This is a rush transcript from "Your World with Neil Cavuto," November 20, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

CHARLES PAYNE, GUEST HOST: You're looking live at San Diego, California, where Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen is about the whole a news conference on the migrant caravan and border security.

And you just heard President Trump express his concern over that Ninth Circuit Court ruling against his asylum ban. Maybe we will hear more on that. When it happens, we are there.

The closing bell ringing just moments ago, closing out another brutal session for Wall Street, the Dow plunging more than 600 points, finishing down 553 points.

Tech stocks remain under pressure, Apple taking another big hit. The Dow is now in the red for 2018.

Welcome, everyone. I'm Charles Payne, in for Neil Cavuto, and this is "Your World."

FBN's Susan Li on what's got this market all riled up, or riled down -- Susan.

SUSAN LI, FOX BUSINESS: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

LI: Good to see you, Charles.

Yes, so markets wiping up their gains for 2018. Oil prices saw their biggest single-day loss in three years. And this is on the back of trade concerns, but also exacerbated by the president's statements on Saudi Arabia today.

Energy stocks plunging as a result. Every single oil stock that trades on the S&P 500 down in the session. And that's also, by the way, good news for drivers that are filling up their gas tanks for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The national average at the pumps, $2.61. That's more than 20 cents cheaper than they were just about two months ago. Meantime, as you mentioned, the tech drag continues. And we call them the FAANGs in the trading world, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google, parent company Alphabet, all in bear market territory.

So that's 20 percent down from their recent peaks. Now, these names have run up so much this year, that the markets are concerned future sales and profits may not actually justify these expensive valuations.

That's also the case for retailers, who have had a fantastic year so far. Kohl's and Target reporting better-than-expected earnings this morning, but their stocks got hammered in a session today, and this as we head into Black Friday, which is supposed to be the biggest shopping day of the year. And Americans are expected to spend more this year than they did last year.

So the concerns on the markets are threefold at this point. They're concerned about higher interest rates, ongoing trade tensions, namely with China, and slowing corporate earnings. And that's why Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs is only forecasting 1.75 percent GDP growth next year. That's down a long way from the 3.5 percent that they forecast for this year, 2018, which would be the best year of economic growth since 2005.

Now, also, as we head into the Thanksgiving holiday, I should point out to you, Charles, that traders, they typically don't want to hold stocks in a falling market when they can't trade out of them, since we do have markets closed for the holiday.

That, along with computer-driven trading environments, the algorithmic world that we live in, means that we're expecting it and we should get used to these big moves up and down -- back to you.

PAYNE: Susan Li, thank you very much.

And, again, you mentioned Goldman Sachs warning of an economic slowdown. But, well, the White House just simply is not buying that.

John Roberts with more on that -- John.

JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS: No, the White House not buying at all, whether it was the chief economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, this morning out on the driveway talking to us and saying that the economy is roaring ahead, or whether it was the president on the South Lawn just a few minutes ago.

The word from the White House is that, forget the gyrations up and down of the stock market, the basics of the American economy are very strong. Listen to the president here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: No, I think we're doing great. I mean, as a country, we're doing great. Our unemployment is at a record low. You look at all of the different statistics.

I think your tech stocks have some problems, but that will come back. But, no, I think we're going to do very well. I would like to see the Fed with a lower interest rate. I think the rate is too high. I think we have much more of a Fed problem that we have a problem with anyone else.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: And President Trump has said that a number of times. He's gone so far as to say that he thinks that the Fed has gone crazy.

This latest swoon in the stock market really started when Vice President Mike Pence and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a bit of a war of words at the APEC conference last weekend in Papua New Guinea.

Larry Kudlow this morning suggesting that the issues that were at the at the heart of that disagreement between Pence and Xi Jinping are really going to come to a head later this month in Buenos Aires at the G20.

Here's Kudlow from this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KUDLOW, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: The basic economy has reawakened, and it's going to stay there. I mean, I'm reading some of the weirdest stuff, how recession is around the corner.

Nonsense. My personal view, our administration's view, recession is so far in the distance, I can't see it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: So, Kudlow said about the APEC conference was that he thought that the vice president stood up for America. He has made the case before. He said that there was a lot of opposition at APEC to what China is doing, and that it's all going to come to a head at the G20 in Buenos Aires later on this month.

Again, Kudlow saying the vice president standing up for America. And you heard the president in the South Lawn a little while ago saying his policies of America first remain in place, and that's why he siding with Saudi Arabia in this Jamal Khashoggi case -- Charles.

PAYNE: Absolutely.

That was in the White House press release.

John, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

So, the big question, of course, everyone's asking, is the market about to hit bottom?

Let's ask our market pros, Melissa Armo, Gary B. Smith, and Larry Shover.

Larry, let me start with you.

These kind of markets, selling begets selling, emotions run wild, and nothing mattered. Great earnings, I don't care, stocks going down. Great guidance, I don't care, stocks going down.

So we are in the throes of it right now. How do you determine when we're getting near the bottom of it?

LARRY SHOVER, SOLUTIONS FUNDS GROUP: Well, I think we're almost at the bottom of it.

But I think what's more important is that I can rattle off all the reasons why we're -- why we're down, all the pessimism. But if you look at the price action, it's all about the Fed, who, while risk assets are falling, while global concerns run apace, they are continuing on a tightening path. And that has spooked markets.

Look at the action today, Charles. Fed fund futures, if this was truly recessionary, yields would be down. They were actually up there. And we would see outperformance in the belly of the curve. That didn't occur.

What happened today was Fed fund futures actually -- the yields actually went up ever so slightly, and we saw a small outperformance the long end of the curve. To me, it's all about the Fed, and we will see a lot more of that next week with regard to FOMC minutes and Powell speaking to see if we can calm this market down.

PAYNE: Right.

SHOVER: Yes, I mean, you realize -- go ahead.

(CROSSTALK)

SHOVER: Go ahead.

PAYNE: No, no.

I was going to say, we do get a press conference from Chairman Powell. I will point out that, on October 3, that he gave a speech that I think triggered a massive sell-off, and the market hasn't recovered.

SHOVER: Yes. Yes.

PAYNE: But, Melissa, I do want to bring you in as well, because there are many things gnawing at this market.

And you can certainly argue that it's oversold, but that doesn't mean it's going to stop going down.

MELISSA ARMO, THE STOCK SWOOSH: No, what happens is, as you said earlier, selling begets selling. So people panic.

And every single professional article that I read today was telling people to sell. They are creating havoc in people. People are saying, get out now, or you will regret it.

And, honestly, when I look at the market, we are still holding an uptrend. And there are some people out there saying we're in a bearish trend. That's not true. The market, technically speaking, is still holding the uptrend.

And unless the Dow gets down in the pre-market and opens under 23000, and breaks it and falls off the cliff, we are holding the uptrend. So I have high hopes for the market to rally in the month of December.

PAYNE: Gary B., you always give me high hopes.

So, lay it on us, because a couple million people want to know, what's going on?

(CROSSTALK)

GARY B. SMITH, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: There's a couple things going on. Are we still in an uptrend?

It always depends on your perspective, Charles, as you know. I think Melissa is looking at a long-term chart or longer-term chart than certainly a daily or even a weekly. And you would have to say the market is still in a bull market. Does it feel scary? Absolutely.

I own a lot of these FAANG stocks, Amazon, Netflix. And what is Netflix down, like 35 percent from its highs?

(CROSSTALK)

PAYNE: And yet it's still up for the year, though, isn't it?

SMITH: Yes, exactly.

Well, you're still on for the year. So that's good. But, boy, it feels lousy from a few weeks ago. Again, it all depends on your perspective. I always try to take a step back and turn off all the news, all the -- stop reading everything, and say, huh, am I still going to use Netflix tonight? Yes.

Did I already use Amazon today to start ordering Christmas gifts? Yes. Are those companies most likely going to be around three, five, 10 years from now? You would have to say yes.

So you take a step back and say, one, yes, it's painful.

PAYNE: Right. Right.

SMITH: You give into that.

But, two, you say, I like what I own. So I'm bullish. And, certainly, based on the foundation of the economy, you would have to say things look still pretty good, but scary.

PAYNE: So, and, Larry to that point, investors do retreat, not to companies they think will be around five or 10 years from now, but ones that have been around over 100 years.

So, Campbell's Soup was a big winner. Johnson & Johnson held up OK. But, again, it seems like we're at a place now where we're on automatic pilot to the downside. And I guess, from you, your best advice would be what?

SHOVER: Well, my best advice was like get back -- I mean, stay in the market. Coast-is-clear investing never, never works.

But, that said, here's been a significant chasm between growth and value for over a year-and-a-half. And, for me, when I start seeing leadership from another group other than uber-tech, that's when I know the second leg or the third leg of the bull rally is intact.

PAYNE: Real quick, Melissa, what would you tell folks?

ARMO: Well, retail approach, if you're an active trader, you're having a great time if you're trading it right, because of all the volatility.

And if you're a long-term trader, a long-term investor, the market is bullish. And I will say this one quick thing. If Trump can pull a rabbit out of a hat and get this deal done with China between now and January 1, I'm telling you, the market will take off.

And the people who have sold in the last two days or in the last month of October will regret it.

PAYNE: All right. That's going to be one big rabbit, but anything is possible.

Thank you all very much. Appreciate it.

SHOVER: Thank you.

PAYNE: Well, an Obama-appointed judge has spoken. All migrants must be allowed to file asylum claims, no matter where they cross the U.S. border.

Homeland Secretary -- Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen is about to hold a press conference. So, our border agents, what are they going to do right now?

The head of Customs and Border Protection will join us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAYNE: An Obama-appointed federal judge in Northern California has barred the U.S. Border Patrol agents from enforcing President Trump's asylum ban on our southern border.

The Department of Homeland Security and Justice pushing back, calling the ruling absurd.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan joins us now.

Kevin, where now? What happens now. The -- it seems like it is now sort of the ultimate red carpet, saying, hey, if you get to the border, and you can just step one foot in, you have now become part of the process.

KEVIN MCALEENAN, U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION: Yes, it's a very unfortunate decision today out of California on the federal court level.

What we have is 1,750 people a day crossing our border illegally, huge numbers of families, unaccompanied children, many of whom are claiming asylum. That's not a victimless crime.

They're paying smugglers. They're putting themselves at risk. They're putting our Border Patrol agents at risk that have to apprehend them.

So what the president's trying to do is take away that opportunity to claim asylum after an illegal entry and force them to go to a port of entry and go through a lawful process.

PAYNE: The number of people who claim asylum every year, what's the percentage ultimately end up being bona fide the victims, bona fide that these claims are actually true?

MCALEENAN: Right.

That's one of the core elements of the challenge we're facing here, is the asylum gap. This is the gap in those people that initially make a fear claim who are found, almost 85 to 90 percent of the time, to pass that initial bar, which is a very low bar, but then ultimately, when they see an immigration judge, at the end of the process, only about 10 to 20 percent are actually getting asylum.

So we have got a situation where thousands of people are coming across the border each month and going to be here for years on end before they wait to see an immigration judge. And that's the gap that the president is trying to close down with his declaration.

PAYNE: Ultimately, should there or can there be compromises? From what I understand, maybe some -- some suggestions have been made, more entrances with the proper vetting system, so that there are more options, and maybe someone who might want to do it the right way that could -- could be enticed, because it's not so difficult.

MCALEENAN: Yes, absolutely right.

I mean, we have made recommendations to Congress throughout this administration to tighten these -- these laws, so that people would present at ports of entry and would have a much more realistic sense of whether their asylum claim would be granted at the end of the process.

We need help from Congress to do that. But we're not laying back here. We're pushing forward. We're deploying all available resources to secure that border between ports of entry. We're ready for the arrival, which is now present here in Tijuana, just south of San Diego, over 6,000 members of the so-called caravans heading to our border.

And we're not going to let them enter the country unlawfully.

PAYNE: Kevin, a lot has been made, of course, of the troops who have been sent down to assist with the effort, some complaining that it's unfortunate they have to be away from home on Thanksgiving, but also some reports that some are actually starting to leave.

Give us an assessment of what the troops have done so far, and how much more would the Border Patrol agents need their assistance?

MCALEENAN: So we appreciate immensely the partnership with our military brothers and sisters.

I was just down in McAllen, Texas, last Thursday with a group of Army personnel deployed, engineers, doctors, military police, professionals that are helping us harden the border, protect our ports of entry, and be prepared for really any contingencies that we might face.

On Friday, I was in San Diego with U.S. Marines out of Camp Pendleton. They're doing the same thing at the largest port of entry in North America, San Ysidro, which is just north of Tijuana, where this group of caravan members are waiting.

So, we really appreciate their assistance. Definitely mindful of being away from families over the holidays. Their service is just incredibly valued, right alongside the men and women of the CBP, our U.S. Border Patrol agents and CBP officers.

We surged over 1,000 to the border to be ready for this situation, on top of the 20,000 men and women that protect our southern border every day.

PAYNE: You talk about contingencies. What would some of the worst-case scenarios be?

MCALEENAN: Yes, so this is a different kind of caravan. This is a very large group. It's cohesive. It's primarily adult males.

And we have seen them cross two international borders by force already. They have assaulted law enforcement professionals both in Guatemala and Mexico. And so we have seen them be willing to use very aggressive tactics. And so we have got to be prepared for that.

So the worst-case contingency would be thousands of people trying to force their way through vehicle lanes at a port of entry unlawfully into the U.S. And that's what we're prepared to stop.

PAYNE: Would the U.S. military be involved at any point with physical confrontation like that?

MCALEENAN: Actually, it's a law enforcement mission.

The front line is going to be CBP officers, supported by Border Patrol agents. And, of course, we're reaching out the state and locals as well.

But what the military is going to do is help us harden that border, to put barriers in place in the case of a large group heading toward the line at any given time, and also potentially be there to protect infrastructure and personnel in the case of an emergency.

PAYNE: Well, just moments from now, we're going to be hearing from Homeland Security Secretary Nielsen.

What would you like to hear? What is it that you and the folks that are serving at the border need to hear from her?

MCALEENAN: Well, Secretary Nielsen's down there right now working with our commanders in the field to see what else they need to feel confident to be able to address any contingencies with this situation.

So, I would like to hear what she's observed. I was just there a few days ago. She's taking it forward, negotiating with our partners in Mexico, talking to state and local officials about being prepared and having the right enforcement posture for any situation.

PAYNE: Are you confident that, ultimately, despite this initial ruling -- because we saw this with respect to the -- to the travel ban, if you will, go and ping-pong and forth in the court system -- that, ultimately, maybe the legal system will prevail, and there will be some form, I would call a common sense, to be quite frank with you?

Because, right now, it's sort of, hey, just come, get in and, many people believe, to your point, abuse the system. And it's expensive, it's lengthy, and it's unfair to people who are waiting and trying to do it the right way.

MCALEENAN: That's absolutely right. It's absolutely common sense.

The president's authority under Section 212-F of the immigration law is a very strong authority. And this was a very appropriate use of it to prevent people from trying to claim asylum after crossing illegally. And we want them to come in a safe and orderly way.

Their claims would be considered in an appropriate manner, with due process, and fair and transparent.

PAYNE: Kevin McAleenan, thank you very much. Really appreciate it. And good luck down there.

It looks like it's going to -- all eyes are on you. And, hopefully, it will work out best for everyone involved. We appreciate it.

MCALEENAN: Our men women are ready. Thank you.

PAYNE: Major cities preparing for record cold temperatures this Thanksgiving. What you and your family need to know.

And while key Democrats are already making investigations, a key priority, a new research report suggests they may want to slow it down.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PAYNE: Talk about cold turkey. Record low temperatures expected for parts of the country on Thanksgiving.

To Adam Klotz at the FOX Weather Center on this deep freeze coming.

I can feel it already, Adam.

ADAM KLOTZ, FOX NEWS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Charles, it's going to get for rigid across the Northeast.

But if you look across the entire country, despite some really cold temperatures in certain spots, the travel weather is actually looking pretty good. This is your travel forecast. And you're looking at green lights across the country for folks who are traveling here on Tuesday. Some may be taking off on Wednesday.

Just a small travel concern, as we look at a pretty major system that's going to be running into the West Coast, causing a couple of delays, but across most of the country, still looking at very clear conditions.

Unfortunately, though, there is going to be some cold air, especially in parts of the Midwest, the Upper Midwest, and then stretching over towards New England, getting down at freezing, but some spots falling down to zero degrees.

We're going to be talking about record-breaking low temperature. So these are Wednesday highs. And you see some of that cold air lingering back across the Upper Midwest as temperatures get down close to freezing. That is all going to be funneling here towards New England, 42 degrees for tomorrow in New York City.

But look how those numbers drop for Thursday on Thanksgiving. Spots -- these are daytime highs, 27 degrees in New York City, getting upstate, spots getting down into closer to 20 degrees. With the windchill, it will feel even colder than that.

It does begin to rebound a little bit for us on Friday. But it is going to be cold, cold, cold for folks across these regions on Thursday, on Thanksgiving.

This is looking at Central Park. These are record-breaking lows. The coldest we have ever seen, 27 degrees for a daytime high on Thanksgiving. That is the forecast for folks on Thursday.

So it is going to me right near there. If you wanted to watch the parade or be out at the parade, folks who wanted to do that, temperatures looking at 23 degrees at 10:00 a.m., and then with the windchill feeling like 10 to 20 degrees.

And then notice the northwest winds, 20 to 35 miles an hour. Charles, you get wind gusts up to 30 miles an hour, and they might not take out those balloons. So it's going to be right in that region, something we're going to be paying attention to.

PAYNE: All right, you know, I used to live in Minot, North Dakota. Bringing back the good old days.

KLOTZ: Yes.

PAYNE: All right, Adam, thanks a lot.

Well, two days and counting, not to the turkey, but to the shopping. Some of America's biggest retailers will be open for business on Thanksgiving.

To Tracee Carrasco at Macy's in New York City, one of those retailers hoping for some holiday shopping spree and cheer -- Tracee.

TRACEE CARRASCO, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Charles.

As we heard from Adam, it is going to be a cold Turkey Day. Organizers of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, they're not going to make any final calls on those giant balloons until the day of.

But retailers are betting that the cold weather not going to keep any shoppers away. Macy's here in Herald Square going to be opening up at 5:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving. They will close at 2:00 a.m., and then open back up again at 6:00 a.m. on Black Friday.

Now, some of the other stores open on Thanksgiving, we're going to see Kmart, J.C. Penney, Old Navy, Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Kohl's. But there is always that big debate. Should these stores be open on Thanksgiving or should the employees be with their families, even those shoppers too?

But retailers say that this is what the shoppers want. They want to eat that pumpkin pie and then they want to come out here to the stores and get those deals, because there are still, though, some of those stores, about 70 of them, we are seeing not going to open on Thanksgiving Day. They are adamant about being closed, about making sure that their employees are with their families.

We spoke with some shoppers to get their thoughts. Here's what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People should be with their families.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's OK if the employees want to work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody deserves the right have the dignity of a day off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're lucky enough to make time-and-a-half, double- time, and they're willing to do it, so they can support their family.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's hard when the stores are open on Thanksgiving Day. And I think it's hard for the people that go outside and shop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARRASCO: Now, the National Retail Federation says that these stores are gearing up for a busy weekend, that about 164 million shoppers will be shopping from Thanksgiving Day until Cyber Monday, 34 million alone out shopping on Thanksgiving Day.

Charles, I will not be one of them.

PAYNE: Tracee, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

Folks, we are waiting right now to hear from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen sometime this hour. She's on the border at San Diego. And we should be hearing from her momentarily.

Meanwhile, key Democrats already getting the ball rolling on anti-Trump investigation. The big question, though, is, could the timing actually backfire?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAYNE: Towards the top of our show, we showed you graphics with those tech stocks, and key ones. Well, it wasn't complete. It is now.

Apple and Amazon, they were down. Google's parent company, Alphabet, it was up for the day.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAYNE: Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says the inspector general -- quote -- "must investigate now" whether acting A.G. Matthew Whitaker shared confidential information related to the Russia probe with the White House.

FOX News chief intelligence correspondent Catherine Herridge has the latest -- Catherine.

CATHERINE HERRIDGE, FOX CHIEF INTELLIGENCE CORRESPONDENT: Well, thanks, Charles.

Today, Democrats launched a third front and their effort to challenge the legitimacy of the president's choice to temporarily leave the Justice Department. The Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, releasing a letter calling on the Justice Department's internal watchdog to investigate any potentially unlawful or improper contact prior to the appointment between acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker, President Trump, as well as White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.

Citing media reports, Schumer writes -- quote -- "Mr. Whitaker was seen by department officials as a partisan and a White House spy. He was also known as the West Wing's eyes and ears and someone who was counseling the White House on how the president and his aides might successfully pressure then Attorney General Sessions and his deputy Rod Rosenstein to give into Trump's demands."

In addition to the lawsuit filed earlier this week by three Senate Democrats in federal court, the incoming chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jerry Nadler, has indicated he will also call Whitaker to testify as one of his first actions as chairman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JERROLD NADLER (D), NEW YORK: Our very first witness on -- after January 3, we will -- we will subpoena Mr. -- or we will summon, if necessary subpoena, Mr. Whitaker.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HERRIDGE: And a short time ago on the White House lawn, the president backed Whitaker and indicated really for the first time publicly that the appointment might not be temporary after all, Charles.

PAYNE: Thank you very much, Catherine.

Well, a new report suggesting Democrats going hard and heavy on investigations, well, they're going to have to be very careful how they handle each one.

With the nation so divided, things could backfire.

With more that, we have got Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright, Trump 2020 advisory board member Harlan Hill, and The Daily Caller's Vince Coglianese.

Vince, let me start with you on this thing.

Listen, the market now down, the Dow Jones industrial average down over four points -- 4 percent, rather, since the midterms. And the day after, it was OK. It was up. But since then, it feels like the Dems are going to war. And it's this notion of endless investigations, rather than perhaps some legislation, one of the key things, I think, factoring into this market sell-off.

VINCE COGLIANESE, THE DAILY CALLER: Yes, well, I tell you, one of the rest of that Republicans always run is giving up too soon, and one of the rest of Democrats always run is play -- overplaying their hand.

And I think that's the thing that they need to be careful of going into this next Congress, because Democrats tend to take it too far. We saw during the Kavanaugh hearing the idea of the politics of personal destruction, where the American public kind of recoiled and it energized Republicans.

And if Democrats are going to spend not only the next few weeks, but the next two years overplaying their hand and trying to just basically destroy the Trump administration, move to obstruction all the time, it could backfire on them electorally in 2020.

PAYNE: Antjuan, I mean, Maxine Waters going heavy after Deutsche Bank to see their relationship with the Trumps.

And, hey, listen, that's all fine and good, but there are a lot of Americans who would love to find a way for the banks to lend them money to start businesses, to get married, to see the economy keep growing. I mean, there is some danger in this, isn't it?

ANTJUAN SEAWRIGHT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, the politics of fear is what the Republicans tried to do in the midterms, fool their base and scare the American people that the only thing Democrats wanted to do was host hearings, do investigations.

But I think the American people saw through the fog, and that's why we saw the midterms fall out the way they did on the congressional side.

But I actually agree with my friend from The Daily Caller. I think Democrats have a responsibility to put forth a policy agenda or policy prescription that will not only get them to the majority, like they have in House, but also maintaining the majority.

So, Charles, that looks like a real effort to block and tackle, and then go on offense with issues that will connect with voters in 2020 and beyond.

PAYNE: Harlan?

HARLAN HILL, POLITICAL CONSULTANT: Yes.

Look, Charles, I will give you one example of this. We're three years into talking about the Russian collusion allegations that started even before the president was elected. And we still don't have a shred of evidence to substantiate that allegation.

SEAWRIGHT: Be patient, Harlan.

HILL: And there are members...

(LAUGHTER)

HILL: Well, listen, I mean, you can't -- you can only cry wolf for so long. I mean, enough's enough.

And if you look at the polling, the American people are sort of exhausted by this. And they also are sort of encouraged by how much the president has been able to accomplish over the last 600 or so days.

I mean, we -- the economy is booming. We have created over four million jobs; 400,000 of those are manufacturing jobs. We have come too far to go back now.

(CROSSTALK)

SEAWRIGHT: Harlan, that's not true. Harlan, that's not true.

HILL: It is true. It is true. It is true. These are facts.

(CROSSTALK)

PAYNE: Let's not debate that. Let's not. Anyone can look it up. Go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and look it up for yourself.

Let's get back, though, on the topic at hand, Vince, because I do feel like there's an uneasiness here. And I think one thing that perhaps the American public wants are sort of checks and balances. So you have got the Democrats there, but I don't know that they're there necessarily to go to war with President Trump.

And I think we're going to need to see something. A do-nothing Congress or the sort of gridlock that's been promised, I'm not sure that's going to be -- the American public is going to be thrilled with that.

COGLIANESE: No, they're not. And the surveys have actually been really clear on this. They do not want to see Democrats be recalcitrant and rudderless.

They want to see Democrats make an effort to actually work with the president. That's for real. Surveys have definitely shown that. And I'm do not see anywhere an appetite among Democrats to genuinely work with the president.

Can you think of one issue?

SEAWRIGHT: Yes. Yes, I can.

COGLIANESE: Can you think of one issue where Democrats have said, you know what, we're actually going to work on legislation with the president on this?

SEAWRIGHT: Of course I can.

PAYNE: All right, go ahead.

(CROSSTALK)

COGLIANESE: Go ahead. Name it.

SEAWRIGHT: Criminal justice reform is a shining example that Democrats and Republicans know we need to do.

I think most people agree, reasonable people, that we have to do something about infrastructure. I know for sure Democrats want to do something about health care.

HILL: It's all talk. It's all talk.

(CROSSTALK)

SEAWRIGHT: So, it is malpractice for either one of you to sit here and say Democrats are not willing to do anything.

(CROSSTALK)

PAYNE: Harlan, as someone who was a Democrat, and now you're not, and you understand both sides of the fence, though, it is imperative perhaps that both sides get something done.

And those look like low-hanging fruit, considering what the White House has already done right with respect to criminal reform, getting that ball rolling.

HILL: Right.

I knew -- this is all talk. I knew that the Democrats were totally unwilling to come to the table and work with the president when he was looking to do a deal on DACA.

SEAWRIGHT: Oh, Harlan, come on.

HILL: He was willing to give legal status to 1.8 million DACA recipients in exchange for the wall.

And you guys said no.

(CROSSTALK)

HILL: Your party is all talk, no action. You guys want to absolutely obstruct the president at every turn.

(LAUGHTER)

HILL: Come on. You know it's true. Just admit it, man.

(CROSSTALK)

PAYNE: I hope you guys have a great Thanksgiving. We will see you all soon.

COGLIANESE: Same to you.

PAYNE: Meanwhile, President Trump, he is heading to Mar-a-Lago for Thanksgiving. And he's meeting with one name on his reported short list for attorney general. Now, who is it? Well, you know, we're on it.

And the White House firing back against a judge's asylum ruling. Can the administration reverse it legally?

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: If we abandoned Saudi Arabia, it would be a terrible mistake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAYNE: President Trump digging in, saying the United States stands strong with Saudi Arabia, despite the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Earlier today, he released a statement that read in part: "Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the crown prince had knowledge of this tragic event. Maybe he did and maybe he didn't! That being said, we may never know all the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi. The United States intends to remain a steadfast partner of Saudi Arabia to ensure the interest of our country, Israel and all other partners in the region."

To FOX News security and foreign affairs analyst Walid Phares.

He -- by the way, Walid served as foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign in 2016.

A very delicate, complicated situation, Walid, what do you make of the way it's playing out?

WALID PHARES, FOX NEWS NATIONAL SECURITY AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS ANALYST: We are now in the middle of the process whereby the intelligence community presented its file, its information to the White House, the president, I believe, two members of Congress.

And now we're going to have two paths. One is the judicial process, meaning we want to know all the information. And as we understood both from the intelligence community and the president, it's still a process. We don't have a determinant -- determined element in it.

But, on the other hand, we have a political assessment. And the political assessment is what the president has just said. This alliance, strategic alliance, between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia is not just bilateral. It has to be with Iran.

Our entire sanction system is based on it.

PAYNE: Right.

PHARES: And also we have to do with the -- fighting extremism. So the call is very, very tough for the president.

PAYNE: Well, when the White House put out their press release today, it said "America first!" and then said, the world is a very dangerous point -- place, rather.

Rand Paul has responded in a series of tweets, and he's not happy with this. He says that president -- "The president indicating that Saudi Arabia is a lesser two evils compared to Iran, and so the U.S. won't punish Saudi Arabia for the brutal killing and dismemberment of a dissident journalist in their consulate," he disagrees with that.

He says, at the very least, Saudi Arabia shouldn't be rewarded with sophisticated armaments that they in turn use the bomb civilians.

Rand Paul acknowledging that he has a very good relationship with President Trump, but goes on to say he thinks that this statement that was released from the White House should read Saudi Arabia first and that he's pretty sure John Bolton wrote it.

What are your thoughts? Because people on both sides of the aisle, political aisle, are upset today.

PHARES: Well, look, the national security adviser's job is to have the president understand what are the geopolitical challenges and what it means to the United States. That's the job.

But, really, in terms of substance, what we're dealing with here is one criminal act on the one hand we need to investigate, get to the points of, the bottom line of what it was and why and who gave the order, the smoking gun, which we haven't seen so far, so far.

But on the other hand, we have a strategic relationship. We don't punish an individual because...

(CROSSTALK)

PAYNE: So -- but MBS' brother calling him -- or calling, rather, Khashoggi, I mean, if the general assessment is that, the conventional wisdom is that the crown prince knew of this, even gave the order, are we just in a position where we can't sever our relationship with Saudi Arabia, considering all the risk in that area, not only to our friends in Israel, but ultimately to the entire world?

Is that just what it boils down to?

PHARES: It does.

I mean, it's very simple. That's really very simple for the American public. Do we want to stop and fail with the sanctions on Iran? Do you want to stop and fail with the Arab-Israeli reconciliation process? Do we want to end the Yemen conflict and invite Iran to be influential?

That's the call. That's the real call.

PAYNE: Walid, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

PHARES: Thank you.

PAYNE: Well, after a judge halts the Trump administration's asylum ban, the Department of Homeland Security and Justice released a joint statement calling the ruling absurd.

The legal fallout from all of this next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAYNE: Breaking news on the Mueller investigation, word just now President Trump today answered written questions submitted by the special counsel's office.

The questions presented dealt with issues regarding the Russia-related topics of the inquiry. The president responded in writing. That's from Jay Sekulow. He is counsel to the president.

I want to bring in Ifrah Law partner, former Department of Justice prosecutor Jim Trusty.

Jim, this is sort of the moment we have all been waiting for, and it feels like maybe this could sort of expedite us to some sort of resolution here. What do you make of the fact that President Trump has finally submitted these answers? It didn't take long. He said he would do it.

Where does this take us?

JAMES TRUSTY, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well, look, I think there's bigger moments to come, but this is a pivotal one.

And it's really, I think, a victory for the White House, in that he's been called a subject, not a target. That's a very important distinction that his lawyers have talked to him about ad nauseum. And to have a situation where you have a take-home test, where the homework comes to you and you sit down and you fill it out with some level of assistance from your attorneys, that's a good moment for him.

And I also think the probe probably doesn't expect that there's going to be heart-ringing confessions coming back on the paper that they get from the president. So it smells a little bit more like checking a box before we get to the conclusion of the probe.

PAYNE: James, I want to read the other part of the release. This is a from Rudy Giuliani, also a counsel to President Trump.

"It has been our position from the outset that much of what has been asked raised serious constitutional issues and was beyond the scope of legitimate inquiry. This remains our position today. The president has nevertheless, nonetheless provided unprecedented cooperation. The special counsel has been provided with more than 30 witnesses, 1.4 million pages of material, and now the president's written response to questions. It is time to bring this inquiry to a conclusion" -- Rudy Giuliani, counsel to the president.

Your thoughts?

TRUSTY: Well, that's the right approach for the president's attorney to take, which is to say, essentially, enough's enough, let's end this thing.

I think it's probably heading that way, partly because of these questions, partly because of some other things that have been happening, like announcing that they're ready for Flynn's sentencing in the fairly near future. There's still some litigation going on behind closed doors, it sounds like.

But I think we're talking end of the year, as opposed to end of next year. And, again, the president has every right to basically announce that he's done with his homework assignment and he's tired of seeing this thing go on.

But it's probably got a little bit of a shelf life left before it finishes up.

PAYNE: James, the way this was established, there won't be any more back and forth, right? Mueller gets these questions -- these answers, rather. He has a live with them. He doesn't ask another round. He can't send another tranche of questions, can he?

TRUSTY: Well, he can always try.

But I have to think that it's either already been negotiated away by the president's team or that even in the most aggressive of moments that the Mueller team would realize that's just going to be a dead end.

And that's really part of the win for the president here on this issue, because he can answer questions with kind of platitudes or very broad comments and know that there's not going to be any form of cross- examination or even a detailed follow-up. That's a pretty easy homework assignment in most instances.

PAYNE: There have been arrests. There have been trials. There have been some indictments, but there's -- there really, from what I can see, hasn't been anything that connects sort of obstruction of justice or the White House themselves, President Trump, dealing with the Russians.

You have got some Russian folks that Mueller and company are looking for that probably will never come to this country to face that justice, and some other peripheral players, if you will.

So what does this tell you, if we are near this and it could happen before the -- before the end of the year?

TRUSTY: Well, I would like to see whatever the report says.

I'm assuming there's going to be a written report that sees daylight. I think there's a very strong likelihood the report chronicles just how bad the Russian attempts are at interfering with our elections.

PAYNE: Right.

TRUSTY: But, of course, that doesn't mean people were knowingly colluding with them.

And the very first indictment the team came up with said that there was unwitting connections to the campaign. It may stay that way.

PAYNE: Right.

TRUSTY: And, if so, that's not a bad day for the president.

PAYNE: James, thank you very much.

We have got more on this. We will be right back.

TRUSTY: Sure. Thanks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PAYNE: Well, President Trump is on his way to Florida, where he will be celebrating Thanksgiving holiday.

FOX News correspondent Kevin Corke is at West Palm Beach right now with the latest.

Big breaking news, Kevin.

KEVIN CORKE, FOX NEWS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no question about that, Charles. And a good holiday week to you.

As you pointed out earlier, before the break, the president has submitted those questions in writing to the Mueller team. Credit to our colleague John Roberts. He has been on this story with a vengeance, checking in with Rudy Giuliani throughout the process.

And, as you pointed out, some very interesting responses, at least from Giuliani's perspective, about what the special counsel is actually looking for, and the lengths which they have gone to question this president of the United States.

Now, as you also pointed out, though, this is a holiday week, which means it's back here to South Florida for the commander in chief. But he heads here to this beauty have a weather, but not before pardoning a couple of our fine feathered friends, as is the White House tradition. You saw it there earlier today.

A lot of fun. And, quite frankly, it's good for everyone to get ready for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Now, this trip, Charles, should provide a bit of a respite for the first family and a bit of time for reflection on the fall and perhaps the future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're going down to the southern White House. We have a lot of work we're going to be doing in Florida. We had great -- some really great election results, as you know.

Georgia just came in, and that was a big success. Florida was a tremendous success with both the governor, Ron DeSantis, who will be a great governor, and the senator, Rick Scott. And, as you know, Ohio was a great victory.

We had a lot of great victories.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORKE: Great victories.

And we will be here following the week -- back to you, Charles.

PAYNE: Thank you very much.

And, again, the big breaking news, President Trump has submitted his written answers to the special counsel's office. This is absolutely huge.

Well, thanks for joining us.

I will see you on the FOX Business Network tomorrow 2:00 p.m. Eastern time. Hopefully, the market won't be down, but I will hold your hand if it is. A lot going on. The economy is still strong.

And "The Five" begins right now.

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