show if you haven't set it up already. good night from new york. "hannity" is next with jason chaffetz sitting in. have a great evening. >>tz jason: tammy, thank you so much. welcome to this special edition of "hannity," trump versus the establishment. i'm jasoned chaffetz in for sea. just 24 hours ago, many in the mainstream media were openly mocking president trump forli losses in the stock market and ridiculing him for not visiting our troops during the christmas season. once again, the destroy trump press looked a bit foolish. today the stock market bounced back with a record single day point gain and president trump, along with the first lady melania trump, spentt the day with our troops, after a surprise visit to iraq where he shared his gratitude for all of america's brave servicemen and women. watch this. >> thank you. and every service member throughout this region, for the near elimination of the isis territorial caliphate inho iraq and in syria. two years ago, when i became

president, they were a very dominant group. they were very dominant. today they are not so dominant anymore. [cheers and applause] >> jason: on his way back from iraq, president trump visited u.s. soldiers in germany. we'll keep you updated on his surprise trip throughout themp show. but first, joining us now with the reaction, the author of "why we fight," fox news national security strategist sebastian gorka. former press secretary for vice president pence and member of the trump 2020 advisory board, marc lodder, and from "the wall street journal," one of my personal favorites, kimberley strassel. thank you, all three of you, for joining us, on this beautifuler night and this greatll holiday season. i want to start with dr. gorka. the president is out there, i think, one of the great strengths of the president has been his foreign policy but there have been some moves. what is the signal and the message that the president is trying to portray out there to the world? >> merry christmas, jason.rl it's a very simple one.

it is the antithesis of the previous eight years under the obama white house. remember, under that administration, we had concepts such as leading from behind, which is of course an oxymoron, and strategic patience, allowing others to take the initiative, built into the foreign policy of the united states. basically america withdrew from the worldd and allowed others like putin, like isis, like china, like iran, to take initiative and destabilize the globe. what you saw today, i spoke with the white house, the president on his way to iraq, what you see is an expression of american i leadership reasserted, whether it is saying in syria, look, we have done what came to do, the caliphate is destroyed. now others have to pick up the load. or whether it is spending your christmas as commander in chief with the first lady, the first time ever, the first lady in my

understanding has visited iraq since 9/11, taking your christmas celebration, andnd taking it to the troops, and the amazing moment that sarah huckabee sanders shared with us when one of our servicemen said to the president, i came back into the armed services because of you, mr. president, and his response was, what? e am here now in iraq because of you. that is the make america great again way and that is donald trump. >> jason:y marc, tell us about the perspective from the international community. we are the world's preeminent superpower. so what is the message that president trump is putting out there by being on the ground himself in iraq? >> i think it sends a strong message that the president has the backs of our soldiers and our airmen and our sailors, no matter where they are stationed in the world, and he showed that, he demonstrated that, and this is a president who has also stood withth them by rebuilding our military, and so much emphasis has been placed today on the launch of the hypersonic

missile over in russia. this is a president now who saw our military decimated under the obama administration. he stood up, he's rebuilding our military, he is putting us in a position where we can defend ourselves and our allies around the world and our enemies know it. >> jason: kim, there's been a lot of discussion over the last week with the moves in syria or whatnot but this is also just about iran? the proximity cannot get lost. we hear almost nothing being mentioned about iran and the message that this might send toa the iranians and the europeans and others about our position on iran. how do you read into that? >> that is why that was so important, because, coming on the backg of the announcements about syria and afghanistan, the worry was, of course, that the message that was being sent to iran was that we were not certain about our commitment in key areas in that region. and by going there, by making it clear we are not withdrawing

from iraq, we're not stopping the fight against isis, and we are not ceding the territory and the regional control to iran, that is a good message for the president. can i just add something, jason? i think it would be worthwhile, there is all this focus right now on what this means, the president's rough week, and the press has been struggling and focusing on that. this is a straightforward story of a president going over to visit the troops, saying hello, which is a customary thing to do, and we should be celebrating it for that in and of itself. >> jason: marc, do you think we will see a lot of corrections on the front pages of the newspapers and talk shows across the country? is that going to happen? >> no, absolutely not.ot they are already picking apart every word that he said. and to kim's point, the only video and the only audio we really need to hear is, are those troops were chanting "usa, usa" when the president and first lady walked in there, they love their commander in chief in donald trump. >> jason: dr. gorka, one of

the important messages to the troops is that we as americans, all of us americans, no matter your political stripes, that we stand behind the troops. is this just a photo op? the criticism is, hey, donald trump didn't go there and then as soon as he goes there, they say it is just for a photo op. what does this mean? what is the message that president trump is saying to the men and women and their families who put their lives on the line for our united states military and for this country? >> jason, it has nothing to do with a photo opportunity. it was leaked so now ii can discuss it, in the second month of the administration, we had 18 future green beretsex visiting the eisenhower building next to the white house. up there, i took them to meet the president. the president took time out of his schedule to meet these young officers, each one was photographed next to the president at the resolute desk, not because those photographsen can be used in public, because these are our cutting edge, army special forces guys.

those photographs never see the light of day. but he wanted to give something to them, to give back, to show that he so respects anyone who wears the cloth of the republic or law enforcement, i see it again and again and again. the first thing the president does when he gets off air force one, when there are no camerases there, at that base, e gets off and he goes down and he shakes the hand of every police out rider to show his respect. this is a man who loves those people and it makes such a change m after the obama years. >> jason: no, it does. the president is on the ground as we speak at the ramstein air force base in germany. it's the middle of the night. he is there visiting with troops. the air force bases are working 24/7 and the president is there on the a ground as we speak. kim, i want to talk about the other big news that happened today, which was the stock market. 1,000-point gain, which is not a typical day. there has been some volatility on the market. how do you read into that? whatat are the swings attributed to and where should investors

look at where are they going? >> the first thing is, it was good news that the white house came out today and made clear that the fed h chief jerome powell, his job is secure. that was some of the uncertainty that we were seeing out there. but look, i think there comes a point at which the market just steps back. maybe that is what we saw today. we realized that despite all the talk about the uncertainty that is out there, china, trade deals, shutdown, et cetera, that the fundamentals of the economy remain really strong and we are seeing that come in. r really robust holiday sales. we are going to have gdp come in at a very strong number this year. unemployment remains low. all of these things that are key indicators of economic strength and manufacturing and other areas. they really are looking good. and hopefully, that is what you are seeing today, is a bit of a correction with regards to the market and the market is not an indicator of the economy, obviously. but it takes its cue from

economic signals and hopefully, this is a return to a little bit of rationality about the future and the prospects for u.s. growth. >> jason: marc,e one of the things the president also said while he was in iraq is that he plans to visit the southern border. what would you like to see the president do and how does this play into the shutdown fight and discussions we have going on on almost an hourly basis right now? >> i want to see him highlight the great work that customs and border patrol does every day, even during the shutdown, to keep out illegal immigration, stop gang members and drugs from flowing into our country and show the rest of the world what we who know the statistics know, walls work. it is easy to demonstrate that through real-life examples, and so i think the president will highlight that and will set the stage for not only the negotiations with speaker pelosi, but it will set the stage for a very strong state of the union speech that i can almost guarantee you will have a very heavy focus on immigration

reform, broad-based immigration reform, and securing our borders.ra >> jason: when the president gets an hour or two to address the nation in the state of the union affair and he gets to talk in front of members of congress, i have been there in the audience to listen eight times to barack obama try to tell me the way the world was, i was -- it was a fascinating thing. dr. gorka, the president is going to the southern border. what is the message you would like to see the president portray? >> marc is right, in addition to recognizing the incredible worke of cbp and i.c.e. and everyone who wears the uniform and protects us at the border, there is one very simple message: the wall will be built and thehe border is a national security issue, jason. you know as well as anybody else. this is not about illegals who are turned into a voting base for the democrats. this is about ms-13. it's about drug trafficking, it's about women who are raped as they come across the border..

minors being handed into the hands of coyotes. this is a national security issue and this is how the president is going to represent it to all of america, whether chuck schumer or nancy like it or not. >> jason: i think you are absolutely right. stay tuned with us, later in the show, we will talk more about that in depth. thank you very much during this holiday season for joining us here tonight. weyo do appreciate it. coming up, rush limbaugh breaks down why democrats own the shutdown. stay with us. ♪ chicken?! chicken. chicken! that's right, candace-- new chicken creations from starkist. buffalo style chicken in a pouch-- bold choice, charlie! just tear, eat... mmmmm. and go! try all of my chicken creations! chicken! and i'm the founder of ugmonk.

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♪ >> jason: welcome back to the special edition of "hannity." of opposition from the washington establishment, president trump is determined to find the wall in our southern border. during today's trip to iraq, he said that the government shutdown will not end without an agreement on border security that includes the wall.

watch this. >> we are going to have a wall, we are going to have safety. we need safety for our country, even from this standpoint. we have terrorists coming in through the southern border. folks are saying, can we have some drones? can we have technology? technology is bells and whistles. you have to have a wall, you have to have protection. we have, in addition to drugs, in addition to human trafficking, in addition to mass numbers of illegals who are coming in, many of whom are criminals, you saw that, 618 so far that we found, in some cases, very serious criminals, in some cases, murderers. we need a wall! when you say, how long is it going to take, when are they going to say that we need border security? when are the democrats going to say?ri don't forget, the democrats all agree that you need a wall until i wanted it. once i wanted it, they didn't agree. >> jason: president trump also told reporters that he would be making a trip to thehe border in the near future. joining us now with the very latest is mike emanuel.

mike? >> jason, good evening. >>the senate is due to return tomorrow afternoon but there are no signs of progress at this point.t. president trump in iraq today was asked how long the partial government shutdown would last. >> whenever it takes. we are going to have a wall, we are going to have safety. we needgo have safety for our country. we have terrorists coming in through the southern border. >> it is not clear the democrats want to cut a deal with the president with nancy pelosi facing a critical vote to become speaker on january 3rd, and clearly not wanting to look like she is caving to the president. on christmas eve, the top democrats in congress went after the president on the partial government shutdown. leader nancy pelosi and senate democratic leader chuck schumer saying, "the president wanted the shutdown but he seems not to know how to get himself out of it. as long as the president is guideded by the house freedom caucus, it is hard to see how he can come up with a solution that can pass both the house and senate and end his trump shutdown."an

today, key house republicans suggested the president should make his case directly to the american people. >> this is about the perception of the american people, and the president has to continue to message the american people why he's fighting to secure the border and i know he likes to tweet but let's do a national address, an address to the american people from the oval office saying why this is so important, and if he does this, i think w he wins the heas and minds of the people and achuck will roll. >> with the ball in his court right now, house leaders say they will give their members 24 hours notice ahead of possible votes. jason? >> jason: mike, thank you very much. on monday, radio legend rush limbaugh urged president trump to hold firm on his border wall promises. take a look at this. >> the democrats have no incentive, really, to solve this until they take control of the house of representatives on i think january 3rd. but i want the president to hold firm on this.

this shutdown is one that the democrats own. this would be very easy to resolve. and they don't want to do it. they don't want to do it -- even if you lookk at the media, "the washington post" today, cnn, folks, they have trump gone in three months. they believe that in three months, they will have fractured trump's base,, i.e., you. >> jason: so what are the ramifications of this political showdown? joiningg us now is rnc chairwomn ronna mcdaniel and fox news political analyst gianno caldwell. thank you both foror joining us here. ronna, i want to start with you because the messaging from the democrats has been aboutth abolishing i.c.e., about open borders, about supporting sanctuary cities, not building the wall. how in the world do they have a winning message with the american people? >> they don't, jason.

asn the american people learn that asylum claims are up 1700% over the past eight years, when they learned that 12,000 kids have come here unaccompanied and they are being held in the carea of hhs because they are coming without their parents to try to get into this country, when they hear all the things that are happening, that there are 800,000 cases right now pending in our courts for these asylum claims, they go, this is a crisis.. this is ridiculous. the president is coming to the table with solutions, very reasonable, common sense solutions, and the democrats refuse to fix the problem. this is owned by the democrats and the american people, the more they learn about this, are going to recognize that the democrats are not doing right by our country, or by the people trying to come into this country. we need to fix ourur immigration problem. >> jason: now gianno, i have never seen a political party succeed by being anti-federal worker, by attacking the 20,000 plus border patrol agents, by saying they want to abolish

i.c.e., they do all these things, what is their message? how do you see this playing out? >> what's interesting, i was just talking about this on my instagram account. i can tell you, the reason why they do this is because they feel that, hey, the border security folks may not be voting for them, they support president trump. soot when you think about the ft that in 2006, barack obama himself said, u.s. senator, said that we needed secure fencing. he voted for the secure fencing act. people like hillary clinton, joe biden, chuck schumer, they all supported it. now they are against it, because president trump is proposing it. in addition to this, sebastian gorka mentioned something in the last segment that was very important. there are a number of criminals that are certainly trying to get in, not all, but certainly there are some. if we look back in 2017, i.c.e. out of their most folks they brought in, 74% of those folks had past criminal convictions.

for things as serious as possessing or selling drugs, these are the hard-core drugs, so when you think about these facts, these irrefutable facts, how could they not want to protect our country? only because they believe they can correlate some of these votes to protect their party and stay in power. >> jason: ronna, i think part oo the messaging actually should be, let's do what the border patrol wants to do. we have a lot of these political pundits, we have these members of congress who have never been down to the border, i was in congress for eight years, i went to the border multiple times, chasing guys who had drugs, all these things. most of these members have never been there. why haven't the republicans shifted the focus to the border patrol, the people who put their lives on the line every day, and focus on what they want? they do want the wall. >> they are also the experts. they are dealing with this every day, they are on the front lines. if you go to the doctor and they say, you need to take this medicine, we see this all the

time, you do that. thee i.c.e. agents, the cbp, they are coming, they are saying, we need help. we have a crisis, we have drugs coming across the border, we have an influx of these caravans coming, we cannot maintain at the current state, and the democrats have never listened to i.c.e. and cbp. they voted for sanctuary cities, they voted against kate's law. when have the democrats ever supported our men and womensu serving at the border? it is just shameful and chuck schumer owns this 100%, nancy pelosi owns this 100%. republicans and the president are fixing the problem. democrats, come to the table, do your job, we need to fix our immigration system. >> jason: now gianno, the democrats, they have said all along, hey, we are for border t security but have you see them define what their supposed support of border security actually is? what is it? >> no.

they probably don't know. they won't have an answer because they have no interest in finding an answer. here's why: they realize that by 2045, that there is going to be a minority white voter. so we are talking about there were no longer be over 50% white. that is why they have abandoned the white working class, that iw why they abandoned the black community a long time ago because they would like to support anyone that would support these newer age, new generation hispanic individuals who would be more likely to be democratic voters. and that is what this comes down to. they want to continue to at least assess the power and continue to climb up the ladder. they have no interest in protecting our country. theyth want to protect their por base and that is what i believe this comes down to. >> jason: real quickly for each of you, how does this partial shutdown of the government, how does it actually come to an end? ronna? >> i think the president is going to hold firm. president who came to washington and said enough of business as usual. he took on isis, trade deals, he's lowered taxes, he said the

immigration problem is a crisis, we are going to solve it, and he is not going to blink and democrats need to come to the table and fix this problem. it is their job and the american people, the more they learn about whatop is happening at the border, are going to support the president in this issue. >> jason: gianno, quickly, then president is fighting the establishment, not only in washington, d.c., but also the media as well. how do you see the shutdown playing out? >> it certainly is going to take democrats coming to the table. do they have any incentive to come to the table? like rush limbaugh said, not until january 3rd, they have no incentive. they want to make a power play here. but it's the individuals that the coalition groups continue to put the pressure on the democrats, we continue to make the case, i like what congressman duffy said. if president trump gets in front of the cameras and does an address to the country, stating

very important, we could see some movement and certainly some changes. >> jason: ronna and gianno, thank you s very much. i think you are right. i think sean duffy's comments were spot on and the president needs to talk specifically about what is happening and why it is so important to secure t the border.wh while president trumpmp remained steadfast on a plan for the southern border wall, the health situation there continues to be a serious issue. u.s. customs and border patrol protection will now perform medical checks on every child ih its custody after an 8-year-old boy from guatemala died in cbp custody. this tragic death came after two separate trips to the hospital for what was initially believed to be a severe cold. now,d. as the cbp works to addrs the critical health issues faced by those who made the long, arduous journey to the united states, many in the mainstream media are busy assigning blame as fast as they can. instead of warning about the serious risks posed by this type of illegal immigration. watch this. >> little children continue to die in the custody of the u.s. government. and remember, friends,s, that is our government.

that is your government and my government. it is allowing little children to die while they are being incarcerated. >> this is becoming a major significant problem for this administration after the separation of children from their parents earlier this year, and now there seems to be this sense of disarray within u.s. customs and border protection that they aren't protecting the children that are coming across the border. >> i'm curious. we know of two children that have died in the past month. can you guarantee us that there are not more children that we have nothi heard about that have also passed away? >> jason: joining us now with reaction is former acting i.c.e. director and fox news contributor tom homan. i had the pleasure in congress of interacting withti mr. homani appreciate you being here attonight. when you watch these people on television say that our government allowed these kids to die, what runs through your mind? >> it's an insult to the thousands of men and women wearing uniform on the southern border, these people put

their own safety and health at t risk every day to defend this nation. i mean, i have been enforcing immigration law since 1984, starting in border patrol. i have seen dead bodies every year in my b career. i found dead aliens left on the trail by smugglers because they couldn't finish their journey. so they left them abandoned to die. i was in phoenix, arizona, when aliens were tortured and killed to pay fees. i was in texas, 19 dead aliens who suffocated to death at the hands of a criminalat organization, including a 5-year-old little boy that died in his father's arms. where was the call for investigations then? you know, the men and women of the border patrol, i have been with them, again, i started with them, these men and women of the border patrol, they will give their lunch to an illegal alien that has not eaten. b when the children and families come in, they bring toys from their own children to help these kids..ng these are men and women, fathere and mothers and sons and daughters. they are doing the best job they can. children, women, aliens have

died, the entire 34 years i have been in this business. so no administration owns this problem. and for those politicians who want to call out border patrol, they need to look in the mirror, because they had an opportunity to close the loopholes that because these families to come. the flores settlement agreement, abolishe i.c.e., come to california, the sanctuary state, we'll give you a driver's license and in-state tuition. they're enticing people to make the dangerous journey. they want to blame somebody? look in the mirror first. >> jason: last week i was on the network and i sent a message to the families who are thinking about coming north is don't do it because you might die. it isastw a treacherous -- oh, y gosh. the people on the left just went nuts that i had said some immoral thing. but talk about that journey, what these families go through and what these individuals -- sometimes thesean kids are lefto go by themselves. this is human trafficking, is it not? putting them into the drug cartels and the other coyotes that bring these people north, is it not?

>> when you entice these people to come to the country illegally, most of the time, that is alien smuggling. who in turn have to pay the drug cartels and work through their area of control. so when you do not push back on illegal immigration, you are bankrolling the very criminal organizations that smuggle drugs, smuggle guns, and have killed border patrol agents, had killed the i.c.e. agents. you are bankrolling criminal organizations. and i have said many times, they say, this tom homan guy, he wants to arrest everybody, he's all about law enforcement. every speech i have ever given, at the end i say, let's look at the flip side of the coin. it's not just about enforcing laws, it's about saving lives. the more you entice people to go to this country, the more people will die. >> jason: we do bring people in legal and lawfully. i have thought for a long time, part of what suffers here are the people that have tried to do it legally and lawfully because we don't take care of them as much as we do somebody who is trying to come across. they are all human beings. they will be as humane as we possibly can..

but i think part of the message ought to be, and that is what the president said, come to the ports of entry, don't try to cross the border illegally. it's dangerous. >> that's a great point. first of all, i agree 100%. we are the most giving country in the world. we accept more refugees into the united states than any other country in the world combined. now president trump tried to do the right thing,no he tried to say, if you enter the country illegally, you won't be able to claim asylum, you need to go to a port of entry where you are safe, surrounded by federal agents, not at the hands organizations, and the aclu is quick to sue, like every time the president does something. a judge in san francisco says, yeah, the aclu is right, you have the right to enter illegally and claim asylum. do they understand what they did? they took the people out of the safety and w security of the pot of entry and put them back in the hands of criminal organizations who don't care about them, just giving you many examples of criminal organizations that killed and left people to die, so they took them out of the safety of the

port of entry and put them back in the hands of criminals. not a good move. >> jason: the rapes and the just -- exploitation of these people that are coming here, i don't know who to tell, i don't know how you and others who havn served the nation protecting the borders, how you tell the good ones from the bad ones. but it's not just human trafficking, right? let's talk about all the other things that are coming to the border that we say we are in opposition to, right? from drugs -- go through what you are also there to help protect the border. why do we do this? >> nancy pelosi said the president was making things up about criminality at the border. terrorists coming across the border, diseases coming across the border and i was shocked. i know what the data says because i'veve been doing this r a long time. i.c.e. arrested 138,000 criminals, people with criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, in the country this year. they did not just appear in this country, they came illegally in this country to the border. there is your example of criminality coming across the border. the most recent caravan, over 600 criminals, based on solid data, i can't, share with you hw we know that, but solid data. as far as disease, i have seen

it as the i.c.e. director, every alien has to go through tb test, tuberculosis is common in many of theseer countries. there was a case two years ago where my doctor came up to me, they had a case where a man had a strain of tb they could not fix. it was drug resistant. we kept him locked up, they worked with the cdc, trying to figure out how to treat this tb. finally after months, they figured it out, but can you imagine if it he was released into american society? the family residential centers were shut down for lice, measles, chicken pox. i mean, this stuff happens. as far as -- the disease is there, the crime is there, all nancy pelosi has to do is look at the data that is available to her and she will see what the need for that wall is. >> jason: a couple of stats that are stunning toou me, wheni went down toe the border, i visited the detention center in arizona. there were people from more than 150 different countries! this is not just about people in mexico or guatemala or honduras

coming north. this is the easy way into the united states, iss it not? >> when i was the i.c.e. director, we removed people from 140 different countries. people said youti were anti-immigrant and anti-latino. i like to think i was an equal opportunity deporter. if you are in the united states illegally, you will be deported. again, it's the left pushing this inaccurate message. let's go to the other question about drugs. this past year, you look at the stats from the border patrol, the seizures of fentanyl have doubled. 184%. that killed 72,000 americans this year. they doubled the seizure of fentanyl on the border. they have doubled the arrests of ms-13 members, up almost 200%. there is your criminals, your gangs, your drugs, and crime. ms. pelosi, what have you got now? >> jason: in november, there were more thanhe 60,000 people that were apprehended trying to come across the border.

it's a simple equation. i look at this and say, doesio a wall make it more or less safe and secure? >> every place it says build the wall. san diego, el paso, every place they built a barrier or a wall, a wall-like barrier, the results have been decreasing illegal immigration, decrease in drug supply. i again, the data is there. democrats say the wall won't work. they are ignoring the data. every place it has been put up, it has worked 100% of the time. so if this works, what price are you putting on the national security and public safety? i talked to theri president tody a couple of hours ago, here is a man i don't thinkti is going to back down on this. i pretty much said the same thing rush did, stick to your guns, fight the good fight, you are doing the good thing, you are protecting the security of this country, that is your job

is the president had also nancy pelosi's job but rather than doing that, she would rather --ss >> jason: i think clearly the democrats love the issue but i don't think it resonates to the american people. i think they know that this president is fighting to secure the border. last question. you spent decades in the service, you understand the border patrol, youcu understand customs and immigration -- immigrations and customs enforcement. what do you think they would say to the president and thehe membs of the congressof and the house and senate that have to vote on this?an do they or do they not want a wall? >> they want a wall. the men and women on the border, i wore that green uniform, they are asking for the government's help. you go to the national law enforcement, they have given their lives for this country, lot of i.c.e. agents. the wall works, they know it, they are on the border, give them what they need. >> jason: there is nothing more frustrating than the i.c.e. agents i know, they work, they deport w them, and then they come right back in and they are back doing the evil things they were doing. a lot are good people that want

to come north but the message should be, work through your embassy, work through the consulate, come in legally and lawfully, don't break the law coming into thishe country. when you getrt here, don't break the law. >> i've said it many times, we are the greatest country on earth, i can't blame anyone for wanting to be part of this but you can't want to be a part of not respect the laws. you can't have it both ways. >> jason: thank you for your service. merry christmas and god bless you. the men and women who serve in our front lines. they do an amazing job. next, michelle malkin and larry elder join us to discuss the absurd way democrats are finding religion in their opposition to thesu border wall. we'll be right back. ♪ k. ♪ i am not for colds. i am not for just treating my symptoms... (ah-choo) i am for shortening colds when i'm sick. with zicam. zicam is completely different. unlike most other cold medicines... ...zicam is clinically proven to shorten colds. i am a zifan for zicam. oral or nasal.

♪ ♪ >> jason: welcome back to this special edition of "hannity." during the holidayn, season, america's left suddenly found religion, but instead of tidings of comfort and joy, they used faith to bash the trump administration over plans for a border wall. democratic wunderkindmo alexanda ocasio-cortez tweeted, "merry christmas, everyone. here's toio a holiday filled wih happiness, family, and love for all people. including refugee babies in mangers and their parents." of course, the religious themed anti-trump criticism continued on television. watch this.

>> jesus christ, who had to flee for his life with mary and joseph, thank god there wasn't a wall that stopped him from seeking refuge in egypt. thank god there wasn't an administration like this or he would have, too, have perished. >> what would jesus do? that is where jesus would be. that would be the issue, if you read the new testament, if you read the gospels, that is exactly what jesus would be concerned about. >> you told them about king solomon, he was to become king of the jews. he prayed to god, and said, how can i ever follow king david? king david, king of the jews, i need you to give me great understanding and wisdom, lord. as he prayed and prayed and prayed, god came to him and said, solomon, because he did not ask for longevity, great wealth, or vengeance against your enemies, i will give you

more wisdom than anyone has ever had. >> jason: joining us now a syndicated columnist and author michelle malkin and nationally syndicated radio host larryio elder. thank you both for joining us here. larry, somehow i find these democrats -- i find it to be convenientat that they somehow decide to lean on faith to bash the trump administration in a season that is supposed to be filled with joy. how do you read it? how do you see this? >> i call them born-again evangelists, jason. where were these people when the dnc booed god where they tryst o include god in the dnc platform? where were these born-again evangelists when people like joy behar called mike pence somebody guilty of having a mental illness because he spoke to god? where were these people? it is amazing. the only reason they are invoking god is because theyn feel that that would be an argument they can use. they are evenld using the race card. one pundit called the wall racist. once you call the wall ungodlike and racist, where do you go?

it's amazing to me, in a $4 trillion budget, they can't find $5 billion? how much did the stimulus package that obama put together cost did not stimulate? what about "cash for clunkers"? cars forti clunkers? all these wasteful programs? the money we spent in the department of education, over $50 billion, that could fund two walls alone. it's ridiculous how much the governmentte waste, and they can come up with $5 billion for a down payment on a border wall. when they say trump doesn't compromise, he has already compromised. $5 billion is not $25 billion.d. it's absurd! >> jason: he did start at $25 billion and has backed off of that. michelle, in the united states of america, any american can worship how they want to worship.p. they can pray to who they want to pray to. they can practice the religion of their choice. but i see these democrats, p people i have interacted with in the past, suddenly find religion to bash the trump administration.nl how does the average american,

how does this -- how should this affect them or does it not? >> yeah, jason, it really is stunning. the montages that you showed. and it is very rich. the same radical secularists who wage war on christmas annually now invoking the baby jesus to support their radical open borders policies. it is not any surprise. this is really just a variation on the same tried and true theme of using children as political kiddy shields because they have no rational or logical defense to the policy argument that we should be completely defenseless on our borders. to use faith, i think, is the most cynical ploy of all of the rhetoricst that the democrats u. not to mention biblically and historically and geographically illiterate. the reason why there was no border wall in egypt is because,

of course, the roman empire was running things on both the judeo side of the border and the egyptian sidenn of the border. and of course, it ignores the plain reality that this analogy that somehow mary, joseph, and jesus have any identifying characteristics to the economic migrants who are flooding our borders is ridiculous. they had, of course, a legitimate claim to asylum in political persecution. and the argument of immigration enforcement advocates is, of course, that we need to be able to tell the difference among them all, and we are not able to, when they are all just demographically flooding our borders and leaving us defenseless. no church, no responsible church is going to argue that lawlessness is good for religious liberty! >> jason: were are the most compassionate country out there. we will take care of people. these are human beings. i get all that. the hypocrisy of the democrats and the left, larry, i sat there for eight years on the oversight

committee, partly as the chairman, trying to get the democrats to be interested in openness, transparency, and accountability, but suddenly, they nowow have found religion n that side of it, now that donald trump is the president. how do you see it? >> they don't consult the bible when it comes to things like same-sex marriage, and where were these born-again evangelists when jack phillips, the owner of the cake shop in colorado was forced to bake a cake, they tried to force him to bake a cake for a gay wedding. if they are so concerned about the religious convictions, where were they then? it's so much hypocrisy. >> jason: michelle, how do you see it? this is not the only situation where they have done this.s. again, accountability is something i have not seen them take on in eight years of barack obama and now they have found it. >> yes, they have found all manner of religion. of course, to add to larry's

great litany of hypocrisy, where are they asking what would jesuc do about abortion? w who really cares about the welfare of children in this country?y and i do have to, of course, call nancy pelosi to the carpet on that especially because she really has been the queen of the beltway, swamp queen of using children as political human shields when it suits their purposes. i want to say something, of course, because it is the day after christmas. our i.c.e. and border patrol agents have been under fire and the unfortunate deaths of dragged who have been across the border by irresponsible parents, let alone smugglers, enabling the kind of suffering, it is our i.c.e. and border patrol agents who have been the ones who have been responsible for keeping people safe there. and preventing these kinds of manufactured global migration events in the first place. so god bless them.loce >> jason: thank you both. i think you bring up a good point, michelle.

the men and women who serve overseas for our nation, we've got to be putting them first and foremost. and the men and women who are theng first response responders, the border patrol and i.c.e., we think of them this holiday season as well. thank you for joining us. next, more mueller probe madness. we'll tell you why the democrats impeachment plans may backfire. we'll be right back.ro ♪ my name is jeff sheldon, and i'm the founder of ugmonk. before shipstation it was crazy. it's great when you see a hundred orders come in, a hundred orders come in, but then you realize i've got a hundred orders i have to ship out. shipstation streamlined that wh the order data, the weights of , everything is seamlessly put into shipstation, so when we print the shipping ll everything's pretty much done. it's so much easier so now, we're ready, bring on t. shipstation. the number one ch of online sellers. go to shipstation.com/tv and get two months free.

♪ ♪ >> jason: welcome back to the special edition of "hannity": trump versus the establishment. there has been no greater example of weaponized politics in the modern era than the russia collusion witch hunt. tom fitton, president of judicial watch, appeared on "fox & friends" first this morning and summeded up how the mueller probe is fueling the democrats' impeachment hopes this coming year.

let's watch. >> even if there is an interim report given toea the acting attorney general, the attorney general at the time, i think it is just going to be a vehicle, continuingoi vehicle, r enemies of the president to harass the president. you have internal enemies of the president, the deep state in the justice department, the fbi, et cetera, and now you've got this impeachment effort that is going to be pushed by the house, and mueller, i think, is effectively a vehicle for impeachment fantasies of the house democrats. >> jason: democrats and their media proponents have told americans time and time again, their biggest hope is to impeach trump. watch this. >> trump would like to redefine the law, the way that he wants to redefine it but he's wrong. and yes, i believe that he should be impeached. i really do believe that. >> the writing is on the wall, the walls are closing in.

this is the beginning of the end for the trump administration. >> it seems to me that the walls are closing in on the president. >> i think the justice department needs to re-examine that olc opinion, office of legal counsel opinion, that you cannot indict a sitting president. >> we have learned that there is now evidence that the president of the united states engaged in a felony to obtain the office of president. the constitution could not be any clearer. impeachment is the appropriate remedy for bribery, for treason, for high crimes and misdemeanors. it speaks for itself. >> jason: joining us now foror reaction, trump 2020 advisory board member, jeff ballabon, and republican strategist noelle nikapour. thank you both for being here. i want to start with you, noelle. democrats, they w have this insatiable, insatiable desire to impeach donald trump. election night.

they wanted impeachment, been out there searching for a crime somehow, someway. are they going to be able to resist themselves or is this just too tempting for them? they've got to do it? >> i tell you what, you know, it is really sad, jason. i will tell you who they are doing a big disservice to. they are doing a disservice to the people who elected them in office to work together with republicans for immigration, for health care. focusing ons donald trump. this whole thing started with russia collusion and it proved to beol a zero but they are not going to stop. they feell like, right now, it s showtime for them. and jason, i feel like they will drive it home but you know it is going to happen? i think in another year or two, we will end up flipping the house back to republican because if that is all they are goingtho focus on, then we want people in office that are actually going to do things with the issues we have at hand. >> jason: jeff joins me in studio in new york. jeff, the democrats, they have been talking -- i have heard the word impeachment since before donald trump was even sworn in. are they going to be able to resist themselves once they actually have that gavel?

>> until this election, they had, let's say, the corrupt coalition, the corrupt caucus. all they wanted to do was beat up on the president on the more he did to this country, the better it was for their constituents, the more they turned against him and tried to distract everyone. now, after the clueless coalition,al the crazy caucus, o between the crazy, clueless, and corrupt, they will try to do it. in the meantime, they have nothing. if there was anything, obviously, we would have heard it before the last election in november. there's nothing there. >> jason: the democrats have already said there are 80 plus investigations that they will dive themselves into. [laughs] i love your visual reaction there. it's already exhausting and it hasn't even started yet. so how do you see this playing out? >> everyone i feel like has got mueller fatigue, they have the investigation fatigue, i think everybody is really ready for this to be over and finished with.

there is only so much we can take after s investigations upon the investigation on the investigation. and i really do, a longon time ago, when president trump started the #witchhunt, people were laughing, but it really is true. they really have gone above and beyond looking forha something. it really is exhausting. i'm really ready to get onto the other issues. >> jason: i used to be the chairman of the oversight committee, and you need to have some evidence and then you went after the people. that is not the way this is playing out right now, jeff. the message that it gives to those that are surrounding donald trump is pretty scary. >> this is all about politics and if the democrats think this is the right thing to do, they will pursue it. i'm not sureic this is the right thing for them to do. they are creating an atmosphere of resentment and hostility that will eat them alive. it is not just going to hurt america where republicans live. it's not just going to hurt congress now, this is a long-term process, they are breaking down the rule of law, breaking down governmental institutions. high crimes and misdemeanors,

right? that is what we should beov looking for. this is ridiculous! >> jason: it has been a witch hunt from day one. we appreciate jeff, noelle, thank you so much for being here. i've got to move on. coming up, outgoing secretary of defense mattis gives one last christmas message to the troops. stay with us. ♪ stay with us. ♪

♪ >> jason: >> we'll come back to the special edition of hannity. trump versus the establishment as secretary of defense mattis prepared toja leave office he h one last inspiring message for the troops serving overseas for christmas. >> since washington crossed the delaware in 1776, american troops have missed holidays at home to defend our democracy. to all you lads and losses holding the line in 2018, on land, sea, or in the air, thank you for keeping the faith, merr christmas, and may god hold you safe. >> sir, we thank you for your 4 plus years of service to this nation. that's all the time we have lef this evening. if you haven't already, check out my book. how an army of bureaucrats protected is working to destroy the trump agenda.

thank you for being with us and we appreciate you being here. i'll be back in the studio tomorrow night as well, so be sure to staying tuned and join us tomorrow as well. >> how was your christmas? >> wonderful. great with the family. fun.y >> and you're first one with your grandbaby. >> i can't believe i'm a grandpa . >> good to see you, congressman. i am lisa booth in for laura ingraham and this is "the ingraham angle" life from new york city tonight. blaming president trump for the death of the migrant child. wildly what happen and talk to border patrol agent about the challengeshe they face with the massive influx at the southern border. the first lady and preston making a surprise trip to iraq. why are the liberals to