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'Your World' on migrant crisis, COVID restrictions
Published August 13, 2021
This is a rush transcript of "Your World with Neil Cavuto" on August 12, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: All right, about those plans to return to work, well, a statement from Facebook: Put it back, a lot, not a week, not two weeks, not a month, not even this year.
Facebook announcing a short time ago that it's going to delay its in person return until at least January of next year, following the likes of Amazon.
But that's just for those looking to start next year. There are already scores of companies that have indicated an immediate pickup in activity, in person activity, as soon as Labor Day that is off. Delayed at Wells Fargo and CNN and NBC and Microsoft and Google and Apple and Lyft and a host of others, sending a signal that is whining as we speak that the getting back to work in person isn't going to happen anytime soon.
Welcome, everybody. I'm Neil Cavuto. And this is "Your World."
We are on top of that and on top of inflation. You probably know better than anyone what it's costing you to buy everything from groceries to, well, you name it, gasoline and all of that. Inflation at the wholesale front is now running at a clip of almost 8 percent year over year.
So, you have been seeing wages go up in the vicinity of 4 percent. But the things you want to buy, even on the wholesale level, are double that.
What to make of all of that and the trend that this could be setting with Susan Li with the latest.
Hey, Susan.
SUSAN LI, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Neil, so that wholesale price tells us it's not just consumers, but companies are also paying a lot more to make their products.
And you can bet, if companies have to pay more, consumers will have to pay more. Producer prices, as you mentioned, jumping about 8 percent of July, wholesale prices, as you want to call them. And that is the fastest increase since 2010. And that's just a day after consumer prices, what you and I are pay, coming in at 5.4 percent, still the highest rate since 2008.
Now, chip shortages, lack of labor, also the COVID impact on supply chains, that's being blamed for the higher prices that companies are shelling out for. And numerous items have gone up in price for both companies and consumers. Steel accounted for a fifth for the surge in producer prices.
You also have energy prices going up by the most in four months. Airline tickets have jumped for consumers. Same for food, coffee and cars. So, as a result, companies are hiking prices on the products that they sell. So, from diapers to Clorox wipes, and you have beer prices going up because a can and barley costs more, Yogurts, ice cream, burrito, Starbucks and even washing machines.
Now, the spread of the Delta variant means that consumers are going to go out less and take less flights. So that means prices might ease off, something that we have heard from the Federal Reserve and Chairman Jay Powell, who have all said that they anticipated these price increases to be temporary.
But our FOX News poll tells us that more than 85 percent of Americans are concerned about inflation, with 70 percent of American households saying grocery prices and grocery price increases are causing hardships in the household. So are gas prices at the pump, which are at the highest in seven years.
And you know, Neil, that Americans vote with checkbook issues like the economy and their well-being.
CAVUTO: Susan Li, thank you very, very much for that.
We should also point out that, as that was again spiking, I'm talking prices, so too all of these COVID cases that are now prompting a number of companies to reassess where they stand and where this economic recovery for a lot of them stands.
David Lee Miller following it very, very closely at La Guardia International Airport -- David Lee.
DAVID LEE MILLER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Neil, as the number of new COVID cases continues to increase because of the Delta variant, the number of airline passengers is likely to decrease, costing the industry millions of dollars.
The country's third largest airline, Southwest, now says it is seeing already a drop in the number of passengers that are booking flights, as well as more cancellations. In a revised estimate sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Southwest says it expects revenue for August to be down between 15 to 20 percent compared to pre COVID-2019.
And the airline's projection for the month of September, that's even more dire, revenue down by as much as 25 percent. The airline did have some good news. Travel demand for the Labor Day holiday remains -- and I quote now -- "healthy."
Frontier Airlines also expects its business to be impacted by the virus.
Company guidance released last week said -- and I quote -- "We have noted softening in the level of bookings over seasonal norms that we believe is directly related to the increased COVID-19 case numbers associated with the Delta variant."
An economics professor who follows the industry says a small reduction in the number of business travelers will have a big impact on the airline's bottom line.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATRICK GOURLEY, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN: Most air travelers in the United States domestically are actually leisure travelers, but most of the profit that an airline next is actually from business travel.
That's because business travelers are much more likely to book last minute, which then sees higher fares.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MILLER: And, according to the TSA, the number of travelers in just the last few weeks is trending down. But, significantly, it is nowhere near its lows at the height of the pandemic.
And later this hour, we should learn just how the virus and the Delta variant is affecting the theme park and movie industry, when Disney reports its quarterly earnings -- Neil.
CAVUTO: Thank you very much, David Lee, on all of that.
Well, obviously this reverberates, the spike in cases and how company after company, public institution after public institution, even the U.S. Health Department advocating mandates or vaccines for its entire staff.
This is a trend. We have already seen the likes of Google and Amtrak Walmart, Citigroup, Cisco, Tyson Foods, Lyft, the New York Stock Exchange, Goldman Sachs, a host of others now no longer asking, but demanding that their employees be vaccinated, or, at least in the case of the New York Stock Exchange, you can't step on the trading floor.
It is a widening sort of a move on the part of companies to get ahead of the spikes. And it does appear to be early on getting more people to get vaccinated. But is it enough?
Larry Glazer is watching very, very closely, because, whether you have been vaccinated or not, this is going to have an impact on you and the economy, maybe the markets themselves.
Larry, good to have you.
This is really I think, at the center of an up or down market, up or down economy. Inflation is one thing. It's a big worry. But this whole virus and its stubbornness and the increase in cases, that could upset the whole apple cart, couldn't it?
LARRY GLAZER, MAYFLOWER ADVISORS: Look, Neil, there's no doubt that today's record-setting inflation data comes at a time that's critical, because Washington has considered major spending packages that are contributing to these problems.
And it's no surprise for working families in this country, who've been facing rising costs in food and fuel and everything else, just about everything they buy on a daily basis for months. So they don't need Washington's data to tell them what they already know.
The concern here is what's around the corner and the inability to address the COVID concerns not just in the U.S., but also in China. Many businesses we talked to are very concerned about shipping challenges going into the important holiday season.
So we know China's having massive shipping challenges getting goods and services, getting products out. That's going to affect the U.S. consumer.
So that's going to increase shipping costs. It's going to be passed through to consumers just at a time that they're already facing other inflationary concerns.
Now, we know today's COVID data is going to put a damper on any kind of business travel that's coming up, which means profitability for the hospitality sector and all those other areas. But we're also concerned about the rest of the economy.
And I think most consumers realize that certainly some inflationary costs are going to be temporary. We can't expect used car prices to go up at the rate they have been at, but other costs are just getting going, Neil.
CAVUTO: Right.
GLAZER: Rent costs are going through the roof. So it's a critical time. We need more support here. We need the business community to step forward.
And the business confidence is starting to lag because they're worried about the direction that the economy's taking.
CAVUTO: It's interesting that you joined at the hip, and wisely, my friend, this idea of a flare-up in cases, flare-up at prices, that they are joined at the hip here.
GLAZER: That's right.
CAVUTO: But there are other issues, like a flare-up in serious government spending. That's more than a flare-up. It's record FDR New Deal on steroids-type levels here.
But I'm wondering. The fact that the investment community takes this in stride most of the time, they are in that camp that says, yes, maybe this will be transitory. Now, you and I can remember enough other inflationary spikes. They tend not to be transitory. That doesn't mean they necessarily have to be like we experienced in the '70s. But they just don't, poof, go away.
What are you looking for?
GLAZER: That's right.
Well, look, Neil, the initial price increases that we saw, which were due to supply disruptions because of the reopening economy, those may have been temporary. Lumber prices went up and they have started to come back down.
The next round of price increases are much stickier. They're much more long-lasting. Home prices, record increase. I wouldn't want to be looking for a house right now. Rent increases dramatically, not even showing up in the inflation data today. That's going to be a concern for working families looking to rent. And they're getting -- you're getting crickets out of Washington.
What they're getting is, they're getting a trillion-dollar spending package. And that's the warmup act for the $3.5 trillion or whatever ultimately comes through. And, again, that will only contribute to more inflationary spending.
So what the economy is really concerned about, what the stock market's really concerned about, more importantly, the bond market, they're worried that it's actually going to lead to slower future growth. And that's what we're seeing play out today. They're worried that, in the future, the government spending is going to crowd out the private sector.
And most consumers in a recent Gallup poll are saying they are seeing these inflationary pressures affecting their daily lives, and it's eating up all the stimulus money that they already got. So I think that's the concern going forward, and it's not going away anytime soon.
Higher prices are here to stay because of spending and because of supply challenges, especially because of COVID right now.
CAVUTO: All right, the supply challenges, I could see.
GLAZER: Yes.
CAVUTO: If you consider some of the other factors here, we're coming off the mat, right?
The year-over-year comparisons, we were in the middle of pandemic.
GLAZER: Yes.
CAVUTO: The economy was essentially in park. It was stopped.
GLAZER: Yes.
CAVUTO: So, any activity after that obviously will be, on a percentage basis, noteworthy.
So, these retail and wholesale inflation numbers we got, they are from those levels. Now, the administration has been arguing, the Federal Reserve and other experts have been saying that is going to peter out, even out.
The numbers and the comparisons year over year, even month to month, will start to stabilize. Do you buy that?
GLAZER: Yes, so it's all in the comparisons, Neil.
And I remember getting into this business. Someone gave me a book. It's, how do you lie with statistics? And we do our own proprietary research at Mayflower Advisors. I took my son out for chicken wings, right? We sat at the table, and they said, don't look at the price on the menu. There's a 20 percent surcharge in chicken.
We call that the Glazer chicken wing indicator. And even a teenager knows that can't be good when the price of chicken wings is 20 percent higher on the menu. And I think that's what consumers realize. They don't need to look at Washington's data. They know what's going on. Their costs are rising faster than their incomes are rising. That's going to be a problem.
And it's going to be with us for some time. And we have got to grow the economy and the private sector, not rely on government to bail us out here.
CAVUTO: All right, we will watch very, very closely.
One of the things you look for, we haven't seen it yet, to Larry's point, is when people capitulate or give up. They stop buying the chicken wings.
They stop buying this stuff. They start going to alternative either meats or, heaven forbid, vegetables. But we're not at that point yet.
I only put this into perspective that is warranted here. We are up smartly on the price front. And the notion that it is just going to, poof, disappear, that does not appear to be the case.
And the notion, by the way, in Afghanistan, we were going to quietly leave and everything would be OK and the Taliban would have an uphill battle taking over the country, something changed along the way. The very latest on why the administration is looking at bringing 3,000 troops into Afghanistan, largely to help get our own personnel out.
But could there be something more?
After this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, before all our troops exit, bringing in 3,000 more to help with that exit.
Lucas Tomlinson at the Pentagon with more on this sudden, well, it appears like an about-face -- Lucas.
LUCAS TOMLINSON, FOX NEWS PENTAGON PRODUCER: Neil, that's right.
Three infantry battalions, some 3,000 soldiers and Marines and all, will be deploying to Afghanistan in the next two days.
Here's how Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby described the mission.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: This is a temporary mission with a narrow focus.
As with all deployments of our troops into harm's way, our commanders have the inherent right of self-defense. And any attack on them can and will be met with a forceful and an appropriate response.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TOMLINSON: This comes at the Taliban have been on a lightning offensive in the last week.
Ten days ago, the Taliban controlled no provincial capitals. Today, they control 11, the latest, Herat, Afghanistan's third largest city on the border with Iran. U.S. officials say Kandahar City, the second largest city and spiritual home the Taliban, is in the process of being conquered.
Ghazni, just 80 miles south of Kabul, fell today.
The State Department ordering thousands of Americans out of the country, reducing its U.S. Embassy staff to something very small. In addition to the
3,000 troops coming in, the alert brigade at Fort Bragg is heading to Kuwait. That's 3,000 more soldiers; 1,000 others are going to Qatar.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOMLINSON: -- combat mission?
KIRBY: This is a very narrowly focused mission of safeguarding the orderly reduction of civilian personnel out of Afghanistan, and that's what we're going to be focused on.
TOMLINSON: It's not a combat mission?
KIRBY: Lucas, I have already described this mission now three times.
We're mindful that the security situation continues to deteriorate in Afghanistan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TOMLINSON: When I asked John Kirby if the plan was still to evacuate and pull out all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the end of the month, even with this deployment, Neil, Kirby said that's still the plan -- Neil.
CAVUTO: So, even these extra soldiers, it's -- everyone pulls out by the end of the month. That's a couple of weeks away.
TOMLINSON: That's a couple weeks away. That's what Kirby said.
CAVUTO: All right, got it. All right, Lucas Tomlinson.
Now for some friction closer to home, what's happening at the border, some interesting developments on that front.
Jonathan Hunt in Brownsville, Texas, with a certain visit that got a big controversial -- Jonathan.
JONATHAN HUNT, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Neil.
The homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, was here today. He wanted to tout to local leaders and law enforcement that the Biden administration is doing everything it can to tackle this migrant surge.
But one of his duties while he was here was to announce the figures for apprehensions in July; 212, 672 was the figure the secretary announced. And you have seen from our pictures them surging across that border all day and all night every day and every night. And that 212,000 figure represents a fivefold increase over July 2020.
The secretary also met while he was here with some local political leaders.
They let him know exactly what they think. Listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. HENRY CUELLAR (D-TX): The men and women in green and blue need help, bottom line. They're strained. They're overworked. They don't need just a pat on the back. They actually need the resources.
PETE SAENZ (D), MAYOR OF LAREDO, TEXAS: Whatever system they're using is broken. It needs fixing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Now, after that meeting with those local leaders, Secretary Mayorkas arrived here in Brownsville, Texas, to hold a news conference, in which he admitted that this really is a uniquely difficult time for law enforcement and the U.S. Border Patrol.
Listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, U.S. SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: The situation at the border is one of the toughest challenges we face. It is complicated, changing, and involves vulnerable people at a time of a global pandemic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: And he said that the Biden administration is doing everything it can to deal with this outbreak, this growing number of COVID-19-infected migrants who are coming across the border.
And, as you also know, Neil, I spoke with the incoming chief of the U.S.
Border Patrol yesterday. And he told us that it is one of his nightmares, he said that the thought of an agent contracting COVID-19 from a migrant and then him as a result having to, a she put it, hand a flag to a family is what keeps him awake at night -- Neil.
CAVUTO: Jonathan, do we know the number of COVID cases, a solid, reliable number, because I know it's all over the map, of those who are at the border who have -- who had the virus?
HUNT: The bottom line, Neil, is, no, there is not a single, solid, reliable number.
And, obviously, politics comes into this. And you talk to one people with a certain political perspective, they're going to say one number. You talk to other people with the opposite perspective, they're going to say a different number.
But the secretary admitted today that COVID-19 infections among migrants is a major problem. And that is why he says they're putting new practices into place to try to deal with it. So, whatever the number, everybody is admitting it is something that needs to be tackled, and needs to be tackled urgently, most of all, to protect those Border Patrol agents who are out there every day and every night trying to humanely and professionally deal with these migrants coming across the border -- Neil.
CAVUTO: So true.
Jonathan Hunt, thank you for that.
And Brandon Judd right now, the Border Patrol Union president.
Brandon Judd, if their job isn't difficult enough, they risk getting COVID, these days, whether you're vaccinated or not. What do you think of this new development?
BRANDON JUDD, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL BORDER PATROL COUNCIL: I'd like to take a step back and address what Secretary Mayorkas said, that he said that this is complicated issue.
In reality, it is not a complicated issue. This is an issue that can be fixed very quickly. It was an issue that we have seen fixed time and time again. This administration just refuses to implement the policies and the programs that are necessary to address this problem.
As long as we continue to release people into the United States. As long as we continue to reward people for violating our laws, we're going to continue to see these numbers go up. I -- in my wildest dreams, I would have never thought that an administration would have allowed the border to get to the point that we're at now.
It doesn't even seem like there's a cap. It doesn't -- even if we go to
300,000 apprehensions, it doesn't seem like this administration is going to address the issue. So we can expect to continue to see COVID enter the United States by illegal means, and that is scary for the American public.
CAVUTO: What's interesting, too, I know they had set up a facility, an enclosed facility, or at least an enclosed geographical area, that would handle these COVID cases.
That is already too limited for the number of cases that they have. And I'm wondering, with the surge continuing, and migrants continuing to move toward the border, how can agents just keep up with this?
I mean, it's one thing to sort it out that adjudicate these cases, try to handle what you can, separately deal with those who are contracting the virus, but it's almost moving pieces on a chessboard. You can't keep up with it.
JUDD: We're not keeping up with it.
When you look at the number of agents that we have in the field, when you look at the number of got-aways, we're not keeping up with anything that is happening on the border. That means there are dangerous products that are coming across. The drugs are coming across. They're killing our children in our rural areas, in our suburbs and in our inner cities.
All of this is happening directly on the border. And it's all because we're not implementing those policies and programs that would be effective to secure the border. And, again, we have discussed this over and over and over again, Neil. This is an easy solution.
It just matters whether or not this administration is going to push back against their base. And, right now, it's not doing it.
CAVUTO: Apparently, it got pretty tense behind closed doors. What did you learn? What did you find out?
I mean, I know you weren't physically there, but that it got I wouldn't say nasty, but back to my original term, tense.
JUDD: It did get intense. He visited with agents in McAllen at the 6:00 muster this morning.
I got briefs on that as it was ongoing. And it was very intense. The Border Patrol agents were very upset with Secretary Mayorkas. They were upset with Chief Ortiz. One agent even asked him, how would you rate your success?
And, of course, he tap-danced around that question, because his success has not been good to this point. And I wonder, because I know Secretary Mayorkas. I know that he knows what needs to be done. I know that he's giving the administration the advice that they need. I just don't think that the administration is listening to the secretary.
And so he has to be the face that goes out there. And he has to take the brunt of the vitriol that's taking place. But it does fall on him. He is the secretary. He needs to step up to the plate and he needs to do his job.
CAVUTO: Yes, you're right. He did seem to be threading the needle on that.
Brandon Judd, thank you very, very much.
In the meantime here, we are following developments on COVID. Haven't forgotten about that. We're telling about the spikes in cases. We're telling you about all the cities and states now that are requiring that you have proof that you have been tested for COVID or at least tested negative and that you have proof that you have been vaccinated.
They're telling and demanding restaurants do the same, not only in places like New York, but in Los Angeles, where restaurant owners like this familiar face have already been dealing with grief, and now more grief.
She's back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELA MARSDEN, OWNER, PINEAPPLE HILL SALOON & GRILL: I'm losing everything. Everything I own is being taken away from me. And they set up a movie company right next to my outdoor patio.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: Could Disney save the day?
The company is out with some numbers that are off the charts, handily beating revenue and earnings estimates, and seeing strong continued growth in its theme park business. That could be a good sign.
We're on it -- after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: Angela Marsden became an iconic symbol for the frustration of restaurant owners dealing with regulations and requirements and lockdowns and mandates that were certainly inconsistent, sometimes outright hypocritical.
Now she's facing the same pressure again, the Pineapple Hill Saloon owner out of Los Angeles facing a requirement that she's got to check that patrons who come into her establishment have been vaccinated. I'm sure she has plenty of time for that.
Kind enough to join us.
MARSDEN: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: Angela, good to see -- good to see you.
MARSDEN: Hi, Neil.
CAVUTO: Man, one more headache. One more headache for you.
What do you think of this?
MARSDEN: Ay yi yi yi.
Well, I take it very personally. It's kind of a double whammy for me, because I carry an EpiPen, and I cannot get the vaccine. So that is -- on a personal level, has definitely create a lot of anxiety.
But I want to correct what you said. It's not just restaurants. It's restaurants, bars, spas, theaters, some retail, and they're looking at grocery stores.
CAVUTO: Right.
MARSDEN: So, on a financial -- I mean, there's so many levels to this.
On a financial level, as a small business owner, number one, we have an employee shortage. I can't find enough staff to keep the service going here. Now I'm going to say, well, you have to be vaccinated? I have certain employees that have had it before, and they feel their immune system is good enough. Do I have to let them go? How do I find new people?
And then they want us to be the sheriff? And I'm supposed to, what, put a vaccine checker at the door? And if somebody gets mad and punches my employee in the face, what do I do?
I mean, I have homeless in my parking lot. It takes two to three hours to get a police officer here. And they won't even take them. So, I don't understand. Not only that. From a different perspective, I can't have kids in my bar, but I have talked to my fellow restaurant owners. One of them is like, well, what do I do with people who have children? Children aren't vaccinated.
Does that mean I can't have families come inside with their children?
CAVUTO: Good point.
MARSDEN: I mean, it's just there are so many--
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: But, Angela, what if you don't do it? What if you don't do it?
I have talked to many New York restaurant owners who've been telling me, I simply don't have the time. I can't play the police. I barely have people enough to do the job they're supposed to do, let alone play a bouncer here.
What if you don't do it? What's the punishment for restaurant, bar owners, other who don't?
MARSDEN: Yes.
I mean, well -- well, we don't know.
CAVUTO: Yes.
MARSDEN: They're in a 14-day process right now trying to figure out how they're going to enforce this.
And, typically, what they do is, they will start fining us through the public Health Department. And then they will pull our public health permit, as you know, with Tinhorn Flats, that now has a fence around it.
So I don't know how they're going to enforce this or what they're going to do to punish us for not enforcing it. I just really -- Neil, I really want to urge the board of supervisors right now to please, please think of not just the financial repercussions on the small businesses, but the humanitarian repercussions to the community, the division that this is creating.
I mean, 50.3 percent--
CAVUTO: What are your customers saying to you, then? What are they saying?
Are they worried about this? Are they worried that you won't, will follow this? What?
(CROSSTALK)
MARSDEN: No, my customers aren't happy about it.
So my customers that come in that are vaccinated, they're like, well, I'm vaccinated. I don't care if my friend here isn't. And the ones that don't feel safe, they sit outside,
I'm not anti-vax. I want everybody to know that. I just can't get the vaccine.
CAVUTO: Right.
MARSDEN: And I also have been looking into a new system that I'm putting into my bar that's FDA-approved, and it has bipolar ionizing system that kills COVID 99.99 percent of the time in air, so that we don't have to divide people.
I have teachers freaking out. I have a friend of mine that works for the city, she went into a panic, although the teachers just won. They were going to sue. So now they don't have to be vaccinated.
So, I don't know. I don't know where they're going to go with this. But it's not going to create anything good for the community, in my opinion, you know?
CAVUTO: Yes.
And you just thought you dodged a bullet. And then now here comes another one.
MARSDEN: Yes. Yes.
CAVUTO: Well, you will handle it, Angela. I know that.
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: You're a pretty strong person. And your people are pretty loyal.
MARSDEN: I will.
CAVUTO: That, I know.
So, keep us posted on this. Hang in there.
MARSDEN: Well, I want to take care of my community.
So, thank you, Neil. Thank you.
CAVUTO: All right, thank you, Angela Marsden, the Pineapple Hill Saloon owner.
These guys just can't get out of their own way. Just as they're getting their act together, boom, something like this happens.
We are on top of that. We're also on top of those Disney earnings I was teasing you. The Mouse House is out with some way-better-than-expected numbers.
Disney is sort of like a proxy on the American consumer and whether they will splurge to have fun and do fun things. Apparently, that is still on.
Charles Payne on why he's not surprised -- after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, you think about this, a lot of people going to Disney parks, they were limited capacity. You had to wear masks. That's actually increased in recent weeks.
And yet business was booming at the Mouse House. There was such strong revenues and money being made, absolute profits. The stock is jumping in after-hours trading. And maybe that will help the markets in the belief here that you cannot slow that consumer penchant to want to get out and have fun, something that my buddy Charles Payne, the host of "Making Money"
on FOX Business at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time, has been reminding me about again and again.
He has great faith in you, the people, to have some fun.
So, Charles, what do you make of this?
CHARLES PAYNE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Right now, just the initial reaction, Neil, we had the screen up. You can see it's up after-market.
I should remind people, the last few times they reported, the stock got hit pretty good for the next week. Listen, you and I both parse word. So listen to what the CEO had to say three months ago. He said they saw encouraging signs across our businesses. This what he had to say in this report: "We see more encouraging signs of recovery."
Stronger, more confident. It's reflected in these numbers, to your point, the park numbers. Listen, parks -- between parks, hotels, cruise ships, in 2019, that was 36 percent of their business. It's crucial. It's critical.
It's coming back. It's reflected in the stock.
And I think, to your point, also, it sends a great message about overcoming
-- it is a proxy. It is a really good proxy at this time, when we're still dealing with the COVID and, of course, the new Delta variant.
CAVUTO: I'm wondering too. With so many businesses now putting off in person return to work -- Disney not part of that, although it's talking about maybe vaccinations for its workers and doing things in stages -- I'm wondering how that impacts this economic success story, people -- sort of the great opening out and all of a sudden, in the middle of that, the delayed opening up.
PAYNE: I think it will be just delayed, if it hurts it at all.
You know one thing that's really intriguing? And, of course, the postmortem on this is going to be written, rewritten and relitigated for decades to come. Right at this very moment, I find it really compelling that the United States is -- with this Delta variant, we're still doing business a lot better than those countries that were lauded for the harsh shutdowns that they went through last year, particularly China and Australia.
CAVUTO: Right.
PAYNE: Now they're going through harsh shutdowns again because, really, honestly, they never learned to live with it. So a single case can shut down an entire shipyard.
In China overnight, the second largest shipping container site in the world was shut down. So that was -- when you go through it and you do it that way, that's the only way how to do it. They're going to have really tough economic repercussions. You just had a wonderful restauranteur on. She's an amazing story.
She's trying to work through it. We have learned to work through it to a certain degree. And I think that's why -- part of the reason we have seen this amazing recovery vis-a-vis the rest of the world.
CAVUTO: All right, your confidence in mankind is always justified.
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: Charles Payne, thank you very, very much. Good seeing you again.
PAYNE: Thanks. Thanks, Neil.
CAVUTO: All right, only one thing that could get in the way maybe for Disney World in Florida is this storm, although it's not as bad a storm as it was. I think now Fred is a tropical depression, but still a potential threat for the Sunshine State.
Rick Reichmuth on that.
Hey, Rick.
RICK REICHMUTH, FOX NEWS CHIEF METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Neil.
Yes, definitely we're going to be getting some rain out of this. I think rain would probably be our biggest problem. That said, the storm still has plenty of time over water, very warm water. And we have seen storms really strengthen pretty quickly in most recent years.
There's where the storm has been. Center of the storm now just to the north of the Cuba coastline, the southern Cuban coastline. That said, take a look at the radar image here, and there's really nothing happening around the center of the storm. It's been the case all day long, though, when you look at the visible satellite, you certainly can still see this rotation there.
But until you start to get some storms right back around the center, you're not going to see much of a strengthening storm at all.
So, our tropical models that we look at, all of them bring this into the Gulf, at least most of them, into the eastern parts of the Gulf, the western side of Florida, eastern side of Florida. Not going to be talking about a landfall from the storm, but I think we are going to be talking about a pretty significant amount of rain, especially across South Florida.
So, the Miami area, we're going to watch that.
Take a look at the future radar. This is over the next, say, about 36 hours. Notice we do start to see this get a little bit better organized here. That is Saturday morning early, so late tomorrow night into Saturday morning a storm just to the south of Florida and then likely spending some time just off of the west coast of Florida before making landfall somewhere around maybe the Panhandle of Florida.
That would be sometimes Sunday night into Monday. One other, Neil, I just want to point out, we talk so much about where a storm makes landfall. We have talked a lot about Florida. Folks across parts of the Southern Appalachians need to be watching this as well. I think we're going to get a lot of rain there, some spots, maybe five to seven inches. That will also cause some pretty significant inland flooding -- Neil.
CAVUTO: Got it. Thank you, my friend.
Rick Reichmuth on all of that.
In the meantime, this is one reason why you get vaccine hesitancy among folks. They hear news, particularly on one vaccine, that makes them pause big time -- after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: You wonder if they made a bigger deal out of this than is warranted, but it did provide some ammunition to those who are leery of getting vaccinated, a study that shows at least Pfizer's vaccine with some of these Delta variants isn't nearly as effective as was once believed, maybe only 42 percent effective.
Dr. Amesh Adalja us right now.
Doctor, should we be worried about that?
DR. AMESH ADALJA, INFECTIOUS DISEASES SOCIETY OF AMERICA: No, we shouldn't be worried about it, because you have to remember there's a couple of caveats to that study.
First of all, it hasn't been peer-reviewed. But the efficacy that they're looking at is against any type of positive test, not against severe disease, hospitalization and death. And when you look at what really matters, the Pfizer vaccine stacks up very well when it comes to those three serious outcomes, the whole reason why we actually embarked on a vaccination campaign.
So I think it's important to remember what they're actually looking at isn't what's most important when it comes to this pandemic.
CAVUTO: But it's that vaccine, as I understand, Doctor, that the FDA is most likely to approve next month, not Moderna's, for example, that has a
72 percent efficacy rate against this variant. What do you think of that?
ADALJA: Pfizer was the first vaccine on the market. They have accrued the most data. They're the only one actually ready to be approved, because the FDA requires six months of data.
I don't think that really makes a difference. I think we have to really keep emphasizing to the public that what matters about these vaccines is not their efficacy against minor breakthrough infections, but against severe disease.
And by that measure, all of these vaccines stack up very well against each other. And I would recommend any of those three to anybody that hasn't been vaccinated right now. And I think we do need to have this vaccine approved as soon as possible, because I think it will spur many people who have been on the fence to get vaccinated.
CAVUTO: Well, this latest finding notwithstanding -- and, to your point 42 percent is a hell of a lot better than zero percent, if you have never been vaccinated -- but more Americans may be responding to this pressure.
We're hearing these alarming stories about people hunkering down again and businesses having their operations limited, proof of vaccinations, all the rest, that they are responding. Vaccination rates have been rising. How significant, do you think?
ADALJA: It's very significant that we're seeing people now being prompted to get vaccinations -- vaccinated because they're seeing what the Delta variant can do.
The Delta variable find you if you're an unvaccinated person. It will infect you. It will disrupt your life. It will disrupt your business. And the easiest way to prevent it from happening is to get vaccinated. So I'm glad to see that some people are actually seeing with their own eyes what the Delta variant is doing, and then taking action to protect themselves and to improve their lives.
Hopefully, that trend continues and we can get ahead of it in some of those states where vaccination rates have been poor. The higher the vaccination number is in this country as a whole, the quicker this pandemic is in our rearview mirror.
CAVUTO: Dr. Amesh Adalja, thank you very much.
Doctor, good seeing you again.
Obviously, it's not been good seeing inflation, right, again, nothing like we had in the 1970s, but it is the kind of thing that is not going away.
And that has some Democrats fearing that also means neither are their problems for the midterms and beyond.
Are they making things worse with yet more money?
After this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: So, are you worried about inflation?
Join the club; 86 percent of Americans say they are. I don't know whether the 14 percent are even going outside to shop for things. But 86 percent of us are.
Susan Crabtree of RealClearPolitics.
If I'm president of the United States, if I'm the party in power, I'd be worried about that.
SUSAN CRABTREE, REALCLEARPOLITICS: Oh, yes. And they are worried about it.
This is what I have been calling the Democrats' catch-2022 on inflation.
They have this window of opportunity where they still have their House and Senate majorities, the majority in the Senate just barely. And so they're going to use this opportunity to push through as much spending and these big pet projects that they have always wanted to do, like community college, free community college and paid family leave, push them through right now.
But the result of that, it actually might come back to bite them in the 20
-- the '22 midterms, which are just right around the corner next year.
That's if inflation stays long term. We saw this with the Fourth of July recess. The Democrats got hit really hard, vulnerable Democratic congressional members in their districts during town halls.
They got asked these questions, and there was ads from -- Republican ads saying, we can't afford these increasing gas prices. Backyard barbecues are more expensive. We can't afford this. And Democratic -- a top leading Democratic strategist said those were the most effective Republican ads they have seen. And we can expect more this recess.
CAVUTO: You know, it's interesting. They have been positing this -- that is, some Democrats, not all, Susan -- as saying, look, this link between going deeper into debt and yielding inflation, if that were the case, then interest rates would have been a lot higher than they were.
We have gone through 10 years with Republican and Democratic presidents alike. Inflation has been very, very low. Interest rates have been darn near zero. There are other factors to that. I get that.
But some Democrats I talk to say, this is going to, especially if they get the $3.5 trillion measure, lead to a boom in the next year that's going to offset what other potential inflationary pressures are there. What do you make of that argument? Because Republicans claim just the opposite. One side has got to be wrong here.
CRABTREE: Senator Mike Lee is calling this like an inflation bomb, these bills that the Congress is passing, this $3.5 trillion bill that Democrats want to pass.
There are about six Democrats, House Democrats that are opposing this bill.
And House -- Nancy -- Speaker Pelosi needs three of them. So, yes, there's a lot of concern on their side about this. And you have had President Biden say, oh, this is just like reopening a pipe that's frozen. And there's spits. And it needs to get -- the economy needs to get running again. And then it'll be -- it's just really short-term inflation.
But you don't see that. You have the Federal Reserve chairman coming out a couple of weeks ago saying, actually, this is longer than we expected. It could be longer.
So, if it goes into next year -- I mean, if it's short term, I think Democrats survive this, no problem. It doesn't become an issue next year.
But if we still have inflation in the summer after Labor Day, after summer, people are going in their cars, enjoying their summer vacations next year, when, really, people start paying attention to the midterms, I think it's going to be a serious problem for Democrats.
CAVUTO: Well, you're right. Then all bets are off.
And to your point, Susan, I follow the math. I'm a herd here. It's money in, money out. And Americans are making more money. Wage gains are running at a 4 percent clip year over year. Not bad, the strongest we have seen in about nine years. Unfortunately, their expenses, the cost of things have risen at a 5.5 percent clip, if you look at wholesale inflation, close to an 8 percent clip.
And that's going to sink in real quickly. Do you think this lasts beyond the midterms?
CRABTREE: Well, beyond the midterms, I think it's interesting.
I think you're getting -- Democrats are caught in this catch-2022, because it's -- because you have, like, people like Katie Porter who's very vulnerable, in a traditionally conservative district in Orange County, California. She's trying to say that the child--
CAVUTO: So, it could last. It could last for them.
I'm jumping on you. It could last. You're--
CRABTREE: Yes. It -- there you go.
(LAUGHTER)
CRABTREE: It could last.
But -- yes, yes, it could.
CAVUTO: All right.
CRABTREE: But we will see. We will have to see, wait and see.
CAVUTO: We call these hard breaks, Susan.
Thank you very much, Susan Crabtree.
Now it's time for "The Five."
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