melissa: here is guy benson, townhall.com political editor. he is also a fox news contributor. capri cafaro, democratic state senator from ohio. thanks to both you for joining us. guy, start with you. let me ask you, so rick perry in for the department of energy. club for growth is calling for rick perry to close the doors to the doe. it is one of the places we think he wanted to close when he was talking during the debate although forgot name of it. maybe it is that forgettable. do you think he would take over and shut it down, is that possibility? >> i have three reactions to that, melissa and i can only remember one of them. melissa: that is good. >> nice one. melissa: well-played, guy benson. >> it's a cheap shot. rick perry is very successful former governor. he was elected, three terms in texas. melissa: yep. >> that was a boom state when it came to energy. that is a good pick. i don't think he will show up and shut the whole thing down but maybe whip it into shape and streamline it and bring a totally different mentality to the department of energy than what we have had f

guy benson. and his style is known as harrow and sheik, minus the sheik.ting next to me, dave smith. let's start the show. show nigh. what a week for people being jerks on planes. on thursday a passenger was kicked off a jetblue flight for huh is aing ivanka trump in front of her kids. tmz says as the plane was getting ready to take off from jfk the man approached the daughter elect and be rated her saying your father is ruining the country. and why is she on our flight? she should be flying private. in a series of deleted tweets the man's husband wrote ivanka and jerrod flying commercial. my husband chasing them down to harass them. and later, my husband expressed displeasure in a calm tone. jetblue staff overheard and they kicked us off the plane. yeah because jetblue hates calm tone. jetblue issued a statement saying if a crew determined a customer is causing conflict on the aircraft the customer will be asked to deplane, especially if the crew feels the situation runs the risk of escalation during flight. here is footage of the man being asked to depla

let's talk with guy benson, a political editor of townhall.com. and also the former executive director of the progressive caucus. let's start with you, brad. what do you think about this idea that the administration is now issuing the sanctions against the russians. >> i want to thank president obama and the administration and for taking the necessary steps. we have been saying all along with the stated and normal ways in which intelligence is conducted around the world. do i believe it is appropriate. >> it sounds like a big deal, expelling 35 diplomats and closing down two compounds. it's where they go on the weekend if they want a cushy place to lay their heads. is the point to handcuff the trump administration. >> i don't think so. i believe it is appropriate for the current president to take action. the russians did not hack the election, but they tried to influence it. that is not acceptable. no american so be subjected to that. i'm not sure it is a very strong response. it's a big move publicly, there is pr here, but i just saw our colleagu

kennedy: you pointed at guy benson. kennedy: guy does so many winning i'm almost sick of it. who do you put on your list of least influential. >> i had to give an honorable mention to bill weld. basically endorsing hillary clinton but not really. anyway, you tangled with him. i any the "new york times" editorial board has to be on the list. they went as far as they possibly could to destroy donald trump and failed. they also went out of their way and endorsed in a bunch. senate races not in the new york area. missouri and florida and almost he single person they endorsed lost. appreciate that. marco rubio is like, this is not going to work for you guys. i would have to say these super serial celebrities who looked into the camera with a white background and repeated the same slogans to be taken i guess seriously by the american people and the electoral college later on. no impact whatsoever. if anything they took perhaps electoral votes away from hillary clinton. kennedy: you say the "new york times" going after marco rubio was a sort of endorsement. i would say the same thin

lou: lee carter and guy benson our guest next. dr. jill stein's desperate and misguide efforts to recount the votes in michigan, wisconsin and pennsylvania blowing up. you totanobody's hurt, new car. but there will still be pain. it comes when your insurance company says they'll only pay three-quarters of what it takes to replace it. what are you supposed to do? drive three-quarters of a car? now if you had liberty mutual new car replacement™, you'd get your whole car back. i guess they don't want you driving around on three wheels. smart. with liberty mutual new car replacement™, we'll replace the full value of your car. liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance. lou: we are apparently nearing an end to the presidential recounts sought by jill stein and the hillary clinton campaign. the state of wisconsin reporting its recount is more than 70% complete. hillary clinton has gained 82 votes as a result of the recount to this point. donald trump still leads clinton by more than 22,000 votes. a federal judge in michigan ended th

fox news channeling me charlie hurt, guy benson, gentlemen, good to have you here.our reaction to what is obviously a delighted audience as he recounts and relives election night and morning. they love it. >> i like this idea of a thank you tour and a big thank you is owed -- can you hear me, lou. lou: thank you. >> i like this idea of a thank you tour. and there is a big thank you owed to the people of pennsylvania from donald trump's perspective given the fact that state had not gone for a republican presidential ticket since 1988. donald trump point which is a big deal. i'm watching donald trump speak and he says no other normal person or politician could have a thank you tour that everyone would show up to. and it's indisputable. 12,000, 13,000 people after he has won? i think the political genius of it, it keeps his message front and center through this dead period in the media typically. but he's getting the rallies out there and forcing the media to come and unfiltered carry his mess and night in and night out across the country. lou: the dead periods that we

thanks to charles hurt, guy benson, katherine, tyrus and our studio audience. gutfeld and i love you, america. i do. i do. >>> and a live look at times square, where nearly 2 million people will soon say good-bye to 2016. hello, 2017. this year, a massive security presence in midtown, manhattan. hello, everybody. happy new year. i'm gregg jarrett. >> hi, everyone. i'm arthel neville. happy new year's eve to everyone. while there's no credible threat of any kind, police and officials in new york city are taking tonight's celebration very seriously, though. this comes after recent terror attacks in germany and france. right now, dozens of 20-ton trucks blocking the streets of mi

fox news channeling me charlie hurt, guy benson, gentlemen, good to have you here.our reaction to what is obviously a delighted audience as he recounts and relives election night and morning. they love it. >> i like this idea of a thank you tour and a big thank you is owed -- can you hear me, lou. lou: thank you. >> i like this idea of a thank you tour. and there is a big thank you owed to the people of pennsylvania from donald trump's perspective given the fact that state had not gone for a republican presidential ticket since 1988. donald trump point which is a big deal. i'm watching donald trump speak and he says no other normal person or politician could have a thank you tour that everyone would show up to. and it's indisputable. 12,000, 13,000 people after he has won? i think the political genius of it, it keeps his message front and center through this dead period in the media typically. but he's getting the rallies out there and forcing the media to come and unfiltered carry his mess and night in and night out across the country. lou: the dead periods that we

guy benson, want to bring you in here. what do you expect to hear from president-elect donald trump when he speaks from mar-a-lago, florida? >> you know, i've given up trying to predict what donald trump is going to say for any reason. lauren: right. >> but i think he's done a good job in terms of keeping himself, his administration top of mind. whenever there is a transition, there is interest. but between his tweets and meetings and the whole trump tower live feed, people coming in and out, now trump tower south at mar-a-lago, he's feeding the media bits and pieces and keeping everyone paying close attention and the public is focusing in, he's such an unknown quantity, an outsider from the actual typical politician sphere, people want to know how is he going to stand up in the administration, who is part of the administration? the interest level partially because of celebrity is high. david: erick erickson, this is coming in light of this horrible attack, terrorist attack overseas. the one thing a lot of people disagree

business network's elizabeth macdonald and today's #oneluckyguy, the political editor of townhall.com, guy bensonu are outnumbered. >> merry christmas. meghan: merry christmas to you. >> the luckiest guy ever. [laughter] thanks for having me. harris: christmas eve eve. kennedy: i still have shopping to do. [laughter] >> don't mention that again. that was triggering for her. harris: i'll pretend like it's not real. meghan: all right. we begin with the tweet heard round the world. it all began yesterday when president-elect donald trump took to social media to talk tough about america's nuclear might saying, quote: the united states must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes. mr. trump's tweet came after russian president vladimir putin told a gathering of his top military advisers that russia's nuclear capabilities should be a chief priority in the coming year. earlier this morning mr. trump reportedly telling an msnbc host, quote: let it be an arms race. we will outmatch and outlast them all. his use of twitter is com

i went to binge -- bring in guy benson, and guy, you listen to the whole thing. john kerry going on and on about the savagery going not in syria, that everybody needs to pressure to parties to come to the table in five yearses there have been no negotiations and at peoples s is a moment that could happen. >> it's impossible not to share his outaim but some feels empty to me given the track record of the administration in which secretary kerry is serving. how years ago the president of the united states said, assad must go and then said here's a red line he better not crossed and then the crossed it. we did nothing. there was a breakthrough and we'll take all of the wmds out of the run but they captain -- sent some and we did nothing. more tough talk from john kerry will bring anything. they don't take the united states' threat. >> richard, he's saying everybody come to the tablen and the very first question there for john kirby was this idea you said the assad regime isn't around so you invite them to the table, why would they come? >> i agree officer guy on this

we have foxç news contributor d contributor guy benson joining us. o have you on set with us. let's talk about sean spicer. he is hugely influentialinfluen. i know sean a little bit and you can't find a harder working guy in washington. i think this is a job he took on in the last year with all of the craziness going on. so i think he really earned this position and i think it is a good pick. >> i want to talk about a few others, kellyanne conway, it's not a cabinet position, but it's hugely influential. i think we got the idea that if she wanted a big role, she would get it. this morning she saidç you're here of four, this is a lot of responsibility, can you make it work. her answer was i don't play golf and i don't have a mistress so it gives me more time than most men in washington dc. >> she came on at a pivotal moment in the trump campaign where it could have gone in the dumpster, and she pulled it back on track. >> absolutely. i want to talk about cor cory lewandowski. we heard him mention it this morning on fox and friends, i want to get your

thank you, guy benson. >>> we have a fox news alert for you right now, the house approves a spending bill as they are bidding farewell to minority leader harry reid. hillary clinton is set to be present for a event. chuck shumer will assume the role of minority leader. mike emanuel is live on capitol hill. mic, it is the end of an era in the senate, isn't it? >> no question about that. harry reid has been in congress 30 years, the last 12 at senate democratic leader. he gave advice to young people and they offered this tribute. >> today the senate recognizes the democratic leader for his many years of service to nevada, to the country, and to his party. we wish him and his wife the best as they set off on their next journey. >> i didn't make it in life because of my athletic prowless. because of my good looks, or because i'm a genius. i made it because i worked hard. i tell everyone, whatever you want to try to do, make sure you work as hard as you can at trying to do what you want to do. >> they bottomed a lot over the years but they said they always tried to keep it professional an

joining me, guy benson and rachael campos duffy. let's start with the trump derangement syndrome.rlie sheen has put out a tweet saying -- he's talking about all the celebrities that are dying. dear god, trump next, please. >> you can imagine if th w said about barack obama what would have helped. even charlie sheen has said he's surprised that others are commenting or even care about his tweets which i think is kind of funny. he is kinds of a loser so i'm not worried about what he has to say. but there is a hypocrisy about it because fit had been said about barack obama it would have been serious. tom: charlie sheen is losing his relevance. maybe that's what this is about. >> i don't understand the impulse. when someone famous dies people responds to the tragedy and say let me name some politicians i hate and hope they die next. i strongly dislike our current president. but this man is a far it and husband. i want him out of office, i don't want him off the face of the earth. what's wrong with these people? there is something in your soul that needs fixing. tom: it's wa deeper th

. >> guy benson, political editor of townhall.com. jessica, a fox news contributor, as we stand by waiting for the president-elect's first extended public remarks there. we can hear you. now question see you, too. i want to start with a quote that comes from senator bernie sanders who himself ran for president. this is something he wrote in the washington post. grandmother, i know you're watching, i apologize. he said instead of a damn tax, they will get a damn tax cut, how is that helping? sending a shock waef of fear through all workers across the country. guy, what say you? >> bernie sanders inhabits a fantasy world of socialism where the government can come in and wave a magic wand and force all of the jobs and companies to stay here while taxing them more and placing more burdens on job creators. that is not how the economy works. 1,000 people are keeping their jobs many america. that is something you think bernie sanders and donald trump might agree on but he is nitpicking. i think rolling up the sleevies and getting a deal done

. >>> coming up tomorrow on the next "red eye" korly, dave smith, guy benson, tom codder and gaf vipnnes -- gavin mcinnes. look, i was thinking about new year's resolutions. i realize that i spend way too much on coffee. i spend a lot. i realize if i give up single origin beans and put the money in a savings bond i can send my youngest daughter to college. then i realize i love coffee and colleges are left whipping cults so i am not stopping. i invite you to join me. bad habits are mott that bad. are not that bad. self-improvement is over rated. you hospital say i am going to the gym and never go. you should say i am lazy and i will watch every episode of "everybody loves raymond." this year i will not give up coffee and scotch. use the # sorry not stopping. i may read yours on the air. no sopaing. >> i love everything you said. what i won't give up is eviscerating people on twitter. i get a lot of heat on it and it is fun sending people to therapists. >> why do they have to go to therapists? they know you are trying to push their buttons. >> i am not! they think they are smart and i

candidate, governor mike huckabee will join us, and a-list of political analysts, including town hall guy benson, eboni williams and charlie hurt, mr. trump pushing back against bizarre allegations that russia somehow interfered in our presidential election, tweeting this, if russia or some other entity was hacking, why did the white house wait so long to act? why did they only complain after hillarlost? former u.n. ambassador john bolton is with us as well. to ware on this, and trump today, formal eyeing one of his cabinet choices, nominating congressman ryan from montana to be secretary of interior. that leaves three cabinet positions to be filled. sources tell fox news, rnc, shawn spicer is leading contendor for white house press secretary, and trump chief of staff reince priebus reportedly joining the campaign on condition he and spicer were a package deal, that is case closed. our top story tonight, obama white house doubling down on the absurd claim that president-elect trump had prior knowledge about russia's alleged effort to hack into democratic e-mails during the campaign, senior trump

. >>> marc's t thiessen, nomiki k, investigator reporter, and guy benson, a political editor at townm and a fax news contributor. good to see you tonight. marc, is it a good idea to shake up the whole system? >> it absolutely is a good idea. what trump is proposing here and it seems to be very, very early in the process but it's not larly nlar particularly new or controversial. the veterans act allows veterans who have been waiting in line for more than 30 days to go to a private doctor. what trump seems to be talking about is dramatically expanding that to more veterans and i think it's a great idea. it's very much like school choice. under school choice if you like your public school you can stay in your public school but if you're stuck in a failing public school, you're not forced to stay there. you can get a vouch and go to a private school and get your child the education they need. if you love your va doctor, you get to keep it. but if you're stuck in a va hospital are where there are long wait times and you're not getting the care you need, you get to go to a private doctor.

joining us now guy benson town hall.com political editor and emily shire political editor at the bustle to see you both. merry christmas. emily is this a situation no matter what donald trump does will not be satisfied? >> no. i think it's very simple what he needs to do. he needs to divest and put his assets in a blind trust. until he does that i think democrats will keep hammering him. >> that's the business side of this, right? let's chart wit with the charitable. >> it's not clear how business and charitable work. he has admitted to self-dealing on irs forms. "the washington post reported two clear incidences where he used the trump foundation to pay off and settle lawsuits. >> for business. >> for his personal businesses. it's not so simple to tease those out. >> guy, what did he say? >> i think that some of the "the washington post" reporting was very good journalism and did raise some serious guess about some of the ethics involved where that money was coming from and where it was going from the trump foundation. i think given all of that murkiness it's the right thing for trump

thanks to charles hurt, guy benson, katherine, tyrus and our studio audience. time greg gutfeld and i love you, america. i do. i do. >>> and a live look at times square, where nearly 2 million people will soon say good-bye to 2016. hello, 2017. this year, a massive security presence in midtown, manhattan. hello, everybody. happy new year. i'm gregg jarrett. >> hi, everyone. i'm arthel neville. happy new year's eve to everyone. while there's no credible threat of any kind, police and officials in new york city are taking tonight's celebration very seriously, though. this comes after recent terror attacks in germany and france. right now, dozens of 20-ton trucks blocking the streets of midtown manhattan, with 7,000 officers patrolling the area, and brian llenas is smack dab in the middle of it all, where all of the action kicks off in a few hours. so brian, tell us what else is nypd doing to secure times square? >> reporter: well, happy new year to you, arthel. and you know what, this is unprecedented security in 112 years that new year's eve has been celebrated

maura elison of national public radio and guy benson, political editor at townhall.com, charles hurt, political columnist for "the washington times." steve, first of all, congratulations. you have a new title. >> i do have a new title. >> and said title is? >> editor in chief of the weekly standard. >> thank you very much, we will put that up. congratulations. the thoughts about the nunez development and the fact that the intel agencies are not providing briefings to what he wanted a hearing on this russian hacking. >> pretty extraordinary that they would deny briefings. from what i understand it was a denial of the requested briefings rather than just not being responsive. they have said no, they're not going to provide the briefing. you know, the statement that you read from devon nunez, he's not someone who is prone to anger. that was steaming anger coming from him, especially the suggestion that this could be the politiciization of intelligence. i think the context that you've seen in the minds of many republicans, including on the oversight committees. over the years, particularl

maura elison of national public radio and guy benson, political editor at townhall.com, charles hurt, political columnist for "the washington times." steve, first of all, congratulations. you have a new title. >> i do have a new title. >> and said title is? >> editor in chief of the weekly standard. >> thank you very much, we will put that up. congratulations. the thoughts about the nunez development and the fact that the intel agencies are not providing briefings to what he wanted a hearing on this russian hacking. >> pretty extraordinary that they would deny briefings. from what i understand it was a denial of the requested briefings rather than just not being responsive. they have said no, they're not going to provide the briefing. you know, the statement that you read from devon nunez, he's not someone who is prone to anger. that was steaming anger coming from him, especially the suggestion that this could be the politiciization of intelligence. i think the context that you've seen in the minds of many republicans, including on the oversight committees. over the years, particularl

guy benson, we will leave it at that. >> thanks, merry christmas. >> the suspected terrorist in the berlin christmas market massacre shot and killed in italy. what we are learning about his final days on the run. >> and russian vladimir putin stepping up to the microphones for his year-end news conference, what he's saying after the turbulent 2016. >> gridlock at the airport. christmas trouble rush as delays pile up. >> 30 minutes to get in and out. >> we got the plane off of 6:37, on the tarmac, we were two and a half >> police in australia say they boiled a major terror attack conducting massive rate overnight detaping five suspects were inspired by isis and planning an attack in multiple locations in that city possibly on christmas day. the country's justice minister says the attack was eminent and, quote, would have been the most serious in terms of its intense efforts. >> tanasian refugee is now dead after a shootout with police in milan, italy. authorities saying he used six different names and three nationalities in travels across europe. former u.s. navy seal, enemies, foreign and

guy benson is the political editor for townhall.com.atch donald trump in action. he walked over to the reporters. they asked him one general question about who was coming in today. then he waited for the reporter who popped up, what about that tweet you mentioned this morning about boeing. then he walked into that lobby that he probably walked into there to deliver. >> the tweet deliberate and planned. i think it's fascinating to watch him at work on some of this stuff. some people say oh, my gosh, maybe he's completely flying by the east his pants which may be the case in a lot of circumstances, but not in this one. what's particularly interesting is he is taking one relatively small line item that involves sprucing up a plane that he's going to fly on. this is something that benefits him. it reminds me of him saying he doesn't want to take a presidential salary. he's sending a message to boeing if this is getting over budget, let's rein it back in. he talked about being under budget on his private sector stuff and he wants to transfer

benson? >> jimmy: yeah. >> that's why i love that show. that guyite. "benson" is a good show. or did we think it was a good show because we were young and we didn't know what good was? >> i don't know. i don't know. >> jimmy: benson and golden girls. wow. so much to learn about you. you know, it's really -- i can't imagine you sitting at home watching "the golden girls." but you do. >> well, get over it. [ laughter ] because i watch it. i mean, you need to accept it. it's a good show. have you never watched the show before? >> jimmy: i have, but i feel like it's -- i have watched it, but it's not something i'm planning the day around. >> you don't have to, it's on like 24 hours a day. "benson" is not, it's hard to find. >> jimmy: gwen is from orange county. she took you to her kind of home area, anaheim, to disneyland, which you'd never been to before. >> she took me to -- she took me to disneyland and then she drove me down the street to the house that she grew up in, and then the house that they used where they created -- basically created no dou