Neil Cavuto: The president did not poll well after his debates

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Neil Cavuto: The president did not poll well after his debates

Neil Cavuto responds to President Trump's tweet on his performance during the 2016 debates.

This is a rush transcript from "Your World with Neil Cavuto," February 20, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

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NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Not a word.

Roger Stone not saying anything as he is set to go to prison, or, or, or maybe not. Did the president of the United States just tip his hand that he is going to do something to help his friend?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm going to let the media know that I'm going to watch the process. I'm going to watch it very closely. And, at some point, I will make a determination.

But Roger Stone and everybody has to be treated fairly. And this has not been a fair process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: "And I will make a decision." Hmm. What does that mean?

Welcome, everybody. I'm Neil Cavuto. Happy to have you with us.

And get ready. This is about to get interesting, maybe very interesting. What did the president actually hint at there?

To John Roberts at the White House with the latest.

Hey, John.

JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You know, Neil, there was a gag order in the Stone case that was in place. It remains in place.

So, as Roger Stone exited the Barrett Prettyman courthouse downtown Washington today, he just got into an SUV, after running a gauntlet of cameras, but didn't say anything.

But at that Hope for Prisoners event in Las Vegas this afternoon, just a few minutes ago, actually, the president had a lot to say, including he believes that Roger Stone deserves a new trial because of the fact that he thinks that the forewoman in the jury in the original trial was tainted, and that the president thinks that ultimately Roger Stone probably will go free.

Listen to what he said here.

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TRUMP: ... very closely. And I want to see it play out to its fullest, because Roger has a very good chance of exoneration, in my opinion.

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ROBERTS: "A very good chance of exoneration, in my opinion."

Now, Judge Amy Berman Jackson is mulling over petitions and motions for a new trial in the Stone case. That's why Stone went free today, as opposed to going directly into custody, because he is out on bail pending consideration of these motions.

But Roger Stone, his attorneys and the president think that the jury forewoman in the initial trial, a woman named Tomeka Hart, who ran as a Democrat for Congress back in 2012, was biased against the president and therefore biased against Roger Stone.

Here's what the president said on that front earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And it's my strong opinion that the forewoman of the jury, the woman who was in charge of the jury, is totally tainted, when you take a look. How can you have a person like this?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Now, when she was giving me Roger Stone the sentence this afternoon, Judge Jackson did say that she thought that the jury did a great job. So I don't know how she feels about all of these accusations against the jury forewoman.

But she is definitely going to take the motions under consideration. The president, as you pointed out at the top of this deal, going to sit back and watch this process play out, then -- quote -- "At some point, I will make a determination."

And if that isn't a head-tilt toward a possible pardon for Roger Stone if he doesn't get a new trial, or if the outcome of a new trial were to be another conviction, I don't know what is -- Neil.

CAVUTO: Yes, it certainly sounded that way. Thank you, my friend, very, very much.

Now to David Spunt outside the Washington, D.C., courthouse where all this first went down.

Hey, David.

DAVID SPUNT, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Neil. Good afternoon to you.

Well, this was a long sentencing today. We're talking about almost two-and- a-half-hours with Judge Amy Berman Jackson. And the final sentence, 40 months, which is just three years and four months, a lot less than the original suggestion from the Department of Justice that suggested seven to nine years to put Roger Stone behind bars.

Now, Stone left the courthouse quiet. As John mentioned, he is under a gag order. He's no stranger to cameras and likes to talk and share his story. But he's not doing that in this case. He is honoring that gag order.

Judge Amy Berman Jackson repeatedly, Neil, admonished Roger Stone for lying in the courtroom. She said that Stone brought this all upon himself. I want to read a quote.

She said -- quote -- "This is not campaign hijinks. This is not Roger just being Roger. He lied to Congress. He lied to our elected representatives."

Now, the judge is delaying the execution of the sentence, not something we normally see, because she has to rule on that new motion that John mentioned for a new trial. There's a potential political bias with that juror that was just discussed. It could grant him a new trial.

Now, the original four prosecutors in the case, Neil, that had prosecuted this case from the beginning, they quit after that seven-to-nine year sentence came down from the Department of Justice, after, I should say, the attorney general's office said it was too harsh.

These prosecutors walked out. So there were two new prosecutors today from the Department of Justice arguing there.

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Bill Barr insists that, even though President Trump has been complaining about it on Twitter, that has nothing to do with what he said.

Now, I want to tell you this, that a source at the Justice Department does say that Attorney General Bill Barr is happy and believes that Roger Stone should have been convicted back in November.

As far as where we go now, it's going to be an interesting process, Neil. We have to wait to see if Judge Amy Berman Jackson will grant Roger Stone a new trial. And then, as you just saw from President Trump out in Vegas, he will make his determination -- back to you.

CAVUTO: David, thank you very, very much.

Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, as you know, not happy with his, tweeting the following: "Roger Stone was found guilty of lying to Congress, threatening a witness. He did it to cover up for Trump. His sentence is justified. It should go without saying, but to pardon Stone, when his crimes were committed -- committed to protect Trump, would be a breathtaking act of corruption."

So what happens now? Judge Andrew Napolitano with us.

What do you think, Judge?

ANDREW NAPOLITANO, FOX NEWS SENIOR JUDICIAL ANALYST: Well, next week, the trial judge will hold a hearing in which this juror will be put on the witness stand and Stone's lawyers will interrogate her. And the new prosecutors will interrogate her.

Now, she is a lawyer. She knows...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: The foreperson here who had this real bias against the president.

NAPOLITANO: Correct.

The bias was stated in her Twitter feed. It was a closed Twitter feed. So the government didn't discover it. The defense counsel didn't discover it. You couldn't discover it unless you hacked her.

CAVUTO: So none of this was discussed with them ahead of time?

NAPOLITANO: Correct.

She outed herself, Neil, on the same day that the four prosecutors resigned. And the stated purpose for outing herself was to show that she supported the prosecutors and supported the verdict, oh, and, by the way, here's what I have been saying about Donald Trump and Roger Stone, which showed unbelievable bias.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: And unbelievable stupidity.

NAPOLITANO: Yes

CAVUTO: Right?

So, I mean, she would have to know there's a possibility doing that would do exactly what something could happen now.

NAPOLITANO: She has opened up a real can of worms for herself by a potential invalidation of the verdict and potential ethics prosecutions of her.

The Supreme Court has said, we don't expect jurors to be perfect, but we expect them to be -- quote -- "indifferent as to the outcome." By the way, they expect the same thing of the judge.

This foreperson obviously wasn't indifferent as to the outcome. That is a very solid, sound basis for a new trial. If there is a new trial, guess who will have to decide whether or not to try him again? The attorney general himself.

CAVUTO: Oh, boy.

NAPOLITANO: So the attorney general himself and the president are already at odds over this from the tape that you ran and the report that David Spunt just gave us.

CAVUTO: All right.

Now, when we were waiting for this, the two-and-a-half-hours before Judge Jackson was to mete out the sentence, it certainly sounded like she was going to go up to the seven to nine years that everyone was getting all hot and bothered about, and she ends up at 40 months.

What do you make of that?

NAPOLITANO: You know, it's interesting.

The prosecutors that recommended seven to nine did their own calculations. When the attorney general big-footed them, they quit. He did his calculations. Guess what he recommended? Thirty-six to 40 months.

CAVUTO: No way.

NAPOLITANO: What did she give Stone? Forty months. Exactly what the attorney general of the United States wanted, which defies the president, but pleases the Justice Department.

CAVUTO: Would he have to serve that entire 40 months?

NAPOLITANO: He'd have to serve 85 percent of it under the federal system.

CAVUTO: OK.

So, now the Hail Mary pass possibility for him, either a new trial, or the president intervenes and pardons him.

NAPOLITANO: I think the president is wise to wait and see what happens with the new trial.

However, I would be shocked if this judge, who has showed bitter animosity towards Roger Stone and his perfectly lawful First Amendment-protected political activities as she berated him today, which is very bad for a judge to do...

CAVUTO: Well, she went one step further, berating the president that he wasn't -- that he was covering up for the president.

NAPOLITANO: I mean, there's no basis for a judge going there. The sentence has to be based not on the politics of the defendant or the defendant's patron, but on the behavior of the defendant that produced the guilty plea -- or the guilty verdict.

I would be shocked if she orders a new trial. But I wouldn't be shocked if the president intervenes before Roger Stone gets anywhere near a federal prison.

CAVUTO: All right, Judge, we kept you busy today.

NAPOLITANO: Yes, you did.

CAVUTO: All right, very, very good.

He's been on both networks, all over the place. But, man...

NAPOLITANO: Weren't we on a few hours ago, or was that yesterday?

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: We were, yes. No. Yes, that was today, that's right, in that two- and-a-half-hour wait, right?

NAPOLITANO: Right.

(LAUGHTER)

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

In the meantime, investors are selling on signs that the coronavirus is spreading.

We will explore that after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)   MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The real winner in the debate last night was Donald Trump, because I worry that we may very well be on the way to nominating somebody who cannot win in November.

And if we choose a candidate who appeals to a small base, like Senator Sanders, it will be a fatal error.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: Did they take the lights out from under him for this event afterwards?

Anyway, 2020 presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg campaigning in Utah today. Now, that's one of the Super Tuesday states on which he's banking. Not sure anyone was banking on his debate performance last night.

Peter Doocy in Las Vegas on the aftermath.

What are you hearing, Peter?

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Neil, Michael Bloomberg not on the ballot here in Nevada ahead of Saturday's caucus, so he did get out of town to Super Tuesday's -- Nevada -- where he's trying to laugh off what happened last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLOOMBERG: I was here in Salt Lake last month. We had a great event. But the energy is even better today.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BLOOMBERG: And just like last night at the debate, except the other people on the stage are actually happy to see me now.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOOCY: Warren was the first to take a whack at Bloomberg last night, unearthing old unflattering things he said about women.

And her campaign said they had their best fund-raising hour of the cycle while she was doing that. The Bernie Sanders campaign says they had their best fund-raising day of the entire cycle from the start of the debate until right now.

And now Sanders has Warren's attention. She called earlier today for him to release more medical records. We also do now have new reaction to that leaked Bloomberg campaign memo calling on certain contenders to drop out, so Bloomberg can concentrate on beating Sanders.

Those named in this memo as needing to go, Biden, Klobuchar and Buttigieg.

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PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, if he thinks there's got to be one alternative to Bernie Sanders, I suppose we could find common ground on that, but then maybe he should step aside for the person who's got the most delegates right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOOCY: And just a few minutes ago here in Las Vegas, Joe Biden was asked about how everything unfolded last night. He said he thinks the former mayor of New York is in the wrong party, but that Bloomberg is about to experience what Biden did for a couple months, which is a really close look at his record -- Neil.

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

Now, it's a good thing that, well, Michael Bloomberg doesn't really need that raise money from outside folks. Those who did, like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, within hours of debate, they were getting $3 million, close to it, from one debate. Think about that.

Former Reagan campaign manager Ed Rollins, RealClearPolitics' A.B. Stoddard, Democratic strategist Mustafa Tameez.

Mustafa, end it with you, begin with you.

For Michael Bloomberg, is this the end of it? In other words, one debate, I can't imagine it would sink his chances to be an alternative candidate. What do you think?

MUSTAFA TAMEEZ, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: No, no, not at all.

I mean, look, Michael Bloomberg just had to be on stage and not have a major blunder. And he didn't he.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Well, he had a lot of mini-blunders, right? He had a lot of mini- blunders, yes?

TAMEEZ: Well, I think it's how you look at it.

He asked one question, which was, has anybody on stage started a business, ran a business? And he was the only one. So I think that, yes, the media will always focus on the controversy and some of the controversial things that were said.

But at the end of the day, in Super Tuesday states like Texas, he's up on television. He's got 17 offices that have opened up. He's got 150 people on staff here. So he is set up for what happens right after South Carolina.

The only other person that is set up for that is Bernie Sanders.

CAVUTO: Ed Rollins, one debate performance doesn't doom a candidate.

I can remember Ronald Reagan in his first debate with Walter Mondale -- keep in mind he was already president -- you know, looked like he was going to flame out. And he came back and thundered back and ultimately won in a landslide.

It's a little bit more difficult for a Michael Bloomberg, who's one of many, not a president yet, and this was really the audience's first chance to get an impression. He's not going to get a second chance at that first impression, you know?

ED ROLLINS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, he's not.

And the reality is, he spent a ton of money on commercials. He sort of created an impression. Everybody was sort of waiting for. And there was nothing he got hit with last night that he shouldn't have been prepared for.

Any campaign, any good campaign -- and he has some top-notch people around him -- you do opposition research on your own candidate. You find out everything that people can say about you, and you prepare for it.

He looked like he put "Everlast" across his head and said, punch me, punch me. And they did.

(LAUGHTER)

ROLLINS: And I think the reality here is that anybody who watched this debate last night -- and, to me, I have watched debates for 40, 50 years -- it was one of the worst performances I have ever seen.

Now, that doesn't mean he can't come back. But the reality is, he probably would have been better to have waited until the next two debates take place, and then, when it's down to a smaller group, get into it.

Now, they all know they're going to go after him and they're going to beat him up pretty good.

CAVUTO: You know, A.B., when you look at it, there's no denying Bloomberg is a brilliant man, brilliant businessman. I have followed his career for decades. I can attest to that.

So, no doubting his I.Q. I guess what I was seeing last night is very little E.Q. And that matters.

A.B. STODDARD, REALCLEARPOLITICS: Look, when you are a billionaire, you're often living in your own world. People don't bring their criticism to you. And this is a person who's not into practicing and rehearsing, and it came off as arrogance.

He looked uncoachable. The NDA answer, he had to come in with a good one. He didn't. Should taxes have already been online for weeks? Absolutely. That was a gimme.

There were many bombs. As you said, it was -- many blunders. And I think that he's -- I think he's uncoachable. I think that Donald Trump had disastrous debate performances. Many answers were so cringe-worthy. You just couldn't even believe he was still standing on the stage. And he's president.

So I don't think debates kill off normal candidates who do not have a billionaire juggernaut machine. And I think that the truth is, the people watching last night, donors, who are not going to -- he's not -- Bloomberg not going to take their money anyway -- the pundit class and Democratic primary activists voters, I think the most people are going to be reached by Bloomberg's ads online and in the digital space more than people who watch the debates.

In addition to that, he is targeting really important communities that are not heard from other -- not targeted and communicated with by other Democrats. He has the money to go into small places, African-American voter clusters in Mississippi and all these places where his campaign is reaching out to them and saying, what's important to you?

This is going to matter in the delegate-rich contests in March.

CAVUTO: Interesting.

STODDARD: So, I'm not -- I think that we could look back at this and potentially see that it didn't make a damn bit of difference.

CAVUTO: All right, that's very interesting, then.

Mustafa, we're also hearing from Elizabeth Warren's campaign that she's been raising a lot more money just since I printed those figures out, apparently raising more than $5 million, she said, since she set foot on the debate stage.

She has raised her goal to $12 million. We should also point out that this follows Bernie Sanders campaign saying it had raised close to $3 million within hours. I'm sure his fingers might be up or around there as well.

So, for these two candidates, Bernie Sanders needed it less, Elizabeth more needs it more. That was a game-changer for them, wasn't it?

TAMEEZ: Well, it just depends on how long they're going to be in the race, right?

For Bernie Sanders, he was the lead fund-raiser from the beginning. He will continue to do so. He's got over four-million-plus donors. So every time he has something that happens in his campaign, there's a cultivated base of donors that get activated.

For Elizabeth Warren, she had a very strong night, in that she attacked every single person on stage other than Bernie Sanders, right, and even got him a little bit.

CAVUTO: Right.

TAMEEZ: So she's naturally going to activate the people that are supportive to her.

CAVUTO: Got it.

TAMEEZ: But, at the end of the day, if you look at the scale, Michael Bloomberg spent $400 million, while somebody just raised $3 million.

CAVUTO: That's right.

We should point out that, up to this moment, $463 million from Michael Bloomberg.

TAMEEZ: Yes.

CAVUTO: Guys, thank you very, very much.

South Carolina is going to be a crucial contest after Nevada. And that's where the pursuit of the African-American vote will prove crucial -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: They're happy with the way things are going, including African- Americans. You don't agree with that?

REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): No, I don't...

CAVUTO: OK.

CLYBURN: ... because I go to church with African-Americans. I live with African-Americans. I'm the father of African-Americans. I know...

CAVUTO: You don't think more of them will vote, more African-Americans will vote for the president than he's generally given credit?

CLYBURN: Absolutely not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: All right, House Majority Whip James Clyburn telling me that President Trump will absolutely not gain African-American votes in 2020.

South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott differs slightly with that.

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): Neil.

CAVUTO: Senator, good to have you.

SCOTT: Thank you, Neil. It's good to be back with you.

And not only do I differ with it a little bit, but let me go ahead and go to the end of the movie and tell you the spoiler alert. President Trump will see a 50 percent increase in his African-American support.

It will go from 8 percent in 2016 to a minimum of 12 percent in 2020. He may even get to 15 percent of the African-American vote.

CAVUTO: Wow. What makes you say that, Senator?

SCOTT: And that is game over.

Well, listen to what the...

(LAUGHTER)

SCOTT: Listen to what the Democrats are saying.

They have top-tier candidates that say redlining was a good thing, having a negative impact on African-American homeownership. And what is President Trump doing during the same time? Simple. He had an executive order to increase affordability of homeownership.

And African-American homeownership, since he took office, is up about 2 percent. Think about having a top-tier Democrat candidate that talks about harassing African-American males through stop and frisk.

Compare that against President Trump's criminal justice reform packages that are making the justice system more fair for African-Americans disproportionately than it has been in a long time, at least 30 years.

Think about the conversation you had with Jim Clyburn around full employment during slavery...

CAVUTO: I remember that, yes.

SCOTT: ... vs. higher wages, more jobs, seven million more jobs during this administration, more than half of those jobs going to African- Americans and Hispanics.

The wealth gap closes as the homeownership goes up. President Trump is not just talking a good game. He is walking a good game.

And the icing on the cake -- think about this -- President Trump got permanent funding for HBCUs for the first time in the country's history. This president, President Trump, is not simply talking about going after every single vote in America. He's actually doing the work to get every community in this nation focused not on what the Democrats promise, because their track record is abysmal, but what President Trump is actually doing.

CAVUTO: All right.

But when -- by the way, when you are referring to the HBCUs, what are they? What are you referring to there?

SCOTT: Oh, thank you very much. The historically black colleges and universities.

CAVUTO: Got it.

SCOTT: Under President Obama, he worked hard to get permanent funding. He didn't get it quite done.

CAVUTO: Got it.

SCOTT: He continued funding, which was good, but President Trump made it permanent.

CAVUTO: But, you know, what Clyburn is saying, sir, is saying that, for all the inroads, the president isn't really going to move the needle that much, and that a number of the African-Americans that he's talked to in your state and elsewhere are just not impressed because the quality of the jobs isn't that great.

You have heard that before. What do you say?

SCOTT: Yes, that's -- that's just ridiculous, is what I tell you, I would tell you. The first thing is, the wage...

CAVUTO: All right, good. I'm glad you said that. It's a family show here.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Go ahead.

(LAUGHTER)

SCOTT: Yes. No, trust me, I'm going to say it that way.

CAVUTO: OK. Good.

SCOTT: The wages at the bottom of the food chain are rising faster than the wages at the top of the food chain. Because we have a full employment in our economy right now at 3.6 percent, that means that we are now attracting the long-term unemployed who are coming back to work.

Let me say that differently. The black labor force participation rate is up under President Trump. Not only is the unemployment down, but the number of African-Americans working are up. Not only are the number of African- Americans working up, but the wages are up.

Not only are the wages up. The jobs are increasing.

CAVUTO: So, you're saying, and that's enough to lift his African -- bottom line, the headline from what you're telling me is enough that it will increase his African-American support from 8 percent to, you say, size 12 percent, maybe even 15?

SCOTT: Twelve percent, yes.

CAVUTO: OK. We will see.

SCOTT: Absolutely.

But it's not just the jobs and economy, by the way.

CAVUTO: Got it.

SCOTT: It is the HBCUs.

CAVUTO: All right.

SCOTT: It's criminal justice reform, and on and on and on.

CAVUTO: All right, Senator, thank you very much. Always good catching up with you.

SCOTT: Yes, sir.

CAVUTO: By the way, well, it started in China, right?

Now it is not staying in China. The warning that is coming from top officials today that had, well, a lot of investors freaking out today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)  CAVUTO: All right, they're getting ready to hear from the president of the United States in Colorado Springs, this as we're just getting January figures for the president and the Republican National Committee, raising 60.5 million bucks in January. On fire.

More after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, let me just tell you, it was a lot worse.

The Dow down about 128 points, had been down over 400 points or near it on concern the coronavirus issues were spreading out of control, it was becoming a pandemic, a lot worse.

Anyway, FOX's Jonathan Serrie has been following this virus' every move and gyration. He joins us now with the latest.

Hey, Jonathan.

JONATHAN SERRIE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Neil.

Some of the latest fatalities involve a Japanese woman and man in their 80s, both with underlying health conditions. They were on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

They had been hospitalized for coronavirus for more than a week. Exit screening of the other passengers is expected to last through Friday. Those who test positive are isolated at local hospitals.

In Cambodia, health officials have cleared the remaining passengers from the Westerdam to return to their home countries after all 781 tested negative. This group had been held back after one passenger became ill with COVID-19 after she had already left the country.

Today, most of the remaining U.S. travelers evacuated from Wuhan, China, by the State Department were released from quarantine at three U.S. military bases. One evacuee who tested positive remains hospitalized.

Today, Chinese officials expressed optimism as they reported continued declines in the number of new cases in that country. But international health officials say it's too early to tell whether it's a permanent trend.

And, Neil, today, both Kuwait Airways and Iraq Airways suspended flights to Iran, after Iran reported the deaths of two citizens from coronavirus -- Neil.

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

Meanwhile, China's communist government is under growing criticism for the way it has been handling this whole reporting of the virus. And it made us think about 34 years ago and to the then Soviet Union's initial response to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Does anyone remember this?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): An accident has occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, and one of the reactors has been damaged.

Steps are being taken to deal with the situation, and aid is being given to those affected. The government has formed a commission of inquiry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: That's it. That's done. That's all you heard.

My next guest says the coronavirus could be China's Chernobyl.

Author Gordon Chang with us on that.

I guess the link between the two, at least initially, is how they initially responded. And it's troubling and it's eerily similar.

GORDON CHANG, AUTHOR, "THE COMING COLLAPSE OF CHINA": Yes, certainly, because you both -- in both situations, you had communist governments.

And, essentially, their reaction, of course, is to suppress information. They suppressed information, until they could no longer do so. And in both cases, you had only grudging admissions.

And China has been doing that. China's reaction now has been compared to the SARS reaction in 2002-2003. There's been basically no improvement.

If there's been any sort of change at all, it's because China has more social media right now. And so Beijing did have to react. But we do know that, for three weeks in December, three weeks in January, there was a cone of silence over this virus.

CAVUTO: So when you have people, what, 60-plus million people in quarantine, those are all -- a lot of big cities there, one of the biggest bigger than New York City.

So, people know what's going on. How much does the government share with them and those who know them and worry about them in the country?

CHANG: Yes, this secrecy has really created a breeding ground for rumors, and really some really wild ones.

But the important thing is not whether those rumors are true or not, so, for instance, about the origin of the virus. What's important is what Chinese people think.

And we have got to remember that Wuhan is the place where the Chinese -- first Chinese revolution started in 1911. It's also the place where there was the first large-scale protest after the Hong Kong demonstrations began in June.

So this is a...

CAVUTO: Oh, wow.

CHANG: So, Wuhan is a place where people are just not going to take it.

CAVUTO: Well, what are they doing now? Like, when a city is in quarantine or in a lockdown like that, and only now are some being allowed to return to work, and even there, I guess, under limited hours and limited numbers, what is it like?

CHANG: Well, it's really very difficult. And you're starting to see these videos come out of people, how they react to it.

So, for instance, they go to their balconies and they shout out things, some of them pro-government, some of them not pro-government. And there are also these very fascinating videos of what people do with their homes.

Like, so, for instance, just on the amusing side, you had a couple of people in Hong -- in Wuhan show curling. They took pots and pans, they flooded their floors. They used the brooms as the...

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

CHANG: But people have to do this because they're locked in.

And the tragic thing about this is that, when you have someone in a household infected, they're going to probably infect everybody else who has been quarantined in their apartment with them. And there have been whole families that have died from this.

CAVUTO: Incredible.

And that one city, bigger than New York City, I cannot fathom it.

Gordon, thank you very much, Gordon Chang.

In the meantime, if Michael Bloomberg wants to be president, does he need to take, well, a couple of cues from some past presidents? Just because you're rich doesn't mean you can't be real.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLOOMBERG: Fortunately, I make a lot of money. And we do business all around the world.

And we are preparing -- the number of pages will probably be in the thousands of pages. I can't go to TurboTax.

(LAUGHTER)

BLOOMBERG: But I put out my tax return every year for 12 years in City Hall. We will put out this one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: All right, so who says that Mike needs to take a hike? Maybe just needs to take a cue from some other pretty wealthy politicians who went on to become president.

John F. Kennedy came from a lot of wealth. He is arguably considered the richest of all our presidents. Millions back then would be worth billions right now. But that didn't stop him from greeting coal miners in West Virginia for a primary, albeit in a very expensive suit, but he went there.

And then there's Franklin Delano Roosevelt, flush with funds spilled from one of the richest families in America. He would meet with farmers hard-hit by the Depression, and to this day is known as a champion of the common man, even though he was anything but.

To historian Burt Folsom and GOP pollster Lee Carter on maybe the part that Michael Bloomberg is forgetting, but he shouldn't.

Lee, what do you make of that, that these were two men, FDR and certainly JFK, among our wealthiest presidents who didn't wear it on their sleeve, and somehow were able to get through and appeal to the common man or woman at the time?

LEE CARTER, REPUBLICAN POLLSTER: So, I think the thing about JFK and Ronald Reagan is that they actually really enjoyed people. They got their energy from people.

This is a part of who they were. And so I think they knew that if they engage with the real people, the regular people, the typical people, that actually was going to help them.

Now, I think that, with Mayor Bloomberg, you're dealing with someone who doesn't really like people. You can see that he gets annoyed by people, he gets flustered by people. So he has to find a way to authentically connect.

And so my advice to him would be to lean into who he is and say, listen, I have never been a people person. I'm a policy person. Or say whatever it is that he is, but let us know that. Lean into your weakness. Lean into your strengths.

And that, to me, is what authenticity is. This just seems like a man with a tin ear and a lot of money. I mean, he's basically saying, listen, my tax return is bigger than your tax return. I mean, it was a preposterous statement. The whole night, he seemed out of touch.

And I think what he has to realize is how he comes across. And I think it'd be really disarming if he were just to acknowledge it.

CAVUTO: And just embrace it all.

What I liked about the JFK films he had is, he's going to West Virginia and then talking to coal miners in a very expensive suit, in other words, saying, I'm not going to do anything fake for you. I just want to meet with you. I am who I am.

And, Burt Folsom, one of the things I notice -- and I can extend this even to Ronald Reagan. Though not a billionaire, he was a very accomplished, very wealthy former Hollywood actor, to say nothing of the two-term California governor.

BURT FOLSOM, HISTORIAN: Right.

CAVUTO: But he connected with all types of individuals in not one, but two back-to-back landslides, in a way that I think would be called unusual today. What do you make of that?

FOLSOM: Well, Reagan did have a touch and a human touch. He enjoyed people. He enjoyed being around people. And that was apparent.

The same thing with Franklin Roosevelt and maybe to a lesser extent Kennedy. One thing to remember is that, although Roosevelt and Kennedy were rich, not as rich as Bloomberg, but very rich, they went into politics from the get-go.

So they developed the skills to master the political arena.

CAVUTO: And, by the way, they had inherited wealth.

I'm not dismissing. Inherited wealth is wealth, I get it, but you have that almost seasoned into your thinking and your demeanor, you know?

FOLSOM: Well, absolutely.

Roosevelt, for example, couldn't earn money. When he went into business, whether it's the lobster business, the photography business, or wanting to do airships, instead of airplanes, or the farm at Hyde Park in his hometown.

He failed. And -- but he was successful being around people. He was persuasive. He was charismatic, as was Reagan and to a large extent Kennedy too.

Bloomberg lacks that completely. And it showed. He also refused to own his wealth.

When Barry (sic) Sanders said, hey, you're worth more than the bottom 125 million Americans, he needed to say something like, yes, and I paid more taxes than about 160 million Americans.

CAVUTO: No, that would have been a good line.

Real quickly, though, Lee Carter, I mean, obviously, if he wants to turn this around, give one quick piece of advice for Bloomberg.

CARTER: I think that all of the tweets that he came out with today were things that he wished he said last night.

He needs better preparation, and he needs to lean into who he is. He is not a charismatic man. He is not meant to be in front of the camera. He's meant to be behind the scenes making things happen. He needs to find a message about who he is, what he's accomplished, and tell us what he's going to do for us.

He's so presumptive that he feels like, when he comes out there, it just doesn't resonate. And when you're -- when you're with a candidate that works, it's somebody that seems like he's having fun. And he just -- he's got to have a little fun with us.

CAVUTO: And go with your heart. Go with your heart. It doesn't hurt, and it has not hurt the president.

All right, guys, thank you both very, very much.

FOLSOM: Thank you.

CAVUTO: By the way, we're following a story, a compensation for these MAX jet crash victims.

The guy who's in charge of dispensing it and the unique way he does it, Ken Feinberg, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: Boeing is paying up, taking another big step this week to make amends with communities harmed by those two MAX jet plane crashes.

The company dedicating half of the $100 million funding created for the victims' families to support local projects memorializing those victims.

Guess who is in charge of helping to distribute that dough? Ken Feinberg. You remember him. He joined me on FOX Business to discuss the task.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KENNETH FEINBERG, VICTIM COMPENSATION ATTORNEY: My colleague and I, Camille Biros, we have already distributed the first $50 million to the individual families.

CAVUTO: And that was even, the same per person, right?

FEINBERG: And $144,500 distributed to each of the 346 families.

Now Boeing has come to us again, and said, Camille, Ken, we want you to take the other 450 million and fund local community projects, local community programs, programs that are of interest to the families around the world, and distribute those funds in the next few months, where it will have an appreciable impact at the local level.

And that's what we're going to begin doing right now.

CAVUTO: But how do you know which is more effective, which has the biggest impact at the community level?

FEINBERG: Ah. Ah. There's the rub. There's the challenge.

First, locating the right projects, the right programs. Second, even if you have a program that appears to be a good one, how do we know that the money will be wisely spent? How do we know that it will have a real impact on an orphanage, on education programs, water treatment, food for the hungry?

I mean, these are not only locating the programs in Africa, Asia elsewhere, but making a determination independently. Camille and I have the responsibility that the money will be protected, it will be used for those purposes, it will not be wasted, and it's going to be a challenge, no question.

CAVUTO: How do you discern? I mean, I think, in the Ethiopian plane crash, we had a number of United Nations employees, victims, and they had their own causes, and they were in charge of their own projects.

How does that come into the mix?

FEINBERG: Oh, you're asking a very good question.

There is an Ethiopian family association. There is a French European association of families. There's a very effective United States association of families who lost loved ones. Reaching out to them, reaching out to the families themselves, frankly, asking the government in these countries what might be a good -- a good opportunity or a good program.

We want to make sure that the families are heard on this, because the families have projects and programs that they think will best memorialize the memory of the lost loved ones, and we want to try and accommodate them if we can with programs that will be safe and secure.

CAVUTO: So, Ken, the families who settle or funds are disbursed for victims of the plane crashes, now, is there separate litigation or suits pending from those same families for more?

FEINBERG: Great question.

This $100 million that Boeing put up has nothing whatsoever to do with the litigation against Boeing.

CAVUTO: Let me ask you about -- in other funds that you oversaw, whether it was the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, or the Boston victim relief fund after the Boston Marathon attacks, the BP oil spill, the Gulf Coast claims facility, and all of that, how were funds distributed?

Because you took a different approach after 9/11, not to equally distribute the funds, but based them on the money lost for the families. In other words, an Aon executive vs. a fireman. There's going to be a disparity in compensation. And such was the case of the disparity in rewards afterwards.

FEINBERG: That's right.

CAVUTO: How has it been handled since?

FEINBERG: The Boeing company says to the individual families, and as to local community projects, this has nothing to do with litigation. You don't have to sign a document. We just want to try, with the help of independent experts, distribute the funds.

CAVUTO: All right, understood.

Thank you, my friend, very, very much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAVUTO: All right, meanwhile, taking a peek of what's going on in Colorado Springs right now, a big rally on the part of the president of the United States.

The base is fired up. Some details coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)  CAVUTO: The president campaigning in Colorado Springs tonight. Supporters have been camping out since last night.

Alicia Acuna is there with the latest.

Hey, Alicia.

ALICIA ACUNA, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Neil.

Yes, President Trump is scheduled to take stage here the Broadmoor World Arena in about an hour. This place fits about 8,000 people. And as you mentioned, we have some video of what you just mentioned, that there have been people here waiting since yesterday, which happens a lot at the Trump rallies.

But, here, it was in 10-to-20-degree weather.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We like the progress he's making in our country, and we think he shares our values. He's doing things that benefit us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's following through with everything he said he was going to do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As long as people pay attention to what he's doing, he will win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACUNA: At the same time, these five Democratic presidential hopefuls have either been in Colorado this week, are here today, or have events planned throughout the weekend.

Senator Sanders beat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 caucuses. This time, it's a primary with a much more crowded field.

On the stage tonight with the president and vice president will be Colorado Republican Senator Cory Gardner, largely considered one of the most vulnerable GOP senators up for reelection.

And let's remember, Neil, that Colorado is a Super Tuesday state. I talked to Kayleigh McEnany. She's the national press secretary for the campaign. She says they treat everything like it's the first Tuesday in November -- Neil.

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

Meanwhile, the president not wasting any time. He heard A.B. Stoddard and tweeted out this, that she's a Trump hater, and that: I won every debate the last go-round.

You can read that as well as I, but just to point out, he didn't. When you look at polls that came out from FOX, NBC, CNN, Politico, YouGov, and a host of others, the initial read was that he had failed to do well in those debates.

He ultimately won, but he didn't poll well in those debates.

Here's "The Five."

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