the death of fidel castro ignites a new debate over u.s. relations with cuba. today live reports on the celebration in the mourning in havana. and whether donald trump will follow through on his campaign promise to undo efforts by president obama to bring the two nations closer. we'll discuss the breaking news with president-elect trump's new white house chief of staff, reince priebus. it's a "fox news sunday" exclusive. then we'll ask our sunday panel about the latest on the trump transition, the battle

dramatic flips on key issues, and his blueprint for the first 100 days. plus, house democrat nancy pelosi faces a challenge on her leadership. >> i'm pulling the fire alarm because the house is burning down. >> we'll ask tim ryan why he's running against pelosi. >> when someone challenges you, your supporters turn out. all right now on "fox news sunday." and hello again from news in washington. the death of fidel castro just as donald trump comes to power raises new questions about relations between the u.s. and cuba. president obama has tried to restore ties between the two countries, but now that is in doubt. in a few minutes, we'll have an exclusive interview with mr. trump's new white house chief of staff, reince priebus. but we start with fox team coverage.

castro's life and legacy. but first let's go to rick in havana. >> we're outside havana, the thriving capital in cuba, and we're here to discuss castro. word broke he actually died at age 90. they erupted in celebration. thousands of exiles poured into the streets outside the world's most famous banging pots and pans, singing, honking horns, and celebrating decades of oppression, killing thousands of dissidents, stealing their homes. they boarded small boats for the treacherous 900-mile road to florida. many didn't survive. many of the residents are cuban

arriving many year. >> this is bittersweet because we had been expecting this day to bring about liberty for cuba, and it hasn't, and all the people that really wanted life for this day are gone. >> it means a lot because at least i think this is the beginning of the end. >> the scene in havana described as hushed. publicly people mourned, privately some expressed hope that castro's death would lead future. the celebration here in little havana is expected to continue long after he is buried. chris? castro's rein in cuba started in 1959 and in more than half a century, 11 u.s. presidents had to contend with him, including one crisis that took the world to the brink of nuclear war. fox news chief washington

assesses castro's complicated legacy. >> liberty restored. >> reporter: seizing power in 1959, 32-year-old fidel castro was the very picture of a latin revolutionary, a swaggering military leader. swiftly aligning with social capitalism, he jailed and tortured dissidents. he would survive the u.s.-backed invasion at the bay of pigs and a plot intelligence agency. in october 1962, the kennedy administration discovered the soviets had installed nuclear missiles on cuba. dif fused after 13 days, it saw jfk install a naval blockade around the island and come the closest the world had ever seen to a nuclear war. the thorn inside the 11th american president, cuba's

as the western heisphere sprouted more democracies when his brother took over. still the aged castro scored a victory when president obama ended a half century of estrangement and restored diplomatic relations. fidel, by then rarely seen, remained defiant, railing that cuba hardly needed the united while his regime will go down as the most oppressive of modern times, fidel was not without cuban rule. infant mortality rates were among the lowest. relations with cuba will soon become an issue for president-elect trump. joining me now from mar-a-lago, the trump holiday retreat in

chief of staff, reince priebus. mr. trump took a hard line about barack obama's efforts to restore relations with cuba. here he is in the campaign. >> all of the concessions that barack obama has granted the castro regime were done through executive order which means the next president can reverse them, and that i will do unless the castro regime meets our demands. yesterday about castro's death did not repeat that pledge. so the question, mr. priebus, is does mr. trump intend to follow through on his pledge to roll back mr. obama's opening of relations with cuba? >> yes, he does, chris, and good morning and thanks for having me. i think president-elect trump has been pretty clear that there is nothing wrong with talking to people. he's been willing to talk to

better deal. we're not going to have a unilateral deal coming from cuba back to the united states without some changes in their government. repression, open markets, freedom of religion, political prisoners. these things need to change in order to have open and free relationships, and that's what president-elect trump believes, and that's where he's going to head. talking is fine, but action is something that will be required under president trump. >> so let me make sure i have this clear, basically for a revolution in cuba, full political freedom, religious freedom, releasing all the political prisoners. if he doesn't get that, he is going to reverse president obama's executive orders? >> no, i didn't say that, chris. i said that those -- that's the suffering that's happening now in cuba, but i do believe that in order for any sort of deal to take place, president-elect trump is going to be looking for some movement in the right

it can't just be nothing and then you get total and complete cooperation from the united states. there has to be something, and what that something is, chris, is yet to be determined, but i can assure you that he's going to require some movement or some schedule of movement in order to then schedule some kind of relationship with cuba. but without knowing what those things are, there's nothing really more to talk about other than there isn't going to be a one-way relationship from the united states to cuba without some action administration. >> but just to pin this down, if he doesn't get whatever it is that he wants, would he reverse president obama's opening to cuba? >> absolutely. i mean, he's already said that would be the case. and what that deal is is yet to be determined, but there is going to have to be some movement from cuba in order to have a relationship with the united states, and i think the president-elect has been very clear about that and i'm just

>> while the president-elect is making progress on naming his team, it seems like something close to open warfare has broken out over his deliberations about choosing a secretary of state, especially when it comes down to consideration of mitt romney -- well, before you laugh, let me -- >> open warfare? go ahead, chris. >> let me make my case, then you can make fun of me, particularly in the consideration of mitt romney and rudy giuliani. let me put this on the screen. transition official kellyanne thanksgiving: receiving deluge about romney. some warn about romney as secretary of state. >> there is only one way that mitt romney can be considered for a post like that and that is that he repudiates everything he said in that famous salt lake city speech.

consider that appropriate for top advisers to lobby him in public about people he's choosing? is that the white house you're going to run and that romney must apologize to get the job? >> let me cap this up for you. there are a lot of opinions as far as this topic and many other cabinet positions, but i think what president-elect trump has said is that, as he said the entire campaign, he's going to hire the best people he's going through this process, he's interviewed governor romney, he's talked to the mayor, he's talked to others like general kelly. he's going to be talking to others next week. he's going to make the best decision for the american people. it's not about warfare. there is an opinion about this and it is sort of a team of rivals context if he does go with governor romney, but that should tell americans where president-elect trump's head is,

the best possible place together for all americans, whatever your religion, whatever your opinion is, he wants to move forward looking through the windshield and not the rearview mirror, and that's where the president-elect's head is at and i think it's a great place for americans. >> is romney going to have to apologize for the very harsh things he said during the campaign in order to get the job? >> listen, i'm not going to do the play by play, chris, on what's going to be required or where things are at. i think things are moving going to keep talking to the right people and get opinions on what the right decision would be, but ultimately it will be his decision. and i can just assure the american people the fact that he's actually even flirting with the idea of choosing a rival should tell the american people where he's at, which is the best place for everyone in this country. >> let me ask you quickly about another name that's being mentioned for secretary of state, and that's general david petraeus.

i well remember this, trump hammered hillary clinton for handling confidential information. general petraeus was in that also. >> getting opinions and learning from really smart people as far as what the right decision-making process may be in choosing a secretary of state or any other position is something that smart people do. i don't think anyone could say that david petraeus isn't a very bright, person, and these are the types of conversations that i think the american people would expect of an incoming president that's trying to make the best decisions possible for everyone out there across the country. >> let me turn to another subject. green party presidential candidate jill stein has initiated a vote recount in wisconsin, and she's talking about doing the same in pennsylvania and michigan, and now we hear from the clinton campaign's top lawyer that they

this recount. what is mr. trump's reaction to all of that, especially the clinton campaign's participation in this recount? >> well, first of all, president-elect trump won an historic electoral landslide. this is an electoral process, it's not a popular vote process. he had the best performance since ronald reagan in 1984 winning over 2600 counties, nine of 13 battleground states. a historic margin we haven't seen in our party in a long time. that's number one. number two, if it was the popular vote, he would have won the popular vote as well. >> i asked about the recount. >> i got it, and this is ridiculous. this is a fundraising notoriety-driven fraud by someone who won 3,000 votes in wisconsin against trump who won 300,000.

wisconsin attempting to undo a 28,000 vote lead. it's never going to happen. it's a total waste of everybody's time. >> let me just ask, what do you think of the hillary clinton campaign now joining in on the effort? >> well, what i think -- let's just assume that's true. i wonder whether elias is going to back off since on election night hillary clinton said it was time to look to the and it was their team that cut a deal with our team that said when the ap called the race, they would call within 15 minutes and concede, which they did. it is a total and complete hypocritical joke that the group of people that thought that they were nervous about president-elect trump not conceding are the people that are conducting recounts in states where we won by over 68,000 votes. i think the american people know this is a waste of everyone's time and money and it's only an effort to divide this country

matter who you are, republican, democrat, race, gender, whatever it is, and look forward to the future of rebuilding this country and getting us back on track. that's what president trump is going to do, that's what we want to do, and this is a total and complete distraction and a fraud and something that they should drop. but look, they will waste our time and we will staff up with thousands of people, we will sit there and look through ballots, we will win again for the second time and they will lose again for the second our country doesn't need it. >> i want to get into two more quick issues with you. president obama opened -- seemed to open the door to major flips on policy this week in an interview with the "new york times," and i want to put up several of the things he said. he backed off his pledge to a point of a special prosecutor to investigate hillary clinton, says he has, quote, an open mind about pulling out of the paris

says general mattis who he is considering for secretary of defense may have changed his mind on torture. >> he said i was surprised. he said, i never found it to be useful. >> how flexible is mr. trump about the promises he made to the american people in the campaign? >> well, look, it's not a matter of flexibility, i think it's a matter of listening and declaring to the american people that, look hit each one of them very quickly, i won't take up a lot of time. on the issue regarding hillary clinton, his point there is he's not seeking methods and ways to persecute and prosecute hillary clinton. but i would also tell you that if the attorney general and the congress find evidence that would indicate that something needs to happen and our attorney general jeff sessions at the doj says something needs to happen, i would suspect that president-elect trump is going

that is, but ultimately it's going to be the doj's call. number two, as far as this issue on climate change, the only thing he was saying after being asked a few questions about it, look, he'll have an open mind about it but he has his default position which most of it is a bunch of bunk, but he'll have an open mind and listen to people. the third thing, as far as general mattis, a person he totally respects, one of the mo nation, he said, look, you would be better off with a pack of cigarettes and a cup of coffee than waterboarding, that was a very impactful statement that people ought to listen to, and that's what president-elect trump is saying. overall, this package should give americans total peace and hope that we've got a person in the white house that is listening to people, that is listening to the smartest people in america and wants to lead our country for all americans. in the meantime, we've got

recount over 68,000 votes. this is the contrast, a person who wants to look forward, not backwards. that's who you have in president-elect trump. >> mr. priebus, thank you for your time. it's always good to talk to you, sir. >> thank you. up next we'll ask our sunday group what castro's death and donald trump's presidency will mean for future relations with cuba. plus, what do you think? will mr. trump roll back president obama's e restore ties with havana? let me know on

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you are looking at the scene in the little havana section of miami last night when cuban americans celebrated the passing of fidel castro. it's time for our sunday group, michael action for america, journalist julie pace, journalist james rosen, editor of a collection of buck's eulogies. i can tell you it's a good read. michael, as i discussed with reince priebus, donald trump took a real hard line in the campaign about reversing president obama's executive

relations with cuba as far as relations and changes that go on with cuba. you heard me talking to reince priebus today. how important an issue is this for conservatives? >> i was satisfied with the answer. i think it's an important issue. donald trump has come in and shown there's going to be a different tone from this naive foreign policy we've had the past eight years and has made the world a much more dangerous if you heard the tone that he took, placing america on the cuban side of the opposition rather than the oppressors and comparing that with degradation from the left of president obama's statement from the absurd statement from the prime minister of canada to jill stein's tweet, which was just offensive and something you would never imagine anybody in america with a moral compass saying, you show a serious contrast between president-elect

and what we've had under the obama administration. >> let's go back. two years ago, president obama announced he was going to make a number of efforts and two executive orders to restore diplomatic relations and some economic ties with the castro regime. how locked in is that, or can president trump simply reverse it with a stroke of a pen as he says he can? >> almost all of it can be reversed. it was implemented through executive orders. there have been regulatory changes that have been made, so most of it is able to be rolled back. what i think will be most interesting, though, to see will be how trump responds as a businessman. because one thing that is happening is you have enormous u.s. investment from airlines, cruise ship companies, hotel companies, telecom companies that are on the ground in cuba right now. they have long-term investments that they've planned out. do they appeal to trump as a businessman and say, you would want to get on the ground here as well. that is the one piece of this that is real, that is happening, that if he reversed, i think he

the business community. >> and apparently, as a private businessman, he had made some entreaties to the cubans to see what was possible there. >> you would wonder if the election would have gone a different way if we were looking at a trump tower going up in havana. >> you did an interesting obituary piece for us at the top of the show. how do you assess his legacy? >> i think historians will guard enormously destructive for the cuban people and for the western hemisphere. this is reflected in any number of metrics we might kbp such as gdp or just the caliber of the air quality and the infrastructure in cuba, and even if raul castro were inclined to move swiftly toward liberalizing political freedoms and market freedoms which there is no indication he is that ready to do, it would still take decades before cuba could fully recover

>> you know, i've learned this from talking to people over the last 24 hours, there are an awful lot of people. i don't know how old you were during the cuban missile crisis or whether you were even born yet. take us back to the momentousness of that occasion in 1962. >> sure. what you had was president kennedy fresh from this disaster at the bay of pigs -- >> where he tried to overthrow castro. >> yeah. a u.s.-backed invasion of cuba that didn't work and it was poorly u.s. nuclear missiles 90 miles from our shores, and the security council has been asked about what action he should take. some were arguing for preemptive strikes on the cubans and so forth. kennedy in the end quietly used diplomacy and was able to withdraw from cuba.