This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," December 28, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE, GUEST HOST: Welcome to "Hannity." The Obama administration and Israel in a war of words.
I'm Kimberly Guilfoyle, in for Sean tonight.
After the United Nations passed a resolution last week condemning Israeli settlements, earlier today, Secretary of State John Kerry lectured and criticized America's ally in a foreign policy speech. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: 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. It cannot be both.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUILFOYLE: And hours later, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Secretary Kerry. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I must express my deep disappointment with the speech today of John Kerry, a speech that was almost as unbalanced as the anti-Israel resolution passed at the U.N. last week.
Secretary Kerry paid lip service to the unremitting campaign of terrorism that has been waged by the Palestinians against the Jewish state for nearly a century. What he did was to spend most of his speech blaming Israel for the lack of peace.
Israelis do not need to be lectured about the importance of peace by foreign leaders. Israel's hand has been extended in peace to its neighbors from day one, from it's very first day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUILFOYLE: President-elect Donald Trump is also weighing in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP: Israel's been treated very, very unfairly by a lot of different people. If you look at resolutions in the United Nations, take a look at what's happened, they're up for 20 reprimands, and other nations that are horrible places, horrible places, that treat people horribly, haven't even been reprimanded.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUILFOYLE: And here now with reaction is Prime Minister Netanyahu's spokesperson, David Keyes. Thank you so much for joining us tonight on "Hannity."
So a lot of reaction around the world today given the comments of Secretary of State John Kerry. What is your position?
DAVID KEYES, PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU'S SPOKESMAN: Israel was deeply, deeply disappointed with the speech primarily because it didn't really focus on the core of the conflict. Secretary Kerry took up a lot of time blaming Israel for the supposed, you know, crime of Jews living in their ancient homeland of Judea, but the core of the conflict remains this persistent Palestinian refusal to accept the Jewish state in any boundaries.
And this comes after the Obama administration colluded with the Palestinians really behind Israel's back to pass this absolutely anti- Israel resolution that actually called the Western Wall, if you can believe it, occupied Palestinian territory, the place where Jews have been and prayed towards for thousands of years.
So I think what really needs to be asked of this administration is, will they veto any future resolution in their remaining time in office in the Security Council against the state of Israel, as this resolution was? It's a shame that the world's attention is not focused on Palestinian hate speech, on the refusal to accept any Jewish state in the Middle East, because if we can refocus the war (ph) of attention on that, I believe question we can make true progress towards peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
GUILFOYLE: Now, given these stunning international developments for the Middle East here, had Prime minister Netanyahu spoken to either President Barack Obama or President-elect Donald Trump?
KEYES: Well, the Israeli government, of course, is in touch with both the current administration and the incoming administration. But think of the absurdity of this speech, given just the recent history of our relations with the Palestinians.
The prime minister has called literally hundreds of times to meet with President Abbas for peace talks without any precondition. He invited President Abbas to the Israeli Knesset. He offered to go to the parliament in Ramallah. And all of those calls were turned down with a resounding no.
And on the Palestinian side, the Palestinian president has said openly and publicly he will never recognize the Jewish state. They're naming soccer teams after mass murderers. Senior advisers are calling to slit the throats of Israelis wherever you find them. And the Palestinian government is actually paying anyone who murders an Israeli a monthly salary.
So if you want to find the real barrier to peace, look no further than that rejectionism, that support for terror and inciting this idea that one day, there won't be a Jewish state here in the Middle East.
GUILFOYLE: There's also, Mr. Keyes, been a very bold statement suggesting that you have ironclad proof that the United States was complicit, in fact, in helping craft the U.N. resolution. What proof do you have of that?
KEYES: Well, I can't share all the proof I have because it's of a sensitive nature. But needless to say, I have seen it myself with my own eyes. It's ironclad. It's true beyond a shadow of a doubt.
There was a recently released transcript out of Egypt -- I haven't read through the entire transcript, but it confirms -- it tallies with what we have seen and understood from sources in the Arab world, that the United States was largely behind this push at the U.N., this anti-Israel resolution of the Security Council.
And it's a shame because it's a real abandonment of America's historic role protecting Israel at this deeply biased body that frankly delights in lambasting the Middle East's one liberal democracy and doesn't quite have so much time for those hundreds of thousands of Syrians who have been butchered just in the last few years.
GUILFOYLE: Certainly. Mr. Keyes, will the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in fact provide proof, proffer the evidence that you have and provide that to President-elect Donald Trump and to the Obama administration?
KEYES: Yes. We are going to share that with the new administration through the proper channels. And I again hope that this -- the administration in its last few days is asked the question whether it will or it won't veto any future resolution dealing with Israel at the United Nations.
I hope so because the body is deeply biased. Friends don't take friends to the Security Council, as Prime Minister Netanyahu said. And it's my fervent hope that Israelis and Palestinians can sit down across the table from one another in good faith and the spirit of mutual recognition of bringing people together because everybody deserves to live in peace, Israelis and Palestinians alike.
And it's an absolute tragedy that the Palestinian leadership has so consistently rejected the prime minister's calls for peace.
GUILFOYLE: Well, it does sound like this is an issue of trust that, in fact, you would share that information with President-elect Donald Trump, but not with the current administration, President Barack Obama or Secretary John Kerry.
KEYES: Well, it's not really a matter of trust. The current administration knows precisely what it did, so it doesn't really need our information.
GUILFOYLE: All right. Well, always a pleasure. Thank you for joining us on "Hannity" tonight, Mr. Keyes.
KEYES: Thank you so much.
GUILFOYLE: And here now with more reaction is the author of "Ally," deputy minister of diplomacy in Israel prime minister Netanyahu's office, Ambassador Michael Oren. Ambassador, thanks for joining us tonight, certainly a very interesting day, in terms of the international developments, very significant in terms of relations between the United States and Israel. I'd like to get your reaction.
MICHAEL OREN, DEPUTY MINISTER FOR DIPLOMACY IN ISRAEL: Good to be with you, Kimberly. It was an odd and very disturbing speech, indeed. Secretary Kerry talks about the absence of a two-state solution, but fails to mention that the Palestinians have been offered a Palestinian state little (ph) less (ph) than four times in the past, and it turned it down each time, mostly with violence.
He goes on and on. About 80 percent of the speech, over an hour-and-a- half, is dedicated to attacking Israeli settlements, but there's no mention that Israel left Gaza and ripped up 21 settlements in order to advance peace, and all we got was thousands of rockets fired at our civilians.
He talks about the absence of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and just forgets to mention that the Palestinian authority has refused to sit at the negotiating table with us for eight years. And as my colleague, David Keyes, just said on your prime minister, Prime Minister Netanyahu has again and again and again offered to sit with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian authority without preconditions anywhere, any time.
A strange and disturbing speech at the end of the day. He talks about -- as if he, Secretary of State John Kerry of the United States, knows better than the people of Israel what is best for them and certainly better than the democratically elected leaders, myself included. Strange and disturbing.
GUILFOYLE: As we sit here and reflect this evening on these international developments, what is your opinion of the legacy of the Obama administration on the talks and the relationship with Israel?
OREN: Well, the legacy will be two-fold. It was a policy which from day one rewarded the Palestinians for not sitting at the negotiating table and created a situation where they had so much to gain by not negotiating with us because the administration would give them what they wanted. In the last U.N. resolution, it gave Mahmoud Abbas what he always wanted. It gave him the tools to fight us in international criminal courts and to sanction and isolate us.
The other legacy will be the Iran nuclear deal. It was kind of strange, Kimberly, Secretary of State Kerry mentioned the closeness of the relationship between Israel and Sunni Arab states in the Gulf. He failed to mention that the major reason we have grown close is because of the Iranian nuclear deal. We're afraid of what American foreign policy has wrought in our region.
Those will be the two major legacies, Iran nuclear deal and Israel facing the dangers of sanctions and boycotts.
GUILFOYLE: And so what measures can the new administration under President-elect Donald Trump take to restore the faith, the relationship with Israel and undo the damage that has been wrought by the Iran nuclear deal and measures by the U.N. Security Council?
OREN: Well -- and I did talk about in the book, in the "Ally" book, I thought the two major principles of the U.S./Israel alliance has always been the principles of no daylight and no surprises. No daylight means we can have differences, and friends can have differences, but they're not made public. Friends do not make their differences public the way secretary of state made our differences public tonight for an hour-and-a- half on international television.
And no surprises means that if the president or the secretary of state is going to make a major statement on the Middle East and the way it impacts us, we have to know about it in advance. And I'll tell you, Kimberly, nobody in the Israeli government knew what the secretary of state was going to say tonight. It was a complete surprise.
GUILFOYLE: Yes, certainly.
OREN: We have to restore these two principles. The president-elect can come into office and make it clear that if anybody tries to boycott or sanction the state of Israel, they're going to have to deal not just with Israel, going to have to deal with the United States of America. America remains the world's most powerful and the most financially robust power. I don't think anybody wants to, excuse the expression, mess with the United States.
GUILFOYLE: No, you're absolutely right. I think President-elect Donald Trump has made it very clear that the United States respects and will stand by its strong ally in Israel. Deputy Minister Oren, always a pleasure. Thank you so much for joining us.
And here now with more reaction is the author of "Defeating Jihad: The Winnable War." Dr Sebastian Gorka joins us. Stunning developments today, Dr. Gorka, really incredible. It seemed to me the secretary of state, John Kerry, pretty much kicked the chair out from under Israel at the negotiating table.
SEBASTIAN GORKA, "DEFEATING JIHAD" AUTHOR: Yes, I think it's, in fact, worse than that, Kimberly. I think after January 20th, as the historians start to write their accounts of the last eight years, I'm convinced that the Obama administration will go down as the most anti-Israeli U.S. administration since Israel was created after World War II.
And not only was this unnecessary, it also just is a fit of pique. It is a spiteful measure that simply adds the last dollop of instability to the Middle East.
Look what's happened in the last eight years. The ambassador mentioned our Sunni allies in the Middle East, people like the king of Jordan, President Sisi of Egypt. They were basically abandoned by the Obama administration after the so-called Arab spring.
Additionally, we pulled our troops out in 2011 from Iraq, which led to the destabilization of the whole region and the rise of ISIS. And then. finally, the administration thought that in some crazy scheme, the balancing of the region would occur if we gave $150 billion to the mullahs in Iran.
The region is on fire, Kimberly. And this was utterly unnecessary, and it simply weakens our most important ally in the Middle East.
GUILFOYLE: It's certainly, too, well described. It really was an accelerant on an already very volatile situation in the Middle East. And the last thing we need to do is further compromise the security and positioning of Israel, one of our strongest allies,
Dr. Gorka, we're going to have more with you after the break, so please stand by.
Coming up next right here on "Hannity"...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: When do 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, but if it doesn't, it's a waste of time and money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUILFOYLE: President-elect Donald Trump talking about the United Nations earlier today. We'll get reaction again from Dr. Gorka and Texas congressman Louie Gohmert.
And then later -- President-elect Trump announced today that another major U.S. company is bringing jobs back to America. Anthony Scaramucci and Nicole Petallides join us later in the program.
That and much more as "Hannity" continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The U.N. has such tremendous potential, not living up to its potential. There is such tremendous potential, but it is not living up. When do 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 and money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUILFOYLE: And that was President-elect Trump earlier today saying the United Nations is not living up to its potential after the Security Council voted to condemn Israeli settlements. Others are taking things a step further and now calling on the United States to kick the U.N. to the curb. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER, FOX CONTRIBUTOR: We're paying an organization that spends half its time, more than half its time and energy and resources and bureaucracy trying to attack the only Jewish state on the planet, a tiny little speck, while genocide, mayhem, murder, terrorism is going on all over the world. It's good 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.
MIKE HUCKABEE, R-FMR. GOV., FMR. PRES. CANDIDATE: I think we ought to get jackhammers and we ought to jackhammer the whole thing off, float it into the East River, ask anybody who would like to host it to come pick up it, haul it off, it'll be easier a lot easier to park in Manhattan after we get rid of it.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUILFOYLE: All right. Well, in response to growing outrage over the United Nations, The Washington Free Beacon is reporting that, quote, "Congress is moving to cut U.S. founding to the U.N. in the wake of the anti-Israel vote."
Joining us now is Texas congressman Louie Gohmert, and back with us is the author of "Defeating Jihad: The Winnable War," Dr. Sebastian Gorka. Gentlemen, thanks so much for joining us on the subject.
REP. LOUIE GOHMERT, R-TEXAS: So nice to be with you.
GUILFOYLE: Pleasure to see you. Unbelievable today, these developments.
GOHMERT: Yes, we just keep coming back to this, thank God Donald Trump got elected or we would really be in trouble.
So I've talked to a number of colleagues. I've got a bill that, hopefully, will be drafted by Friday anyway. Two things. One we don't give a dime to the U.N. until they rescind that resolution. And people are saying, Oh, they'll never do that. Fine. They don't need our help to be anti-Semitic.
And then the other is to prevent even one dime, making it a crime to use any government money to recognize Palestine as an independent country or state because that's what I keep hearing is going to be the next shoe to drop.
This administration, Kimberly, reminds me of one of my elementary school teachers. Out of six teachers, one loved bullies and she always supported the bullies over the victims. And that's what this administration does. Look at it! Who have they given more money than anybody?
GUILFOYLE: Right.
GOHMERT: Iran.
GUILFOYLE: Iran.
GOHMERT: ... the largest supporter of terrorism. And then you look at who they're supporting in this, the Palestinians that have wreaked havoc. And as people have said over and over, there's only one place where Muslims have complete freedom in the Middle East, and it's Israel.
GUILFOYLE: It's unbelievable.
GOHMERT: So they're our friends and this is an outrage. But it is so consistent with this -- and you know, these guys -- you listen to Kerry, he lied when he talked about Gengis Khan. He lied when he threw somebody else's medals over to the White House. He's lied over and over again.
The State Department lied about the attack at Benghazi being about a video. And now they're misrepresenting once again what's going on there. And we've got to stand up for Israel. This is such an outrage.
GUILFOYLE: And undermining Israel, our key ally. Dr. Gorka, why do you think the United Nations is so anti-Israel?
(LAUGHTER)
GORKA: Because of the politics that has taken it hostage in the last 30 years. Look, the U.N. made sense when it was created in San Francisco in 1945 after 60 million people were killed in World War II. With American leadership, it helped to stabilize the world. Look at the reaction to the Korean crisis. We deployed our forces there under a U.N. mandate.
But it's failed in the last 30 years. If the U.N. really stood for peace and stability, then Yugoslavia wouldn't have happened. Rwanda wouldn't have happened. The crisis of the Middle East in Syria wouldn't have happened.
Look at one thing today, Kimberly. We now have 65 million refugees in the world. That's more than we had after World War II ended in 1945.
The world is in chaos. The U.N. should be doing something about it. Because it isn't being led by the values of the founding of this republic, by the White House, we have the disaster that we have today. So the United Nations no longer serves the purpose for which it was created.
(CROSSTALK)
GOHMERT: Right after the U.N. was created...
(CROSSTALK)
GOHMERT: ... of course, the United States, President Truman, a Democrat through and through, was the first national -- international leader to recognize Israel as being an independent nation. And now they're wanting to give those places back!
GUILFOYLE: But on that note, Dr. Gorka, what can President-elect Donald Trump do, if you can give me a quick thing on this, to turn it around?
GORKA: Well, I think the statements he's already made are very, very clear. The U.N., as an institution, will not be favored by the White House after January the 20th. Remember, we are the largest funder of this institution. Without our money, it simply cannot function, and the 10 nations that were behind this outside of the current administration will suffer, whether it is bilaterally, economically or diplomatically. They will pay a price and they should pay a price for basically what is a modern version of anti-Semitism.
GOHMERT: Can I throw in something?
GUILFOYLE: Yes, real quick.
GOHMERT: The U.N. -- I looked into this -- Rockefeller provided that to the U.N. so long as it's used as the primary office of the U.N. If we say they're no longer stop providing visas (INAUDIBLE) allowing them to come, they'll have to move to Brussels or somewhere. (INAUDIBLE) that land cedes back to its source. So opens up a lot of new territory for New York.
GUILFOYLE: Something to check out. Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us tonight.
KEYES: Thank you, Kimberly.
GOHMERT: Thank you.
GUILFOYLE: And coming up, President-elect Donald Trump announced today that a major U.S. company will bring jobs back to America. Anthony Scaramucci from the Trump transition and FOX Business's Nicole Petallides join us next with reaction.
And later...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: If I had run again and articulated it, I think I could have mobilized a majority of the American people to rally behind it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUILFOYLE: President Obama keeps taking shots at his successor. And now President-elect Trump is firing back. Matt and Mercedes Schlapp will have reaction.
That and much more as "Hannity" continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We are going to stand up for the American worker like nobody has ever stood up for that worker before.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Our economic agenda can be summed up in three very beautiful words -- jobs, jobs, jobs! That is why we're going to lower our business tax rate from 35 percent down to 15 percent, and you're going to see things happen.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: We're also going to eliminate job-killing regulations...
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: ... and lift the restrictions on the production of American energy, including shale, oil, natural gas, and beautiful clean coal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUILFOYLE: Like the sound of that. That was President-elect Trump sharing his economic vision for the country. And earlier today, the president- elect made this announcement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: So we just had some very good news. Because of what's happening and the spirit and the hope, I was just called by the head people at Sprint, and they're going to be bringing 5,000 jobs back to the United States. They're taking them from other countries. They're bringing them back to the United States.
And Masa and some other people were very much involved in that. So I want to thank them. And also, OneWeb, a new company, is going to be hiring 3,000 people. So that's very exciting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUILFOYLE: Jobs, jobs, jobs. And joining us with reaction from the FOX Business Network Nicole Petallides, and the author of "Hopping over the Habit Role," Trump transition team executive committee member Anthony Scaramucci. Guys, thanks for being on HANNITY tonight. It's music to my ears when I hear "jobs," jobs here in America, jobs coming back to the country. Anthony, this was positive news today.
ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI, TRUMP TRANSITION TEAM EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBER: Yes, it's great news. It's symbolic in some ways, Kimberly. But the greatest part about it is that Mr. Trump prosecuting that agenda that he talks about, less regulation, simplified taxes, and higher wages for working class families and middle class America. And that will start a whole virtue circle of consumption which I think will be terrific.
GUILFOYLE: All right, so you like these numbers we're seeing recently.
NICOLE PETALLIDES, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK: I do, I do. I think that we've had jobs added, but we need it to be done better for the American people. And I think and I believe that Trump really has it in his heart to do the best he can for all Americans.
We already -- we've already seen him doing some of this before he even becomes president. We've seen it with Carrier, brought back 1,000 jobs. We've seen it with Ford. They were to be sending some of those jobs to Mexico. Now they're going to be staying in the states.
And he's tough. He's tough across the board. But you mentioned less regulation, you mentioned cutting of taxes, infrastructure, that's a big one of his. And that's going to create a lot of jobs. Building tunnels, bridges, and really building up our infrastructure here the states, that will create a lot of jobs as well.
SCARAMUCCI: I'm going to say the most refreshing thing that I've seen from working on the inside of the Trump Tower is the no nonsense approach. He's not looking for politicians and political paybacks and this sort of thing. He's like, OK, is this going to work for the American people or is it not going to work for the American people? And if it works for the American people, then we're going to do this and we're going to go full into it as hard as we possibly can. So this is super-refreshing to see for the first time, Kimberly and Nicole, we have a business person at the top that's going to think like a business person and prosecute this agenda.
GUILFOYLE: Yes. And that's what I think people are enthusiastic about, Nicole. Like you said, this isn't a man waiting in fact to take office. He's actually taking meetings now, trying to make a difference, working every day that he can to move this economic agenda forward, taking the necessary steps.
PETALLIDES: This is drain the swamp. I think people are tired of politicians. That's one of the reasons -- one of the many reasons that he was elected to be our next president. People are tired of the same old garbage. They like the idea -- first of all, he's very a hard worker, a very smart man. And he himself has said, listen, if it's not working, I'm going to change it. I'm going to change it. There's a lot of, you know, new people coming in in very powerful positions under him, but if that's not working, he will make the alterations that he needs to do. Don't you agree?
SCARAMUCCI: Yes, 100 percent. I think the only negative that Nicole is bringing up, he's working 22 hours a day, Kimberly. I don't know how you we can all keep up with him.
GUILFOYLE: It's really --
PETALLIDES: High expectations.
SCARAMUCCI: We're all sitting there saying, he's not drinking any caffeine.
GUILFOYLE: Right.
SCARAMUCCI: He's revved up.
GUILFOYLE: He's high energy. He's high energy.
PETALLIDES: And he brought a lot of optimism to the stock market. We've seen Dow Jones, the Trump bumps, the big rally, we might be hitting 20,000 this week.
SCARAMUCCI: Consumer confidence.
GUILFOYLE: It's at a 15 year high now.
PETALLIDES: That's right. And the holiday shopping season is set up, though they haven't tallied it up, to be the best since 2005. So people are feeling some optimism and hope, and that in itself is worth a lot.
GUILFOYLE: Now, so come January 20th, how do you think the markets will respond when it's official?
SCARAMUCCI: I think still favorable. I mean listen, we've had a big run- up. What markets typically do is they recede a little bit after big run- ups. But I do think that the growth opportunity, the markets foreseeing a three-and-a-halfish percent growth rate. That filters into the earnings. Last point, tax cut. You'll see earnings, increases, and profits across the board, that's been factored into the market already. But my guess is the market will run from here as a result from that, too.
GUILFOYLE: I think people are interested in things that he can do even without Congressional approval right away on day one to get the market going.
PETALLIDES: I think you make a great point. I was speaking on one of the traders on the floor today talking about exactly that and saying he doesn't need congressional approval for every single thing that he wants to do, for example, oil drilling and jobs involved in oil. He can move it right ahead with that.
GUILFOYLE: And that's some of the things I think that are really going to help across the board in terms of stimulating the economy and getting this robust future going.
SCARAMUCCI: And there'll be a whole regulatory protocol put in place and implementation of relaxing some of these regulations, not to make things unsafe or make the things less regulated to the point where people don't feel safe either in the markets, but just propitious, smart regulation, which I think I think will put people at ease and give businesses the opportunity, guys, to plan better for the future.
GUILFOYLE: Because between Obamacare and these job-stifling regulation, new companies, entrepreneurs have found it to be a hostile environment and being an entrepreneur and getting a job, going and hiring people not just part time but solid positions that are full-time positions that really do help the numbers overall.
SCARAMUCCI: And the community banks are lending just to add that. So that's one of the worst part of the Dodd-Frank stuff, these small businesses that we rely upon for the new jobs and for wage growth, they can't get capital from their community banks.
PETALLIDES: How can they create jobs if they can't even start a company to make the jobs? And they have so many rules and regulations to go through to even try and start a business they don't even want to do it, ultimately. So it's certainly going to be more favorable to the business.
SCARAMUCCI: I'm having a lot of fun. I have to say. It's been great.
GUILFOYLE: I can tell. He's got the economic optimism all over your face.
PETALLIDES: There are some downsides. You could see higher mortgage rates. You could see higher gasoline. The dollar is high. Those are all the little things. I think the big picture is definitely optimistic, hope, and some change for the new year.
GUILFOYLE: Yes, and not just energy independence, not looking for that, but energy dominance, United States. All right, thank you so much to both of you, great to see you tonight.
SCARAMUCCI: Happy to be here, Kimberly.
GUILFOYLE: You, as well.
And coming up next right here on "Hannity."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: If I had run again and articulated it, I think I could have mobilized a majority of the American people to rally behind it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUILFOYLE: President Obama continues to take jabs at the incoming administration, and now president-elect Trump is responding. Matt and Mercedes Schlapp are next with reaction.
And later, Americans are more divided than ever, but that isn't stopping President Obama from making questionable comments about race. Sheriff David Clarke and Niger Innis will weigh in later. That and much more straight ahead on "Hannity."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GUILFOYLE: Welcome back to "Hannity." President Obama continues taking swipes at the incoming administration. Here's what he said on Monday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: The majority does buy into the notion of a one America that is talented and diverse and open and full of energy and dynamism. And the problem is it doesn't always manifest itself in politics, right?
I am confident in this vision because I'm confident that if I -- if I had run again and articulated it, I think I could have mobilizes the American people to rally behind it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUILFOYLE: And this morning president-elect Donald Trump fired back, tweeting, quote, "Doing my best to disregard the many inflammatory President O statements and roadblocks. Thought it was going to be a smooth transition, not." But former senior advisor to the president David Axelrod says President Obama is looking to act like his predecessor after he leaves office. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID AXELROD, FORMER WHITE HOUSE SENIOR ADVISER: He often talks about the example of the Bushs, both Bushs, as ex-presidents who have been very discreet about how they've spoken on public issues since the left the White House. And he appreciated it and saw virtue in it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUILFOYLE: And earlier today president-elect Trump told reporters he spoke to President Obama today on the phone. Mr. Trump said it was a nice conversation.
And joining us now with reaction, American Conservative Union chairman Matt Schlapp and FOX News contributor Mercedes. A pleasure to have you both on the program.
So these are pretty remarkable comments, a little bit back and forth. Mercedes, what do you make of it? Why would President Obama even say things like he would have beat Donald Trump if he was running this for a third term?
MERCEDES SCHLAPP, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: It's just amazing to me, Kimberly. The president, Obama's arrogance is just outstanding. It's shocking that he will go out there at this point in time when what we know is that Donald Trump won on the fact that this was a rejection of President Obama, of his policies, of his agenda. And I find that the fact is that that President Obama, he's coming across being the sore loser. He's not being graceful as you had seen in the case with, for example, President George H. W. Bush who wrote a note to Bill Clinton basically saying I'm rooting for you. So he's sending these mixed signals, and he's still convinced if he were to run again he would win. And I just think that he has lost touch to where the American people are.
GUILFOYLE: All right, Matt, what do you think President Obama should be doing to be helpful actually to president-elect Donald Trump during this transition time? And I bet you're not going to say he should be undermining Israel. That's not helpful.
MATT SCHLAPP, CHAIRMAN, AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE UNION: Right. How about stop trash talking our incoming president? How about not working behind being the incoming president's back to try to bind the administration on questions like Israel and so many other questions like these executive actions he's continuing to take?
He lectures Donald Trump on the fact that executive authority, he should walk softly with it and be careful with it. At the same time, you know, he's got his phone and his pen, and to the last day of his administration, President Obama is going to push his agenda. He hasn't listened to the voters for eight years. He's not going to listen to him over the course of the next several weeks.
GUILFOYLE: It's really interesting, Mercedes. It seems there could be some real moments here especially on the tail end of his administration to leave with class and dignity, to not take these shots. And yet then you see president-elect reacting with class and dignity, saying, OK, I spoke to him today. We had a nice conversation. It's unbelievable. It's like he's in the Oval Office with him meeting, that went well. And then as soon as president-elect Trump left, the parting shots came.
MERCEDES SCHLAPP: I know, it's amazing. Its' like President Obama is trying to build his own wall to ensure that his last-minute efforts, for example, between abstaining the vote in the United Nations that was anti- Israel, the fact that is that he's basically banning states from denying federal funding for Planned Parenthood, banning the arctic and Atlantic ocean oil drilling, he's placing obstacles in place to ensure that president-elect Donald Trump cannot be successful or will have to basically push forward in many legal challenges in all these different cases.
So I think -- what I find is it's just so unfortunate. President Obama can say that he had a positive conversation with Donald Trump, but it is hypocritical, Kimberly, when in fact what you're seeing is that he's trying to undermine president-elect Donald Trump, as we know. He should just move forward and allow the president-elect to be able to really have what we would consider a peaceful transition and a smooth transition.
GUILFOYLE: Absolutely. Matt, actions speak louder than words.
MATT SCHLAPP: Yes, that's exactly right. Look, when Mercy and I came to the White House for president George W. Bush, the w's had been taken off our keyboards, our furniture had been busted up, the voicemail systems were laced with profane messages, and, you know, it was an un-classy way to transition from one president to the other. And I think President George W. Bush realized that and acted with class, because that's who he is, when President Obama won the presidency. And it's just a shame that President Obama can't seem to reach down inside and grab that same touch of class for this incoming president.
GUILFOYLE: All right, fantastic. And Mercedes I'll give you the last word.
MERCEDES SCHLAPP: Well, I think for President Obama, we've had these moments in history where you've seen this awkward transition of power. Obviously President Obama is making it very difficult for Donald Trump. I think for Donald Trump, we're all looking forward to this inauguration, 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.
GUILFOYLE: All right, and you have my favorite name. That was my mother's name, and I went to Our Lady of Mercy grammar school and Mercy high school, so there you go. But Matt, you're cool too.
MATT SCHLAPP: Have mercy on us.
GUILFOYLE: Have mercy on us indeed.
And coming up, President Obama promised to unite Americans, but the country is more divided than ever when it comes to race. Sheriff David Clarke and Niger Innis are here next with reaction. That and much more as HANNITY continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GUILFOYLE: Welcome back to "Hannity."
CNBC anchor John Harwood who was outed by WikiLeaks for colluding with the Clinton campaign against Republicans, took some time yesterday to list why the Democrats suffered so many losses during President Obama's two-terms in office. Harwood tweeted that 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. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: If you accept the support of Klan sympathizers, if they say they really like what you're doing and you're slow to denounce or separate yourself from it, that is what you're going to do when you're in office.
He may up the ante in anti-Muslim sentiment, but 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 typically when people feel stressed they turn on others that don't look like them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUILFOYLE: And joining me now with reaction is Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke and Tea Party Forward Chairman Niger Innis. Gentlemen, thanks for being here tonight. I think, it is unbelievable, isn't it, Niger?
NIGER INNIS, TEA PARTY FORWARD CHAIRMAN: It is not only unbelievable, Kimberly, but it's a lie. This president on average got a higher percentage of the white vote than any Democrat has in 50 years. And the real tragedy of the Obama years is not just that this racial harangue is now back in fashion, but you have a killing field in his very own backyard of Chicago. He came into office with Chicago being a killing field. He's leaving office with Chicago being a horrific killing field for black and brown families.
GUILFOYLE: You're right. Sheriff Clarke, always great to see you, too. We have numbers here. Chicago murders since 2009, 3,904 lives lost, and these numbers come from the Chicago police department. It's unbelievable. It's a war right here on our streets in this country.
SHERIFF DAVID CLARKE, MILWAUKEE COUNTY: And Black Lives Matter is nowhere to be found. Is it January 20th? Is it close to January 20th? Can we buy the remaining time he has left? Can we buy him out like buying out a contract?
This guy has continually, continually for eight years rubbed the stain of slavery, rubbed white peoples' nose in the stain of slavery. He's done it for eight years. He's about 150 years removed from slavery. Nobody said forget about it, but you have to be able to move on at some point. And he will not allow America to do that. And until he leaves the White House we are going to continue to have to put up with his nonsense. People are tired of it. They proved it on November 8. Latinos, black people, white people, and other ethnicities have said we've had enough of this racial divide in America, and they really want to move on from it. But this president will not allow them to do that.
GUILFOYLE: You know, Niger, many people think that President Obama helped interject race into this presidential election in 2016.
INNIS: I think he did, unfortunately, and he wasn't alone in doing so, race and sex. It's always easier to throw up artificial scapegoats and point the finger of blame instead of taking responsibility. Right now, he's got an administration that's going to war against our strongest ally in the Middle East and he has his very own Gaza Strip in his own adopted hometown of Chicago. It's a disgrace.
There is a great reporter, Amber Randall, who happens to be African-American, who wrote about this. And in the 11th district alone in Chicago there were 91 killings last year. That is more than most mid-sized cities. How about that, taking responsibility for that? How about leaving that as a legacy opposed to pointing the fingers at Israel and Republicans and the NRA and the white guy. And it's nonsense.
GUILFOYLE: It's unbelievable, Sheriff Clarke. And then of course the struggles that law enforcement has had under this administration as well.
CLARKE: It's been an ugly chapter in American history. This supposedly post-racial president has been exactly the opposite, and it's going to continue even for the next couple of weeks. As you look at what's going on in Chicago as you mentioned, there's no sense of urgency about what's going on from him. And then you get the one questionable police shooting, or even a wrongful police shooting, the anomaly that happened, and all of a sudden all Americans are racist.
And if you deny it -- if you're white and you deny you're racist then it bring out the implicit bias and he says you're in denial about it. So the sooner that we can move on from this ugly chapter in American history and presidential history, one of the most race-obsessed presidents in modern history, but the sooner we can move on from this -- he went and took that scar, that healing scar of slavery, he reopened it and poured salt in that wound. People are tired of it. Like I said, they voice their opinion of it on November 8, but on his way out the door he wants one last kick of sand in the face to the same people that elected him, many white people.
GUILFOYLE: Unbelievable. Gentlemen, such a pleasure to have you here with us tonight. We do thank you for your time.
And coming up, we need your help with a very important "Question of the Day." Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GUILFOYLE: Welcome back to "Hannity." And time for tonight's "Question of the Day." Do you think the Trump administration should cut off funding to the United Nations? Head over to Facebook.com/SeanHannity and Twitter, and let us know what you think.
Now, before we go, a quick programming note. This Saturday night be sure to tune in to Fox News Channel for our "All-American New Year" coverage. I'll be co-hosting along with Eric Bolling from 11:00 p.m. until 1:00 a.m., and Jesse Waters and Kennedy kick off the pregame coverage at 8:00 p.m.
And that is the time we have left this evening. I'll be filling in for Sean for the rest of the week. We'll see you back here on "Hannity" tomorrow night.
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