Ari Fleischer reacts to Trump's UK visit

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Ari Fleischer reacts to Trump's UK visit

Queen Elizabeth welcomes President Trump with state dinner at Buckingham Palace; former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer reacts.

This is a rush transcript from "Your World," June 3, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: All right, welcome, everybody. I'm Neil Cavuto, and this is "Your World."

And we didn't want to cut away until they cut away. And they just cut away from a dinner honoring president of the United States' royal visit and royal treatment for the president of the United States, for the queen, the third president she has so honored.

It is a big day and a big event. There are the protests. It comes with the territory. But there are also some promising signs in what was once deemed to be sort of a tested relationship. It is still tested on trade issues, on political issues, on climate change issues.

But when it comes to our common bonds, these two countries, which used to be far, far, far apart, when they were once one together -- of course, we got our independence, and then we have got really a nice ally in it for each of us.

The fallout from all of this and what is in store now for a president who has a very busy week ahead of him, to John Roberts in London with more.

John, what's next on the agenda?

JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Relationships are never easy, are they, Neil. Sometimes, you agree with each other.  Sometimes, you don't agree with each other. Sometimes, you have a big fight and then you get back together again.

But I think that the state dinner tonight in Buckingham Palace behind me again shows just how enduring the relationship between the United States and Britain really is. The fact that President Trump has gotten so much criticism by so many politicians here in the U.K., and the queen is saying, I don't care what any of you say, I think it's important to have President Trump over for a state visit.

And this is only the third time that the queen has given a state visit or at least so honored a United States president with a state visit. It was President Bush in November of 2003, President Obama in 2011, and now President Trump in 2019.

And the queen's words, as she was giving her toast -- and you see her standing there -- that she -- a lot of it was about D-Day and the shared sacrifice of trying to liberate France and the rest of Europe from the Nazi stronghold, but also saying that: "We are bound by the strength and depth of our economic ties. And, as we look to the future, I'm sure that our common values and shared interests will continue to unite us."

And the president returning the compliment to the queen as well, saying there is so much that binds together the United States and the U.K.

And we will see that for the rest of this evening, at least. We have seen, though, in other corners the divisions that I talked about. The London mayor and the president have never had any kind of a good relationship.

Jeremy Corbyn, who is the leader of the Labor Party and a person who could, depending on how the next few months go, wind up as prime minister, though it's probably highly unlikely that he would, doesn't like the president at all, is going to be speaking to one of the big protests that will be protesting the president's presence here tomorrow.

So that's another person that doesn't like the fact that the president is here. And we see a lot of protesters out in the streets tonight. We will see some tomorrow as well. But the very fact that the president and the queen can come to common ground on this ceremonious occasion here at the palace tonight, and then the solemn ceremonies that will take place in the next few days at Portsmouth on Wednesday, which is the part, the port in the U.K., where all of the allied forces departed from, bound for the beaches of Normandy.

And then the president in Normandy on the 6th, which will be the 75th anniversary of D-Day, to give praise and to honor those who fought and gave their lives to dislodge the Nazis from France and then start the drive toward Berlin.

It is a very, very special occasion here tonight, despite the fact, Neil, that some people believe that the queen should never have done this. The president will have meetings tomorrow with Theresa May, their last time together before Theresa May steps down as the prime minister, several issues of great importance on the table, Brexit, trade.

The president doesn't like the fact that the U.K. is going to use Chinese- made Huawei components and its 5G system. So those two will have a lot to talk about as they speak together for the last time. So still lots ahead, even though today is winding down here in the U.K. -- Neil.

CAVUTO: All right, John Roberts, a veteran of these events, thank you very much, my friend.

Now Benjamin Hall. He's in London, where these protests over the president's visit have already started.

What it's looking like there, Ben?

BENJAMIN HALL, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Neil. Yes, the protests have started.

But I have to say that they weren't nearly as big today as the protesters hoped they might be. In fact, I believe there's just one lone protester behind me who is protesting President Trump's banquet and his attendance at that banquet.

But it is tomorrow where we're expecting the real protesters to come out.  And their estimates are up to 250,000 people who might take to the streets of London.  But it's not just among the people where the protests are taking place. It's also among some of the higher political echelons.

And we have seen, as we just heard there from John Roberts, Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn speaking out, but also the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who has had a longstanding feud with President Trump here. He spoke earlier today. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SADIQ KHAN, MAYOR OF LONDON: The thing about a best friend is, of course, you stand shoulder to shoulder with them at times of adversity, but you have got to call them out when you think they're wrong.

And there are so many things about President Donald Trump's policies that are the antithesis of our values in London, plus our values as a country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HALL: President Trump, though, hit back very quickly after that, saying: "Sadiq Khan, who by all accounts has done a terrible job as mayor of London, has been foolishly nasty to the visiting president of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom. He is a stone-cold loser, who should focus on crime in London, not me."

Security across London has, of course, been incredibly high, as it as with any presidential visit; $35 million is what the security operation has cost. The U.K. government have brought in another 10,000 officers to London to help with it.

And that giant blimp which we saw last year depicting President Trump as a baby has been given permission to fly again tomorrow, been given permission by Sadiq Khan.

At the same time, there are people who are saying that all these protests are rather shortsighted, especially as the U.K. is at such a crossroads with Brexit, and at a time when relationships with the U.S. are so important. And many people tomorrow will be listening out for some mention of a free trade deal.

President Trump has said so in the past, and certainly, if Brexit goes ahead and the U.S. is there and President Trump is willing to offer something like that, that will be huge step forward.

The other big question is whether or not he offers some kind of endorsement for the future leader, the future prime minister this country. We don't know that, though he is meeting with Prime Minister May just days before she stands down. So he comes at a very interesting time -- Neil.

CAVUTO: Benjamin, you are remarkable, my friend, in the face of all of that. Turns out your lungs are more powerful than his, but great perseverance, Benjamin Hall, reporting live from London.

All right, now the take on all this is Brooke Rogers from The New York Post. We have got former Florida Republican Congressman Allen West, business developer Tom Meoli (ph).

Brooke, let me get your take on timing of protests. I understand it. It's everyone's right to protest a visit in free countries. But I just think of this week in general, this being the 75th anniversary of Normandy, that maybe , maybe, in this environment, at this time, a visiting president of the United States, bring it down a bit.

No matter how you feel about Donald Trump, it just seems, this particular week, this particular anniversary, rude.

BROOKE ROGERS, THE NEW YORK POST: Yes, I think that he's coming in an incredibly tumultuous time. As was said before, Theresa May is stepping down this week.

I think that tensions in Britain in general are very hot, so maybe that he is getting a little -- a little shade off of that. It's true that it's probably not an appropriate time. At the same time, this is -- people have very strong feelings about it.

I think that people -- the British people are very frustrated with their own government in general. And we're seeing a lot of that in terms of Theresa May has been kind of the face of dysfunction in Britain right now.

CAVUTO: Right.

ROGERS: And I think that with her stepping down this week and Trump coming in and the D-Day anniversary, it was kind of a perfect storm.

CAVUTO: Yes, I think you're right about it.

By the way, I misidentified some of the guests coming in. That's my fault.

Susan Crabtree of RealClearPolitics now.

Susan, what do you make of these protests? And I always stress, I mean, if you're very passionate to protest, you're passionate. And I get that. And I know that. And I know there are a lot of people who either love Donald Trump or hate Donald Trump, but he is the American president. He does represent this country.

And almost any other time, public protests are fine, but not to allow them to speak in Parliament, that's their call. They just dismissed Parliament, so that it wouldn't even be an issue. And some of this other stuff going on in the city of London, I know the back and forth with that city's mayor and this president go back sometime.

But I just think that this is a week where we kind of let bygones be bygones. Your thoughts?

SUSAN CRABTREE, REALCLEARPOLITICS: Well, you would think so, with the 75th anniversary of Normandy, that this is a special alliance that we need to be celebrating right now.

But you do have a jump ball, with Theresa May leaving.

CAVUTO: You're right.

CRABTREE: And you have Democrats clamoring to score political points with their base. You have Jeremy Corbyn, who's going to be leading these protests. He did so last year, when President Trump came. There were 250,000 people in London.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: I forgot about that. You're right. You're absolutely right.

CRABTREE: Yes. So this is sort of a redux with that.

But you have the same going on in our country right now. You have a huge Democratic field clamoring for position. So you had them out in California last week taking potshots at the president and calling for impeachment.

So sort of a parallel universe going on right now, but you would hope that that -- that politics would end at the water's edge. It has not. Trump is not afraid to punch back and meddle in British politics, as we have seen over the years. And he's going to take some heat from that because of it.

CAVUTO: Well, it's the old thing. I separate my teenage sons with this.  He started it. Look, both of you are going to your room without supper, which, for me, would have been a fatal call.

But, Allen West, I'm looking at this right now and this thriving relationship, despite all the controversies, and now a government that is wrestling with who the next prime minister will be and a party trying to choose that.

We do know one thing. Whether it's Nigel Farage, who we know comes through this, or Boris Johnson, these are populist figures who very much relate to and some say planted the seeds for Donald Trump himself and his election a couple years back.

So, something is in the European waters there that very closely mirror the populist positions this president has taken. I don't know who came first or who is -- who drove this first. But it is a phenomena that you can't ignore.

I'm looking at the president's own approval ratings, weak as they are deemed in this country. They are a lot stronger than certainly his host's, certainly the French president, certainly the German chancellor, the Italian premier, and I could go on and on. What happened?

ALLEN WEST, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Neil, it's good to be with you.

And as a son of a man who fought in World War II, I was also there in Europe standing against the Soviet Union specter with British soldiers and also stood with British soldiers in Helmand Province down in Afghanistan.

I think it's very important that we understand those ties that bring us together against the specters of Nazism and the Soviet Union and also Islamic jihadism. And that's what we should be focused on.

When I look at what is happening with President Trump and in Europe, in the U.K., you have people that rejected that collectivist body politic called the European Union. And I think that the Brits need to understand that, right now, as they go forward, one of their best trade partners can be the United States of America to help them with their economic growth and prosperity.

And I think you're seeing a lot more of that populist movement, if you want to call it that, across Europe. We seen it in Brazil with their new president as well, where the people want to be focused upon for their own, let's say, manifest destiny, instead of these collectivist globalist viewpoints.

CAVUTO: Brooke Rogers, I'm wondering, for the president, who obviously has gained some stature through this whole tumultuous two years of his presidency here, where the United States is the economic envy of the world, now, he is certainly going to play that up that.

And to an earlier view that is the United States that could prove that trading linchpin for Britain if it's left on its own or leaves the European Union without a deal, I'm just wondering how that will all come together, if it comes together at all.

ROGERS: I mean, I think the fact that the United States and the U.K. at this time are still in communication with each other, you have -- you have figures like Mayor Khan who have been very vocal in their opposition to Trump.

But when it comes down to it, the major figures still are in communication with Trump, and it will depend a lot on who the next prime minister is. We have seen both the Labor Party and the Conservative Party taking huge hits because of the Brexit mess, and the Brexit Party has flown to the front.

So I think that whoever the next prime minister is, if they can work with Trump, with whoever comes around in 2020, I think that it will continue.

CAVUTO: All right.

ROGERS: I think it can be a smooth transition.

CAVUTO: You don't know. You don't. We will see.

I wish we had more time, guys. I want to thank you very, very much.

We're following a couple developments. They're having their dinner right now. And what a dinner, what a spread it is. Everyone's getting the same meal, although it's not your chicken or beef. It's across the board.

We will get into the details on that, get into the trade frictions that underlay this and where the United States might play a savior for Britain, but when it comes to what's happening in China and Mexico, maybe not so much.

More after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD GRENELL, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO GERMANY: The talk of Europe right now is, how do I get a part of the U.S. economy?

I hear from business leaders all over Germany, all over Europe constantly who say, what can I do to be a part of the economy? And, gee, I wish our economy was like this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: All right, that was Rick Grenell earlier with me on Fox Business Network talking about the fact that everyone wants to do business with the United States.

That is very true. So, when it's in peril, as it seems to be right now, of getting a China trade deal done, and now that we have upped the ante, going after the Mexicans and putting 5 percent tariffs on a lot of goods that they import to us -- or export to us -- we import from them -- there are big questions here whether this could continue.

I want to show you something that indicates how fractured this give and take has hit our economy and the fear of a global slowdown. This is a look at a 10-year treasury note. Now, without getting arcane here, it is down to 2.08 percent.

Now, to put that in perspective, it was at a little north of 2.5 percent not more than a couple of weeks ago. That tells you something, that people are running to the safety of treasury bonds and notes because they're fretful of the slowdown going on in the economy and at least a safe place to park money if the stock market's going to have a rout.

And for the Nasdaq today, it slipped into correction territory, in other words, falling now better than 10 percent from its highs reached on April 30. The Dow and the S&P 500, they're down about 7 percent or so from their highs.

But that correction stop for the Nasdaq jarred a lot of folks rich in technology issues that have been taking it on the chin maybe because of concerns about what's happening in China and how this growing trade friction could develop into something worse, and, of course -- and we will get into this in a bit -- antitrust investigations into them.

We got Ann Berry joining us. We got Jonas Max Ferris.

Ann, the fear seems to be that a slowdown is now almost a given, and the Federal Reserve seems to be, at least from one district president, greasing the skids for just that. What do you think?

ANN BERRY, FINANCIAL ANALYST: Well, I think the good news is that the Fed made it very clear earlier this year that their policy is very much watch and see. They're going to be responsive to the market.

So, in as much as we have seen noises that the Fed is watching very closely what's going off -- into the trade environment, I think that's good news.  But, nevertheless, as you said, Neil, I think the unexpected nature of some of these trade moves has really rattled the market.

And seeing that yield curve inversion just adds to the fear of a recession coming.

CAVUTO: You know, this isn't just a little bit of a drop, Jonas, in interest rates. This is a big drop.

Now, the flip side of that, it's going to make buying a home a lot more affordable. I mean, the 30-year mortgage now is at 3.99 percent. So there is that. Which benefits then?

JONAS MAX FERRIS, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, they're watching it and seeing how much damage they did raising short-term rates too early, too high last year.

That is a benefit. And that's the self-correcting benefit, that it's so much cheaper now to refinance a mortgage, because that slowed down too a few months ago and last year, when rates were high, or just buy a new home.

The problem is, people are -- consumers and investors are actually both kind of fearful right now, and not dying to go buy a new home, even though it's cheaper now on a monthly basis than it was just even a few weeks ago, leave alone last year.

And hopefully those things will keep us out of a recession, as will the current state of tax breaks and tax cuts that went into effect.

I got to say, the tariff war gets a lot of presses as what is the drag right now and why interest rates are going down, investors are scared. I think it's like number three after the tech area problems, which really what was driving the market higher anyway.

CAVUTO: Right.

FERRIS: And also the Brexit situation is much worse than a somewhat temporary trade war that can be ended just as quickly. That has no real end in sight and no -- and is a much more serious intertwining of countries than even NAFTA, which we're fixing, basically.

CAVUTO: No, I agree with that.

But, Ann, I am wondering whether you factor in a slowdown into your thinking and that people have to readjust. I mean, we have been fooled before, when we have these hiccups that turn out to be buying opportunities.

What do you think?

BERRY: Yes, I think that's right.

I think the key to this, though, Neil, is looking at this on a sector-by- sector basis, because you still see some elements of the economy that are continuing to do exceptionally well. Where you're seeing slowdown is in retail earnings, for example. When you look at the manufacturing data, we're now at levels that we last saw in 2016.

Tech, we are thinking is regulatory issues. But if you actually look at earnings and if you look at the upticks in their fundamental business models, you're still seeing enormous growth where innovation is leading the way.

CAVUTO: All right, guys, I want to thank you both very, very much.

The Dow barely budging today, but, as I said, the Nasdaq in correction territory.

In the meantime, we have got the queen holding a state dinner for the president of the United States, only the third time she has done this, for George Bush. She did this for right now -- Barack Obama, now Donald Trump, but she's met presidents going back to Eisenhower.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: You know, this statistic amazes me. This is only the third time in her 67 years on the throne that Queen Elizabeth is hosting a state dinner for an American president.

The previous times were with President George W. Bush, then President Barack Obama. So that's a pretty important event, when you consider the queen has similarly met with almost every U.S. president since Eisenhower, met, I believe as a princess, Harry Truman.

But look at that history of that longevity through all of these years.

Former White House Secretary, Press Secretary, for President George W. Bush Ari Fleischer here.

Ari, good to see you.

Did you join the president for that trip back then?

ARI FLEISCHER, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: I went on the one where he had the luncheon with the queen. I was gone from the White House by the time we had the dinner with the queen.

CAVUTO: OK.

FLEISCHER: The dinner is a whole lot fancier.

CAVUTO: Yes, it looks pretty fancy and all that.

But they have got the pomp and...

(CROSSTALK)

FLEISCHER: But lunch at Buckingham Palace still isn't bad.

CAVUTO: Well, no, that certainly beats the House of Pancakes for me.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: But I'm wondering, how are these things doled out? I don't want to be crass about it, but the same way I guess state dinners in the United States and at the White House.

Does it depend on the leader, the timing of the leader, what?

FLEISCHER: It does depend on the leader.

It really is, when -- especially for the foreign leader coming to the White House, it really is up to the president how much pomp and circumstance to put out. Of course, we can't compare to the British in how much pomp and circumstance they can put out.

CAVUTO: Right.

FLEISCHER: But, on the receiving end, I really don't know what would make a monarch in Britain say, we will do this or we will do that. I really do think it's their individual call. They get to make that decision.

It's a state decision, not a governmental decision, the state monarchy being separate from the government, the prime minister.

CAVUTO: So we're talking at the time that, it's the mid-2000s, or I forget when it was for President Bush. And she has been in power prior to that for 40-plus years.

FLEISCHER: Yes.

CAVUTO: And only then started honoring a U.S. president or two others sense in this manner.

So, something must have captivated her about your old boss, about Barack Obama, about Donald Trump. What was it?

FLEISCHER: It's rather remarkable, isn't it?

And while I wouldn't presume to speak for the queen and to indicate why she would do that, perhaps it was just time and -- time spent getting used to be the queen, when she can step out and do her own.

CAVUTO: No you can speculate They're eating now. I have it on good authority they're not even hearing here you now. So go ahead.

(LAUGHTER)

FLEISCHER: Well, I still wouldn't presume to speak for the queen.

CAVUTO: There you go. Right.

FLEISCHER: But I will say this, Neil.

There is something magical about Buckingham Palace and the whole pomp and circumstance of the British government. I loved the White House. The White House is as grand as it gets in America, but there's a simple elegance to the White House.

You go to the Buckingham Palace, you go to the royal trappings of the monarchies of Europe, it is a grandeur that we cannot imagine in this country. And, certainly, London, Buckingham Palace have it all, other places, castles that the queen has at her disposal.

It's -- it really is literally majestic. And as a White House staffer, there's a sense of awe being there, going through that first gigantic gate, and then going into that courtyard where you enter, the gigantic double staircase in Buckingham Palace. It's just a splendor.

CAVUTO: No, I agree. It's startling to watch.

I looked at that well-manicured lawn, I thought, boy, that's a perfect place for a bocce ball court. But they obviously didn't do that.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: But I'm curious your final take on the timing of this and whether the queen senses -- she's shrewd politically as well, and I don't want to be cynical about it -- that, given this Brexit issue, where Britain could go either way, they're going to need the United States too, right?

FLEISCHER: We always will need England. England will always need us.  That's the beauty of our relationship.

And just listening to the national anthem today, it struck me, we broke away from them in 1776.

CAVUTO: That's true.

FLEISCHER: And to go to those places now, which existed then, and here our national anthem played, it just shows you how close our two countries are, no matter who the leaders are.

And that's the sign of eternal bonds. That is what unites two countries.

CAVUTO: Yes, I think we're visiting the Abbey today. And it was built in the year 960. I mean, their definition of old is a tad different than ours, isn't it?

Ari Fleischer, thank you very, very much. Always good seeing you.

FLEISCHER: Thank you, Neil.

CAVUTO: All right. The protests against the president notwithstanding, it's pretty tame, compared to what some Democratic presidential hopefuls are dealing with from fellow Democrats -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, we are just getting news now.

The House Oversight Reform Committee is holding Attorney General William Barr, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt of Congress for defying the panel's subpoena for information on that citizenship question on the census.

We will have more after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, there's something in the water globally, because these protesters in London have nothing right now on those within the Democratic Party who are protesting, well, themselves.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN HICKENLOOPER, D-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If we want to beat Donald Trump, and achieve big progressive goals, socialism is not the answer.

(BOOING)

JOHN DELANEY, D-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Medicare for all may sound good, but it's actually not good policy, nor is it good politics.

(BOOING)

DELANEY: I'm telling you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: All right, on the first one, you really had to hear the boos.  That was the money kind of shot. Can you call audio a money shot? but that's what I just did.

So, the Democrats in that confab there were screaming about that, that, no, no, no, Medicare for all not a crazy concept, some of these other initiatives, the socialism thing, not a crazy concept.

Democratic strategist Jess Tarlov at the war of the party's soul there. We have got The Wall Street Journal's Bill McGurn and Republican strategist Alexandra Wilkes.

Let me ask you about that, that these guys were booed for saying something that didn't sound all that crazy.

JESSICA TARLOV, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Yes.

CAVUTO: Medicare for all might not be the answer. Socialism isn't the future.

What did you think?

TARLOV: I wasn't altogether surprised because of the people who were delivering that message.

So, John Hickenlooper and John Delaney are both obviously running for president, but they're not doing particularly well in the polls. If you saw the reception that Kamala Harris or Elizabeth Warren, who are advocating for those policies, but are higher up, I would say, in the positive Democratic field category right now...

CAVUTO: So, they're wanting to stand out?

TARLOV: I think that they want to run centrist campaigns, which is how they believe that we're going to win the White House back. And they're being true to those policies.

But if you even look at -- and I know that Joe Biden wasn't there because he was at the Human Rights Campaign dinner. But Joe Biden is not advocating for Medicare for all either.

CAVUTO: Right.

TARLOV: He's talking about making smart reforms to Obamacare.

CAVUTO: Right. Bernie Sanders made note of his absence.

TARLOV: He did. But Bernie is struggling right now. And I get his game there.

CAVUTO: OK.

TARLOV: So I think it's a lot more about the person who's delivering the message, and California obviously being a far left...

CAVUTO: No, I get that.

One of the things you have to actually -- if someone who has the crazy view that maybe socialism or talking about it might not be our party's future, that's -- that's kind of weird.

BILL MCGURN, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Yes, I think, look, someone in either party who said this just 10 years ago wouldn't have been regarded as controversial.

In fact, I think many Democrats used to resent when Republicans put the socialist label on them. Look, I think the problem is that a lot of people in the party are for it. Maybe -- maybe most of the people in the party for it, and then others fear that that's going to cost them the election.

CAVUTO: What do you think, Alexandra?

ALEXANDRA WILKES, AMERICA RISING CORP.: Well, I think it really illustrates actually the rock and a hard place that the front-runner, Joe Biden, is in, because on the one hand he's lying low, he's sort of taking the events he wants to take, and trying to run the centrist general election campaign.

On the other hand, he's skipping an event which, in California, now an early state in the Democratic primary process, a ton of delegates on the table. And I think that...

CAVUTO: Are those -- they're apportioned, right, when they do have Super Tuesday?

TARLOV: Yes. Yes.

But also Joe Biden was at the Human Rights Campaign event, an organization that he has supported for many, many years, and no one is faulting Joe Biden for being there instead of it at the California...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Well, Bernie Sanders did.

WILKES: He was in the state...

(CROSSTALK)

TARLOV: No one who is going to be voting or deciding this election, even though Bernie's vote counts, obviously.

WILKES: He was in the state of Ohio, though. That's a general election state, not a state in the Democratic primary -- or Democratic primary early on.

CAVUTO: Well, is it your sense that it's a mistake, period?

You argue that the party is sounding crazy, right?

WILKES: Yes.

I mean, I think that this is a total shift from what we have seen from Democrats just even in the last 20 years or so. This used to be the party of Bill Clinton. Now we have people...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: I have told you this before. I don't think Bill Clinton could get nominated in this party now.

TARLOV: I don't think so, no. I mean, certainly in the conversations we're having right now about the crime bill, Defense of Marriage Act, those kinds of things, that would absolutely not pass muster.

CAVUTO: Does that worry you, as someone who wants to see a Democrat elected?

TARLOV: It doesn't worry me, because people evolve. And we have seen that. We saw that with Hillary's nomination as well and the resounding support that she got across the board, that people understand that there is evolution, and that it's smart to do that, because times do change, and that if you own it...

CAVUTO: Well, but I don't know if moderating positions are part of that evolution.

TARLOV: But they are, because if you look at...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: So, you think they're going to have a moderate nominee?

TARLOV: I do. It looks like it right now.

In the pulling out today, Joe Biden is maintaining a 19-point lead over Bernie Sanders.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Bill, as you tell me, that's very early.

MCGURN: Yes.

Look, the question is, yes, I think they'd be better off with a moderate nominee. But if Joe Biden throws off all the positions that made him a moderate, I mean, the crime bill for one, and then also the Hyde amendment, he was supposed to be a moderate, what's going to be left of Joe Biden the moderate, assuming he wins the nomination?

TARLOV: Well, his climate plan, his health care plan are not to the far left.

MCGURN: It's just less -- it's just a few trillion.

(CROSSTALK)

MCGURN: I mean, the favorite word among the nominees is trillion, because they spend all this.

CAVUTO: Right.

But the passionate part of the base is also the part that would get out and vote, right?

TARLOV: Well, absolutely.

But if you go back to the midterms, when 35 of the 40 seats that we picked up are in these moderate...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: I have said that on the weekends with you, that you're quite right.

(CROSSTALK)

TARLOV: I know. We have a great time talking moderation on Saturdays, and now we will do it on a Monday.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: All right, but you don't think that -- in other words, that cooler, calmer, we want to win heads will prevail?

TARLOV: I think so.

Electability is the number one thing that everybody says they're looking for.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Well, Democrats screwed that up in '72 with McGovern.  Electability wasn't an issue, right? They just went with their passion and they got their pants beat.

MCGURN: I think that's hard for all parties.

CAVUTO: I know. You're right.

MCGURN: People have different principles. And they believe them.

It's really hard. They don't like being told on either party, compromise your principles to get someone elected. I do think whoever is nominated will get the support of the party, because they do want to beat Trump, but getting there may leave someone really battered.

CAVUTO: You need to be jazzed, right? You need to be jazzed.

TARLOV: You absolutely do. But if you look at the constituencies that are backing Joe Biden right now, the African-American community is quite jazzed about him.

We have moderates all over the country, like the ones who got us 2018, who are jazzed about it. It's a long way out. But I don't think that John Delaney or John Hickenlooper getting booed at this is some harbinger of disaster to come for Democrats that are running as moderates.

WILKES: But it wasn't just Hickenlooper and Delaney who were being critical of some Democrats. It was Warren who -- and Bernie who were tacitly being critical and Joe Biden.

CAVUTO: And stand up for that crime bill, for God's sake. It was a good measure.

WILKES: Joe Biden was talking -- or -- sorry -- Elizabeth Warren was talking about how it's not the time for small ideas, but big ideas. That's directly opposite what Joe Biden is talking about, a status quo.

CAVUTO: All right, we have a lot more coming up, including that a ship has come in that, a fat, out-of-shape guy who takes the heavyweight championship of the world from a guy who was built like Adonis.

Proof, as I have always told you, that all the donuts you can eat will not stop you from becoming the athletic king of the world -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, we told you a little bit earlier, we're finding out a little more, that House Democrats are holding the attorney general, William Barr, and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt of Congress for defying a panel's subpoena for information about that citizenship question in the 2020 census, said it didn't belong there. What was the germ for that?

The Washington Examiner's Tiana Lowe on all of this.

Tiana, where is this going?

TIANA LOWE, THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER: It just goes to show Democrats -- this is an extreme thing to be challenging the Trump administration on.

The notion that our census should reflect the amount of legal immigrants we have here, the number of actual citizens that we have, in order to properly apportion seats in the House of Representatives, this shouldn't be a controversial thing that they're doing.

But this isn't just a case of Democrats wanting to stonewall the Trump administration. This is them sort of showing their commitment to having illegal immigrants represented in our voting records.

CAVUTO: Well, the one thing I thought about this, because I know we used to have this question years ago in census questions.

I would want to get to the bottom of, why was it taken off in the first place? That could be a separate area, but, nevertheless, they're wanting to look for what was the genesis for putting this question back in there.

Do we even know whether it's bad or good? I mean, whatever your feelings are, do we know how it got back in there? And does it matter?

LOWE: It really materially shouldn't matter, because the explicit legal intention of the question is to make sure that citizens are represented in the House, to make sure that we are not inappropriately allocating extra representation towards people who are not legal citizens of this country.

This is not an extreme position. This is not about rounding up illegal immigrants. This is not about deporting dreamers. This is simply making sure that legal citizens and the legal immigrants have their proper representation in Congress.

CAVUTO: If you're illegal, why would you even fill out the form one way or the other, whether it asks for your place of birth or whether you're an American citizen or not?

LOWE: So, obviously, if you are -- not to generalize, if you're, say, an illegal immigrant in a state like California, which openly wants to provide socialized -- which openly wants to provide Medi-Cal...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: This would be a way to get that. This would be a way to get that.

LOWE: Yes, this could be a way to enhance your representation, particularly from the Democratic Party, in a national level.

CAVUTO: All right, Tiana, thank you very, very much, The Washington Examiner's Tiana Lowe.

We have a lot more coming up, including more from the first lady and the president of the United States right now enjoying dinner at Buckingham Palace, the third president to be so honored. We will have an update from London after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, they're eating dinner right now in Her Majesty's kingdom with Her Majesty there at the main table.

We're talking about the president and Mrs. Trump, Melania Trump, being feted like royalty in London.

FOX Business Network's Ed Lawrence has been getting updates constantly, updates us right now -- Ed.

EDWARD LAWRENCE, FOX NEWS BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, exactly, Neil.

Yes, the president there with his wife, his family, the royal family at that state banquet. The queen only holds about two state visits per year.

So, this on the significance level, is pretty high. Three U.S. presidents have this distinction, President Bush in 2003, President Obama in 2011, and now President Trump here.

Now, within the last hour, the queen of England toasted the United States.  Listen.  

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUEEN ELIZABETH II, UNITED KINGDOM: While the world has changed, we are forever mindful of the original purpose of these structures, nations working together to safeguard a hard-won peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: And in -- during his toast, the president talked about the enduring bonds between the U.S. and the United Kingdom.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: On behalf of all Americans, I offer a toast to the eternal friendship of our people, the vitality of our nations, and to the long- cherished and truly remarkable reign of Her Majesty, the queen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: And, tomorrow, President Trump will be meeting business roundtable leaders -- business leaders at a roundtable with Prime Minister Theresa May.

She wants to talk about climate change with the president. The president wants to talk about your trade and the security risk of Huawei -- back to you, Neil.

CAVUTO: All right, thank you very much, my friend, Ed Lawrence.

These have been tough times for the Brits, if you think about it, obviously trying to separate from the rest of the Europe. That's gotten to be almost impossible. The prime minister is on her way out. We don't know who's going to replace her. They're wondering about where they're going to drive up business.

And their British boxing champ, the sort of the envy of the world, the man who united all the heavyweight titles under one belt, was beaten by a guy who looks like me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: You know, if boxing were as big as it was some years ago, when Buster Douglas stunned the world and knocked out Mike Tyson, or out of the blue Muhammad Ali beat this monster called George Foreman, this would have gotten front-page play and been known everywhere.

Andy Ruiz, a journeymen, as they like to say, a Mexican boxer by descent, doesn't look like fit as a fiddle. Maybe that's in the eye of the beholder. And who am I to judge? But I'm telling you, this guy is now my hero.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Because, out of nowhere, a guy who looks like me -- actually, I look a tad better than this dude.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: He took down the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world, who, as I said, was a 12-1 favorite. And he made it look easy.

Comedian, and boxing historian, radio host Joe Piscopo with us now.

But you and I can remember when something like this would have been everywhere.

JOE PISCOPO, COMEDIAN: I love -- why am I working out?

CAVUTO: I know. Exactly.

PISCOPO: Why am I even bothering?

Look at this guy.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: You know what curling is for me? Like some sandwiches.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: It's Snickers bars, right?

PISCOPO: Yes, Snickers bars.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: That's part of his gig.

PISCOPO: There it is right there.

CAVUTO: But this guy just beat him to a pulp.

PISCOPO: I know. I love it.

I hear these -- my boxing friends told me he's got quick hands like that.  But it's -- I'm working out. I'm dieting.

CAVUTO: Right, right, right.

PISCOPO: I'm trying to be chiseled and ripped and everything. This guy shows up.

And I said, this...

CAVUTO: Well, I talked to doctors about this who were saying, you know, you know how you look has nothing to do with how fit you are.

I said, well, thank goodness.

(LAUGHTER)

PISCOPO: And you know Britain's just hating this whole thing.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: They finally have -- go back to Joe Bugner days. They had a champ who then takes one title after another.

PISCOPO: Yes.

CAVUTO: He was treated like a rock star.

PISCOPO: I know. And this guy Joshua, he fills 90,000 at Wembley.

CAVUTO: Oh, yes, he sold out.

PISCOPO: So, we get a royal treatment to President Trump, which they can't stand.

CAVUTO: Oh, yes.

PISCOPO: And now an American, a Mexican-American, beats their number one star. I say. I say.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: And it's true. He eats a candy bar before every match and after it, apparently during.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: And it wasn't even close.

PISCOPO: Can I tell you a secret on this show, because I love you and it's great to see you?

When I -- if I have to rush into the early morning radio, this is -- and this -- only because it's made in Jersey, M&M, Mars, you know?

CAVUTO: Oh, sure.

PISCOPO: I have a Snickers bar. So it is good, you know?

CAVUTO: Try Three Musketeers.

PISCOPO: Yes, Three Musketeers.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: But I digress.

PISCOPO: You know what? I'm ready. I'm ready just to throw everything to the wayside. I'm trying to stay healthy. I'm not going to do it.

CAVUTO: But isn't that wild?

PISCOPO: Yes. I love it.

CAVUTO: I mean, you -- your whole career, if you think about it, you nonstop keep at it.

PISCOPO: Yes, yes.

CAVUTO: This Ruiz guy, everyone dismissed him.

PISCOPO: I would be, if I looked like that guy, a big star.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: You already are, young man.

PISCOPO: No, I'll tell you what.

CAVUTO: But you know what I'm reminded? And I always -- we always tell our kids this and all. You just don't listen to the odds. Don't listen to those saying you can't, you won't, you won't do this -- although this guy's had a great boxing career himself.

PISCOPO: But don't forget George Foreman was big. He was a big guy.

The second George Foreman...

CAVUTO: And, by the way, Ali taking him on in Kinshasa, Zaire, it wasn't that Ali was some shrinking violet or not fit enough to take...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: This guy...

PISCOPO: This guy -- you could look for a grill coming from this guy, an infomercial in the middle of the night.

CAVUTO: Or to pop out of a grill, yes.

(LAUGHTER)

PISCOPO: He could be. He could be.

CAVUTO: But it changed everything. It changed everything.

But maybe the sadder part in this is that boxing just isn't what it was, you know?

PISCOPO: But this is the best thing to happen to boxing.

CAVUTO: Yes

PISCOPO: Yes. It's great for the Mexican-American community. It's great for America.

CAVUTO: Can you imagine the Snickers folks? They're going to be doing deals.

(CROSSTALK)

PISCOPO: I'll tell you, but don't forget how big a star George Foreman became.

CAVUTO: Absolutely.

PISCOPO: Butterbean -- remember that guy Butterbean? Butterbean was..

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Right. You're right about that.

Well, Foreman morphed into...

PISCOPO: Tony "Two Ton" Galento, you remember.

CAVUTO: Oh, you're right. You're right.

PISCOPO: Of course. Yes, I wasn't even born yet.

CAVUTO: Neither was I. Don't give that away.

But you think about it, Foreman changed his whole personality. He became very likable.

PISCOPO: That's right. That's exactly right.

CAVUTO: He was a mean dude when he was boxing.

This guy already is the Foreman, nice, funny guy, self-deprecating. He said, I was worried about losing a little weight, and I had to double up.

(LAUGHTER)

PISCOPO: Was there a weigh-in with this guy?

CAVUTO: There was too. He was -- what, was it 268 pounds?

PISCOPO: And they let it go, man.

CAVUTO: And they let it go, said, go ahead.

PISCOPO: I love it.

CAVUTO: But, apparently, he's a heck of a puncher.

PISCOPO: Honestly, it's great for America. It's great for the boxing world. And I just love in England how they're just taking shots at our president, and then here we just took out their number one fighter.

CAVUTO: Yes.

PISCOPO: I'm just saying, it's...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: I know, the whole Brexit thing. And then they say, what do you mean, we lost the heavyweight championship?

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

PISCOPO: Yes, baby, like Austin Powers.

CAVUTO: Exactly.

(LAUGHTER)

PISCOPO: Yeah, baby, yeah.

CAVUTO: Oh. Do I make you wish for a championship?

All right, thank you, my friend. Great seeing you. Continued success.  You look -- there's a guy who has not gained a pound.

PISCOPO: Oh, I'm eating. I'm eating Snickers right now.

CAVUTO: But that's no longer -- that's no longer in these days, my friends, all right?

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: I am breaking news right here.

All right, that will do it.

PISCOPO: Here, a Snickers.

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