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Family, friends, dignitaries pay final respects to Bush 41
Published December 05, 2018
This is a rush transcript from "The Five," December 5, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
DANA PERINO, HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Dana Perino in Washington, D.C., along with Sandra Smith, Juan Williams, Jesse Watters, and Greg Gutfeld. It's 5 o'clock there in New York City, and this is “The Five.”
A Fox News alert, President George H.W. Bush making the journey to his final resting place where he will be honored with a military ceremony. Earlier today, in our nation's capital, friends, family, former dignitaries, and five presidents gathering to honor the life and legacy of George Herbert Walker Bush. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: George Herbert Walker Bush was America's last great soldier statesman, a 20th century founding father.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every single head of government in the world knew that they were dealing with a gentleman, a genuine leader, one who was distinguished, resolute, and brave.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he was a man of such grace, humility, those who travel the high road of humility in Washington, D.C. are not bothered by heavy traffic.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP) PERINO: Our 43rd president George W. Bush's eulogy filled with humor and, of course, many touching moments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I think those brushes with death made him cherish the gift of life, and he vowed to live every day to the fullest. He was born with just two settings, full throttle then sleep. To us, he was close to perfect. But not totally perfect. His short game was lousy. He wasn't exactly Fred Astaire on the dance floor. The man couldn't stomach vegetables. Especially broccoli. And in our grief, but the smile knowing that dad is hugging Robin and holding mom's hand again.
(END VIDEO CLIP) PERINO: All right, that was Bush 43 doing the final eulogy there today. And I'm glad I could be on the show with my colleagues who have joined me from New York. Jesse, I thought I might go to you first and ask you to explain to me what a short game is?
JESSE WATTERS, HOST: That's when your ball is kind of -- not on the green but may be off in the bunker. Maybe 100 yards out then you chip it on. I guess that wasn't the strength of 41. Although, he had so many other strengths. You know I watch this today the entire thing and laughed and cried, and so many beautiful, touching moments and anecdotes. There was one line that really struck me. I think I forget who said it but he said don't consider this the end of an era, consider this the invitation to fill the void left by this great man. And all of the leaders today, I believe were really touched by this. It was an incredibly special moment for the country.
And his legacy, in fact, played out there among the congregation because this is a moment where Democrats, Republicans came together and listened. They put all of their egos aside and they reflected and honored a man who put the country above himself and put the country above party. And laughing and listening and reflecting on all those beautiful moments was almost a healing moment for the nation. And I just hope that we can all come away from this. Sadly, death brings us together but we can all come away from this with just a more intense desire to unite as a nation, because George H.W. Bush truly was a uniter, especially post-presidency.
PERINO: Indeed, that is true. Greg, I was thinking of you for a couple reasons today. One is that longevity in America has made a moment like this possible where -- kind of the first time in our nation's history you have five former living presidents there to say goodbye to one of their own, and that's pretty amazing for all the things America has achieved, and that's a lot of history in one place. But I also wondered if you would want to talk about the importance of bringing humor to moments like this.
GREG GUTFELD, HOST: That is exactly what I had in front of me. It is like --
PERINO: I know you well.
GUTFELD: You're like a TV psychic because that's exactly my point. I mean, we keep talking -- we talk a lot about the military but not about mirth. And we talk about heroism but not about humor. And I think that the crux of -- when George Bush was doing his eulogy up there about the fact that it was just kind of rolling with laughter and it was -- the importance of teasing, he brought up that his father teased a lot. And he brought up the concept of self-deprecation which I've always said is the most important thing on a TV show. As if you're with people who cannot make fun -- who cannot even make fun of themselves, you will not have fun with them. People have to be able to laugh at each other and laugh at you, and you have to share in that. It's the necessary lubrication for daily life.
And I know that people talk about, you know, we have this loss of civility. I'm more concerned about the loss of humor, because humor is the precursor to civility. It's a unifying quality that brings everybody who disagrees together, they can come together over a joke. We're living in a time essentially among the younger generations of saying that's not funny, OK? That's not funny. It is happening all over the place, and I think today was an important reminder the vitality of laughter and that humorlessness only leads to division, but humor can bring unification.
PERINO: And that humans have this unique ability to actually laugh, right? As one of the ways that we communicate and part of the storytelling. Juan, I wanted to play this for you because you could maybe explain, especially, for maybe some of our younger viewers who might not know what the broccoli reference was about. I think we have that sound. Let's play it now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: It's the last statement I'm going to have on broccoli. There are truckloads of broccoli at this very minute descending on Washington. My family is divided. I do not like broccoli. And I haven't liked it since I was a little kid, and my mother made me eat it. And I'm President of the United States, and I'm not going to eat anymore broccoli.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTFELD: That's great.
PERINO: Now, back -- if that were to happen now, you would have maybe a twitter mob, you have calls for firing. What happened around that?
JUAN WILLIAMS, HOST: So what happened was he never liked broccoli, as he said, but then he banned it -- banned it on Air Force One. But remember, he had never liked broccoli. It was kind of known that he didn't like broccoli. But when he banned it, it resulted in a story and the story became a sensation. This was prior to, as you point out, Dana, social media. So everybody was taking about it. It was like the kind of thing where everybody can relate, people who don't like to eat their vegetables. People who do think it's good. In fact, Barbara Bush said we're having -- not only are we having broccoli for dinner. We're having broccoli soup. So she was a broccoli fan. He was not. And I think it really spoke to people about a sense of knowing him.
And I think that's so important that -- I've mentioned and I think you mentioned, Dana, he was a terrific note writer, terrific friend to so many people. Alan Simpson said today, you know, at a moment when he was down on his popularity ratings, the president called him and said come on out to Camp David. He's that kind of guy. And to me, watching along with my colleagues here today, you know what stood out was father and son. We saw two presidents, both, father and son, celebrating a relationship. And certainly in the words of the son, but I think it was the father who made this possible because I don't think George W. Bush, the president you serve, was an easy child from all I can hear.
PERINO: He admitted it in the speech also as well.
WILLIAMS: And so when you see father, son talking about father and saying -- here I'm quoting, blessed to know him, blessed to have loved him. And accepting that even at this time of great loss. And then talking at the end in what to me was the highlight of the whole day, saying, you know, I can see him holding my mom's hand, holding Robin, the lost daughter's hand. To me, this was so emotional, so powerful, and so full of love. And I think at times, you know, Greg's talking about loss of mirth, I think sometimes it's very difficult especially for someone who's been President of the United States, a public figure, to show depth of love and affection for another human being. And it's not -- we're not talking about, you know, the kind of love that is male-female. We're talking about human affection from the heart, and that's what we saw today.
PERINO: One of the things, Sandra, and I'm so glad you're there today. I asked you co-anchor Bill Hemmer to sit with me today afterwards because I only had about 10 minutes to prepare and I knew that he was a steady hand who could do that. I will let you talk about whatever you want, but I thought I would set it up with this, there's that moment when George W. Bush comes in and he shakes the hand of President Trump, the first lady, and he sneaks something to Michelle Obama, of course we later learned they've got this little thing going back-and-forth with a little piece of candy or cough drop that he had -- he pulls it out of his pocket on the way there and hands it to her, and she gets a little bit of a laugh. I think America loves those little grace notes.
SANDRA SMITH, HOST: I was actually watching this, every minute of this. I think we all sat down and agreed you could not walk away. It was captivating. And watching what we're looking at right now, the first pew. And that moment, Dana, when George W. shook the hands of the president, leaned in to shake the hand of the first lady, and then leaned forward again to former President Barack Obama. And he realized he needed to walk around and shake all the hands of the living presidents and first ladies. And maybe that was one of the few unscripted moments there because he kind of leaned over and had to change course. But, otherwise, Dana, an incredible display of our American military. You got to see it firsthand. It was chilling. As an American, I almost wished that schools were closed and schoolkids could have watched every minute of this because it is something I will remember forever.
The military, you know, the procession to the national cathedral, it was just -- every single minute was planned, scripted, rehearsed. You have to think that this was in the works for decades, Dana. And by the way, credit to the army's military district of Washington. They were responsible for planning and playing out what was a 20 page script for this funeral. All the way down to the anthems and hymns, right down to the number of ruffles and flourishes. That, of course, preceded the hail to the chief, 16 of them played today, 21 gun salute, three of them rang out, and then the funeral bell, you heard it ringing time after time when the coffin reached the steps of the cathedral. Well, it rang 41 times naturally. And just the incredible military display. It just makes you so proud as an American to watch this today. It was really something.
PERINO: Indeed. It was flawless from a military standpoint, the staff that worked on it and, of course, the family that pulled it altogether. It was wonderful to be there for the reunions and for -- what was quite a wonderful send-off. And there will be one more memorial service tomorrow before he's buried at college station. All of you, thank you. Ahead, more on President George H.W. Bush's arrival in Texas. But first, Rudy Giuliani going after Robert Mueller after the release of new information about Michael Flynn's cooperation in the Russia probe. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WATTERS: President Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani blasting the special counsel after recommending no jail time for Michael Flynn. Robert Mueller's team saying in court documents last night that the former national security advisor should not be behind bars because he's provided, quote, substantial assistance in the Russia investigation. Giuliani reacting by calling the investigators sick puppies and adding that the legal memo does nothing to show Trump-Russia collusion. You know, Juan, what's interesting to me with this whole thing is that -- think about how it started. So Hillary loses and the Democrats needs to blame someone besides Hillary so they blame Russia and slap sanctions on the Russian so the Trump transition team says, hey, Flynn, called the Russian ambassador and tell him, you know, de-escalate the sanction situation. Don't hit us back with sanctions. He gets on the phone, calls Kislyak, the ambassador, and obviously this thing is recorded by the national security apparatus, and then he gets unmasked and this thing leaked, the conversation, to the Washington Post. Shocking how that came about, isn't it?
WILLIAMS: Woof, woof, woof, sick puppy. Sick puppy right here. Let me save the sick puppy point of view.
WATTERS: Yeah.
WILLIAMS: Is that, obviously, he had extensive cooperation with Mueller. And guess what, Jesse?
WATTERS: what's that?
WILLIAMS: The Russians would have had leverage. They would have so-called compromised the man who had told a lie that was known to the Russians but not known, obviously, to his own administration. The question is why did he lie? And the suggestion coming forth, unknown, so I'm just speculating here, is that the lie was directed from the very top of the administration. But we don't know that. We don't know why he lied. And what we do know is that for 19-plus meetings, hours exponentially beyond those 19 meetings, he's talking about not only the campaign but the transition. He was only in office for a very short time. So he's talking about what happened during the campaign and, of course, the Kislyak discussion. Suggesting that he knows a lot and is pointing not only at President Trump, it's pointing at his son-in-law, potentially pointing at his son, and we know that right now Roger Stone has taken the fifth. I remember when Donald Trump said anybody that takes the fifth is disreputable. It's terrible, he said. Oh-oh, now Roger Stone is taking the fifth.
WATTERS: Juan, what confuses me, and I'll kick this to you, Sandra, is that the people -- the FBI investigators that interviewed Flynn didn't think he lied, and Comey said he didn't lie, and McCabe said he didn't lie, but somehow he gets charged with not telling the truth to the FBI. I think the main thing he did wrong was lying to Pence about the conversation. And I think the only reason he did that was because of all this collusion story was swirling around and he didn't want to make it look like he was colluding with the Russians, when in fact he was just told to call the guy up and be a diplomat.
SMITH: Yeah, as a journalist, you try to go to through what was a 13-page memo that was put out and you tried to decide what you can really walk away with, right? Well, half of it, about half of it was redacted. I'm sure you looked through it as well. And the reason why you say -- you keep saying the words we don't know, we don't know, it's because the Mueller team, Robert Mueller is not telling us anything. So, I think there are some takeaways. I think you can easily say, Jesse --
WATTERS: Sandra, I think right now we have a special flyover over the Bush library right now. Air Force One, as we're seeing that carrying the casket of Bush 41. Going to Texas right now. Special mission 41 flyover at the Bush library in Texas. All right, Dana, let's bring you in the situation. This is my opinion, all right, this is how the deal was actually cut with Mueller. He was doing this side consulting gig with the Turks for a half a million dollars. It was a little shady, it was unregistered, there's some tax implications there --
WILLIAMS: You've said Mueller. You don't mean Mueller.
WATTERS: No, I'm saying that Flynn had this side ideal.
PERINO: Yeah.
WATTERS: And so Mueller comes to him and says, you know, we're not going to hit you with the consulting problems. I want you to plea for the Russia, quote-unquote, false statements, and that's how he's creating a narrative. Do you agree with that or not?
PERINO: I just hesitate to speculate that way, Jesse. I mean, if I -- if you're going down that path you could say, well, actually, who is really close to Turkey? That would be Russia. And then, what's the consulting contract for? I'm not willing to go there. I don't know. I actually thought that they might be pleased that Michael Flynn was not being recommended for any jail time. I mean, the president and Rudy Giuliani both said he doesn't deserve jail time. And so, I think that if he doesn't get jail time that's actually, probably, good for Michael Flynn and they can feel good about that. And then the pressure for a pardon, things like that, doesn't exist.
WATTERS: Yeah, this whole thing starts, you know, Flynn gets in trouble and Trump has this conversation with Comey and says, you know this guy, Flynn, he's a patriot. Hopefully, he doesn't get hurt too much. And it spirals into Comey gets fired and the special counsel gets appointed.
GUTFELD: Yeah, I mean, I agree with Dana. I think it is good news because this guy has given a lot to this country. But it all comes down to lying in a process that is designed to test your ability to maintain absolute honesty while inquisitors continually turn up the heat. So, Flynn, essentially, is the frog in that boiling pot and he's been found guilty of trying to get out of the pot. So, personally, my lesson is I would never accept a role in government because if you win the other side will initiate an investigation. And I will undoubtedly be called in, and I will be asked 100 to 200 questions. And I can tell you the odds are strong that I'm going to lie on 7 to 12 of them. Some of them might be about personal behavior, who knows. Something I did -- I'm a little -- I'm embarrassed about. So, at the end of this road you have a pile of human beings whose careers are destroyed because they entered the political sphere, and the losers get back at them by destroying them. There's no way around it. Human beings in these situations panic. They might tell a fib. I'll be that guy. So I will never --
WILLIAMS: You know, Greg, you know that he pled guilty.
GUTFELD: I know. Yes, I understand that.
(CROSSTALK)
GUTFELD: That's my point.
WATTERS: Greg Gutfeld has announced that he will no longer be seeking higher office here in the United States --
(CROSSTALK)
PERINO: Three down.
WILLIAMS: I feel like that sick puppy took a leak on my leg here.
(LAUGHTER) WATTERS: All right, cleanup on the set. A pompous Democrat offering up a stunning new excuse for why her party can't connect with voters. The video up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GUTFELD: At a symposium, Democratic Senator Hirono was asked what Democrats must do to connect with voters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. MAZIE HIRONO, D-HI: One of the things that we Democrats have a really hard time is connecting to people's hearts instead of here. We're really good at showing all the information that touch people here but not here. And I have been saying in all of our senate Democratic retreat that we need to speak to the heart, not in a manipulative way, not in a way that -- brings whether by fears and resentment, but truly to speak to the heart so that people know that we're actually on their side.
(END VIDEO CLIP) GUTFELD: Then they sing kumbaya. So, wait a second. The problem with Democrats is that they're too intellectual as opposed to emotional? This from a person who slammed all men in one burst of rage?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HIRONO: It's the men in this country, and I just want to say to the men in this country, just shut up and step up.
(END VIDEO CLIP) GUTFELD: I don't know about you, but I don't see that as connecting with anyone's brain, unless you mean hitting somebody over the head with a mallet. The real problem, it's the opposite of her diagnosis, and it was captured in that juvenile outburst from the Kavanaugh hearings. Anger focused against others for being others. It's weaponized identity. I suggest more mutual understanding, connecting with common sense that we all share, and share is the key word there. The problem with Democrats as I see it is the desire to pull apart rather than pull together. For a liberal, it's hard to even admit that patriotism is a good thing. It's so old, crusty, and mean. Instead, look backward with shame and they define all present relationships as oppressive. The result, you split people up into envy-driven factions of grievance. The result of that, a senator who denigrates all men as guilty parties. That doesn't come from the heart or the brain. It comes from Mazie Hirono who still owes us dudes a serious apology. Although, it will never happen. All right, Dana, what do you make of her analysis that they're -- you know, they connect too much with the brain, they need to connect with the heart.
PERINO: Well, I feel like it's just a variation on the deplorables theme because we can't possibly expect, you know, people in America to understand how intellectually superior the Democrats are supposedly. What's interesting is, actually, conservatives have been blamed for this in the past as well, right?
GUTFELD: Right.
PERINO: You talk too much about the deficit and the debt and you're too much about personal responsibility. And remember, that's actually -- frankly, it was something that was said about George H.W. Bush, and how did Bill Clinton differentiate himself? What did he say?
GUTFELD: I feel your pain.
PERINO: Feel your pain.
GUTFELD: He also tried to feel other things as well. But we won't get into that now.
PERINO: Indeed.
GUTFELD: Yes.
PERINO: And so, I think that -- Hillary Clinton has the problem in reverse.
GUTFELD: Yes.
PERINO: Donald Trump is able to, actually, connect with people emotionally and they're so frustrated because they can get the facts out. The facts, the facts, the facts. So it will be fun, you know, to kind of see this 2020 class of Democrats. I think we're now down from 40, I'm down to like 38 now.
GUTFELD: Yes, we lost Avenatti. He counts as a half.
PERINO: And we lost Deval Patrick today.
GUTFELD: Oh, did we? Jeez.
PERINO: Yes.
GUTFELD: There goes my voting poll.
Sandra, what do you make of this? Dems are using their brains too much.
SMITH: Well, we welcome a lot of Democrats on "America's Newsroom." You probably noticed in the morning.
GUTFELD: Yes.
SMITH: Quite a few of them do come on with us. And I -- I tend to always ask them, as I ask Republicans, ‘What is your message?’ Because part of the problem for Democrats is they're not saying what they stand for.
And, you know, if you were to translate her saying "We shove a lot of information out there," Greg, that's ‘We put a lot of talking points out there.’
So part of the resist movement is to say things and not act. And to Dana's point, Republicans have had a hard time with that historically, as well, talking about tax cuts or deficit. Like, what is it going to mean at the end of the day for your family? You've got to appeal to their hearts.
So for Democrats, it's going to take action, because there's a whole lot of talk right now.
GUTFELD: You know, Jesse, I don't buy what she's saying. She's saying they use their brains too much. But it seems like they don't understand due process, biology, the necessity of free markets or economics, patriotism or community. That seems like they're not thinking at all.
WATTERS: Permission to make an analogy, Greg.
GUTFELD: Yes, I would love that.
WATTERS: OK. She's totally misdiagnosed this. This would be like Donald Trump saying, ‘You know what? I'm too polite. I'm too politically correct. I'm trying to forge too much consensus. I'm going to be more brash, and I'm going to hit immigration harder. I haven't done that enough.’
It's -- you know, first of all, the Democratic Party has always put emotions over facts. Look at the Kavanaugh hearing.
GUTFELD: Right.
WATTERS: All the facts were on his side, and they wanted you to believe this woman who had no facts.
Look at the Parkland school shooting. Everything was saying this is a failure of the FBI, the state, the local, the police. And the Democrats wanted you to hate in your heart the NRA.
Or any government program that the Democrats put forth. They don't care much it costs. They don't even care if it really works that well. They just want to show voters that they're compassionate and that they care about you.
I think her real issue was she's not connecting with the working-class voters of the country, because they're fixated, the Democrats, with global warming and Syrian refugees.
GUTFELD: Identity.
WATTERS: Identity politics. And you have people in West Virginia or the Rust Belt that are saying, ‘Hey, what about me and my family? I'm an American. Stand up for me.’
GUTFELD: What if, Juan, a male senator said, ‘Women, just shut up’?
WILLIAMS: Obviously, that's not where we are --
GUTFELD: Yes.
WILLIAMS: -- in American culture at the moment, given what's going on.
But to me, the irony in this is that she's right. I mean, Democrats -- and I think have to learn how to speak from the heart, especially in an era when you're going up against President Trump, who makes his appeals based on fear, grievance, anger --
GUTFELD: Well, he's persuasive.
WILLIAMS: -- white identity. So he is appealing --
GUTFELD: He never mentions white identity, Jesse. I mean, Juan.
WILLIAMS: Remember, you talked -- you talked a moment ago about patriotism. He talks about nationalism, Greg. He is making an appeal that a lot of people fear is a --
GUTFELD: ‘America first’ is patriotism.
(CROSSTALK)
WILLIAMS: -- towards white nationalism. I mean, you look at the number of the kind of very much white nationalist groups that identify, that follow President Trump.
GUTFELD: But that's a faulty logic. Because you also have --
WILLIAMS: OK. Let me --
GUTFELD: -- you also have left-wing commie pinkos --
WILLIAMS: Oh, quiet.
GUTFELD: -- that love to be a Democrat.
WILLIAMS: Look, you --
GUTFELD: So does that make Democrats wrong?
WILLIAMS: Mr. -- Mr. Puffy (ph), just give me a second.
GUTFELD: No, what you're doing is you're saying, look --
WILLIAMS: You notice Mr. Puffy (ph) keeps talking?
GUTFELD: No, no, this is an important point.
WILLIAMS: No, because I'm talking.
GUTFELD: You never stop talking, Juan.
WILLIAMS: You were talking. You had a whole monologue.
GUTFELD: Would you like a monologue?
WATTERS: Don't go after the monologue. Don't you dare.
WILLIAMS: So here -- here's the point. That if you're a Democrat right now, you have to say, ‘Hey, you know what? We can talk about health care.’ By the way, Sandra, that was the message, a very effective message during the midterms. We can talk about health care.
But then the Republicans and President Trump come back and say, ‘Oh, no, that's socialism. We're taking it apart.’ And they're damaging health care.
You have to say to people what about, ‘Hey, what about’ -- and then you have this conversation. But until you say, ‘Here's a child being denied treatment,’ unless you can show that child, it doesn't have the same power as Trump making a wild-eyed argument and appealing to fear and grievance and anger.
GUTFELD: All right, so let's just dispense with this fallacy altogether. If Republicans like oranges, it's because a lot of people like oranges. If racists like oranges, that doesn't make Republicans racist. It means that a lot of people like oranges.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
GUTFELD: So that fallacy is now dead.
Up next --
WILLIAMS: It's not a fallacy.
GUTFELD: -- President George H. W. Bush --
WILLIAMS: And (UNINTELLIGIBLE) oranges.
GUTFELD: -- set to arrive in Houston. Former Senator Alan Simpson recalling the funnier side of his good friend, 41.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALAN SIMPSON, FORMER SENATOR: He loved a good joke, the richer the better. And he'd throw his head back and give that great laugh; but he never, ever could remember a punch line.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SMITH: Fox News alert. We are awaiting the arrival of President George H.W. Bush aboard Air Force One, which has been temporarily renamed Special Air Mission 41, in Houston.
Let's go back to Rick Leventhal at Ellington Field with more on the ceremony honoring our 41st president.
Hey, Rick.
RICK LEVENTHAL, CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Sandra.
Special Airlift Mission 41 has just completed its flyover of College Station, where Bush 41 will be laid to rest tomorrow afternoon. It's on its way here. Should be touching down here at Ellington Field about 30 minutes from now.
And I can tell you there's a large crowd gathered to my right. We can't show them to you, because there's a lot in the way. But it includes family, friends, and some invited guests, we're told, including Houston Texans and Houston Astros, because the president was a big fan and friend of the teams. Also, members of a couple of area high schools and the the administration of a couple of area hospitals here, as well, for an arrival ceremony that will mirror the departure ceremony we saw here on Monday with the 77th Army Band from Fort Sill, Oklahoma. And they'll be playing "Ruffles and Flourishes."
And we'll hear that 21-gun salute from several cannons that are parked here next to the runway.
And the president's casket will be taken off of that 747, as the family departs the jet and watches. It will pass in front of an honor guard here and be put into a hearse for that caravan from here to the church, St. Martin's Episcopal, where people will be able to pay their respects to the president later tonight through early tomorrow morning.
And of course, the funeral is set for 10 a.m. local time tomorrow, some 1,200 guests. And the Oak Ridge Boys and Reba McEntire will be singing. The eulogies provided by James Baker and George P. Bush. That's tomorrow morning.
But again, we're waiting here at the air field for the arrival of that 747 and George H.W. Bush returning home -- Sandra.
SMITH: Well, it was wheels up just a few minutes ago. Rick Leventhal at Ellington Field for us in Houston. Thank you.
Well, President George W. Bush providing a moving eulogy for his father, President George H.W. Bush, at Washington's National Cathedral earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT: As he aged, he taught us how to grow with dignity, humor, and kindness. And when the good Lord finally called, how to meet him with courage and with the joy of the promise of what lies ahead.
He strongly believed that it was important to give back to the community and country in which one lived. He recognized that serving others enriched the giver's soul. To us, his was the brightest of a thousand points of light.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Juan, looking back at some of these clips, it's hard to pick a favorite moment from today. Why don't you try?
WILLIAMS: Well, I really think the father-son connection was very special. And I also think, you know, Rick was talking about all the people there at Ellington Field who've been invited. And to me the idea that, unlike John McCain, that the Bush family invited President Trump, despite all the animosity between the two, was a real positive sign. I just loved the idea that he was inclusive and could be forgiving.
SMITH: Another favorite moment of mine, Jesse, was seeing his granddaughters do the readings at the cathedral, a really special moment, as well. Jenna, as well as Laura Bush.
WATTERS: Yes, they're very eloquent young women. Great parenting and great grandparenting. Everybody came off looking incredibly poised and gathered and -- and affectionate towards their -- George H.W. Bush.
W. had a great line. He said, ‘You know, my father had such a great sense of humor. He loved a great joke, and that's why he chose Senator Simpson to come speak at the funeral.’
And just what Greg was saying earlier, such self-deprecation made everybody around him so endearing towards him. He rattled off a few lines, and he said about, you know, the undecideds, they could go either way in this election and told some great stories about how his friends, who loved to joke with him, came by his hospital room and brought him vodka and brought him steak and were rubbing his feet and out running in the boat, the Secret Service off the coast of Maine. Just a really special moment for all his friends.
SMITH: and Dana, obviously, a really special day and special coverage for you because of your relationship with the Bush family.
PERINO: Yes. You know, the other night when he was at the Rotunda, I really I couldn't even look at 43, because I thought, ‘I'm going to break up on air.’
One thing that Liz Cheney told us is that we didn't know before is that yesterday, before he went to the Rotunda, as the securities service often do, they cleared out the Rotunda of all the public. Remember, there was a four-and-a-half-hour wait outside.
And 43 said, ‘No, let the public come in. We want to be surrounded by them.’ And then they go around shaking hands with everyone. You might remember the photograph of him picking up the baby? Well, our own hair and makeup team, Jo-Jo and Michelle, they were at dinner last night. They sit next to this table. And they're all talking about how they met George Bush, and George Bush held the baby, and they saw the picture. And it just happened to be, like, one of those small -- small-town moments here in Washington.
SMITH: I love it when Senator -- as Senator Simpson started his eulogy and said, ‘Don't worry. I've only got 10 minutes. No, really. Really, I've only got 10 minutes. George told me. He was firm on that’ -- Greg.
GUTFELD: Yes, it was a lot of laughter, a lot of smiling there. It was because it really was a celebration of a life that was well-lived. I mean, you were -- World War II, CIA, vice president, president. The guy's done more than most people do in three lifetimes.
And to Dana's point, the floor-and-a-half-hour wait in the public. You know, I always -- when I'm driving home, I see lines for people overnight waiting for a Nike shoe or for a PlayStation, and I'm always going, like, ‘What the -- what's the world coming to, people waiting in line for that?’
And then you see humans waiting in line for something that they love; and it's good to see that that kind of love still exists in the face of new, you know, things to fall in love with. There are still people out there willing to wait in line.
SMITH: At times, the line was over two and a half hours, I know. All right. Thank you, everyone.
Up next, climate change armist [SIC] -- alarmist Bernie Sanders being called out for his mile-high hypocrisy. That's next.
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WILLIAMS: This is a FOX News alert. What you're looking at is Special Mission 41, previously known, of course, Air Force One. But President Trump has designated it as such to take former President George H.W. Bush back to Texas.
The plane already flew over the Bush Library in College Station. It's going to land at Ellington Field. Tomorrow the president will be buried at Texas A&M outside of his library alongside his wife, Barbara. His wife, I might add, of 73 years, who just died in April of this year. Also at that cemetery site is Robin Bush, the president's daughter, who died at age 3 back in 1953.
And we've been talking with Rick Leventhal, who's on the ground at Ellington Field. And he says that right now, there are long lines -- thick lines of people awaiting the president's, you know, posthumous arrival. People, as Rick told us, who are even members of the sports teams. As you know, President George W. Bush owned the Houston Astros. And the president, George H.W. Bush, famously was in his wheelchair for the coin flip for a Super Bowl.
SMITH: So his body will lie in repose at St. Martin's Episcopal Church overnight. Tomorrow will be the second private funeral. That will take place there. Thursday evening will be the burial.
WILLIAMS: Right.
SMITH: And some more special moments will be coming as we all just -- all just lived through what was a really memorable day for American history.
WILLIAMS: Terrific. And I think particularly memorable for a member of "The Five," Ms. Dana Perino.
PERINO: Well, indeed. Of course, I certainly don't lay claim to George H.W. Bush, but I was honored to know him and for him to have trusted me as a friend.
I was telling a story the other day about how, in 2010, I did the book tour P.R. for George W. Bush. And one of the things we did was an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
And to make it special, we went to Kennebunkport, Maine; and 41 was going to be in the interviewed. And he asked me earlier, "What do I -- what am I supposed to wear today?"
And I said, "Well, sir, I think it would be nice -- you know, it's Oprah -- if you could wear a jacket. That would be great."
And he did not want to wear a jacket. He's casual up there in Kennebunkport. So he gave me a hard time for about two hours. He kept asking me, ‘Do I have to wear a jacket?’
I said, ‘It would be nice if you wore a jacket. It's just for 45 minutes.’
He said, ‘I know the jacket I'm going to wear.’ And he went into his bedroom, and he comes back out into the living room. And he's wearing this bedazzled Oak Ridge Boys 80th birthday jacket. And he says, ‘I'm going to wear this for the Oprah interview.’
And so I said, ‘OK, sir, you don't have to wear a jacket.’
WILLIAMS: Is that the way to get around you, Dana? That was a smart move.
Gregory, what do you think? I was talking -- you were talking about the love of mirth. And he was -- you know, it's not the Ronald Reagan tell a joke kind of humor. It was more the self-depreciating [SIC] kind of humor. We were talking about the broccoli. He made fun of the broccoli. He didn't get uptight about it. He just said, ‘I don't like broccoli,’ and the whole country responded.
GUTFELD: Yes, no, the fact is if you -- if you can't make fun of yourself, what good are you? You know?
PERINO: Yes.
GUTFELD: If you take yourself too seriously, actually, nobody takes you seriously. And I think that's the important lesson to learn.
The guy was a hero, but he also was a funny dude.
WILLIAMS: You know, Jesse, you have a great relationship with your dad; and I thought today we saw another great father-son relationship.
WATTERS: Yes. It must've been very cathartic for W. to get up there and eulogize his father like that. And he did it so eloquently and covered all the bases, and made people laugh and made people think and cry. At the end, when he choked up and teared up, I think everybody in the country choked up and teared up.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
WATTERS: And it was a really powerful moment.
WILLIAMS: So sweet.
We'll be right back with "One More Thing" here on the "The Five"
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PERINO: All right. Its time now for "One More Thing." I've got to say, at the funeral today, you guys, lots of fans of "The Five." So we've fans there, all across the country, but they gathered at the National Cathedral.
GUTFELD: Who do they like most?
PERINO: Yes, you, Greg, for sure. For sure.
I did want to thank Bill Hemmer, who stayed around an extra hour to sit with me for "The Daily Briefing" show and helped me through that, because I didn't have time to prepare. I didn't know anything that was going on in the news; and I really leaned on him and appreciated that.
So Sandra, thanks for letting me have him for the afternoon. And now we'll go to Juan.
WILLIAMS: All right. You've heard about hat tricks in hockey, throwing hats on the ice after one player scores three goals. Well, what about teddy bear tossing? Take a look at this video, folks.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hit the cross bar. He scores! It's teddy bear toss time.
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WILLIAMS: Look at that, like they're raining teddy bears. After the Hershey Bears scored their first goal, the crowd began tossing the bears onto the ice. In fact, they threw a record 34,000 bears onto the ice.
Tossing teddy bears at a hockey game is a tradition starting in '93. The charity drive now a staple for several minor league teams. The stuffed bears will be Christmas gifts for children's through schools, food banks, the Children's Miracle Network and the American Cancer Society. Way to go to the Hershey Bears.
PERINO: That is very nice. Jesse Watters.
WATTERS: I think I saw a Trumpy bear in that pile.
WILLIAMS: Is that right?
WATTERS: Did you guys catch that?
All right. I work with a charity called the Independence Fund, and what they do is they get track chairs, these specialized track chairs for veterans who have lost limbs, their legs, in combat. And one of Dana's favorite bands, Independence -- or the Florida Georgia Line is teaming up with the Independence Fund.
PERINO: Wow.
WATTERS: Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Giving these amazing veterans some incredible chairs that allow them to pretty much go anywhere. We're talking about four- wheel-drive chairs that allow them to stand. It's crazy. We're super blessed to be a part of this. We've been touched by these heroes' stories.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATTERS: So this Friday in Vegas, Florida Georgia Line and the Independence Fund are going to be having a big event, so check that out. If you can't make it to Vegas, IndependenceFund.org to donate.
PERINO: Beautiful. And --
WATTERS: All right. I think we have the Air Force One landing right now in Texas, carrying the body of former President George H.W. Bush. That's Ellington Airfield in Houston, Texas, right there. That is --
PERINO: Jesse --
WATTERS: Yes, go ahead, Dana.
PERINO: I might just add one thing. It's really interesting for me to watch this decision that he had early on in his life to go to Texas, to leave New England and all the comforts and, basically, the privilege that he had been born into.
And he said, ‘No, let me go and try to make it on my own.’ And then he decided to make Houston his home. And if anyone is wondering about, can you make it somewhere else? Can you move on and find upward mobility and find a home in a community in another place, there are places around America where you can still do that. Houston might be one of them. But it really is amazing that he's going back there to such a hero's welcome.
WATTERS: And that was a time when he really struck out on his own during the oil boom in Texas at the time. And a lot of speculators. And you know, he was at the right place in the right time and definitely did well for himself.
And his son, W., tried to do the same thing. Not as successful, but successful in his own right there. And politics were in both of their blood; and they both went on to become presidents.
WILLIAMS: You know, there was a—a great quote this week, and I'm forgetting who said it, but someone said that George H.W. Bush was a Texan by choice. Others are Texans by birth. He was Texan by choice.
WATTERS: All right. Well, coverage continues with "Special Report" up next with Bret Baier. Take it away, Bret.
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