This is a rush transcript from "The Kelly File," November 23, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SANDRA SMITH, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Breaking tonight, major moves from President-Elect Donald Trump inviting some unexpected people to join his cabinet. And just ahead, the man who may have a big decision to make about taking on a very important role in the next administration.
Good evening and welcome to "The Kelly File", everyone. I'm Sandra Smith in for Megyn Kelly tonight.
Well, earlier today, the president-elect nominating one of his most vocal critics during the GOP primary contest, Republican South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley to become U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Hours later another announcement, Mr. Trump naming prominent Republican activist, Betsy Devos as his pick-to-be the next Secretary of Education. Both picks loudly cheered by fellow Republicans even as two of Mr. Trump's most prominent backers are advising him against offering former presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, the Secretary of State post.
In moments, in a "Kelly File" exclusive, we will speak to another high profile trump supporter, Dr. Ben Carson, who found himself in the headlines today, all over the place, in fact as the current frontrunner to be the next Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. We will ask him about that.
Then Chris Stirewalt and David Wohl are here to discuss whether the president-elect is succeeding in keeping his core supporters satisfied over his picks thus far.
But first, we begin with Peter Doocy who is live at Mr. Trump's resort in Mar-a-Lago, Florida where the president-elect will be celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday. And, Peter, to you on this thanksgiving eve, hello, sir.
PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Sandra. As it turns out, according to members of the transition team, Trump's transition team, the president-elect and the Governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, have a lot of chemistry. Now, you wouldn't have guessed that a few months ago during the Republican primaries when Mr. Trump tweeted that South Carolinians were embarrassed by their governor and Haley's response rushed in back by saying, "Bless your heart."
But now it's all good. Trump said he likes how Haley attracted foreign businesses to come to South Carolina and he called her a deal maker who will be a big asset for this country on the world stage. For her part, Governor Haley says, that, "When the President believes you have a major contribution to make to the welfare of our nation and to our nation's standing in the world, that is a calling that is important to heed."
The other big nomination today was for Education Secretary. Mr. Trump picked Betsy Devos. He said she will help him bring school choice to every family in America. She a billionaire who has a long -- who has long pushed for school vouchers and is best known for her work as a Michigan-based philanthropist. And the addition to the Trump team earned a compliment from Jeb Bush who hasn't had anything nice to say about Mr. Trump for about a year and half. The former Governor of Florida tweeted that, "Betsey Devos is an outstanding pick for Secretary of Education. I look forward to her bold leadership at the U.S. DOE."
Dr. Ben Carson is also still apparently considering his job offer to go in and head up HUD. There were some conflicting reports earlier today that he had accepted the job offer and he was ready to come on board but then a confidant came out and said he needs a little bit more time over Thanksgiving to think about it.
Sandra?
SMITH: All right. Peter Doocy, thank you very much.
Well, here now in a "Kelly File" exclusive, former presidential candidate and former Trump campaign adviser, Dr. Ben Carson, a man who found himself in dozens of headlines today. Dr. Carson, thanks for joining us tonight.
Thank you for your time.
BEN CARSON, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My pleasure, Sandra.
SMITH: The last I looked, you were trending on Twitter. Why? Because there's been some conflicting headlines out there today about you, sir, about whether or not you are going to accept a role in the Trump administration. Where do you stand on that?
CARSON: Well, you know, it's rather amusing to me as I sit back and see all of the things that people say I've said and that I haven't said any of them or done any of them.
SMITH: I'm going to throw some of that.
CARSON: You know, it's been pretty amusing. But, you know, we did in fact have a discussion about things that needed to be done in this country and what the various options were, whether I could do it from inside the government or outside the government. And, you know, there are a lot of things that were put on the table and I'm thinking about them. I've had so many people calling me today from both sides. I've had Democrats calling me saying what an opportunity to fix, you know, things that haven't been fixed for decades.
SMITH: Well, it sounds, Dr. Carson, like you're saying you need to be convinced because some of those things that I said I was quote you as well is that your confidant, Armstrong Williams, told TheHill, "Dr. Carson feels has no government experience. He has never run a federal agency. The last thing he would want to do is take a position that could cripple the presidency." But then now, we get a tweet from you today saying that you're going to have an announcement soon as sort of a hint that you will be accepting a position.
CARSON: Well, you know, that was one of the funny things that the quote that you just had from Armstrong Williams. You know, he did an article in The Hill completely refuting that but no one wanted to talk about that. You know, he was just sort of talking off the cuff about people who haven't spent their lives in government. But he went back and clarified that. But nobody wants to talk about that.
You know, the fact of the matter is, you know, every job is very important. But in terms of complexity. I can guarantee you that very little of it comes close to neurosurgery, and particularly complex neurosurgery. And these things can easily be acquired and you can put people around you who know all the little details about something that happened 56 years ago. You know, that's not important. What's important is being able to take the information and process it and come up with why solutions that solve problems. That's what this is going to be about. And it's going to be very different than your typical administration because Donald Trump, as a businessman, believes very much like surgeons do, you take the evidence and you make your decisions based on the evidence, not ideology.
SMITH: And there's a lot of decision making being done on your part as well by the way, and this is a huge consideration, a huge responsibility. Housing and urban development has a nearly $50 billion budget, 8400 employees. Critics of Donald Trump, critics of the decision to possibly include you and make you the Secretary of HUD, Dr. Carson, say he doesn't have the experience to do this. What do you say back to them?
CARSON: I would say, look at all of the people in Washington who've had the experience, what a fine job they've done. I guess that's why Donald Trump got elected. That's what I would say to them.
SMITH: Fair enough. What do you make of some of these recent picks? There's been a lot of criticism that he's lacking diversity in his cabinet picks so far. But today announced South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley who was a very vocal critic of Donald Trump along the way saying he is one of the angriest voice in politics, and then Betsy Devos. What do you make of these picks?
CARSON: You know, he is going to -- he is going to run the government the very same way that he runs the Trump Empire. You find people who are extremely confident, not people who are your buddies and your friends and people that you owe a favor to, but people who you believe actually share your vision and have the ability and the track record of being able to get things done. That should be something that's comforting to people. And I know a lot of people say, "No, no, no, no, you should go with your cronies, you should go with the people who supported you." But that's not -- that's not going to solve our problems. That's what's been done in the past. We need something different now.
SMITH: Is Mitt Romney a good pick for Secretary of State? Some of your Republican colleagues, Newt Gingrich notably, Mike Huckabee have sort of slammed that as a choice for Donald Trump
CARSON: Well, I would say that, you know, he has said some pretty inflammatory things. And I think maybe in private, he has told Donald Trump that, you know, "I take that back. That's -- I don't believe that any more. I really never believed it. It was in the heat of the moment." He probably needs to say that more publicly. I think a lot of the strife would dissipate at that point.
SMITH: All right. So when should we expect some decision on your part? The offer is on the table, is that fact?
CARSON: The offer is on the table, and there are a lot of other possibilities that we're considering. We're considering, which is the way that I can be most effective.
SMITH: OK.
CARSON: So that information should come out in the next few days. We will make a public announcement.
SMITH: All right. We will look forward. Dr. Ben Carson, thanks for joining us tonight.
CARSON: Thank you.
SMITH: All right. Well, as I just mentioned, not all the president-elect's decisions have been met with approval by his supporters. In the past 24 hours or so, two of Mr. Trump's most loyal supporters have spoken out forcefully to respond to speculation that he tapped former Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney, an ardent critic of the president-elect in the primaries to be Secretary of State. Here is former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Governor Mike Huckabee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE HUCKABEE, FORMER GOVERNOR OF ARKANSAS: It would be a real insult to all those Donald Trump voters who worked really hard. I'm still very unhappy that Mitt did everything he could to derail Donald Trump. He didn't just go after him from the standpoint of saying I disagree with his policy on immigration, I disagree with his policy on taxes, he attacked him on a personal level about his character, integrity, his honor. I think the vast majority of Trump supporters will initially be very unhappy and will be reminded of all of the things that Romney said over the year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
HUCKABEE: What he actually represents, the kind of tough-minded America first policies that Trump has campaigned on. I can think of 20 other people who would be more naturally compatible with the Trump vision of foreign policy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Chris Stirewalt is FOX News Digital Politics Editor and David Wohl is a prominent Trump supporter and attorney. Chris, I'll start with you first. How are Trump supporters reacting to some of his picks and in Mitt Romney's case, possible pick at this point?
CHRIS STIREWALT, FOX NEWS DIGITAL POLITICS EDITOR: Well, I think first, we ought to take with a small grain of salt the criticism from two people who Mitt Romney beat running for the Republican nomination. I wouldn't expect that Governor Huckabee or Former Speaker Gingrich would take too rosy of an attitude about a guy who bested them. So maybe some of that comes from there, I don't know.
This is of course the test that every incoming president has, how do you please the folks who made it possible? Because if it wasn't for that 20 million or so core supporters of Donald Trump that saw him through the Republican primary and pushed him through when his fortunes faded during the general election to keep him in the race, if it wasn't for their intensity, he wouldn't be president today. But at the same time, we look at a poll out today from Quinnipiac University that said, what, Trump support is broadening. People are feeling more optimistic because he is being inclusive, because he is uniting Republicans with moves like picking Romney.
And then on the other side, he's pleasing a broader coalition by saying things like, you know, I'm not really focused on prosecuting Hillary Clinton. And by the way, and he said it before, the wall is not going to be a 2000 mile long wall along the southern U.S. border, it's going to be fence in some place and wall in others and people are screaming, "You're reversing, you're reversing." This is how it goes. You win and you start to figure out how to broaden your coalition so you can govern.
SMITH: David, you have supported Donald Trump from the very beginning. Do any of his recent decisions concern you?
DAVID WOHL, TRUMP SUPPORTER: No, not at all. In fact, Mr. Trump values diversity of gender, diversity of race and diversity of thought. Now, none of us were inside that room when he met with Mitt Romney. My guess is they had a meeting of the minds on critical issues like Russia, Syria and Iraq. My guess is they buried the hatchet and maybe Mr. Trump issued the political equivalent of a presidential pardon to Mr. Romney for all the disparaging insult -- insulting remarks he made over the last year.
Romney is a smart guy. Romney is a guy who has gotten things accomplished in his businesses over the years. There's no question about that. He's a persuasive guy. And it may be that Mr. Trump values him and that he doesn't really want to be surrounded by yes men and yes women. He wants to be surrounded by people who will give him rational well thought out decisions.
Now Rudy Giuliani is no doubt the favorite of the people who supported, that core supported Mr. Trump. He is the iron fist of law enforcement and he worked tirelessly to get Mr. Trump elected. So I think he'd be awesome too. But you know what, it does seem to be tilting toward Mitt Romney right now and if it does, I think in the end he will be a good pick.
SMITH: OK. But -- I mean, Chris, the criticism has been his cabinet selections have lacked diversity but yet he names two women to his administration today. I mean, the response, the quick response that we are seeing her, is this historical or is this pretty typical for the weeks that follow for a president-elect?
STIREWALT: Well, it's Thanksgiving week, people are bored because they don't have the election to cover every day any more.
SMITH: Not right now, they're watching you, Chris.
WOHL: Of course we do, Christopher.
STIREWALT: We are a delight to every human sense. I understand that. We are like cool water cascading down upon them. But as the reporters are digging around for stories to do, you got to say something. I mean they got unlimited pixels, they got to write something. What it comes down to is as we see Trump's cabinet go into place, we see the kind of team of rivals concept starting to come in place. It's not just a cone of patootie kissers that are going to gather around and say, "Oh, Mr. Trump, what a brilliant idea." He's talking about people who have real push back. And one of the things that got the most notice in Washington was Trump's discussion of James Mattis, a former marine commandant, to be Secretary of Defense. If he pulls that off and that occurs, there's going to be a lot of newfound respect for Trump.
SMITH: That of course is the discussion of torture. David?
WOHL: Two women today were picked, two brilliant women, I might add. One, the daughter of Indian immigrants and other one who is Anti-Common Core. Donald Trump's, one of his core promises, if you will, is to get rid of Common Core. She is going to do that. She's going to put an emphasis on private schools if people want to go, put the money into a private school that may be more in line with what their child needs. She's going to make it happen. This is just a critical view of what's to come here. And I think it's going to be impressive and appealing to everybody involved in all of Americans.
SMITH: All right. David Wohl and Chris Stirewalt, I hope you both have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thanks for joining us tonight.
WOHL: Thank you to both of you.
STIREWALT: Gobble, gobble.
WOHL: Thank you.
SMITH: OK. As we just mentioned, it's become the media's latest obsession with the president-elect, the race and gender of his cabinet picks. Perhaps they should have held their fire until all of Mr. Trump's picks were in. Fox Contributors, Katie Pavlich and Julie Roginsky, are here along with Mollie Hemingway of The Federalist on that.
Also tonight, Senator Sessions facing criticism from a liberal critic with skeletons of his own. We investigate just ahead.
Plus, Thanksgiving means travel for millions of Americans. We'll take you out to LAX on one of the busiest travel days in a decade.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SMITH: New developments on the media's latest obsession regarding Donald Trump, the alleged racism and sexism behind his cabinet picks. As the president-elect started rolling out his choices "Politico" noting, "White men dominate Trump's early staff selections," with the Washington Post referring to Trump's "binder full of white men," even as two women were given cabinet positions today. "Politico" reacted with this headline suggesting Trump had broken a streak of appointing white men. This phenomenon wasn't relegated to print as some talking heads lobbed similar complaints this past weekend. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN HEILEMANN, BLOOMBERG POLITICS CO-MANAGING EDITOR: I see a really, really old white group of old white men. And I say that in a not to be snide but I think the groups that now in the country are most concerned about what they are seeing coming out of the Trump administration is the vast millions and millions of nonwhite Americans. We're looking at that group not just because it's so white but also because if you take those people together, Dan and Flynn and Sessions, all three have a history of being involved in -- at a minimum racially insensitive endeavors.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a concern about lack of diversity so far in the hiring. We saw that he brought in Michelle Rhee and Nikki Haley but is there really any likelihood of a pick who's not a white male at this point?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Wow. Joining me now, Townhall.com News Editor and Fox Contributor, Katie Pavlich, Democratic Analyst and Fox Contributor, Julie Roginsky, and Senior Editor at The Federalist, Mollie Hemingway.
Katie, perhaps they should have waited. Maybe a day or two would have helped because two women were picked today.
KATIE PAVLICH, TOWNHALL.COM NEWS EDITOR AND FOX CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah, we have. We have. Right. We have five picks but they are criticizing with the white men card, right, out of the 300 that, you know, Donald Trump is going to have to select for his administration.
We have two female picks today. So that's a pretty good average. And the bottom line is that there's no grace from the left whatsoever. They're willing to accuse Republicans regardless of the number of diverse picks that they have of sexism and racism. Mitt Romney in 2012 talked about binders full of women clearly referring to resumes of women he wanted to hire because we wanted more women in his cabinet as governor and he got destroyed for it.
And finally, I just want to point out that the media which overwhelmingly supports Democrats isn't realizing any of the lessons of this election. The DNC is huddling right now trying to figure out how they can regroup with the white working class of America and yet here we are again insulting white men who are qualified to help run the country and to bring us a better future.
SWITCH: And Julie, to her point, isn't that what matters the most is that the most qualified people for these positions get the job?
JULIE ROGINSKY, DEMOCRATIC ANALYST AND FOX CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah. I largely agree with Katie. Look, I don't really care what their diversity factor is. I care about their policies and some of these policies and people who he's appointed Jeff Sessions comes to mind, certainly Michael Flynn come to mind. Scare me not because they're white men but because of the policies they are .
SMITH: But that's not what the media is reporting. That's not -- hold on, hold on. But let's go back to that "Politico" headline, white men dominate Trumps early staff selections. They would only later tweak that as we mention to Trump breaks streak of white male appointment. Mollie, it just seems they are -- they've been unbelievably quick to judge.
MOLLIE HEMINGWAY, SENIOR EDITOR AT THE FEDERALIST: Well, yeah. There needs to be a bit of patience as we learn a little bit more about the cabinet. And at the same time, just the entire prism of talking about it as if the only thing that matters about these picks are their sex or their skin color is silly. Donald Trump wants to pick people who will fulfill his policy goals and that's what he is looking for. At the same time, I actually have heard from people working the transition that he does have something of a blind spot as to how diversity can be a political asset and this is probably because he has a background in business and yet as head of the federal government that's a public institution in the sense of ownership is important. And so diversity can be a really good way to .
SMITH: The last I checked, he had women working at his company and senior level positions at his company, Katie.
PAVLICH: Yeah. I mean that was one of his main arguments especially when all those allegations from women came out against him. And it's true but he -- you know, Ivanka Trump is probably going to take over his business.
She is a woman. One of his top senior advisers is an African-American woman. He has hired many people inside of his company who happen to be women. But again, it goes back to what I think all three of us agree on amazingly is that people who are most qualified for the position should be chosen.
SMITH: Oh, come on. Surely we can get you to disagree with us here. I mean .
PAVLICH: Yeah, we shouldn't be judging people on skin color or gender. I thought we were way past that in trying to move into the future.
SMITH: So, Julie and I are outnumbered all the time so we know each other's personality but I bet you, Julie, I can get you going.
ROGINSKY: Go for it, go.
SMITH: OK.
ROGINSKY: Come on, try me.
SMITH: So, Martha Raddatz response was the five picks announced so far have all been white men. So the pressure is on. And then you look at some of the headlines that are coming out of the media on this and, Julie, it just seems like people aren't interested with getting the right person in there for the job but I know you guys all agree on that. But this is -- this is, what are, just over two weeks after the election took place?
ROGINSKY: Look, as I said, let's -- this is one of the few times you're actually going to see me not criticize Donald Trump for taking his time. Let's see what he comes out with. Let's see the totality of his cabinet, the totality of his appointments. As I said, what I think Democrats and Liberals should be focusing on is not gender or race, it should be their positions and how they comport with the positions of the majority of Americans. And the bottom line is some of these picks are acceptable to me because while I don't agree with them, Nikki Haley I think is an acceptable pick. Some of them are very troubling to me because even though I don't agree with him I think Jeff Sessions goes too far and not just for me but for most Americans in his views. He was too racist for a Republican senate to approve in the 1980s apparently for a federal judgeship but now in 2016 it's okay for him to be the Chief Law Enforcement Officer in the country. So that's what's troubling to me. As I said before, his race and his gender have nothing to do with it.
HEMINGWAY: It also seems like the media have forgotten -- have not learned any lessons from how much they messed up throughout this entire cycle. They're still obsessed about identity politics. They're still pushing a narrative instead of just reporting facts. And they're completely out of touch with how much they messed up that coverage.
SMITH: And then of course we just spoke with Dr. Ben Carson. There could possibly be an African-American pick thrown into the mix here. It's obviously a very difficult balancing act that he's got. The criticism is likely to continue. But other than that, Mollie, last word to you. Can he win?
HEMINGWAY: Well, I think what's interesting is Donald Trump is doing a good job of just communicating directly with people. And so that traditional gatekeeper role that the media held where they decide what the big story is going to be. They are not having the same power that they used to. And I think Donald Trump has a relationship with the people where he can just communicate that these are the picks that he's chosen to advance his policy goals and people can decide how they feel about those picks.
SMITH: All right. Good to have all three of you. Thank you. Enjoy your Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving.
PAVLICH: Happy Thanksgiving.
SMITH: All right. Well, some college cupcakes are taking their opposition to the president-elect even further suggesting that having police officers from part of a union who endorsed Trump represents a "act of violence" against them.
And coming up, does Representative Keith Ellison have more to answer for regarding his own controversial past especially if he is going after the history of other lawmaker? Carl Higbie and Tezlyn Figaro will be here on that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SMITH: Well with thanksgiving tomorrow, the roads and skies are full of people making their way home, thankfully. You're looking live at two major airports as people take off on their trips. According to the Triple A, 49 million Americans will travel more than 50 miles over this holiday weekend. Fox's Jonathan Hunt was out among the many travelers today at LAX.
JONATHAN HUNT, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: So far Sandra it's been a pretty smooth process here at LAX. The check-in lines have not seemed to be any longer than any given Wednesday. The same is true of the security lines, thanks to extra TSA agents being on duty. Some 27 million Americans are expected to fly over what officials describe as the 11-day thanksgiving holiday period. The busiest airports, Atlanta, Chicago and here at LAX where 2.3 million passengers are expected to come and go. That of course means traffic is pretty tough too.
In fact, for many people getting to the airport was harder than getting through the airport. Security obviously is also a major issue. The LAX police department has extra heavily armed officers on duty. TSA has also brought in extra staff to ensure that everyone is kept safe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our men and women are on the front lines every day and they are always looking for that little needle in a hay stack. They always have to be on the cutting edge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: And across the country from Washington to Atlanta to Chicago, to Denver, it seems to have been a story of relatively smooth sailing, or flying perhaps more accurately. Today, the streamlined screening processes and the relatively calm weather across the country, meaning that so far, and most travelers have had a very happy thanksgiving traveling experience.
Sandra?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anybody who is rejected from a judgeship, because of their record of racism, I just think, you know, you really got to be concerned about that. That is really a problem. And in this age when we are trying to bring Americans together of all colors, working people of all colors, I think it is the wrong signal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: All right. That was Representative Keith Ellison questioning Senator Sessions' nomination for Attorney General. Claiming remarks that he purportedly made over three decades ago are disqualifying. Now while Senator Sessions has flatly denied he ever even said such things, Mr. Ellison is ducking his sorted and more recent past with the nation of Islam. With the Minnesota congressman floating himself as possible chairman of the DNC, the "New York Times" came seeking comment, but instead quote aides to under Ellison were going to make him available for a telephone interview but then declined when informed that he would be asked about his past comments on Mr. Farrakhan.
Carl Higbie, Trump Supporter Tezlyn Figaro is a former campaign staffer for Bernie Sanders, Tezlyn I will go to you first. So, why is he able to criticize Senator Sessions for remarks he made purportedly 30 years ago, but then when he is going to be asked about something he said in the past or did in past, it is not fair game and he dodges the interview?
TEZLYN FIGARO, FORMER BERNIE SANDERS CAMPAIGN STAFFER: Well, you know, I totally agree. I think that everyone should be open. You know elected officials should be open to answer questions whether that is Sessions or Ellison. And in fact I reached out to the Ellison camp myself and they told me that the reason he did not answer the questions was logistical issue. That he was on his way on a plane, you know to Detroit. But.
(CROSSTALK)
SMITH: But we know it is very simple just to provide a statement or a written statement to somebody seeking comment.
FIGARO: And I totally agree with that. And I mean, if he was connected to any groups, he should be open to it just as well as, you know Senator Jeff Sessions as well. What I would say is I think what the main thing is. I think people automatically assume he would become the DNC chair. You know there are grass root organizers who are suggesting that people like Ohio State Senator Nina Turner be considered.
You know before we just close the casket and say that Ellison is going to be the next pick, I do think it is important that the DNC allows everyone to be vetted, allow everyone to answer questions and he should answer to be quite honest with you. But then when I, you know I'm looking at everyday somebody else is a racist, a racist, a racist. When are we going to start talking about job creation, you know when do these leaders going to start talking about what they will do to bring jobs back. That is my concern.
SMITH: Carl, let's talk about what the issue at hand and Representative Ellison, as you heard, was criticizing Jeff Sessions but then it doesn't seem that his past is at play, if he does want to be considered to be DNC chair.
CARL HIGBIE, FORMER NAVY SEAL: Right. Here is the other thing too is Jeff Sessions, nobody actually has any proof. These are just allegations and it was three decades ago. What concerns me about Mr. Ellison is that he has known papers written in support of Lois Farrakhan, this the guy who said not god bless America, GD America. These are known ties. Like Miss Figaro said, he is not locked in. He doesn't have anything particular accomplishment that put him ahead of anybody else. I would be anxious to see if they continue go with the vetting process on him but I just don't think he is very American, if you're going to be supporting someone like Louis Farrakhan.
SMITH: Ok. The proof of his past that you just mentioned, do you think, Carl that should disqualify him to be the DNC chair?
HIGBIE: I think it should be up to the people of the Democratic Party. I think they should elect this guy, but I mean like the problem with the Democratic Party recently, as we have seen, they put up flawed canned candidates. They are more anxious to put up somebody, you know have a race, religion creed, geographical concerned with putting up someone with race, creed, geographical location, simply in spite of the fact that there might be a flawed candidate, they did this with Hillary Clinton. She was a flawed candidate, but the put up, because she is a woman. I mean this is the Democratic Party and if they haven't learned anything from the election, they might not learn anything ever.
SMITH: And Tezlyn it does seem to remind everybody of the hypocrisy sometimes that we do see in projects.
FIGARO: Well they didn't put up Clinton, because she was a woman. They put up Clinton, because they have pretty much try to run the Democratic Party for the last 20 plus years. And putting up Congressman Keith Ellison, because he is from the Bernie Sanders camp and people want to move, you know a little bit further to the left with the progressives. So I think that someone that they trust, but again, you're absolutely right, they need to vote the person they feel is going to move the Party forward.
SMITH: And do you feel what that is, Representative Ellison?
FIGARO: I think that they need a broader selection. It can't be just Ellison or just one or two people to choose from, whether it is Howard Dean or whether it is Ellison. And if Congress Ellison does not say that he is going to join the swamp on the Democratic side and certainly that is not somebody that I would support. The house needs to be clean from top to bottom. People need to be called out for what it is. We can't continue just blame Trump for everything and blame Republicans for everything when they lost over 900 seats over the last eight years. So, if he is willing to stand up to the establishment, stand up to the status quo, then he might be the perfect person. But if not, then no, he needs to sit down.
SMITH: All right, to both of you, have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thanks for being here.
HIGBIE: That was an overly rational segment. Thank you.
(LAUGHTER)
All right, thank you to both of you. Well, some college cupcakes in our nation's capitol are taking their protest over President -Elect Trump's victory to a whole new level. Wait until you hear their list of demands. I'm not sure if you going to even believe them when I say them, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SMITH: Developing tonight, controversy as one college protest over the President-Elect turns into what seems like a hostage negotiation. Students at George Washington University in the heart of our nation's capital are now presenting school leaders with the list of demands and they're targeting the men and women who keep them safe, every day. A letter from nearly a dozen students groups reads in part, "The fraternal order of police includes over 10,000 members of Washington, D.C., many of which have jurisdiction over GW's campus." And they go on to suggest, "That placing students in these officers' care is an act of violence."
Jeff Roorda is the spokesman for the St. Louis Police Officers Association and Author of a new book "The war on police: How the Ferguson effect is making America unsafe." Also here is Dorian Davis as professor of communication at American University. I will start with you first, Jeff, what do you make first of this list of demands and them saying this is an act of violence to have police protect them on campus.
JEFF ROORDA, ST.LOUIS POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION: I thought someone was pranking me, when I read the story in my e-mail this morning. I mean this is nonsense. You talk about white privilege. I mean these rich kids running around aimlessly on campus think that they can tell law enforcement and union members who they can support for president and who they can't is simply absurd.
SMITH: Dorian, people are hearing this right now and thinking, what are they saying? What do they want? Do they not want the police to protect them?
DORIAN DAVIS, PROFESSOR AT AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: Well, Sandra, thank you for having me. Yeah. The police have to wake up, I think. I have students at American University where I teach, who are crying and struggling and fearing for their well-being in the wake of this election. And those are tensions that are not going to go away any time soon. You know, the KKK voted for Trump, supported Trump.
SMITH: Can I first get Jeff to respond to that, Dorian?
ROORDA: Is he implying that since we supported Trump too that, makes us a clan of KKK? So what if the kids are crying and weeping, because they didn't get their way. Maybe they should act it out at the ballot box instead of maybe pumping after the election is over.
DAVIS: To be clear, I'm not implying that. But I don't think it is a surprise since both groups did support Donald Trump that some students may feel some concern that the police and hate groups like the KKK or the same coalition.
SMITH: Dorian that is what kids are saying, right? These college students are saying that voting for Donald Trump is an act of violence and therefore having police that support Donald Trump is an act of violence on their campus. Is that what they are saying?
DAVIS: That is what they are saying, but two things, Sandra. Number one, you have to remember that college campuses are homes to these students. The faculty and staff, they can go back to their residences as the end of the day, but if there is something that bothers these students on campus, they have to live that day and night. And they have a right to address.
(CROSSTALK)
ROORDA: Don't call 911 then.
SMITH: Jeff?
ROORDA: Yeah, don't call 911. When someone holds them at knifepoint and tries to steal their copy of red book, then they can reason with the guy and tell them why his life matters and why cop's don't. You talk about the hate speech, you have been paying attention for the last two and half years of the hate speech angle at law enforcement?
SMITH: Dorian?
DAVIS: Well cops lives matter as well and I didn't imply that they didn't. But one thing you really have to remember, Sandra, and I think that this is important for everybody, these are young activists. So, yes, the demands might seem extreme to some people but you have to remember.
SMITH: Dorian, I think it appears disrespectful of the police and police community that it is going to answer that call of 911 and is going to come to your door, when you say somebody is invading your home. I'm looking at Jeff and I am thinking, I wonder what it is like to be a police officer in that environment.
DAVIS: I wonder what it is like to be a student fears for their safety on their own campus.
SMITH: Jeff, go ahead.
ROORDA: But their fears are irrational, the fears that the cops had, if Hillary Clinton had been elected with all of her anti-police rhetoric, and I am a law - I am a Democrat. Eight years in the past representatives.
SMITH: We have to leave it there. I'm up against a break, happy Thanksgiving to both of you, up next, Ainsley Earhardt from "Fox and Friends." Sorry guys.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SMITH: Last November Fox and Friends co-star Ainsley Earhardt and her husband welcomed their beautiful daughter, Hayden into the world. This November, they not only celebrated a first birthday, but also a new book by Ainsley, entitled "Take heart my child a mother's dream." It is described as personal note to her daughter. Last night Megyn sat down with Ainsley to find out the story behind the book.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEGYN KELLY, "THE KELLY FILE" HOST: Great to see you, Ainsley congrats on the book's success.
AINSLEY EARHARDT, "FOX & FRIENDS" CO-HOST: Thank you.
KELLY: This is so beautiful. I, as a mother of three children, was extremely move by this. And I don't see I'm a little jaded when it comes to children's books now. I'm like whatever, nice try. This one I was like
- I feel it too.
EARHARDT: Oh, really?
KELLY: Yes, I feel it too. And I defy any mother out there or father, not to feel a little upon reading this. You say your inspiration was your own dad and the notes he left for you as a kid.
EARHARDT: It was amazing, because this book, I went into a publisher with a book about my dog. And they were like, Ainsley tell us little about you, and I started telling them about, my mom is a school teacher. She went to work at 7:00 in the morning, so Dad was in charge of breakfast. People were like they were like, tell us about yourself. I said my mom was a school teacher. She went to work at 7:00 in the morning so my dad was in charge of breakfast. To the Mickey Mouse pancakes, to the smiley face with the bananas and peanut butter and always had a note next to our cereal bowl, with some sort of a scripture or saying or some sort of famous quote and it really resonated with us. At the time we were like, really, Dad come on, really another quote. Can't we just have our breakfast? As we got older, obviously they just have been a part of our lives. So it is really cool to see this book take off, because we're just an ordinary family from South Carolina, Megyn.
KELLY: I love the examples you give. The one that stood out to me is nothing good ever happens after midnight. That is exactly right. Girls and boys, Remember that. Just get home. It is not worth it, whatever it is. This is your own writing. And it is to your baby. And I just want to take viewers through a couple quotes. I think they are so beautiful, because there is a lesson in each one of these this page. Here is one you write. May you take the high road, though the road may be long. Pledge to follow your heart so your heart will grow strong. And if you stumble or the path grows too steep, take heart my child, trust yourself, take that leap. Just the encouragement, it was just so hard to do to a little baby, who is one. And then it is even harder to do to little babies, who are 7, 5 and 3 like mine or 16, 18, 20, to go, to go and do it. Even the thought can be heart breaking. But in today's day and age with the helicopters parenting we're having, it is a good reminder.
EARHARDT: Absolutely, you know it is hard to let our pure innocent, little young ones take that leap. But you know they will fall down even when they are learning to walk at Hayden's age at one year old or when they are 30 years old and taking a leap, maybe a career leap or on some other maybe marrying someone. Sometimes it's hard to let them go and do that. But I know in my experience when I'm in the valley, I know the mountain is right around the corner. When you're on top of that mountain and you look down and see the valley, you know what it took to get there. You know it is hard as a parent to let your children do that, but this book shows my parents, oh, they are special for Hayden.
KELLY: Look that face. I want to kiss that face.
EARHARDT: The all-American baby there. Born on Fourth of July, but anyway, this book, sharing with my daughter and children around the world, what my dad taught us. It was, take that leap. Never be afraid to fail.
That is what Walt Disney said and dad loved that one. If you don't like your chorus, you can change it. This is not a dress rehearsal. You only have one life. If you're not going to be in charge of it, someone else will. So you own your life. You make decisions for yourself.
KELLY: What about, I mean now you're a working mom. Just like me. And I also have a book out the viewers have heard about.
EARHARDT: Congratulations on your success too.
KELLY: Good, to you too, it is called "Settle for more." You and I had a chat on having it all, and how it is tough to balance life as a working mom, and this isn't particularly to moms as a working parent. But as a working mom with young children and that poll you feel to be better at both, right?
EARHARDT: You feel like you are not good at anything, because you are spread then. The good thing about my career, my job, it the morning show, so I can nap when she naps, but I have the whole day with her. I am at the music class with her at the beginning of the week, it was awesome and I kept during the morning show, I love my job. But I look so forward to doing music class with her. So I'm very fortunate, because my schedule does allow me to spend a lot of time with her.
KELLY: Yeah, that is right. And she obviously looks the better for it. Look how happy they look. How beautiful they are. Ainsley I'm thrilled for you.
EARHARDT: Thank you.
KELLY: The book is doing great. You're fun to watch. I love little Hayden.
EARHARDT: Don't we have the best -- Fox fans, Fox viewers are just the best. They have supported us. They buy our books. We really appreciate that. They care about us. And it is just been awesome experience.
KELLY: Well let me tell you, I have been out all over promoting my book "Settle for More" and nothing sells books like the Fox News Channel. And the viewers are so loyal to us, so supportive of us through thick and thin and we appreciate that more than they know and we appreciate you being here. Good luck with it, love.
EARHARDT: Good luck with your book too.
KELLY: All the best.
EARHARDT: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SMITH: Congratulations to Megyn Kelly, job well done. Thank you for joining us tonight. Happy Thanksgiving, I am thankful you joins us tonight, go to facebook.com/thekellyfile, let us know what you thought about tonight's show. Thanks for watching, I am Sandra Smith, happy to be here. This is "The Kelly File."
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