thank you brad blakeman. >> thank you.ministration takes steps to curb chinese company like huawei from controlling future of wireless internet here. >> we take that up with michael pillsbury, stay with us, david: welcome back. i am david asman in for lou dobbs. president considering a order to stop using product from huawei and zte products, they could be heutioneused to spy on american. economists are expecting the downward trend to continue to the new year, joining me, dr. michael pills bury. he is our author new york time bestseller, hundred year marathon. it will have trouble if current economic trends continue. >> right. but, china has massive foreign exchange reserves, second largest on economy closing in on us, growth rate is twice our growth rate. i would not count chinese out so quickly. david: believe me, i am not counting them out at all. you can squeeze people quite a bit with a communist government having control. let's talk about possible executive order from president against huawei and zte, do you -- we sh

joining us over the phone is brad blakeman. brad, he spent a lot of time in the west wing.k us through what it's like and what is happening when an announcement is because this takes place. >> they will wind up general kelly service and they'll be looking for the replacement. it will be a bit of a learning curve for someone coming in. he or she will need the full support of the staff. generally the chief of staff is the gatekeeper to the president. he's the referee between differing opinions. in the white house we had a saying that if you need to see the president you always will. if you want to see the president you never will. it's a balancing act between needs and wants. kelly is the first person in the west wing in the morning and the last person to leave. it's 247. you have to manage a lot of moving parts. most importantly, you have to have the trust, and confidence of the president and you have to be able to serve him in all levels. all capacity. >> kristin: there is president trump leaving air force one as he lands in philadelphia to attend the army and navy game. we

thank you brad blakeman. >> thank you.id: coming up next, trump administration takes steps to curb chinese company like huawei from controlling future of wireless internet here. >> we take that up with michael pillsbury, stay with us, we're coming right back. more savings on car insurance!? they helped with homeowners, too! ok! plus motorcycle, boat and rv insurance! geico's got you covered! like a blanket! houston? you seeing this? geico. expect great savings and a whole lot more. carla is living with metastatic breast cancer, which is breast geico. cancer that has spread to other parts of her body. she's also taking prescription ibrance with an aromatase inhibitor, which is for postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive her2- metastatic breast cancer as the first hormonal based therapy. ibrance plus letrozole was significantly more effective at delaying disease progression versus letrozole. patients taking ibrance can develop low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infections that can lead to death.

bush, brad blakeman.head, a federal trial judge strikes down the affordable care act which puts health care stocks in the crosshairs. that is coming up next. on wednesday, stay tuned for our special coverage of the fed decision. alan greenspan is among our guests. that is at 2:00 eastern time on wednesday. this is bloomberg. ♪ ♪ david: you're watching "balance of power." i'm david winston. it is time for our stock of the hour. health care company in the crosshairs. shares were falling more than 10%. obamacareruling that is unconstitutional is the catalyst. emma chandra will explain it to us. emma: i could have picked any health care or hospital stock. west texas rule obamacare is unconstitutional and goes back to a congressional decision in 2017 where they killed a related tax. he says that means the affordable care act is unconstitutional. santine is the second worst performer on the s&p 500. hospitals and insurers are falling on the news. is interesting because it is a medicare/medicaid provider and an

thank you brad blakeman. >> thank you.avid: coming up next, trump administration takes steps to curb chinese company like huawei from controlling future of wireless internet here. >> we take that up with michael pillsbury, stay with us, ♪ what a year. your home improvement "to-do list" still isn't "to-done". but hey, at least you still have time to get the ford vehicle you've always wanted. just get to the final days of our holiday sales event. see you sometime between now and january 2nd. so you can end your year on a high note. ford. built for the holidays. it's time to get our best offers of the season. but when i started seeing things, i didn't know what was happening... so i kept it in. he started believing things that weren't true. i knew something was wrong... but i didn't say a word. during the course of their disease around 50% of people with parkinson's may experience hallucinations or delusions. but now, doctors are prescribing nuplazid. the only fda approved medicine... proven to significantly reduce hallucinat

shut the government down, you have to ask the question why. >> let's bring back our power panel, brad blakemannd jason chaffetz. brad, i want to start with you. the president tweeting yesterday, for those on the east coast, he said this, even ronald reagan tried for eight years to build a border wall fence and was able to do so. others have tried, we will get it done one way or the other. what is the path to getting the wall done based on current conditions and the fact we will have divided government come january? >> standing on principle and demanding to get what the president is due, elections have consequences, this president is the most transactional president in recent memory. is not an ideologue. he can make a deal, the problem is democrats have been against this president since the day he was elected. it is resistance. a visceral dislike of this president and everything he stands for you this is needed. it is not wrong for the president went security on the southern border, it is necessity. we needed and yet democrats as the congress and pointed out are willing to fund sanctuary cities

blake burman, brad blakeman. >> how are you doing? blake: lawmakers will return tomorrow.hat. we enter the new year. that will be a democratic-led house so what happens? where does this go? >> democrats know where they can find the president. he will be in the oval office. they have his number. they can drop by. the president extended an olive branch last couple days the five billion dollar number for improvements made to the southern border and walls and other security are open to negotiation. it is up to the democrats to come up with a good faith return on the president's gesture. if they do, think i they can make a deal with the president. blake: you say an olive branch given by the president to come down from five billion. white house wants democrats to come up from the 1.3 billion. the president said, i will take the man tell of this shutdown. seems if democrats can sit back here, especially knowing they have the house, right, brad? was that a mistake for the president to do couple weeks ago? >> i don't think it was at all, in reality the american people understand it

thank you very much, juan williams, brad blakeman, thank you for joining us. jim gray as well, wonderful sports memories, we are trying to get it underway but you mentioned the cartoon that came in the wake of the passing of barbara bush and this joyous time of her walking to the heavenly gates and your daughter robin who died at the age of 4 looking like a little angel and running to each other in each other at times, tonight that same person put out another image and it is of a plane like the one george hw bush flew in world war ii. you can see him coming into the clouds and all 3 of them holding hands and it says we waited for you. that is so touching and heartbreaking. >> that is how we should end this our, in memory of this family because when mrs. bush died in april 2018 they had been married 73 years. i think that that more than anything else is how george hw bush wants to be remembered, as a loyal husband, great grandfather, father and i think he will be remembered well in the history of this country. shannon: i think you are right. we leave with that

lauren: what message does that send to the president, we bring in former white house adviser brad blakemanthink this means donald trump weak on policy? >> not at all, more of message to saudi arabia. look, we have a division of our government, we have 3 coequal branches, one of those branches, part of it, the senate made it very clear as to what their feelings were on yemen and also the behavior of the crown prince with the death of a resident journalist so i don't think this is a rebuke of the president at all, i think it's more of a message to saudi arabia, they have to change their ways, something that president trump realizes and supports. president trump has said he is not satisfied with the prosecution of the war in yemen and also said he is troubled by the behavior of the killing of an american resident journalist, so i don't think this is a rebuke, i think this is a sense of the senate nonbinding that will have an effect of where we go forward with saudi arabia. lauren: senators are sending with their vote strong message of american values, are they overlooking what the president m

brad blakeman, thank you for being here with us throughout our coverage. preciated, brad. we think you very much. the train coming up on navasota, texas, which i am told is the largest town along the way before they get to college station. home of texas a&m, the presidential library, and here we are, along the path. he started down in spring texas, not far from texas. the motorcade used in the sprin spring. they have made it all the way to navasota. the third from the end of their on our map it. you can see all of these people are out in the rain. especially going west from here. apparently it is raining a little bit more over there that it is over here in houston. but big crowds. when it arrives in college station on campus there, or near campus, the cadets, they will be out to give a salute. and if you've ever been to anything at texas a&m, for instance, if you've ever seen their band to play with precision beyond belief, you know what an incredible show they put on a and aggieland. when texas a&m adjoins the sec for the first time, i went to ole miss, th

joining me now is brad blakeman who were done several presidential campaigns along with former hillary clinton campaign advisor. talk to me about the opposition research part of this. he likes politics to offer business that goes on to that opposition research staff. besides do this? >> absolutely. there cannot be a football game if you do not have an offenses and defenses team. to know what they are capable of. what they've done. >> i am just curious. hillary clinton, her team commissioning that dossier, that is normal, right? course of business? >> information comes from a bout of sources. the question is, are you sources legal? information obtained legally? >> let me fast-forward this. antoine, i will bring you in the second episode i looked up to you had with the russian earlier responded with a little more than she had. is that okay to have? can you have a meeting like that #. >> yes, you can can have any number of meetings within the boundaries of law to find out whatever permission you can on your opposition. either way, democrats are famous for this. there was not collusion in

. >> bret: brad blakeman is with us, i go back to the world war ii time, the youngest aviator, brad,n the u.s. navy, 1944, september 2nd, his plane shot down, rescued in the pacific ocean. he rejoins his squadron. he received several honors from the military and from his country and often times, as we talk about george h.w. bush, we focus on his time as president. but it was much more than that. >> it was. i was with him, we had one of our largest sea battles, the first time he had been back to that area probably since he was shot down. one of the few times i saw him shed a tear as he stood there at the flagpole honoring those who died on those beaches, and as you can see the resting troop carrier still in the water. i was with him at the 50th anniversary of pearl harbor. we had several events that day, and surrounded by survivors. sadly, so many of them are gone but the president had a deep sense of service, and part of that service in his life was the legacy of his personal service in the military, and having been shot down. duty, service, honor, country, family, that is what georg

. >> bret: brad blakeman is with us, i go back to the world war ii time, the youngest aviator, brad,n the u.s. navy, 1944, september 2nd, his plane shot down, rescued in the pacific ocean. he rejoins his squadron. he received several honors from the military and from his country and often times, as we talk about george h.w. bush, we focus on his time as president. but it was much more than that. >> it was. i was with him, we had one of our largest sea battles, the first time he had been back to that area probably since he was shot down. one of the few times i saw him shed a tear as he stood there at the flagpole honoring those who died on those beaches, and as you can see the resting troop carrier still in the water. i was with him at the 50th anniversary of pearl harbor. we had several events that day, and surrounded by survivors. sadly, so many of them are gone but the president had a deep sense of service, and part of that service in his life was the legacy of his personal service in the military, and having been shot down. duty, service, honor, country, family, that is what georg

we'll bring in brad blakeman the former assistant to george w. bush george w. the funeral arrangements committee. brad, good morning to you. as we look at the live images of the motorcade making its way to ellington field to say goodbye to the former president as his body makes its way to washington >> right, we're ready to receive him here in washington he will land at andrews air force base and motorcade to the capitol. there will be a service at the capitol starting out with a prayer, some hymns by the naval academy glee club and there will be three speeches. the vice president, the senate majority leader and the speaker of the house and that will be followed by wreath layings by the speakers and a benediction and the public will be able to view and pay their respects in the rotunda all night and all day today and tomorrow, tuesday, and then early morning wednesday. and wednesday will be the funeral service at the national cathedral and then he will fly home to texas. >> jon: we've been talking about the fact that he accomplished a great deal during a single

bush, brad blakeman. brad, it's good to see you.hand in a lot of these funeral preparations that were quite significant. what were your best memories? >> one of my best memories was one that was told today by the presidential historian about vice president bush and mrs. bush's visit to contract could to krakow,wholand. right before we visited that children's hospital, x visited auschwitz. we toured the death cams and saw where the children and the adults had been killed. he went to the gas chambers. with two marines he laid a wreath. i looked at marine, and marine had a tear coming down his cheek. as the president went into the death bloc to look at the place they were kept before they were put to death. and he wrote a note to the marine and parades him for being able to show emotion. then he went to a children's hospital and he saw a child with the exact same illness as his daughter. he was intimidated to face the press, that that would somehow be a sign of weakness. that was president george h.w. bush, that was mrs. bush. >> it se

bush, brad blakeman. good evening. it's good to have you here. the president wrote your letter of recommendation for law school. let's talk about the president on the world stage. give us a sense of what it was like working with him. he did his homework. he was focused. he was principled. there was a method to everything he did. he inspired people. i remember going to communist one thinks with him as vice president. instituting the reagan doctrine. getting the wall to come down in 1989. then seeing what was left with reagan with the warm coming down was not the finish of the job. now he had to create these three states. he didn't turn his back on eastern europe. he helped them and worked with them, now we have free countries like poland and the czech republic who are great friend of the united states. this man was a statesman beyond. he saw the world as it was, not the world he wished it to be. judge jeanine: he was a congressman, an ambassador, the head of the cia, the very much, and a military hero. there were so many parts to this man. but let

bush, and advisor to the bush-cheney campaign, brad blakeman.ent wrote your letter of recommendation for law school. but first let's talk about the president on the world stage. give us a sense what it was like working with him. >> he did his homework. he was focused. he was principled. there was a method to everything he did. he inspired people. i remember going to communist countries with him as vice president, instituting the reagan doctrine. getting the wall to come down in 1989. what was left with reagan and the wall coming down wasn't finishing the job. hehe had to budge and help these free states. now todayay we have free countrs like poland and the czech republic which are great friends of the united states. this guy was a statesman beyond. he was central casting for somebody who understood the world. he saw the world as it was, not what heor wished it to be. judge jeanine: the man was a congressman, an ambassador, and a military hero. there were so many parts to this man. but let's talk about his writing you a letter of recommendation t

brad blakeman is here now. thank you for coming on.want to start with an op-ed that you just wrote. you essentially made the case that that was the perfect time for john kelly to exit. >> i think the president has to look beyond 2019-2020. shortly after january, he will have to gear up in the campaign mode. already starting his campaign staffing. we see people leaving the white house going to the campaign. a much different transition. not only has to govern, but he has to think of his own political future and get moving on fundraising and appearances for 2020. >> the president's top economic advisor, he was asked which is it. did he resign or was he forced out? what do you think it is? well, i know, service to the president is an opportunity, not a career. between 12 and 24 months. general kelly is right in that sweet spot. the perfect time for him to transition. moving into a more political job for a chief of staff. you have to manage a lot of things. more importantly, you need to have more political chops. i think the timing is perfe

joining me now is brad blakeman who were done several presidential campaigns along with former hillaryon campaign advisor. talk to me about the opposition research part of this. he likes politics to offer business that goes on to that opposition research staff. besides do this? >> absolutely. there cannot be a football game if you do not have an offenses and defenses team. to know what they are capable of. what they've done. >> i am just curious. hillary clinton, her team commissioning that dossier, that is normal, right? course of business? >> information comes from a bout of sources. the question is, are you sources legal? information obtained legally? >> let me fast-forward this. antoine, i will bring you in the second episode i looked up to you had with the russian earlier responded with a little more than she had. is that okay to have? can you have a meeting like that #. >> yes, you can can have any number of meetings within the boundaries of law to find out whatever permission you can on your opposition. either way, democrats are famous for this. there was not collusion in 2016 w

brad blakeman and christian whiton are among our guests come.e fox business network, "bulls and bears." trish: president trump and first lady melania making a surprise appearance in iraq to thank our troops tore their service. what the president is saying about the fight against terror and the need for our border wall? >> how long to you think the shutdown will last? >> whatever it takes. we'll have a wall, we need safety for our country. trish: whatever it takes. however long it takes. conservative author jerome corsi is here exclusively with what he says is brand-new information on how the fbi is surveilling his entire family.

i want to go back to brad blakeman.s an outside chance that the theresa may will no longer be the prime minister of britain and somebody could take her place and that somebody could be boris johnson, a very colorful character. he is often referred to as the donald trump of great britain. brad blakeman, what do you think, what do you think president trump's response to boris johnson would be? >> i think he would have the same response as with theresa may. what can we do to be helpful? i think if boris johnson were to take over, it was a hard exit i think our country would be ready to assist them in any way possible. it would be a very tough road with a hard break. it may come to that our president is pragmatic. he understands what needs to be done in order to preserve a deal. i think we would be a very good partner for britain if that were to be. stuart: you know i said previously that the democrats are pushing hard left and that they want to make america much more like europe. you agree with that? >> absolutely. we've s

brad blakeman and christian whiton are among our guests come. you can catch my show on the fox business network, "bulls and bears." trish: president trump and first lady melania making a surprise appearance in iraq to thank our troops tore their service. what the president is saying about the fight against terror and the need for our border wall? >> how long to you think the shutdown will last? >> whatever it takes. we'll have a wall, we need safety for our country. trish: whatever it takes. however long it takes. conservative author jerome corsi is here exclusively with what he says is brand-new information on how the fbi is surveilling his entire family. he'll tell us the new legal actions he's taking because of this, and why he's doubling down on suing robert mueller and the feds for $350 million. russia is working to tighten its grip on venezuela. vladimir putin has bought at least five oilfield there. why venezuela is becoming a major security threat for us while becoming a poster child for the dangers of socialism. alexandria ocasio-cortez

i want to bring in brad blakeman and dan mitchell on this. side are dug in pretty good here. both of them testing the political winds, i don't think trump cares about the polls as much as perhaps dems do but a lot of blame game to go around. >> no doubt about it but the president must stick to his principles. i see this as read my lips moment. when president george h.w. bush, a candidate stood at the convention, read my lips, no new taxes. he reneged on that pledge and albeit in good faith and got slammed for it. wasn't reelected. president trump's slow fan is promises made, promises kept. this must be kept not just because he wants to but because the country needs it. charles: is this a place for the president to make a stand. >> i agree this would be his read my lips moment. i wish he would be something else to fight about, controlling growth of government spending. trump has a core level of support. those people are very animated by this issue. i don't think understand there are more illegal overstays than people coming across the southern

brad blakeman on the phone with us tonight. brad, this is sad news.emories -- fond once -- of our 41st president. >> absolutely. he was a statesman, a gentleman, serve our country in so many capacities over so many years. he leaves a legacy that would be honorable for anyone to follow in his footsteps. the youngest fire pilot in world war ii, elected to congress, served as our rnc chair, first envoy to china, his life is full of giving back in service. i have the honor of working with vice president bush -- president bush, and of course, his son, the entire family, an amazing family. they are so close and tight and loving, and the president loved america. he loved his family, and he lived a life for this country. >> shannon: he did. a lot of folks, there are so many different things about him, when we look back, a lot of people forget he had tough campaigns he didn't win, and he has talked about those and how they prepared and for the next step. he also had a very amazing chapter at the cia that was critical, really paid dividends now the mine, where

going to bring in more folks with closese ties to the presid we have dana perino, brad blakeman former adviser to w president george w. bush and juan williams joining us now. one, i want to start with you because we talked about the bipartisan appeal of president george h w bush in the fact tha he worked across the aisle. pr was somebody willing to compromise to get things done. you're thoughts on him tonight? >> the emotion flows out of me because i was a white house correspondent during the reagan years and one of my jobs was to travel around the country with george w. bush, especially in that 84 cycle when president reagan was up for reelection. as you heard, they want particularly close, but george w bush was a great great emissary for the reagan administration because he had been head of the republican national committee. so he knew people all across th country and every state he coul tell me names of people in an unbelievable fashion. he was just incredible and we would sit together and i remember one thing he told me shannon was that i should write notes to people. pe five and t

former deputy assistant to gw bush, brad blakeman is with us. d, there is a government should down looming, the president taking a hard-line, schumer says you will not get the wall. that looks like a shutdown will happen. which side are voters on? >> i think they will be on the president's side, only if the president makes his case to the american people in advance of the closure. my advice to the president is, do what only you can do, mr. president, that is address the nation. in prime time, lay out your case. tell us why border security is important for the shutdown, why you're shutting the government down. what is the purpose behind it, what is the benefit of it. i think the president, if he does that, then perhaps hits the road for a couple days and keeps the americans focused on the attention of why democrats are doing this to our country, surrendering our sovereignty he wins the issue. stuart: why do you think the democrats are doing this? because in terms of money in a 4 trillion-dollar budget the two sides are about, what, $4 billion apar

the agent brad blakeman is also with us, he served in president bush the 41st's -- as both presidenteen holding up great. i had time to spend some time with with the president -- mrs. bush at blair house. they were instructive and telling everybody that this is a celebration of life. 94 years, magnificent public servant, a great father. a good friend. this is not a time to mourn, it's a time to celebrate a great life. he lived his life just as he preached to others. family, service, faith, honor, duty, country. that was george bush in life, that's the legacy he leaves, and that is the challenge for us to follow in his footsteps. >> shepard: today, during today's service, i wonder if there was a moment that struck you. >> i think of a country music. music was a big part of president george h.w. bush's life, and his family have and fs have said that he wasn't a good singer but it was a point of relaxation and a point for him to escape. i love country music. i think, because of the patriotism and upbeat nests of country music. the people who perform today or people he loved as vice pres

on the shut down, brad blakeman, assistant to george w. bush.ocrats blast. how should all this end? >> as mercedes schlatter said, this will end when democrats come to the table in good faith. this is part of their resistance here this has everything to do with politics and very little to do with border security. mercedes says the president open to negotiation. he's the most transactional president we've had. he's not an ideologue. here's the deal is made democrats need to come to the table. having said that this is a read my lips moment for president trump. made a promise to secure borders and build a wall and other things to make it secure. he can't retreat on that promise. his slogan has been promises made promises kept. while this is a big one. david: you go a step further. you say the president means reading from her piece on fox news, the president needs to set a new painful record for a government shutdown that will teach democrats a lesson they will not soon forget. but not backfire on republicans? >> a good but not as much as reneging o

with that we bring in brad blakeman, who traveled around the world with george h. w. the family like you so much that they kept you around. [laughter] and put you back into service! >> i will pick up where brett left off about the family in its entirety. there is a level of decency that transcends the generations and there was an expectation passed down to president george h. w. bush that he then passed down to bush 43. >> children, great-grandchildren, there is a sense of decency, a sense that a life is not complete without a service component. and helping others, george w. bush and george h. w. bush, i serve them both. they practiced what they preached. they were genuine people who lived a credo that is really exemplary and he meant toward a lot of people. and helped a lot of people. ebony: you get the sense brad, they being 41 and 43, that they were an example not just in the leadership of president but the american values and american family and patriotism. >> that's right. and you know, you really know somebody, especially when their personality, when nobody's ar

want to bring in america's a-team brian brenberg, brad blakeman and robert wolff.t card that you gave to sandra and me earlier today. very, very nice. we watched this thing in the oval office yesterday together. 12:15 in the afternoon. >> sandra: we grabbed lunch. watched his office. >> bill: holy cow. we'll talk about that in a moment but first about michael cohen. >> it is interesting he is walking into this situation today and two different views of what kind of sentence he should get. it speaks to the fact that neither one of the prosecutors involved here really have a good handle on whether michael cohen is telling the truth. one says substantial we don't think he cooperated. the other very minimal sentence. how can they be that different unless nobody really knows exactly what michael cohen is saying and whether or not it's true? that's the fundamental issue with him and remains that case even with the sentencing today. >> michael cohen's crimes are personal to him. they are not in connection with anything that has in my opinion liability for the president. l

brad blakeman, former assistant for george w. bush. a truce is something that 41 would approve, right? >> he certainly would and hopefully after we've had this spirit of coming together as a nation, i've seen it on the hill even in preparation for 41s funeral and service at the rotunda. republicans and democrats were coming up to me. everyone involved in the planning regardless of political stripe was unified in their respect for the former president who lies in state there today. so hopefully that spirit will continue and we'll get a budget deal. something that 41 would be proud of. >> bill: it will be a pause at least. i imagine washington eventually will get back to the ways of washington you are on the funeral committee. what are you doing now and what is the committee getting ready for in terms of the rest of the day today leading to tomorrow? >> last night neil bush and his family came to the rotunda to pay respects again and see his dad. and neil took some time to greet hundreds of americans. and then he left them with this thou

want to bring in brad blakeman. this essentially means she is running. she has about 15 million.d much more but looks like the first official candidate. >> this is gift. i welcome elizabeth warren into the race with donald trump. democrats will have same kind of challenges republicans had in 2016. 15, 16, democrats running. a field of has-beens, also-rans and wannabes. i think it will be a slugfest. elizabeth warren, taxes, universal health care, nothing which is appealable to the american people. charles: are you concerned though, brad, virtually all these categories however you frame them, will have one unifying message, that is attack president trump? how that interferes with the business at hand in washington, d.c.? could we see more, talking about indictments and impeachments, rather than real legislative work getting done? >> i think it is all wishful thinking on democrats part. they have been part of the resistance since the day he was elected. look at the great successes he has had. attacking donald trump just to attack him will not work. not enough to be against someone.

. >> sandra: brad blakeman wrote an opinion piece in the mill over the weekend talking about how thep and the last person he sees before he goes to bed at night. a person devoted to the president. the president is saying he is in the process of interviewing great people for this position. we know now the news today nick ayers it is not. this is an important decision for the president. >> used to be a chief of staff to the governor of utah. and the chief of staff usually delivers the bad news, the chief executive in my case the governor got to deliver the good news. but there is a lot that happens behind the scenes in a government that is so big and so wide and expansive as the federal government. >> sandra: the latest on the war of words between the former f.b.i. director and the president. the "wall street journal" penning this piece in the editorial section of the journal writing wrap it up, mr. mueller. it signals mr. mueller's intention to promote a narrative the trump people were willing to hear russian soltations. it would be politically embarrassing but not -- that's the "wall

let's bring in our panel brad blakeman former deputy assistant to george w. you both. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> rick: this is exactly what the president has warned about, an illegal alien, doesn't belong here, killing a cop. brad? >> this is just another example a blatant example of a death that should never have been. if we had secure borders, if we had control, if we had manpower and technology and, yes, a physical barrier, these deaths could be prevented. and it's on us. we need to secure our border. the president is right. he is not intransient. he said he would negotiate with democrats. yet, democrats have yet to come back to the president with a good faith response. you know, we can send $45 billion a year to afghanistan. our troops can secure their border. but they can't secure ours? and they can't find 5 billion? yet, we can find 45 billion a year to secure others' lands? it's unacceptable. the president is right. we need to do this now. >> rick: jude, how did democrats defend their reluctance to defend better border security or wall or barrier w

over there yesterday talking to brad blakeman. i said how is this going? he said it's going exactly as president bush would have wanted. on time, exactly who he wanted to be with, and some emotional moments in the capitol rotunda, particularly former senator bob dole standing up and saluting the casket. >> martha: it was an extraordinary moment. they had so much in common. they ran for the nomination of their party against each other twice. bob dole 95 years old. president bush 94 when he passed. the same sort of spirit to be in the wheelchair and say i'm not only going to attend but i'll get up and salute my friend and former president of the united states. a moment that we will all always remember as we look back as truly the greatest generation of this country. if there is anything bittersweet about today, there are a lot of things, but we're witnessing, i think, the end of that generation. >> bret: there you see the shot of senator dole saluting the casket. the images that we'll see today here at the washington cathedral we've unfortunately just seen w

brad blakeman served in the bush administration. brad, talk about that kind of humility.hat someone with that kind of resume, that kind of accomplishment, serving this country and all of the rest is like i'm not good at giving advice. >> it's rare. rare commodity. in this town of washington in a sea of politicians. george h.w. bush was a statesman. he knew how to work with people and a lot of it came from his military background in sports he was competitive. but he could disagree without being disagreeable. he could work across the aisle when necessary. and he was a guy interested first and foremost in his country. sure he was a partisan. he was a republican. the leader of our party. he was our president. but, george bush saw beyond the partisan divide he understood that you had to work to the other side and compromise wasn't a bad thing. you have to do it in every facet of your life. why should politics be any different? his great success was the ability to be human as president and to not hot dog it. his mother used to say brag deosha and he would say that sometimes in

brad blickman. national security analyst morgan ortagus. good e blakeman and morgan ortagus. great to have you with us. i am good. let's start with how the day began. montage from here, trump becomes first president since 2002 not to visit troops at christmas time. newsweek trump is first president in 15 years did not visit troops during christmas. go. this is the first christmas in 2002 a president hasn't visited the troops thanks to trump. and trump did this tradition passing of christmas visit to troops. you would think after his appearance in iraq there would be some backpedaling because now twitter is full of people who said don't give him credit for going. >> you can't win with the press and the fact is the president pressured the president into going, this was a secret probably in the works. i tell you from first-hand experience having planned these visits for george w. bush that he wasn't forced into it. it was probably on schedule all along and something that was well needed and appreciated by the troops, the press can say what they want, the president did the right

station, texas where as you can see the flags are now at half massed, brat blakeman, former assistant to president bush and bradthat you helped open, part of the team that helped open the library there in college station, i want to ask you on this day, how is president bush's leadership, his style and legacy amplified. >> well, town full of politicians president george h.w. bush was statesman, he lead on principle, decent, honest, he put duty, honor, country above all else. it wasn't about him, it was about us and i remember vividly being on the team to open his library and he arrived from houston on train with former heads of state and all kinds of friends and he lectured us that there's not to be any hoopla when he arrives the day before, it'll be plenty of hoopla, he was going to arrive at a crossing with the arms that come down and he was going to arrive at intersection and we said to ourselves, we can't let them do that, we had about 7500 or 10,000 people for his arrival, college station students as well as citizens, the mayor was out there, we had bands and the governor spoke and he arrived as he should a