jill once surprised joe by painting hearts on his office windows for valentine's day. and then there are these biden kids, grand kids, everywhere. they're all good looking. hunter and ashleigh who lived out that family creed of raising good families and looking out for the least of our brothers and sisters. bo who is watching over us with those broad shoulders and mighty heart himself. a man who left a beautiful legacy and inspired an entire nation. naomi and finn and mazy and natalie and little hunter, grand children who are the light of joe's eyes. and gives him an excuse to bust out the squirt gun around the pool. this is the kind of family that built this country. that's why my family is so proud to call ourselves honorary bidens.

as yeats put it, because i had to. to quote an irish poet, think where a man's glory most begins and ends. and say my glory was i had such friends. away from the camera, jill and michelle have each other's backs just as much as when they're out championing our troops. our girls are close, best friends at school, inviting each other for vacations and sleepovers. even though our terms are nearly over, one of the greatest gifts of these past eight years is that we're forever bonds as a family. but of course i know that the obamas are not the only ones who feel like they're part of the biden clan. because joe's heart has radiated around this room. you see it in the enduring

friendships he's forged with folks of every stripe and background on capitol hill. you see it in the way that his eyes light up when he finds somebody in a rope line from scranton, or just the tiniest fan from delaware. you see it in the incredible loyalty of his staff, the team who knows that family always comes before work, because joe tells them so every day. the team that reflects their boss' humble service here in this building where there have been no turf wars between our staffs because everybody here has understood we are all on the same mission and shared the same values. there's just been cooperation and camaraderie. and that is rare, it's a testament to joe and the tone that he sets. and finally, you see joe's heart in the way he consoles families dealing with cancer, backstage after an event. when he meets kids fighting through a stutter of their own. he gives them his private phone

number and keeps in touch with them long after. to know joe biden is to know that love without pretense, service without self regard, and to live life fully. as one of his long-time colleagues in the cincinnati who happened to be a republican, said if you can't admire joe buy den as person you have a problem. he is as good a man as god ever created. so, joe, for your faith in your fellow americans, for your love of country, and for your lifetime of service that will endure through the generations, i'd like to ask the military aid to join us on stage. for the final time as president, i am pleased to award our nation's highest civilian honor, the presidential medal of

freedom. [ applause ] [ applause ] [ applause ] and for -- and for the first and only time in my presidency i'll bestow this medal with an additional level of venertion, an honor my three successors had

for president ronald reagan, general colin powell and pope john paul ii. it's proud to award the medal of freedom with distinction. will you read the vie citation. >> vice president joseph r biden jr. n a career of public service spanning half a century, vice president joseph r biden jr. has left his mark on almost parent of the nation. fighting for a stronger middles class, a fair judicial system, and a smarter foreign policy, providing unyielding support for our troops, combatting crime and violence against women, leading our quest to cure cancer and safeguarding the landmark american recovery and reinvestment act from corruption. with his charm, candor, unabashed optimism and deep and abiding patriotism, joe bay biden has garnered the respect

of both parties and friendship of people across the nation and around the world. while summoning the strength, faith and grace to overcome great personal tragedy, this son of scranton, claymont and wilmington has become one of the most consequential vice presidents in american history, an accolade that rests behind his legacy as husband, father, and grandfather a grateful nation thanks vice president joseph r biden jr. for his lifetime of service on behalf of the united states of america. [ applause ] [ applause ]

[ applause ] [ applause ] >> thank you. [ applause ] please, please, thank you. [ applause ]

please, thank you. you're fired. [ laughing ] for the press, he's my chief of staff. i had -- i had no ink ling. i thought we were coming over, michelle, for you, jill, and barack and i and a couple of senior staff to toast one another. and say what an incredible journey it's been. mr. president, you got right the

part about my leaning on jill. but also leaning on you, a lot of people in the room, i look around the room and see great friends like ted koffman, who's been so much wisdom. mel monzak. i look around and see people i don't expect. madam president, how are you? mr. president, look at my new boss over there. but you know, i get a lot of credit i don't deserve, to state the obvious. and i've always had somebody to lean on. from that time in 1972 when the accident happened, i leaned on, and i mean this in the literal

sense, chris knows this, dodd knows this, mel knows this, ted knows this, i leaned on my sons bo and hunter. and i continue to lean on hunter who continues to in a bizarre way, raise me. i mean, i've leaned on them. and, you know, mr. president, you observed early on that when either one of my boys would walk in the room, they'd walk um and say what can i get you, what do you need? and then jill came along and she saved our lives. no man deserves one great love, let alone two. and everybody knows here, i am jill's husband. everybody knows that i love her more than she loves me. [ laughing ] with good reason.

and she gave me the most precious give gift, the love of my life, my daughter, ashleigh. and i continue to lean on the family. president kidded me once, he heard that in the preparation for the two debates, vice-presidential debates that i had, only had two, that bo and hunter, the last people in the room would say, bo would say look at me, dad. look at me. remember, remember home base, remember. so when the secret service can tell you, mr. president, that bo and hunt and ashleigh continued to have to corral me. one of the national parks i was climbing on top of a bridge to jump off the bridge, with a bunch of young kids, and i hear my sons yelling, "dad, get down!" now! an i just started laughing so hard i couldn't stop.

and i said, i'm just going to do a flip off here, a full gainer. they said dad, the secret service doesn't want you up there, dad. look at me, dad. [ laughing ] so we've never figured out who the father is in this family. mr. president, you know that with good reason there is no power in the vice-presidency. as a matter of fact i just did for nancy pelosi's date area reading of the constitution, you po lib did one, had them read the provisions relating to the vice-presidency in the constitution. there is no inherent power, nor should there be. mr. president, you have more than kept your commitment to me by saying that you wanted me to

help govern. the president's line often other people don't hear that often say, when they say would you get joe to do such and such. he says i don't do joe's schedule, he doesn't do mine. everything you've asked me to do mr. president, you have trusted me to do. that is remarkable thing. i don't think, acording to senior president of georgetown, i don't think according to the presidential and vice-presidential scholars, that kind of relationship has existed. i mean for real. it's all you, mr. president. it's all you, the reason why when you send me around the world nothing gets, as my mom would say, gets missed between the cup and the lip, they know when i speak i speak for you.

it's been easy, mr. president, because we not only have the same political philosophy and ideology, i tell everybody, i've told from the beginning, i'm not saying this to reciprocate, i've never known a president, and few people i've ever met my whole life can i count on less than one hand, who had the integrity and the decency and the sense of other people's needs like you do. i know you're upset when i told the story about when hunt and i were worried that bo would have to, that he would, as a matter of honor, decide he had to step down as attorney general while he was fighting his battle because he had aphasia, he was

losing his ability to speak. he didn't want to ever be in the position where, to him, everything was about duty and honor. and i said, and he may resign, i don't know, i just have a feeling he may, hunt and i talked about it. and i said he doesn't have any other income but we're all right because hunt is there and i can sell the house. we were having a private lunch like we do once a week. this man got up, came over and grabbed my by the shoulders looked at me and said don't you sell that house. you love that house. i said it's no big deal mr. president. he said i'll give you the money. i'll give you the money. promise me, promise me you won't sell that house. i remember when ashleigh, mr. president, we were in the oval and ashleigh was in the elevator and the elevator plumb elted, she was with a group of people, i forgot which building, plummeted to the ground.

and the service was worried she may have been badly hurt. and i got up to take the call, and you didn't let up until you made sure your service followed through and made sure everything was all right. but you know, mr. president, we kid about both, about marrying-up, that kind of thing. but the truth of the matter is, i said this to michelle last night, michelle is the finest first lady in my view that's ever served in the office. there's other great first ladies but i genuinely mean it. [ applause ] [ applause ]

when i got to meet michelle's brother, and he told me about how you guys were raised, and i got to know and love your mom, and your mom, were she 15 years older e..er, she could have been my mom. the way you were raised, the way we were raised, it wasn't any difference. and i knew that this decision to join you, which is the greatest honor of my life, was the right decision on the night we had to go and accept the nomination, the formal to be nominated at the convention. and finnigan who is now 18 years old, was 10 years old. she said, pop, is it okay if the room that we're in, fin began, mazy -- finnigan, mazy, naomi, we have the beds taken out. i said why?

she said maybe the obama girls and your brother's children, maybed they oh come down and sleep together in sleeping bags. and i give you my word as a biden, i knew when i left to go to the convention, open that door and saw them cuddle together, i knew that this was the right decision. i knew it was the right decision. i really did. because mr. president, the same value set, the same value set. folks, you know, i joke with my staff, i don't know why they pay them anything because they get to advise me. [ laughing ] let me tell what you i mean by that. as the president of the university of delaware where my heart resides in the home campus of delaware, they can tell you, i get to give you advice.

i get to be the last guy in the room and give you advice in the most difficult decisions anyone has to make in the whole world. but i get to walk out and you make it all by yourself. all by yourself. harry truman was about the buck stopping at his desk. and i've never, never, never, never, never, never once doubted, on these life and death decisions, i never once doubted that your judgment was solid, not once. not. we disagreed, argued, made a deal we'd be completely open like brothers with one another. and mr. president, i watched you under intense fire.

i will venture to say that no president in history has had as many novel crises land on his december income all of history, the civil war was worse, world war ii was worse. but mr. president, almost everyone of the crises you face is a face of first instinct. case of first instinct. i watch that prodigious mind that, heart as big as your head, i've watched you, i've watched ho you've acted -- how you acted. when you see woman or man under intense pressure you get a measure and you know that, michelle, and your daughters know it as well. this is a remarkable plan. and i just hope that the aster issing in history -- asterisk in history when they talk about this presidency, i can say i was

part of the journey of a remarkable man who did remarkable things for this country. [ applause ] remarkable things. [ applause ] [ applause ] you know, i can't let a comment go by without quoting an irish poet.

jill and i talk about why you are able to develop the way you developed. with the heart you have. michelle and i have talked about it. i have confided in michelle, gone to her for advice, we've talked about this man. you give me insight. and i think it's because, mr. president, you gave me credit for having understanding other people's misery and suffering. mr. president, there's not one single solitary ounce of entitlement in you or michelle or your beautiful daughters. you girls are incredible, you really are. that's not hyperbole, you really are. not one ounce of entitlement.

and haney and willis holmes said when you can find some one who says it better, use it. he said, you carried your own burden and very soon your symptoms of creeping privilege disappeared. you carried your own burdens and very soon creeping symptoms of privilege disappeared. mr. president, you have sometimes been like a lone wolf. yet you carried yourself in a way that is pretty remarkable. the history of your journey is something people will write about for a long time. i'm not being solitious to say

this, all of that grounding, all of that that you have made this guy totally whole. it's pretty amazing. mr. president, this honor is -- well beyond what i deserve. but it's a reflection of the extent and generosity of your spirit. i don't deserve this. but i know it came from the

president's heart. there is a talmudic saying that says what comes from the heart enters the heart. mr. president, you have creeped into our heart, you and your whole family, including mom. and you occupy it. it's an amazing thing that happened. i knew how smart you were, i knew how honorable you were, i knew how decent you were from the couple of years we worked in the senate, i knew what you were capable of. but i never fully expected that you occupy the biden's heart with hunter, ashleigh, my sister, all of us, all of us. and mr. president, i, um, i'm

indebted to you. i'm indebted to your friendship. i'm indebted to your family. and as i'll tell you, we're having a lunch, mostly it's on our mind, we talk about family a lot. and about six months in, the president looked at me, he said you know, joe, you know what surprised me, we've become such good friends. [ laughing ] i said surprised you? [ laughing ] but that is candid obama. and it's real. and, mr. president, you know as long as there's breath in me i'll be there for you, my whole family will be. and i know it is reciprocal.

and i want to thank you all so very, very, very much. all of you. [ applause ] north carolina joe biden getting a hearty thank you and recognition -- >> neil: very rare to get a presidential medal of freedom, they're not frequently handed out. in a surprise move, the president of the united states giving that to a man he selected to be his running mate 8 years ago. iments oh unusual to see a president and vice president get along to the degree they have. no matter your politics, the two families are very, very close. they had a very productive relationship. none of the acrimony between staff that you often see in republican and democratic administrations. none of the friction for example that you had between jfk and lyndon johnson or even some of the tension between george bush and dick cheney, nothing like that. a.al medal of freedom awarded to

vice president of the united states joe biden. who has not ruled out, entirely, maybe some day running for president in his own right. a 70-year-old was just elected. president of the united states. will be in that white house and calling it home a week from today. delaware democratic senator chris koons on the all of the staff moving developments. very good to have you. >> thank you, neil. >> neil: what do you think of this? that was an unexpected development for the vice president. >> i think that was a great surprise. both that it was surprise, and that the vice president who said, i don't deserve this, does richly deserve it. after 44 years of elected service to the people of delaware in this country, i think joe biden has been a tremendous public servant. and do i think as you said, neil, that president obama and vice president biden have had a tremendous, close, and productive relationship. joe biden has been an effective

voice on behalf of america's middle class and fought for the recover rift auto industry and manufacturing. i'm excited to see his next chapter in public service. >> neil: this might be a next chapter to your point, senator. he would be, what, 74, a little older, four years from now if he chose to run. could you see him doing that? >> i do never count out joe biden i was referring to he's going to be based at the university of delaware, doing things in our state and our country and at the university of pennsylvania continuing to fight for the cancer moon shot in bo's honor. being, i think, a very important and constructive voice in american foreign policy. >> neil: we're looking at these guys all but packing up because a week from today will be a new president of the united states residing there. and of course a knew vice president. -- a new vice president as well. but everyone is waiting for the whole trump cabinet to come together. how do you think that process is

looking, especially for rex tillerson, the former exxon-mobil boss who is slated to be donald trump's secretary of state. how does it look for him? >> well, as you know i'm on both the foreign relations committee and the judiciary committee. we had a nine-hour-long hearing with rex tillerson yesterday, nominee for secretary of state. and i was impressed with mr. tillerson, went the entire hearing without a single note or briefing book if front of him. six weeks ago i think couldn't have guessed he was likely to be the nominee for secretary of state. he gave thorough and thoughtful answers. but on a number of topics i was concerned. that he was either evasive or suggested he didn't have enough information o a couple of topics. senator rubio pressed him hard about human rights violations by russia. a number of us, myself included also asked him about his view on sanctions against russia and how and in what way we ought to work together to push back on russian aggression. ukraine and against nato.

and he also had, i think, unsatisfactory answers about lobbying activities against sanctions by exxon-mobil when he was ceo. i'm going to be sitting down this weekend and digging through the transcript because we also had the seconds day of the sessions confirmation hearings yesterday. so there was a lot going on yesterday. >> neil: are you leaning to backing him, sir, as things stand now would you approve his becoming secretary of state? >> i'd say i'm keeping an open mind. i had a terrific hour and a half meeting with mr. tillerson last week. on a number of issues important to me and the country he actually was strikingly different in his views than the president-elect. on everything from nato and pushing back on putin's russia to africa issues and human rights issues of concern to me. in the hearing he was less forthcoming and less concise. i may well reach out to mr. tillerson with followup

questions and i don't think we will have a vote until next week. i'm keeping an open mind. >> neil: what about jeff sessions, you said sipt on the judiciary committee as well. there a little bit of tension there, not directly with you, but with some who just said no, no, this guy is not your cup of tea? >> well, senator sessions is a friend and colleague. we've actually worked well together on three different distinct issues over the last six years. the victims of violence act -- victims of child abuse act reauthorization funding for federal public defenders, support for state and local law enforcement. but in six years there have been many more issues where he's pushed back on bipartisan efforts to make progress on criminal justice reform, or -- i'm leaning against voting for him at this point. when i spoke to senator sessions on the floor this afternoon and told him i'll be giving the record of his hearing a close

review tonight and tomorrow as well, i was concerned about some of our very strong policy interests, although i considered him a desent colleague. >> neil: democratic senator of the beautiful state of dale ware, thank you, sir. >> thank you. >> neil: this was a startling development, the justice department inspector general will be launching a probe in how the fbi and justice department handled a lot of the clinton e-mail stuff. ahead of the 2016 election. there are a lot of legal issues that come up here. exactly who is the inspector general answerable and accountable to. let's ask our former defense attorney anchor legal expert, everything impossible to understand, gregg jarrett. good to have you. an inspector general is an independent entity. who does he answer to? >> well, it was created we an act of congress. entity that's supposed tosh independent to investigate waste, fraud, corruption, and

misconduct. the trouble is that it's a political appointment. he or she is appointed by the president of the united states. in this case a democrat. the individual who is now the current inspector general was apointed by president obama but he also served in the bill clinton administration. which raise as lot of eyebrows in potential conflict of interest. one could argue he is not, therefore, competent to handle an independent investigation by virtue of all of that. and one can argue and i would expect people to say, he should recuse himself. >> neil: lrpt. answer this, then, assuming they get past that issue, which is a big one to your point. can he recommend action by the justice department, and then aren't we back in the same thing we were with comey if he recommended action, the fbi director james comey, action

against hillary clinton, over this e-mail stuff with the justice department, is it the same kind of thing, with the i.g.? >> no. the inspector general does not have the power to bring charges or render prosecution. >> neil: can he recommend action? >> he can, however, cite misconduct, undue influence that could conceivably rise to the level of criminal charges. but he can only make recommendations after issuing findings in an official report. he has no real power other than the power of the panel. >> neil: why do a lot of legal types say this is a cleaner, more efficient option than hiring an independent special prosecutor? the clinton ties notwithstanding. >> i think they're fooling themselves. a special prosecutor should have been appointed. charles grassley kept calling for it. he's the chairman of the judiciary committee. he was demanding a special prosecutor.

the department of justice, loretta lynch, refused to appoint a special prosecutor to look in to not only conduct within the doj that was questionable, but the behavior of james comey as well. she refused to do it. so all that could be done here was an inspector general, and both sides democrats and republicans demanded it, the i.g. in the end today announced he would look at both sides. >> neil: who decides that the i.g. is going to do this, does he go come out, raise his hand, i'm going on look into this? i don't understand the process. >> the inspector general in a very vague, ambiguous and broad statement today, seemed to be saying that he's going to look at the democrats' complaint, the james comey, threw the election for donald trump coming out at the last minute and saying i'm reopening the hillary clinton investigation. republicans said no, wait a minute, the fix was always in at doj and loretta lynch that they

refused to issue subpoenas and warrants that would have uncovered evidence. they had a mole there leaking information allegedly to the hillary clinton campaign. then of course loretta lynch's famous meeting with bill clinton on the tarmac. >> neil: he looked into all of that. >> he'll look into all of that. but not really, not into reopening the investigation, the evidence, against hillary clinton, just the process and whether it was fair and whether there was misconduct and ethical violations. >> neil: you should pursue this legal thing, very promising career. >> you're very kind. >> neil: gregg was giving the backdrop as well, this occurs at a time we're seeing all of the intelligence agencies under magnifying glass including the latest dustup with the president-elect, that is who knew what and when and who leaked the information that was supposedly so damaging to donald

trump when a lot of it might not have been true. then you have james clapper, head of the national intelligence agency phoning donald trump to say wait a minute, i had nothing to do with it. who did? and what's going on here? former u.s. ambassador to the united nations john bolten with us. ambassador, it has the feeling of sort of bureaucracy-wide confusion here. what do you think? >> well, i think it could well be confusion in some respects. obviously, this document, that nobody believes has any authenticity, although occasional facts may coincidentally turn out to be true, was leaked to the press. >> neil: who do you think leaked it, john? >> it those come from one of two places, if it dpram the government. the fact that the briefings took place, trump and obama, either from the intelligence community, some one in the intelligence community or the obama white house. i do think there should be an investigation of it. this is a gross misuse of

information that should be held confidential. even though it's not an intelligence community product, the very fact of it being discussed, and i think legitimately so that we know what character assassination efforts are going on in the broader world. >> neil: some one knew it, to your point. i think a few days ago when chuck schumer had, like, it wasn't veiled warning, even a veiled threat, a reminder to donald trump you really shouldn't be trashing our intelligence agencies. then lo and behold bee get these developments. it does make you wonder what did he know then, what became available to him then. especially when you don't know the source. something weird is going on. >> also, we have left wing columnists talking about the deep state and plots against trump. i think we need to take a deep breath here. lawrence silverman, one of the great elder statesmen of the republican party, federal koerpt

of appeals judge, once said in the federal government 99% of all conspiracies turn out to be simple screwups. i think that's important to keep in mind. i don't doubt that this looks like a deliberate leak. that would be my instinct. but that doesn't mean it's part of some huge conspiracy. >> neil: you don't think intelligence agencies, everything changes when a bunch of leadership on the intelligence community is coming in, likely approved. so that they can be ready to go for the new president. would act counter to the president? in other words, let's say there was intelligence that he sort of was not accepting on russia's role in hacking the election. no one ever said it affected the outcome. kind of intimated by some of his opponents. but that was never proven, never charged. now he's got to work with those same agencies. are you envisioning any of the

trouble that chuck schumer was alluding to? >> well, i don't think anybody should be under any illusions that there are elements of the intelligence community, as there are cultures in a lot of departments of government, that i think are fundamentally hostile to the trump world view. >> neil: would they be so small to say he called into question our intelligence, quite literally, and now we're going to go back at him? >> well, look, i think it's possible some people could have done that. i do, and i think it warrants investigation. all i'm saying is let's not get into the realm of fiction and think that somehow this is a thousand person conspiracy. i think it could also have come from the obama white house. or political figures in the administration. this administration has gone a long way to politicize the intelligence community. that's a terrible damage to our intelligence gathering capabilities and credibility. i think people like dan coates and mike pompeo when they get

confirmed as held of the krft ia and national director of intelligence, have huge job to do. this flatert flap has made it incredibly more difficult. >> neil: you mentioned congressman pompeo, president-elect trump's pick to be cia director, this is what he said about the leaks. >> there are a number of serious things that have taken place. the likes that occurred i consider to be intensely serious. director clapper's statement from last night or this morning about his concern about these likes is worthy as well. >> neil: and they continue. what do we do? >> well, i think it's very important for dan coates and mike pompeo to jump on this immediately. right now, when the new administration comes in, is the saying goes, the dead cat is not on their doorstep yet. but if this drags on then it's going on get harder and harder. i think there's an immediate need to repair this damage, to try and restore credibility to the intelligence community. but longer term, to purge it of

the plit sigs that we've seen -- po litization that we've had. >> neil: interesting, some of these guys' territories overlamb and their views on national security issues and the rest overlap as well. one thing that was interesting about mr. tillerson yesterday, in looking at vladimir putin, is that he had an open mind in dealing with him. he would not take some of the bait that was thrown at him whether he would identify vladimir putin as a war criminal, what have you. but he did talk about how we might avoid the problems we had in the past, especially given our response to the russian's invasion of crimea and how we prevent it spreading throughout the ukraine, amassing troops, working with nato, the troops on the border to send a strong signal to the russians because we have refused to do that. and so they're emboldened by that and want more and more and more. some have interpreted, i was noticing in the press reaction

to his comments that, he would be gunning for war, no pun intended, very provocative. what do you make of that? >> well, no, i don't think those actions with respect to the ukraine would have been provocative at all. i think the fact of the weakness of the american and european response to what putin was doing in ukraine was an encouragement to the russians. it was sense they could go further, they could take control of the cry meria, they could keep russian forces in the don bass region of eastern ukraine. i worried that it encourages, they can do other things as well. the problem with putin is when he follows his vision of russian national interest and it conflicts with ours as it does again and again. i say this as well, it's not enough to say, maybe we can find a deal with them. russian cheating and present varcation on arms control agreements over four or five decades is close to a record.

so they can agree to a lot of things. that doesn't necessarily guarantee russian performance up to the commitments they've made in the deal. >> neil: john bolton, always pleasure, thanks for ping-ponging with me. i wanted to get in as many subjects as i could. >> thank you, neil. >> neil: to the trump tower, we always get a kick out of the comings and goings. this rated eyebrows when we saw at&t ceo there today. he is the orchestrator of that deal with time-warner, $85 billion pairing that's looking increasingly dicey right now. time-warner, remember, owns cnn. you know how that relationship with team trump has been going. fox business expert, do we know what happened? >> well, we know what they're saying happened. they talked about job creation, very broad subjects. you know, at&t put out a statement that said they did not talk about the pending merger with time-warner, which i almost fell off of that i chair in

laughter. and i will point out this to the viewer, whether companies come out with that statement, we're also written very legalistically which this was, may not have mentioned the merger but i'm pretty sure mr. stevenson said, you know, talked about all of the benefits of his business going forward which include as merger with time-warner and how many jobs that's going to produce. that's what i think what happened here. as you know, trump has been meeting, himself, with people left and right, ceos left and right. yesterday as was reported on fox business, the ceo baier and monsanto came in talking about the benefits of their businesses going forward. >> neil: the timing of that one, too. you know, it was yesterday in his press conference that donald trump was talking about the pharmaceutical industry, how is it that drug prices are set the way they are, intimating that

he, you know, what he's been doing with auto companies he could do with them. and of course as soon as he said that, the market started tanking. since corrected a little bit. but not a lot. >> i think there is a lot of stuff going on with donald trump in terms of carpet america. what is fascinating to me, and you talk to a lot of investors out there, he hasn't really spoken much about his growth agenda. you know, it's been -- he talks about the wall, he talks about the companies, and he often tanks their stocks. he will talk to ceos and talk about what they plan to do, bring back jobs. but there's a whole issue here about getting our economy growing. items been a tepid recovery under president obama. headline unemployment numbers low. a lot of people know people dropped out of the workforce nooshgt great economy for the average joe. donald trump, won partly on a growth agenda. he hasn't satisfied word about it. a lot of investors are telling me, the reason why this thing isn't hitting 20,000, after as you know i was on the set with you, came within a point, i

believe, last friday, a third of a point. it keeps falling back. >> neil: interest is still up appreciably since the election, he gets a round of impressive visitors. he comes down with the big money guys, the billionaires. and i was thinking, this week, with ali baba, worth about 20 billion. eric schmidt, google, alphabet game, there's a guy guy worth about $30 billion. lvma, the french investigatories, he's worth about $50 billion. in those cases, he loves meeting, loves talking to them, likes getting counsel from them. what do you think they're saying, what is going here? >> what they're saying is that this is a very engaged president. he's getting very high marks from the people who leave those meetings. i know that because i've spoken with several of their representatives afterwards. they say he is smart, he knows

the issues, he is totally engaged. they say he's the most business engaged president they've seen in a long time. they counted george w. bush in that category. >> neil: who he goes down with. he goes down the lobby with these guys. jack maugh, with lvmh, and southbank. and these guys, certainly in the case of sun, announced big investments in the united states. >> and some of it has been baked into the cake. but some of it hasn't. listen, here's the great thing about trump right now, before companies think about moving out of our country, they're going to think of what is donald trump going to tweet about me. that is a positive thing. he's completely engaged. i mean, everybody that's coming out of there from what i understand is impressed. the fly in the ointment is i wonder where the growth agenda is.

i think steve mnuchin is up fortressry secretary next week. maybe that will push the markets over 20k. >> neil: all right, always breaking news, on fox, nowhere else, nowhere else. all right, have you been seeing this back and forth with the press, particularly one member of the press. you ever wonder what it's like to be singled out, how does it feel? been there, done that. after this.

>> you are attacking our news organization. can you give us a chance. >> not you, not you. go ahead. >> quiet. >> mr. president-elect -- >> no, no question. >> can you give us -- >> don't be rude. >> can you give us a question -- >> don't be rude.

iechl not going to give you a question. >> can you state -- >> you are fake news. go ahead. >> neil: ouch! how is that going down, cnn, how dogs it feel to be dismissed or worst ignored. how does it feel when your feelings are hurt, when your reporters are singled out and you're treated unfairly and unkindly even rudely? what is it like not to be liked? it's not fun. it's not fun when you think you're doing your job and the guy you're covering thinks you're the piece of work. it's insulting, isn't it. being called on the carpet by the next leader of the free world after years of giving the president all but a free pass. you can't figure out suddenly not being in. it bugs you when some one questions whether you're fair doesn't it? or cuts you to your journal is particular core doesn't it? it matters now when it's about you, doesn't it? not so much when it's about some one else. presidential pile-ones mat where you're the subject not so much, actually scratch that, not at

all when let's say fox is the subject. >> the if you talk to somebody who says i was watching fox news and they said this horrible. >> good, affordable healthcare might seem like a threat to the freedom of the american people on fox news. >> fox news on a regular basis, it is a constant menu, they will find, like, folks who make me mad. >> look, if i watched fox news i wouldn't vote for me. >> if i watched fox news i wouldn't vote for me ear they are. -- either. you have this fun house mirror to which people receive information. >> neil: and everyone chuckled. take it from me, taking trouth to power can be powerfully unsettling if that power sets its siegtses on you. and dismisses you. and ignores you. it didn't matter so much when it wasn't about you, before. cnn. very different now that it's you being singled out, cnn. doesn't seem very fair now, does

it? the shabby treatment of your reporters not very nice is it? that's life, i guess, not fair, not balanced. now you're experiencing what we have been living. you're the ones royally fox. i feel your pain. you never came to our defense so allow me to come to yours. you are better than buzzfeed. but the buzz is you're getting fed to the wolves. isn't it obnoxious and unfair how some celebrate your plight, kind of feels like the way you celebrated ours. doesn't it? they say payback is a bitch. if only you take a moment to rewind the tape and see the shoe is on the other foot. or am i confusing it with the one kicking you in the ass? you see it's hard to tell from where i sit. back then your silence was deafning. very different now, isn't interest? and i suspect, just suspect, not

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>> hello everyone. i am dana perino with kimberly guilfoyle, juan williams, eric bolling, greg gutfeld. this is "the five" ." republicans have promised to repeal obamacare and now they process is underway. the g.o.p.-controlled senate took the first step toward dismantling the signature law last night, proving the budget measure that sets the effort ann motion. as tonight do true -- as the night due to a close. >> you are stealing health care from americans. i vote no. >> for all those with pre-existing conditions. >> this is