ignored what happened to desmond morrow, sterling brown, you know what happened with those turtle? >> lisa: i'm talking about lebron james. >> this whole protest, the thing about the nfl, is routed as a

result of police brutality, right? of desmond morrow, a former nfl player who was assaulted by the police, the officer later fired. he is an nfl player. these guys are recognizing this. a low, when you are an african-american athlete, when you take off the helmet and get off that field and off at court, the one thing you are in this country, regardless of anything, as you are black man. i think that is what they are standing up against. this does impact them. >> lisa: i want to get your point on this. nobody is saying anyone in the nfl, everyone has a right to believe what they believe, everyone has a right to voice their opinion. no one is arguing that. the issue with the nfl, particularly the kneeling, is the fact they are doing it on the clock. they're doing it during their job. you can just do whatever you want when you are at work. that is the issue, isn't it? >> that is the issue. if lebron james want to call for road to beale no microform for the nfl or nba, do that. he was irresponsible with his words. should i not be offended?

not only the people in the past, but 40 million people still in slavery today, you don't draw that kind of comparison. he needs to be more responsible with his words, his platform. call for reforms. >> should i be called a slave because it -- >> lisa: christmas baby officially over, but still out in full force. "the washington post" doing a deeply investigative piece on what else? sitting on santa's lap. the left is politicizing the heartwarming and innocent tradition of santa claus. are you pro-sitting on santa's lap or against? >> andrea changed my thoughts on this in the green room, but i'm going to stick, would be sake of argument, let kids be kids. i think they should be able to sit on santa's lap if they want to, if the parents are comfortable with and the kids want to come and let them. they are becoming too sensitive about some of our american traditions, and it is taking away from the excitement of

holidays. >> lisa: we've got to get going. thank you both for joining us. at least we agreed on the kevin spacey story, and went down phil. i love you, you are doing a great job. what will be right back with the last bite next. and it really shows. with all that usaa offers why go with anybody else? we know their rates are good, we know that they're always going to take care of us. it was an instant savings and i should have changed a long time ago. it was funny because when we would call another insurance company, hey would say "oh we can't beat usaa" we're the webber family. we're the tenney's we're the hayles, and we're usaa members for life. ♪ get your usaa auto insurance quote today. oh! oh! ♪ ♪ ozempic®! ♪ (vo) people with type 2 diabetes are excited about the potential of once-weekly ozempic®. in a study with ozempic®, a majority of adults lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than seven and maintained it. oh! under seven? (vo) and you may lose weight. in the same one-year study, adults lost on average up to 12 pounds.

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which may worsen kidney problems. i discovered the potential with ozempic®. ♪ oh! oh! oh! ozempic®! ♪ (vo) ask your healthcare provider if ozempic® is right for you. speak to it's time for the last bite. porch pirates beware. >> what's your name? did you just steal something? i'm going to call the police. i've got you on camera. give it to me now. i am taping you.

you did. i saw you. >> lisa: she chased the thief for a minute before the suspect finally gave up and handed over the stolen package. it was a new crock-pot cover. that's all the time we have tonight. i am lisa boothe in for laura ingraham. shannon bream and the "fox news @ night" team take it from here. >> shannon: great to see you. we begin their show with a fox news alert. the presidents world one day, his first as commander in chief to a combat zone. new development tonight in president trump's time in iraq. a powerful plan for total victory over isis. doubling down on the serious strategy, stop in germany. some selfies. we have details. the dowser does more than 1,000 points of the best single day gain ever. could no reports of trade talks with china resuming in the new year be a factor in the day on wall street? later, bombshell investigation from "the