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Chris Wallace |
| On The O'Reilly Factor...
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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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| Chris began Friday's program with Donald Trump's 'thank you tour' and his Thursday night campaign-like rally in Ohio. He was joined by Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, a staunch supporter of the president-elect. "Mr. Trump was so excited to be back out with people who have stood with him and really believe in him," she gushed. "They believe he will open the door to job growth and national security, they're excited and I've never seen such enthusiasm. We in the House need to eat our Wheaties and we should send some Geritol to the Senate because we have a lot of work to do." Blackburn also opined on this week's dustup at Harvard between top campaign advisers to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. "I don't think Democrats understand why they lost, they completely misread the mood of the American people. They are very bitter and they are trying to justify what happened by blaming others, not themselves." |
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| Some Democrats in Congress are vowing to resist Donald Trump and his policies at every turn; one liberal Democrat even refuses to attend the inauguration. Chris spoke about that with Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware. "I'll go to the inauguration," Coons said. "Regardless of how you feel about the election, we owe it to the nation and the world to show that we'll participate in the orderly transition of power. This is an important moment for us to show that democracy works and we embrace the chance to work together across the aisle. I accept the outcome of the election, Donald Trump will be our next president and we have to move forward." Coons also lauded President-elect Trump for convincing the Carrier company to retain its presence in Indiana, adding, "I want us to come up with a concrete bipartisan agenda for strengthening manufacturing." |
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| Strategists on both sides have complained about the media and racial bigotry in the recent election. Magazine publisher Carlos Watson and conservative activist Matt Schlapp debated the issue. "I don't think the country is full of racists," Watson began, "but I do think that part of the Trump campaign was animated by that. It was disappointing that Trump didn't do a stronger disavowal of David Duke and others." Schlapp took umbrage at that allegation and suggested that Democrats are desperately looking for excuses. "Hillary Clinton talked about the 'alt-right,' which is the first time I had ever heard the term. It is some splinter group that has about 200 followers. And then she started to attack Trump's supporters, which had consequences. Voters did think that the media skewed left and favored Hillary Clinton." |
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| President-elect Trump has enthusiastically picked retired Marine Corps General James 'Mad Dog' Mattis to be his Secretary of Defense. Chris analyzed the pick with foreign policy veterans Nancy Soderberg and General Wesley Clark. "There is no better general's general than Mattis," Soderberg said, "who has served this country with distinction. But you have to look at this as a whole team - you have generals at the National Security Council and the Pentagon, and neither of them have the deep foreign policy experience that Donald Trump will need. There are questions about whether he has the right team." Clark, though, opined that General Mattis will be a great fit for the Department of Defense. "He is an outstanding choice, and I do think he is a strategic thinker. He sees the big picture, he is well aware of the problems of Russia and Donald Trump needs someone like him. The policy expertise will come from the staff at the National Security Council and the Pentagon." Chris pointed out, "Between General Mike Flynn and General James Mattis, Donald Trump has two guys who are really tough about Iran." |
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| Chris turned to the economy and Donald Trump's agreement with Carrier, which will keep more than 1,000 jobs in the United States. Daniel Ikenson of the libertarian Cato Institute explained why he is fiercely opposed to that move. "It's a very bad idea," he declared, "and there are much better ways to convince companies to stay here. How about rolling back regulations and reducing taxes? This just invites politics to enter into business location decisions, it encourages cronyism." But former Republican Congressman Jack Kingston wholeheartedly disagreed with that libertarian stance. "This is a winner from all standpoints. Companies are now betting that this administration will be more pro-business and will have fewer regulations. We're seeing that every day with Donald Trump's appointees. And from a micro standpoint, Donald Trump is delivering a policy that connects with middle America." |
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| A new report indicates that nearly half of the illegal aliens attempting to enter the USA from Mexico last year got through successfully. Chris spoke about the report with Geraldo Rivera. "It's possible that this is true," Rivera said, "although I'm not sure how they estimate the number of people they don't snare at the border. How do you know who you didn't catch? The real headline is that illegal immigration is declining. The people coming here are families from Central America who are economic refugees looking for a better life." Chris reminded Rivera, "U.S. authorities have already stopped 408,000 people so far this year trying to cross the border, which is up from last year." |
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| President-elect Trump has filled out much of his cabinet, but the key position of Secretary of State has not been decided. Chris asked Fox News correspondent Ed Henry to speculate. "People inside the transition are telling me," Henry reported, "that before he had dinner with Mitt Romney, Donald Trump was leaning towards picking Romney. His only question was whether they could work well together, and then after the dinner the president-elect said they had good chemistry. That signals to me that it will be Mitt Romney." Henry also reported the latest on New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who was very loyal to Donald Trump throughout the campaign. "He wanted to be a cabinet secretary, but that is not in the cards, and people are now pushing for him to be chair of the Republican National Committee. The problem is that a lot of Trump insiders want a woman in that job because they want the face of the party to be female." Finally, Henry speculated that President-elect Trump will pick a "real conservative" to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court. |
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