twitter the united nations has such great potential. right now just a club for people to get together, talk, and have a good time. so sad. that's not the only shot he's taken at the international organization since american diplomats sat silently by while others on the security counsel passed a resolution that hurts our closest allies in the middle east. israel. the president elect suggests he has the power to slow administration down, but not stop them t. big loss yesterday for israel and united nations will make it much harder to negotiate peace. too bad, but we'll get it done anyway. now conservatives see an opportunity to draw upon his experience with manhattan real estate. >> it's an organization that exacerbates tensions. i think that's good in real estate in downtown new york city and trump ought to find a way to put his name on it and turn it into condos. >> charles isn't alone. senator ted cruz, john mccain, rubio, and speaker of the house paul ryan are all calling for the united states to stop sending so much money to the unle

president-elect trump slamming the united nations over the vote, tweeting, the united nations has such great potential but right now, it just a club for people to gettinto get together, talk and have a good time be so sad. about a quarter of u.n. budget, 3 billion dollars comes from the u.s. annually. >> joining me now, former u.s. ambassador to united nations, and senior fellow john bolton. what is your reaction to this? that is where you hedge you hung your hat for a number of years, is it just a place to get together and talk. >> i had fun, defending american interests, probably not other people not so much fun. but, this was a clear abuse of the u.n. to disadvantage israel. obama administration's -- is a reputing a of 50 years of bipartisan american policy it steps in to try to tilt scales in favor of palestinians against israel, and rejects this 50-year-old dock rain called land for peace, that israel gives baxter torrey -- territory it won in wars that were directed against it, it gets peace in exchange. i can't think of a worse way for the obama administration to go out, it will

for the united nations. more than that, you have an important job to do and informing the world about our work, where we make progress and when we fall short. i deeply believe in your mission. i have been saying you are connecting the world. a connector between the united nations and the world. at a time when governments across the world are harassing journalists, cracking down on press freedom, i have worked hard to be your allies and defender. the fight for freedom of the press is everybody's fight. i have a brief today to allow maximum time for questions. let me make three points. first, syria remains a gaping hole in the conscious. it has become a synonym for hell. as i told the council three days ago, we have collectively failed the people of syria. peace will only prevail when it is accompanied by compassion, justice and accountability for the abominable crimes we have seen. second, i am closely following the deteriorating situation in south sudan. this week marks the third anniversary of the fighting.

breaking news right now at the united nation. a security count on a resolution demanding to an end to israeli settlement in the west bank. a lot of stuff, there is a new question for world leaders today. this morning, president-elect trump doubled down on this tweet, thursday, the united states must greatly strengthen and expand their capabilities until such time as the worldcom to i worldcom -- world comes to its censuses. >> the president-elect told you what? >> let it be an arm's race. we'll out match them in every pass. >> and out last them all. >> vladimir putin took a question at his annual press conference this morning. when someone accelerates and speeds up the arm's race, it is not us. >> joining me now is nbc's kelly o'donell and katy tur. kelly, you are in florida and mr. trump is spending the day playing golf with dwootiger woo. how is this leading the republicans in trump's team. >> reporter: one of the questions is how seriously or literally should donald trump's tweets be taken? is he trying to set policy through t

it was the united nations for instance, the security council, that authorized the united states to remove iraq from kuwait in 1991 and the united nations security council that sa sanctioned palestine. the u.n. security council has done things they very much like and maybe not everything they like, but donald trump will be well advised to get his briefings, understand the environment into which he's stepping and know that the eun e united nations is an organization that russia would like to have go away as well so if he doesn't want to play into the russians' hands, he needs to be real careful with his tweets. >> i actually disagree with steve. i used to work at the united nations. the only thing good about it is its cafeteria. the lasting legacy might be he's gotten republicans to seriously consider defunding it. we give 22% the united nations funding annually. >> you acknowledge there's value in having an intergovernmental organization where member nations -- >> absolutely, if it tackles the real problems. instead of tackling problems of syria, aleppo, other human rights crises, they've

in terms of the united states, its relationship with the united nations as an institution, what can we expect with druonald tru as president? >> based on my reporting, the trump has antagonized the u.n. this is not a group they're going to embrace. but if you look at their pick for u.n. ambassador to the united states, governor nikki haley of south carolina, you see trump trying to use that position in a way to show a different kind of face to the world. someone with a different background, a different temperament. he may not put an emphasis on it dealing with steve bannon, rex tillerson, but he'll have haley there as someone who's an asset and a hawk. >> last week trump also called on the united states to strengthen and expand its nuclear capabilities, something no president has publicly said that way in decades. ton friday, asked about those comments, trump told mika brzezinski, let it be an arms race, we'll outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all. that was the latest in a series of comments about nuclear weapons that have unnerved trump's critics during the campaign. he ref

whether the united nations, whether the u.s. should be providing funding to the united nations? that's a new moment i think in this whole debate over the united nations and what it does. eric: kofi annan even said they have too often failed in their expectations and have just been discussing issues that are of no interest beyond the building. in the book finally i wrote, the problem they let everybody in. 192 nations, many of them as you rightfully pointed out, oppose the values upon what it was founded. steve hayes, great to see you. thank you for your insight. >> thanks, eric. eric: of course. patti ann? patti ann: postholiday shoppers left scrambling for safety after fights break out at malls across the country. [screaming] >> owe, my god! patti ann: this was the scene in manchester, connecticut, where several people were arrested. in cleveland, ohio, police used pepper spray to dispurse large crowds after a fight there. >> running, screaming. i seen a girl get trampled over. it was scary. it was really scary for real. like i said, it is just really sad. it is just sad. >> ro

funding to the united nations. we'll have more on israeli settlements and the vote at the united nations after headlines. meanwhile, in the west bank, israeli forces fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets to disperse a protest of palestinians on friday ahead of christmas celebrations in bethlehem, where christians believe jesus was born. the crackdown came as palestinians -- many dressed as santa claus -- approached israel's massive separation barrier. protesters were demanding unrestricted access to jerusalem. they currently must apply for permits to travel to the city, which borders bethlehem to the north. president obama on friday signed the national defense authorization act, or ndaa, providing nearly $619 billion for war and military spending. the measure passed both houses of congress with a veto-proof majority and will bring troops a modest pay raise while increasing the number of active duty soldiers to more than 1.3 million. the ndaa also restricts transfers from the guantanamo prison guaranteeing

this resolution to the united nations security council. we'll share that information with the incoming information. some of it is sensitive. it's all true. you saw some of it in the protocol released in an egyptian paper. there's plenty more. it's the tip of the iceberg. they say, but we didn't bring it. and they can take john kerry's speech, and the six points, it could be raised in the french international conference a few days from now, brought to the u.n. france will bring it, or sweden, not a noted friend of israel, could bring it. and the united states could stay, well, we can't vote against our own policy, you just enunciated it. i think the united states, if it's true to its word, or at least if it's now true to its word, should now come out and say we will not allow any resolutions, any more resolutions, in the security council on israel, period. not we will bring or not bring. we will not allow any. and stop this game. i think that the decisions that are vital to israel's interests, and the future of its children, that will be ma

this comes ties with the united nations. this co m es after ties with the united nations. this comes after the security council adopted a resolution demanding an end to israeli settlement building on occupied palestinian land. the resolution was passed after the united states refuse to veto it standing breaking with long—standing us practice. donald trump has suggested he will reverse the us position on this at the un after his inauguration. translation: the decision was taken at the un yesterday pa rt decision was taken at the un yesterday part of the swansong of the old world biased against israel. we are entering a new era and as president—elect trump said yesterday this is going to happen much quicker than people think. all the american president afterjimmy carter kept the us commitment not to try to impose conditions provide all agreement on israel in the security council. and yesterday, in complete contrast to this commitment including a commitment by president obama himself in 2011, the obama administration conducted a shameful anti— israel ambush at the unite

the united nations condemned israeli settlements earlier today. secretary of state john kerry lectured and criticized america's ally in a foreign policy speech, take a look. >> friends need to tell each other the hard truths. and friendships require mutual respect. the united states did, in fact, vote in accordance with our values. just as previous u.s. administrations have done at the security council before us. they fail to recognize that this friend, the united states of america, that has done more to support israel than any other country. this friend that has blocked countless efforts to delegitimize israel, cannot be true to our own values or even the stated democratic values of israel. and we cannot properly defend and protect israel if we allow a viable two-state solution to be destroyed before our own eyes. here is a fundamental reality, if the choice is one state, israel can either be jewish or democratic, cannot be both. >> and hours later, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu responded to secretary kerry, watch this. >> i must expr

representative at the united nations and representing the united states in governor nikki haley. she's got a great background as a republican governor of south carolina. she's kind of new to the game of diplomacy, but i think she'll do well. but then, he's got an ambassador pick for israel who is a pretty controversial mr. friedman, some who strongly supports the settlers and the settlements that are being built on palestinian land. that's going to lead to certainly lots of controversy and discussion. a very, very different kind of attitude and stance from previous u.n. ambassadors. so this will indeed be very interesting time. donald trump is not at all shy about messaging, either, because as you know he messages every day on twitter. and although messaging isn't always the same as policy, it none the less clearly starts discussions. so there's going to be lotsf discussion. lots of discussion going forward. >> no doubt about the fact this relationship is very different with benjamin netanyahu than president obama's is. it's not as if suddenly there's been a breach between the tw

and this is the problem with the united nations. you've got so many undemocratic nations who resent the fact that israel is this bastien of democracy in the middle east. i met with the prime minister and he was ready to negotiate without pre-conditions at any time, any place and he favored a two state solution for two peoples. i think that's correct. and i think we ought to work towards that, and not censure israel. >> you had a chance to meet with a lot of senior israelis. talk about the public's attitude in terms of the incoming president. are they excited about a president-elect donald trump? do they think he's going to be able to get a peace deal through? >> well, i think a lot of it depends on the ideological spectrum but there's hope. there's talk about moving the u.s. embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem. which i support, we voted that in the 1990s to give the president the authority to do that. no one has done it yet but the fact of the matter is -- >> that wouldn't ignite concerns on the street level or the broader arab world

the united nations? >> i can't. reagan had such a strong relationship with israel. i believe this president never really had a strong relationship with israel, never wanted one. and everything you are seeing is a manifestation of his inner feelings. >> you think of the business interests you have with israel. you thif our social interests. it is the one democracy in the middle east. it's a model for development. that what's we would like to see together, countries in the middle east become. we want to support that model, don't we? >> that is technically correct. but the strategy of this nation has never been to be a friend of israel. david: how does trump unwind what has been put in motion in the waning days of the obama administration. >> president-elect trump has made it clear he's going to take a different tack with it comes to israel. he has nominated david freedman for ambassador and he said he would like to move the embassy to jerusalem. president-elect trump tweeted that things will be different j

funding to the united nations. we'll have more on israeli settlements and the vote at the united nations after headlines. meanwhile, in the west bank, israeli forces fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets to disperse a protest of palestinians on friday ahead of christmas celebrations in bethlehem, where christians believe jesus was born. the crackdown came as palestinians -- many dressed as santa claus -- approached israel's massive separation barrier. protesters were demanding unrestricted access to jerusalem. they currently must apply for permits to travel to the city, which borders bethlehem to t the north. president obama on friday signed the national defense authorization act, or ndaa, providing nearly $619 billion for war and military spending. the measure passed both houses of congress with a veto-proof majority and will bring troops a modest pay raise while increasing the number of active duty soldiers to more than 1.3 million. the ndaa also restricts transfers from the guantanamo prison guaranteein

president-elect trump slamming the united nations over the vote, tweeting, the united nations has such great potential but right now, it just a club for people to gettinto get together, talk and have a good time be so sad. about a quarter of u.n. budget, 3 billion dollars comes from the u.s. annually. >> joining me now, former u.s. ambassador to united nations, and senior fellow john bolton. what is your reaction to this? that is where you hedge you hung your hat for a number of years, is it just a place to get together and talk. >> i had fun, defending american interests, probably not other people not so much fun. but, this was a clear abuse of the u.n. to disadvantage israel. obama administration's -- is a reputing a of 50 years of bipartisan american policy it steps in to try to tilt scales inavor opalestinians against israel, and rejects this 50-year-old dock rain called land for peace, that israel gives baxter torrey -- territory it won in wars that were directed against it, it gets peace in exchange. i can't think of a worse way for the obama administration to go out, it will be

i want to talk about what's going on up the street at the united nations. we know representatives israel's government says it's going to give the trump administration evidence that the obama administration orchestrated that u.n. security council vote. israel has not offered any proof, publicly. we have asked them, others have asked them, what does the trump response need to be in this case? >> well, if you're talking about the trump response before he's the president, he -- we are seeing what he's responding on triter. what will be interesting when he is president is what he instructs his incoming united states ambassador, south carolina nikki haley, on what he wants her to do, and if the -- it seems to me there will be a u.s. security council veto of any u.n. measure against israel. but i want -- i think the context here is important. the united nations has never been an honest broker in any israeli dealing, with maybe a rare exception. so, one of the reasons this is now so controversial, it's not the -- it's not really a discussion, per se, on the settlem

states and the united nations. lincoln was a force for equality, integrity and reconciliation and we need that spirit today. tests.s been a decade of i've also seen collective action. a change in millions of lives for the better. sometimes, it may be international corporation as the path for more prosperity going forward. i will continue to appeal to world leaders to recognize and 21st century fax. -- facts. i wish to express my andeciation to my host city country. yesterday, and washington, d.c., i think president obama and vice biden and secretary rice. we had a close productive ties between the united states and the united nations. i have also recently met with mayor deblasio of new york and governor christie of new jersey and i will speak to governor cuomo from new york. the united states continues to grow strength and the new york metropolitan area. thank you again for your friendship over the past decade and i wish you continued good substance. and engage more closely with the united nations so that you will

at the united nations. him and not only in decades past such as the infamous resolution the general assembly adopted in 1975 determining that zionism is a form of racism, but also in 2016, this year. one need only look at the 18 resolutions against israel adopted or the 12 adopted in the human rights council, more than those focused on syria, iran, north korea, and south sudan put together. to see that in 2016 israel continues to be treated differently from other member states. like u.s. administration's before it, the obama administration has worked tirelessly to fight for israel's right something to be treated like any other country. from advocating for israel to finally be granted membership to a u.n. regional body, it's something no other member state had been denied, to fighting that ensuring that israeli ngos are not denied accreditation because they are israeli and getting yom kippur officially recognized as he u.n. holiday, to pressing this council to rake its indefensible silence in response to ter

pull out the united nations. let's go back to former senator scott brown. that was at the end of president-elect trump's message we were talking about that. with a speech about israel. we were interrupted. i was asking a question your question and we do not discuss in the united states the issues of the palestinian authorities pain -- pain those who attacked a really citizens in the fight with israel. they don't consider them to that. we don't talk about the fact that they did give land to the egyptian and has enjoyed peace with egypt since the late 1970s. the gaza strip was turned over to the palestinians there has not been peace. those issues are not discussed but those are facts. the reason i say that to you is regardless of the fact is support for israel in the united states shifting. we see the boycott and sanction movement growing on college campuses among left-wing organizations is a commitment of this country to israel in jeopardy. it is our greatest ally in the region. it is a sea of non- democracies. an

the inner works of the united nations. it is a balance because on one hand you have to preserve the autonomy of individual nation states but oregon you need to set the stage for what is globally acceptable diplomacy, so the u.n. security council and the fact that the permanent members have veto power is incredibly important. today the united states an an abdicate it their role as a permanent maybe of the council by abstainening from this vote and break egg with traditional diplomatic practice. we need to remember that u.n. security counsel members are going to be changing in the new year. the nonpermanent members taking off venezuela and bringing on kazakhstan. so an interesting time for the u.n. in 2017. >> cost does this say from now on the united states doesn't inertly have israel's back? >> not at all. this is more than a last easterly do last-ditch effort by own tone make things harder for trump. the american people stand with israel and that at the voting booth in november. this does note mean a whole lot. we'll see

>> not well and the united nations -- some members of the united nations, some officials, have been very critical of donald trump even before the election calling him out for his statements about using terror, killing the families of terrorists, building a wall. you know, donald trump and some united nations officials haven't gotten along anyway so this could be daump counterpunching. it could also be donald trump threatening the united nations but if you talk to people who are experts on this, i was just speaking to our "wall street journal" reporter on the united nations, trump being combative with the united nations would not serve the united states well. it's not a club where they go talk about happy things. they've been discussing syria, north korea, very serious issues throughout the year, it's a really -- they're dealing with tough issues and if donald trump could do something it would be withdraw funding. however, that gap would be likely filled by china or other u.n. members and any of the permanent members could veto donald trump's actions if he wants to actually try to negotia

of the united nations. this infewer yaturiates them. they don't like to be accountable to anyone. what was their plan. come with their only source of funding. that source of funding, all in detail in the last chapter in my book. you need to look at that. that's a thing people don't really understand. so they came up with this thing. if they are able to come up with a co2 tax or something like that, they don't have to then be accountable to anyone. that's really what it was all about. you remember some of the early statements, even people that were not our friends were honest about the evaluations of the whole global warming thing. joshua rock, he said, quote, international global warming regulations represent the first component of an authentic global governance. the prime minister of canada called it a socialist scheme. here is a good one. the e.u minister, she came out and she sid, quote, kyoto is about the economy, about leveling the playing field worldwide. so they are pretty honest about it back during

do we defund the united nations? there is so much money that goes into it, a general pot and one that goes into united nations peacekeeping and the peacekeeping one is $2.3 billion and we can question whether or not they always do what is right. >> there is a third, other u.n. initiatives. we put in in $2012020 10 $2 mil. >> we signed a ten-year deal with israel, the biggest and largest deal in its history for $38 billion worth of military technology we are going to give to the israelis. i want to if he cuss on thfocu positive sgchlt wi positive. >> protecting them from the deal of sustaining from this resolution? >> gaza was not on barack obama's watch. >> i am not blaming him. if you embolden the palestinians and you fund hamas, you are saying, do your thing. israel is going, wait a minute. >>ky ju >> can i just say this? this issue doesn't lend itself to sound bites. you can be pro-israel. i am incredibly pro-israel and still against their settlement policy. it doesn't mean you can give away that. >> netanyahu say

and the national security adviser for strong support over the years. and the united nations. i also recently have met the mayor of york and will speak soon to the governor. the united nations continues to draw strength and to engage more closely and thank you very much. i am happy to take your questions. >> with the correspondents association thank you for that cooperation with the us we appreciate that. and for freedom of the press to last tough questions and then to face two options. because this is the of last question which do you choose? >> and as you know, lasted 10 years. and with those vacations in has been tough. simeon diller -- united asians so i still have 15 days to go. so never fear after 15 days i try to have as many people as possible. and my friends consider seriously what of what i could and should do. in that situation and the future of their country and this is one of the biggest challenges of the people that i am encountering. so that transforms the career that is one of the prides the korean people have. and i also understand that desperation to help the

the united nations working very far from united. we have seen the conflict debated at the security council for umpteen times. because the leading countries are bitterly divided as to how they see this conflict. 0bviously, many of the western countries and the united states, see very differently from russia. this proposal the united nations monitors be deployed immediately to make sure that civilians could be safeguarded from the eastern part of aleppo. but the strongest information is that the russians are not going to go along with this. even if this idea got through, how it would work out on the ground with the forces of syria, with the socially cooperate with that? 0nce with the socially cooperate with that? once again, we have seen many teams, united nations forces asking to go into a war zone and finding themselves refused entry. international trade secretary liam fox has refused to rule out britain remaining a member of the european customs' union, which could limit free trade deals after brexit. he told the bbc‘s andrew mar

reason thepoint, the united nations is now capitalized is because come in his own mind, the united nations will be like the league of nations had been come on organization. prior to this, it had been the coalition that had been fighting this war. but now in his mind, very much, it is an organization. it is the united nations. i think it is an important moment of change. speech.ivering this the gliders have already taken off. the boats have already left the dock. he knows what is about to happen. he has spent the last several days at a small farm in virginia, near monticello, that is owned by his closest advisor, paul watson. he was technically his appointed secretary, but he is really his military advisor and one of his closest friends. he had been staying there with his daughter and her husband. was a journalist who had brought a newspaper out in seattle. they were drafting what is perhaps one of the great speeches or moments in fdr's presidency, which is the d-day prayer. talk about this before a player. we play it. >> this is one of my favorites. this is not on the syllabus because it m

, how the administration will deal with the united nations. it will be interesting, at least from my perspective, to see how she deals with some of these challenges and how she deals with president-elect trump's very aggressive stance towards the u.n. >> we'll all be paying close attention. rebecca bird, josh rogin, thank you so much. >>> donald trump taps a bush adviser for his cabinet and he doesn't agree with the president-elect's stance on iraq. i really did save hundreds on my car insurance with geico. i should take a closer look at geico... geico has a long history of great savings and great service. over seventy-five years. wait. seventy-five years? that is great. speaking of great, check out these hot riffs. you like smash mouth? uh, yeah i have an early day tomorrow so... wait. almost there. goodnight, bruce. gotta tune the "a." (humming) take a closer look at geico. great savings. and a whole lot more. channel islands national park. coronado. saguaro. you'll see there's one that's an eagle. my number one goal is getting more funds ou

israel, it shows that the united nations is not even handed, that israel can no do right. and it's what's really ridiculous is that at a time when hundreds of thousands of people are dying in syria you have genocide in south sudan. you have people being killed all over the country, and i would say that the united states has not done a lot of things in syria over the past several years, so they condemn israel for settlements. prime minister netanyahu said to me two days ago, that he's for a two state solution, and he believes there should be two states two two peoples. meaning that the palestinians have a right to their state, but so do the jews have a right to their state. and he said he would meet with the palestinians, at any time in any place, with no preconditions, but the palestinians, unfortunately, have decided they don't want to meet, they just want to use the united nations to whip israel and to embarrass israel and for us to fall into that trap was a really grievous error. >> i want to bring in a palestinian voice, i spoke a few minutes ago to a senior palestinia

paul: talk about what makes this united nations different. mary: first off, now you will see in the speech text they are capitalized and what he is clearly thinking ahead to is when he says, the united nations are committed to the idea that no one nation or one brace, they are seeking or imagining a world in which nobody dominates, but that things are held in balance by the cooperation of all of the human refer to as the civilized nations. for him britain and the soviet union went balance themselves in europe. the united states would manage its own hemisphere. asia.would help control what is remarkable about this vision is not only does it kind of happened, but there is this really important region of the world that is invisible in this vision. he does not talk about the middle east at all as a factor going forward. it is that particular blind spot that becomes kind of significant in world history later on. paul: at this point, the recent united nations is now it is going to be, like the league of nations, and organization. prior to this kind

when you see the united nations solving problems, they don't, they cause problems. so if it lives up to the potential it's a great thing and if it doesn't it's a waste of time. jewish settlements are one of the most contentious issues between israel and the palestinians, which sees them as an obstacle to the creation of a viable palestinian state. the us is israel's major financial backer but in the past few weeks of the obama administration frustration to the hardline benjamin netanyahu government frustration to the hardline benjamin neta nyahu government have frustration to the hardline benjamin netanyahu government have boiled overin netanyahu government have boiled over in washington. john kerry said today israel would never find over in washington. john kerry said today israel would neverfind peace without a resolution to the settle m e nt without a resolution to the settlement issue. our middle east correspondent yolande knell reports from jerusalem. another bitter row between outgoing and incoming us president, this time of israel. donald trump complaining th

in terms of the united states, its relationship with the united nations as an institution, what can we expect with donald trump as president? >> based on my reporting, the trump has antagonized the u.n. this is not a group they're going to embrace. but if you look at their pick for u.n. ambassador to the united states, governor nikki haley of south carolina, you see trump trying to use that position in a way to show a different kind of face to the world. someone with a different background, a different temperament. he may not put an emphasis on it dealing with steve bannon, rex tillerson, but he'll have haley there as someone who's an asset and a hawk. >> last week trump also called on the united states to strengthen and expand its nuclear capabilities, something no president has publicly said that way in decades. ton friday, asked about those comments, trump told mika brzezinski, let it be an arms race, we'll outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all. that was the latest in a series of comments about nuclear weapons that have unnerved trump's critics during the campaign. he ref

take against the united nations next year? >> reporter: it was already senator lindsey graham who said the u.s. would consider pulling funding for the u.n. netanyahu announced after the vote that israel would cut funding to five u.n. organizations totally $8 million. he also said israel would reconsider relationships with the u.s. representatives working here and promised more steps may be ahead. >> and taking waway the funding could be a big deal. the u.s. funds 22% of the u.n. oren, thank you. >>> 25 days until donald trump takes office. the president-elect is moving to address potential conflicts of interest in the administration. that includes dissolving the charitable foundation that bears his name. it appears the plan is already hitting a legal snag. we get more from cnn's jeremy diamond. >> reporter: good morning, joe and alison. president-elect trump is staying at his mar-a-lago residence in palm beach, florida. he has nothing publicly scheduled. that comes after the weekend where he spent the christmas weekend with hi

for the united nations. more than that, you have an important job to do and informing the world about our work, where we make progress and when we fall short. i deeply believe in your mission. i have been saying you are connecting the world. a connector between the united nations and the world. at a time when governments across the world are harassing journalists, cracking down on press freedom, i have worked hard to be your allies and defender. the fight for freedom of the press is everybody's fight. i have a brief today to allow maximum time for questions. let me make three points. first, syria remains a gaping hole in the conscious. it has become a synonym for hell. as i told the council three days ago, we have collectively failed the people of syria. peace will only prevail when it is accompanied by compassion, justice and accountability for the abominable crimes we have seen. second, i am closely following the deteriorating situation in south sudan. this week marks the third anniversary of the fighting.

as we wait for benjamin netanyahu, lets talk about the united nation. he seemed to be unproturn by donald trump. should the united nation be more concerned about donald trump's stance on the u.n.? >> the new nighted nation should be alert there is a new regime in town. he withheld funds or dues until there were some reform in place. bill clinton agreed with that and signed those reforms into place. the question becomes in 2017 is whether or not the u.n. is still useful or relevant or trying to spread democracy worldwide or trying to have a solution in the middle east. those are legitimate questions that a lot of americans should be asking themselves about the u.n. >> senator ted cruz has a petition going and tom cotton just talked about this, here is what he had to say. >> we are currently operating under a budget that goes to april so in the first hyundais we could address some of the u.n. crimes. lets face it. the u.n. has failed to do much good in world for a long time. they protect dictators. >> in your view, is there a case to be made to keep the u

ambassador to the united nations cast her vote abstaining when it came to this resolution. she said it does not diminish u.s. support for israel. here's more of what samantha power had to say about the reasoning behind the u.s. position. >> some may task the u.s. vote as a sign that we've finally given up on a two-state solution. nothing could be further from the truth. >> reporter: and a short time ago we heard a tweet from the president-elect donald trump, he said and i quote, as to the u.n., things will be different after january 20th. others have also been speaking out very publicly following the u.s. failure to use its veto on both sides of the aisle. new york democratic senator chuck schumer, john mccain as well as south carolina republican lindsey graham all very critical of the u.s. position. back to you. >> all right. david lee miller. thank you. here now governor mike huckabee who has been deeply involved for years with issues involving israel, frequently visiting israel and meeting with the fishes at the highest levels. your response to that breaking news today.

paul: talk about what makes this united nations different. mary: first off, now you will see in the speech text they are capitalized and what he is clearly thinking ahead to is when he says, the united nations are committed to the idea that no one nation or one brace, they are seeking or imagining a world in which nobody dominates, but that things are held in balance by the cooperation of all of the human refer to as the civilized nations. for him britain and the soviet union went balance themselves in europe. the united states would manage its own hemisphere. china would help control asia. what is remarkable about this vision is not only does it kind of happened, but there is this really important region of the world that is invisible in this vision. he does not talk about the middle east at all as a factor going forward. it is that particular blind spot that becomes kind of significant in world history later on. paul: at this point, the recent united nations is now capitalized is it is going to be, like the league of nations, and organizati

it's not just the united nations that has this position. it's every country in the world that's speaking at the united nations, the british, the french, the russians, the americans, everybody around the world except for the right wing radical fringe in israel believes that they need to stop colonizing territory. >> in 2001, israel offered to end all settlements and the occupation, give the palestinians a state. they said no and killed 4,000 people. in 2008, omer said to the palestinian leadership, we'll give you even more. the palestinians said no. when the palestinians refuse decent offers from the israelis, you can't put the blame on the israelis. >> but it was the offer of the israelis, it wasn't a mutual offer to be agreed upon. >> one side is building settlements -- >> but it doesn't actually stop. >> yes, it has. >> according to the resolution -- let me get in here. >> in 10 months the palestinians refused to come to the bargaining table. >> i spowhat they want is for t not to be any jewish. >> this is prime minister benjamin netanyah

to the united nation security council. we'll share that information with the in coming administration, it is all true. you saw some of it in the protocol released and egyptian paper. there is plenty more at the tips of the iceberg. so they say but we did not bring it -- and john kerry's speech at this point, it could be raised in the french international conference a few days from now. so perhaps, we'll bring it or sweden and not a friend of israel. the united states -- well, we cannot vote against our own policy. we just annuniciated. the united states should not come out and say we'll not allow any more resolutions. not we'll bring or will bring, we'll not allow any and stop this game of charades. the decisions are vital to israel's interest and the future of its children. that won't be made through speeches in washington or folks in the united nations or conferences in paris. it will be made by the government of israel around the negotiating table, making them behalf of the one and only jewish state a sovereign nation t

who is the secretary general of the united's nations. year, one was president of the human rights council so these two countries are vying for legitimacy to make the claim that they are the government of all korea. in a real bind because it has very little to make that claim in and i think with regard to human rights, and the north koreans clearly are sensitive about what has been going on. they made they suggestion about the north korean progress on areas not sensitive politically dealing with the issue of for example, people with disabilities. the north korea human rights council announced they had signed the convention on people with disabilities. they had made progress working with non-governmental organizations to work with people with disabilities. when the british hosted the olympics four years ago there were a couple of south korean disabled athletes who .articipated so, the north korean are sensitives but the problem is the political system, they are not ready to go far in terms of allowing access to information or critiques of

what becominginges the role of united nations? here's what the president-elect tweeted yesterday about the u.n. the united nations has such great potential, but right now it's just a club for people to get together, talk, and have a good time. so sad. what do you make of that? >> yeah, i mean, look, denigrating the united nations is something that you hear from time to time, but the reality is it's still indispensable. it still has a lot of peacekeepers who are doing really good work. you have organizations like unicef that are really important for the world. the united nations is not going to go away just because lindsay graham and donald trump want it to. i think more importantly, when the trump administration comes into power, they're going to find that israel can play its politics and refuse to meet with foreign ministers from senegal and new zealand and so forth and that will have no effect, but much more important will be the united states' efforts in the region, and those evefforts cant be dialed back and insulted and talke

there is new leadership at the united nations. the new secretary-general start will start in january as well. how is the palestinian leadership feeling about any role that he might have regarding an active, more serious approach for the u.n. to deal with palestine compared to general ban ki-moon? >> i work for the nyed nations, refugees. and from my perspective, it seems like there's already a two-state that exist in palestine. it is is that the international community might not recognize it. i do believe you're in the same position as formerly south africa was on apartheid and india under the british rule. and i think regardless who does it does not recognize you, you do exist. and if you exert your dominion as a sovereign nation externally to other nations, i think in due time that cloud that colonialism will break and we will also have to subside. >> these are four excellent questions. i will answer these before we go to the next. >> you talked about this linguistic. the difference between illegal and legitimate. i think this n

>> i think the united nations needs to understand that israel is not always the bad guy. what resolution has been passed by the united nations condemning the slaughter of 500,000 people in syria. does the u.n. say anything when israel is attacked viciously by hezbollah and hamas or a 13-year-old girl killed in her bed by palestinian terrorists? i think most american political leaders in the congress believe that the u.n. has been one-sided and that the prime minister of israel told me that the three threats to the jewish state, a nuclear weapon, the ayatollah with a nuke, the marginal zation of the jewish state by groups like the united nations and terrorist groups like al qaeda and isil. what i want the u.n. to know is that, i understand you do good things. i would like the u.n. to be a better organization for helping people to advance the cause of liberty. the only democracy in the region is is rail. it is odd to me that the u.n. singles out the one place where people can elect their leaders and the rule of law trumps religion to punish them and have a one-sided view of

s budget comes from the united states, and without it the united nations would be in refuse shape. >> and very quickly, you have high hopes for president trump and the relationship with israel? >> we do have high hopes. we have high hopes always with the united states of america. at the end of the day we have no alternative to america as our ultimate ally and the united states has no alternative to israel as its ultimate ally. there's no other country in this region technologically efficient, no one is burning american flags in the streets of tel aviv from where i'm talking to you. >> ambassador michael or en. thank you for joining. here with more reaction is the author of "defeating jihad," dr. sebastian gorka as well as fox news contributor rick grinnell. i'm going to start with you, dr. gorka. the message as the ambassador indicated is very clear. and that is as 400,000 people die in syria and the u.n. security council does nothing, they take a disputed land issue, prejudge it, and make it as though an international ruling is in effect and should control. what do you say? >> merry

ab stains as the united nations votes to condemn israeli nasalments. and president elect trump sparring with putin and china challenging defense krashlgts to a bidding war. attempts to ellipse president obama welfare he takes over the oval office why in people spend less time lying awake with aches and pains with advil pm than with tylenol pm. advil pm combines the number one pain reliever with the number one sleep aid. gentle, non-habit forming advil pm. for a healing night's sleep. tadirectv now. stream all your entertainment! anywhere! anytime! can we lose the 'all'. there's no cbs and we don't have a ton of sports. anywhere, any... let's lose the 'anywhere, anytime' too. you can't download on-the-go, there's no dvr, yada yada yada. stream some stuff! somewhere! sometimes! you totally nailed that buddy. simple. don't let directv now limit your entertainment. only xfinity gives you more to stream to any screen. >>> in a stunning move today the united states abstained as stuff happened. donald trump publicly called for a u.s. veto. he responded to the