Former FDA commissioner on coronavirus: We believe transmission is respiratory

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Former FDA commissioner on coronavirus: We believe transmission is respiratory

Coronavirus prompts FDA to detail screening of Chinese-made products; former FDA commissioner David Kessler weighs in.

This is a rush transcript from "Your World with Neil Cavuto," February 25, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: All right, thank you, Bill.

And, oops, they did it again. After yesterday's big sell-off, guess what?
Another one, and a big one.

Welcome, everybody. I'm Neil Cavuto.

And FOX on top of a market that cannot seem to find a bottom, the Dow Jones
industrial skidding another 877 points on top of yesterday's better-than-
1,000-point sell-off. Now, with the sell-off today, all the major averages
aren't only underperforming. They're all underwater.

The NASDAQ hopes to beat it. Doesn't look like that can be the case.

That coronavirus that can't seem to contain itself is the big reason yet
again. Now, what is different this time is how big and widespread it just
keeps getting, the number of cases in Italy spiking 45 percent in one.
There are now 10 deaths and 300 confirmed cases.

Then there's South Korea looking at close to 1,000 cases. It was at 31 just
a week ago. More incidents in Iran. in Iraq. You name it, they are worrying
about it. And so are investors, too scared right now to buy stocks, but not
too scared to buy safe havens from stocks, including bonds, driving up
prices and driving down interest rates.

The yield on a 10-year treasury has never been lower, ever. Mortgage rates
and refinancing rates, home equity loan rates all crashing down with them.
That could be good news for consumers.

Teddy Weisberg has seen this kind of thing before, the Wall Street legend
here to say the details might be a tad different this time, but it's not
all different this time.

Teddy, what do you make of it?

TED WEISBERG, PRESIDENT, SEAPORT SECURITIES CORPORATION: Well, it's -- it
always -- it always feels the same, even though it is a little different,
Neil.

The pain -- there's not a lot of tolerance for the pain when they go the
wrong way.

CAVUTO: Right.

WEISBERG: And, clearly, we have been going the wrong way for the last
couple of days.

CAVUTO: Now, do you look at this as the markets trying to maybe take some
profits here?

Investors, certainly, they have had a great run, continue to have a great
run. Whatever is going on this year, over the past year, it's been a heck
of a ride. So, what do you think?

WEISBERG: Yes, it has been a heck of a ride, Neil. And it's been a good
ride.

And everybody gets a little bit complacent when things get too good and
stay good for a long time. And we know markets don't go one way forever.
Unfortunately, they don't ring a bell. They don't tell us when they're
going to reverse.

And -- but the one thing that markets cannot deal with, no matter where we
are in the trends, is the unknown. And, clearly, this coronavirus has
created huge unknowns as far as the market is concerned.

So, whatever the reason, clearly, you're seeing a reaction to this unknown.
And until there is some clarity, even if the clarity is not necessarily
positive, but, hopefully, it will be, the markets will continue to have
difficulty finding -- finding some legs.

CAVUTO: I'm beginning to wonder.

I mean, we always knew about what was going on in China, not always getting
reliable data or information out of China. I think this escalated when more
U.S. companies started to say, we're kind of exposed to this. We're worried
about this. We're watching this, not all of them.

But I think, when Apple led the way last week, and others started
telegraphing much the same, that it got folks worried. Are they justifiably
worried? Do you think this is overdone?

WEISBERG: Well, no, I -- first of all, we're not going to know it's
overdone, unfortunately, without the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: That's what you're well-known for. You're Mr. -- you know it
already.

(LAUGHTER)

WEISBERG: I do.

And I will tell you this. I got a phone call. I got a phone call today from
a fellow who I like to think I taught everything he knows, and told me he
thinks they're OK here. He was going to start to put some money to work.

I don't know if it's today or tomorrow.

CAVUTO: Yes.

WEISBERG: But we're down about 8.5 percent in a straight line. You know,
at some point, it doesn't even pay to kick a dead horse.

And I think it's probably a time to at least nibble. I'm not saying you
want to jump in here. But, clearly, there are some pretty interesting
opportunities that have been created by the sell-off of the last couple of
days.

CAVUTO: Yes, because the backdrop for this looks pretty solid, corporate
earnings in this country very, very solid. We are a bastion and investment
haven for much of the world.

I guess the problem is whether much of the world can take advantage of
that, right?

WEISBERG: Well, listen, we don't know where the bottoms are. And it's a
mistake to try to pick bottoms.

CAVUTO: True.

WEISBERG: And we know -- also know, Neil, that Wall Street's the only
business in the world, when they have a fire sale, nobody comes, because
they're all scared to death.

CAVUTO: That's true.

WEISBERG: Now, I don't know -- I don't know if -- where these bottoms are.

But, clearly, stocks are down. A lot of stocks are down well more than 8.5
percent. And some of the companies that have been beaten up -- because when
they raid the house of ill repute, Neil, they even take the piano player.

(LAUGHTER)

WEISBERG: And so they're basically -- they're basically beating up
everything.

But there are clearly many companies that don't have a lot of exposure to
the negative consequences of trade in China and the virus. So that's
probably where the value is. And there are many companies that would fall
into that category.

And I just think that, rather than be nervous about the fire sale, it's
really a time to kind of develop a shopping list and start kind of sniffing
around and look for some of those values, because, clearly, they are being
created before our very eyes.

CAVUTO: All right, we're showing old pictures of you in the iconic days.

I believe this was just after the Civil War, Teddy. So you look great.

(LAUGHTER)

WEISBERG: Yes. Yes.

CAVUTO: Keep at it, my friend.

Seriously, I do appreciate your taking the time. You have always been a
calm voice in market sell-offs. And you never get too excited in market
run-ups. You're very even-keeled. I'm suspicious of people like you.

WEISBERG: Thank you.

CAVUTO: All right. Thank you, my friend. Always good seeing you, Teddy
Weisberg.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: He is an institution, a very good read on things.

By the way, with today's sell-off, to Teddy's point, the Dow is now down
more than 7 percent from all-time highs reached little more than a couple
of weeks ago. And, as I said, the major averages are now underwater on the
year.

So is that a reason, in and of itself, to worry?

Let's ask Steve Moore and Codie Sanchez and Dave Ragland, astute market and
economy watchers all.

Steve, having worked for the president, do you think he should be nervous?
Are you nervous?

STEPHEN MOORE, FORMER DONALD TRUMP CAMPAIGN ADVISER: Oh, sure. Everyone
should be nervous when stocks fall by, what was the number you said, 7.5
percent over the last couple of weeks?

(CROSSTALK)

MOORE: And no one knows where this is going to hit the bottom because of
the virus.

Look, I do think there's a bit of a Bernie Sanders factor here. It's been
said, but you look at the stocks that are really getting crushed, and they
tend to be like health insurance companies and energy companies that
Sanders has gone after.

But, look, there's not much...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: You don't really think that this is Senator Sanders-inspired, do
you?

(CROSSTALK)

MOORE: No, no, no, no.

I'm just saying this is part of the picture, that these things happened
over the weekend.

It is no question this is the virus.

CAVUTO: Yes.

MOORE: What can the president do? I think continue to just exude
confidence and let Americans know that this is -- if it's real, that this
is being contained.

One other quick point, Neil. You're talking about the bond rate. What was
that on the 10-year treasury now? I think it's 1.2 percent or 1.3 percent?

CAVUTO: Ridiculously, all-time lows, yes.

MOORE: Yes.

And so what that's telling you is, people are buying 10-year treasury
bills. It's 1.3, I guess.

CAVUTO: Right.

MOORE: People are buying 10-year treasuries. Inflation is 1.5 to 2
percent. So people are buying these bonds at negative real interest rates.

That's a real sign of panic.

CAVUTO: Yes.

Codie, when I look at this, too, I wonder whether those lower rates,
coupled with lower gas and energy prices that have been slip-sliding over
the past week or so, that could provide a floor here, couldn't it?

I mean, certainly, for consumers, it means a significant savings. And for
investors, I mean, those rates are so low, you almost are forced to go into
higher-yielding stocks and dividends are higher than the rates that are out
there now.

CODIE SANCHEZ, ENTOURAGE EFFECT CAPITAL: I think you're exactly right.

I mean, pair that with the fact that most of the businesses here in the
U.S. do not have a huge impact from a demand standpoint to China. I mean,
for the average American consumer, it's a good thing to have your
commodities a little bit lower.

I think what we're looking at here is, history doesn't always repeat, but
it rhymes. We saw what happened with SARS, historically. And that was 20
percent down. Now we're at 8 percent down, but both times, I mean, we saw
the market rebound.

So, from our perspective, we're on the ground every day talking to private
company CEOs across the country. Let me tell you what, they are not
changing their plans for the short-term in the U.S. based on what's
happening right now with the virus.

CAVUTO: You know, David, when I was looking around at some other news
today, the underlying economy very, very sound, home prices in 20 cities
surveyed up 3.8 percent in December, continuing what has been a strong
trend on the housing front.

I imagine, with lower rates, that could be welcome news, but the backdrop,
again, has never been in question. I'm just wondering whether the fears of
what's going on alone with the coronavirus and no stop to its spread,
albeit a contained spread, if that's the way to put it, keeps this falloff
in check. What do you think?

DAVID RAGLAND, IRC WEALTH: Yes, no question about it.

Everybody is screaming fire in the theater right now. So everybody's
panicking. But, of course, we're down 8 percent with a speed bump probably
at 10 percent.

But when you look at housing, the consumer being strong, interest rates
going down, my car loan is getting cheaper, my home loan is getting
cheaper, my -- maybe my credit card interest is getting cheaper, all that's
kind of funnel back into the economy, give those people that spend the most
amount of their money out of their paycheck more money to spend.

That's going to be good for the economy on a long-term basis. Obviously,
this is a temporary setback. Longer term, market is going to help us out.
We look back December of 2018, great buying opportunity, when the market
was down 20 percent, again, with SARS, the market 20 percent. Perfect time
to be starting the nibbling.

CAVUTO: All right, we should point out -- a very good historical reference
there, and all of you are very good at that -- that, in the case of SARS
and Ebola, initial sell-offs were quickly reverse by some buying
opportunities.

We don't know when they kick in, if they kick in, but history tends to say
they kick in. The question is how soon.

Meanwhile, could markets be selling off because those in charge seem to be
all over the map? Now, the president saying that things are under control,
Chuck Schumer saying that they are not. The Health and Human Services
secretary says, we are doing just fine. The CDC predicting a corona hit
here is inevitable.

To Blake Burman at the White House on all these crosscurrents.

Hey, Blake.

BLAKE BURMAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Neil.

Lots of headlines all over the place, you're right, so let me try to pick
through them one by one.

First off, just a little while ago we heard from the nation's top
infectious diseases doctor, who said that they are making headway on a
trial for the vaccine for the coronavirus. However, he said, even if
they're able to work through this at a rapid speed, as he put it, a vaccine
wouldn't be available until at least 12 to 18 months out.

Add on top of that the Centers for Disease Control saying today that the
risk inside the U.S. at this moment is low. However, they are also warning
that community spread is likely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REAR ADM. DR. ANNE SCHUCHAT, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL
AND PREVENTION: Now, it's not so much a question of if this will happen
anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen, and
how many people in this country will become infected and how many of those
will develop severe or more -- more complicated disease.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURMAN: Meantime, the Trump administration is now asking Congress to
approve a $2.5 billion spending package for Health and Human Services to
help battle the coronavirus.

The top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, has been critical, very
critical, of the president and his administration's response, saying, for
example, that figure should be at least $3.1 billion.

In India this morning, President Trump said no amount of money would have
satisfied Schumer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If more, he'd say it should
be less, automatic. With these characters, they're not -- they're just not
good for our country.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: The administration's
incompetence is towering and dangerous right now. And they have got to get
their act together for the safety, the health, and even the lives of the
American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURMAN: In this very Briefing Room earlier today, I asked the president's
top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, if this sell-off that we have been
witnessing here over the last couple days is justified, Neil.

He kind of laughed it off for a moment, looked at me and said -- quote --
"Markets do what markets do."

He also added that they feel at this White House, Neil, that this economy
is indeed in good shape. And Kudlow said, if you have got a longer-term
horizon, you might potentially want to look at this as a buying opportunity
-- Neil.

CAVUTO: All right, Blake, thank you very, very much.

As Blake was speaking, we're getting some news in that's a bit of a shocker
here concerning Walt Disney Company naming Bob Chapek its CEO, replacing
Bob Iger, effective immediately. We don't know what's behind this

Mr. Iger was going to step down, but he was going to say at least another
couple of years, so we don't know what prompted this move, but, effective
immediately, Bob Iger stepping down, Bob Chapek coming in to take his
place.

We will have more after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
 
CAVUTO: All right, the maestro behind the Mouse House, Bob Iger of Disney,
is stepping down, effective immediately.

And the stock on this news is tumbling about 2.5 percent in after-hours
trading. While it was expected that Mr. Iger was going to leave the CEO
post, it really wasn't slated to happen until sometime next year, by some
measures, maybe the end of next year.

But he has stepped down, effectively -- effective immediately. Bob Chapek,
the most -- the CEO who has been in charge of the Disney parks,
experiences, products, assuming the role of the CEO immediately.

We understand right now that Mr. Iger will stay on the company as an
executive chairman. We don't know much more than that or what precipitated
this. While, again, it was telegraphed, it wasn't expected to happen so
soon, to say nothing of immediately.

We're keeping an eye on it, the stock trading down after-hours.

Meanwhile, administration officials are giving senators an update on that
coronavirus, as the number of cases, certainly outside China, begin to
increase rapidly.

My next guest at that briefing, Indiana Republican Senator Mike Braun.

Senator, good to have you.

SEN. MIKE BRAUN (R-IN): Good to be on, Neil.

CAVUTO: What did you hear -- what did you hear from the briefing?

BRAUN: So, I was there, and I was impressed.

The CDC, the FDA, National Institute of Health, across the board, I think
we have got the infrastructure, and we are prepared. And I know that Chuck
Schumer has been doing the Schumer shuffle on trying to say otherwise.

And I think that is sad, because it's not the case. First of all, this has
all occurred outside our borders. I think we have 14 cases. And it isn't to
be taken lightly.

But Ken Cuccinelli was there as well. And everything I heard -- and I was
there for the first half-an-hour -- says that we are prepared. And when you
have a guy like Leader Schumer doing that, with baseless, we're not
prepared, with no good reasons, it reminds me of impeachment, when he was
doing the same thing, and also reminds me of my campaign I ran for six
months against him orchestrating that kind of baloney.

You got to have foundation if you're going to say stuff like that. And I
didn't sense that at all today.

CAVUTO: The one thing we are hearing, though, Senator, is mixed messages.

BRAUN: Yes.

CAVUTO: The CDC says one thing. Obviously, you got World Health officials
who are saying quite another, but not everyone is on the same page.

And I just get a sense -- and maybe that contributes to the selling -- is
this a controlled virus, or is it not? What did you hear on that front?

BRAUN: Well, I think that that underlying issue -- and no one knows it,
for sure.

We know it's been explosive in a place like China that does not have the
infrastructure, wasn't prepared for that kind of outbreak. You could see
that by how they were scrambling to contain it. And I think, here, it's
much different.

We are going to be as globally interacted as any place, and for so few
cases. And, plus, we have got the facilities, we have got the technology,
we have got the ways of treating it.

We can't take it lightly, but I don't like it when Schumer is out there
saying that we're ill-prepared, and with no good reason to say that. I
think we are ready, and it remains to be seen.

CAVUTO: All right.

So, I think what he was talking about is the mixed messages part, the CDC
saying, it's just a matter of time before it's here. That might be stating
the obvious, to your point.

But the other issue, I think, others have been saying is, is the $2.5
billion I guess that the president has asked for enough?

BRAUN: Yes.

CAVUTO: I know he mentioned abroad today, when he was in India, no matter
what he asked for, the Democrats would criticize it as too little. He asked
for too little. It was too much. So, I get that.

But is it worrisome to you that the president and Chuck Schumer or others
in elected office are not at all on the same page?

BRAUN: No.

Sadly, it's the Hatfields and the McCoys here on any major piece of
legislation, and especially when you're throwing elections and all that is
at stake in the presidential election. And we see what the other side is
touting. We will listen to it tonight.

To me, when you do things like Chuck Schumer has done, where you try to
sensationalize it, to me, that is meaning you're losing on the merits of
the case.

CAVUTO: But did the president go the other way, Senator, do you fear?

I mean, he's trying to reassure people, I get that, but that it's
contained, or that we're on top of it? You know, is that the right message?

BRAUN: I think it's -- I don't think there's any way you could determine
that.

But what I heard today, across five different agencies, is that we're
prepared.

CAVUTO: Yes.

BRAUN: And I do know for certain that we have got much better
infrastructure than any place in the world.

It is a new virulent form of coronavirus. And we're going to learn from it.
We can't take it lightly.

CAVUTO: All right.

BRAUN: We're the most prepared place in the world to deal with it.

CAVUTO: All right, knock on whatever.

Senator, thank you very much. Good seeing you again.

BRAUN: You're welcome.

CAVUTO: All right.

All right, in the meantime, as the senator intimated there, this could
become a big issue in the Democratic debate tonight, not so much how the
president is handling it, but how the candidates who want to be president
would handle it differently.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
 
CAVUTO: All right, a lot of Wall Street selling.

Democratic presidential hopefuls ready for some old-fashioned debating and
could be raging over the president's response to the coronavirus. Already,
we told you that Chuck Schumer has been.

Peter Doocy in Charleston, South Carolina, with what we could in store for
-- Peter.

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Neil, this is the first time all
cycle that Bernie Sanders is going to be by himself at center stage. And
it's also the first time that Joe Biden will not be either by himself or
with one other candidate at center stage.

That is because of changes in polling. And these are changes that the
Bloomberg team has been watching and they are signaling they are getting
ready to turn the heat way up on Bernie Sanders.

There was an adviser to the campaign who said this morning they plan to
single out loopy stuff in his background, in Sanders' background, that they
don't think has been reported on.

Now, Sanders is standing his belief today that Fidel Castro wasn't all bad,
because, aside from his authoritarian streak, Castro initiated a literacy
program. And Sanders is now hinting that, if he gets the nomination, his
running mate will not be what he describes as an old white guy.

In South Carolina, though, the man to beat is still Joe Biden, who remains
the leader in this state's polls ahead of Saturday's presidential primary.
He did last night slip up at an event and describe himself as a Democratic
candidate for the United States Senate, which, of course, is something that
we have known for months he is not.

And, in fact, the race is getting so close to delegate counts really
mattering that FOX News has learned that Nancy Pelosi is asking the DNC in
Washington, D.C., to start briefing the individual campaigns about how the
delegates are going to be divided up and what comes next as they really
start to pile up -- Neil.

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

Meanwhile, forget about the coronavirus slamming stocks. President Trump
sees a bigger threat for the market.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: But I think that, frankly, until the election is over, our market,
it's phenomenal, but our market will jump thousands and thousands of points
if I win.

If I don't win, you're going to see a crash like you have never seen
before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: All right.

What does GOP strategist Lauren Claffey think of that, Axios reporter Stef
Kight, Democratic strategist Michael Starr Hopkins.

Michael, the president is voted out, stocks down and out. What do you
think?

MICHAEL STARR HOPKINS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, let me first start by
saying the stock market is not an indicator how the economy's doing.

As you look today and the last two days, the stock market has dropped
almost 2,000 points. I would imagine the president would say that has
nothing to do with his job performance.

So I think the president needs to be careful with what parallels he draws
between the stock market and the economy.

CAVUTO: So, looking at that, Stef, the president is obviously trying to
say, I mean, any one of these candidates, from Bernie Sanders all the way
down to Tulsi Gabbard, they will raise your taxes. The only difference is
the degree, and that if you want to keep things the way they are, he's the
guy.

What if these markets go kablooey, though? I mean, only a couple of days
here, but if this sustains itself, that could change things, couldn't it?

HOPKINS: Well, we're seeing that most...

STEF KIGHT, AXIOS: Absolutely.

CAVUTO: No, no, one second.

HOPKINS: I'm sorry.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Right to Stef.

HOPKINS: Go ahead.

KIGHT: Yes, I think the president's comments actually point to the fact
that he is kind of preparing to shift blame if the markets continue to fall
and if this really does do damage to the economy.

And, of course, typically, when stocks are falling, it's bad for the
incumbent. And when they're rising, it's good for the incumbent. But we
have seen President Trump in the past kind of shift blame to the media or
the Fed or other people when the economy seems to be not doing so well.

So I think those comments are indicating that he's willing to start trying
to shift blame on Bernie Sanders, who is now the current front-runner,
especially given his more progressive policies when it comes to the
economy.

So I think this is a good indicator of what's to come, if -- either way,
whether the markets continue to fall or not.

CAVUTO: All right, just to be clear, Lauren Claffey, what he was talking
about is the threat if any of those guys got elected.

I think he attributed much of what we have been seeing in the last -- of
course, this hadn't taken off when he was speaking to the press this
morning -- to the coronavirus, and that's been a big factor in here.

And I think most would agree with that. But I am wondering, if this does
take hold, if it does disrupt businesses that obviously have these vital
supply chains all over the world linked to Asia, I mean, you could see a
domino effect here that could disrupt things, couldn't you?

LAUREN CLAFFEY, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yes, you could a domino effect.

And I think that everybody's going to be watching that closely. But I
think, in that instance, the American voter, if we're talking about this
from a political sense, is going to be looking at President Trump's
administration's response to the coronavirus, not necessarily the economic
impact, when judging his performance on this.

So I think it'll -- I think there will be a natural separation there, if
we're talking about -- if we're talking about what this might do to impact.

I think, generally, the economy being strong, and, as we have seen -- and
you were talking about this in a previous segment -- historically, the
stock market pops back up after the uncertainty is removed from a lot of
these viruses and SARS and other -- and Ebola and such.

CAVUTO: Right.

CLAFFEY: And so this will probably stabilize itself at some point and
probably will not have as much of an impact on people's everyday lives.

You see people care about the economy from a political standpoint when it
impacts their kitchen table budget and decisions that they're having to
make with their family.

CAVUTO: Michael, the president cites the market, but a lot of people have
been telling him within the Republican Party, why don't you just talk about
jobs? Why don't you talk about record low unemployment rates for every
major demographic, including a lot of the Democratic demographics?

And that's the story you should be telling, the growing consumer
confidence, the fact that people are more robust, they're spending more,
they're doing more, and get away from the markets, because, when it comes
to the economy, the best I hear Bernie Sanders say is, it's horrible for
everyone but the rich folks.

Do you buy that?

HOPKINS: I don't.

I mean, I think Bernie Sanders makes really good points when you talk about
income inequality and the equity in our system and the systematic kind of
structure in the way things are playing out. But it's hard to make that
argument in an economy that's doing as well at it is.

The indicator in that, though, is the president's approval rating. Either
44 or 46 percent, he's well below the average for where most incumbent
presidents are at this term. So his administration has to ask himself, with
an economy doing this well, why isn't his approval rating higher?

CAVUTO: Well, you could argue that, but he's at the highest for his
presidency. So that could help him.

But, Stef, how is this playing out? I mean, when people hear markets -- and
50 percent of Americans aren't in them, but 50 percent are -- how does it
play out to folks, do you think?

KIGHT: I think there's a lot of concern that this could have further
impacts.

And, of course, people are watching for when it does impact their own
lives. They're watching this see if the markets end up being an indicator
that the economy isn't doing as well anymore, and so they're certainly
watching that.

And it is going to matter in politics. They are watching the economy. And
the markets are the first step in that.

CAVUTO: All right.

KIGHT: And so will have -- it will have an impact on 2020.

And it will have an impact on the kind of candidates that people are drawn
to.

CAVUTO: We shall see.

Guys, I want to thank you all very, very much.

We are following these coronavirus updates, but my next guest not too keen
on it. She is staying positive, even after testing positive.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, Japan actually had to deny reports that it could delay
the Summer Olympics in 2020 because of the coronavirus. But we're watching
it. And so are the Japanese.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: Japanese stocks plunging more than 3 percent. With all these
coronavirus cases, they're climbing.

And my next guest is retrieving -- receiving treatment in Japan after
testing positive for the coronavirus while aboard that Diamond Princess
cruise ship. Her husband does not have it, but is under quarantine in
Texas.

Jerri Jorgensen joins me right now via Skype.

Jerri, how you holding up?
 
JERRI JORGENSEN, DIAGNOSED WITH CORONAVIRUS: Hi. I am fine. Thanks.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Very upbeat for someone who is dealing...

JORGENSEN: And my husband is in California.

CAVUTO: OK. That's good to hear.

So, what's the latest? What are you hearing? What are you experiencing?

JORGENSEN: Well, I have been in quarantine here in a Japanese hospital.
This is going on day 10.

They tests me for the virus. I got tested yesterday -- no, two days ago. I
got the results yesterday. I am still positive.

They said it could stay in my body anywhere from two weeks, maybe a little
bit longer. But I am symptom-free. I haven't ever had any symptoms. I feel
great.

CAVUTO: All right, so...

JORGENSEN: So, I guess that's better than being sick in isolation.

CAVUTO: No, you're quite right.

So, what do they let you do or maybe not do?

JORGENSEN: Well, I can't leave the room at all. I can't even touch the
door that goes out.

CAVUTO: Wow.

JORGENSEN: There's kind of a double -- double room outside. They brought
me in a yoga mat. So I do a lot of Pilates.

(LAUGHTER)

JORGENSEN: I do some yoga, do some stretching. I put my headphones on. I
dance around. I read. They gave me an iPad, so I can watch Netflix. I can
binge, which I don't have time to do at home, which I will take it.

And then I FaceTime with my husband, Mark, I don't know, four or five times
a day.

CAVUTO: Very good.

Well, on that iPad, you can get FOX Business, which, if you don't get, you
can demand it. But that's another thing.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: But let me ask you about just how you get through this.

I mean, you have a great attitude, it sounds like, very, very positive.
Obviously, you're very energetic.

JORGENSEN: Yes.

CAVUTO: But a lot of folks I have talked to who have been in quarantine
situations, not quite like your own, they're not really happy about it.

Any advice for them, how to get through it?

JORGENSEN: My biggest advice would be that they have choice. I mean, we
all have a choice, on -- with whatever is handed to us.

I'm in isolation. They're in isolation.

CAVUTO: Yes.

JORGENSEN: We have a choice whether to make it just absolutely miserable
and be a victim to it, or let go of that control and go, hmm, what can I --
what can I do here to make my life amazing in this moment?

And it's been amazing. My church has brought me in treats and candies and
origami cranes.

CAVUTO: Wow.

JORGENSEN: And I'm getting all kinds of support, even though I have never
met them, from my church here in Fukushima. It's been amazing.

CAVUTO: That's beautiful.

We're also hearing, there was all sorts of buzz, Jerri, that the Japanese
are getting very concerned about whether they will even be able to host the
Olympics, and not that you would be up on that.

But do you ever hear scuttlebutt from those providing care that, hey,
they're getting nervous about the Olympics?

JORGENSEN: Oh, not about -- no, they don't talk anything about that. There
is total confidentiality.

There is temperature, how are you feeling? That's pretty much the end of
that, except they do bring me McDonald's and Subway because they feel sorry
for me...

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Well, they sound like they're great. And then so are you.

JORGENSEN: They're amazing.

CAVUTO: Hang in there, Jerri. And my best to your husband as well.

JORGENSEN: Thank you so much, Neil. Appreciate it.

CAVUTO: All right, be good, be healthy. Eat some junk or something. I
think that would do it.

She's amazing.

All right, in the meantime, we just told you that Disney CEO Bob Iger is
out. But why now?

Charlie Gasparino has been doing some digging around -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, if it wasn't tough enough for Disney shareholders to
lose about five bucks a share today before the closing bell, after the
closing bell, the stock sinking another 2.5 percent on news that Bob Iger
is stepping down immediately.

No one expected that. Eventually, yes. Immediately, no.

He did put out a statement: "With the successful launch of Disney's direct-
to-consumer businesses and the integration of 21st Century FOX well under
way, I believe this is the optimal time to transition to a new CEO."

So what was behind that? What happens now?

Charlie Gasparino on all of that.

Hey, Charlie, what are you hearing?

CHARLIE GASPARINO, FOX NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Neil, I can only give
you the quick take here. I mean, this story is developing, and it's just --
a lot of this is scuttlebutt.

I mean, listen, the bottom line is this. He is leaving on top. Not a lot of
CEOs leave on top. And I think that's a pretty smart move.

I -- in my career, I have seen a lot of CEOs stay on way too long, way
after they should be gone, after they have achieved what they needed to
achieve. And he just pulled off, as you know, the deal of a lifetime,
buying our entertainment assets...

CAVUTO: Right.

GASPARINO: ... and considered by the market a very successful deal.

He has able -- rMDNM_an able number two, not a household name, but still
somebody that's considered very competent.

And one other thing I think is kind of interesting here, Neil, he's always
spoke about running for office. He has not dismissed that he would like to
run maybe for governor of New York or president of the United States.

CAVUTO: Well, it would be governor of California, right? Doesn't he live
out in California?

(CROSSTALK)

GASPARINO: Governor of California, I'm sorry, and president.

He's a Long Islander. So, remember, he's from Long Island. So, you never
know. He might run in New York.

But he definitely has -- a political career is definitely something that's
been spoken about with Bob Iger. And, again, he's leaving on top. He's -- I
can't tell you how many people stay in these jobs way too long, and then
all of a sudden crisis hits, and they leave with a hurt reputation.

And that's...

CAVUTO: No, there's no doubt about it.

What's odd about this is the fact that, while it was telegraphed that he
was all but saying, end of next year, sometime next year, I will step down
-- I don't have the exact wording right.

GASPARINO: Right.

CAVUTO: But no one expected it, like, today, and leaving today.

GASPARINO: Well, he's not quite leaving.

CAVUTO: I know he still is an executive chairman, right.

(CROSSTALK)

GASPARINO: He's executive chairman. He will be there. I'm sure he's going
to be working for the next couple years to transition.

So, I mean, it's actually -- in terms of transitions go, it seems like it's
going to be pretty seamless. He will be in the job for the next two year --
two years, grooming or -- next year or so -- grooming his successor, while
he plots his next move.

And...

CAVUTO: But was there anything -- Charlie, I don't want to put words in
your mouth.

I know Abigail Disney and others were arguing about CEO pay and
disproportionate with the gap between the highest paid guy, the lowest paid
worker. That's not new. He has endured that year in and year out.

But was there any other thing or conflicts that we were unaware of?

GASPARINO: I will say this, particularly as the Democratic Party starts
flirting with anti-corporatism.

And Elizabeth Warren may not be as radical as Bernie -- Bernie Sanders, but
she's in that ballpark. And even Mike Bloomberg is getting in on the
corporate bashing.

CEOs are wondering, should I stay in this business forever? And he does. He
does -- he does have a good rep right now. And if you put it all together,
stock price is doing OK, he just pulled off a major coup, victory in doing
the deal with FOX.

He's 69, but in great health. And he's achieved most of what he needs to
achieve in his corporate life. And he does have a future in politics. Why
not get out now, when the -- even the political winds are moving against
you?

CAVUTO: All right.

GASPARINO: I'm telling you, the next couple years, particularly if you
have a Democrat in office, are not going to be kind to CEOs.

CAVUTO: We shall see, my friend. Thank you very much, hitting with the
latest news that Bob Iger is stepping down as the -- sort of the maestro of
the Mouse House.

He will stay on in an executive chairman capacity. Robert Chapek, who was
recently put in charge of parks, experiences, and products there, some of
the fancy new businesses that the company has had since the closing of the
FOX deal, and much more after that, he's going to take over, not soon,
like, now.

We will have more after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I just don't know how they can not recuse themselves for anything
having to do with Trump or Trump-related.

So they will have to decide what to do. But her statement was so
inappropriate, when you're a justice of the Supreme Court.

And it's almost what she's trying to do is take the people that do feel a
different way and get them to vote the way that she would like them to
vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: The president actually talking about Supreme Court Justice Sonia
Sotomayor, but also Ruth Bader Ginsburg, so biased against him, he says,
that they should recuse themselves in cases involving his administration.

This after Sotomayor wrote a dissent that critics say accuses her
conservative colleagues of siding with the White House all too often when
it comes to taking up cases.

Does he have a case?

Here right now to weigh in, Andrew McCarthy.

Andrew, what do you think?

ANDREW MCCARTHY, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I have thought for a long
time, Neil, that the Supreme Court is a very politicized institution.

It's a shame that it's become that way. It's been that way for a long time.
But we're talking about a dissent by the most political justice on the
court. And I think the thing I would note about it is that none of her
eight colleagues, including the three who sided with her in the case,
joined her dissent.

So if what the president's worried about is her great influence on other
people, I think he can probably take a breath and relax about that.

CAVUTO: I think that gist of it was, because of the conservative majority,
all too often, the court will take up cases pressed by the president.

But whether that's the case or not, when it's been with the liberal
majority, has that been the case?

MCCARTHY: Neil, I think that it's a case-by-case thing, but I think we're
focused on the wrong end of the politicized pipeline.

What happened here and what has happened here is, there's been an
exponential growth in district court judges. And, as Senator Cruz has
pointed out, this is just an a handful of jurisdictions, but 55 times, they
have had the audacity to vote these nationwide orders, injunctions that
prevent administration policy, executive branch policy from going forward.

It's the kind of muscle-flexing and I think politicized muscle-flexing that
is unprecedented. And that is what the high court is pushing back on. So if
we're worried about politicized judging, I think that's where we ought to
start worrying.

CAVUTO: Do you think that, if it were a liberal majority -- and I know
it's hypothetical -- the number of cases that the president has sort of
pressed on them would have been taken up at all?

MCCARTHY: No.

I think that, when they have the numbers to move policy in a political way,
they move policy. But I also think, Neil, to be fair, to hear the president
talk about justices not commenting publicly about him and that it's very
inappropriate, I totally agree with him.

But maybe this -- I don't know if this dawns on him or not, but he would
get a sense of the frustration that Attorney General Barr has when the
political commentary from the chief executive makes it difficult for the
Justice Department to pursue cases in the justice system as well.

CAVUTO: Andy, real quick, we're just getting this into our newsroom, that
the juror foreperson is going to be called into the courtroom and
questioned about whether she submitted all the proper answers on her jury
questionnaire.

This is the foreperson who had obvious beefs against the president and
Donald Trump -- and Roger Stone. Where do you think this one is going?

MCCARTHY: I think, Neil, that if there was any chance that the judge in
this case was going to reverse the conviction or give Stone a new trial,
there's no way she would have sentenced him.

So I think she's having this hearing, but we all know how this comes out,
and it'll get visited on appeal, but this conviction is not being vacated
at this point.

CAVUTO: So there's nothing this woman could say that would prompt the
judge in this case to say, you know what, I got to drop this whole thing?

MCCARTHY: I'd be stunned.

I wouldn't want to -- you never say never.

CAVUTO: Got it.

MCCARTHY: I was in courtrooms long enough to know all kinds of
unpredictable stuff happens, but I wouldn't hold my breath on it.

CAVUTO: Got it.

Andy, no matter what I throw at you, breaking news or anything, you handle
it with these. Thank you very much, my friend. I appreciate it.

(LAUGHTER)

MCCARTHY: Thanks Neil.

CAVUTO: Andy McCarthy.

All right, and our health inspectors, if they can't be in China, how are we
policing food and drug imports from China?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
 
CAVUTO: So, just how safe our medical supplies and food we're taking in
from China?

David Kessler, the former FDA commissioner, is here right now.

I guess, David, I was thinking of you, because, with all the restrictions
right now, it's very hard to tell, right?

DAVID KESSLER, FORMER FDA COMMISSIONER: You're exactly right.

I mean, we believe -- and I underline the word believe -- that the mode of
transmission is respiratory. But there's still a lot we don't know, Neil.

But we're good at -- FDA is good at assuring sterility, aseptic technique,
when you have medical devices. But we got to level with people. There's
still a lot we have to learn.

CAVUTO: So what does it mean for the stuff that we depend on from there,
or even drugs that -- and pieces of which we get here?

KESSLER: Well, I think that we have to be exceptionally vigilant.

But I think we also have to admit that we have a lot to learn. And that's
the reality.

And I have a request, Neil. And it's to the White House, I mean, and to all
politicians on all sides. Please, let the scientists and white coats speak.
Put them out front.

I have been there during a major outbreak. I did HIV. The most important
thing is that we admit what is known, what is not known. Focus on the
facts. Trust is key.

When we're guessing about something, we say that. We will get through this,
but it's so important no spin when it comes to infectious disease, please.

CAVUTO: All right, but those doctors differ, as you know.

We have only a few seconds here. I apologize, David.

Do you worry, though, that even the medical community can't be on the same
page here?

KESSLER: That's OK, Neil. That's the reality.

CAVUTO: Yes.

KESSLER: But let's be honest. Let them use their best judgment.

I have enormous respect for CDC, and the Faucis, Dr. Fauci of the NIH. They
are my friends. They are national resources. We depend on them.

Are they going to get it perfectly right on everything? No. But we have
invested mightily, and they really are our defense.

CAVUTO: All right, well said.

David Kessler, thank you very much for taking the time. I know you have
been a busy guy yourself, David Kessler, the former FDA commissioner.

Well, all of these concerns and unknowns a big reason for stocks to sell
off again today. What will they do tomorrow? We will be on that on both FOX
Business and this fine network.

Right now, here comes "THE FIVE."

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