Rep. Matt Gaetz helps recap Trump's most memorable moments of 2019

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Rep. Matt Gaetz helps recap Trump's most memorable moments of 2019

Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz and Jesse Watters look back at the president's busy year on 'Watters' World.'

This is a rush transcript from "Watters’ World," December 28, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

Jesse Watters: Welcome to Watters' World. I'm Jesse Watters. 2019 was an amazing year. The media did everything it could to tear us apart. So-called news organizations, they lied to us, spiked the truth, humiliated themselves, but America is stronger than ever. Here to analyze, Townhall.com columnists Kurt Schlichter, the host of I'm Right w/ Jesse Kelly, Jesse Kelly and host of Your Voice America, Bill Mitchell. Or we tried to, you know, load the show up with bomb throwers to send the year off in a good way. So, let's start with the Covington smear. Innocent children just out for a walk in D.C. and the media went nuts. Roll it.

[start video clip]

Female Speaker: Shocking new video showing students in Make America Great Again hats harassing a Native American elder who served in the Vietnam War.

Jose Diaz-Balart: A troubling scene many are calling racist. Students harassing an older Native American man, a Vietnam vet, in the midst of a special ceremony.

Male Speaker: Where were the chaperones? Why did a school event involve MAGA hats?

Trevor Noah: These kids are around the guy and they're all jeering and they’re dancing. He's got the smug look on his face. And let's not lie, everyone that sees that smug look wants to punch that kid.

[end video clip]

Jesse Watters: [laughs] So, Kurt, many of these news organizations, they're facing litigation as we speak for defamation. No apologies, and I don't expect any.

Kurt Schlichter: Well, of course, Jesse. The problem is the mainstream media is garbage. It's filled with garbage people doing garbage things and putting out a garbage product. So, none of this is a surprise. My favorite part is how they fell for the idea that this Army Reserve refrigerator repairman who never deployed was somehow the hero of the Tet Offensive. Oh, and he's not just an Indian guy, no, he's an elder, a respected elder, who goes and hassles people and beats a stupid drum in their face.

Jesse Watters: Yeah. You know --

Kurt Schlichter: My gosh, these kids had so much, so much self-control that they didn't burst out laughing at this clown and at the media that fell for it, hook, line and sinker.

Jesse Watters: Yeah. Jesse, he did an honorable thing. He showed restraint. And actually, he was the one that defused the situation. Yet, he was called a Nazi for sitting there with a smirk on his face.

Jesse Kelly: Oh, I thought he showed a ton of restraint, like you just said. And I'll tell you what, 17-year-old Jesse would have responded a little differently if somebody approached me and started banging drums in my face. And to what Kurt just said, it's totally true. The guy -- they make the guy out to be some lion, nobody in the newsroom cares about Indians or any of the Indian causes, but as soon as you attack a kid with a MAGA head on, all of a sudden, the guy's Sitting Bull.

Jesse Watters: Yeah. They made him out to be a hero. One quick look at his resumé showed he hadn't been honest. Bill, it is funny how the media treats children of different, I guess, political stripes. Trump told Gretchen Thornburg to chill out, and he got attacked for about 48 hours. They called this kid Hitler --

Bill Mitchell: Yeah.

Jesse Watters: -- and never even apologized. And he's not even a political player.

Bill Mitchell: Yeah. This is a perfect example of the 48-hour rule when it comes to the media. The media loves to throw a bomb. They love to set a fire. And then, if you just wait 48 hours, typically the truth starts to trickle out and the story runs out. And that's what happened on this. It was political judo. They came after him and it ended up making them look bad. So, you know, I mean, this is normal. I mean, [laughs] this is just every week, we get another story like this.

Jesse Watters: Yeah. You know, they get slapped with these very, very expensive lawsuits. The lawyers have to be -- they have to be going crazy over there at some of these networks. All this drama that it's caused. But, you know, after 48 hours, Fox and people on the Internet usually poke holes in it like --

Bill Mitchell: Right.

Jesse Watters: You know, and -- you know. We've got to report the news and then we have to counteract all the fake news, you know, but we can handle it. Let's look at Smollett. Another story that -- it just takes a tiny bit of common sense to realize something's not right here. Roll this interview with Robin Roberts.

[start video clip]

Jussie Smollett: He said this MAGA country, [expletive]. Punches me right in the face. So, I punched him back. The camera be facing north. How is that my issue? I want that video found so badly. And I want a little gay boy who might watch this to see that I fought the [expletive] back. I'm pissed off. How do you not believe that? It's the truth?

[end video clip]

Jesse Watters: Now, no disrespect to Robin Roberts. She did not necessarily ask what I would think would be hard-hitting, penetrating questions. Jesse, what do you think here? I mean, this thing you knew from the get-go was phony.

Jesse Kelly: I think it's my favorite story of 2019. There were bigger, more important stories, but this one is by far my favorite. It had every element in it you could possibly want, including a gullible press where everybody with a brain that is more advanced than an amoeba, heard his story about having a noose tied around his neck and bleach poured on him by two Trump supporters at 2:00 a.m. in downtown Chicago, and everybody who heard this story were like, “No, that’s not true at all.” Only the media, who wanted it to be true, sat there and thoughtfully nodded along and heard his tale of woe [laughs].

Jesse Watters: You know, it was so preposterous. Even Rahm Emmanuel had to come out and side with the Chicago Police Department, Bill. I mean, that takes a lot. That takes a lot. Mitchell?

Bill Mitchell: Oh, yes, I’m sorry. Yeah, amazing, amazing. This is another example of the media having Trump Derangement Syndrome so badly that they can take something that any other rational person would look at and say, “You know, this is insane.” I mean, Trump supporters in MAGA hats out trolling for gay black men at 2:00 in the morning when it’s 20 below zero in Chicago [laughs]? I mean, preposterous, and yet they want so badly to believe it that they run with it. And then they’re stuck with it, and, you know, they end up having to walk it back, so -- or if they run with it on page one, then they walk it back on, you know, page 24 in the bottom corner. So --

Jesse Watters: You know, Kurt, what did it for me was when Smollett ordered a Subway sandwich. He walked outside during an arctic freeze. He didn’t order it to get delivered; he walked outside. 

Kurt Schlichter: Yeah, I’m just going to chew on my footlong on the way home as the blizzard rages. My favorite part is the assumption that a couple of MAGA-hat guys cruising around at 2:00 a.m. actually knew who the hell Jussie Smollett was.

[laughter]

Jesse Watters: Right. You’re not that famous. Everybody knows you.

Kurt Schlichter: Yeah, [unintelligible] thing.

Jesse Watters: All right. Let’s go -- this is kind of a more serious thing. This drives me crazy what they did at ABC with the Epstein case. Here’s Amy Robach kind of on a hot-mic moment that Project Veritas somehow got their hands on. Here she is explaining why they killed it.

[begin video clip]

Amy Robach: She told me everything. She had pictures; she had everything. She was in hiding for 12 years. We convinced her to come out; we convinced her to talk to us. It was unbelievable what we had. Clinton; we had everything.

[end video clip]

Jesse Watters: Now, Kurt, if they had had a Trump connection to Epstein, they would have already run that a year and a half ago.

Kurt Schlichter: Well, Clinton -- I mean, he’s partying with Bill Clinton, and ABC News has it, and ABC News squashes it. I mean, it’s unbelievable, except it’s totally believable, because that’s what the media does.

Jesse Watters: You know, Jesse, if, you know, they’re spiking stories about sex trafficking and pedophilia, what else are they spiking? It makes you think.

Jesse Kelly: Well, it makes you think about a lot of things, Jesse. I mean, we’re talking about the still very much alive, very much in the public eye, former president of the United States of America tied on camera to a billionaire’s pedophilia ring, and not one person in the United States media has approached that ABC reporter and asked her what she meant by, quote, “We had Clinton.” And I’m sorry, you’re right, this is not a laughing one. This is not something to joke about. We’re talking about young girls who were ritually abused by the most powerful men in the world, and potentially the president of the United States, and the entire American media just kind of shrugged and moved on, and they just want to talk about how many scoops of ice cream Donald Trump eats. It’s shocking to me. It’s an embarrassment on the entire American media.

Jesse Watters: Bill, if we had a really just journalistic situation here in this country, you’d have reporters outside of the president of ABC News, outside of the townhouse of Amy Robach, demanding answers. You just don’t have that, though.

Bill Mitchell: Yeah, absolutely. You know, back in the day when everybody tried their hand at day trading, I tried that as well. And I joined a chatroom, and there was always one guy in the chatroom that was wrong about everything, and we called him the contrarian indicator. And right now, the media has become the contrarian indicator. When they say something, and the more loudly they say it, the less likely the American voter is to believe them, and I think that’s what’s happening here. And these stories come out, and people, like, roll their eyes like, “Okay, you know, whatever.” It actually works, like impeachment, in Trump’s favor. 

Jesse Watters: Yeah. You know, I completely agree. If they say something, usually the opposite is true. All right, gentlemen, we actually had more stuff. We didn’t even get to it. Obviously, the collusion hoax fell apart. We wanted to play some sound of Jim Acosta accidentally explaining that walls do work at the southern border.

Bill Mitchell: [laughs] [unintelligible]

Jesse Watters: There’s just so much out there. We could do a whole show on this, guys. Happy new year, everybody. 

Jesse Kelly: Thanks for having us. Happy new year.

Bill Mitchell: Happy new year.

Jesse Watters: More trouble for Hunter Biden. As we’ve reported, Hunter is locked in a child support battle in Arkansas. Lunden Alexis Roberts was an exotic dancer in Washington, D.C.; Hunter got her pregnant. She’s suing him for support because, well, she needs the money to raise her child, but Hunter says he’s dead-broke. He’s obviously not. So, this private investigator comes in; he’s been looking into Hunter Biden, he says. He files a notice with the court in Arkansas, claims that Hunter is currently the subject of multiple criminal investigations involving fraud, money laundering, counterfeiting, all sorts of stuff. He claims Hunter and his associates have amassed millions upon millions of dollars through international schemes, but the details are very, very sketchy. Here to break it all down, reporter for The Federalist, Erielle Davidson. Erielle, we can’t confirm this, but the allegation made by the private investigator is what exactly?

Erielle Davidson: So, essentially, the private investigator has alleged that Hunter Biden, along with Devon Archer and Chris Heinz, John Kerry’s stepson --

Jesse Watters: Devon was the guy in the photograph with Joe at the golf club, right?

Erielle Davidson: Yes, it’s the usual cast of characters that we see Hunter involved with. The allegations allege that Hunter Biden was involved in money laundering up to hundreds of millions of dollars --

Jesse Watters: In Ukraine?

Erielle Davidson: Yes, in Ukraine, and also associated with some Bank of China accounts potentially. So, there’s a lot going on here, and the one thing we have to know or keep in mind with regard to the allegations is that this is all we really have to work with. All we have to work with are personal investigations. The media has not been very good about investigating Hunter Biden’s professional activities, so what are we left with when we want to get answers to our questions? We’re left looking at personal investigations that are associated or tangential to a custody battle.

Jesse Watters: Right, and we’re just reporting that this was filed in the courtroom in Arkansas as a part of this custody dispute, and Watters’ World has not been able to confirm any of this. But Hunter is saying he doesn’t have any cash, yet he’s living where exactly?

Erielle Davidson: He’s living in Beverly Hills at a -- in a house that’s valued at $2.5 million. Now, we don’t know how much he bought the house for, but he did buy it this past summer, and according to recent court documents, he’s alleged that he’s in deep debt and has no job. So, this is --

Jesse Watters: But he was getting -- what was it? Eighty -- 55 $150,000 a month?

Erielle Davidson: Up to $80,000, I think, at some point. 

Jesse Watters: $80,000 from a Ukrainian gas company. He just shelled out $2.5 million or whatever for a house in Beverly Hills. He obviously has some income. What else is going on? You said something to me about he had been paying this woman, Lunden, for some time before.

Erielle Davidson: Right. So, part of this custody battle also includes some sort of issues surrounding child support, and in order to go forward with those types of claims, you need to give detailed information about your income. In this case, apparently the mother of the child was actually receiving Hunter Biden for an extensive period of time in 2018. Why this matters is because as of late, Hunter Biden has been telling us, “This isn’t my child. This isn’t my child.” Now we’re starting to wonder, at least ask questions like, well, maybe he was paying this woman off to not say anything. We don’t know. We don’t have answers to these questions, but I will say is that these types of personal investigations, as well as the recent court documents related to Baby Doe -- they do make us wonder, okay, is there a lot more going on with Hunter Biden that we just don’t know?

Jesse Watters: Yeah, it feels like we’ve only scratched the surface. All right, Erielle, thank you very much for your reporting.

Erielle Davidson: Thank you for having me.

Jesse Watters: All right, up next, President Trump’s most memorable moments of 2019, and later, a Watters’ World classic, asking the toughest questions of the year.

[begin video clip]

Jesse Watters: What is your New Year’s resolution?

Male Speaker: I have no [expletive] clue right now. [laughter]

[end video clip]

[commercial break]

Jesse Watters: 2019 was a big year for Donald Trump. A lot of wins, a lot of drama, controversy, and, of course, entertainment. Here with a look back is House Judiciary Committee member and Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz. All right, Matt, I'm going to start with something maybe people don't think would be the number one thing. I'm going to start with the creation of Space Force. Roll it.

[start video clip]

President Trump: With my signature today, you will witness the birth of the Space Force, and that will be now officially the sixth branch of the United States Armed Forces. That is something --

[cheers]

[end video clip]

Jesse Watters: They haven't created a new branch since 1947. People say in 50, 100 years you're going to look back at the Trump presidency and the creation of the Space Force may be considered the biggest achievement of all. What do you say?

Matt Gaetz: America has always taken great pride in owning the high ground, and with the Trump Space Force, we undoubtably will continue that great -- just exceptional accomplishment for our country. Now, the next question, Jesse, is how will we uniform the Space Force? I think it would be only appropriate, since it was created during the Trump administration, to have gold trim on the uniform of the Space Force.

Jesse Watters: [laughs]

Matt Gaetz: And then, hey, we've got to have a space academy for the Space Force, which means we'll finally have space cadets that we'll be able to nominate for service as the great space warriors, the future for our country.

Jesse Watters: Oh, I think you're onto something there. And the gold would definitely put our best foot forward if we ever did encounter --

Matt Gaetz: Absolutely.

Jesse Watters: -- alien life. Let's get on to the killing of Baghdadi. Big announcement. Here's the president.

[start video clip]

President Trump: He died like a dog. He died like a coward. He was whimpering, screaming, and crying. He didn't die a hero. He died a coward.

[end video clip]

Jesse Watters: So, if you talk about just the eradication of the caliphate, the killing of the top ISIS leader, just that alone signature achievement in 2019 could be the biggest one.

Matt Gaetz: Absolutely. Remember when Donald Trump was elected, you had ISIS controlling the size of territory bigger than the state of Indiana. Now the caliphate is wiped out, the leader of ISIS dead, the second-in-command dead, heck, the leadership of ISIS is becoming about the only job more politically dangerous than being governor of Illinois.

Jesse Watters: [laughs]

Matt Gaetz: And so now you've got, I think, a real record for the president in killing the terrorists that were causing so much harm to the globe, and we're a better planet for it.

Jesse Watters: And, you know, the haters, they said, "They're never going to be able to do this. They're going to have to fight there for generations and generations." And he bombed the hell out of them in about two and a half years. Let's go to a very historic moment. I think it was the first sitting president to ever step foot in North Korea. This was the big handshake with Kim Jong Un. And, you know, the president got a hard time for that, but definitely had cooled the tensions down between the two countries because, you know, the first year and half, a lot of missiles flying out of North Korea.

Matt Gaetz: Is there any doubt that the president of the United States knows absolutely how to speak alpha male? First, he called Kim Jong un a little rocket man, sort of rattled him, got him in the right posture to then be able to send love letters back and forth. The only relationship maybe more complicated than the Trump-Kim Jong un relationship is the Trump-Erdogan relationship. And I cannot believe it did not make your list of great presidential moments when Trump sent Erdogan, possibly, the greatest letter in all of presidential communications.

Jesse Watters: Oh, yeah. [laughs]

Matt Gaetz: When he said, "I know how to destroy you. I could completely destroy you. And I will call you later." It sounds like every conversation I've had with an ex-girlfriend.

Jesse Watters: [laughs] Yes, it's very complex. We had a very amusing moment for -- I think it was like a surreal week and a half period where the president was eyeing Greenland, like Greenland was potentially for sale. [laughs] Do you remember this? Let's listen in.

Matt Gaetz: [laughs]

[start video clip]

President Trump: Well, Greenland, I don't know, it got released somehow. It's just something we talked about. Denmark essentially owns it. We're very good allies with Denmark. We protect Denmark like we protect large portions of the world. So, the concept came up and I said, "Certainly, I'd be -- strategically, it's interesting." And we'd be interested, but we'll talk to them a little bit. It's not number one on the burner. I can tell you that.

[end video clip]

[laughter]

Jesse Watters: "Not number one." Oh, man. I mean, Greenland, big asset to have in the portfolio, though.

Matt Gaetz: Yeah, I thought the president was just short of throwing in a Virgin Island to be named later.

Jesse Watters: [laughs]

Matt Gaetz: Maybe [laughs] in the transaction. But look, what it shows about our president is his head's always on a swivel. He's always looking for opportunities. I don't know that we're going to be adding Greenland to the portfolio anytime soon, but I like the fact that the president's unpredictable and always interesting.

Jesse Watters: All right. Matt Gaetz. There he is everybody. Happy New Year.

Matt Gaetz: Happy New Year, Jesse.

Jesse Watters: Okay. Coming up, the craziest Democrat moments of the year. A lot to choose from. Stay with me.

[commercial break]

Jackie Ibanez: Live from America’s News Headquarters, I’m Jackie Ibanez in New York. The fire department now confirming the identities of the five people killed in that deadly plane crash in Lafayette, Louisiana. The crash happened this morning near Lafayette Regional Airport. Officials say the eight-passenger plane had just taken off en route to a college basketball -- football game, that is, a playoff in Atlanta between LSU and Oklahoma when it went down. One surviving passenger is in critical conditions. Local reports say the twin-engine plane hit a power line as it was attempting an emergency landing back at the airport, but they do not know what caused the onboard emergency. Meanwhile, two people were killed and seven others wounded when, authorities say, the group was ambushed during a filming of a music video. It happened last night near Houston, the sheriff’s office saying they don’t know motive or have any suspects. They’re asking for witnesses to come forward. I’m Jackie Ibanez. Now back to Watters’ World. 

[music playing]

Jesse Watters: Democrats revealed their true colors in 2019: crazy, scary, angry, sometimes just downright weird. Town Hall editor and Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich and comedian Michael Loftus are here to diagnose the problem. Let’s begin with AOC’s prediction that will definitely not come true. Roll it.

[begin video clip]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Millennials and people and, you know, Gen Z and all these folks that come after us are looking up, and we’re like -- the world is going to end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change. Like, this is the war. This is our World War II.

[end video clip]

Jesse Watters: [laughs]

Katie Pavlich: “Like” --

Jesse Watters: Katie, we got a lot of mileage out of that one.

Katie Pavlich: Like, the world’s been around for, like, billions of years, so I don’t think it’s going to end in the next 12 years. Like, this is a way for Democrats like her, socialists who border on communism, to try and take over your life, scare you into giving in to things like the Green New Deal and telling them they will rescue you, but really, it’s just a guise to take away your rights and your freedom. So, don’t give in to it.

Jesse Watters: Yeah, it’s like a stickup artist. They say, “You’re going to die unless you give me all your money.” 

Michael Loftus: And where was she giving that speech from, a haunted mansion? Like, what was that lighting about? And she might want to give the Obamas the heads-up. Right? They just invested $15 million on a beach house.

Jesse Watters: That’s right. And everyone’s having kids. Why bring kids into the world if they’re all going to die --

Katie Pavlich: That’s what she says. She’s not going to do it.

Jesse Watters: -- in 12 years? All right, Ralph Northam, governor of Virginia -- he was in blackface. Actually --

Katie Pavlich: We don’t know what he was in.

Jesse Watters: -- he may have been in the Klan costume. He doesn’t even remember. At first, he said it was him; then he said he didn’t remember. But then later, Katie, he said, “Well, one time I dressed up like Michael Jackson” --

Katie Pavlich: And then he tried to moonwalk during a press conference --

Jesse Watters: Right, and --

Katie Pavlich: -- and his wife was like, “Please do not.”

Michael Loftus: [laughs]

Jesse Watters: And the worst --

Katie Pavlich: “Please stop.”

Jesse Watters: Always listen to your wife. That’s the message. 

Katie Pavlich: Yeah.

Jesse Watters: Katie, he’s still governor.

Katie Pavlich: So, he -- yes, he admitted to being in the photo, saying he was the one in the blackface. Then he took it back, and then he said he wasn’t in the photo at all, which leads me to believe that maybe he was actually in the KKK garb, because blackface is the least of the worst of the two.

Jesse Watters: You think he’s in the Klan outfit?

Katie Pavlich: Absolutely. If I had to bet money, I would bet he was in the Klan outfit, no joke.

Jesse Watters: All right, you’re going with Klan. Are you going with him in the blackface?

Michael Loftus: I’m going -- I’m doubling down on Klan.

Katie Pavlich: The logic spells it out.

Jesse Watters: You think he’s in the Klan hood?

Michael Loftus: Yeah, it’s just crazy the amount you can get away with if you’ve got a big D in front of your name. So, I’m an official Democrat now. I don’t want to get in trouble; I don’t want to go to jail.

Jesse Watters: That’s right. Then switch your party back when you survive the scandal.

Michael Loftus: [laughs] Yeah.

Jesse Watters: I mean, that seems to be the --

Katie Pavlich: And then his lieutenant governor got in trouble and was accused of rape by multiple women, and then the attorney general comes out and is like, “I was in blackface, too.” But they’re all Democrats, so they’re all still in power, and, you know --

Michael Loftus: Yeah.

Jesse Watters: The Commonwealth of Virginia.

Katie Pavlich: -- no front-page news anymore.

Jesse Watters: No. All right, let’s move on to Biden. A lot to choose from with Biden in 2019. We were thinking about doing the massage apology --

Katie Pavlich: You’re making me uncomfortable [unintelligible].

Michael Loftus: [laughs]

Jesse Watters: -- or non-apology. We decided instead -- sorry, Katie -- to go with Corn Pop. Let’s hear the Corn Pop tale.

[begin video clip]

Joe Biden: Corn Pop was a bad dude, and he ran a bunch of bad boys. And so, he was up on the board, and he wouldn’t listen to me. I said, “Hey, Esther, you, off the board, or I'll come up and drag you off.” Well, he came off, and he said, “I'll meet you outside.” He was waiting there with three guys and straight razors.

[end video clip]

Jesse Watters: [laughs] Straight razors, Katie, at the pool.

Katie Pavlich: So, this was how Joe Biden, I think, was trying to prove his street cred. He was saying that Corn Pop was a hard dude who ran a gang, and he was the security guard at the pool, and he gained control over Corn Pop. And so, I don’t know why he told the story. He also told a weird story about his leg hairs --

Michael Loftus: Yeah.

Jesse Watters: Yeah.

Katie Pavlich: -- and cockroaches and --

Michael Loftus: This is the prequel to leg hair. This is The New Hope [unintelligible].

Katie Pavlich: Yeah, it was just the whole thing devolved into --

Jesse Watters: He said a lot during that speech [laughs]. Corn Pop -- I think he’d be probably the biggest get of 2020. If you could lock in the Corn Pop interview --

Michael Loftus: Yeah, [unintelligible] --

Katie Pavlich: Are you guys working on it?

Jesse Watters: I’m -- hey, producers --

Michael Loftus: That’s my deejay name.

Jesse Watters: -- could we find Corn Pop and lock that in in 2020?

Katie Pavlich: Well, unlike T-bone, who was Cory Booker’s friend who was not a real friend -- it was a made-up person -- Corn Pop was a real person.

Jesse Watters: At least Corn Pop is real.

Michael Loftus: I can’t -- I have a hard time making fun of Joe Biden now, I really do. He’s gone so far off that crazy deep end with, like, the leg hairs and kids on the lap and all of it. It’s just bizarre [unintelligible].

Jesse Watters: I'll handle the teasing. If you’ve had enough, I will take care of the rest. [laughter] Marianne Williamson. Do you remember her? She may have dropped -- is she still --

Katie Pavlich: She’s still running for president. 

Jesse Watters: She’s still running? All right, she’s still running. This was a great viral moment at one of the debates.

[end video clip]

Marianne Williamson: Donald Trump is not going to be beaten just by insider politics talk. He’s not going to be beaten just by somebody who has plans. He’s going to be beaten by somebody who has an idea what this man has done. You have harnessed fear for political purposes, and only love can cast that out. So, I, sir -- I have a feeling you know what you’re doing -- I’m going to harness love for political purposes. I will meet you on that field, and, sir, love will win.

[end video clip]

Jesse Watters: [laughs] Love will win. Katie?

Katie Pavlich: You know, I can’t blame her. You know, I love her because she actually admitted that Republicans and the right treat her a lot better than her own party on the left.

Michael Loftus: Yeah.

Katie Pavlich: She hasn’t been in a number of the debates, but she’s still running for president, and if she wants to spread the love around, I’m all for it. I'll take some of it in.

Jesse Watters: I think it’s the best message the Democrats have had.

Katie Pavlich: Bring us back to the ‘60s, right?

Jesse Watters: Spread love, Loftus.

Michael Loftus: Yeah. Listen, if you’re going to write jokes at home about Marianne Williamson and harnessing love, make sure you don’t say Marianne Williamson love harness. You’re going to go to a completely different site [laughs]. 

Jesse Watters: Don’t Google that at home, America [laughs]. The Loftus party has now gone nuts. All right, also going nuts, Megan Rapinoe. Remember her? Big soccer star, hugely talented, but off the field, really angry. Let’s listen to her scream at Trump.

[begin video clip]

Megan Rapinoe: I’m not going to the [expletive] White House. No, I’m not going to the White House.

[end video clip]

[begin video clip]

Megan Rapinoe: New York City, you’re the [expletive] best.

[end video clip]

Jesse Watters: Oh, man. Katie, I’m so proud of the U.S. women, but when I hear her -- I mean, just go to the White House, right? 

Katie Pavlich: I just think it’s so unfortunate that this is the way it had to be. So, she’s playing for her --

Jesse Watters: It made it about her.

Katie Pavlich: -- right -- playing for the United States, representing the country, and she’s kneeling on the field during the national anthem for the flag. And it just is so disappointing, because it doesn’t have to be that way. The flag represents all of us despite our political differences, and instead of going to the White House and having a conversation and saying, “This is where I vehemently disagree with you; this is where I think you could change some things” -- because the president actually does listen to people who disagree with him --

Jesse Watters: Yeah.

Katie Pavlich: -- he’s willing to meet with anybody -- she instead --

Jesse Watters: Kanye got in there, and the Kardashians got in there.

Katie Pavlich: Yeah, she instead had to act like this and disrespect the flag, and it just is -- rubs you the wrong way. 

Michael Loftus: Yeah, I don’t think Trump was too bummed when she canceled. [laughter]

Katie Pavlich: He was like, “Dang it.”

Michael Loftus: “So what? The purple-haired girl is not showing up? All right, let’s move that [unintelligible].”

Katie Pavlich: “I can [unintelligible] now.” [laughter]

Jesse Watters: All right, guys.

Michael Loftus: I think Megan Rapinoe -- she -- Rapinoe?

Jesse Watters: Yeah.

Michael Loftus: Rapinoe, however you say it, she’s got a great haircut.

Jesse Watters: You like the purple?

Michael Loftus: No, I like the style. 

Katie Pavlich: He likes the haircut.

Jesse Watters: Oh, very similar.

Michael Loftus: Yeah.

Jesse Watters: Very similar.

Michael Loftus: Right?

Jesse Watters: It’s the only thing you guys have in common. [laughter] Up next, a blast from the past. Chris Christie unloads on his time with the Trump campaign.

[commercial break]

[start video clip]

Chris Christie: Sit down and shut up.

Chris Christie: Get the hell off the beach. It's 4:30. You've maximized your tan. Get off the beach.

Chris Christie: Stupid. On topic. On topic. Next question.

Chris Christie: Thousand things I'll do tonight, going to dinner with you is about number 1,001.

Chris Christie: Your rear end's going to get thrown in jail, idiot.

Chris Christie: Either sit down and keep quiet or get out. One or the other. We're done with you.

[end video clip]

Jesse Watters: [laughs] That's the Chris Christie that everybody remembers from back in the day. And he's still pulling no punches in his book, Let me Finish, detailing his rise in New Jersey politics and his insight into the Trump presidency. I spoke with the former New Jersey governor a few months ago.

[start video clip]

Jesse Watters: Governor, I used to get drunk with my friends and watch you on YouTube just lay people out.

Chris Christie: [laughs] I'm glad I was entertaining when you were drunk.

Jesse Watters: [laughs]

Chris Christie: That's good. Well, you're my entertainment now. I love your show.

Jesse Watters: Well, thank you very much. You have great taste.

Chris Christie: [laughs]

Jesse Watters: Now, unlike a lot of the other people that interviewed you, I actually read this.

Chris Christie: I know, and I'm going to be able to tell right away.

Jesse Watters: Yeah.

Chris Christie: A couple of people didn't read it.

Jesse Watters: Well, I skipped the New Jersey part and went straight to the 2016 campaign.

Chris Christie: [laughs] Okay.

Jesse Watters: All right. I confessed. Now in the campaign, you really went after Marco Rubio hard.

Chris Christie: I did.

Jesse Watters: You -- actually, a very famous moment in the campaign was when you got him so flummoxed, he started repeating himself in the New Hampshire debate. Let's roll that and then talk about it.

[start video clip]

Marco Rubio: But I would add this, let's dispel with this fiction that Barack Obama doesn't know what he's doing. He knows exactly what he's doing. He is trying to change this country. He wants America to become more like the rest of the world. We don't want to be like the rest of the world. We want to be the United States of America.

Chris Christie: You see, everybody, I want the people at home to think about this. That's what Washington, D.C. does. The drive-by shot at the beginning with incorrect and incomplete information and then the memorized 25-second speech. That is exactly what his advisors did.

[applause]

[end video clip]

Jesse Watters: And the crowd loved it, and then I think he repeated the same line about --

Chris Christie: Three more times.

Jesse Watters: Three more times.

Chris Christie: Yeah.

Jesse Watters: Now, do you guys talk after that?

Chris Christie: Yeah.

Jesse Watters: You guys are friends?

Chris Christie: Yes. Yeah, we're fine. You know, listen. In fact, after Marco had his debate for his Senate seat then, that he ran for reelection for, he called me the next day, and he said, "By the way, thank you." And I said, "What? Why?" And he said, "I did great in my debate last night. And all I was thinking about was what you did to me in February, and I'm never going to let anybody do that to me again.”

Jesse Watters: [laughs]

Chris Christie: So, I --

Jesse Watters: You warmed him up.

Chris Christie: We did. And I think that Marco understood we were competing with each other. We were in direct competition with each other in New Hampshire. And I did what I thought I needed to do.

Jesse Watters: And you got some big endorsements in New Hampshire, and your poll numbers really started to rise, and you were really the attack dog for a lot of that primary campaign. Then you dropped out, endorsed Donald Trump. Tell us about the endorsement. You went down to Texas?

Chris Christie: Yeah. We went to Fort Worth. I flew down there the night he was having a debate in Houston. I met him in Fort Worth, and we did the endorsement. And I remember we kept it so quiet, no leaks, that when we walked into that room that you're showing on the air right now, a reporter saw me walk into the room with Trump and said, "Oh, my God." They were stunned. But here's what I knew, I knew he was going to be the nominee.

Jesse Watters: Because you endorsed him before almost anybody else.

Chris Christie: Before anybody.

Jesse Watters: Before Jeff Sessions?

Chris Christie: Yes. Before anybody, I endorsed him. He was my friend for 15 years at that point, but also, I had campaigned against him. I knew he was going to be the Republican nominee. And my job, as I saw it, was to endorse him and to go in there and making the best candidate could be because we did not want Hillary Clinton to be president of the United States.

Jesse Watters: Right. So, then you're a big part of the campaign at that point. Moving on to the fall, and the Access Hollywood tape drops.

Chris Christie: Yeah.

Jesse Watters: What went through your mind when Access Hollywood drops?

Chris Christie: Well, listen, I think we were all stunned and worried and concerned. But one of the things I said to the then-candidate at the time was, he said, "Is it over?" And I said to him, "No, because you're running against the single worst presidential candidate in my lifetime.”

Jesse Watters: [laughs]

Chris Christie: So, we've got time to recover, but we got to do this the right way. And he went into that debate that Sunday night, and he dealt with the issue, and he really, really performed well in that debate, and that -- plus Jim Comey's a little letter -- I think, turned momentum. And now we have Donald Trump as president.

Jesse Watters: That's right. Now -- so there's some controversy about you in that second debate. There's people in the campaign that say Chris Christie had the opportunity to fly on the jet with the team and go to that debate in Houston, and you decided, that morning maybe, not to go, and people thought that was a little disloyal.

Chris Christie: Yeah. Well, listen, that's Steve Bannon who just making stuff up, telling me if either you're on the plane or you're off the team. Typical Steve drama that was completely made up. I made it really clear. I called that morning and said, "Listen, I'm the only elected official here, and you haven't yet answered these questions. And if I go there, they're going to be all over me to answer these questions. I want you to answer them first.”

Same reason I didn't go on Sunday morning shows that Sunday before the debate. And president knew full well I wasn't going. And that night after the debate was over, 10 minutes after it was over, he called me, and he said, "I won that debate because you. You're the best campaign debate prepper I've ever seen. We still run debate prep for debate number three." So, this whole idea that I was off the team -- I was there. And then on election night, I was in his apartment with he and Melania and Barron and the rest of the family watching election returns. So, another Steve Bannon fiction.

Jesse Watters: Okay. And that was a great night. That election night --

Chris Christie: It was an amazing night.

Jesse Watters: Amazing, historic comeback.

Chris Christie: No one thought it -- Jesse. No one thought it was going to happen. When the exit polls came in at 5:30 showing Hillary Clinton is going to win 350 electoral votes, believe me, down the street at Trump Tower, there was a lot of consternation. But when -- but it made it only better when those returns came in and it went our way. And he was one very happy man that night.

Jesse Watters: You were in the running for -- I believe it was attorney general and maybe another cabinet position -- and you were also in charge of the transition. Now, Chris Christie is out writing books. He's not in the White House at all. What happened?

Chris Christie: Well, I was in the running for vice president. It came down to me and Mike Pence, and he selected Governor Pence. And I love Governor Pence, and I think he was a good choice.

Jesse Watters: [affirmative]

Chris Christie: I was then in the running for attorney general, he picked Jeff Sessions. But --

Jesse Watters: Oh, imagine if Chris Christie had been A.G.

Chris Christie: There would be no Bob Mueller --

Jesse Watters: No.

Chris Christie: -- if Chris Christie was A.G.

Jesse Watters: Wow.

Chris Christie: That you could -- that you can be sure of. And on the transition stuff, two days after the election, as I was writing the book, Steve Bannon called me in and fired me as chairman of the transition. And when -- I knew it wasn't his doing. And I said to him, "Whose decision was this?" I thought perhaps was the president elect's, and I wanted to talk to him directly. And he finally said to me, "No." As he referred to him, he said, "It was the kid," referring to Jared Kushner. He said, "It's the kid. He's been taking an axe to your head ever since I got here with the boss. Ancient bitterness.” And so, you know, this goes back to, as I detail in the book, the time in 2004 when I prosecuted Jared's father.

Jesse Watters: Yeah. I'd be pretty mad, too.

Chris Christie: Well, you know, I'm sure you would be at the time. But then 12 years later, Jesse, once you knew that your father had committed those crimes, that your father had pled guilty, not been found guilty, but admitted to the crimes. What else was I supposed to do as a prosecutor? Turn my head and walk away?

Jesse Watters: I understand.

Chris Christie: I took an oath. And so, you know, in the end, also, we're supposed to be serving the president.

Jesse Watters: Right.

Chris Christie: And by throwing me out and throwing the entire six months of transition work out, the president's still attempting to recover from that with a lot of empty desks. And a lot of people got picked for jobs like Mike Flynn and Tom Price and others who had no business being there and served the president poorly.

Jesse Watters: Well, that would have been a lot of fun having you as A.G., telling people to sit down and shut up and the press corps. That would've been --

Chris Christie: Let me tell you something, you know what happened too, Jesse.

Jesse Watters: [laughs] That's right. All right, Governor, thank you very much.

Chris Christie: Thanks for having me on.

Jesse Watters: Appreciate it. Greg Gutfeld, Brian Kilmeade, and Ed Henry coming up. All the gossip about these characters from behind the scenes.

[commercial break]

Jesse Watters: In 2019, we indulged in a bit of gossip here on Watters’ World. We’re not proud of it, but we do it anyway. So, before we ring in the new year, let’s take a look back at some of the highlights with our gossip queen, Dana Perino.

[begin video clip]

Jesse Watters: I wanted to talk to you about Greg, because, you know, I’m --

Dana Perino: Okay, I’ve known him a long time.

Jesse Watters: You’ve known him a lot longer than I have. Have you noticed a [laughs] -- I wouldn’t say “development” -- have you noticed a chance in his personality?

Dana Perino: There’s a lot going on in there. He’s -- I mean, back in the day, you might have classified him as a genius. 

Jesse Watters: [laughs]

Dana Perino: I don’t know how his family dealt with him.

Jesse Watters: How far back in the day was that?

Dana Perino: There’s a lot -- he’s, like, so clever. One of the things that’s amazing about him that people might not realize is his mom recognized early on that he had this really creative mind. So, when he would be off of school, she didn’t let him watch TV all day, even though he loves TV -- we know that --

Jesse Watters: That’s all he watches.

Dana Perino: -- she bought him Mad Magazine, and he would read that and go, “Oh, these people -- they get me.” And he sort of developed from that.

Jesse Watters: He’s a total weirdo, but I want to --

Dana Perino: It’s gotten --

Jesse Watters: I want to ask you about this.

Dana Perino: It’s gotten worse.

Jesse Watters: So, now he’s doing a few strange things, which I’d like to just gossip about. Now he walks home.

Dana Perino: When it’s nice out.

Jesse Watters: He walks, which is -- it’s like a 50-minute walk, which is a little strange.

Dana Perino: Yeah, that’s good exercise.

Jesse Watters: I guess, but it’s bizarre. Greg is in a band now, I think a band by himself. There is it. 

Dana Perino: That’s a -- wow.

Jesse Watters: He’s playing guitar.

Dana Perino: Obviously, he has interesting taste in music.

Jesse Watters: “Interesting” is a generous word.

Dana Perino: Yes. Remember, in Nashville, the other thing he did?

Jesse Watters: What?

Dana Perino: Remember in the commercial break he leaned over to me, and he said, “I look angry all the time.”

Jesse Watters: [laughs] We need something to help Greg with his anger. Probably wine.

Dana Perino: Well, there’s a lot [unintelligible].

Jesse Watters: There’s a lot of that.  [sound effect] -- and used to be in the front row, and he grilled you --

Dana Perino: Second row.

Jesse Watters: Second-row end.

Dana Perino: [laughs] Second row.

Jesse Watters: Didn’t make it to the first. So, let’s jog your memory. Here’s Ed trying to pepper you.

Dana Perino: All right. 

[begin video clip]

Ed Henry: When the president was asked about when he learned about Iran’s nuclear program being halted, was he being completely candid?

Dana Perino: Yes, he was, and I talked to you about that last night, I talked to your colleague this morning, and I'll reiterate it here. If you look at the rest of that sentence, what the president -- the president was clearly told that there was new information that was coming in, but he wasn’t told the details of it.

Ed Henry: But the president said, quote, “He didn’t tell me what the information was,” but you’re now saying he was told --

Dana Perino: He was --

Ed Henry: -- that Iran may have halted its nuclear weapons program, and also that there may be a new assessment, right?

Dana Perino: Right, but he was -- he didn’t get any of the details of what the information was in terms of what the actual Iran intelligence was.

Ed Henry: [unintelligible] he said, “He didn’t tell me what the information was.”

Dana Perino: Okay, look, I can see where you could say that the president could have been more precise in that language, but the president was being truthful.

[end video clip]

Dana Perino: Wow.

Jesse Watters: [laughs] You looked a little annoyed over there.

Dana Perino: Ed Henry was always very annoying, very annoying.

Jesse Watters: He still is.

Dana Perino: And actually, if you look, there’s -- any photo of me where I’m scowling in the briefing room, I’m always looking in his direction. 

Jesse Watters: He’s easy to find. He’s, like, got that boyish little face.

Dana Perino: Right? And so, then that -- he was at CNN at the time, and then in the Obama administration he moved to Fox News.

Jesse Watters: See, he used to be fake news, and now he’s real news.

Dana Perino: And then the Obama team used to go after him all the time and say, like, “Oh, he’s biased.” I said, “Oh, no, no, no. Ed Henry is always a tough reporter in the room.” 

Jesse Watters: On both sides. I think Kilmeade needs a shot here. The guy doesn’t stop working.

Dana Perino: He gets up 2:30 a.m.

Jesse Watters: Look at his schedule.

Dana Perino: 2:30 in the morning.

Jesse Watters: 2:30 in the morning -- there he is -- 2:30 in the morning. I guess he doesn’t shower, because 20 minutes later he’s out the door. Then --

Dana Perino: I think he -- I think the only thing he does is shower.

Jesse Watters: He just showers and leaves.

Dana Perino: The other thing that’s not on here is that when he leaves his house --

Jesse Watters: And that’s just the morning.

Dana Perino: -- he actually -- he stops at, like, a bodega every day --

Jesse Watters: Same bodega.

Dana Perino: -- to pick up the newspapers that he wants, get his coffee. Yes, same. He has his routine absolutely down.

Jesse Watters: Yes, so if you want to catch up with him at 3:00 a.m., go to the bodega near where he lives in Long Island. And he’s hosted every single show. He’s hosted this show; I think he’s done your show.

Dana Perino: He’s been on The Daily Briefing, and, you know, also, he -- he also -- it’s not just that he does Fox and Friends starting at 6:00 in the morning. At 5:00 a.m., he’s on the radio doing affiliate hits. He’s unstoppable, this guy.

Jesse Watters: Yeah, he does the affiliate hits, and then he does his radio show afterwards. Do you think people are getting sick of him?

Dana Perino: [laughs] No, I don’t. You know, but here’s the thing.

Jesse Watters: Maybe not, because they keep -- are we --

Dana Perino: He’s been doing this since 2006.

Jesse Watters: Are we just shoving him down everybody’s throat?

Dana Perino: I think we’re overworking him.

Jesse Watters: You think we’re overworking him?

Dana Perino: Yeah, a little bit.

Jesse Watters: You think he’s getting paid well or not?

Dana Perino: I imagine so.

Jesse Watters: The guy is unbelievable. And I learned something else about him, because our producer Joey was, like, hounding him all about his personal life. He hates when people chew gum.

Dana Perino: He and I have that in common.

Jesse Watters: Oh, you don’t like it? But you don’t like it for a different reason.

Dana Perino: I don’t mind people chewing gum if they do it silently.

Jesse Watters: You like it -- you don’t like it for the noise.

Dana Perino: Correct. The producer of The Five -- she used to work on Fox and Friends, and her first week, she got in a car with Brian, and the first thing he said to her was, “You’re going to have to stop chewing that gum.”

Jesse Watters: [laughs] All right, so, everybody --

Dana Perino: But he is really nice.

Jesse Watters: -- if you’re ever on Fox and Friends, and you’re kind of mad at Brian, just chew gum. Just pop some Bubblicious right in, maybe two pieces of Bubblicious.

Dana Perino: It’s hard to stay mad at Brian for very long, but Greg Gutfeld tries.

Jesse Watters: [laughs] Yeah. Greg Gutfeld constantly accuses him of having a hairpiece, and that is fake news. That hair is real.

Dana Perino: I didn’t know you were allowed to drink on television.

Jesse Watters: I’m mad. When CNN is all getting cocked and hammered on New Year’s, I’m always jealous because we’re not allowed to, yet Griff is taking shots.

Dana Perino: It’s because -- you know what? You and I are rule followers.

Jesse Watters: We are. We’re so --

Dana Perino: Griff Jenkins is out there partying.

Jesse Watters: We’re so obedient. But Griff wants other people to follow the rules, because he’s actually catching illegals crossing the border, but he’s scolding them so politely. 

Dana Perino: Yeah, he’s like, “Excuse me. Excuse me.”

Jesse Watters: “Excuse me, kind sir. You know you’re not allowed to do that.” [laughter]

Dana Perino: It’s almost like British.

Jesse Watters: Griff in the hurricane is usually -- he’s a little slight. I always worry about him getting blown over, but he’s fearless.

Dana Perino: And he’s willing to do anything, right? You can say, like, “Hey, Griff, there’s a Category 5 hurricane happening.” He’s like, “I’m going. I’m there.”

Jesse Watters: There he is.

Dana Perino: Loves it. Griff loves it.

Jesse Watters: He’s probably been in warzones, too. I shouldn’t even make fun of him. He’s in a hurricane; he’s in warzones.

Dana Perino: And he’s drinking on New Year’s Eve.

Jesse Watters: And he’s drinking on New Year’s. There’s a lot to be jealous of Griff about.

[end video clip]

Jesse Watters: Up next, New Year’s resolutions and my tips for success in tonight’s Last Call.

[begin video clip]

Jesse Watters: Who are you going to kiss when the ball drops?

Male Speaker: Got any suggestions?

[end video clip]

[commercial break]

Jesse Watters: [laughs] It's the final Last Call of 2019. New Year's Eve is a time to reflect on the past and to plan ahead for the future, so what are your resolutions? Watters' World bravely went to the frontlines of New Year's Eves past to find out.

[start video clip]

Jesse Watters: Where are you from?

Male Speaker: Wales, in the UK.

Jesse Watters: You're Welsh.

Male Speaker: I'm Welsh. Yeah.

Jesse Watters: So am I. Brother from another mother.

Jesse Watters: What was the biggest mistake that you made in 2016?

Female Speaker: Following other people's opinions.

Jesse Watters: Like when everyone said Hillary was going to win?

Female Speaker: [laughs]

Jesse Watters: What is the biggest mistake that you made in 2016?

Female Speaker: Not watching you on TV enough.

[laughter]

Jesse Watters: The best answer I heard all day.

Jesse Watters: Who are you going to kiss at midnight?

Female Speaker: It might be you, so watch out.

Lloyd Christmas: So you're telling me there's a chance.

[laughter]

Female Speaker: Bigger.

Jesse Watters: Oh.

Jesse Watters: Who are you going to kiss when the ball drops?

Male Speaker: You got any suggestions?

Jesse Watters: What is your New Year's resolution?

Male Speaker: I have no [expletive] clue right now.

Jesse Watters: [laughs]

Male Speaker: Keep in better touch with my loved ones?

Male Speaker: Learn Spanish and to appreciate those who mean most to me.

Male Speaker: Drink conservatively and just be careful.

Jesse Watters: Of what?

Male Speaker: Of strangers.

Male Speaker: My New Year's resolution is get rich. Now you're rich, and I'll get rich, and we can have fun.

Jesse Watters: Not too much fun.

Male Speaker: A little bit.

Female Speaker: I just want to be healthy and be happy.

Jesse Watters: Donald Trump's New Year's resolution, what do you think that should be?

Female Speaker: Keep your promise and make America great again.

Male Speaker: Make America great again.

Jesse Watters: [laughs]

Male Speaker: Be the best president he could be.

Female Speaker: Hopefully, retire.

Female Speaker: Ouch.

Jesse Watters: Can I give you a little advice? Don't skip chest day.

Male Speaker: Absolutely.

Jesse Watters: Spend time with the family, drink a lot of water, set specific goals, eat healthy, and you too can be a success.

Male Speaker: Umm.

Matt Foley: I wish you could just shut your big yapper.

Male Speaker: I love you.

Jesse Watters: I love you, too.

Female Speaker: I love Fox News.

Jesse Watters: Always remember one thing.

Jesse Watters: I'm Watters.

Jesse Watters: I'm Watters.

Jesse Watters: I'm Watters.

Male Speaker: Watters.

Jesse Watters: And this is my world.

Female Speaker: [laughs]

Jesse Watters: And this is my world.

Male Speaker: Whoa. Water World.

Male Speaker: Watters' World.

Jesse Watters: Two T's.

[end video clip]

Jesse Watters: That's all for tonight. Happy New Year. Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Justice with Judge Jeanine is next. And remember, I'm Watters, and this is my world.

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