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developments from the white house tonight. first, we are awaiting president trump's meeting with newly freed hostage marc fogel. he was released from a russian prison only hours ago. plus, according to the united states envoy for hostages, adam boehler, another american hostage will be released tomorrow. anyway, joining us now with more details on the phone. we have secretary of state marco rubio, along with the u.s. special envoy for hostages nominee adam boehler is with us. first, mr. secretary, secretary rubio, let me say to you and to president trump and to steve witkoff and to adam and everybody involved, it brings a lot of joy to me and to most americans to know that america and american has been released. we look forward to tomorrow's news as well. what can you tell us about what happened? >> well, first let me. >> just tell you we have a great team here. adam and his team do a great job with this.

and steve witkoff is phenomenal. but none of this is possible without president trump. he's. this is the 10th american that's come home after being detained somewhere overseas and just three weeks in the white house. it's an extraordinary achievement. and look, this is what happens when you have a strong president. and that's what we're seeing. and look, any time an american comes home, we should be excited about it. we haven't. >> this is a. >> case that languished under the biden administration. they really didn't give it priority and met with the family. and i believe the mother got to meet president trump at that. now, you know, legend infamous, you know, rally at butler. right. in the same day the president was almost killed. and so tonight is really a happy occasion should be for all americans. but certainly for mr. fogel and his family. >> mr. secretary, you said ten american hostages released. i was only aware of seven, including tonight. tomorrow would be eight. and you know the six venezuelan hostages and the one tonight. what are the other three?

>> we've got we've got a couple we can introduce. we have somebody in anastasia. >> that was actually brought. >> over from belarus to the border of lithuania, where the ambassador, part of marco. >> rubio's team, took her in and then flew her to the united states. and she. >> is in texas. >> right now. and so that's another example. we don't always get to advertise every one of them. but sean, the team's doing great. >> yeah. what can you tell us about this? maybe i'll go back to secretary rubio and then we'll get your take. adam. you know, vladimir putin, you know, two things have developed, and i know you're active and involved to the hilt on both of them. president zelensky saying he's open to a deal. now, vladimir putin got nothing in return. is my understanding for the release of this hostage? steve witkoff goes apparently met for 3.5 hours with vladimir

putin and brings home this hostage and which i think is spectacular. but i think it's very symbolic in the sense that and vladimir putin had made very positive public comments about donald trump and the adult being back in the white house. basically, what can we glean from this and read into this? is this hopefully the end of war in europe? >> well, look, i wouldn't one has nothing to do with the other directly per se, but it will in time because of the following reason. we have a strong president and i think people forget, you know, how important that is. at the end of the day, we are dealing all over the world with strong leaders. we may not like them or what they do, but these are strong leaders that that respect strength. and that's what we have with donald trump in the white house. and he also made this a campaign priority. so i think you're beginning to see the fruits of what happened when we were led by a strong president who does what he says he's going to do and doesn't just give it lip service. and i think that the reason why this

might be linked to some of the other things over time is because of that strength. when you have a president that's strong, like donald trump, you're going to have a chance to achieve things, whether it's in ukraine and ending that war, whether it's some of the conflicts that we're now seeing in the middle east or anywhere in the world, because they know he's not playing around. i mean, he says he's going to do it and then he does it. this is not some president that wastes a lot of time talking about things that he's never going to do or doesn't mean to do. if he says he's going to do something, he'll do it. and these leaders know it. and so and hopefully that will bear fruit in a bunch of places beyond just what we're seeing tonight. >> and, mr. secretary, let me ask you, and i know you were in the meeting with king abdullah today from jordan and he seemed supportive, at least on some level, of the president's plan for gaza, which is to clean up the rubble, clean out the mess, and begin a process of rebuilding gaza and also demilitarizing the area of militants. and he also gave a deadline of saturday at noon

for hamas to release all the hostages, or all hell will break loose. yeah. what's your take? what was your take on the meeting? >> well. >> it was always a good meeting. jordan is a great ally of the united states, and the king has been a long time ally of the united states. we work very closely on a lot of things. but here's the bottom line that people don't like the trump plan for gaza right now, it's the only plan. and so i think it's now incumbent upon the arab countries, you know, our allies, we work very closely with them. if they think they've got a better plan, we need to hear it. and so hopefully that will be the product of that. and as far as the ceasefire is concerned, look, hamas is breaking the deal. the president is tired of the drip, drip, drip of he wants people out. you saw the condition of the hostages that were released just a week ago, and they were on the verge of death. i mean, they looked terrible. they were really clearly in bad shape. and the president just got fed up with it. if these guys don't go through with their deal on saturday, then i think we're back to where we were a few months ago, where hamas is going to be eliminated. the

israelis are going to go in and take care of that problem. let's hope it doesn't get to that point. but he's serious about it. i mean, he's he's tired of waiting for one people, two people, three people at a time. it's time for all of them to come home. >> and we can't ignore the fact that the president, as his first foreign visitor was prime minister netanyahu. nor can we ignore the fact that weapons that were denied israel, powerful bombs that are the equivalent of those bunker busters he released to israel, which should be an indication that if that deadline is missed on saturday, that i would not only think that hamas should be nervous, but i would think that the iranians also should be concerned. am i wrong? >> yeah. i think anybody who is an enemy of the united states, or anyone who seeks harm to the united states, should be very concerned because donald trump has. president trump has a history of acting on what he says. just ask the iranians with soleimani, just multiple incidents, that and things that would have never happened. okay, what happened in afghanistan would have never happened under donald trump. october 7th would have never happened. if donald trump was

president. the war in ukraine would have never happened. but we had a weakness in the white house, and that led to these sorts of things happening. they're not going to happen. now. >> adam, let's talk about i know that there has been an announcement that another hostage besides marc fogel will be released tomorrow. we don't have any details. is there any light you can shed on that? >> you know. i would. say it's another in a stream of hostages. it will be unilateral as well. and i can't release until the person is released. obviously could endanger a hostage release and that i can't do. but i can say that we expect another one tomorrow and hopefully a lot more through that, because the president's made it a priority to get all americans home. >> adam, how many hostages american hostages are there worldwide that maybe most americans don't know about? >> this? all there's definitional questions on this,

but let me try to answer it the best i can, which is when you look at hostages and people that are being withheld, that shouldn't be withheld. you're talking about 100 plus. i will tell you right now, there are 6000 americans in foreign jails. that doesn't mean everybody's innocent, by the way. but right now there are 6000 american and foreign americans in foreign jails. >> yeah. secretary rubio, you know, since donald trump has been elected, and it's hard to imagine he's only begun his fourth week and now his second term here. and he's working at the speed of light. and i'm sure you're burning the midnight oil every night as well. and as we look at all these different hotspots around the world, i don't i think i'm more optimistic than i've been in a long time. and we saw, for example, colombia and canada and mexico. i know you were actively involved and you went to panama. the issue of the panama canal and a violation of that treaty was in the

forefront. my sources are telling me that a deal is within reach that will be very favorable to america. any insight you can give us into that negotiation? >> yeah. you know, i mean, the panamanians have a process. they are a country of laws. they have to work through their system to get a good result. but at the end of the day, i think we left there with a very firm understanding that the status quo and the panama canal was not acceptable. as the president said, we gave the canal over to panama, not to china. and i think we'll see have already seen concrete steps there, the first country in the western hemisphere to pull out of the belt and road initiative. i think there are other things forthcoming as well. and look, it's a serious issue. i mean, if that canal were to be blocked in a time of conflict by the chinese, we or anybody for that matter, we would have a lot of trouble getting naval assets over into the pacific or back home to the u.s. for refueling or what have you for, for stockpiling. so it's an important you know, there's a reason why they built it. and it's important to

national security. so i feel optimistic about that. it'll take a few more weeks to work through some of the details. but again, i work for a president and president donald trump who comes at things with a position of strength. and people know it's not just tough talk. i mean, he now has a history of acting on what he says he's going to do, and he's always going to be on the american side of every issue. i can't say that enough. we had a foreign policy for a long time, and i want to say even under multiple administrations of both parties, we're oftentimes it felt like we were arguing on behalf of what was good for the world. and we're not for things that are bad for the world, but we're the we're the government of the united states. we have to be first and foremost for what's good for the united states and for our people. and that's been completely lost in foreign policy. now it's back, and i think you're seeing the senators more and more to come. >> would i would it be fair to characterize your feeling after being in panama, that you have a high degree of confidence that a deal will be reached, that that will be favorable? >> yeah, we're going to have a good outcome with the

panamanians. look, they're good friends. i mean, the president of panama is very pro-american. and, you know, they got to work through their own internal processes. they have laws about how they can do certain things, and they have to do it the right way. and we want them to do it the right way. but ultimately, we want to get an outcome that's good for them. by the way, it's not good for them to have the canal with the kind of influence that another country has over it. so i think we're going to get a very good outcome there. and we already have seen some things happen and more are going to be happening, and we just got to let that work its way through a little bit. and but we're going to get there. >> you know adam, i'll give you the last question here. you're the special envoy for hostages. and as we've been saying all night, we're moments away from from marc fogel being released and showing up at the white house. we know he landed in washington, dc. he might even be at the white house at this moment. as soon as that, as soon as we get some video of that, we'll bring it to you. that's him getting off the plane back on american soil that we're showing our audience right now. but i want to go back. i think every american,

when they hear about american hostages, it makes their blood boil. and americans want our hostages fought for. and they want these. they want our hostages brought home. and, you know, are there areas of the world that you fear, that you feel that you you have a high degree of confidence that we will be able to negotiate the return of americans that have been held for, you know, any length of time. >> i want to say something just because we just went out there and i witnessed a secretary of state, a national security adviser, the president's best friend, stand in the cold, in the snow, waiting for marc fogel. i was there with them. and what that represents is americans. this is this is why the president was elected by americans. there's none of this high, high horse things. we wait for americans. our job is on behalf of americans. and i thought it was awesome to see.

and i think the pictures will bear it out. he's with us in a convoy right now. i'm in the car with the secretary, and we're taking him to the president, who told us, by the way, i don't care what time he comes in, i never go to sleep. so that's that's the man that we're following. so i just want everybody to know that. >> because i think secretary rubio and i personally can vouch for that. he does not sleep well. >> if he does, i don't know what time it's at. >> i think i've talked to him over the years, all hours of the 24 hour day, there's no doubt about it. but it's certainly better than a president that went to bed at 6:00 every night and maybe worked 2 or 3 hours a day. it's been a refreshing change. listen, i, secretary. >> rubio, your question, you asked, what's that? which is any specific regions? all of them. we want them all home. >> i want we want them all home. very well said adam. listen, on behalf of, i'm sure,

the family, but more importantly, on behalf of the american people, a debt of gratitude to the president, to you, secretary rubio, to you, adam, to steve witkoff, who actually went to russia to pick him up and bring him home. just a debt of gratitude to all of you. and american is coming home safe. we expect another one tomorrow. that's that's more phenomenal news. and we appreciate all your your time and all your hard work. thank you both. >> thank you. >> all right. now, president trump said russia got nothing out of the release of marc fogel. so how did these negotiations how did they actually go down? all right. joining us now to maybe help answer that question, former cia station chief, fox news contributor dan hoffman. i remember being in helsinki in vietnam and singapore with you, and you'd scare the living daylights out of me and you'd say, sean, just in case you don't know it, you're being spied on. and they have probably bugged your room, and they absolutely have a bug on

your phone. i said, thanks, dan, i really appreciate i appreciate the good news. thank you. but in all seriousness, what goes on behind the scenes in a case like this? >> gosh, sean, a lot is going on behind the scenes, and i can tell you that there's been a lot of work that's been done behind the scenes by our intelligence community and by our diplomatic staff and, and the question of why vladimir putin chose to give up a prisoner. remember that marc fogel was arrested three years ago. he's been in jail. he was sentenced to 14 years. i think vladimir putin sees this as part of a larger relationship with the united states. he's got the war in ukraine, he's got arms control, potentially negotiations that we might embark on. he might see the opportunity for a grand bargain where in the event that we come to a deal on ukraine, that we eliminate some of those sanctions that are that are

hurting the russian economy, which is an unbalanced wartime economy. so there's a lot at stake here. but putin clearly wanted to deliver a message to the united states that he's interested in making deals. i think that's what this is about. it doesn't look like there's anything that we've given up from our side. that's in great contrast to the two deals exchanges that bypassed marc fogel. one where we got brittney griner back in return for the merchant of death, viktor bout. and then in 2024, when we were able to get evan gershkovich out of a nasty siberian prison. but in this case, we didn't have to make that sort of a deal. and it sort of indicates that there may be something else at stake here for the russians. the last thing i'll say, sean, is that i find it really interesting that president trump called on his middle east envoy, steven witkoff, to close this deal. it's like he just looked at the bench and said, that's the right guy. i've got to send him

to do this. the middle east may also be a part of the discussion that took place when this when this deal was made. >> well. >> dan, i'm personal friends with steve witkoff, and i got to tell you something. he's one of the most charming and personable people you ever meet. he's a guy that's hard to say no to and an incredible negotiator. you know, look, i realize that vladimir putin, i have no illusions who he is. i think he's a thug, a murderer and a dictator. however, that does not mean we can't have a relationship where we understand he's going to look out for his country, and we're looking out for ours and come to agreements that benefit both countries that bring peace. and it was interesting. putin made comments where he predicted donald trump would restore order in europe, which i found interesting. and then he said, i assure you, trump with his character, with his persistence, he will restore

order there, meaning europe, quite quickly. and all of them you're going to see it will happen quickly and soon, and they will stand at the feet of the master and will wag their tails a little. everything will will fall into place. that's vladimir putin talking about donald trump. what's your take on that? >> well, he'd like to exclude europe from any discussion about the ukraine war. what i think vladimir putin wants is a yalta 2.0. and i'm not insinuating that president trump is going to give away ukraine as we gave away poland towards the end of the second world war. but putin would like to sit across the table from president trump one on one and decide the big issues of the day. look, russia has the gdp, the size of italy. no disrespect to the italians, but they're not at a level playing field with the united states. but putin would like to portray the relationship that way from

our side. president trump feels like he can lead those negotiations and get what we want out of a deal with russia. i agree with you wholeheartedly. if you look at the example of president reagan, peace through strength, tear down the wall, mr. gorbachev, president reagan said, called the soviet union, rightly so, an evil empire. but he also struck some incredibly effective arms control agreements. and we won the cold war. so i think that's the right approach to take. and hopefully that will be the one that the trump administration pursues. >> yeah, i agree, it seems that the bigger challenge is going to be china and president xi. every other country is kind of, you know, capitulated to the threat of a tariff or the demands of donald trump. but president xi went in the other direction. so it might be a little trickier with china. they clearly have their territorial ambitions. they had no respect for president biden and kamala harris. they were flying their fighter jets, you

know, even even threatening an international airspace. our jets and international waterways, our navy. and that's not going to be tolerated under donald trump. >> no, there's no question that that china represents that critical threat. look, we've got a lot of threats, sean, right now. i mean, we are overloaded with threats, wickedly complex threats to our national security, starting with the one with the shortest fuze. and that's terrorism, because afghanistan is a terrorist state once again. and as you noted, we've got russia and north korea and iran is a nuclear threshold state, but china is the one we've really got to be focused on. obviously, national security advisor mike waltz is extremely focused on china. you just look at the theft of our intellectual property. they use their their hacking volt typhoon to burrow into our critical infrastructure. they are threatening taiwan and militarizing the south china sea. and there's a lot of work that we need to do, including with our allies, to counter and

defend and deter china. >> no, i totally agree. well, we appreciate your time, dan hoffman, thank you. we have now back on american soil, american hostage. and that's mark fogel had been taken during the biden years. he's been in russia, held in custody. he was detained by russia. and today, president trump, along with the special envoy, steve witkoff. obviously, we had adam boehler and secretary of state rubio and steve witkoff all involved in the good news that we expect momentarily. you can see there's mark fogel stepping on american soil. they are waiting. that is the white house, the entrance to the white house. we expect the president will be speaking sometime this hour. when that happens, we'll bring it to you live. and anyway, the a lot of people put a lot of effort into this, and we're expecting one more hostage release, although we don't have the details of it. and that's happening

tomorrow. anyway, joining us now from washington with a full report on the trump administration's efforts to bring americans home. mark meredith is with us. mark, good to see. good to have you. thank you for being with us, sean. >> good to be with you as well. >> you're looking at live. >> pictures of the south portico of the white house. this is where we expect fogel to arrive here momentarily. you can see it's been snowing here at joint base andrews and throughout dc, so getting over out to the white house is taking a little bit of time. his plane touching down about 50 minutes or so. you can imagine the day that mark fogel has had, not to mention the last several years. he's expected to shake hands with president trump in the diplomatic reception room as he and the country celebrates him being back on u.s. soil. and as you know, sean, he's back at the white house tonight instead of a russian prison. he was arrested for carrying medical marijuana in russia back in 2021. after that, he was sentenced to 14 years in jail. his family has been spending years fighting for his release. they talked to trump on the campaign trail, urging for them to have this happen. the biden administration had listed fogel

as wrongfully detained. now, earlier today, not long after he was released, a photo was posted out on social media showing fogel very much enjoying the freedom on a private jet. and i just want to mention, as you're looking at these live pictures of the south portico, but this is the photo of him coming back to joint base andrews just about an hour ago or so. he's got the american flag there right behind him. secretary rubio, a long flight for him, but i'm certainly he is glad to be back on u.s. soil. but on the right side of the screen, sean, you are seeing the diplomatic reception room. this would be the exterior facing the south portico of the white house, the white house tonight, also crediting steve witkoff, a longtime trump friend and special envoy, for securing his release. it's the highest ranking official to visit russia since late 2021. this was certainly a big development. so far, neither the u.s. or russian government has been explaining what else was included in this deal. to secure fogel's release, trump said today he hopes relations between the u.s. and russia will improve. he's been urging russia to end its war against ukraine. but sean, even tonight

there are reports of new airstrikes in kyiv. so an indication, as secretary rubio told you at the top of the hour, that this is still far from done, but a very snowy night here in washington, but also celebratory mood as president trump is getting ready to welcome back the former russian prisoner, u.s. citizen, a pennsylvania teacher, a man in his mid 60s who is now certainly very happy to be back in the u.s. sean. >> well, my sources mark told me that nothing was given up in exchange for the release of the hostage at all. that was confirmed by the white house and also confirmed by mike waltz. and so i imagine that that that detail is, is accurate and true, and that steve witkoff personally flew to russia, met with vladimir putin for a number of hours, had long discussions with him on behalf of the president that also happened in the lead up to the release. and so i'm sure a

lot of other items were discussed as well. all credit to everybody involved in this man's release. it should have happened a long time ago. and that door that we're looking at right now, it is expected that president trump will come outside and greet mark foley. he landed, as mark pointed out, at joint base about an hour or so ago, we would expect it would be any moment that he'd be pulling up. it looks like they're preparing for his arrival. when that happens, we'll bring it to you. joining us now on the phone is the host of special report. our own bret baier is with us. bret, i know you feel the same way i do. and that is any time an american hostage is released. it's. it's a special moment, not only for the family and for the hostage, but the american people are feeling that, you know, in this case, that maybe america's strength is back. from my perspective, i want to get yours.

>> yeah. sean. good evening. i tell you what. listening to secretary rubio and also adam bullard talk to you about this moment, you go back to how long he's been held. marc fogel has been held for three years, six months and 27 days. and i heard his mom on with john and sandra at america reports this afternoon. and she was just so ecstatic. and i think that that feeling every american can feel as her son is coming home. and the picture of him landing at joint base andrews with the fist in the air is quite something. a couple of points that just to follow up on what you were talking about with dan, which i thought was really insightful, really insightful, and that is that steve witkoff, first of all, is very trusted. as you know, sean, with president trump, he is, you know, obviously middle east envoy. but i think that this entree into russia happened through the middle east. and i've talked to people over in the middle east who have been

very impressed with his ability to negotiate and to deal with everyone individually. and i think that led this entree into russia and the meeting that he had with putin, that's number one. number two is your point about not getting anything in return? i think this is the beginning of the setting of the table for negotiation between ukraine and russia. and this could be the beginning, as you see president zelensky saying he's ready to sit with with putin and possibly give up territory. that's a significant movement. just in the past few days. >> yeah. you know, you and i are on the same page on this when zelensky made that comment and i had interviewed him a couple of weeks ago and, and i kept trying to push him to give an answer. are you ready for a negotiated settlement, one that would probably prevent you from joining nato and one that might, might require some land be given in exchange for an end

to the war? he didn't want to give a specific answer. i just assumed he didn't want to negotiate with me. which i don't blame him, but i think ultimately that's where it's headed. but, you know, for zelensky to say so publicly that he's ready for a negotiated settlement and this gesture, if you will, if you want to call it that by vladimir putin, a clear indication that i think things have changed there. but there are also economic issues and other problems that he's he's confronting as well. right. >> exactly. and i think president trump senses that and senses this is the time to make make a deal. you know, when i talked to the president over the weekend in that interview, there was this optimism, there was this bullish kind of feeling in his tone, not only about negotiations with russia and ukraine, but also negotiations in the middle east. he suggested there is a possible deal with iran that he sees on the horizon. he thinks, you know, his conversations

with china could lend something and he's going to use the tariffs to get to a negotiating table. i mean, you know him better than most, sean, but he has this sense that he can do the deal and make the deal happen. and i feel like he's he's on the cusp of maybe saying this deal in russia and ukraine is coming to fruition. >> it's amazing that from the moment he came down that escalator with melania. well hang on. president trump is stepping out. i would imagine that means that american mark fogel, released earlier today from russia into the hands of mideast special envoy steve witkoff. let's let's see if we can listen in to what the president is saying. >> be careful. >> to give you a little bit. yeah, that would be a. great. mr. president. which american is coming home tomorrow? you're good. he's going to get somebody else. very special.

very special. but even just russia for covid. very clear, very, very clear. i've been a russian prisoner. we're going to announce it tomorrow. thursday. all right. mark, why didn't you not do it? the government plan to go pick up and save the government money. how much you want to save the government? a lot of money. are you concerned about safety? if russia has passed the plane? the president. sorry. >> president trump greeting mark fogel. that is steve witkoff, who flew to russia

today, met with vladimir putin and the president meeting him outside the white house where it is snowing in washington as we speak. and obviously a very happy moment for him. he's draped with an american flag. our own bret baer is with us. bret, this is a sight to see. and, you know, without getting too overtly political, which is a little bit hard for me, as you might know, but, you know, you have to wonder. i mean, why wasn't biden able to pull off deals like this? you know, how did donald trump get colombia and venezuela and canada and mexico and seemingly now we're on the verge of a big deal with panama and the panama canal. and greenland is certainly on the table. and you spoke to the president in your interview for the super bowl and on special report. i mean, all of this

seems very wide open and very possible. >> i agree with you, sean, and i think it's also to dan hoffman's point earlier, power, strength. secretary rubio referenced that too. he is the president is very comfortable in his skin. he's been there before. he knows a lot of these players on the international stage. and he i think he is using that strength to communicate around the world. this is a moment, as you see, all these congressional lawmakers and the senate and the house, all the major committees. it's a big moment. and president biden could have had this moment but didn't. and president trump does, and i'm sure it sounds like he's going to have more in coming days. >> let me ask you a question. i asked secretary of state. and by the way, you can see in the brown jacket that looks like steve witkoff, that american hostage released from russia today, mark fogel, we do have

we just spoke to both secretary of state rubio and adam boehler, as you know, and we now are expecting another hostage release tomorrow. i had only known about seven hostages released, six from venezuela, marc fogel being number seven. this tomorrow will be number eight. but adam boehler said that there has already been ten. this would be 11. >> yeah. >> did you. did you know about the other three? because i did not know. >> i didn't actually i had the. >> six and this was seven. i agree, i didn't have the other numbers, but i think and you're seeing, you know, dave mccormick there, pennsylvania senator who, who worked hard and spent time with the family on the campaign trail. in fact, just going back to that, the butler, pennsylvania, you know, where the assassination attempt happens. the vocals were there, getting ready to come on stage. the mom was right, right as that shot happened. so this is

a big moment. and i think there's going to be other big moments. according to adam boehler. >> yeah. i mean, and we'll be reporting on that just for people's awareness. the president is expected to walk back inside the, the, the white house and go to the microphone. and i believe make an introduction to mark fogel. i would imagine steve witkoff will be a part of that. and then we're going to have more details on what's happening tomorrow. i know you'll be covering all of it on special report. bret, you know, the only hotspot. and this was a question i asked secretary rubio in the world that i worry the most about would be china. and that is the only country that has been resistant. and even putting more tariffs on america. and president trump has come out with a new policy of what he's calling reciprocal tariffs. how do you see the china situation playing out? we haven't seen the military aggressiveness that we saw with biden as president. where in

international airspace, our fighter jets were being confronted by china's air force or international waterways. our navy confronted by by their navy, however, i do believe that china seems less inclined than than russia, ukraine or any of these other countries we've discussed in terms of getting along with donald trump. as of this point, i don't know what's going on behind the scenes. >> well, that's right. and, you know, in that interview over the weekend, i asked about china specifically and whether he had talked to president xi and he said, yes. and i said, since the inauguration, and he said yes. he said he gets along. >> with him. hang on. so, bret. bret, we'll get back to that. here's the president in the oval. >> i feel like the luckiest man on earth right now. and. i want you to know that i am not a hero in this at all. and

president trump is a hero. these men that came from the diplomatic service are heroes. the senators and representatives that passed legislation in my honor to get me home are the heroes. i am in awe of what they all did. my family has been a force. i think my 95 year old mother is probably the most dynamic 95 year old on earth right now, and i am so indebted to so many people. i think i remember a churchill quote that he said when the raf was fighting the luftwaffe, and he said that never have so many owed so much

to so few. and i put myself fortunately and unfortunately into that category. and i said, never has one owed so much to so many that this superorganism of people that came to my support. and the love that i was given to sustain me for three and a half years in a prison that had me in hospitals for more than 100 days, i was given more than 400 injections in that time, and knowing i had the support of my fellow pennsylvanians, my family, my friends, it was so overwhelming that. it brought me to my knees

and it brought me to tears. but it was it was my energy. it was my being that kept me going that whole time. and i will forever be indebted to president trump, to steve over there. what a dynamic man this guy is. that's true. and. when i met him, the energy, the can do attitude just exudes from his body. and when he smiled at me and introduced me and i got the feel for what has happened, you know, it's not just me, it's everybody. and secretary rubio, who met my son a while back. i'm i'm a middle class

schoolteacher who's now. in a dream world. >> we're going to show you the lincoln bedroom in a little while. >> it's a. >> very special, special place. appropriate for tonight. very appropriate. >> and. thank you all. and i love our country. and i'm so happy to be back here. and. i wish i could articulate it better. >> you've done beautifully. and he's got a great mother. and when i saw the mother at a rally, she said, would you, if you win, will you get my son out? and i promise, she's 95 years old. and i said, we'll get him out. and we got him out pretty quickly. >> she told me that that exact that exact words, and. >> she made quite an impression.

>> and you also did. and i'm in awe of what you've done and your team. >> it's great to have you back. can i have a great life? yes. >> did you speak directly to president putin about. >> well, i don't want to say that. i just want to say that i appreciate very much what they did and letting mark go home. and i appreciate steve witkoff the job he did. and marco behind the scenes was unbelievable. and so many of these people were unbelievable. they they represent him. they're from his area. and we just wanted to get him back home. i had to get him back home because i would have had big trouble with his mother. and we're going to take him for a little tour of the lincoln bedroom, which nobody gets to see. and it's very special. do you want to see it? >> i would love to. and i also should make mention that president putin was very generous and statesmanlike in granting me a pardon. i mean.

>> what were the terms of this deal, mr. president? >> very fair, very, very fair, very reasonable, not like deals you've seen over the years. they were very fair. and i think that's going to lead. and somebody else is being released tomorrow that you will know of. but we wanted to get this done very important. and steve wanted to actually fly over and get mark and get him home properly because it could be a pretty tough trip. >> so. >> so is this the. >> beginning of. >> a deal, sir? is this is. >> this the start. >> of i think there's goodwill in terms of the war, you know, a million and a half soldiers, young people have been killed. >> i've met many. >> of them. yeah. and it's a terrible thing going on. so we want to get that done, i think, i think this could be the very important element. you could be a big part of it, actually, because it could be a big, important part of getting the war over with ukraine. and we appreciate president putin's what he what he did. he was able to pull it off for you,

right? he was able to pull it off. and we think, and you're here and you're here. so it was great. and we'll tell you a little bit more about it tomorrow. but i think we've made great progress. progress on the war. also getting the war i want to get the war ended. that war should not have been it would have never happened. if i was president. it would not have happened. and it did happen. and now you have all blown up cities and dead people. so many dead people should have never, ever happened. and you could be a big catalyst for just this evening. it's a very important evening for ending that war. and i think they all want to see it ended. >> does that mean you can't help us about ukraine? how does. >> it change. >> your perspective. >> on putin and your attitude? >> i don't want to get into that. i only can say this. we got a man home whose mother and family wanted him desperately, whose state wanted him. he's he's become a big symbol. and it's an honor to have played a small role in that. and i just

i want to tell you, these people, they all played a role. and we got him home. and he's he's healthy. it looks good, actually, to me. you look damn good, i'll tell you that. >> i think we'll expectations are low. maybe. maybe that helps a little bit. >> kaplunk. >> right. >> can you tell us about the conditions. of the prison that you were in, sir? >> you know, i think i need a little bit of time to sort of digest all of that. there were times when it was extremely trying. there were times when i could manage it, but i think i need some more time to, you know, it. >> wasn't it wasn't easy, right? it wasn't easy. >> every second, every minute, every day had a challenge. >> but you're but you're in good shape. i mean, compare that to what we saw two days ago. come home. they were very, very ill. those people are very ill. they were treated really badly. >> mr. president. >> your predecessor left you almost.

>> $4 billion. >> in unused. >> aid for ukraine to ukraine. >> are you going to use. >> those money? are you going to. >> send weapons? ukraine should have had this gentleman out a long time ago. you know, we did it in two and a half weeks. he had four years to do it. he should have had mark out a lot earlier. >> it's has. >> it's a shame. it's a shame. >> it was a very. >> should have had never had the war to start off with. it should have never had that war would have never happened if i was president. but he should have had him back three and a half years ago. so it was it was too bad. but he didn't do it. but we did it. thank you all very much. thank you very much. come on. >> mr. president, our reciprocal tariffs still coming tomorrow or are you waiting until you need the voting? >> we'll see what happens. >> have you spoken with president xi? he's so great. he. >> areas president trump with

the just released hostage, mark fogel, a history teacher from pennsylvania. he was sentenced to 14 years in jail after his arrest in august of 2021 at a russian airport for being in possession of drugs, which his family supporters said was medically prescribed marijuana. 14 year sentence and an incredible scene at the white house tonight. the oval office, where president trump stepped outside, walked in marc fogel, and we saw a very emotional, very grateful, very appreciative. marc fogel, you know, quoting churchill and, you know, expressing a lot of gratitude, saying he's forever indebted, thanking everyone involved and that, of course. and the president mentioned as well, that would be the president himself, steve witkoff, the president's special envoy to the middle east, who went and met with vladimir putin, according to my sources, and also helped in the

negotiation. secretary of state marco rubio, adam boehler, the special envoy for hostages, and many, many others. the president at times, twice, he mentioned, would you like to see the lincoln bedroom? and he had also mentioned that he had spoken to. mark fogle's mother, 95 years old, on a number of occasions, and said he'd be in big trouble with his 95 year old mother if he was not released. a beautiful sight to see. the president also expressing appreciation for vladimir putin and dovetailing that into his goal, which is an end to war in europe and a negotiated settlement. and anyway, we continue with our our friend and colleague bret baier, host of special report. what a sight to see, bret, and

what an amazing thing. i want to ask you something i brought up earlier in the program, vladimir putin, and this goes back about a week ago, actually commenting on donald trump. and i want to get your take on this. and he said that donald trump would restore order in europe amid these rising tensions. and his full quote went like this. i assure you, trump, with his character, with his persistence, he will restore order there quite quickly. and all of them you will see it will happen quickly. soon they will all stand at the feet of the master and will wag their tails a little. everything will fall into place. now, i have no illusions about vladimir putin. however, i am grateful that he allowed mark fogle and his release. i am grateful that he and president zelensky simultaneously now seem to be opening the door to ending war

in europe. i mean, there certainly seems to be maybe light at the end of the tunnel, am i am i misreading it? >> no, i don't think so, sean. i think president trump, in fact, alluded to that numerous times in that, in that q&a there, saying that this could be the beginning and that mark fogle could be the catalyst to get the war to an end. i think that was significant. i mean, that was the biggest moment there, obviously very emotional. and, you know, you heard mark fogle asked by somebody, you know, can you tell us about your captivity? and he said he needed time to absorb it. listening to his mom today on our air, she said, you know, he would call. and the first thing he'd say is buongiorno. that's how they he called her all the time when he could, but he he really was worried about his time in the hospital. he spent more than 100 days in the hospital. and you heard he was shot up like, 400 times, and he didn't know what they were putting in his body. it's a scary time. so putin and the handling of fogle

while he was in custody for three and a half years, it was not an easy thing. and i think we're going to hear more of that from mark over time. but the optimism that president trump is showing about bringing the war to an end is a significant moment. and he kind of expressed some of that over the weekend in my interview with him. >> you know, it's such a great scene. and we have other good news and breaking developments tonight, confirmed by adam boehler and secretary of state marco rubio that in fact, they expect another hostage to be released tomorrow, which is great news also. and then we have one other thing that's that's lingering comments made earlier in the week by president trump, comments that echoed what he said during his transition, that if hostages were not released before my inauguration, there's going to be hell to pay. now he has given hamas noon saturday for

the release of all hostages, and i think it would be very foolish of hamas and, of course, their proxy, iran, to not take that threat seriously. but he did draw a very, very dark line in the sand. >> i think you're right. and i think you're also right to link hamas and iran. you know, iran currently is in a pretty defenseless position. they're trying to build back up their surface to air missiles and protection. but israel took a lot of that out. and so that linking those two is key. i think the president expressed real anger and frustration with seeing the hostages that came home and how bad they looked and how horribly they were treated from from hamas, the israelis. and i think, you know, he's put a deadline on it. and soon thereafter, the israeli prime minister came out and said the exact same thing, praising trump for that stand.

>> well, i would also pay attention weapons that were denied israel during the biden harris administration. donald trump has already approved them and sent them to israel. and i think there's a message behind that. am i am i mistaken on that? >> no. >> no, no, no, i mean, those are big, big bombs that are bunker busters that could potentially get to a nuclear facility. and there's also the possibility of taking out deep tunnels in gaza that hamas hides in. and i, you know, listen, if this does open up again on saturday and fighting resumes, don't expect there to be any hold back by the idf. i mean, i think it will be very, very tough to president trump's words and also netanyahu's words today. >> yeah, brett, i know i've done this to you a time or two and that is keep you up way past your bedtime. we

appreciate you staying up late and coming on with us. and thanks for your insight. and don't forget special report six eastern three pacific right here on the fox news channel. thank you. prepare. all right. joining us now is senator markwayne mullin. just to get your your visceral gut reaction, senator, to a moment like this and to think that, you know, things have really changed so dramatically on the world stage and domestically as well. and donald trump has only begun his fourth week. >> well, sean, this is what leadership looks like, right? i think one of the key things that marco rubio. >> or secretary rubio. >> said was. >> he said, bring bringing by here no matter what, i'll be awake. as you know, sean, as i know, president trump never sleeps, at least when he does. i don't know, because i get texts from him and get calls from him late in the night and early in the morning. i know you do the same, but the world

has noticed that we have a leader in the white house now, a leader that is believes peace through strength and that he'll he'll use strength if he has to. but he's truly looking for peace. and this is what the world has been missing. when the biden administration was in the white house. >> yeah, i mean, it's such a dramatic change and it's just great to see. on the one hand, i can only imagine what mark fogel has been through, and not wanting to talk about the specifics of what he's been through, but he was originally facing a 14 year prison term. he still was there three and a half years and just extraordinarily grateful to everybody involved in the release here. let's talk about the broader implications of all of this and that being the president and he mentioned it gave his appreciation of vladimir putin and reiterated a campaign theme and a theme that he has been reiterating daily, and that is, he wants this war in europe to end. and we're now

at a crossroads where president zelensky of ukraine and seemingly, you know, unless i'm reading too much into this, vladimir putin extending an olive branch, saying that, you know what, maybe the time has come to me that negotiated settlement is probably going to look something like, okay, ukraine agrees not to join nato, which has been a big sticking point. you know, you go back to the minsk agreements and, and probably some of the, the land in ukraine that is dominated by a population that's heavily russian. i would imagine that's part of the deal. and i would imagine america will be part of the deal. and ukraine is a mineral rich country. >> yeah. i will assume that, you know, crimea will probably be lost. donbas will probably be lost to some degree. of course, around the port. i don't think zelensky wants to talk about this, sean, but the truth is, the president has made it very clear he wants the

war to end. and i'm sure the left is going to criticize president trump for even giving any type of praise to a dictator called putin. but keep in mind, reagan also befriended gorbachev, and he brought down the wall and brought the brought the end to the ussr. and so you can see that there is a pattern here with a great leader in ronald reagan and a great leader in donald trump, that he knows where he's trying to go, and he's trying to negotiate an end to the bloodshed. what that will look like at the end of the agreement that will be between the greatest dealmaker we have ever seen in our lifetime, donald trump, zelensky and putin. >> yeah. senator, we appreciate your time tonight. thank you for staying up late with us. we really we're really grateful. all right. here with reaction to tonight's historic events, former white house chief of staff mark meadows, fox news contributor kellyanne conway and former dia intelligence officer rebecca koffler. she knows russia really well. we'll start with you, rebecca. what is vladimir putin thinking? why

did he do this? >> putin would like to end this war, but he would like to end this war on his terms, which are unacceptable to washington and even to president trump's team. putin made sure that he transitioned his military and economy on a wartime footing seven years prior to the beginning of this war, and that's why he feels that he can keep going unless we meet his requirements. and if we do meet his requirements, we would look like idiots, because we have invested $200 billion and for three years, 1 million of ukrainians and russians are dead. and what do we have in return? nothing. and that's why putin is going to play very hardball. it's great that mark fogel is home, but we want to make sure that team trump understands it does not an

indicator that negotiations are going to be easy. they're going to be very hard. they're going to need to be very, very creative. >> there's not going to be anything left of ukraine. and russia has paid a very dear price. also. kellyanne. >> yes, no doubt. and we should mention that vice president vance will be meeting in a bilateral with president zelensky this week. and you've got another special envoy, presidential envoy keith kellogg, who's the envoy for ukraine and russia, going to the munich security conference, going to europe this week. president trump has his whole whole team fanned out all over the world, getting hostages back and negotiating a just and peaceful result in the ukraine russian war. and i just want to make a very quick point. this is a continuation of what president trump did in his first term. he got 54 detainees and hostages home, back to american soil in those four years from 26 different countries, including iran, turkey, north korea, venezuela. this is ten short days after rick grenell, another envoy,

jetted into venezuela, spent just the day there and came back with six american hostages. i believe that misses that, that that that this man's mother did what any mother would do. but i believe that donald trump did what only donald trump can do, which is show that strength and resolve and leave no forgotten man or forgotten woman out on. >> the field. kellyanne. mark meadows, let's get your take on on tonight's historic event. >> well. >> it is historic. >> you know, it's a snowy day, a snowy night in washington, d.c. and yet here marc fogel gets a warm reception not only from the president of the united states, but from all americans. and kellyanne is right. this is a continuation. we've seen this. she and i have seen it up close and personal, where not only does donald trump care personally about each individual, he's not going to forget them. we need to remember he was asked about this before being shot at in butler, pennsylvania. then

another suicide attack. i mean, an assassination attack. and yet here we are looking at this. he didn't forget three weeks in and he's bringing home an american hostage. and it is one of many. it is not the last. we certainly have some reporting that would suggest some tomorrow. but this is the america is not going to be taken for granted any longer. >> well. >> i appreciate all of you, mark. thank you kellyanne. thank you rebecca. thank you. marc fogel, welcome home. unfortunately, that's all the time we have left this evening. thank you for staying with the fox news channel. and we have continuing coverage of friend and colleague. let not your heart be troubled. trace gallagher will take it from here. please set your dvr so you never, ever, ever miss an episode of hannity. and stay never miss an episode of "hannity" and stay tuned for folk >> i'm trace gallagher, 11 p.m. on the east coast and this is america's late