"Time Magazine announced that Donald Trump is its Person of the Year, then took a swipe at him, saying: 'Donald Trump - President of the Divided States of America.' Time clearly dislikes Mr. Trump, but the magazine is correct in saying that the USA is a divided country. Mr. Trump claims that happened on President Obama's watch and he will bring everybody together. Talking Points is not sure that is possible. To illustrate that point, look at the nation's largest city. Hillary Clinton received nearly 79% of the vote in New York City. The Big Apple is rock-steady left. Unlike San Francisco, which is steeped in socialist ideology, New York City is basically a welfare state. The population is about eight-and-a-half million, and many of them can't make a living. So the government must support them, and New York City is approaching $100-billion dollars in debt. The city cannot possibly pay that off, so it will borrow more and depend on you to bail them out. 20% of New York City residents receive food stamps at a cost of $250-million a month! Other assistance to residents is more than $100-million a month. Five percent of the city's population is on disability, which costs $250-million a month. Finally, 600,000 New Yorkers are receiving payments for public housing. So you can see that New York City, the most powerful financial center in the world, is basically a dependency. And people receiving disability checks, housing supplements, food stamps and other payments are not going to vote for Republicans. Ever. This is a one-party city that will never embrace a guy like Donald Trump. This is what America has come to, with its largest city falling apart. There is little desire on the part of the liberal city government to lift people out of welfare. If the city were to investigate disability claims, they'd find that many of them are completely bogus. It's a racket and everybody knows it. But when 80% of the voters continue to support the far-left vision, nothing is going to change. So even though Donald Trump is a hometown guy and believes he can bring America together, the odds are he cannot. The welfare system in many places is simply too entrenched. And the welfare system is not going to make America great."

The Factor asked Karl Rove to react to the Memo. "It's difficult to achieve unity," Rove conceded, "and even the most popular presidents are not universally supported. But I think it's important that President-elect Trump try because that is what the country wants him to do. In the 1990s welfare reform moved people from dependency to independence, and one of the most pernicious things that happened over the last eight years is that President Obama systematically undid a lot of what welfare reform accomplished. I think Donald Trump has a real interest in turning around big cities and giving people a chance." The Factor responded to Rove's optimism with a measure of skepticism: "No one is saying Donald Trump should not make the effort, but it's a futile effort. No matter what he does, you will not break the culture of poverty."

Actor Denzel Washington has lambasted the national press, complaining that media lies have become ubiquitous. Media analyst Joe Concha elaborated on the story. "There was a fake news story about Denzel Washington," Concha explained, "saying that he was supporting Donald Trump. He feels the same way that many Americans do - only 6% of Americans have high confidence in the media. WikiLeaks showed that the media colluded with campaigns and shared stories and debate questions in advance." The Factor lamented, "The national media has gone over the cliff after the Trump election."

Some media outlets, taking a cue from the far-left Southern Poverty Law Center, have reported that 'hate crimes' have spiked since the election. Is the so-called 'Trump effect' genuine? The Factor posed that question to Monica Crowley. "The Southern Poverty Law Center partnered with the American Federation of Teachers," she reported, "and sent out a questionnaire to 1.6-million teachers. They only got 10,000 responses back and 40% of those say that minority students and Muslim students have been harassed. But they didn't tell you that 20% of teachers said that white students were subject to intimidation." The Factor lamented, "The Southern Poverty Law Center, which used to do good work, is now a political organization."

Conservative TV and Internet host Tomi Lahren, just 24 years old, has become a major thorn in the side of liberals. In her first visit to the No Spin Zone, she outlined her ideological evolution. "In college I hosted a roundtable show," Lahren said, "and I got my first talk show when I was 21. I was raised in a family of hard-working Americans and I knew that if I was going to achieve something in life, I would have to do it myself. That lends itself to the conservative world view. I have used the Internet to my advantage because you can reach out directly to your viewers. The mainstream media does not foster conservative voices, so sometimes you have to go directly online. I like to take apart the mainstream media."

Dennis Miller opined on President-elect Trump's decision to confront U.S. companies that are considering taking their businesses to Mexico. "Up to this point we were letting air conditioners made by Carrier leave," he jested, "but we were letting Zika carriers into the country. That had to change and I like the fact that Trump is changing it. I like him coming in and flipping the table, you have to go big at this point. This country's right on a cusp line right now and Trump has a chance for greatness if he thinks big!" Miller then mocked Madonna, who blasted all women who voted for Donald Trump. "She's standing there in a cone bra acting like she's Margaret Thatcher. I think she blew the election when she said she'd give sexual favors to anybody who voted for Hillary. That's why they invented the phrase, 'Don't do me any favors.'"

Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum, on the 75th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor sneak attack, elaborated on the upcoming visit to Pearl Harbor by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. "That will be on December 27th," MacCallum reported, "and it will coincide with President Obama's visit to Hawaii. Abe will lay a wreath and make it clear that Japan never wants to repeat the ravages of war. He says he wants to close the chapter on World War II, but he is not expected to apologize." The Factor contended that Abe should apologize "not just to America, but to China and Korea and the Philippines for the many Japanese atrocities."

Norm Gillespie, Moroni, UT: "If President Obama pardons Bowe Bergdahl, two things must happen. Bergdahl must admit his crime, and the president has to admit he was wrong in glorifying him."

Terry Hughes, Fort Pierre, SD: "Bill, you say 'Don't be truculent' when writing to the Factor. Well, you're truculent."

Factor producer Robert Samuel creates a podcast for BillOReilly.com. It's always worth a listen and the current edition deals with Bowe Bergdahl and the possible pardon.