[King:] Strong new, very strong news for U.S. economy this morning. The November jobs report showing a very robust labor market. New hiring last month that surpassed most economists' expectations. Investors clearly loving it, you see the DOW right there up 330 points investors cheering the good news. It's also welcome news for the President as he argues the economy is strong enough to withstand trade tensions and as he gears up, of course, for the 2020 campaign. The numbers first from CNN's Christine Romans.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Chief Business Correspondent:] John, strengthen labor market catching some economists by surprise. 266,000 net new jobs in November that blows away expectations. And the prior two months were also revised higher, what this tells us is companies were a little more confident than many economists had thought in the fall and in fact continued to higher at a pretty brisk pace. That brought the unemployment rate back down to 3.5 percent, still the lowest in 50 years. 3.5 percent is nearing really full employment in this country. It should mean that anyone who wants a job has a job, and companies are really looking for workers. Where are the sectors? Where is the hiring? Health care, again a very strong part of the economy 45,000 jobs there, John 414,000 jobs over the past year. Make no mistake, health care is a really important job driver in this country right now. Professional tax services and manufacturing look at that big manufacturing number. What's that all about? GM and Auto production after the GM strike ended, a lot of those workers went back. 41,000 of those jobs on the very far right of your screen are GM workers so manufacturing bouncing back because of the end of the GM strike. John?
[King:] Thanks to Christine Romans. Damien Polato [Ph] with "The Washington Post" joins our conversation. It's a wow report if you look at it in the sense that even a lot of accounts have been worried. Trade tensions with China, the uncertainty about the U.S.-Mexico- Canada trade agreement, the global slowdown. Yet the U.S. economy-
[Unidentified Male:] Absolutely, I mean, it's amazing that a few months ago, a lot of people thought a recession was likely in the middle of the 2020 campaign, and now the labor markets really plowing ahead the consumer spending is really strong, the stock market have been really high. And a lot those things seem to be moving in the right direction for the President. He is really trying to set this counter narrative right? With the impeachment going on over here, he is trying to say look at the economy that I've delivered for everybody, you need to support me in 2020. As far as that and as far as today goes, it was a really good day for him.
[King:] In the sense of that, as we go into the campaign, I mean, what is the Democratic argument? I saw Governor Patrick on earlier saying well a lot of people are still working lower wage jobs, minimum wage jobs. A lot of families were stressed and have to work two or three jobs. But when you're the President of the United States, you can say 3.5 percent unemployment. The economy adding 200,000-plus jobs on average now, it's hard.
[Phillip:] It is hard, but I do think this is the rationale for the populace Democrats and progressives in the race. The Bernie's they're talking about things like college affordability, and about universal health care in part because even while people might have jobs, do they feel like they could afford things that you might have previously associated with the middle class. Is that a sense of a hammer hanging over your head something making you sick the next day, holding you back from feeling like the economy is doing really well for you. I think people acknowledge largely these numbers as you see them on paper, but there is some real anxieties in middle and lower class America that some of these Democratic candidates are trying to speak to. And the report in "The Washington Post" about the Trump campaign, trying to come up with some kind of student loan plan also speaks to the fact that they know that this is a really transient issue for voters. The voters are employed but can they go to college? Are they burdened by student debt? Do they feel like they can afford to have their kids go to college? I don't think this issue is going away any time soon.
[King:] It will be a fight, but if you're an incumbent President regardless of party you love the fact that you are 50 year low in unemployment the job created we'll see if it continues. There are some stresses, if you look at some swing states and you look at manufacturing jobs in some of those swing states, it has been a tough year for manufacturing. If you look at Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio, manufacturing jobs down in those places, are all key to the President's 2016 map and his 2020 reelection plans. The President has some big decisions to make in the middle of these trade negotiations with China. This was his take just yesterday.
[Donald Trump, President Of The United States:] We'll have to see, but right now we're moving along. We're not discussing that, but we're having major discussions. On December 15th, something could happen, but we're not discussing that yet. We're having very good discussions with China, however.
[King:] Very muted in his language there. Sometimes he gets more spicy when talking trade, he gets more confrontational. But it is a big decision. His argument has been, and on the trade issue he's been the most consistent even more consistent than immigration. His argument has been, yes, it hurts farmers, yes, it hurts ranchers, yes, it hurts some of my voters, but we have to do this, stand up to China. The economy is strong enough to get through it. Today's report would suggest, on that point at least he's right.