john bolton is one of those names. when it comes to building a foreign policy in a trump administration, that deputy position will be important and we don't yet know if donald trump feels that he's willing to take that risk. we've seen him take other risks, but some people in his counsel have urged him not to do that on this deputy position. steve? >> kelly, thank you for that. sorry, by the way. i know we had some audio difficulties there. that fuzzy thing on the microphone is supposed to be a bit of a wind guard, but when it's 18 degrees and gusty like that, there are only so many things you can do. do not envy kelly having to stand out in that wind today. i want to bring in former chair of the dnc and nbc's kasie hunt. let's start this question of john bolton. the name kind of entered the mix a few weeks ago, and it caught people by surprise because you have donald trump campaigning against the bush doctrine, campaigning against the iraq war, and you have john bolton out there saying the iraq war was the right thing

i hope we can stop bolton. this morning, reince priebus defended tillerson against charges he was too close to putin. let's watch reince. >> can somebody who has that friendship plaque in his office be tough on vladimir putin? >> well, rex tillerson's a really tough guy. and you know what, athletes, astronauts, musicians, other americans, canadians, a lot of folks have got than award. but the truth is that having relationships with people is not a bad thing. i don't know how we got to the place where having an actual functional relationship with someone who might not be a person that we'd first think of to have that relationship with is suddenly a bad thing. >> well, senator chris murphy is a united states senator from connecticut, of course. he's also, most importantly, on the foreign relations committee. i can't think of a better committee to be on right now, senator. >> it's the center of a lot of action right now. >> what's the ratio of republicans to democrats? >> it's a two-vote majority for republicans.

>> john bolton would lead us back to war. i he can't be in the state department. >> i would love to hear that pap thank you. >>> the scope and sophistication of russia's interference in our election. fbi knew the russians were behind the hack as early as september of 205. so why did it take a year for government to call russia out on it? that's next. and this is hard ball, the place for politics. place for politics. ball, the place for politics. " the place for politics. >>> welcome back to "hardball." new york times is out with a detailed account of russia's attempt to interfere in the 2016 election by hurting hillary clinton's chances and tipping the election to donald trump. according to the times article, out tomorrow morning, fbi alerted the democratic national committee back in september of 2015 that quote at least one computer system belonging to the dnc had been compromised by hackers, federal investigators named the dukes. a cyber espionage team linked to the russian government. the report says quote the when key app

bolton would bring. >> jeremy, bolton, talk about your reporting. what you finding out?department, alarm bells have started going off inside trump tower. and this even pre-dates that because john bolton has long been a very divisive figure in foreign policy circles. but trump is now hearing from people like condoleezza rice, stephen hadley, bob gates. people he respects and listens to, who have worked with john bolton, who are very concerned that bringing him into the state department would lead to the same kinds of strife that you saw during the bush administration. making matters even worse, rex tillerson has also said he does not really care for john bolton, and it seems to me at this point, hard to believe that trump would pick somebody who his secretary of state has said he doesn't want to work with. >> willie, i mean, hard to believe, first of all, you would pick somebody who still thinks invading iraq was a great idea. wanted to invade iran last year. is about as opposite of -- if rex tillerson is friends with jik ba jim baker, and it bob gates appointed him, it's

i think that if it is tillerson and bolton, john bolton is really the deputy, the main management position in the state department. if rex tillerson doesn't have any government experience that really gives john bolton a lot of power to shape what's going on at the state department, and for some people that do follow john bolton's kind of more extreme right-wing view anti-russia, anti-iran, anti-malty lateral organizations that could be a good thing. >> he doesn't have that nomination yet. john bolton. see if the president-elect decides to go that route. quickly. >> if he does go that route, expect that become a huge battle on the hill. you talk to rand paul about possibly bolton becoming the secretary of state, he was opposed to that. going to fight that. he'll fight deputy as well. >> and two bruising battles at secretary of state. >> and sean spicer, republican national committee's chief communications adviser. chief strategist. senior adviser to the president-elect right now. sean, thanks very much for joining us. >> good afternoon, wolf. thanks for shing me. >> why did the president-el

john bolton should not be disqualified because of his mustache. foreign policy should take care of that. >> nobody should make a pick based on the mustache. but it it is trump's world now. >> if you are talking about differences with trump and ambassador bolton, you may be talking about things like russia where they seem to not be on the same page. >> this is in hindsight, but the war in iraq. bolton to this day said this is the right decision and defends it. donald trump said be were lied into the war in iraq to implicate people in war crimes. that doesn't seem to jive very well. >> what do you think, guy benson, about this article with the stuff about the look et cetera? what about my point that that's what politics is. as if hillary clinton didn't have the image consult at the present time working working -- consultants working with her. >> home of the free and the brave is how the anthem goes. i don't know how i know that, but it is in here somewhere. this idea that trump would have been like this close on bolton and said no it is the mustache

so that eyes and ears would be bolton and bolton would report back to the president.d of a counter and a check on tillerson because of his inexperience. >> we've gotten a better sense of who he's putting in some of these top positions and beginning to fill up, bill. what does that tell you about the direction he's wanting to take this country and how he's going to be as our next commander in chief? >> it's a hawkish direction. you have to understand that the reason that the obama administration got so much trouble abroad is that -- that crew basically said we want it off the world stage, we want out and retreated. and isis filled the gap and putin took advantage and iran took advantage of the retreat. so it was a retreat. so now the trump people say, we're not going to retreat, we're going to retrench and bring in the tough guy generals if anybody messes with us, they have to pay a price. that -- there was no price to pay by defying barack obama, there will be a place by defying president trump. >> you've seen cabinets formed under previous administrations, how would

ambassador john bolton. good luck.resident-elect trump reaffirmed his commitment to protect jobs following the carrier jobs and a new report on the state of our labor market. the economy added 170,000 jobs in november. the unemployment rate fell t to.6%. but to be clear. the dee klein in the employment rate because of 400,000 workers who dropped out of the labor force. the labor force participation rate moving lower. wages also moved lower in november but are up from a year ago 2.5%. so some encouragement there. we are coming back with more encouragement. more news and a lot more folks who have a lot important to say. we hope you will stay with us. we'll be right back. president-elect trump is driving his america first agenda and he's unconcerned about disgruntled democrats. >> i don't think we'll have to use have many executive orders. i think a lot of the democrats are going to join the train. lou: the question, who wouldn't want to make america great again. the clinton and trump campaign leaders clash at harvard. we

the other issue of bolton as a possible deputy. he's a controversial figure and people on the hill warning rex tillerson would be okay. the state department is welcoming him, the foreign service is pleased he's the least bad option they could get and brings standing. but john bolton is another issue. >> that's right. as you have just alluded to, the confirmation process is already going to be difficult for rex tillerson. why complicate the assembling of the state department team by throwing in john bolton, somebody who could not even get reconfirmed to be united nations ambassador in the bush administration. you have this extraordinary lining up of senior former bush administration officials who are drawing a line saying, no, we are not going to tolerate john bolton. donald trump, you shouldn't name him. those include condoleeza rice, bolton and the guy you will have on later, steven hadly. i would be curious what he has to say about whether or not john bolton would make a good addition to rex tillerson's state department. >> good

so, ambassador bolton, i will to to you first.s makes me so angry because it is so subjective, talking about steve mnuchin a person from wall street. if you're bernie sanders or elizabeth warren this is your definition of the swamp. but if you're someone like me who believes in capitalism is a great choice. why are they putting up this kind of a fight? >> i don't think the confirmation provisions in the constitution were intended to be fought out over philosophical grounds. i would make a distinction between the president's nomination between judiciary on the one hand and executive branch on other. for justices and judges these are lifetime appointments. the stakes are higher. nomination in the executive branch are to aid the president. these are the president's men and women. i think a considerable at of deference ought to be due to those nominees. and thanks to the democrats decision to eliminate the filibuster except on executive branch nominees, only 51 votes are necessary. so my view is, i've been subject to a filibuster, so

ambassador bolton was a late ad. >> people close to trump are big fans of ambassador bolton but therere policy differences between trump and several people, romney and bolton, about his view of russia and his reset he plans and that puts bolton and romney in the same category but bolton is favored by some of the most important people close to trump. he wasn't given early interviews. got into the process recently, and you he e the petraeus, very attract tonight to trump and there's an issue with him being accused of picking someone who is guilty of the same thing he accused hillary clinton of, who james comey, fbi director said had done worse things than hillary clinton even if knock believes a word that james comey says, and then you have rudy giuliani, even people who are close to trump are worried couldn't get through the vetting because of the overseas football ties. so, i don't really know where he is going with this. i don't think he's going to pick senator bob corker, maybe bolton has a better chance and i think you have to be up for surprises with trump and could be someone who

john bolton is visiting. what are we thinking about john bolton and his place in all of this? >> to me, it suggests a real departure foreign policy-wise than where trump has been on many issues. john bolton comes out of the so-called neoconservative wing of the republican party. extremely interventionist. favors bombing iran. wants to tear up the iran nuclear deal. a huge supporter of the iraq war, obviously trump claims was a complete disaster. and just a much more -- >> he did support it at one time. before he said he did not. >> but he's turned into a very non interventionist republican, trump, much closer to the libertarian wing of the party and bolton is the opposite. bolton and romney, all, are more intervention s than trump. his choices, i mean, one of the things it's showing, it's hard for him to find people ideologically in the republican party for where he is. >> and a very important position of secretary of state. he doesn't have this out there, this announcement yet, is that hindering him when it comes to national security? we've seen him do a number of calls with

one person not named is ambassador to the un, john bolton. his absence is not due to controversial views. donald trump believes those who is a speier to be in the most visible spots should not just be able to do the job, but look the part. for the most part, he did not look the part. they thought john bolton's brush-like mustache was one of the factors that got him in the sweepstakes for the secretary of state. donald would not like that mustache who spoke on anonymity. i can't think of anyone that has a beard that he likes. i am joined by "the washington post" who cowrote that article and chairman of the committee, michael steel. this is remarkable and we heard lots of reasons for them choosing members of their team. looks has not been hmong them. >> i am so happy you balanced it as a man with a mustache. >> this is what we have here. >> we knew how important appearance was to donald trump. don't forget near the end he said people wouldn't vote for hillary clinton because she didn't have a presidential look. he talked in introducing his runn

for tillerson, i'm a no on bolton. he should get nowhere close to the state department. >> for more reaction to the report that the cia thinks russia was trying to help donald trump in the election, let's bring in peter alexander. what is the president-elect saying about this today? >> the bottom line is, we're witnessing this extraordinary breach, this tension now between the president-elect and the intelligence community that provides him with the analysis in this case suggesting that russia did play a role in hacking information with the intention of trying to tip the scales in his favor. dur donald trump has repeatedly been defiant on this. he was this morning with fox news. >> i think it's ridiculous. i think it's another excuse. i don't believe it. >> do you think that the cia is trying to overturn the results? >> no. >> somehow to weaken you in office? >> if you look at the story and you look at what they said, there's great confusion. nobody really knows. hacking is very interesting. once they hack, if you don'

with bolton.i think he is philosophically very much diametric opposition to many things that ambassador bolton stands for. i think for anti-intervention its like myself, that could actually be good news. i'm not in a position to embrace his personal history and his business philosophies wholeheartedly personally because i don't know enough about them, but i will say this, a person with his background tends to favor stability, as do global markets. he understands how the global marketplace works. that necessarily make him a globalist? no. seems like as secretary of state would be someone who leans much more toward peace and ultimate stability. sandra: interesting you say that where we're seeing u.s. stock market hit another record high as it is widely speculated another businessman one of his top picks for the administration. >> this is an odd choice. i would have preferred someone with more diplomatic and more foreign policy experience. it is difficult to unite two sides the republican party and m

the john bolton moustache controversy.d over for an important job because of his facial hair, and to i'm going to not believe it. but there's a part of it that does kind of wonder. kennedy: what do you think, harris, is it true? was he passed over because of the iconic bit of cotton candy -- harris: you know this is not going to be what you want to hear. can we talk about aleppo? is because that's what i talk to ambassador bolton about, and that's what matters. i don't mean to be a debbie downer, but that's all that matters. he's a super smart man. and i think in some regards the administration will be working with him as they have been. he's been talking back and forth with the president-elect. we don't know what the future's going to hold -- liz: i think his moustache is a gift to the world. kennedy: very funny. harris: i like how that statement was bigger than his manly moustache. meghan: well, i have to say a lot of women in america really like moustaches. my mom really loved tom selleck, and i think -- harris: he's ju

tell us about john bolton. >> i worked with john bolton.et's leave aside personalities here, andrea. what i can say is john bolton is a strong believer in regime change. not just the rhetoric, but the reality. and that gets to what i just talked about with putin. if we're in -- no one is stronger and no one has put his life on the line -- well, others have more than me, but i certainly have, trying to block iranian terrorists and other aggression against our order in the middle east and elsewhere. but i'm absolutely opposed to trying to do regime changes in iran, russia and elsewhere. that's a recipe for losing the american people, for losing the international community, and failure again. to the extent bolton believes in this, we've got trouble. that's the problem, not personality. >> and his belief in regime change contradicts what donald trump has said during the campaign about iraq, about the iraq war and other regimes. >> absolutely. but trust me, he's a very pervasive guy. >> so stay tuned, in other words. thank you very much, ambassa

ambassador to the united nations john bolton. ambassador bolton, thanks for joining us.candidate donald trump used radical islamic terrorists quite a few times, but president-elect donald trump also used that term. i notice the white house still has a problem using that term. >> well, and they will for the next month, too. i think when donald trump is sworn in,ç he has powerful incentives to do exactly what he said he was going to do in screening, number one. he said it so many times, it is really a center piece of his campaign. second, let's be clear, he will be subject to unmerciful attacks if somebody comes into this country after january the 20th and commits a terrorist attack. i think we've got a massive amount of work to do to protect americans from people coming in illegally, not just islamic terrorists but other threats to our national security. i think we've ignored not only the threat at the border, the third border including airplanes and ports, but what happens after they get here as well. this terrible tragedy in berlin demonstrates thej7 in berlin demonstr

general david poet pete, former ford ceo and ambassador john bolton. we hear that president-elect donald trump could make a decision of secretary of state as early as next week, jowly? >> thank you very much. >>> so the dnc raising a red flag over tillerson's ties to russia saying we are in unchartered territory. never has a foreign power taken a to thehold in the american president see. and for president ronald reagan and chief strategist for the great pnc. the dnc counting on tiller son's name. >> the co thing the dnc is taken a terrible beating and it is coming out against the strong people that president-elect trump chose. they are controversial to democrats. and the fight to go on. there is a 52 margin that the senate has and they have to get democrats to get the people through. >>> let's talk about tillerson's eligibility for secretary of state. people are going to it be questioning whether or not he has what it takes. we know he is a successful businessman and net worth of ceo of exxon mobile is worth 150 million. he does have foreign experience

he's thinking of naming john bolton to the state department. how can he do such things? he ran against iraq where he said it was stupid, horrible, disastrous. but it wasn't the cia's fault we started that war. the chief briefer for the agency told me on air that no one in the ccia ever told an administration official that iraq had nuclear weapons. >> he has in fact reconstituted nuclear weapons. is that true or not? >> we were saying -- >> can you answer that question? is that true? >> no, that's not true. >> you're saying you made that case when you didn't. so they're using your credibility for making the case as dishonesty, as you just admitted. >> i'm telling you -- >> you just admitted it. they gave you false presentation on what you said to them. >> in some aspects. >> it wasn't them that took us into iraq, it was the vice president's office that pushed for the hard war since day one, and it was john bolton from the state office pushing it all the way. when we learned there were no nuclear weapons, they wanted to blame it on the cia. i watched dana priest and dan mi

former ambassador and fox news contributor john bolton. and i am starting to think that suit is the only piece of clothing he owns. of let's start the show. >>> last week when donald trump spoke directly to the lead of taiwan he nighted decades of dip ma mat particular convention. on monday china warned trump about creating troubles. the official newspaper said confronting china would reduce the chance of making america great again. trump says he doesn't think he needs permission for anything. tweeting, did china ask us if it was okay to devalue the currency making it hard for companies to compete and heavily tax our products? the u.s. does president -- doesn't tax them. i don't think so. the pro trump rag reaccount aed with enthusiastic approval. two of three assertions were essential he correct. and in trump was broadly accurate. wow. i think we have to go to our expert on this. ray? ambassador. look, this policy of deliberate ambiguity. can you explain why we need this ambiguity between taiwan and china? >> it may have been important in

and what about john bolton as a potential number two?finger on a crucial issue. and i think it's one that during the confirmation hearings, there's going to be some discussion of. tillerson coming in as an outsider without diplomatic experience, people want to know that there's a steady experienced, in a sense, you know, good manager, don't rock the boat person. john bolton is very controversial in the state department. he left behind a lot of bruises when he was last in government during the bush administration. and i think, one thing tillerson should think about is to be an effective secretary of state, he's going to need to have a deputy who will get along with a building and help him manage it effectively. and it's hard to say that john bolton would be that person, based on his record. again, he's free to make statements that would reassure his critics, but, based on what we've seen right now, you would say john bolton is very ideological for a potential secretary, who has very little experience and that that would not be a good comb

ambassador to the united nations john bolton. good evening, ambassador bolton.der what you think about the fact that ambassador from israel just told us at the top of the show that he is preparing for the possibility that president obama could come up with another anti-israeli resolution in the days ahead in these final three weeks. >> well, i think it's entirely possible, although secretary kerry and other administration spokes men have said that they won't. look, they were, to put it politely, economical with the truth about their involvement in resolutio passed. so, now he, i would take whatever they say with a couple of chunks of salt. i think that we have this so-called peace conference coming up in paris on january the 15th. i would be worried about what might happen there, what might follow in the security council. >> i read closely your op-ed in the "wall street journal" a day or so ago. where you said the two state solution has been on life support for years. and you want to see a three state solution. you can briefly summarize for our viewers what is t

general david poet pete, former ford ceo and ambassador john bolton. we hear that president-elect donald trump could make a decision of secretary of state as early as next week, jowly? >> thank you very much. >>> so the dnc raising a red flag over tillerson's ties to russia saying we are in unchartered territory. never has a foreign power taken a to thehold in the american president see. and for president ronald reagan and chief strategist for the great pnc. the dnc counting on tiller son's name. >> the co thing the dnc is taken a terrible beating and it is coming out against the strong people that president-elect trump chose. they are controversial to democrats. and the fight to go on. there is a 52 margin that the senate has and they have to get democrats to get the people through. >>> let's talk about tillerson's eligibility for secretary of state. people are going to it be questioning whether or not he has what it takes. we know he is a successful businessman and net worth of ceo of exxon mobile is worth 150 million. he does have foreign experience

bolton? bill clinton and hillary clinton hillary were a year ahee in law school, and now i have been burner burden unked by them all my life, and now the country is free. free. so free. >> no one knows what to do about isis, maybe it is not such a bad thing that trump is appointing all of these generals. agood point. >> tyrus? >> well, i have been with fox a week and martha is now walking my chain so mama i made it because the white girls are rocking my socks. >> all right. cat? >>> i want to tell everybody there is no reason to sit at home on the couch all depressed. get out there and be depressed in public! >> she does magnificent cry on the subway. >> thanks to ambassador john bolton and all of our guests and studio audience. >> president-elect donald trump giving the first interview since the election and sat down with us exclusively. shielding a wide ranging discussion with chris wallace with thoughts on everything from the allegations the russians tried to influence our presidential ele

outrageous claim by john bolton.york times" last year saying let's blow up iran. a guy who hasn't -- just doesn't see a war that he doesn't support. the complete opposite of donald trump in every way. ideologue's ideologue. here over the weekend, saying, suggesting that it was not the russians who hacked in. it was barack obama. >> what's interesting about this year is just when you think your capacity for surprise has been exhausted, somebody says something, and you go, wow. >> where did that come from? >> what imagination. >> how outrageous is that? talk about fake news. >> on the outrageous scale, it's pretty high. can i say one thing about the russian investigation? >> i would rather you talk about john bolton for a second, because john bolton, especially for rex tillerson, who hasn't been in state, is john bolton, and i know you need to be careful, but would some say -- >> you can be careful, but some of this is just being honest. >> would he be the worst selection to be rex tillerson's number two? >> look, john

john bolton thinks completely the opposite. they are opposites. so i'll do anything to try to prevent john bolton from getting any position. his world view is naive. he believes we're going to spread democracy and they're going to elect thomas jefferson. that's not the way it works. >> it's clear where you stand on that. how about the budget. we heard president-elect trump say he wants a trillion dollar infrastructure program and repealing obamacare and according to the cbo repealing obamacare will add billions to the deficit. you have been a hawk on government spending. can you support a budget that adds to the federal debt? >> no. i won't support any budget whether republican or democrat budget that doesn't lead to balance. the current budget the republicans are looking at never balances. how can that be fiscally responsible and look at the public with a straight face and say yes we ran on balanced budgets and yet the budget we're going to repeal obamacare with never balances. so i'm a no vote and all it takes is a couple of us. if there are few

i don't know about tillerson but i know john bolton doesn't get it. he believes in regime change and still a big cheerleader for the iraq war and promoted a nuclear attack by israel on iran and wants to do regime change in iran. i think john bolton is so far out of it and has a naive understanding of the world. if he were to be the undersecretary i'm an out automatic no on bolton. he should get nowhere close to the state department if anybody with the same world view is in charge. >> automatic no on bolton. but open mind on tillerson. what about tillerson's ties to vladimir putin? >> i don't know that yet. the most important question is are you an advocate for the iraq war? do you think that was a good idea? do you think regime change? these questions keep recurring. bolton is an advocate for regime change in libya, so was hillary clinton and donald trump said it was a mistake. i agree it was a mistake to do regime change in libya. worse people took over afterwards. i also think regime change in syria is a bad idea. it's one of the reasons i endorsed

ambassador bolton, a pleasure to see you.t's been a long time. >> it has been. >> you've been in the news a lot. what the hell is going on over at that tower? >> actually, it was michael bolton who met with the president. just a mistake. >> wow! you do look alike, i must add. so what -- i don't want -- i don't think i can break any news here. i don't want to start anything. but, have you been offered secretary of state? >> you can have my name, rank, and serial number and that's all. >> how about deputy? did they offer you deputy? >> name, rank, and serial number. >> you wouldn't take deputy, would you? >> they're switching to the golf channel already. >> you're trying to kill my ratings. but i know you, you wouldn't take deputy, would you? you're not a number two. >> i have no comment on anything. >> what do you make of the process so far? >> look, i think he's equal to or exceeding the pace at which cabinets and other senior administration appointments have been filled. i think he's off to an excellent start. and i think th

john bolton could get the number two spot or something in the state department. people say he is more hawkish, what will that mean. as a fox news analyst, people are able to hear what he believes and see what he's done. look, anybody who wants to try to embarrass us at the confirmation hearings better have substantive arguments with respect to these people. i would remind everybody eight years ago that at this time or basically a month or two from now, the first seven cabinet nominees put forward by president obama were confirmed. the republicans confirmed them. that's what they did. they gave hillary clinton secretary of state. we hope to get a different fairness than we seem to be getting in a lot of the press quarters. >> a fraction of the, unfortunately, some of the longest serving and those holding leadership positions in the republican party seem hell bent on providing some conflict with the president-elect. we'll see how that works. i want to turn to one last issue here as we move forward. the news conference that was to be held on the 15th, the president

bolton is controversial. he was very very much to the right of some of the people he was working with in the state department, criticized even by some at the state department in the republican administration, george w. bush's administration but bolton is an experienced diplomat and he certainly knows the state department a lot better so he would be a very important management choice to be the deputy secretary of state. tillerson as you pointed out has a very close relationship with the russians, and this comes at a really inflection point with russia in the middle of another unrelated controversy, of course, the accusation and analysis from the cia that donald trump and his transition are soundly rejecting that the russians were involved not just in hacking democratic targets, but in hacking democratic targets with the motivation to influence the u.s. election. chanel? >> that's why i wanted to ask you about mitt romney. we obviously know how he dealt with russia and how he talked about russia and he was cert

that is john bolton understands what can happen. lou: you have an anti-worker labor secretary working in a cabinet for a president who says it's going to be higher america and buy a worker, the american worker for the first time will be heard by their government. >> e. is a job creator though. lou: he created jobs in fast food restaurants and that's wonderful that you are not talking about henry ford with the assembly line for crying out loud. >> i agree with you on that. lou: tell dell crystal he and i need to talk. thank you so much, fred barnes and ed rollins. you get the last word. >> i think the last word, there is not much left except agriculture trade rap and secretary of state. so far i think the one that i have the most confidence and are the generals. general so round the departments and i'm not worried about anybody else. lou: i think we should all worry for different reasons and different people in the different projects with one purpose and that is to make america great again. thank you gentlemen come appreciated. up ne

john bolton. it is unclear if the blunt bolton could muster enough votes. sources say bolton's would-be boss rex tillerson has rever sags reservations about him. >>> donald trump naming carl icahn to the administration. he will be a special advisor. translation, he is going to find and get rid of rules and laws he thinks hurt business. icahn told cnn i'm not anti-regulation, but i'm anti-the stupidity of some of the regulations and it has run amuck. some saying quote this is a quid pro quo 25 years in the making. icahn came to trump's failing business. today, trump made him the regulato regulatory czar. >>> the transition team is said to be talking about quickly imposing tariffs on foreign imports using executive action soon after mr. trump takes office. that is according to multiple sources. it is a prospect alarming business groups and public establishment. they fear he could ignite a trade war. sources differ on whether the talk on tariffs is serious or a trial balloon to gauge reaction. >> or the beginning of negotiations. >> he puts out every possibili

lou: i'm a john bolton fan. i'm a john bolton guy.wanted john bolton and rudy to be working together at state. i think it would be an amazing team. no one is more knowledgeable than ambassador boltonp and terrific person. there is a story here, i want to share very quickly. that is the, the consulting firm, advisory firm, that is rice, hadley, gates, there is a story around that rex tillerson's name was proffered by none other than than condoleeza rice. it gets a little tight in establishment terms, mike. your thoughts? >> but, lou, don't lose sight of the fact that folks like newt gingrich, rudy giuliani -- lou: neither of whom will be in cabinet or apparently counsel to the president. >> but i believe will still have his ear in inner circle. lou: i hope so. >> that is something encouraging. you used the joyous, that is the right feel, americans have a sense of optimism we haven't seen in decades in this country. lou: another thing, the survey, the confidence survey, sentiment came out, they expected it to be around 94. blew up 98. t

bolton has a well-known record, this is not like mr. tillotson who does not have a record on governmentno service inform policy.re mr. bolton has made many statements that are very dangerous. that is not a democrat speaking, think democrats and republicans both have very serious reservations about mr. bolton serving as the number two in the state departmn department. i made a commitment that i would not prejudge any of mr. trump's nominations until we go through the confirmation process. but mr. bolton raises a real. >> he remains undere job consideration by the president-elect and they report that he enjoys a powerful ally in -- a casino -- any reaction to that? >> it's one thing if you don't, what you want to say is fine, but when you are in that t position as the number two person in the state department so to have that opportunity it's hard to understand to change hir position and become a diplomatic about it. >> calls rolling in charlotte esrth carolina europe with thehe senator. >> seems like the essence of the argument in the inv

case in point, john bolton?ng from the "post" several of trump associates said they thought john r. bolton's brush-like mustache was one of the factors that handicapped the bombastic former u.n. ambassador in the sweepstakes for secretary of state. donald was not going to like that mustache said one associate who spoke on the condition of anonymity, please. thank you very much. i can't think of anyone close to donald that has a beard that he likes. >> this reminds me of when judge bork was interviewed and everyone was going after his precedence. he was, like, i just don't know that people trust somebody with a beard like that. every time i see him, i confuse him with somebody that i grew up with actually and watched on tv every morning and maybe that's donald trump's problem too. captain kangaroo. >> alex. that's not right. >> it is. do you want captain kangaroo as your number two person at the state department. >> this is ridiculous. this is ridiculous. i think of my father who doesn't have a mustache but he's

neil: john bolton was here who's not quite convinced of his russians.is convinced some foreign country was messing around. are you convinced of that? >> i'm not convinced but i beg to know because if it is true it is in a very aggressive act and will have to be prepared to deal with them in the future and take actions because of it. to have a late out through some political operative for the cia to start saying because they didn't release the republican national committee e-mailed that must to help track. give me a break. i think they want to mess with our elections and that would be a huge expense. i think before we start jumping to conclusions we ought to know what actually happened. neil: is indeed a country or countries were involved that it could have been flowing the results in one way shape or form. >> i don't know. i like to know for sure what happened on the one imprint he i doubt it. are trying to tell me that the russians and putin would rather have a tough guy like trump than hillary clinton that a dirty tried the reset and it didn't work. s

ambassador bolton, always a pleasure.hanks for being with us. >> thank you, kimberly. >> here with more reaction is the author of "defeating jihad, the winnable war," dr. sebastian gorka. further developments since we last spoke, unbelievable. what do you make of this latest play by putin and by russia? have they outmaneuvered obama again? >> look, i don't like to praise a former kgb colonel on the most popular cable channel in america, but it was a master stroke. i mean really. he played the game as the ambassador said very, very smoothly, with lavrov, and then with tweets coming out of the russian embassy in london with photographs of a duckling as a lame duck obama and then this, oh, we'll invite you to an orthodox christmas celebration. he has basically said to the world, president obama, you are completely irrelevant. and the truth is he is. this is a new age after november the 8th. the idea that he plays golf for eight years and now he decides to do something about russia, it is incredible. it is truly incredible. w

john bolton on a simply fit board. john bolton. who knew.ed like he was more weirded out by doocy grabbing him by the neck. >> a man of many talents. >> thanks, carley. >> stay with us. (vo) it's the holidays at verizon, and the best deals are on the best network. with no surprise overages, you can use your data worry free and even carry over the data you don't use. and right now get four lines and 20 gigs for only $40 per line. you'll even get the samsung galaxy s7, the pixel phone by google, or the motoz droid for only $10 per month. hurry, these offers end soon. get the best deals and the best network, only on verizon. and grease in just a minute on dirt and grime mr. clean will clean your whole house and every room that's in it floors, doors, walls, halls he's so tough, he cleans 'em all mr. clean! may not always be clear. but at t. rowe price, we can help guide your retirement savings. so wherever your retirement journey takes you, we can help you reach your goals. call us or your advisor t. rowe price. invest with confidence. >>> it is