john bolton. see if the president-elect decides to go that route. quickly. >> if he does go that route, expect that become a huge battle on the hill. you talk to rand paul about possibly bolton becoming the secretary of state, he was opposed to that. going to fight that. he'll fight deputy as well. >> and two bruising battles at secretary of state. >> and sean spicer, republican national committee's chief communications adviser. chief strategist. senior adviser to the president-elect right now. sean, thanks very much for joining us. >> good afternoon, wolf. thanks for shing me. >> why did the president-elect choose the exxon/mobil ceo rex tillerson to become the nation's next secretary of state? >> oh, because he's a world-class business leader with connections throughout the globe. he has been unbelievably zexz succe successful and a tough negotiator by everybody's standard. can implement a trump agenda around the world, re-establish america's place around the world and get things done. what donald trump has looked for in all picks. successful peop

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

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

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

but i think rudy giuliani and john bolton. lton would be an outstanding choice and giuliani would be a step up. mitt romney will not be seen as the president's close confidant overseas. lou: i don't think anyone will forget mad dog and lap dog. you labeled him and i don't know if he will escape that. do you have a label for anybody? >> i love that. i can't compete with that. i think the combination we are talking about rudy giuliani and bolton together. that's an exciting combination. i lived in new york on september 11. rudy giuliani brought the city together and he was a phenomenal leader. we are in a country that is divide. to see somebody with that leadership and strength would be great. lou: what do i know. the fact is that they are terrific people and i would love to see it. as we look at the wisconsin recount, what in the world was going on there? this has got to be a pathetic joke. the last thing saw that hillary picked number one dave recount one vote. so we are looking at $6.5 million. these will be very expensive. >>

but pretty hard line from both these senators on john bolton. that could well be a nomination that has more trouble. you know, democrats may be in a position to make a case against a few and maybe bolton will be the case study. >> it devolves down to someone at the lower level. what is trump? is he the dove who ran against the iraq war and said it was a stupid war over and over and over again? even though he had back then not quite been against it? is he that guy now? why is he playing footsie with the neocons. >> not sure donald trump has traditional ideological -- >> is he going to be loyal to those who voted for him? >> i think he has an attention span that's focused on a lot of different things, not in depth on anything in particular. i think mike pence is coming out to be the most powerful vice president since cheney during bush's first term. so it's a different -- i think it's a different sort of foreign policy than we've seen, certainly, in the last few presidents. >> here's what i don't get. senator, it seems to me that one interesting th

former bush administration officials who are drawing a line saying, no, we are not going to tolerate john bolton. donald trump, you shouldn't name him. those include condoleeza rice, bolton and the guy you will have on later, steven hadly. i would be curious what he has to say about whether or not john bolton would make a good addition to rex tillerson's state department. >> good question. richard engel, vladimir putin clearly enjoying the dissension he's sowed in any case as nbc news reported, the confirming reporting that, in fact, nothing happens in russia without putin. what the president will say today is likely what ben rhoads said to us yesterday. when they said october 7 this happened. it was done by russia and it was done at the highest levels of the russian government that's only one person. >> that's the presumption. that's what the intelligence community said then. that's what president obama seems to be saying now. this goes right to the top. things are seen differently from here in moscow. people in this country say that the u.s. has a long history of manipulating elections, of cha

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

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

here's where john bolton comes in. if john bolton is his principle deputy, he knows the state department in and out. he served in the state department. the fact that he would be the day to day operator, the ceo if you will of the state department i think is the perfect blend of management. you have john bolton managing the day to day operations, the secretary of state managing the diplomac diplomacy. he served two terms in the state department. >> will he want that job? will he be sath there saying, that should have been me? >> he was certainly qualified for that job. but right now the blending of a business leader and a diplomat. i can't think of a better team we've had at the state department than these two gentlemen if in fact they're selected. >> this is probably the next biggest announcement on monday or tuesday and then we've got things wrapped up. this. >> look, the people i've been speaking to inside the transition, they've been working tirelessly. you have to vet people, you have to have a wide net cast to mak

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

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

i know john bolton is still a cheerleader for the iraq war. he promoted a nuclear attack by israel on iran. he wants to do regime change in iran. i think john bolton is so far out of it, a naive understanding of the world, if he were to be the assistant for tillerson, i'm a no on bolton. he should get nowhere close to the state department. >> for more reaction to the report that the cia thinks russia was trying to help donald trump in the election, let's bring in peter alexander. what is the president-elect saying about this today? >> the bottom line is, we're witnessing this extraordinary breach, this tension now between the president-elect and the intelligence community that provides him with the analysis in this case suggesting that russia did play a role in hacking information with the intention of trying to tip the scales in his favor. dur donald trump has repeatedly been defiant on this. he was this morning with fox news. >> i think it's ridiculous. i think it's another excuse. i don't believe it. >> do you think that the cia is trying t

john bolton has a place to serve this country.er donald trump or rex tillerson. it just doesn't make sense right now. >> there are three elements here to consider. one, rex tillerson is chairman and ceo of a global empire. one of the largest companies in the world. i highly doubt he's going to sit there and accept the position of secretary of state or nomination to be secretary of state and have someone inserted under him who he does not know is his number two. i highly doubt that he would go for that. the second -- >> again, a guy who is still saying invading iraq was a great idea. >> yeah. >> he still loves that. still loves that idea. >> the second element is do you really want -- you're going to have a series of confirmation hearings. several of them are going to be rocky. health and human services is going to be very rocky. democrats are really going to -- >> what about epa? a blood bath. >> why do you want to add another confrontational hearing with bolton. >> not for number two. >> the third element to consider is rex tille

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

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

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

ambassador to the u.n., john bolton joins us. what's your reaction? >> i think if you are outside the circle of intelligence that's look at this, it's very hard to know what the answer is. but i think it's at least a question to be asked, whether or not this was a false flag operation with some foreign government other than russia. >> what do you mean? >> where a foreign intelligence service conducts an operation and leaves evidence pointing the

ambassador of the u.n., john bolton, heidi heitkamp, democrat, and david malpass. latest cabinet picks, jessica snyder is outside trump tower on fifth avenue in new york city for us right now. jessica, trump describes his pick for defense secretary, and i'm quoting him now, as the closest thing to general george patton that we have. general mattis, as we know, the retired marine corps general has a potential legal hurdle he has to clear in order to be considered for his nomination. >> reporter: yes. you know, wolf, but trump's team is saying they are well on their way to getting a congressional waiver. trump spokesman jason miller, in fact, this morning saying that senator john mccain is right now drafting legislation that would get general mattis around that law that mandates that uniformed

i think this person, john bolton, should never have any position in the state department. i will vote no and i hope my vote will be the deciding vote to keep him out of the state department. >> there was also an interesting cast of characters in trump tower today. that list included former nfl line backer ray lewis and the great hall of famer jim brown. kanye west was there. more on that in a moment. bill gates was there today. there were also reports that trump met with vogue magazine editor in chief anna winteror today, something trump mentioned tonight in wisconsin. the celebrity meetings and tillerson debate all overshadowed the news that trump made his pick today for interior secretary, republican congressman from montana, ryan zinke. former navy seal and reliable conservative voice in congress. in a moment here, we will be joined by the chairman of the senate homeland security committee. wisconsin senator ron johnson. but first with us in the studio to start off our discussion, our msnbc political analyst any dole wallace and pullitier prize winner columnist eugene r

john bolton was on the list at that point, and i guess john was probably my favorite. >> i think youtogether would have been a great team, that's my opinion. >> and i have a lot of obligations in my own private law practice, private consulting firm, that i just had to make a decision. >> yeah. >> that i just couldn't wait around, you know, two or three weeks. >> he talked about it with him at some point? >> i did, when it was a competing decisions between a number of different people. i could see it was going to be a hard decision for him. i thought it would make it easier for him by just pulling out. my objective in joining his campaign, and you know this because we talked about it, was for america. now, i may be romanticizing it but i believe helping to save america from becoming socialist and becoming a second rate or -- >> no, america is in a precipitous decline, horrible. >> a power that was no greater than anyone else. i wanted an ascendant american. i wanted america that is exceptional, i wanted america that is the leader of the world. and that's why i supported donald trump.

john bolton. mr. ambassador, thanks for joining us. we were on last week as well. talk a little bit about that comment. is this a deliberate push by the u.s. to, i guess, sway the sentiment in the middle east? >> i think it is. i think it's clearly intended to box in the new trump administration. you know, these are decisions that fly in the face of half a century of american policy. and obama has brought them forward with a month to go in his presidency. i think it's very i will advised. i think if there are any foreign officials or foreign diplomats listening tonight, i would just say don't operate under any allusions here, no matter what else

former ambassador john bolton here later to weigh in."hannity" continues. ♪ ♪ hi, i'm frank. i take movantik for oic, opioid-induced constipation. had a bad back injury, my doctor prescribed opioids which helped with the chronic pain, but backed me up big-time. tried prunes, laxatives, still constipated... had to talk to my doctor. she said, "how long you been holding this in?" (laughs) that was my movantik moment. my doctor told me that movantik is specifically designed for oic and can help you go more often. don't take movantik if you have a bowel blockage or a history of them. movantik may cause serious side effects, including symptoms of opioid withdrawal, severe stomach pain and/or diarrhea, and tears in the stomach or intestine. tell your doctor about any side effects and about medicines you take. movantik may interact with them causing side effects. why hold it in? have your movantik moment. talk to your doctor about opioid-induced constipation. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. ♪ i noticed it a

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

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

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

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

by the way, why is he picking john bolton, maybe? the guy who was in the iraq war, still seems like the vietnam war to me. the iraq war, he still seems to want this guy, as we speak, and at the same time, he says he wants to get the fbi and the cia out of there. who actually were right! >> but only one of the sentences in that statement, it's time to move on, is even arguably true. and you know, i actually do think he is going to be president. i'm moving on in that way. but, yet, constantly, when you have conversations with trump folks and trump supporters and the trump transition about facts, they always point to a fact that somebody else got wrong another time, rather than trying -- wanting to get to the essence of these facts and whether they're right or not. and it's never going to be proven that russia's involvement impacted the election. nobody is accusing trump of being in league with the russians in order to do that, of wittingly knowing that they were working on his behalf. so why not just do what you say and come forward an

something that john bolton and donald trump i think would line up on nicely. >> certainly something john bolton has spoken vocally and often on this program, and others. sarah, appreciate you being here. the intrigue happens, we'll come back to you. elizabeth? >> all right. leland, more than 500 people gathering in san bernardino, california, to mark one year since the mass shooting carried out by islamic extremists at a holiday party for county employees. the ceremony took place outside the building where the attack happened, which has since been closed. >>> a moment of silence was observed for the 14 people who were killed in the attack. it was one of the deadliest attacks of violence in the u.s. since the 9/11 attacks in 2001. >> i would like to call you to attention and ask you all to bow your heads in a moment of silence. as we honor the 14 individuals who were lost, their families and all the victims of the tragic event that occurred here one year ago today. [ bell ringing snflt [ @oyu0x?hy@x@8p boost it's about moving forward not back. it's looking up not down. it's feeling up

. >> whether it be rudy giuliani or mitt romney or general petraeus or senator corker or john bolton and others bring extraordinary background and qualities to this. >> giuliani is out, but sources tell my colleagues and a transition official confirmed that goldman sachs president and coo is in. he has been offered a job as the top white house economic adviser. he is the third goldman sachs alum to be offered a job. he picked a 17-year goldman vet and a-time banker steve bannon is the top white house adviser. trump attacked goldman's influence and here's trump in the campaign going after ted cruise and hillary clinton's goldman ties. >> i know the guys at goldman sachs. they have total, total control over him. just like they have total control over hillary clinton. total. they have no control over donald trump. i don't want their money. i don't need their money. they have no control. >> the top transition adviser and donald trump's campaign manager. welcome to the set. it has been a while. let me go to goldman sachs. he railed against them. three goldman sachs alum with fairly promin

john bolton is very aggressive and very very outspoken. it will be interesting to see how that particular marriage will work. >> i will move on quickly, i'm picturing double box, as we sane the news business, with a picture of mitt romney and rex tillerson, they're just so different, i'm baffled. >> it is. we will find out, i suppose, over the next couple of weeks, what attracted donald trump to this particular choice. obviously, this is the choice that would be most favored by the kremlin, by cell phovladimi and famously, mitt romney said the biggest geopolitical threat we faced was russia and vindicated for having said that. you couldn't have two more different views of the world. now, i think the senate will have to go in a very detailed way and unravel all the possible conflicts in an administration that is rife with these conflicts. >> i have to ask you about this fake news everywhere. the article you wrote for "politico" magazine, you wrote, you think the truth took a hit last year, it's about to get worse, a lot worse. kind of scary

harvey eleven and former ambassador john bolton will be here tonight. but first, the president-elect making major announcements today. kellyanne conway will serve as counselor to the president and sean spicer will be the white house press secretary. here now with reaction is kellyanne conway herself. thank you for coming out antalking to usç tonight. congratulations from the deepest part of my heart. you deserved it. >> eric. thank you. i know you mean that. i appreciate it. >> what made you make the decision. you said i'm not going to d.c. i'm going to new jersey. what made it for you? what are you going to do for the president? >> i'll always be a jersey girl, eric. that's clear. what i'll be doing for the president is i'll be in the west wing as one of his senior adviser ps. title is counselor to the president. and basically the portfolio is expected to include some communication bs, data and strategy, perhaps some of the capitol hill or intergovernmental work. that's yet to be determined by the president and the senior team. essentially the way i'v

this is john bolton. to me just viewing from this the outside that this hacking into the dnc and the rnc computers wasn't a false flag operation. >> are you accusing someone here in this administration of trying -- in the intelligence community of trying to throw something? >> we just don't know. i believe that intelligence has been politicized in the obama administration to a very significant degree. >> i talked to cia sources who said this idea that this is a false flag is irresponsible, dangerous and john bolton is somebody who could be appointed to the donald trump cabinet. what's your reaction to that? is this somebody that you would trust to be in a position of power given those comments? >> i think john bolton has a demonstrated competence as it relates to international and foreign policy issues. i think he's been in the hot seat, so to speak in deliberating much of this kind of thing. therefore it is a little bit dangerous to raise a false flag question. because it fans the flames of conspiracy th

would you support john bolton in a top position in the new government? john bolton? >> i have made no comments on nominees until they're actually nominated. so let's see what happens. >> i understand. >> look. it is a nomination that has been controversial in the past. i've never really sat down and talking to john bolton one-on-one. until someone is nominated, i don't like to weigh in. >> how about the proposal to move the capital to jerusalem? it's always been talked about but never been done. >> candidly, i've talk to the israelis about it. and i think there is a way to communicate the moving of the embassy. what we have is a kons hat now that only works on the palestinian side. i think there's a way of doing it if you communicate that you're still hoping and working toward a two-state solution. so i know he campaigned on it. i think it would be something at this point that could not be negative and could be very positive moving things along. so my guess is they will move in that direction. >> i disagree but that's your right. yesterday, the ambassador said they a

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

john bolton, former u.s. ambassador to the u.n.? >> it's not what i think. it's what president-elect trump thinks. as long as he's meeting with secretary gates, and i'm -- jon huntsman, i never talked to about this. there is a panoply of candidates to call upon with great experience. ultimately he's got to have the person that best reflects his own views. the secretary of state, secretary of defense, they don't set policy. it's the president of the united states. so whomever he feeled comfortable with can carry out his philosophy, his objectives, that's the person to select. >> you were on the inside. secretary of defense for bill clinton and had an impact on the eventual decision that the president of the united states has, and it's really critically important who a president surrounds himself, to make these critically important decisions. let me get back to general mattis a moment. >> sure. >> i interviewed him back at an institute in 2013. summer of 2013. listen to this exchange i had with general mattis. we spoke for over an hour. >> the single biggest q

melissa: here now is ambassador john bolton, former u.s. ambassador to the u.n., fox news contributor. i took his comment a totally different way. i feel like if you listen to the language he used, it was a slam on the people that were advising him. when he says that was not on my intelligence radar screen, isn't he saying nobody told me, that's why i didn't know? >> i think it is of a piece with his earlier comment the isis was jv of the tear lost organization. melissa: right. >> i think it is consistent with the broad failure we've seen of the obama terrorist policy he never understood the nature of the threat. he never understood the ideology. he never understood what makes movements like al qaeda or isis or others successful. i think he was blind to the whole thing. this is tragically a palpable example of it. melissa: what is amazing, his predecessor warned him about it. listen to this sound bite from george w. bush. >> to begin withdrawing before our commanders tell us we're ready it would be dangerous. it means allow terrorists to es

>> john bolton is absolutely my top pick. know him, i know him to be workhorse and really honest and really loyal. i think he would be a phenomenal secretary of state. not only he will bring information to president-elect trump but at the end of the day, john bolton understands who the president is. he would absolutely implement the trump policies. liz: i have to ask you about taiwan because the president-elect did of course take congratulatory phone call from taiwan. i don't see anything wrong with it but i don't know all the moving pieces when it comes to diplomacy. we do know in the past we've seen things like the taiwan strait crisis, not one, not two, not three, when china perceived some slight. do you think right now, because donald trump took that congratulatory phone call from the president of taiwan, does not have good relations with china, that china right now is getting ready to do something, buzz taiwan with planes. >> no. liz: no, really? >> i don't think so. the chinese know that they had a phone call two weeks,

i will take up threat of radical islammer islamist terror with john bolton, also joining us, steve hilton. and a lot to discuss, including a war of words between president-elect and former president clinton, president clinton started it, when he told a news paper that trump knows how to get "angry white men" to vote for him. trump fired back, bill clinton stated i called him after the election, wrong, he called me with a very nice congratulations, he doesn't know much, especially how to get people with a unlimited budget out to vote in vital swing states, they focused on wrong states. bill clinton then backed off, i called him after the election. we'll take up day's political news former reagan white house political director ed rollins is joining us, the top story, german capital on edge over fears that one or more suspects are at large in the suspected terrorist attack on a christmas market. german chancellor merkel said that authorities are working on the saw. tion i-- sumption it was a terrorist attack. but critics say merkel herself has blood on her hands for opening the borders to th