Fox News Sunday 12-22-2024
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Hey there, Ryan Reynolds here. It's a new year, and you know what that means. No, not the diet. Resolutions.

A way for us all to try and do a little bit better than we did last year. And my resolution, unlike big wireless, is to not be a raging a**hole and raise the price of wireless on you every chance I get. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. $45 upfront payment required, equivalent to $15 per month. New customers on first three-month plan only. Taxes and fees extra. Speeds lower above 40 gigabytes on unlimited. See mintmobile.com for details.

I'm Shannon Bream. Congress narrowly averts a shutdown, passing a short-term bill to fund the government, but setting up a new showdown for early in the new year.

This is America first legislation because it allows us to be set up to deliver for the American people. After a chaotic few days in the House, it's good news that the bipartisan approach in the end prevailed. As Washington heads for a new era in 2025, fault lines emerge, pointing to the political fights ahead and putting Mike Johnson's speakership in peril. Will you just vote president or will you vote someone else's name? I'll vote for somebody else.

While the current president goes AWOL. This is not for the president to fix. This is not for us to fix. We'll get reaction from senators on both sides of the aisle. Republican Mark Wayne Mullen and outgoing Democrat Ben Cardin. Plus, Elon Musk flexes his political muscle in a move to cut spending and shake up Washington. No one elected Elon Musk. We'll ask our Sunday panel if this is the change voters called for on Election Day.

And holiday horror in Germany. At least five people are dead and more than 200 injured at a Christmas market as the suspect plows his car into shoppers. Security ramped up at Christmas events now around the world, including here in the U.S. All right now on Fox News Sunday.

Hello from Fox News in Washington this last Sunday of Advent, Christmas and the start of Hanukkah just three days away. We begin today with your headlines, Germany in mourning. Makeshift memorials growing this weekend at the site of that deadly Christmas market attack.

Four women and a nine-year-old boy were killed. More than 200 people were injured. Dozens remain in critical condition. The suspect arrested on the scene has been identified as a 50-year-old Saudi Arabian doctor who got to Germany in 2006. He appeared before a judge Saturday evening. Investigators say they're still trying to determine his motive for that attack.

And turning to the Middle East, the U.S. military says two Navy pilots have been recovered alive after having to eject from their Super Hornet fighter jet in an apparent friendly fire incident in the Red Sea. The two pilots had just taken off from the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier.

Now, in a moment, we're going to get reaction to the budget deal just signed into law by President Biden from Senators Mark Wayne Mullen and Ben Cardin. But first, we turn to David Spuntz at the White House for more on how that deal came together and how it's setting up yet another showdown. It's going to come early into President Trump's new term. Hello, David. Hello, Shannon. It was quite a deal. President Biden remains at the White House today after signing that to keep the government open. The government is officially open right now. However, it really was close to the wire.

He released a statement touting compromise. He said this agreement represents a compromise, which means neither side got everything it wanted, but it rejects the accelerated pathway to a tax cut for billionaires that Republicans sought.

and it ensures the government can continue to operate at full capacity. Things looked murky for a day or so after House Speaker Mike Johnson tore up the original agreement with Democrats once Elon Musk and President-elect Trump chimed in. Here's what passed. The funding stays at current levels until mid-March. It also includes more than $100 billion in disaster aid and $10 billion in economic aid for farmers. Notably missing, Shannon, is a debt limit increase, something President-elect Trump demanded.

We did what was basic to get us across this finish line, fund the government until President Trump comes in with the Republican trifecta. And then we will go through line by line and see how we can reduce spending and get our fiscal house in order.

But the spending fight exposed the divisions among House Republicans, foreshadowing some challenges that might surface next year as those Republicans try to implement the future president's agenda, an agenda closely watched by Elon Musk, the world's richest man with growing influence in the party.

A bipartisan agreement had been reached among four parties, the leaders of House Republicans, House Democrats, Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats. That was unveiled late Tuesday night, early Wednesday morning. And then Elon Musk took to his social media platform.

President-elect Trump will speak in Arizona today at the conservative Turning Point USA conference, where it's likely he'll say something about this deal that was passed and signed into law by President Biden. Shannon. We'll be watching. All right, David Spunt reporting from the White House. David, thank you so much. Joining us now, Oklahoma Senator Mark Wayne Mullen. Senator, welcome to the show. You're fresh off that late night vote to get this thing done.

And I got to tell you, Democrats are the ones taking a victory lap. Here's what the DNC chair, Jamie Harrison, said after the vote Friday night. He said MAGA Republicans tried to put programs working people and seniors rely on, like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, on the chopping block and paved the way for massive tax cuts for billionaires. But because of Democrats, the American people won. Your response.

That's hilarious because they went from a 1572 page document that was full of pork down to 117 page document. And it was only because the president Trump weighed in. I mean, you had Biden who was completely absent as we was facing a shutdown. You have the 40, the incoming 47th president, former 45th president that already has taken the role as president and was helping negotiate. Here's what people, uh,

may not understand on the Democrat side, but we as Republicans and those that have voted for him across America know that President Trump is a negotiator because he's a very successful businessman. And he put on the table what he wanted. In every negotiation, you go in wanting 110%.

But you're willing to negotiate down to a certain level. Mine is always 70%. I'll walk away at 69%. The president put he won a debt limit on, but he negotiated all the fat that the Democrats put in there and still got a good bill. And so the success goes to President Trump. And I appreciate him acting like the president since our former president is already missing in action.

When you talk about the negotiations, a lot of people felt like that took place with people who aren't part of the government. Not yet, President-elect Trump. He'll be coming back with Elon Musk. A lot of this is done on social media. Some of the media are pouncing on that. Here's what they say. NBC News, Trump brings chaos back to Washington. CNN, Trump and Musk unleash a new kind of chaos on Washington. Politico, House passes government spending package after Trump and Musk fueled chaos on

You notice a theme there, but what does it say about how things will be legislated, how things will be tackled, the agenda, and legislatively into the new Trump term when it starts in January?

What we're going to do is exactly what the American people want. They want a different Washington, D.C. They don't want things to be working like they were. They want it to be shaken up. They want Washington, D.C. and the agencies to start working for the people. We start that by getting our house in order. And every business owner, and this goes to the lack of people understanding business, which is why we need more business people in Washington, D.C. This goes to people not understanding how it works.

Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, Fortune 100, Fortune 50 companies, and even the federal government can bring in consultants. Think about this. We're bringing in the richest and most successful man in the United States, in fact, in the world. And President Trump has got him to come in to be the government's consultant to show where we're having wasteful spending, to show where we can do things better for the people we serve.

And what is wrong with that? The approach we have right now in Washington, D.C. is broken and it's not working. It's random massive debts. And we're going to bring in Elon Musk and allow him to help us see what we aren't being able to see. Even as a small business owner like myself back in early 2000, when the company was just growing, I brought in a consultant and helped us get on the right track. And so this is a perfect opportunity.

And this is why the people elected President Trump to come in and be the 47th president of the United States. They definitely want to change. I mean, that's something we saw in our Fox News voter analysis. More than 80 percent of people said they wanted massive upheaval or significant change. We're going to talk more about that a little bit later on in the show. But you mentioned Elon Musk being a part of that and Democrats are raising their concerns here.

including Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. She's written a letter to congressional leaders, Democrats and Republicans, saying that he got this deal killed in part, she thinks, possibly because of a bipartisan measure that would screen U.S. investments in critical sectors in China.

She says Musk's investments in China and ties with its government have only grown over the last few years. The Shanghai plant and Tesla is its largest car manufacturing facility. That facility produced about 50 percent of Tesla's global automobile output over the last year. Number of lawmakers, including our next guest, Senator Ben Cardin, your colleague, have expressed concerns about connections, about businesses where he has benefited from.

you know, on a foreign level, but also here at home, the U.S. contracts, the government contracts that he has. What do you say about that potential conflict of interest or appearance of it?

Yeah, it's laughable because these same Democrats turned a blind eye to the 27 shell companies that the Biden family had with Brisa, with companies in Europe, with companies all over China who was buying ridiculous payments for access to the president when he was vice president through Hunter Biden. And now when he was president through Hunter Biden and the tombs of millions and millions of dollars. Remember, that's why

Hunter Biden was actually pardoned for a crime. These same Democrats turned a blind eye to an absent cognitive failing president. And now they're pointing fingers at a president and his his consultants around him. It's honestly it. I wonder if they really think the American people are that good.

Stupid. It's angry. It makes me angry. But it actually says they don't care about actually changing America for the best. They were more interested in dividing a wedge and driving a wedge between the American people rather than putting this country back on track.

I wonder if they forgot the November 5th election. They lost. They lost because they took us in the wrong direction and people want change. And that's what President Trump and the people around him are going to bring to America. Okay, so Elon Musk, chief among them, it seems, as the most influential at this moment in time. So with that in mind,

when you look forward to his potential influence, what do you make of those that say, first of all, he's got a lot of power and money to primary Republicans who don't go along with the plan. Do you think your colleagues should face those primaries? And also, do you worry about the optics that you as a legislative body, Congress, senators, congressmen, are in some way giving up some of your authority or your legislative responsibility if you are so influenced by somebody outside of an elected branch?

The only people that are saying they're being influenced by Elon Musk are the Democrats making accusations of that. At the end of the day, we're going to do our job. We are going to listen to someone that's been very successful in life because that's what you do. You surround yourself with good people. You'll honestly make better choices. We see that all the time.

But for them to start saying that we're going to make our decisions based on Elon, we're going to make informed decisions, what Elon gives us. At the end of the day, we're going to be representing those that elected us, for me, the great state of Oklahoma. And then I also have the privilege of representing the United States at the same time. Those are going to be the way we make our decisions. And everybody around there is going to do the same thing. If Elon wants to go out and take a personal shot at somebody, hey.

He's a private citizen. Look at my social media. And why don't they take a look at their social media? I promise you people are giving their opinion all the time on that. So why are they just pointing to Elon about it? In fact, you can go look at a lot of their billionaires that have come after all of us at the same time. They're just not doing it out front like Elon does because Elon is someone that works in the front. He doesn't hide where he's at. That's why he's been very successful. And I really take a hard offense to the Democrats even accusing of us. In fact...

They're the ones that's been corrupt over the last four years, not Republicans. And so they're saying that somehow we're going to sell ourselves out. Give me a break. Real quickly, because we got to go. Do you think that Speaker Johnson survives the speakership vote January 3rd?

You know, I think it's going to be a challenge, but I believe he can survive. At the end of the day, he can only lose, I think, two votes. The House is a very thoughtful but sometimes chaotic body, and they'll work their will at the end of the day. But Speaker Johnson's been a great speaker. He's worked very good with President Trump. I hope he can stay, but at the same time, that body's going to make their decision. Thoughtful but chaotic. That might be our quote of the morning so far. Senator Mullen, Merry Christmas to you. Thank you for your time today.

Merry Christmas to you, Shannon. All right, joining me now, Maryland Senator Ben Cardin, chair of the Foreign Relations Committee. Senator, always great to have you back. And I want to ask you about this idea of this dysfunction in Washington. I mean, you're among dozens of members who are retiring, going on to new adventures. But many of them have said it's because they feel like Washington is falling apart. Representative Ken Buck said this. This place has evolved into bickering and nonsense and not really doing the job for the American people.

How have you seen Capitol Hill change over the years and do you feel like it is broken as you leave?

Well, Shannon, first, it's good to be with you. Clearly, our nation is more divided and that's reflective in our legislative branches of government as well. But I must tell you, it's been a real honor to serve in the United States Senate. I have friends on both sides of the aisle working together. We've gotten a lot done. So I would not minimize the ability of senators to work together across party line to get things accomplished. It's happening today.

But our nation is divided, and we need to find ways that we can work together. We did that in passing the continuing resolution. It was a compromise. Democrats and Republicans worked together. At the end of the day, we got something done that's good for the American people. We kept government open, and we provided the disaster relief funds that are desperately needed throughout the country. That's working the way we should.

All right. You chair the Foreign Relations Committee. So I want to try to get to some foreign hotspots while we have you. Let's start with Israel. You've been a strong defender. I want to ask you whether you agree with your fellow Maryland senator, Chris Van Hollen, who has written that he thinks that President Biden has failed policies in the Middle East. What's your assessment and where do you think we are in getting to a ceasefire and getting the hostages home?

I think President Biden's done the right thing as far as America's involvement in the Middle East. We are on the verge, I hope, of a ceasefire and the return of the hostages. There's active negotiations taking place. We have real promise in Lebanon with new leadership to be able to make that a safer country. And then, of course, in Syria, with the downfall of the Assad regime, there's real opportunities. And President Biden's been very actively engaged with

our partners in the region, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Jordan and Egypt and UAE, to try to get regional cooperation and security in the region. You mentioned Syria, so I want to ask you about this. There are reports from the AP this morning that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is saying that young Syrians will resist the new government that appears to be emerging. He's pointing fingers at the U.S. and Israel, saying they've sowed chaos in the country.

Now that Assad has been run out, what do you make of what comes next? There's a power vacuum when somebody is toppled and for Iran's tentacles in that country as well. Well, Shannon, it's important for the Syrians to select their own leaders, but that leader needs to respect the diversity of the country. The country is very diverse. It has a lot of ethnic communities. They've got to protect the rights of all the Syrians and prevent terrorist organizations from getting a route

in the country and then have peaceful relations with their neighbors. That's the U.S. objective, not to build a government. That's up to the Syrians to build their own government. But we want a government that will respect those priorities. Another major issue, and of course, Russia's influence has been seen there in Syria as well. They don't seem to be as involved or willing or maybe able at this point to get involved. Certainly they weren't to save Assad as he was run out.

It's another major foreign policy issue Biden has dealt with, Trump's going to have to deal with. Putin said days ago he's ready to start talks again with President-elect Trump. And he adds this. I believe that Russia has become much stronger over the past two or three years. Why? Because we are becoming a truly sovereign country. We are no longer dependent on anyone. How would you assess Russia's strength at this point? And how does that conflict end?

First, I would recommend we do not believe what Mr. Putin says is accurate. He has shown over and over again his commitments mean little. Look to the Assad regime. He was not there for Assad. He recognized that Russia just was not going to invest any more in Syria.

Russia, under Mr. Putin, is not a reliable partner, and I hope that message is understood around the world. So as the Trump administration takes the power here in the United States, I hope they're very cautious in their relationship with Mr. Putin. He is our adversary and not a friend.

Well, all of these challenges have been playing out as President Biden reaches his final days as commander in chief. There's a deeply sourced piece in The Wall Street Journal this week talking about people feeling like lawmakers, like they couldn't get in touch with them. Even cabinet secretaries at some point gave up trying to reach him and that staffers were sometimes it appeared to be making really important decisions.

Wall Street Journal has this. If the president was having an off day, meetings could be scrapped altogether. On one such occasion in the spring of 2021, a national security official explained to another aide why a meeting needed to be rescheduled. Quote, he has good days and bad days. And today was a bad day. So we're going to address this tomorrow.

Tomorrow, as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, did you feel like you had access to the president when you needed it? What do you make about this very detailed picture of a commander in chief who was at times not able to do the job?

Shannon, I've had regular communications with the Biden administration on foreign policy issues, and it has been absolutely timely and everything we needed to get done, we've gotten done. I've already mentioned many hotspots around the world in which the Biden administration is extremely active.

I know in the continuing resolution, the Biden administration's request for the disaster relief was held pretty much intact. So President Biden is very much engaged. His team's very much engaged on not only our international issues, but also our domestic issues.

Well, you mentioned you were able to engage with members of the Biden administration, and that's what a lot of other folks have said, too, but not directly with the president. Congressman Adam Smith talks about the fact that he had warnings and worries about the withdrawal from Afghanistan that he wanted to share with the president but couldn't get in touch with him directly. Are you confident that the messages, the work that was being done, you say staffers and administration, but direct connections with the president, were those happening?

Shannon, I was ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee under President Trump and chairman under President Biden. I've had a lot more communications with President Biden than I ever have with President Trump. So, yes, I've been in communication with the president and I found his access available whenever I needed it. OK, I want to ask you about the drones, because we all have a lot of questions about the drones. I want to play something that your colleague Senator Blumenthal said about his confidence in what he's been told so far.

We received only minimal information, which leads me to believe that our federal government has no idea, no clue, no reliable information about these drones. And I am more and more concerned. He says he's more and more concerned every day. Where are you on this, the information you've been able to gather, the assurances you've gotten? What are your questions?

Well, in regards to the recent observations, we've been informed that there's no threat against our country. But there are so many drones that are in the air today, many of them just done by private or recreational use by individuals.

There's aircraft that are identified as drones that are not drones that are causing real safety issues in regards to laser beams. So there is a desperate need for us to get a handle on drones and the regulation of drones and where they can fly. And, of course, it's already a criminal offense to use laser. So we need to get a better handle on it. Obviously, it is a vulnerability that we have to make sure never becomes one that could compromise America's national security.

Senator, congratulations on your decades of service to this country and for all of the visits you've made to Fox News Sunday. We so appreciate it and wish you all the best in your next chapter and a happy Hanukkah as well, sir. Well, Shannon, it's always good to be on your show. I really appreciate it very much and have a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season. Thank you.

Okay, this is a live look at Capitol Hill as we wrap up a chaotic week. I think that's the word that we're using here in Washington. Congress narrowly avoiding yet another shutdown. Our panel weighs in on the implications for the next administration and Mike Johnson's speakership.

What's up, Carl Nation? I'm Ben Domenech, Fox News contributor, editor-at-large of The Spectator, and editor of the Transom.com daily newsletter. I'm inviting you to join in-depth conversations every week on the Ben Domenech Podcast. Listen and follow now at foxnewspodcast.com. Constant contact with President Trump throughout this process. I think he certainly is happy about this outcome as well. House Democrats...

have successfully stopped extreme MAGA Republicans from shutting down the government, crashing the economy, and hurting working class Americans all across the land. Okay, Republican and Democrat leaders in the House with very different takes about exactly how the federal government got this thing funded just in the nick of time.

Let's talk about it with our Sunday group. Townhall.com political editor Guy Benson. Penny Nance, concerned women for America president and CEO. Axios congressional reporter Hans Nichols. And Juan Williams, Fox News senior political analyst. All right, good to see all of you. We didn't know if we would be funded or not, but yes, we are. Hans, they get to the cliff every time. We do this before the holidays, but it's setting up now new battles for the spring.

Yeah, we won't really remember how this went down. We'll just remember they passed a short-term deal. What won't change for the next Congress is the math. And the math is very tight for Speaker Mike Johnson. And we are going to play versions of this going forward. There's going to be another fight in March. There'll be a debt ceiling fight sometime over the summer. There'll be another fight about tax policy.

And the numbers are just going to be difficult for him. And you have not just Donald Trump, but Elon Musk kind of weighing in. They're almost like the Greek chorus. They're sort of narrating these events and trying to push it in one way or the other. And we're in for a ride, so everyone's got to buckle up. Well, and to that point, Axios says the winners are those who control the flow of information to the largest numbers of people or the right people at the right moment on the right topic. And right now, Musk controls both for the incoming governing party.

So, Penny, you heard my conversation with Senator Mullen about this, the optics that Musk is the one calling the shots. Well, and I think.

he's going to have to be careful about that. He's a born leader. Of course, he's not used to having a boss, but he certainly works for Donald Trump. And there's no question about that. I do think there's a coordinated effort, though, to weaken him preemptively as he as he goes into this time. He's been chosen by the president to run Doge. He's a he's a

free thinker. He's a guy who's an innovator. And I think every time that the left bad mouths him, they just remind young people, especially who swung 10 points for this president from Biden, why they voted for Donald Trump. And I think this is going to be an interesting ride to your point, but I can't wait to see what happens.

Well, and about this, I mean, buckle up. I think all of this is fair to say. But about this idea that the election was very much about change. I mentioned this earlier. Our Fox News voter analysis showed us more than 80 percent of people said they wanted total upheaval or substantial change. And one, they're getting a change from the way that Washington's done business to this point.

Did they vote for chaos? Did they vote for almost seeing the government shut down for people in need of disaster aid, not getting it for TSA, military people, you know, farmers saying, oh, we don't know if we have the money to continue. I mean, I don't think they voted for that. I think they voted for change in.

in the sense of wanting government to work, wanting more transparency. You know, you touched on something I find fascinating, Shannon, when you said Musk now controls a lot of the way that we communicate because he is in control of ex-formerly Twitter. And a lot of that also speaks to the Trump base. I think they follow him intensely there.

But when you hear Democrats call him President Musk, I think it's done quite intentionally with a sting because we all know that Donald Trump is, you know, can feel like he's being undermined. And if he feels like he's being undermined, I think that you will see Elon Musk gone in a moment. And one final point on this is, you know, from people just looking, they have to think now is Elon Musk looking out for Twitter or X? Is he looking out for Tesla? Is he looking out for SpaceX? He's not elected.

Or is he even on the Trump bandwagon? We don't know. Well, and Wall Street Journal editorial board says the greater concern is what this episode suggests about how Mr. Trump and his social media enforcers will try to govern.

It is a whole new way of doing things. But Trump, guy, has always been about doing things in a new way. In 2016, he just completely went around mainstream media. He used Twitter in a lot of ways to help himself get elected president. True. And it worked. Although we did see some of these machinations when he was president last time around these funding cliffs and that sort of thing. I've seen some buzz about Speaker Johnson. Is his job secure in that position? Trump has been, I think, pretty careful not to throw him under the bus at all. There's been a few statements recently.

of positive support there. I saw an interesting vote of confidence from Senator Ted Cruz on X just hours ago saying that Speaker Mike Johnson is the most conservative speaker of his lifetime and an alternative would be more liberal. So I think you're seeing a rallying around Johnson. The Republicans are going to have to do that because, to Hans' point, next year, what we just saw, actually the math gets harder.

for the Republicans. The majority gets smaller a little bit and for a few months even smaller because of these vacancies. So I think Johnson's going to need a united team if they're going to do some really important big things early in the next Trump term. And Trump, of course, himself, very invested in that. They want to put W's on the board very quickly. Yeah, you want to do it early. So as to the votes of confidence, Elon Musk on X after the House vote Friday night in the in the

House before it got to the Senate, he did say this. This speaker did a good job here, given the circumstances. And as we know, the circumstances are only going to get tougher. But it sounds like Elon saying, OK, you can stick around. But there are Republican members who aren't so sure. Congressman Andy Harris, who chairs the House Freedom Caucus, very conservative. He talked about this in a statement Friday night as well. He said since President Trump's historic election, and he puts this in, quote, Republican led House has initiated $300

billion in unpaid new spending without even attempting offsets to prevent skyrocketing the deficit and debt. He ends it by saying, I'm now undecided on what House leadership should look like in the 119th Congress. And as we know, there are other Republicans who have come out and said, I'm not sure I'm going to vote for Speaker Johnson come January 3rd.

Publicly and privately, you're picking this up on Capitol Hill. The argument isn't necessarily about ideology. It's about competence. And just look at the last 48, 72 hours. And that is where Mike Johnson took it took almost four different tries to get a three month short term spending bill across the line.

And the sort of the criticism is that this he made it more difficult than it should have been. But he didn't have the votes the first time. Then he lost the votes on the Democratic side. He just doesn't understand the procedural mechanisms and didn't know where his party was. And that's that's really driving a lot of the criticism that he doesn't know how to do it, especially with the thin margins.

That said, he can survive. I'm not making a prediction that Mike Johnson's not going to be Speaker, but there are real questions about his ability to do the job. Well, there are questions, too, about who would come next and whether Trump wants to walk into office with Republicans having this, you know, civil war that they had last time they did the Speaker thing. Yes.

So three weeks, 15 votes in order to replace the former speaker. And we know that actually, I will tell you that Mike Johnson has a lot of sympathy on the Hill and has a lot of respect because he is a man of great integrity. He's done some amazing things as speaker.

And also remember that we talk a lot about regular order. We grasp at regular order. The House actually got five of their spending bills done, where the Democratic Senate got zero. He has a bad hand, and the hand's not going to get better. There's no doubt about that. There's a lot of work to do, but I think he stays. Okay, I want to make sure we touch on this report, too, out of the Wall Street Journal we talked about earlier with President Biden. It said interactions between Biden and many of his cabinet members were relatively infrequent and often tightly scripted,

At least one cabinet member stopped requesting calls with the president because it was clear that such requests wouldn't be welcome. Juan, it's a devastating portrait. Yeah, and I might add that there was a similar story in the New York Times. So it's not, you know, you say, oh, right. I mean, I think that in the last week. Is it too little too late, though? Too little too late. And what do you mean? Just meaning, yes, everybody's coming to the table now with these, this conversation about his diminished capabilities and those kinds of things. But they weren't talking about that while he was president.

you know, in the midst of his presidency or when he was in the midst of running for four more years? Well, you know, to me, I think these stories, let me just start there. These stories make him look disengaged, even feeble a little bit.

You know, I saw him in the last few days. I remember seeing Ronald Reagan in his last few days. Both of them looked a little elderly. They're elderly men. But I think that, you know, the portraits in the newspaper make it seem as if these people were protecting him. They were buffering him. They were, for example, in your previous questioning, not allowing people engaged in Senate and House issues to contact the president.

And I think to myself, you know, boy, if they were protecting him, they did a terrible job by putting him. I think he flew in the day of the debate versus Donald Trump when he looked terrible. And that led to him leaving. Maybe that was one of the bad days. I don't know. But they should if they were protecting him, they didn't do a good job. And I think right now you have to say he is on the defensive in this as he leaves office. Yeah.

Yeah. On the bad days that they wrote about in The Wall Street Journal, they would cancel meetings altogether. This started in 2021. And our colleague Peter Doocy pointed out the day after this story broke, not one question at the White House briefing about it, because a lot of the journalists, frankly, were part of this cover up, I think, for political reasons. OK, panel, don't go far. A disturbing number of young Americans believe alleged killer Luigi Mangione was justified in gunning down an insurance executive. What does that say about our country?

Hey. Hey.

Supporters gathered outside the extradition hearing of accused killer Luigi Mangione this week. As polling reveals, the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO, well, to some, it's viewed as acceptable among many young Americans. We are back now with the panel, and I'll read from the Washington Examiner here that says...

We face a situation today where a plurality of young people who will soon inherit positions of power across this country support political terrorism. All we can do now is wonder whether a nation where the sentiment becomes widespread can survive without tearing itself apart at the seams. Guy, in some quarters, people are getting allegedly tattoos of him and he's got celebrity status for killing someone, allegedly. It's appalling. He's not a hero in any way. He took a man's life.

his name is brian thompson that man he has to children who are very much of social media age so they are seeing this glorification of the man the evidence suggests murder their dad by shooting in the back in this cowardly fashion in cold blood so it turned my stomach seeing some of this especially

unfortunately from younger people, and I would say that there's something of a significant overlap, if we're going to use Venn diagrams. I know the current vice president is fond of those. If you look at the Venn diagram of people running interference with or making justifications for Hamas in its war against Israel and the people who are celebrating this disturbed young man, unfortunately there's a lot of similarities there, and it goes, I think, to some sort of moral and cultural rot.

and there's something we have to do about it. I don't know what that is because a lot of this is online, and it's the Wild West. You can't control it. I'm not saying that we should try to clamp down or control it, but obviously there's something really wrong and broken if you have nearly half of young people saying cold-blooded murder is acceptable. You know, I want to just push back a little bit, Guy, because I think, I don't know about the Hamas part. I think that's a little bit of an overreach, but I think Americans of a certain age, that Gen Z cohort that we're talking about...

are people who have lived through a lot of failure of big institutions in this country. You go back to recession 08 and then, you know, banks too big to fail and we bail out the banks. We don't bail out the little guy. You come forward to covid. I think there are you think about the bank, not only the banks, but the insurance companies and the health insurance. There are a lot of people who think, you know, these health insurance companies fail.

They look out for themselves and their profits. They don't look out for my health or my family's health. So you can say murder is absolutely wrong, and I totally agree with you there. That was a cowardly act. But you can also say we have a problem with profits over people and talk about it honestly. But, Juan, with all due respect, I don't like the but. Murder is wrong, but. No, I didn't say but. I said murder is wrong, but we can talk. You just didn't. But my point is...

We agree on the murder being wrong part. Unfortunately, 41% of this poll of 18 and 29 year olds say the murder is acceptable. That's wrong. That's what's so concerning, not a debate over health care. I think he gets away with a lot because he's good looking. I think he's a celebrity. That's true. Penny, what do you think it says about the next generation? Well, I think we're living in a time where moral relativism rules the day and good versus evil becomes what feels right versus what is right.

And, you know, we have realized in polling that we have the highest number of people who are not affiliated with any faith more than any time in U.S. history, 20%. That's a very large number. That's atheists or people who have no religion at all. Maybe they believe in God, but they don't really have any affiliation. And it's funny you said that because I was thinking the same thing. Evil sometimes is pretty, right?

And we saw this with Ted Bundy. And we saw this. Jeffrey Dahmer used his looks to pick up young men and murder them and eat them. I mean, this is a lot for Sunday morning. But evil's real. And we need to call it out. And I completely agree with what you said about Hamas.

who murdered Jews, and still we have at least three Americans who have been held hostage today in Gaza, and you have over 100 Israelis and kids all over college campuses are celebrating them and wearing the scarf.

And it's wrong and we need to say it. Well, so with the federal charges that Mangione is facing, there's a possibility of the death penalty for him if convicted. And that option is there. We got a report, though, late Friday that President Biden's considering commuting, according to The Wall Street Journal, the sentences of most, if not all of the 40 men on the federal government's death row. If their death sentences were commuted, all the prisoners convicted of they're all convicted of murder would serve life without parole.

Hans, is this one of those quiet end of term kind of things? Well, it won't be quiet. Well, I mean, it drops on Friday night. Yeah. If President Biden ends up doing this right, he he's visiting the Vatican to meet with the pope in January, which to me is a suggestion that he's probably leaning in the direction of issuing these commutations as pardons, commutations, they'd be commutations in this case. I'd hope they don't get full pardons.

You know, there are things that Biden telegraphs and wants to do, and this is one of them. I don't know if he's going to make the final decision, but clearly he's against the death penalty. One interesting fact about those 40, 36 of them are in that position now because of legislation that Joe Biden signed.

And Joe Biden's arc on crime and arc on the death penalty, like the abortion issue and the Hyde Amendment, he has shifted on this. And he is now trying to kind of come back to really where the core of his party is, which is against the death penalty.

A few years ago, it wasn't there, and it's a shift. Well, some of the people that we're talking about, to remind you, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev from the Boston Marathon bombing, Robert Bowers, who killed 11 people in the 2018 attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, and Dylan Roof, who in 2015 killed nine people at the Emanuel Church. They could be exceptions to this. He could carve out. We will wait and see, but, of course, we will report on that as it's happening. Panel, thank you very much. Always appreciate your time. Merry Christmas. Happy birthday. Merry Christmas.

Thank you so much. Thank you. Getting younger all the time. Okay. A Christmas movie making millions at the box office is just the latest example of Hollywood embracing faith-based projects. Up next, I'll talk with Dallas Jenkins, the man behind that movie and the runaway hit series, The Chosen. What a gentle way to relieve. We're going to be in your Bible play. Herdman's in church. Oh, boy. What do you all suggest that I kick the Herdman's out of the church? Yes.

Okay, that's a clip from the best Christmas pageant ever, a movie that follows the unruly Herdman children as they take on lead roles in the town's 75th annual pageant and teach the community the true meaning of Christmas. I sat down with director Dallas Jenkins, also the man behind the hit series The Chosen, to talk about his quest to provide high-quality, faith-based entertainment.

So Dallas, welcome to the show. Congratulations on the success of this movie. I know this has been a labor of love for you. You've wanted to get this movie made for decades, literally. But did it take the success of The Chosen to open this door?

Yeah, that's what's funny is, first of all, thank you, Shannon, for having me on. Almost 20 years ago, I read it to my kids, and I was laughing, and it was witty, and I loved how great of a story it was. I get to the last chapter, I'm crying so hard, I can't even see the pages. So every year for almost 20 years, I was pursuing the rights and kept getting told it's with another studio, another director. I had a reminder in my calendar to keep praying for this project, that I would be able to do it someday.

And they just kept telling me no until a couple of years ago. I reached out again. I go, hey, it's Dallas. It's time for my yearly bugging so that I can see if the rights are available. And I get a text back that says, call me. And I'm like, well, that's that's unique. And so now I get a chance to talk to you about a movie called The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. That's based on this great book that I made. And I'm just I'm so thrilled to be able to. It's like it's a calling fulfilled in many ways.

Well, people are responding and it's still out there in the theaters. A wonderful thing to do with your family, with your friends over the holidays, because it's such a redeeming message. You're going to laugh along the way. I want to be married. And Ralph wants to be Joe. And the angel of the Lord. This is Joe.

This is just one of the latest things that we see coming through Hollywood, where there's been this real change over to looking for specifically faith-based issues and projects that they can promote. But also creators like you who are trying to make sure that this high quality stuff, Wall Street Journal has a piece on this and said religious movies are sweeping Hollywood and rich investors are pouring in millions. They talk about

folks like you. They say they're trying to ditch the preachy, cheesy connotations of the faith genre and use terms such as faith adjacent and values driven to signal that their stuff isn't for religious viewers only. They also want to reach nonbelievers who just want more options for family movie night or to turn on something positive in the tradition of eight o'clock television. What can you speak to as far as that bigger wave through Hollywood and their recognition of the value of these kinds of projects?

Yeah, it's been extraordinary to see, Shannon, that especially a project like The Chosen, which, you know, even though that article is about trying to also reach nonbelievers,

You'd think that to do that, you have to change the story. You have to make it more palatable. But whether it's The Chosen or The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, I've found that just by being true to the original story and by being authentic in it and just trying to do as good of a job as possible, the audience, whether you're a believer or not, is ready for something that's just good and authentic. And just like I'm able to appreciate...

project, like a movie like Schindler's List, for example, I don't sit there and think, well, this isn't for me because I'm not Jewish. I'm still able to appreciate this story. So we're seeing that now. The success of the show, the success of some of these movies has caused Hollywood to go, OK, maybe our resistance or our ignorance of these types of projects and this audience isn't actually good for business. So I think that tells you

There's an audience out there that maybe they weren't always aware of, and that if you do these projects well, which I hope we have, you can reach an even larger audience, a mainstream audience, which is going to be acceptable to this as well. So it's been a very unique time that I haven't seen in decades in Hollywood. Mm-hmm.

Well, you've been at this a long time, as others have as well. And it's good to see the fruit coming to bear with all the efforts you're putting out into the world. So thank you for what you're putting out there and for families and folks across the world to enjoy. Dallas Jenkins, congrats on the movie. Thank you so much. And yes, you can also see it at home now, too. So if you want to gather the family for Christmas, now's the right time. So thanks for having me on, Shannon.

So with Christmas just days away, the Museum of the Bible here in D.C. is giving visitors a one-of-a-kind look at how faith inspired this festive season. It's our Sunday special. You've got scholars, you've got exhibitions. I mean, there's really something for everyone. We just highlight those things that are powerful about the season. But people walk into it and they bring their own spirit of joy. Plenty to celebrate. For sure. Okay, everyone.

For billions around the globe, faith is the reason for the season. At the Museum of the Bible here in Washington, Christmas offers a unique opportunity for all visitors to learn the backstories of some of the most treasured artifacts in Christian history. It's our Sunday special.

The Christmas decor may draw visitors to the Museum of the Bible, but it's the exhibits that send them home with new insights into the history and for many, the meaning of the holiday. Really at Christmas, there's so much to focus on. What will people see when they show up here at a Christmas time? You know, there's a spirit of hope.

That's in what we display that seems to just be captured by the people who come in the doors. There is a special Christmas sparkle on it. The hero of the story is being celebrated, so it's powerful. Highlighting the foundations of faith is a critical part of the museum's mission. From the earliest scrolls of the Old Testament to a rare first edition of the King James Bible.

Thank you. But according to curator Dr. Bobby Duke, there's one artifact that tells the story of early Christians unlike any other, the Megiddo mosaic. This is stunning to look at, but it's also important historically and religiously. Tell us what we have here. We have the earliest church ever discovered archaeologically. This inscription right here, it mentions that the table was dedicated to the God Jesus Christ. So we also have the earliest archaeological mention of the divinity of Christ outside of scripture. So what began

in Bethlehem at the nativity. It comes full two centuries later. Perhaps just as stunning as the gravity of this archaeological discovery is where it was discovered. This mosaic floor was unearthed at the Megiddo prison in the early 2000s. So there was a prison on top of a church.

Correct. And this was eventually discovered underneath. And it's not just the museum's ancient artifacts that show the impact of faith on society. Also on display, a remarkable piece of American history, the personal Bible of President Jimmy Carter, given as a Christmas gift.

from his brother. This place is full of so much information and it's fascinating. They don't know what to expect when they come and when they find the kaleidoscope of immersive experiences and sound and movement, it's really remarkable. What stands out to you during the Christmas season here? The Christmas tradition is into the darkness comes this incredible light and it has changed the world. We are bringing traditions and cultures together to say there is a light that's coming to the world that's touched us all. That's what we believe.

The Museum of the Bible spotlights not only Christian traditions, but also next Sunday we're going to show you how it's celebrating Hanukkah and introduce you to the on-site rabbi, Agatamid, who specializes in a sacred ancient writing practice. You won't want to miss that.

A couple of weeks ago, by the way, we got to enjoy a Christmas celebration on the other side of the country in California. The Christmas Around the World exhibit at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library displays trees from many countries that Reagan visited as president, spotlighting his diplomatic efforts while in office. Now, the exhibit also includes a special gold star tree in tribute to our fallen men and women in uniform.

You've got 26 Christmas trees here from every country that President Reagan visited, and they're each specifically decorated to reflect that country. That's absolutely right, Shannon. So the lights, ornaments, and decorations of each tree reflect the individual country that's represented. So each one is its own work of art. Part of his legacy is what happened with the former Soviet Union. He was a

Here he is in Russia. We can see the picture, and this is their tree. Absolutely. President Reagan, as you know, worked very closely with Mikhail Gorbachev, and ultimately that, plus the policy of peace through strength, led to the collapse of the Soviet Union and freedom going across the world.

So obviously China, a major player in the world, was in the 80s, is now. It's at the center of the conversations. The Reagans visited there as well. It was a significant visit and, as you point out, has implications for today. And here you see this beautiful tree. The lights, the ornaments, the decorations speak to Chinese culture and to China more broadly. The exhibit also includes something very, very meaningful, the gold star tree.

The Gold Star Family Tree is truly special. It is a tree where family members or anybody who's lost a loved one in paying the ultimate sacrifice to this country can leave an ornament or a photo of their loved one, and it becomes a permanent part of the tree. And it's an incredibly powerful and special way to make sure that we never forget those who paid the ultimate price for freedom.

Our thanks to the Reagan Library. That's it for today. Thank you for joining us. I'm Shannon Bream. Have a Merry Christmas and a happy start to Hanukkah. We'll see you next Fox News Sunday.

through their bodies, in an autopsy. World-renowned forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Budden covers three incredible cases where he helped change the course of the investigation. Sometimes it takes more than one look to put the pieces together. Listen and follow starting January 7th at foxtruecrime.com or wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Listen to Fox News Sunday ad-free on Amazon Music with your Prime membership or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.