raymond arroyo is here for friday follies. he's going to expose this emotional gofundme campaign that looks like it defrauded thousands of people. plus, he exposes why van jones is finally praising the president. stacey abrams came out earlier today. and while she claimed she probably doesn't have a victory in this race, she's still falling short of making a concession to brian kemp. she said she's file a federal lawsuit for gross mismanagement of the process. you don't like how the election is playing out, so you threaten legal action and call for an entire re-election. after brow-beating trump over whether he would accept the results of the presidential election, the democrats have made this constant challenge posture their new normal. no one likes to lose. i don't. but this is all getting a little bit ridiculous. here with reaction is someone who represented the great state of georgia as speaker of the house, newt gingrich. and, newt, first question, would the abrams camp feel this emboldened if democratic leaders -- you've got hillary clinton down there, corybook, egging them on, basically saying if she doesn't win, the election was stolen. >> let's start with that. you have a whole series of democrats who just said bluntly, if our candidate doesn't win, they stole the election. they have no proof of it. but they have a whole model now, whether it's yelling "racist" or whatever it is, where if they smear you enough -- this is the kavanaugh model repeated over and over again. so georgia -- they want to set up stacey abrams so she'll be the person who had the election stolen from her. so for the next four years, she can run for governor as the person who should have been governor, except it was stolen from her. of course, since she's black," must have been an act of racism and the whole thing compounds. this is a game they're playing. you look at florida with a similar problem. the democrats actually were methodically planning to cheat on the election after it became so close. and actually were printing up materials that were designed just to steal the election. they only backed down because they got caught. but we're seeing in both florida and georgia a very similar pattern. if you don't let the democrat winning, they're you're cheating. and it's stolen because you're not allowed to win. they're supposed to win. >> >> laura: well, newt, the georgia code on when you can contest the results of an election is very clear. section 21-2522, as the result of a primary election may be contested on one of the following grounds, misconduct, fraud, or any irregularity sufficient to place in doubt the result. there's no evidence that any of that happened here. it's almost like none of the facts matter. this is all about 2020. this is all about building the momentum for more identity politics going into 2020 with the goal of finally flipping georgia to a total blue state. they want to do that in florida, newt, they want to do it in texas, and they've made some gains in texas. in the suburbs of dallas, they won session's seat. this is a play they're making around the country in the reddest of states like texas. >> sure. let's start with the idea, why would we think they want to obey the law? they don't think the law matters. they think the law represents the old order. abrams said at one point in the campaign, her blue wave includes legal and illegal people. she said, i didn't really mean that. but she does mean it. again over and over, everywhere you turn, california, which had a weird series of votes, arizona. the fact is again and again you have a democratic party dedicated to wins at any cost, dedicating to steal the election if they have to, and if they can't win, dedicated to blaming the republican. this weird experience, they try to steal the election. if they fail, they say, you're stealing it because you won honestly. and sadly, because of the liberal news media, they get away with a lot of this. >> >> laura: well, newt, we have other very bizarre things happening. and i can't believe we're now looking at 2020. but a woman that you have put out as someone who might be the nominee in 2020 is kamala harris. and yesterday i think she shocked even democrats with how she described i.c.e. let's first play newt's prediction the last time you were on about the senator we're speaking about. >> i personally think it's going to be kamala harris. i'm going to stick with that, unless she doesn't run. i think an african-american woman, former attorney general from california, just has enormous resources. and i think she clears the field. >> laura: like i said, you predicted she would be the 2020 nominee. allude together what i just researched, this is what she said and immigrations custom enforcement just yesterday. >> are you aware of the perception of many about how the power and the discretion at i.c.e. is being used to enforce the law? and do you see any parallels? >> i do not see any parallels between sworn officers and agents. >> i'm talking about perception. >> i do not see a parallel between what is constitutionally mandated as it relates in enforcing the law. >> are you aware that there's a perception? >> to put i.c.e. in the same category as the kkk. >> >> laura: the kkk, newt. that's where we are now with a duly appointed agency under the umbrella of national security. that's what it is. it's all about race. >> in a democratic primary, would you rather be the person condemning law enforcement or the person defending law enforcement? do you want to be the person who's defending sanctuary city, which are an explicit act of breaking the law, or do you want to be a person who says, maybe we shouldn't break the law and should turn in illegal criminals? now, you know in a democratic primary, it is a dead loser to be pro-i.c.e. and to be pro-locking up criminals >> laura: i get it now. >> it sounds weird. but i'm not sure it's weird for them. >> laura: so for them it makes perfect sense. i want to play one more thing for you. this is from your friend joe, former republican, panhandle native. what he said about what's happening to the republican party and the former stronghold, for instance, of orange county in california. let's watch. >> you look at orange county. my gosh, as tom said, congratulations republicans, you just lost reagan county. it looks like it's going to be a complete wipe out. i remember when sanchez beat bob in orange county back in the 1990s. it was a stunner. now it is a sea of blue, a huge, huge crushing defeat for trump republicanism. >> laura: is that what was defeated in california, trump republicanism, newt? a very facile analysis by the towering intellects at ms nbc? >> i think we have to face the reality. the size of the union-based machines are now so enormous that we don't frankly know right now how to compete with them. i mean, that's how big this problem is. and so i think we've got to confront the reality that we are dealing with a very profound change. we just had a candidate for city council in seattle, an independent, withdraw from the race because his wife was being threatened, her job was being threatened, her safety was being threatened and he wrote a very poignant memo saying he was frightened to even run in seattle because the forces of the left now are so vicious and hostile. and we have a real problem in our largest state, california, and our fourth largest state, new york, in that both now are centers of enormous union-based power that is so brutal and has so much money that we frankly right now don't know how to compete with them. >> laura: there's mass immigration that's changed california, no doubt about it. and in many races, there's no republican running at all. they're just basically two democrats running each other. this has been happening over years. this didn't just start happening with trump. that's part of the facile analysis. this has been the process over two decades, at least in california. thank you very much. and here to respond now, trump 2016 campaign manager, former with white house press secret y secretary, and fox news contributor. i want to go to you first on this issue. we'll go backwards here. we'll start with the challenges the republican party faces in state like california, all those electoral votes, and then going to texas where the republicans struggles in the dallas area, losing -- pete sessions lost his seat. other republicans fell. what's going on there? and what about moving into 2020? does this require recalibration of strategy? >> look, laura, i continue to think that the republicans have got to expand with the hispanic and african-american voters. if we think our ideas are the best to lift up and help all americans, we can and must do better. donald trump did do better with those two groups than romney did and we have to do better than that. that's going to be a key to success in 2020 in addition to turning out the blue-collar americans who increasingly are becoming american. >> laura: byron i want to go to you. a trump appointee district court judge at least temporarily ordered that the white house credential be restored to acosta on a fifth amendment rationalal . what is your take? >> he did not rule -- the judge did not rule on the whole first amendment idea, whether there is a first amendment right to be part of the white house press. but a couple of things are going to happen though. and president trump made this very clear after this decision. before this happened there was not a good behavior standard for white house correspondents. there was not a code. everybody was expected to behave professionally and problems were worked out informally. now there's going to be a code. it's pretty clear there will be some sort of written down rules which will make it easier for the white house to eject report ores in the future because of this. >> laura: i was looking at some old reagan footage today and during one of the turkey pardons. and hilarious. it was chris wallace shouting a question at reagan. but it was aggressive but it was such a different era. it was such a different -- reagan, frankly, behaved in a different way than trump. it was a completely different era. that doesn't seem that long ago, but it was 30-plus years ago. >> well, a turkey pardon is different. >> laura: i'm just saying they're shouting questions. corey, this is what the president said today after the news came down about the acosta case. >> a federal judge who you appointed has just ruled that you must give cnn reporter acosta his press pass back. your reaction to the ruling? >> it's fine. it's not a big deal. what they said though is that we have to create rules and regulations for conduct, et cetera. we're doing that. we're going to write it up right now. it's not a big deal. if he misbehaves we'll throw him out or stop the news conference. >> laura: he doesn't seem flabbergasted or upset. i think he has taken so many aggressive questions, just like 60 last week alone, questions at that press event, and he'll answer and then get a follow-up an then we've got to move on. it's not the jim acosta hour of press conferences. >> well, this president as you know has taken more questions from the press than any of his predecessors if not all of them combined. he's always available to the press. just go back and look at the leslie stall interview he did in 60 minutes. she interrupted him during that process. he's not afraid of tough questions, but there is a decorum factor that's going to take place in the white house. the american people should have that and the president by definition as the leader of the free world should have some decorum and he'll take a tough question but it's going to be respectfully done. and i don't think that's too much to ask for. >> laura: you suggested the president should say, when you want to do an actual press conference, let me know and i'll come back, but this isn't working. do you think that's still the way to go? >> i would take the briefing off of tv. it just makes these reporters into grand standers. it'll turn it much more into a serious briefing. secondly, jim acosta really has pushed the boundaries and gone way too far. it is one thing to shout and ask challenging questions. every reporter can do it. that's the essence of their job. more power to them. but you don't espouse personal policy positions. and that's what jim acosta does and that's what crosses line. so my big question is has he learned any questions now that he got his press pass back? will he continue to grandstand? if he does, trump is 100% right. decorum is important in all aspects of life. >> laura: it's commonly known among members of the press that he's not the most popular guy and that people within the white house press ranks are getting a little tired of this whole thing because they actually have substantive questions to ask. i can imagine it gets annoying. i also want to get your thoughts on what's going on with george conway. full disclosure, he is an old friend of mine. i've known him for 30 years. but it is very interesting when the husband of a senior counselor to the president becomes one of the main critics of the administration and he actually spoke out on a yahoo podcast on the subject earlier today. watch. >> i'm watching this thing and, you know, it's like the administration is like [bleep] a dumpster fire. i realize this guy is going to be at war with the justice department. if i get this door prize, i'm going to be in the department he's at war with. why would anybody want to do this? >> right. >> laura: he was talking about the solicitor general job which i believe he was up for and wanted. he said some other things in the beginning that kellyanne is not thrilled about how he's opposing the administration, but they actually agree on most issues. this is kind of wild. it was kind of a performance with them. this is a little bit different. >> it was always a show. and what we don't know the inner workings of their marriage. these are personal things we don't know. there's a lot of speculation in washington. either this is some sort of civil war which is not sustainable as long as conway is a senior top advisor the to the president. some people speculate it's all kind of a show. but by going on yahoo and by doing all the -- >> laura: we invited him here by the way and he deadlined. >> by doing all this tweeting -- george conway is a very public voice now. you just saw the whole dumpster fire stuff. that's pretty strong. >> laura: he has substantive issues with the way the administration has handled constitutional issues. he was reviled by the left during the whole lewinsky thing for his role in giving information. but now he's kind of a celebrated figure for taking on the president. >> well, he is and he has a new group that's form now to combat the president's agenda, which i really don't understand. look, this is a man who wanted to be part of the administration and for whatever reason it didn't work out. and that happens to a lot of people. i don't know if it's sour grapes that he didn't have the opportunity to become the solicitor general. whatever it is, people are entitled to their own opinions. but i think it's probably hurting his wife's relationships inside the building because it would be a very difficult thing to have a spouse against your boss. kellyanne's a very good friend of mine. and i feel for her because i can only imagine the pressure inside the building that she must feel when she has to answer questions about her husband's public tweets. >> laura: is this sustainable long term? >> nobody can put themselves in somebody else's marriage. >> laura: i'm not talking about that. i'm talking about her working in the white house with the president while this is on going. this has got to be a hard dynamics for her inside that white house. >> i don't think external sources or people who she works with it's not sustainable because she -- kellyanne, everybody knows what a powerful effective good supporter of the president she is. i just think it's the pressure the poor woman is under. when you leave the white house, you can try to let go of all the thick skin you have. you go home, you unwind. it's hard. the last thing you want to do is keep your thick skin on when you come home. >> laura: that's a great point. you don't want to keep debating at home. up next, a shocking report about what's going on inside the caravan that has already reached our borders. stay there. is the same? try citrucel. it gently relieves occasional constipation by absorbing water to make stools easier to pass, without causing excess gas or bloating. help relieve occasional constipation with citrucel. >> laura: there are disturbing new reports on that massive migrant caravan. now look at what they say they're seeing. >> specific groups of people have organized women, pregnant women, and children to go first. this created a great risk, that if the border gate was not opened, then they could have died from being crushed from the pressure of those behind them. that is quite perverse. >> laura: echoing some of the comments we brought you a few weeks back when we first started covering the caravan. now in tijuana, mexico tonight with new developments. william. >> laura, that is the bridge in the united states. that's where the caravan migrants want to go. problem is they have to get in line behind the migrants that you see behind me from mexico, from africa, from central america. so here in tijuana, reality is setting in for a lot of these people. let me explain why. the doors to the united states are closing. the secure border here in san diego is substantial. helicopters, horses, atvs. also, you can no longer enter anywhere on the border and just be allowed in. trump changed the policy. those who do claim asylum have to wait for months. these guys have no money to go home. they're stuck in a city with inadequate or already-filled shelters. of >> it's difficult because we don't have restrooms. the kitchen is short. >> so remember when the caravan left honduras? well, we still had a policy at that time of catch and release. didn't matter. you got to go live with your family somewhere in the united states. that is no longer the case. also, the u.s. is now taking in a limited number of asylum cases. today it was only 30. and that list was 1,050. you're looking at a five-week to four-month wait. so you have to get in line like anyone else. >> your name and where are you coming from. and you need to wait for your number. and one number. >> i want to just get my number. they let you -- they let me get it. they give it to me. i wait. i don't know how long i'm going to wait for. >> so the thing that's going to happen here, people are going to grow impatient. i talked to several young men who will just jump the border. they'll likely be caught, but that's what they're going to do. they don't want them there. they're trying to set up camp there. and clearly right now tijuana doesn't have the means to take care of them. so they're between a rock and a hard spot. laura. >> laura: william, the folks in tijuana have expressed their desire to have the situation ended, correct? they do not these migrants continuing to camp out in their town. >> that's true. they don't want them here, especially for a substantial period of time. there's a pipeline of central americans constantly going to the united states. they don't want them here substantially. they're trying to feed them. but last night, as soon as a food truck would show up, people literally would jump on it almost fighting for food. and they don't have the means to take care of 5,000 people. they don't want them here for that long. so that tension is going to only increase in all likelihood. laura. >> laura: thanks so much. william has been covering the caravan for several weeks, doing an amazing job. we're going to continue to cover this until the threat is over and situation is dealt with, which will likely be many months. why is cnn saying it faded from the news and that obama predicted it would happen? he is on the border in tijuana tonight. enrique, i want to start with you because you heard william's report. he's been with the caravan for weeks, covering it, especially in tijuana. the people of tijuana don't want this. we have reports that children and women have disappeared from one of the caravans, perhaps kidnapped by human traffickers. that news from a "usa today" piece from yesterday. what are your thoughts here? i mean, this seems very, very concernin concerning. >> well, first of all, to answer your question, laura, part of the community, part of local residents here in tijuana have criticized the presence of the migrant caravan, but the overwhelming majority have shown a compassionate and humanitarian reaction. so it's not all of tijuana. some people in tijuana don't want them here, but i would say the majority have shown compassion and empathy. on the other hand, about the alleged disappearance of a large group of migrants, it just goes to show you the difficult conditions, the incredible violence that they face in their journey through mexico towards the u.s. border. the caravan is not just one thing. it has many realities. it has thousands of different stories. so it's not very careful to frame the debate in absolute. >> laura: but that's why president obama said back in 2014, do not bring your children. the trek is dangerous. do not bring them. he said, because you will not be allowed to stay. of course, most of them were allowed to stay. ann coulter, you remember that. these are now 100 children and women who were gone. and this is a report from arturo. he is on very good authority, very good reporting. so this magnate in the united states of previously at least catch and release. they are putting people's lives in danger, are they not? >> yes. yes, they are. and president trump has already signed and executive order on human trafficking. this was obviously a campaign stunt. they hoped the caravan would arrive on america's border just before the midterm elections to show that not only do we not have a wall, but trump can't stop them. here you have is this huge invasion coming in. they planned this as a campaign stunt, but then trump took them up on it, called their bluff, said they're sending troops to the border. and suddenly obama is talking about it. what did he call it, the myth of the caravan? well, it's still coming. and the people who did arrange this, countries without borders in spanish, they are setting up these women and children to be raped, murdered, sold to other people. they ought to be prosecuted for inciting and encouraging human smuggling. we have laws on the books about this. they set this in motion. i don't want all of latin america moving to our country, but i don't want them being murdered and raped along the way. leftists don't care. they wanted a political stunt and women and children are being killed because of it. >> >> laura: all right, guys. thanks so much. and a gofundme scam, and behind-the-scenes footage of the florida recount. wasn't my top priority. until i held her. i found my tresiba® reason. now i'm doing more to lower my a1c. once daily tresiba® controls blood sugar for 24 hours for powerful a1c reduction. tresiba® is a long-acting insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults with diabetes. don't use tresiba® to treat diabetic ketoacidosis, during episodes of low blood sugar, or if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. don't share needles or insulin pens. don't reuse needles. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause dizziness, sweating, confusion, and headache. check your blood sugar. low blood sugar can be serious and may be life-threatening. injection site reactions may occur. tell your prescriber about all medicines you take and all your medical conditions. taking tzds with insulins like tresiba® may cause serious side effects like heart failure. your insulin dose shouldn't be changed without asking your prescriber. get medical help right away if you have trouble breathing, fast heartbeat, extreme drowsiness, swelling of your face, tongue or throat, dizziness or confusion. i found my tresiba® reason. find yours. ask your diabetes care specialist about tresiba®. >> that's according to multiple media reports. the agency recordedly had high confidence in its findings but the saudi government is denying that claim. a contributor said he was a resident from saudi arabia. his brutal murder sparked international outrage and condemnation. president trump heads to california tomorrow to visit victimses of those devastating wildfires. and that total is expected to climb with more than 1,000 still missing. at least three people have died in the fire in southern california. i am brian. now back to "the ingraham angle". >> laura: it's friday and that means it's time for, oh, friday follies. and the docket today, disturbing new details emerge about a gofundme campaign and unexpected political reunion. for all the details we're joined by raymond arroyo. tell me about this heartwarming gofundme story that we all followed back in 2017. >> you remember the details of this. a woman named kate finds herself in distress and a homeless man becomes the good samaritan. he gives her his last $20. they launched a gofundme campaign for him. here they are on "good morning america." watch this. >> i was driving down 95 and ran out of gas. he walked up and he said, get back in the car. lock the doors. i'll be back. >> out of gas, to help her get back on her way. wasn't expecting anything in return. >> hmm. >> is he blind, by the way? >> no, he's a veteran. he's not blind. so they launched this gofundme campaign to raise money. they raised $400,000 for him. now they're charging them with conspiracy to commit theft by deception and theft by deception. here's what they did. they admit, there's evidence now emerging. these people met at a casino long ago, concocted in story. then she text messages friends telling them the gas part is completely made up but the guy isn't. i had to make something up to make people feel bad. they also confessed to other people -- >> laura: was he homeless at all and was he gambling? >> he was homeless and he was in and out of can casinos. they concocted this story together. >> laura: this is a complete scam. and a lot of these gofundme deals -- people feel -- and they read a headline like, oh my god, the man bought shoes for the homeless person. always buying shoes. >> but they're pulling heart strings with a veteran. >> and by the way, that christine blase ford with her million dollars she's gotten for the brett kavanaugh false allegations. >> mccabe, strzok, all these people. where is that money going? >> laura: i think this all needs to be re-examined. >> and if brought in an unlikely supporter, laura. who do you think it was? >> laura: jesse jackson. >> no, it's not jesse jackson. van jones. now, this criminal justice reform, this is a big deal. both sides wanted this for a long time. this will change sentencing rules. it creates new incentives for rehabilitation, gives them a second chance. van jones, former obama official, now on cnn saying this about president trump. >> i think you've got to give him some credit. i say, the 99 times i don't agree with the president, i'm going to give him hell, but on this one i'll give him a salute and an applause. we've got to come together to help the people at the bottom. >> laura: and let me just say, the sneering don lemon sneering at van jones who actually has the integrity and a set of principles that allows him to say, we don't agree on pretty much anything, but i'm going to give him credit because this is something all these presidents said they were going to do, and by golly, jared kushner by the way had a huge -- he formed a friendship with -- >> unity is good. i think it's what people need. and we are seeing this across the country. opponents coming together. the other day at the houston international airport, a girl, a texas a&m student, she spots beto o'rourke and ted cruz. she takes a picture with them together. beto went over and congratulated ted. you see the picture there. this is a good thing for people to see. there's another dynamic duo that reunited this week. the 2012 republican dream team, paul ryan and mitt romney. the new senator from utah. well, look at the video. it's very moving. >> he said an old friend dropped by to ask directions to his office. giving that ryan is retiring, i hope he didn't lead him to the retirement office. >> laura: these are always these impromptu moment. there always just happens to be someone videoing it. >> i hate to interrupt you but we have breaking news, footage coming in there florida. exclusive footage from the broward county recount to share with you. ♪ >> is brenda snipes there in the background, laura? can you see her back there counting? somebody who knows how to count better be on the case there. they're studying the ballots, trying to distinguish the punch holes from the unmarked ballots. this is a disaster. >> laura: when someone spills coffee on the ballot and there's a little stain, you see this big magnifying glass, definitely a nelson vote. >> it counts. >> laura: all right, you have a great weekend. our latest in our defending the first series is next. a conservative legal group coming under attack from left-wing activists. here next to respond to the smear. stair there. to grand plan designers. pass to gastronomers, astronom, and new cinematographers. to wizards, to witches, to those who cross stitches. if you're a dreamer, big thinker, or discovery seeker. through these doors, more wonder awaits. nobody knows books like we do. barnes & noble. >> laura: time now for our defending the first series where we expose the enemies of the first amendment, free expression, and free thought. they played a role in 54 victories in front of the supreme court and defended families and marriages, but now they're being targeted by this disgusting billboard campaign in new york city's times square. caleb cade, a spokesman for the group behind the campaign, defending the smears, saying, quote, we want to remind people that there are still insidious forces at work against our community. here now to respond, senior counsel for alliance defending freedom. jeremy, i have a gay brother. i love him very much. i didn't like that sign at all. it's hideous. that is a group opposing your group. >> they're the most successful respected supreme court advocate in the country on first amendment rights. we've won nine cases in the last seven years. and that's only a snapshot of our work. we've won victories on college campuses. we defend churches all the time. and so our work is broad in scope. we do a lot of great work. we protect everybody's freedom. >> laura: so your point in the case is involving the gay movement would be religious freedom cases, is that right? >> yeah, those are religious freedom. they're really compelled speech cases. their ad completely misrepresents everything our case is about. >> laura: they want to get people's attention. >> our clients serve everyone. they just can't create art promoting every message. and that's the most important thing. jack phillips, we just won his case at the supreme court. he's a cake artist who declined to create a cake for a same-sex marriage. we support the rights of everybody. our wins are wins for everybody. we have represented gay clients, but we represent people from all faiths as well. so it's really important to understand we win cases for everybody. they're rights that we all benefit from. >> laura: the southern poverty law center figures in here because they've branded you a hate group. and they've put people like me and other conservative commentators on hit lists, which is despicable. and people hear southern poverty law center, think they that's the gold standard of civil rights organizations. i think that's not true. i want to put up a graphic. they have a lot of money. they do a big -- as you told me during the break, they have big mail solicitations. they get a lot of money from that. but how are they involved here? >> well, this group, the citizens for transparency, actually a very secretive group. they're just parroting the southern poverty law center's misinformation about us. what they do is they attack people who disagree with them. >> laura: conservative. it's an attempt to intimidate people from expressing themselves. we want more speech in this country. i like the fact that we have a first amendment. have your voice. respect each other in your conversation. but the idea of intimidating people -- i know they're not going to intimidate you. you've had a good record with the court. >> don't hide behind secrecy. don't be anonymous. we're happy to do that. >> laura: it turns out there is precedent to the losses. the 1982 midterms. just how ronald reagan turned it all around after that, next. of [ phone rings ] what?! ready for christmas? no, it's way too early to be annoyed by christmas. you just need some holiday spirit! that's it! this feud just went mobile. with xfinity xfi you get the best wifi experience at home. and with xfinity mobile, you get the best wireless coverage for your phone. ...you're about to find out! you don't even know where i live... hello! see the grinch in theaters by saying "get grinch tickets" into your xfinity x1 voice remote. a guy just dropped this off. he-he-he-he. >> laura: it's tough to find precedent when it comes to the donald trump presidency, but ed kilgore in new york magazine found an interesting parallel between the most interesting midterm losses for the gop and reagan's 1982 midterm losses. democrats won dozens of seats in the house, they also gained seven governorships. kilgore goes onto offer a warning, reminding us, quote, reagan rebounded and carried 49 states in his landslide re-election. >> indeed the passion of the fire that we kept burning doesn't die because four years have passed. to each one of you, i say tonight is the end of nothing. it's the beginning of everything. [chanting] >> laura: joining us now to tell us how to 40th president did it, reagan buying for craig shirley. no one's expecting trump to win 49 states in 2020. it's a different demographic landscape. but tell us about the lessons he might learn from reagan. >> well, what trump has to do is focus on the economy, laura. and that's -- most presidents in the 20th century, in the 25, 26 elections, only several presidents have been driven out of office. and two of those were anomalous because of the third-party candidates in 1912 and in 1992 with ross perot. the other presidents have all been elected because they focused mostly on the economy. and that's what reagan did in '84. by that time the cold war, the tide began to turn in the cold war and we were pushing the soviets out of other nations. americans generally don't like to throw their president out of office unless they have very good reason like 1932 with the the great depression. if i was advising donald trump, i would say focus on the economy, focus on the positive aspects of conservativism and republicanism which they didn't do in this previous election. i saw a lot of negative commercials. i saw very few commercials focusing on the concept of freedom and individual rights and privacy. >> laura: craig, we were talking earlier with newt about what happened in orange county in california. that was reagan country, of course. that's where reagan came from. the gop has been pretty much wiped out in orange county. the gop in california is down to a fraction of its former self. what about that? newt seemed pretty down on it. we don't really have any answers right now. >> what do you think? >> well, i disagree with newt. i think that the ideas, the fundamental ideas of american conservativism, individual rights, freedom, less government, more economic opportunities, all those things, those are superior ideas to the ideas to the left of collectivism, opportunity is a message that should resonate for all. and reagan -- in 1980 he got something like 43% of the hispanic vote. in '84 he repeated that. he was making overtures to the african-american community. that surely helped open the door with more moderate republicans. i think it's better to focus on the positive because donald trump has a lot of positive things to say about the american economy. isis has been basically driven from the front pages of the newspaper. in every measurable way, he's keeping his promises from 2016. >> laura: but what about the wall? there's a lot of concern that in this lame duck session the gop won't get anything done on, that which was one of his big campaign promises. >> sometimes you know as well as i do, laura, is that in a campaign sometimes it's good to have something to push against to demonstrate what you stand for versus what the opposition party stands for. and if he stays focused on the wall and doesn't give up on that as an issue, i think that in the end that'll be a winning issue for him. >> laura: thank you so much for joining us tonight. and a hilarious moment from president trump earlier today in tonight's last bite. stay there. >> laura: now it's time for "the last bite." president trump today awarding the medal of freedom to justice scalea and he had a funny moment with the late justice's wife. president trump: joining us for this ceremony is his wife, maureen, who has become a great friend of my family, myself. and their nine children, and gene johnson katherine mary claire, paul matthew, christopher and meg. you were very busy, wow. wow! i always knew i liked him. >> laura: i know the scalea family and that was a wonderful moment. the justice would have loved it. that's all the time we have tonight. fox take it from here. >> i'm in for shannon. we're following breaking news on the nation's highest contested midterm election battles raging. raising more questions about whether last week was really a blue wave. in georgia, abrams ended her campaign for governor by admitting that she can't beat the republican but she's refusing to call it a concession and she's also vowing legal action is coming, and in florida, sanchez is inching closer tonight to picking a chief-of-staff to start his transition to