former chief republican strategist and senior adviser to the lincoln project, stuart stevens is here and joining as professor of history at new york university, ruth is back in with me at the table princeton university -- let me start with the personalities. love him or loathe him, steve bannon is the guy who went to jail for donald trump. i would never bet against steve bannon. weigh in on this sort of brutality and the public nature of this very early, very vicious fight between steve bannon and elon musk. >> yeah, it is delicious to watch if it weren't so impactful for the future of the country. you could laugh at it. bannon is a guy who has defined himself as a thug and thugs must do the type things. elon musk has no idea what he's getting into when he gets in a fight in steve bannon over this. i suspect bannon thinks about this. there's a good chance, a lot of reporting, that elon musk was not a student when he got a visa and when he got -- went through the process of becoming a naturalized citizen, he put false information on that document. if that is true, that's grounds for r

we were able to get stuart stevens back and we are glad to have him. stewart, thank you for being here. i was just asking you the question that usually america pretty much has one president at a time. how unusual is it to see, and an incoming president essentially eject himself into -- inject himself into foreign affairs before they are sworn in and inaugurated. >> it is extraordinarily inappropriate and it is dangerous. in a time of crisis, the key element in any relationship between a superpower and other countries is stability and here you have president trump out there acting as if he's president. he's not. but then, he would assert he didn't lose the last election and he's been president all this time. you know, i think with syria, it points to the incredible danger of having tulsi gabbard, and national intelligence director. he's someone -- she is someone who denied that aside ever used chemical weapons. she went to assad and shared a photo op with assad and nikki haley articulately attacked her. i just think it shows this great blind spot of tru

joining us as well, stuart stevens, senior advisor for the lincoln project, founding project of resolution square. good morning to both of you. thank you for being with us. stuart, let me talk to you first. maybe we have to make distinctions on one side and people like don bacon but steve bannon's call for not partisanship but hyper partisanship, it makes me worry about what the next two years will look like in congress. >> the lesson that we have is that it does not matter what the bacon's of the world think they're not in control at all and it is just extraordinary how the weird collection of oddballs and freaks are driving the agenda for america. steve bannon? carriage lake? these are people who will not say who won the 2020 election. the democrats should be much more out front on this. they should be saying every nominee that comes before us, we will ask two questions. do you believe that joe biden won a free and fair election in 2020? if you say you don't know, it does not matter. you are disqualified to serve in government. do you believe that those who are convicted of attacking pol

stuart stevens, elon musk, lest anyone thinks he is enlightened on immigration, let me redo this fromgermany accuses musk of trying to influence elections by backing far-right -- they accused elon musk of trying to influence the country's upcoming election set for february after he wrote an opinion piece for german newspapers over the weekend, doubling down on his support for the fall right alternative for germany party, the aft. he has soared in popularity since its founding because of their anti-migration and anti- establishment stance, and the party has been designated by germany's domestic intelligence service as a, quote, suspected extremist organization. there branches in the 16 states are classified as, quote, confirmed right wing extremist branches, end quote. >> something very odd is happening in american politics. there is a little group of white south african men that have assumed extraordinary power in america and i do not think it is an exaggeration to say the white south african area they come from is consistent with what it is with the provost in america. you have musk

stuart stevens, ruth ben-ghiat, thank you. >>> after the break, a loss for trump as they uphold the $5amation case just two days after trump threatens to go after her on social media. we will bring you that story, next. story, next. [music playing] speaker 1: time is running out to give a year-end gift like no other, a gift that can help st. jude children's research hospital save lives. speaker 2: these kids, they've done nothing wrong in the world, and they end up having to go through all of this to survive. speaker 3: is your throat sore? speaker 2: your donation, it means everything. speaker 1: please don't wait until the last minute. make a difference by supporting the children of st. jude. please, donate now. i've lost 228 pounds on golo. i'm able to enjoy my life and keep off the weight. that's why golo works so well for me. golo has been really empowering for me. i just recently purchased my first swimsuit since high school. golo's different. it's smarter, it's better. it will change your life forever. golo is the only thing that gave me this. it gave me back me. go lose weight,

for trump it's never about the substance, stay with the leading men in trump's life with you, stuart stevenswhere trump can be bought. what's so amazing to me is that trumpism has always been transactional for trump, but we've never seen a public display of someone else getting to grift off trump's presidency. elon musk feels like the beta for that, a real test case. how do you think that's going to go? >> you know, what elon musk has discovered very quickly, smart guy, what every foreign intelligence agency discovered about donald trump. if you pet him, he'll follow you home. that's all he cares about. he desperately needs approval from people like elon musk. he's what he pretends to be, the wealthiest person in the world. this is what donald trump would like to be. getting approval from that person means a lot to donald trump. goes back to he's the guy from queens. true statement. guy from queens out on bail, of course he wants approval from the richest man in the world. and steve bannon, he's already had fights with bannon before, called him a slob, which he is. and a weird guy. but banno

stuart: the op-ed in the new york times by britt stevens saying he says his side, democrats should give trump's appointees, look fairly on the appointees. is that a step in the right direction? >> it is, not unreasonable at all to take a look. i met with biden's appointees, many during covid. it is important we take an open mind and look at these nominees and democrats should consider that. stuart: democrat senator john fetterman promised to consider trump's nominee use with an open mind saying my votes will come from open-minded and informed opinion after conversation with them. it's my job. do you think other democrats will give appointees a fair shake? >> fetterman should because he comes from pennsylvania. i might remind him trump won pennsylvania. he better take an open mind and hope he can confirm our nominees because the people of his state have spoken. i think other democrats need to do the same thing. they need to get the message. 3 quarters of the american public think the nation is on the wrong track, democrats have had the legislation driving us in that direction. a wake-up

stuart: this was written by brett stevens, the headline is a disgrace fful par dondon, in thk times.y say it is political hypocrisy, it tip fys what so many have come to detest about what the maga world calls the swamp. that's the new york times. >> i think biden could have said i love my son, he's been through a whole lot given his addiction problems, i want to be hmercy full on my son and leave it at that. but he said it's a political vendetta, it's his department of justice that went after his son on gun charges and his department of justice did not prosecute him for not paying taxes in 2013, 14 and 15. they dragged their feet so the statute of limitations to lapse. how many of our viewers get that kind of service from the department of justice. i don't think many. probably about zero. stuart: thursday, elon musk and vivek ramaswamy will meet with republicans on capitol hill. a group of former united nations officials they say they're launching their own doge, department of government efficiency, for the united nations. >> remarkable. stuart: how about that? >> this is the trump e

stuart: i had a wonderful anything. there were a lot of smiles around the thanksgiving table. i promise you that. stevenor unions celebrating trump's labor secretary pick that will be congresswoman laurie darima. lauren: it's a selection celebrated by the unions. she is one of three republicans in the house to endorse the pro act, that would allow some independent contractors to unionize. she served as mayor of happy valley oregon. if she is confirmed, she could speak for some of those working class voters, the union voteers that helped deliver for trump. so republican voice, pro-union, unexpected in such a republican pick. stuart: yeah. david, what do you think of this? >> she's not pro worker. she's pro union bosses. there's a huge difference. this ab5 in california took away the rights of independent contractors. she was vehemently for it. everything she stants stands fog right to work states, there's a huge divide in our country. we talk about the working class. some are pro union bosses. some are pro workers. i think president trump in his first term is pro worker. she represents union bosses. this

steven is actually the day after christmas. i have no idea where that came from and could be making it up. stuartyear. this year probably not on the air. stuart: oklahoma how many born in america, 3.9, 3.79 million? the answer when we return. .. confident. measured. ready. the markets, like life, will turn and challenge us. but when emotions run high, we stay grounded. with the hcm buyline, we work to empower investors, in navigating market volatility and complex conditions. we provide a diverse portfolio with proprietary mutual funds and etfs aimed at growth and preservation. so you can invest with confidence. visit howard c.m. funds dot com. we ready? mhm, hehe. i need to get me a new phone. you need to trade-in that old busted up phone and get you a brand new iphone 16 pro at t-mobile. it's on them. at t-mobile, it's better over here! families save 20% every month. what a deal! to all you new and existing customers, trade in your busted old phone, and t-mobile will give you a brand-new iphone 16 pro with apple intelligence on us. plus, families can save 20% when they switch. t-mobile is one of