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| All content taken from The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News Channel. Each weeknight by 6 PM EST a preview of that evening's show will be posted and then updated with additional information the following weekday by noon EST.
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"It is a problem for every president-elect - certainly Barack Obama and George W. Bush experienced it. Those who opposed their election sought to undermine both men as soon as they won. And that is now happening with Donald Trump, but the difference with Mr. Trump is that the undermining is occurring both on the left and the right. A case in point is conservative George Will, a columnist who also provides analysis for Fox News. Will despises Trump, feels he is an intellectual inferior, and even left the Republican Party because of Trump's nomination. It is certainly Will's right to criticize Donald Trump and any powerful person. What is troubling, however, is that much of Will's negative analysis is driven by personal animus, which does his readers and viewers a disservice. Last night on Special Report, Will hammered Trump over the Carrier situation, saying this: 'With political pressure from making economic decisions about economic assets, you are, in effect, at the end of the day, getting the federal government involved in capital allocation. There is a name for that, it's called socialism.' Will's analysis is ridiculous. It is true that Carrier has an obligation to maximize profits, but if it does that by hurting the country in which it is operating, the man in charge of that country has an obligation to challenge that. Under Will's absurd analysis, any corporation hurting workers should be left alone. Does that make sense? President Trump's obligation - and it should have been President Obama's - is to try to protect American jobs. So Trump had a conversation with Carrier and basically said if you hurt your workers by moving to Mexico, expect that we will use legal tariffs to hold you accountable. That's not socialism, that's hard ball economics. Trump is simply saying to every American company, we expect you to find a way to keep and create jobs here. And if you move abroad and jobs are lost, you'll pay a legal price. That's what Trump should be doing, that's what Obama did not do, and that's a big reason why wages for workers are stagnant - too many jobs have moved overseas. Memo to George Will: Drop the personal stuff. Tell the truth."
The Factor invited reaction from Juan Williams. "I think the message to American companies coming from President-elect Trump is effective politically," Williams said. "He's saying watch yourself if you're going to take jobs out of this country because I've got my eye on you. That has value and it's effective with his political base. But as for economic policy, why wouldn't I, if I'm an employer, immediately say I'm thinking of leaving and then ask the government for incentives? The government shouldn't be picking winners and losers." The Factor reiterated, "The president's obligation is to protect Americans by convincing domestic corporations to stay in America." |
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| At last count, about a dozen men have been mentioned as prospective candidates to serve as secretary of state. The Factor explored the possibilities with Fox News correspondent Jennifer Griffin. "I had a conversation this evening," she revealed, "and right now I'm told that the stock of Rex Tillerson, the Exxon Mobil chairman, is really rising. He has the benefit of having run a company that is in 50 countries and has a long relationship with Vladimir Putin. Donald Trump was very impressed with him and I'm told they will have another meeting in the next couple of days. Mitt Romney is still in the mix, but Rudy Giuliani has not been seen coming in and out of Trump Tower in two weeks. Giuliani was offered Department of Homeland Security and he turned it down. He was publicly saying that he wanted to be secretary of state and Donald Trump was put off by that. I'm also told that Donald Trump has been really impressed by General David Petraeus." |
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| The Factor discussed growing accusations of media bias with Bernie Goldberg. "The media's slide began a long time ago," Goldberg asserted, "and it's been on a downward trajectory ever since. Twenty years ago I wrote an article about liberal bias and it touched off the media equivalent of World War III. Soon after that, Fox News changed the media landscape in a major way. People who didn't trust the mainstream media could go someplace where they could feel at home." The Factor concluded, "I think it's all over for the national press, they're not going to come back from their idolatry of Barack Obama or their hatred of Donald Trump." |
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The Factor tossed live to Des Moines, Iowa, where Donald Trump was taking the stage for the third stop on his 'thank you' tour. Repeating some of the themes he has touched on previously, Trump said this: 'We are going to be building up our military, it will no longer be a depleted military ... We will never, ever let the veterans down, we will always honor your sacrifice, and that begins with respecting our American flag ... We will honor John Glenn's legacy by continuing to push new frontiers in science, technology, and space.'
The president-elect also took direct aim at China: 'China is responsible for almost half of America's trade deficit, but they are a non-market economy and they have to play by the rules. There is massive theft of intellectual property, putting unfair taxes on our companies, not helping with the menace of North Korea, and the massive devaluation of their currency.'
On that subject, he then introduced Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, who has been nominated to serve as United States Ambassador to China. Branstad, cheered wildly by his fellow Hawkeyes, said, 'Thanks to our great new president who will make America great again, I am very proud to serve in this very important role.'
President-elect Trump returned to the podium and continued with his optimistic message: 'It's time for the American worker to have a government that, for the first time in decades, answers to them ... My plan begins with bold structural reform to create millions of high-paying jobs ... We will cancel the job-killing restrictions on the production of American energy, regulations will be cut down to a fraction of what they are now and you will be better protected environmentally ... We want to help Americans get off welfare and get back in the labor market ... We don't love our companies when they leave the country and sell their product back into our country, we're not going to be the stupid people anymore ... We will build the wall, stop illegal immigration, and stop the drugs from pouring into our country ... A Trump administration will stop the violence that is spilling across our border.'
Donald Trump also spoke about his meeting with families whose sons and daughters were slashed by the Somali-born immigrant at Ohio State University: 'This horrific assault is one more tragic reminder that immigration security is national security. No more games, the Trump administration will always put the safety of the American people first.'
President-elect Trump concluded with a plea to all Americans: 'I am asking you to join this incredible movement, I am asking you to dream big and bold, and I am asking you to believe again in America. If we do that, then we will make America strong again, we will make America rich again, we will make America safe again, and we will make America great again!' |
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