brad blakeman, ed rollins, and matt gaetz. china and russia trying to pressure the trump administration to under cut much of what the president has floished help american workers. asia expert gordon chang joins us. in california, rapidly moving wildfires burned structure to the ground. already claimed the lives of at least five people. their bodies found in their burned out vehicles. >> the magnitude of the destruction we are seeing is really unbelievable, and heartbreaking. currently we have roughly 105,000 people evacuated. in southern california there have been injuries. and we know there have been loss of the life. lou: this is one of the deadliest wildfires in california history already. we'll have the latest on those fires and the efforts to stop them later in the broadcast. president trump and the first lady have arrived in paris. they will be commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of world war i. they will be in france through sunday afternoon. john roberts with them to cover the ceremonies and the president. r

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melissa: brad blakeman, thank you. >> thanks. connell: more to come on all this plus a new congress is getting ready to take over. what does that all mean going forward for the trump administration and the president's agenda? we'll talk about it. >>> out west, devastation in thousand oaks, california, following a deadly shooting at a bar filled with college students. law enforcement is set to address the media with an update. we'll follow the event closely and bring you the headlines as we get them. >> it was just aimless shooting in any direction. he pointed, started shooting at the crowd i was in. he was just trying to kill people. hey, ian. you know, at td ameritrade, we can walk you through your options trades step by step until you're comfortable. i could be up for that. that's taking options trading from wall st. to main st. hey guys, wanna play some pool? eh, i'm not really a pool guy. what's the hesitation? it's just complicated. step-by-step options trading support from td ameritrade (tonand all thro' the house. 'twas th

. >> brad blakeman from a farmers senior staffer. get some extra vote.u think she's considering that offer? we think the motive could potentially be? >> if she wants to be speaker, the only way out if enough democrats don't support her, she'll major public investigated major public investigated the 218 she needs in order to become speaker again. if anything, this proves positive that politics does make strange bedfellows and the president thinks it's better to deal with the devil you know the devil you know. let me move on to some other image. seriously, he obviously wants to elevate the enemy that he wants and he wants to have her out there as a democrat that he can sort of beat to death when their campaigning. today's motive also be if he thinks there's a dealer mary, maybe they get together on some of these deals. is there any way she would take that offer? >> she should hear it again, if that's your only pathway to be speaker, i believe that she will have a friend in donald trump. it will come at a price, of course that in order to get support commen

brad blakeman former deputy assistant to president george w. bush he joins me now.evening,. >> hi, ed. >> ed: you say a lot of former obama officials who like to point the finger at president trump. they forget an important point that you make a number of people using medicaid right now has exploded the last couple of years. as i recall it has to do with the creation of obamacare. >> right. >> ed: we will cover all these new poor people that's a noble goal. we should all be trying to help the poor, but they never quite paid for it did they? >> they did not. it's unsustainable currently and it's the future. president trump has done the right thing. he primed the pump the economy could not be doing better on some levels. taxpayer and market we are being responsible. not only the annual budget where we are spending too much and taking in too less also the long-term liabilities of entitlements of social security, medicare and medicaid. we have people living longer. that's a good thing. but we also have to take care of them. >> ed: i mentioned run away spending under pre

bush, brad blakeman. before he was at the white house he was down in florida. this has got to feel like deja vu all over again. >> i've got the shakes just watching what's going on there. it was typical what happened when we were down there. we had people protesting outside. it's a three-pronged effort. one is the recount itself if there is one, i'm sure there will be a mechanical. the other is fighting in the courts if necessary. and we've already seen that and the other is pr. aum though voting has ended, the campaign has not. not until there's a winner. leland: interestingly enough, these guys, now on both sides, the democrats and republicans in florida are stealing some of the tactics you used back in 2000. this a sign from 2000. >> although joe lieberman is a friend, we'd become friends after this. we wanted to take the recount, because we needed to show this was a rigged deal in 2000 and they were actually trying to steal the election and we were running into the same problems now as then. leland: does it feel the same? >> lack of transparency not letting

bush's senior staff, brad blakeman. by the way, how did that work out, brad?it worked out great. the reason why is we exposed the corruption and intimidation and income comments same two counties in 2000. let's start with the close races. the republican party is not widening its lead. can it any longer afford to have a bunch of rye know bunch -- ofd because it means a divided house and a senate. on the bordered wall and illegal immigration and support for this president's entire agenda. >> we haven't had a president in recent memory making good as fast on his promises as this president. they should be running closely aligned to a guy who is delivering on each promise. when he talked about growth in the campaign. so republicans better get on board. this is a wake-up call. we have to stand on principle. we can't be running away from success. lou: that's what these fools did and that's why it's a huge problem in the house of representatives. you had so many resignations, you had a leader in the house who was an abject fool who betrayed the president' time and tim

bush brad blakeman. i want to start with you because you were in the middle of these recounts, you know what this is like and now we have multiple states where this is happening. the abrams campaign manager in georgia said they have been preparing for all possibilities, voters who previously elected to vote by mail are receiving an absentee ballot for the runoff and we just approved a $250,000 tv by. they are not conceding. >> they are not but the mass just doesn't work in georgia and it is putting good money after bad. they shouldn't be putting that false hope out to their supporters, they should be conceding. there is something to be said about the florida races as well as the arizona races. those are clearly not over until every vote is counted. the map is there to warrant the kind of recount that is mandatory but certainly not georgia. >> by tomorrow -- by tuesday at 5:00 pm in georgia all the counties are supposed to certify but i would imagine is going to be legal action because i don't know how th

do more to finish those responsible, let's bring in former white house deputy brad blakeman and democratict, i'm going to start with you, the sanctions here for 17 would be freezing any u.s. assets, it's possible that many folks do not have u.s. assets, this seems to be a light slap on the wrist to many who are very critical of this decision, should more be done? >> it probably will, but this is a shot over the bow to the king saudi arabia and crown prince, their report isn't here yet, three independent investigations, saudis, the turks and our own, i think this is an important first step because it puts pressure a discussional pressure on the saudis to come dleen and tell us what happened. i can assure you, there's bipartisan effort here in the hill and the will of the president to do what's necessary to avenge the kill offing brutal murder of journalist. gerri: i want to show faces of some of the people who are being charged here by the saudi government, could end up losing their lives in all of this, trusted aide of the saudi crown prince, there's a senior aide, there's the consul gener

here to react is brad blakeman former deputy assistant to president george w. bush and h.w. and one big recount for president? >> in 2,000 and this election, it's numbers. it was 537 votes in the state of florida. the millions of votes cast in 2,000. now it's like 30,000 votes. but it's always the two counties, the democratic strong holds that seem to have the most shenanigans played. that's broward and palm beach county. i saw it during the 2,000 recount. it's basically telling the campaigns how many votes do you need as opposed to how many votes do we have? and they find votes in the trunks of carses. they find them in hallways. they don't use the -- they use an expedited voting system. which is totally subjective. this is the same shenanigans but the numbers are completely, completely different. brian: you look for machine recount and maybe a hand recount in the senate race. but in the end both will prevail that are on top right now. not if they find ballots which by the way there is no reason this should be delayed. >> absolutely not. but, again, it's the -- out of 67 co

brad blakeman is here to explain. he served as deputy assistant to president george w. visor in the bush-cheney campaign. brad, good morning to you. >> good morning. steve: there were some things that the republicans were talking about during the campaign that they never achieved and now during the lame duck session, it's legacy time. isn't it? >> it is. and power is fleeting. we know that we lose the majority next year so why not act swiftly and boldly and basically tell the democrats leading, get out of the way. we need to close up this year with our heads head high, honoring promising and delivering for the american people. we have the power. we don't have it for a long time, let's get to work. steve: all right. so the agenda for the republicans during the so-called lame buck duck, they have got to do the budget, that's just one of the things. the wall now, it looks, the house passed 5 billion for it the senate, that's still in negotiation, also, this got to do something about immigration, don't they? >> right. i think it's ripe when we see the caravan coming through.

charles: brad blakeman, thank you very much. appreciate it. >> pleasure.harles: much more coming up on this monday. 6500 migrants about to embark on the longest and most dangerous part of their journey north. we'll talk to the head of the border and commerce security council. he says the border will be well equipped by the time they arrive. jim mattis, secretary of state mike pompeo, meeting with their chinese counterparts. i want to know if we're any closer to a deal. >>> oil is in a bear market. opec, they're considering production cuts. looks like oil could keep going down. it is at a pivotal place where it must hold. more on that with more "varney" next. ♪ charles: checking the big board. these are the lows of the session. down 232, 33 points right now. >>> eastman kodak selling the graphic division for 390 million. that stock is up 12% on the session. >>> check netflix. piper jaffray says the company is in position to raise prices. shares are under a lot of pressure. >>> suntrust lowering price target on the stock for yelp. yelp got smacked pretty goo

brad blakeman, mary o'grady and jessica tarlov.o find a way to work with them. how does it go over with the saudi arabia relationship? >> there will be a price to pay. there has already been a price to pay in the relationship. harm has been done. not only between our by late ral relations but multi-laterally but the president is right and pragmatic. he sees the world as it is not the world he wishes it to be. we have yemen, syria, iran, the greater middle east. we must have a good relationship with the saudis and can't dictate >> bill: the saudis are helping us in iraq and iran. >> not unlike the immigration problem we were talking about before. it is the way the president presents it. he keeps saying that the reason we should stay close to saudi arabia is because we could sell them weapons and make a lot of money. that's not the reason. i think mike pompeo explained in the "wall street journal" what the reason is. they are an ally in a very dangerous neighborhood and we need them for that reason. and we are going to sanction them

house leadership, for more let's bring in political panel, democratic strategists, robin byro and brad blakemann the holiday weekend. >> thank you. kristin: i want to start with nancy pelosi's chances at becoming house speaker if two current leads holds, democrats will control 234 seats next year and that means that pelosi can really only afford to lose -- to lose 16 votes, but 15 democrats have signed a letter saying that they will not support her, so how realistic is it that she will become the next speaker, brad i will start with you. >> i think it's touch and go and meeting around the clock trying to get the votes, she's silenced those, we -- who had hint of running against her. problem solver's caucus already has a problem and possibly with the new speaker who is the old speaker nancy pelosi, they have having trouble in paradise, it wouldn't be something that needed republican votes and that the president would deliver speakership. kristin: could happen, stranger things have happened in 2018. robin, democratic strategists, any democrats merging as real challengers to pelosi? >> kristin, th

former bush 43 staffer, brad blakeman is with us. okay, brad i think we know this.re quite right but we know it. but i don't think there's anything you can do about reigning in entitlement spending it is the third rail of american plucks. right? >> you're absolute right there's no will but i made up a new english words that's what we are in america we live for the the moment at the expense of the future we cannot continue the kind of spending for -- unfunded entitlements. social security we too few peope paying in and paying too much what can we do about medicaid we have to curb cost we have an aging population on medicare. we cannot continue this course what's going to take tough love. we have to reign in cost of medical care. but the votes are not there. any politician i don't care whether you're republican or democrat or socialist whatever you stand up and say medicare for all. no cuts in entitlements at all you know, you're going to win. if you suggest any kind of cuts to entitlements you're going to lose. >> i think it is time for some leadership and time for s

brad blakeman, richard fowler, fox news contributor and tim carney from "the washington examiner".one, smitty, right? with democrats in the house formed the problem solvers caucus and they're not real fans of nancy pelosi being speaker. this is our problem solver caucus. solve the problems of broward county. as of saturday 714,859 ballots cast. not to include overseas or additional military ballots that come in from the u.s. military. that is your baseline, brad. 714,000. >> this is third world. 18 years and we still haven't gotten it right. what happens in florida? 67 counties, the same two culprits broward and palm beach county. what doug mcelway said is the key. when elections become subjective the chads of 2000 or the provisional ballots today. when somebody can infer somebody's intent to vote the system doesn't work for republicans or democrats. >> that's where the u.s. supreme court came down. >> this goes far beyond provisional ballots. ballots from troops abroad. some has to do the miami bomber and the sorting plant. that plant was shut down. some of those absentee ballots

number two, brad blakeman was on this weekend and telling us he worked on the bush-cheney campaign in00. he said for all the back and forth it came down to a dispute about 537 votes in that presidential election down in florida. this time, we have tens of thousands of votes in dispute. how in the world do you get your arms around this? so to talk about a question integrity in this election, we simply don't know. we keep hearing count all the votes. how about you vote all the legitimate votes. how do we even figure out which votes were legitimate. ainsley: there are so many questions. why aren't these supervisors following the law. they have been accused of not following the law. tell the state how many they have counted every 45 minutes. every county is a little different. one county palm beach every 45 minutes. people saying that's not happening. and then you have rick scott who is suing because he said that the number of ballots left to count, they are not telling them that number. they are not reporting the results regularly as the law claims that they have to do. and why are we st

marie harf, brad blakeman, robert wolf former economic advisor to president obama. >> sandra: first timeill: a lot of formers here. go ahead and tell us what you think about the reaction you're getting from the candidates. >> it is appreciation to a president who was willing to put it all on the line for a republican victory in the senate. he did it on purpose. he understood what history meant as far as the house. it was more beneficial for his time to concentrate on the senate. the senate is now solidly republican hands. and the democrats are hanging by a thread in the house. it is much easier to pick up votes in the house than it is in the senate. and i think the president will put an olive branch out to democrats. >> sandra: you can say he is doing that already. >> i don't know how to decipher some of those tweets. we'll see what happens. whether former democrat donald trump is willing to work with whoever the next speaker of the house is. in the house there are some interesting dynamics worth paying attention to for 2020. the places democrats picked up seats in the rust belt, michiga

also brad blakeman and bill mcgurn. the president is blasting the judge. >> he has a case.inth sir -- circuit. >> it sounds like the president is pretty upset with this particular ruling. >> i think the president may be vindicated at the supreme court. for one thing he is not trying to deny asylum. what we're trying to do is at the border to get an orderly process to channel people through. i think that's a reasonable goal. you might have different ways to get there but i haven't seen anyone propose an alternative. what do we do if we don't do this? >> jon: it does seem that the judicial branch has done the -- has taken on the job of administration in this particular ruling. >> worse than that. they're legislating from the bench. they're taking away the power and the checks and balances. they're not upholding the constitution, they're violating it. we're now encouraging people to come to the united states to violate our laws and seek our protection. this is not the way the system works. the president will be vindicated in the supreme court. >> there were two different thing

brad blakeman served later as deputy assistant to president george w. bush in the white house.us loi live. i have to ask you right after thoff thebat. feeling the signs of deja vu? >> i get the shakes of something with what's happening in florida. 67 counties in florida it seems always to come down to broward and palm beach county. the incompetence is rank there. and it's a shame. it shouldn't be happening. and you know when bush origin family won the state it was by 537 votes. something they could not yor come iovercome in recount. >> why hasn't state law and maybe provisions within twoaz two counties, why hasn't it been fixed in 18 years? >> you know, that's the problem, ed, is in a national election, in the a federal election, we should have national voting standards. if state and local elections want to follow different rules more power to them. but we need uniform rules whether it's in florida, new york or texas, wherever you are, the rules should be the same and you're going to stop the shenanigans of the local elected officials not following rules and disregarding protoc

blakeman. gentlemen, welcome to all of you. >> good to be here. >> shannon: brad, i want to start with you, because you were in the middle of the recount in 2000, you know this is like. now we have multiple states where this is happening, to lehman by tort's point, they have been preparing for all positivity's, voters elected to vote by mail, receiving absent teen ballot for the runoff, and we just approved a tv buy. they are not conceding. >> they are not, but the math does not work in georgia. in my opinion, it is putting good money after bad. they shouldn't be putting that kind of investment out and putting that false hope out to their supporters. they should be conceding. there is something to be said about the florida races, as well as the arizona races. those are clearly not over until every vote is counted there. the mouth is there to warrant the kind of recount that is mandatory, but certainly not in georgia. >> shannon: richard, by tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. -- excuse me, by tuesday 5:00 p.m. in georgia, all the counties or spouse to certify that this is over. i imagine there is going to be las