charles schumer, nancy pelosi or barack obama? >> well, i think the fight to watch right now is what's going to happen at the dnc where you have two different segments of e party basicay trying to take control. you have, obviously, congressman ellison, who is being supported by the progressives like bernie sanders, and then on the other side, you have, obviously, tom perez, who is the labor secretary under barack obama, who is also running for office. this is going to be a struggle of who is going to take control of the democratic agenda and according to nancy pelosi, she doesn't want-- she doesn't think they need to go in a different direction. they think they have a messaging problem. this is not a messaging problem, this is a policy problem for the democrats. stuart: yes, yes, how far left are they going to go, way out there. >> exactly. and obviously, that was clearly stated by these voters in november that they want america to go in a different direction. they were very concerned, many americans were concerned with the countr

when you look at donald trump and barack obama, barack obama's first phone call the mahmoud abbas, leader of the fattah. first interview with al arabiya. and then he gave another speech of cairo university which set the course. what you see is president focused on as you said trade and foreign policy they both go hand in hand. remember barack obama said to england after the "brexit" vote you will have to get in the back of the line. i don't think what donald trump is looking to do. instead of these large collective trade agreements like nafta, cafta, and tpp, donald trump wants to make sure we have trade agreements country to country does benefit the american worker so we can get production and manufacturing here. i think another important aspect of trade and foreign policy how we export our energy resources especially oil and natural gas, especially to the countries tied to russia so we have higher ground when it comes to foreign policy. stuart: on friday, president trump, said, i will eradicate radical islamic terror. he will knock it out of the ballpark. can he do that, allen? you're a

it is nothing more than a executive agreement that president barack obama signed. iranians never signed on to it. stuart: allen, i have the ceo of merck speaking after his meeting at the white house. we'll listen please. >> that people will live longer and healthier lives. thank you very much. >> when the president talks about driving down costs, how are you guys going to achieve that. >> we talked about making the marketplace better for competition and patient choice. that will help patients and our companies. when you help our companies that helps create jobs in this country. >> regulatory reform. >> we also talked about regulatory reform also can stimulate innovation. >> does one go with the next in order to drive down costs do you need tax reform or regulatory reform or can they be separate? >> all these things come together to create a system good for innovation and good for jobs. most importantly it is good for patients in the long run. thank you. >> are you more hopeful now than you were when the lasted a administration maybe prices come down as the presiden

i know our military was gutted under barack obama. what do you think he is going to have to do initially to get us back up to snuff? >> here is what i think he is going to do. i haven't seen the specifics, charles. most of our units, army, navy, air force, marines, are probably 50% or less. when i was in unknit readiness, units were ready at 80 or 90%. obama administration last nine years, very cleverly, used sequestration as problem, not funded readiness, maintenance and parts, operations and maintenance dollars they have starved them from. you will see him. he will t into seltivereas whe he is increasing manpower. increasing dollars for support, new parts, et cetera. that is what you're going to see. charles: general, what about the idea of bolstering the military, not only more personnel but modernizing it? president trump talked about submarines, we need new ships. there has been a major complaint, listen i think the b-52 is still our primary carrier of nuclear bombs. >> exactly, charles. the b-52 was still being introduced when i

epa under barack obama was rewriting the law, just like barack obama did some times. we'll finally get this country back on to the rule of law where bureaucrat officials will follow the law, not make it up. stuart: governor, we appreciate you being with us, mr. abbott, we really do. on a very, very important day for your state and for the whole country indeed. greg abbott. appreciate you being here. >> thank you, stuart. stuart: thank you, sir. what you're seeing on left-hand side of the screen, that is scott pruitt. he is making his opening statement before the committee which will consider his confirmation at the epa we'll listen in briefly. >> to protect our natural resources, to protect our water quality, improving our air, helping protect the health and welfare of our citizens is key to the leadership of the epa. where enforcement is necessary, a vigorous enforcement. i have done that as attorney general in oklahoma. i've taken very constructive steps against those that violated the law but we have done so i think in very decisive an meaningful way. mr. chairman,

stuart: do you think barack obama tilted towards muslims? >> i'm not one of those who says he's a closet muslim. i don't know who he is. but islam has had a big influence on his life. his far it and stepfather. i think obama thinks muslims are the ones being persecuted. but he's contributing to the persecution of christians around the world and in america. i think donald trump will be the best friend of christians around the world man this country. stuart: facebook founder mark zuckerberg long considered himself to be an atheist. he said he found religion. i was raised jewish, then i went through a period where i questioned things, but now i believe religion is ve important. your thoughts on that. >> any time somebody turns away from atheism to embrace a belief in god, it's the atheists who have to commit intellectual suicide. the bible says the fool says in his heart there is no god. look at the vastness of this creation. you have to be a moron to say this happened by accident. stuart: you are a political person. do you have that same polit

>> it has been under barack obama. and that's going to come to an end this friday. and so we've had this lenien cy and this amnesty that has existed in the united states where illegals have been released in our communities and let go. stuart: what did she i'm going to interrupt you want to for one minute just a second because we know that they're coming across. we know that the border service stopping thousands of them. 1,300 a day. but for those who get in, even if we catch them later, we don't send them back? >> largely that's the case. in november alone, there was nearly 50,000 illegals that were apprehended. there's a huge surge that's been going on. that's an increase of 44%, stuart, from prior years. so we've seen this. there's a rush. even now up until this friday. and these numbers that we're talking about, 50,000 a month, those are going to be part of the historical record because all that is about to come to an end. stuart: okay. when -- after friday when mr. trump is the president of the united states of america. >> yes. stuart: and you have these folks w

he has over the last couple decades, barack obama propped him up for the last four years. he sees that slipping away as well. stuart: he is rallying the black community, isn't he? he makes the headlines. he gets a lot of exposure in the media. puts out a press statement, makes moves. the man does have influence. he can rally the black community very much against the trump administration. he is doing it. >> i disagree with that, stu, and i think that was evidenced in this last election. he couldn't turn out the black vote. they didn't use him to go to some of the swing states because they knew he would be detriment. they didn't send him to michigan. they didn't send him to pennsylvania, north carolina or any other states that donald trump won. trump will be the best thing to happen to the black community in the post-martin luther king era because when donald trump looks at black americans, he doesn't see a group that is ripe for exploitation like the democrat party does, he see as group of people that deserve a shot at the american dream. stuart: got it. sheriff clarke, tha

this is something we've hardly ever seen, barack obama pays a visit to capitol hill. he's there to rally democrats. save obamacare. vice-president elect mike pence will also be there, rallying republicans, keep the election promise, kill obamacare. all right. here is where things stand. by january the 27th senate republicans will have a repeal plan. they have a majority, 52 seats, they can pass it. we don't know what will replace it, that's the fight that you will see unfold in d.c. starting today. but two more headlines for you, number one, we're seeing a new form of government, policy by twitter. today a trump sweet on julian assange, the wikileaks guy that leaked e-mails from democrats. a 14-year-old could have hacked podesta. number two, the trump stock rally continues. it looks like the market just wants to go up. we will open just a little higher, 30 minutes from now. and "varney & company," yeah, we're about to begin. ♪ >> if you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. if you like your health care plan, you'll be able to keep your heal

stuart: she signed what amounts to-- >> why would barack obama. stuart: yes, why? >> who freed somebody like chelsea manning and this other guy, do something like this which is a frontal assault and civil liberties? i don't understand it. stuart: it's inexplicable. >> i don't know if the reporters who questioned him in his final press conference yesterday were aware of this because i didn't hear any question about it. stuart: it's fascinating. i'm glad you pointed this to our attention, i was ignorant of this. i can see handing information to a foreign intelligence service friendly do you, britain, israel, i know you don't agree-- ments for national security purpose not law enforcement. law enforcement is totally different. judge, we'll see you soon, sir. >> yes. stuart: one day more until donald trump because the president, 45th president of the united states. sean spicer is about to hold his news conference as mr. trump's brand new press secretary. you'll watch that unfold before your very eyes in a couple of minutes. meantime, reports that mr. trump is ready to

[laughter] barack obama's tenure is going to end up like this, 2016, he created 2.2 million jobs. well, it doesn't mean much. but in 2015 he created 2.7 million jobs so we're on a down trend now. that's something to keep in mind. number two, i've been doing this job a long time and i remember 3, 4, 500,000 and now expectations of 175,000 and we can't hit them. so what's going on? the economy is sick. we can't rebuild an economy on $15 an hour period. stuart: well said, scott shellady. fired up for friday morning, i like that. i've got to bring your attention the performance of the stock price of ruby tuesday. it's a restaurant chain, obviously. it's a very big mover. it's down 20%. it lost-- what's going on, e-mack. liz: they have presence in shopping malls and it's so bad, they're trying to sell their corporate headquarters. the sales are down 18% in the present quarter and we were talking how four out of ten urban areas in the united states are having problems with ghost malls and that's an issue for all of these players. stuart: would you touch it with a 10-foot pole as an inve

we saw this happen with barack obama. we you saw a lack of respect. we saw division. we -- stuart: nothing like this leslie. nothing at all like this. >> i don't disagree that this is even, this is even worse, but you know what, stuart, i will surprise you. one of the thing that bothers me about the outrage and all of the protest, and i have no problem with that, that is our first amendment at work, a lot of these people didn't come out and vote. when we talk about steve harvey, and his audience, which is diverse but largely african-american, african-americans didn't come out to vote in this past election. steve harvey said you hurt me but he expected the backlash. honestly if donald trump invited me to meet with him, i would. he is going to be the president of the united states and sworn in on friday. i would get backlash and expect it. so i think steve harvey was being a little bit naive not to expect it. but i'd like the fact that he said his intention which he wanted to have a connection with ben carson who will be heading up hud, he, steve harvey, came from low-i

obama because americans still looked at their paychecks and circumstances and they had no confidence. so, you couple now, the idea that my 401(k) has come back and jobs are coming back, i'm getting a raise. that's the magic ingredient. you have all the ingredients for wealth effect that builds on itself. stuart: keith fitz, what happens if we get the growth we're taking about here and the fed puts interest rates up a couple of times. you're going to throw cold water on a market rally? >> no, it would have in the past, but here is the thing. janet yellen lost control a long time ago. she's no longer relevant and traders know it. i think even if she raises interest rates three times, and up .75, that's 60% low where normal interest rates have been normally. i don't think if it's a gradual raise it's a problem. companies are going to grow much faster than that. stuart: scott shellady, about you care, will it re if janet yellen raises rates two or three times this year? >> let's go back to day one. why would they be raising rates? they're raising rates because things are doing well. if w

obama there, is probably something that is going to stand him in good stead with democrats on capitol hill, when he finds a couple of issues that he can work with them with. stuart: monday and tuesday, you see as a hands down political win for president trump. my question is, where does this leave the democrats because i haven't heard very much from them? >> you know the president kind of, not just this president, the presidency kind of sucks up all the oxygen when the president is active. that is what happens now. there is no leader of the opposition party. i don't think the senate minority leader charles schumer really qualifies. where they are right now is just trying to slow-walk the president's nominees on capitol hill, trying to you know, come up with some sound bite about there being a swamp cabinet and billionaires and bankers, but right now trump has the initiative. he can use it how he wants, and right now, he seems to be using it to keep his campaign promise. stuart: meanwhile the media is really, well, they're very much in sight because they're all over the place. but they

ashley: they drive to the white house, the mode cade and grated by barack and michelle obama. stuart: president obama still and first lady michelle. ashley: soon we can drop the elect. >> you said that donald trump would swear on the bible. i think swear-in on the bible. stuart: i think you're adding-- >> jovial. stuart: the stock market 80 odd points higher. mr. trump emerged from the church service at st. john's episcopal church and gotten into the motorcade. that's vice-president pence and his wife. they will shortly be moving en masse to the white house. they will be greeted at the white house by president obama and first lady michelle. they will go inside the white house to be entertained for coffee so that should last about 15 minutes, i think. liz: i think we're getting the tweet ready to show the viewer what mike pence tweeted out. we begin this historic day as we do every day with a moment of reflection and prayer, the work to make america great again today. stuart: it's historic and i think we're deeply privileged that we can sit here and comment on this unfolding of