>> from washington, "the mclaughlin group," the american original. for over three decades, the sharpest minds, best sources, hardest talk. john: issue one -- palin for trump. palin: are you ready to stump for trump? i'm here to support the next president of the united states, donald trump! john: republican presidential hopeful donald trump receiving the endorsement of former alaskan governor, sarah pail be,

vice president rble running mate is popular with some conservatives for her vo sitroyals opposition to with the obama. how much will sarah palin's endorsement help donald trump? to susan ferrechio and welcome. susan: i think a palin endorsement is going to neither help nor hurt him. i think trump is a rising star on his observe merit with the conservative base and with republican voters. it may help bring in some of the evangelical vote, what is what he needs right now inive. in that sense she may help but he is rising ahead of the pack so far nationally, it's not going to have a huge impact on

eleanor: i think it's a sort-term appeal for iowa. she does have some following among the evangelicals. let's remember, she helped destroy what little chance john mccain had of becoming president because as a vice presidential rung meat she had zero credibility. and i think if trump continues to talk about how she'll play a role in his administration, that's not going to help him in if he does win the nomination and wants to look like he's the leader of this country. she's basically regarded as a joke by much of the american electorate, i believe. tom: yeah, my grime with palin personally came in 2012 when she criticized -- there was a secret service agent who had been posting photos on his facebook page and she used it as this tirade against the secret service who had spent months 24

her family during the 2008 campaign. i've only increased in this view the degree to which sarah palin is in many ways perfect for trump, two people who will say or do whatever they can in order to build themselves up. it is a real problem and on the other point, if conservative schism -- certism is to persuade new people, i think she's irrelevant now but the reason she could be negative is she speaks to a notion of conservatism that is designed to be deliberately simplistic and devoid of chudge value -- intellectual value. clarence: speaking of turncoats, interesting that sarah pail than 2012 endorsed ted cruz and was helpful if his getting over the

now ted cruz is donald trump's principal competitor now and i wonder what impact that's going to have, if some of cruz's support might switch. i rather doubt that will happen but there might be some on the margins places -- susan: her biggest value for trump right now is iowa. if he can win iowa and new hampshire, that is a victory that that can who -- propel him to a much easier path to the nomination. bronled beyond that negligible, i think. eleanor: i wonder what john mccain is saying because she's now endorsing the man who said mccain wasn't a war hero because he was captured. i fault him for bringing him into the national conversation in the first place when she was so unqualified. john: why did he choose her?

looking for that injection of excitement and she -- she did do that. to this day he said he's grateful that she ginned up the campaign. they had tens of thousands coming to the campaign rallies. she didn't have credentials to step in as an instant president if he had gone on to win. anyone who regrets that john mccain didn't win i think looks at sarah palin and says thank goodness. tom: on the hill, people my age, one of the things they really don't like about sarah palin, for a long time she dominated the discourse with some people on the fanatical left and she's such a non-representative of conservative women in terms of intelligent and passion.

great appeal to the conservative base still. even though it's been a long time she's she's been on a ticket or involved in politics. she's still very popular and stilwell liked and in that sense she can attract more of the type of voter that trump already has. tom: do you think she can get anyone not already sided with trump? susan: probably not. eleanor: maybe the ones we call the valium voters because trump has been mared a couple of times. john:ive governor said ted cruz's stance on ethanol would hurt the environment and questioned why any and all would vote for him. between palin's endorsement of trump and branch says thumbs down.

susan: the ethanol fight is one of the more interesting aspects of the fight because everybody is making money off the ethanol and there's a great deal of resistance to ridding that. but in congress there's a lot of discussion about trying to get rid of the whole ethanol -- eleanor: the one thing i like about ted cruz is that he didn't bow down to the ethanol guys. he's in the pockets of big oil in texas so pig your poison. clarence: supposedly republicans are against the ethanol and oil issues. it's almost against the law in iowa to speak ill of corn. susan: in congress too, you get naomi murakawaings of how are we going to deal with this and nothing ever happens because of the powerful senators in congress.

from the beginning and he's willing to do it on this issue. tom: on ethanol, governor bran stop's son is the guy in charge of the ethanol. no better example of cronyism. engaging new people with conservatism, that is a good example of why you want someone like ted cruz because sarah palin is endorsing trump. she whines about these that different things but at the same time there is no better example of crony -- clarence: said if a man can't help his son -- on my coattails. eleanor: there are layers larlse of hypocrisy but in the end the grandstand criticism of cruz is going to hurt cruz more than palin's endorsement of trump.

campaign endorsements. what is her track record? she's endorsed more than 60 candidates nationwide and more than half of those have won their races. that is a good track record. clarence: cruz, ted cruz. john: am i right or what? eleanor: that was then, this is now. clarence: i wouldn't sell her short yet because sarah palin does have a lot of good will out there with folks. i call it palin land. we met at the gridiron dinner one winter. i must say i was charmed. it was back in 2012. eleanor: we sang "auld lang syne" with sarah palin. clarence: she doesn't know much about policy but she's well-intentioned. tom: if you're concerned

i mean go with -- go with cruz because at least you have an intellectual caliber there and someone who wants to burn and has burned the system down, whatever you think of that. versus palin who i think follows the path of her -- [indiscernible] john: did you get his point? clarence: what did i say? she's well intentioned. eleanor: i'm not sure about that. john: how big a boost is palin's endorsement for trump? colossal? major, moderate, minor or negligible? susan? susan: negligible. eleanor: minor. tom: negligible. clarence: i'll say minor for the time being, until improved wrong. john: i'm just looking at some of the things that are involved here.

trump need a strong ground game to get his voters to turn out for the caucuses and -- susan: in iowa it's important. i would agree with that. john: i will say that palin has endorsed more than 60 candidates nationwide, more than half of those have won their races. that's a good track record. i'll stick with that. issue two -- israel west bank woes. >> we do not view labeling the origin of products as being from the settlements a boycott of great deal -- israel. we also do not believe that's the equivalent to a boycott. john: the obama administration sprarked controversy this week when it failed to condemn a european union e.u. product labeling policy that israel fiercely opposes. under recent e.u. regulations,

israeli companies in the west bank to label their exported products as "west bank accounts rather than zeal in origin. the e.u. and the u.s. government oppose israeli settlements in the west bank, designated land, they say that must be held for a future palestinian state but israel believes these restrictions are prejudice rble and even anti-semitic. what is the significance of "made in the west bank" labels? tom rogan? tom: the significance is the economic impact that israel concerns -- you have concerns in terms of europeans not wanting to buy these products because they believe that it's palestinian and thus it's immoral to buy those products. the difficulty is that on the one side, i think most people around the word would say and certainly i would also say that

construction on the part of the israeli government is profoundly negative, both to the united states in terms of the interacting consequences and in terms of our relationships with important partners in the arab world but at the same time putting boycotts on it, the negative impact is that it simplifies an incredibly complex issue and defers the dip lo maket choicings. it will be the 67 boarders with associated swaps. eleanor: it's not a boycott, it's truth in advertising. these products are made in the west bank and for consumers who believe that israeli settlement building and manufacturing in the west bank is illegal, they then have to choice not to buy those products. clarence: sounds like a boycott to me. eleanor: yeah, but who's boycotting them? you're just putting on there where it's made.

to davos. issue three -- reading the ayatollah. president obama -- for decade to come, inspectors will be access to iran's entire nuclear supply chain. in other words, if iran tries to cheat, tries to build a bomb covertly, we will catch them.

agency, iaea, says iran has sent 98% of its uranium stock abroad and deactivated most of its nuclear centrifuges. as a result iran is receiving sanctions relief at approximately $100 millionle -- billion in previously frozen assets. iran has also released prisoners, jason rezaian and amir hekmati. tensions remain real. iran briefly detabled 10 u.s. navy sailors last week and three u.s. citizens are missing in iraq. oinchian-supported militias are expected. and in davos, switzerland, iran's foreign minister slammed

missile program as proving a "u.s. addiction to coercion." are the iranians right? did president obama pay a ransom to iran for the release of four american prisonners? susan: well, i think also let up on sanctions, worth more than $1 00 million, which is going to help them fund terrorism and who knows what else. overall i think the u.s. paid a heavy price. eleanor: the white house denies it paid any type of a ransom so i don't know we should necessarily take iran's word. secondly, the money going to them was part of the nuclear deal and it's their money that's been frozen and the administration has now gone ahead with sanctions on ballistic missile testing, which they're not supposed to be doing but that's separate from the nuclear deal.

away but an important diplomatic channel has been opened up with this country. the big game in the middle east now is to try to resolve the syrian civil war and you have to get iran and saudi arabia on the same page so a lot of dim lomatic maneuvering but i think the relationship with iran in particular, between him and john kerry is a very positive and productive one. john: you wouldn't call it a ransom? eleanor: no. i wouldn't. john: but it is a ransom. tom: they will use this money to expand their proxy of power across the middle east, assembling people up they don't like. disappearing people they don't like and the saudi monarchy is going to throw money at groups like chidi -- coiled. they'll cheat and they'll have a

the saudis are going to do it. they're the more dominant actor in the middle east. nuclear blackmail. clarence: what about the saudis? tom: they will counter balance iran. jackie: who is rob and be why was he excluded in the prisoner release? susan: he's missing in iran and hasn't been heard from in five years. tom: the iranians killed him. susan: nobody knows where he is. john: welcome that davos. vice president biden: we will do our best at the federal level to make this a not just a moon shot but a priority. aware. everyone will be aware this is one of the priorities for this administration this last year. dicaprio: we simply cannot afford to allow the corporate greed of the coal, oil, and gas industries to determine the future of humanity. john: seeking to counter cancer and climate change, its the

winter meeting in davos, switzerland. bringing together around 2,500 business leaders, politicians and celebrities, the forum facilitates discussion on key international concerns. established in 1971 by german professor klaus schwab, the forum is known for its exclusive guest lists. at davos, colored badges define a delegates access to events. still, this years forum is focused on climate change, terrorism, and fears over the global economy. one key concern is energy prices. with iran now entering the already heavily supplied global oil market and chinas economy in trouble, some believe oil prices could decline even further. dennis nally, chairman of pricewaterhousecoopers says, quote, "some people are

a barrel." endquote. have energy prices bottomed out or will they continue to drop? clarence: i don't know because nobody knows for sure but i think they're going to go down more simply because of the saudis are flooding the market trying to actually undercut our tracking and our oil capacity in the u.s., among other sources. eleanor: steel containers that you put the oil into the transport it now are more expensive than the oil. it's a dramatic change and it's reshaping the politics of the middle east. now, if iran wants to come in and flood the market with cheap oil, hey, let them have at it but they wouldn't make much money at it and we can keep our oil in the ground so i don't see that as a worrisome thing.

the economy there isn't as o-- robust and that's a big driving factor in its price decreasing and its impact here in america. touchdown the chinese restructure is that wealth gap in rural poverty and wage inflation. that was going to happen. good. it keeps more money in american pockets. the shale boon is going to undertake it. they can't underwut -- cut it. unless they reform their political culture, there are a lot of very young people and not a lot of resources, that is a camp for terrorism. john: that's interesting but here's the answer -- world growth was overestimated. china is not son -- consuming as much oil as expected. the u.s. investment in energy projects thrifflets ban on oil exports and makes energy efficiency its aim.

and overstock eleanor:. iranian oil to be added, sending oil prices to the bottom. you got it? clarence: those are good reasons. yep. john: you dispute that? eleanor: no, sounds about right. does your magic source tell us where we should invest? john: magic source is very concerned about some of this leaking out on an improper channel. eleanor: ok. john: he says you have it mclaughlin, but you know how to use it. french i.m.f., kristine he guard, she wants another term to continue to coordinate bailouts for country that is monitor economic reforms globally. britain, china, and mexico will support her. it's been led by europeans while the world bank by americans until recently.

liability for legard. that's the big question whether it has been. we'll be right back with

predictions. john: predictions for the panel. the f.b.i. will recommend that hillary clinton face prosecution for mishandling classified information. that's the f.b.i. yes or no? susan?

john: elmore? eleanor: no. tom: yes. clarence: i'll say yes but she won't be indicted.