Wall Street reform a focal point of presidential race

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Wall Street reform a focal point of presidential race

Ric Grenell speaks out about which candidates are best suited to deal with this issue

This is a rush transcript from "Your World," February 5, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

NEIL CAVUTO, HOST:  Do any of you remember when FDR chose Joe Kennedy to head what was going to be new Securities and Exchange Commission, and the argument was, this guy, the money and stock guy, running the police for the money and stock guys, is that a good idea?

And FDR reportedly said, well, who better than the fox to guard the henhouse?

Well, Ric Grenell, in a fascinating editorial -- I love the way this guy`s mind works -- he focuses on all this fixation we have of candidates and their Wall Street or financial connections and how they`re the last to talk about fixing Wall Street.

Well, by Ric Grenell`s thinking, our U.S. spokesman at the U.N., they`re the exactly the ones to do it.

I thought it was a great piece, Ric.  Why don`t you explain your premise?

Let`s go first with Hillary Clinton, the recipient of a lot of Wall Street money, $600,000-plus in speeches, millions more to the Clinton Foundation.  How does that comport her well to deal with Wall Street?

RICHARD GRENELL, FOUNDER, CAPITOL MEDIA PARTNERS:  Well, first of all, Neil, you are somebody who understands this fundamentally.

Wall Street is a unique place.  You can`t go in and just start making general rules that you think are going to help, because what they end up doing is hurting.  And we have seen that over and over again.  You have to have a politician who understands the details of Wall Street, that knows the problems of Wall Street.

And I think Hillary has a chance -- now, we don`t know for sure if she is willing to regulate her friends, but she has a lot of friends there.  She knows the good.  She knows the bad.  So does Donald Trump.  I think both of these individuals know Wall Street so well, that they are the ones that could fix it if they have the political will.

CAVUTO:  Well, just because they know Wall Street doesn`t take away the fact they might be too close to Wall Street.  Right?  You argue otherwise, that they have an appreciation for its good and its bad, right?

GRENELL:  Being too close to Wall Street means that someone doesn`t have the political will to stand up to their friends.

But if you know some -- the details of the industry, then you`re an expert.  You`re somebody who could go in there and try to figure out, how do we keep the good and how do we get rid of the bad?  For instance, someone like Sumner Redstone, 92 years old, can`t speak, but he is surrounded by a team of people who protect him.

And the shareholders, I think, are -- were growing outraged.  And then you have got somebody like Joe Perella at PWP, who is an aging guy running a firm, kicking out all of the young guns, as the young guns are the ones who are trying to bring in the money and do all the work and work hard.

When they bring in the clients and try to leave, then he wants to sue them, not pay them, and push them out.  Those are the type of people that I think we have got to be able to have somebody like Donald Trump, somebody like Hillary Clinton, who knows the players -- who knows the players, who can differentiate between the good and the bad, and help us clean up Wall Street, because, clearly, it needs help.

CAVUTO:  Yes.  You could also argue that, when it comes to Hillary Clinton, she doesn`t really mean, and it might be with a wink and a nod, all this Wall Street bashing, when she tells them, look, I`m not going to be crazy with you guys.  Who knows.

GRENELL:  Which means she doesn`t have the political will.  And I think it`s right to be skeptical about that.

CAVUTO:  All right.

GRENELL:  To me, Donald Trump -- and I`m not supporting any particular candidate, but Trump is somebody who is going to be brave enough to take on his friends.  He knows the game, has played the game.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO:  He has bashed them before.  He has bashed them before.  But that -- when you`re that rich, you can bash anyone you want, apparently.

(LAUGHTER)

GRENELL:  Hillary is that rich now, though, Neil.

CAVUTO:  Well, I`ll tell you -- well, by comparison.

Ric Grenell, thank you very, very much.  It`s a great piece.

GRENELL:  Thanks, Neil.

CAVUTO:  I urge you all to read it.  Very thoughtful, very, very different.  All right.

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