was that obama's failure? a lack of political skill, perhaps, though it is equally likely thatcurrents were stronger than one person could shift. in recent years, america has gone through enormous economic, technological, political and cultural changes and some parts of the country, there has been a backlash to that change and to an african-american president. it remains unclear whether the country was ready for obama's vision. the most dramatic bet he made was health care. he spent the first few years of his presidency and all his political capital on passing it, and i would argue even if trump finds a way to repeal and replace it, remains a historic achievement. obama did what seven presidents failed to do. he made health care a fundamental right. it is the signature achievement of a consequential president. but presidential legacies also exist above and beyond laws and policies. we remember john f. kennedy for energy, vitality, elegance and intelligence he brought to the white house. obama has left an indil

. >> i do think barack obama is arrogant. >> but now obama had to go it alone. and he was facing a new crisis. >> more troubles for gm and its workers. >> america's iconic car company, general motors, was in a death spiral. >> general motors right now, i think we're all afraid. >> they were talking about two weeks and bust. it was not two years. it was not, we have a problem here. we think we can keep it alive for two weeks. >> honk your horn. >> chrysler was collapsing as well. >> everybody is here for one common cause. we want to keep our jobs. >> there were layoffs. plant closings. >> it's time to get pissed off! >> yeah. >> we cannot and must not and we will not let our auto industry simply vanish. >> polls showed almost two-thirds of the american people opposed bailing out the car companies. mitt romney, whose father ran a car company, wrote an op-ed, let them go bankrupt. but barack obama decided to go all in. >> our government will be making a significant additional investment of about $30 billion in gm. >> the massive loan effectively made the u.s. gover

obama didn't. obama was like a rock and roll star. people liked him, they thought he had change, great charisma. he was a leader, he was personally a role model, he was all the things that you look for in a president. his party was not, and his party, while they publicly -- dagen: you mean nancy pelosi -- >> okay, nancy pelosi -- [laughter] is it soup time? she's lost. and the fact that -- and that was my whole point. i'm saying it, catch her on a wednesday, ask her what day it is. [laughter] [inaudible conversations] rachel: sunday, fun day -- barack obama was passing policies that made no sense in middle america, that they were caught on the local level at governorships, at statehouses, they were caught defending the indefensible whether it was bathrooms or obamacare. that's why they lost, and it really was obama at the federal level pushing these policies and now these people on the state level had to defend them. >> i think he had to make deals and decisions for support in his own party that he didn't want to. i think that he was

he's up one on president obama. in terms of the staff and transition, the white house team is doing just fine work with the transition team at trump tower. sean spicer said things are going smoothly. two men at the top may be having ego battles but the transition is going just fine. >> then, again, there's this issue of russia that thing we just talked about, one component of it. rush as the administration is announcing new measures to crackdown on their cyber warfare and to retaliate for that it throws a wrench into plans to have a better relationship. >> john mccain and lindsey graham says there needs to be push back, whether it's sanctions to tell rush this is not okay. what lindsey graham is saying let's wait for a new president to do this not for this president and have it start on a fresh foot, fresh congress, fresh president. many republicans not just fortunate who wants to say to russia not okay, there will be penalties. the back and forth between obama and trump on who could have won, had they run against e

have they outmaneuvered obama again? >> i don't like to praise a former kgb colonel on the most popular cable channel in america but it was a master stroke. he played the game, as the ambassador said, very smoothly with lavrov and then with tweets coming out of the russian embassy in london with photographs of a duckling as a lame duck obama and we'll invite you to an orthodox christmas celebration. he's said to the world, president obama you are completely irrelevant. and the truth is, he is. this is a new age after november the 8th. the idea that he plays golf for eight years and now he decides to do something about russia, it's incredible. truly incredible. why now after the invasion of the ukraine, this is when he waits to do something because of an alleged hack of the dnc? he's made a laughingstock out of the white house. >> let's talk about what president-elect donald trump should do now in the aftermath of this when he assumes office on the 20th. because still some decisions will have to be made, sanctions and fur

but, with obama leaving, we get a new president, they can say well, this is just obama. this doesn't affect us. in any serious way. if the russian conclude that, they will be correct. >> tell me i'm crazy, i have a theory, this is with israel, the united nations and russia, donald trump has full plate with domestic policies, he has a lot to fix in our federal government, is this pay attention over throw the foreign affairs into a mess, so he won't have time to focus on fixing the u.s.? >> well, there are a lot of people, politicians in america, and media that don't have his best interest at heart, that is for sure. i think that donald trump can keep a number of balls in the air effectively, because he has a good idea what he wants to do in middle east with israel, and russia, the domestic stuff is a lot, there is obamacare attack plan. and all -- tax plan, it will be difficult, but this is why you have a cabinet. they have a 100 day plan, they have a 200 day plan. >> that is a really good point, as a businessman he is a huge delegator. >> a great trait to have in a leade

now would obama been able to hold on to all of those? i doubt it but barack obama is a different candidate than hillary clinton is. he is more relatable to some people. but, going back to his economic message, i don't think that people really would have want ad third term with obama based on how people were feeling, especially since at the end of the campaign i think it wasn't the fbi that did hillary clinton in, it was obamacare premiums coming to fruition and people, how am i going to afford this. kennedy: they went up by 160%. dagen: kellyanne conway knew that earlier on. i talked to her off-camara when the premiums increase. just wait, we'll run ads in all these areas across the country. what president obama is essentially saying is, hey, under me, worst recovery since 1949. lowest labor participation since the mid to late '70s. but i've got better smoke and mirrors than hillary clinton us d i'm better at hoodwinkerry, if you will. he punched her in the face with that comment. why isn't that sexist? sandra: whoa, you pulling that car

so when he reads an account of david axelrod interviewing president obama and president obama suggesting that he could have beaten donald trump in the election, that feels wounding to him. he responded aggressively in a tweet making fun of the fact that president obama had campaigned and not been able to pull hillary clinton across the finish line. then he acts to e israel resolution at the united nations anthen sends out those tweets this morning. then, when he actually talks to president obama, he then comes out and says, oh, it's fine. you know, people have said that one of the idiosyncrasies of donald trump is that the last person who is with him who speaks to him has a lot of influence. there's an example of that. >> are you saying he has poor impulse control and is malleable? >> i don't think i would be the first person to say that. donald trump has not restrained himself from lashing out against people during the campaign in ways that was counterproductive, that his staff wishes he didn't do. and you know, in the way this played out today on the transition, sean spicer was on a tr

president obama is doing his job. each and every day and he's going to continue to do it, knowing president obama. probably until about 11:59 on january 20th. this is what happens during the course of a transition. there is only one t president at a time. that is barack obama. and he's going to continue to do what he thinks is right for the country. it is clear based on what what was said earlier. and we've seen this before. donald trump is so desperate more attention that he picks these fights in the morning, hopes that something will happen. obviously some other folks talked in the course of the day and he needsed to be able to say oh president obama called me and now everything is okay.d to be oh president obama called me and now everything is okay. stab he's going continue to hide behind twitter and say what he wants o and hopes that the press will take these tweets. >> is there theater involved here? >> it a pierce thappears that w. whether they are using twitter or making an interview with david ax rad or. >> i'

and obama, will president obama. >> i thought you just meant for me. >> what about obama? >> i think that the president will not agree to this. it is not a favorable case. really not much upside. not something that in fact that is he going to move the ball forward on any kind of legacy, on any kind of constituency in the problem for manning is, you know, looking she is looking at tremendous amount 35 years. >> another one, bo bergdahl. bowe bergdahl discussion whether he should be granted a pardon. >> interesting and compelling case in terms of the optics for president obama. this is a case where he has actually upside. if bowe bergdahl doll does not go to trial and the president does, in fact then we won't have the benefit of listening to any kind of cross-examination where all the facts and details of his capture of the people who lost their lives during the time looking for him, two of those specific cases before the court to allow that information to come in. all of that would become then relevant, probative, subject to cross-examination, and, therefore, public disclos

obama and u.s. intelligence officials have implied that russian president vladimir putin was directly involved in the hacks. in part, to hurt hillary clinton's campaign. obama warning, "all americans should be alarmed by russia's actions." the stiff sanctions joining bipartisan praise. >> we cannot allow a foreign power to impact our elections. >> we're the united states of america and you will not mess around with our election system. >> reporter: speaker of the house paul ryan calling the sanctions overdue as they vow to hit russia harder calling for even stronger sanctions. >> need to name putin as an individual of this inner circle because nothing happens in russia without his knowledge or approval. >> reporter: meanwhile, the white house looking to take covert retaliation, as well. saying, "these actions are not the sum total of our response. the u.s. says it is ready for any response from russia." >> we can anticipate a response of some kind. but the truth is that we enjoy the greatest capabil

start off by talking about what president obama is dismantling. >> well, president obama is dismantling a program that really had been an example of racial and religious profiling in this country. and the fact he is dismantling it is a huge indication for human rights, a vindication for muslims, salvation, and middle eastern groups that are in working for this moment for quite a long time but also import to recognize that this was a program that was controversial from the start under the bush and administration. people have been looking to scrap it within dhs since 2006, and had been abandoned by the obama administration. it was obsolete. it was not a value add to national security at all. it had achieved fear mongering, scaring people in these communities, driving families apart, deportations. it was ineffective and counterproductive. juan: what would dismantling it mean at this point? it hasn't been used for several years. >> what it means is for the trump administration to come in, it will be that much harder for them to start a new muslim registry program. what we have basically, th

trump, with president obama and mrs. obama, to express the peaceful transition of power, the transition of the two administrations. but neither of these two gentleman is obligated to agree with each other on the issues they're not agreeing with each other on the issues. i don't think that means it's not a smooth transition, it just shows there's sharp disagreements between the incoming and outgoing administration. in 24 days, all these decision also be up to president-elect trump and he'll be able to say and do what he wants with his prerogatives as president of the united states. >> and some tremendous issues at stake. sunlen, the other headline from president-elect trump's comments, this bit of good economic news. trump talking about several thousand jobs, sprint, one web. was that a surprise? was there any lead-up to that? >> i thought that was most notable, jim, from this rare appearance by president-elect donald trump today. he rarely has emerged from behind closed doors. but he did today to get out this news. i thi

going after the u.n., media and president obama. we'll tell you why. >>> and a historic moment on tap today in hawaii. japanese's prime minister set to visit the site of the attack on pearl harbor. we'll have a preview from honolulu. good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm joe jones. >> i'm alison kosik. it is tuesday, december 27th. 5:00 a.m. in the east. john and christine are off. up first, despite the administration having less than april mon a month left on the job, secretary of state john kerry is delivering the speech looking to outline the obama administration vision for peace in the middle east. this comes as relations appear more strained than ever with israeli officials claiming there is proof obama pushed for the resoluti resolution. in the meantime, prime minister benjamin netanyahu ordering a limit on all working ties with 12 nations that backed the u.n. vote. we have oren liebermann live in jerusalem. good morning, oren. >> reporter: good morning, alison. the story moving in a lot of directions. first, secretary o

barack obama has not. he has not done it we have seen it with israel instead of winding down policy, he is ginning up bad policy. trying to rule from the grave when donald trump takes office. it's unfair to the country. it's unfair to the new president. >> what about it, matt, president obama has 23 days left in office. he seems to be still continuing with policy initiatives. >> of course he is. he was elected to a form of four years. not three years and 11 months. until january 20th when he is floppinger the president it's his obligation to carry out policies he sees fit. he has continued to do with international and continue to do it with domestic policies. >> contradict with the policies donald trump will want to -- makes sense to policy initiatives. president-elect trump wants to reverse some of these policies or take the country in a new direction when he is president. president obama still has the obligation to carry as he sees fit. it's natural that he would do it. and i expect him to continue to do

. >> president obama announcing retribution against russian. why president-elect donald trump says, let's just move on. >>> third year was especially deadly for american police officers. coming um in who gave their lives. >> and the actress debbie reynolds dying one day after the death of carrie fisher. that and more to come. >> we begin with a fox urgent. the white house retaliation against russia. probe broken ordered a number of actions in what the president called aggressive attack and cyber attacks in the election. that includes the state depth kicking out 35 russian diplomats from the u.s. and closing russian compounds in new york and maryland. the diplomats have 72 hours to leave the country. more in a moment this comes after all 17 american intelligence agencies concluded that the kremlin orchestrated the hacking to interfere with the election. and president obama said, not much happens in russia without vladimir putin. peter doocy is in palm beach, florida, where president-elect trump is spending the holidays. kevin cork in honolulu. g

then was saying obama being a voice out there, if there are controversial things obama will be able, he's very popular right now to speak out and that could impact trump's poll numbers. >> all right guys we want to shift gear it's and talk about a proteflt over an alleged power grab by republican lawmakers taking power away from the next governor of that state. my new beer, stella artois, hey cois finished. the people will love it. the party's starting! ♪ ♪ ♪ originally brewed for the holidays. enjoyed ever since. stella artois. host one to remember (vo) it's the holidays at verizon, and the best deals are on the best network. with no surprise overages, you can use your data worry free and even carry over the data you don't use. and right now get four lines and 20 gigs for only $40 per line. you'll even get the iphone 7, the samsung galaxy s7, the pixel phone by google, or the motoz droid for only $10 per month. no trade-in required. hurry, these offers end soon. get the best deals and the best network, only on verizon. we need to be ready for my name's scott strenfel and r i'm

barack obama himself didn't get any of the blame. >> interesting, too, that barack obama point to the way the media covered the campaign cycle saying it was overly critical of hillary clinton, when it was also tough on donald trump. i wrote a lot of stories about wikileaks but we also did tons of coverage of donald trump. the president's suggestion there wasn't enough critical and dirt-digging focus on trump is itself probably not correct at all. charles: on one hand he tried to dismiss the whole thing talking about john podesta's pissotto recipe. he said he thought hillary clinton was treated unfairly. though there is no doubt at all donald trump received the overwhelming share of negative news. the media was at war with donald trump over this. but that all misses the point. they killed themselves on this thing. it was their emails and they weren't the people that they had been telling the rest of the country they were, it feel like. >> the criticism from democrats is that putin tried to sway the election toward trump because russia had the goods on the clinton campaign, what was goi

no more obama! >> summer, 2009. >> afro len anymoinism coming t on a silver platter. >> i have a right for the government not to control my health care. >> across the country, a grass-roots rebellion gets ugly. the target, barack obama. >> why don't have i'm frofreedo? because we elected somebody to take our freedom? >> enraged by bailout, the right went ballistic by health care. >> why don't they take the health care being forced down our throat. >> the president was undeterred. >> i am not the first president to take up this cause but i am determined to be the last. we used a lot of political capital on health care and the reason is simple, we're the only advanced nation on earth that didn't make sure every person had affordable health care. >> when you consider presidents have been trying since teddy roosevelt to get health care passed, fdr was hoping to do it, jfk. >> no matter how hard the road, what history will record is that obama got it done. >> we are done. >> but that achievement that sev

obama had to say. the president telling david axelrod that a majority of americans still believe in his vision for the country and would have voted for it for a third time.

that is not just from president obama. you can talk to john mccain at about that too. >> i'm unkbinsed at that point. but the bottom line is that the information gathered was -- i have no doubt they would want that information and could have purchased that information and used it. that doesn't surprise me at all. but the more important part is why did barack obama wait until a few weeks before his presidency, as michael couldn't answer the question -- >> mayor -- [inaudible]. -- did he wait too long? do you wish he had done it earlier? >> one of those situations. a little bit of damned if you do and damned if you don't situation. the president waited until he had clear, solid evidence. that the fbi, and homeland security and director have all said. and he spent time with his team. a lot of debates what to do, how to co-when to do it. it is interesting that all folks want to hang their hat on is the timing. the timing is the timing you take your action when you take your -- >> >>[chatter]. >> -- into the new year. great to

the president-elect going after president obama after obama speculated he would have won a third term if it was possible, using his message of hope and inclusion. >> i'm confident that if i had run again and articulated it, i think i would have mobilized a majority of the american people to rally behind it. >> reporter: trump tweeting, obama said he thinks he would have won against me. he should say that, but i say no way. then boasting, the world was gloomy before i won. there was no hope. now the market is up nearly 10% and christmas spending is over a trillion dollars. trump seemingly overlooking obama's record of cutting unemployment to a nine-year low and taking credit for holiday spending figures that aren't final numbers. trump also going after his favorite target, the media, over his charity. the president-elect claiming he gave and raised millions, tweeting, all of which is given to charity and media won't report. but tax records show trump has not donated to his foundation since 2008. no one can confirm any other charitable giving since trump has not released his tax records

policy where president obama is shifting us. so there are opportunities to work across the aisle on specific issues and committees. >> we'll leave it right there. coming up, the obama administration reportedly rushing in more syrian refugees before trump becomes president. now a former top cop has some advice for vetting these asylum seekers. >>> getting them in before he gets out. a new report says the administration is rushing in more syrian refugees before president obama leaves office. over the past three months there's been a 430% jump in the number of syrian refugees settled into the u.s. compared to last year. now a former police is saying we need new vetting. >> the first prior city of the president of the united states should be the protection of the and security of the american people. the american people don't trust that that literally is the number one priority of the president. you can look at a state like wisconsin, governors like scott walker are asking for amore control over the refugees coming into the states be

obama had to say. the president telling david axelrod that a majority of americans still believe in his vision for the country and would have voted for it for a third time. >> i'm confident that if i -- if i had run again and articulated it, i think i could have mobilized a majority of the american people to rally behind it. i know that in conversations that i've had with people around the country, even some people who disagreed with me, they would say the vision, the direction, that you point toward is the right one. >> again, we will have direct reaction from president-elect donald trump shortly. joining our conversation now, the man who did that interview, david axelrod. david, really a fascinating, very personal interview. you, of course, had a very personal relationship with the president. but that comment standing out saying that he, mr. obama, could have gotten a majority of the american public behind his vision had he run again in 2016. was that a dig at hillary clinton? >> well, i don't think

if obama obama believes that if he had been on the ballot he could've truly done that. then what difference with the meddling make you can't really speak at a both sides of your mouth and try to make two different points when you're just making a hypocrite of yourself. president-elect trump and president putin have a romance. they seem to like each other. there could be a potential warming up of relations with russia. and yet president-elect trump has been criticized about this. you want to turn your enemies into partners of some kind is that what is actually with trump. >> i think that's part of what's going on here. i think obama is jealous because whether he believes it or not president-elect trump is making an effort to reach out to people that have been the most returning to the united states. i don't think anyone has ever feared that president-elect trump is going to be too soft on our enemies. in fact the democrats try to convince them that president-elect trump have two different personalities. they were talking about him but now as he tries to make some difficu

what are the plans for president obama and the prime minister? >> reporter: craig, i can tell you, we are hours away from this historic event when the prime minister will visit pearl harbor along with president obama. they'll pay their respects to those soldiers that fought and died. a historic moment, never before has a japanese leader made an official visit to pearl harbor. and it's finally happening. 75 years after the attack. >> man your battle stations. this is not a drill. >> reporter: al survived on heterosexu pearl harbor and be there today to witness history as shinzo abe visits the battlefield of the attack that thrusts the u.s. into world war ii. >> very emotional. the joint trip coming after obama became the first president to visit hiroshima, the city where the u.s. dropped the two atomic bombs forcing japan to surrender. ambassador to japan, caroline kennedy, helped strengthen u.s./japan relations. >> certainly in japan and the united states, it's a historic moment but the whole world, i think, should be inspired by the power of rec

and let's see if president obama actually shows up. we've seen cases in the past in history where we've seen presidents not show up. so this will be an interesting case. >> all right. and you have any favorite name. that was my mother's name, mercedes, and i went to mercy high school. but matt, you're cool too. >> many mercy on us. >> indeed. president obama promised to unite americans but the country is more divided than ever when it comes to race. sheriff david clarke is here next with reaction. that and much more as "hannity" continues. 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. >>> welcome back to >>> welcome b

donald trump has been gushing about how he's getting advice now from president obama and president obama has been very careful not to criticize directly. he still hasn't yet. but a lot of people around him have. what was the tipping point? >> that's right. former presidents usually try to give wide latitude to their successors, the current president trying not to weigh in with criticism during a transition. it's especially sensitive. president obama has not commented on a lot of the appointments that donald trump, the president-elect trump has made that certainly raised hackles among his party and party leaders. what's changed is a national security threat to the institution of the presidency itself, to free and fair elections in america. grave questions being raised by intelligence agencies within the government which president obama is the head and he has to take that seriously. in his language, he has been at least so far relatively measured and not making judgments about donald trump and when he said, especially compared to what president-elect trump said certainly at the rally last

it's a terrible policy and it has ekos of obama who liked to punish obama except those were the coal companies and banks and payday lenders except for trump it's the companies that are outsourcing. if i were a ceo i hope my name doesn't show up on bright bart.com. >> that's the website that steve bannon ran before he joined the trump campaign. what about the boeing episode? the president elect said there's $4 billion of cost overruns for creating a new air force one. he said cancel the contracts and i've looked and i haven't seen any evidence so far of $4 billion worth of overruns because i don't think the final contract has been struck. >> i suspect he may be pulling back from that one because i haven't seen there's a $4 billion contract at all. the danger is going case by case is one of donald trump's most famous phrases he's going to drain the swamp, this fills the swamp with lobbyists. this is country club capitalism where the guys on the golf course do deals with the governor. the better way is to get done with that tax reform bill that he wants, reduce costs so this sort of thi

where is obama? gregg: president obama blamed the media's obsession over the content of these emails even as he refused to blame the russians for hacking as the reason for mrs. clinton's lost election. does that make sense? >> it doesn't. when obama was trying to do, was to work with the russians, to resolve the syria catastrophe so the united states did not have to get more involved than it already is. that strategy did not work. it failed as clearly as his reset failed earlier on in his administration and yet president obama, as pointeded out on the show has resisted doing anything substantive about this for a long time. where was he 18 months ago? he was nowhere. so now this is his christmas present to donald trump. mister trump says president obama, you wanted to do good for the russians, you want to make a nice for the russians, you try because people in your own party like lindsey graham, john mccain. gregg: president obama gave an interview to the atlantic, claims he suffered, quote, concentra

>> i think that was just obama being obama. none of us are perfect and we all have a sense of ourselves and he has a sense of himself. and it was david axelrod asking the question, so it was his friend. that's when he should have been on guard for and just passed on that. that would have been the smarter thing to do. >> your take, rick? >> that's right, when you're talking to friends, you tend to let your guard down. but barack obama might have won if he had focused on those three states, michigan, wisconsin, and pennsylvania. hillary clinton playing barack obama wasn't going to win. >> very quickly, i want to talk about this poll. there's a new poll out from pew research that shows that president obama will end his presidency really on a high note. 45% of people surveyed say he will be remembered as an outstanding or above-average president. you think those numbers, howard, are going to help the democratic party going forward at all? >> yeah, i think they will. i think the biggest help to the democrats going forward is trump i

president obama ordering a sweeping array of u.s. actions to retaliate for russian's cyberattacks and meddling in the presidential election. an executive order slapping sanctions on russia's top two intelligence agencies and other companies and individuals. the u.s. tossing out some 35 russian intelligence operatives and closing down a pair of russian compounds in new york and near here in washington, d.c. president says all americans should be alarmed by russian's actions. but president-elect donald trump is brushing off questions about pay-back for russia's hacking and meddling. he is telling reporters it's time to, quote, get on with our lives. also tonight, cnn has learned the u.s. military is aware of isis leader abu bakr al baghdadi's recent movements. will the military catch up to him before president obama leaves office? we'll discuss the breaking news with a member of the house foreign affairs committee. that's republican congressman ted yoho and our correspondents, analysts and guests have full coverage of the top stories.

president obama himself spoke at the u.n. and he said if you want to promote peace in the middle east, don't come to the u.n. at the security council. urge both parties to sit together and negotiate. that's what we need to do, to sit down and negotiate. but passing a resolution to give the palestinians everything is not encouraging peace. >> who has also encouraged acts of terrorism and paid people to commit acts of terrorism against israel. how is it that there are some allegations made that the united states was complicit in this putting forward the resolution during this time. do you believe that to be the case this evening? >> in the security council of the u.n., every resolution connected ed ted to ids rea ees the pen holder. that was the case on friday. we expected more from our closest friend. we expected them to stop the resolution. it's legitimate to disagree about the issues, to criticize israel but it's no legitimate to choose the venue of the u.n. when it is so biassed and to allow the resolution to pass. >> presi

i think president obama is, too. they have different views on the future of the state and the peace process. but, you know, to say that he is going to solve something automatically that, you know, the last 48 years of presidents have been unable to solve. >> democrats and republicans? >> setting himself up for a pretty impossible task. >> weigh in on that if you want. also, i want to note the flip side of coming into office with all these problems is when the economy appears to be doing well, you get some credit, too. >> right, exactly. he is already starting to take credit for kind of the economic, positive outlook, right, which is another reason why obama is going to be -- is weighing in and is probably going to continue to weigh in. i think what's interesting about the foreign policy challenge surrounding israel kerry's statements today i think kind of unite republicans in a way around donald trump. that is not the case on other foreign policy issues particularly when it comes to russia. i think donald trump can t

with obama, there's no drama. with trump it's all drama all the time. >> did you guys think when he said primal, that was an interesting choice of words? he chose that word very carefully. >> don't you think there's something about where he's coming from. it does have a primal quality to it, almost a primal screen. >> even though we saw contrasting styles there, we also heard barack obama there talking to donald trump, bafb basically. that was the other sort of audience member he was trying to speak to in those very comments. he was trying to make sure to set the stage on his terms that donald trump will step onto. >> but i do think that, as van alluded to, there is a little bit of lame duck irrelevancy to the president at this stage. i just think that's the reality of it. donald trump's venue tonight was at fort bragg and they've had a disproportionate life in the last ten years, so for people who love that nickname and go woof woof in the crowd. showmanship and cheerleading. probably just pulling out that patrio

completely bypassing president obama and that gives you an indication of obama's legacy in syria which, unfortunately, hasn't been all that positive. >> mohammad lila, thank you so much in istanbul. >>> next, two russian compounds on u.s. soil have been effectively shut down in the wake of the obama administration's sanctions against russia. are these buildings essentially spy headquarters in the u.s.? plus, 35 russians being expelled. we will discuss next. ah...still sick, huh? i'll take it from here. i'm good. i just took new mucinex clear and cool. ah! what's this sudden cooling thing happening? it's got a menthol burst. you can feel it right away. wow, that sort of blind-sided me. and it clears my terrible cold symptoms. ahh! this is awkward. new mucinex clear & cool. feel the menthol burst. while powerful medicine clears your worst cold symptoms. start the relief. ditch the misery. let's end this. it was love at first touch met and all you wanted to do was surround them in comfort and protection that's why only pampers swaddlers is the #1 choice of hospitals to wrap your baby in b

the russians snapped back ridiculing president obama with a tweet, writing, i'm quoting, president obama expelled 31 diplomats in cold war deja vu as everybody will be glad to see this last of this hapless administration, lame duck. now experts tell us yes, you can see some of the sanctions, things you can get your arms around. that's easy to spot. what you're probably not going to see, however, is a cyber power that america has and will certainly utilize to retaliate against the russians. >> in cyberspace these things don't always have the media consequences like a bomb going off or bring in a fighter jet and bombing insurgents in a certain area. it is a different type of warfare with different types of ways to measure it. >> reporter: he's saying that there's going to be a lot more to this story, much of which we will not see, although it's also, to be fair, certain that we'll find out a lot more about the russian response in the days to come. sandra. >> thank you. joining me now with more poet hoekstra, adviser to president-elect trump transition team, julia ra din ski. congressman, i

talking about obama's legacy moving forward. he has taken some very dramatic moves in the last couple of weeks. how do you see his legacy playing out in the immediate beginning of the trump presidency? >> well, you know, typically, presidents move away from washington, d.c. president obama is not. he's going to be staying in the capital, kind of for a reason, i think. that's what some people on capitol hill are telling me. they say he wants to be very close to the action, to make sure he can put as much pressure as possible on the new congress and president -- incoming president trump to maintain his signature items, like the health care law. it's interesting that he's meeting with democrats now. i know that before congress left for the recess or left for the 114th congress when democrats in the senate had more authority and more power. he tried -- you know, harry reid was trying to write legislation in a way that president-elect trump could not undo it, undo things that have passed under president obama. and so now that preside

obama. >> you do get the sense that president obama may be on an island even when it comes to his own party. give us a sense of the congressional fallout. >> the backlash continues from some democrats and many republicans on capitol hill. house speaker paul ryan saying the vote was shameful, and the new unified republican government would work to repair relations with israel. mr. netanyahu stated publicly he looks forward to working with the president-elect and the republican congress. mr. trump tweeted before the vote he believed it should be vetoed. after the resolution passed, mr. trump simply passila tweeted, t different after january 20th. this cover from the "new york post" says what many are feeling, a president obama has betrayed our ally israel. leland, it's not all negative reaction. the president has received some positive feedback from human rights groups saying it was a welcome change from the past. back to you. >> lauren blanchard live in d.c. as the reaction continues. merry christmas eve. we bring in washington examiner managing editor phillip klein for more on this. n

president obama and the first lady, michelle obama, obviously, will be there at the swearing in. again, another absolute key part of the peaceful transfer of power. but throughout the inaugural week, we will have events and representations of the fact that donald j. trump and governor pence, vice president elect and vice president after noon on january 20th will be president and vice president for all americans. and even those that disagree with us. >> so it will be diverse. >> it's going to be a diverse event and uniting event. >> boris epstein, thank you for your time, merry christmas. >> thank you very much. >>> making policy announcements on twitter. how will this strategy could play out over donald trump's administration. body's hurt, but there will still be pain. it comes when your insurance company says they'll only pay three-quarters of what it takes to replace it. what are you supposed to do? drive three-quarters of a car? now if you had liberty mutual new car replacement™, you'd get your whole car back. i guess they don't want you driving around on three wheels. smart

the obama administration takes aim at russia. announcing economic sanctions and more over interference in the u.s. election. good evening. welcome to washington.as promis didn't hold back naming names and slapping several individuals with punishment. it's a bold step and not unlike some other big foreign policy moves we have seen from this administration in the waning days of the obama presidency. we have team coverage. rich edson with the continued fallout from the surprise move not to back israel at the u.n. senior foreign affairs correspondent greg palkot. peter doocy with donald trump's reaction. but we begin with kevin cork on the steps the obama administration is taking to punish russia. good evening. >> reporter: good evening to you. the kremlin all but guaranteeing president obama's parting shot at vladimir putin will not be the final shot in this brewing cyber showdown. 72 hours, that's how long nearly three dozen russian diplomats have to leave the country. after the united states expels them in response to the alleged

the obama administration, it is sad that the obama administration that began its life by restoring u.s.-russian cooperation is ending it on anti-russian agony. then you have putin coming in essentially declining to retaliate. looking domestically it is a bold move playing well here. it makes putin look above the fray like he's not suck coming to the back and forth. as hans said earlier, what the kremlin and putin are doing and what russians on the streets are doing is waiting for president-elect donald trump to take office on january 20. the kremlin believes trump wants better relations and they are not willing to antagonize that administration by retaliating at this stage. >> tough words from vladimir putin, ron, for president obama and the administration. are we expecting a response from the white house? what's your sense? >> i think the white house is sitting back waiting to see what the russians do when they are prepared and planned for retaliation. the fact that the russians won't expel diplomats is a surprise. that was the obvious response. it's something that's happened over the

president barack obama. and this may be one of the reason yes, he lost more than 1,000 federal and state-level democrats. they were denied power during obama's time in the office, so why now would democrats choose to continue operating under this kind of leadership, with these kinds of principles? don't they need to change? you need a new mo, it's not working. joining me leslie marshall and rachel campos duffy. leslie, i think we can agree on, this right? it's time for change. you had a golden opportunity, you lost out, whether you want to blame hillary clinton as a lousy candidate, that deserves the blame. whether you want to blame president obama, that deserves a lot of blame. the reality is there's plenty of blame to go around and you got to start over, but with the likes of nancy pelosi running stuff, how do you do that? >> well, i'm one of the minority of democrats who felt it was time for a change or have a representative as a leader in the house for the minority from a rust belt state. a blue collar s

and barack obama and president obama said that himself. that the timing of this will be unfortunate. you and this moves it out of the arena and into the international arena. it won't get solved there. >> i don't know if you saw at the top, cal perry took us through the map. this is obviously people that can see on a map how small and overall the land we are talking about. this is one of the maps and try to make sense of that. the west bank is the heart of the palestinian state and every one of the settlements that israel puts in takes away some of that land. doesn't that impede the process of negotiation? >> i think the process is impeded by a number the different factors. all of which have to be resolved to moderate and facilitate by president bill clinton and came close to negotiating between israel and the palestinians. yasser arafat went back on. and i have been through parts of the map. the negotiations and discussions can only be done. it cannot be done at the security council. this moves the focus to the un that will not solve anyth

because i met with president obama and michelle obama in the white house. my wife was there. she could not have been nicer. >> what do you make of how he handled that? and how he countered within the same breath almost defending her? >> well, listen, this is the first time that we have seen the tables turned. often, donald trump goes after his critics. this is one time he was mag nan muss. she has been saying, when they go low, we go high, it's the one time that she made a really interesting comment on the way out of office, after eight years of being first lady, she made this interesting remark. i think it's possible that for all the times that we have heard barack and michelle obama saying michelle obama will not get into politics and not run for office, i'm not so sure. i continue to hear a little bit of chatter here and there about different senate seats that she could seek in the future, maybe a senate seat in illinois. she had to have been setting herself up for something because she's been so positive all the way through. >> interesting to hear that take. to hear donal

harwood tweeted one of the reasons was in part, quote, obama's race. amid white fear of cultural change. president obama has also echoed the same type of sentiment over and over again. they like what you're doing and you're slow to denounce or separate yourself from it. that is what you're going to do in office. >> if you look at what the other republican candidates have said, that is pretty troubling, too. we've had to deal with racism or conflict between races, ethnic groups, and new immigrants, that especially becomes a problem when the economy is not doing well and so people feel stressed and when people feel stressed they turn on others that don't look family. >> and joining us with reaction, gentlemen, thanks for joining us tonight. it is unbelievable, isn't it, niger? >> it is not only unbelievable, kimberly, but a lie. this president got a higher percentage of the white vote than any democrat has in 50 years. the tragedy is not just that this racial harangue is back in fashion, but you have a killing field in chicago. he's leaving office with c