Democrat: Biden should visit the border
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This is a rush transcript of "Your World" on October 26, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Welcome, everybody. I'm Neil Cavuto, and very glad to be back.
As some of you know, I tested positive for COVID. And a lot of you were very kind to check up on me, see how I'm doing, still testing positive for COVID, but in the safe confines of a remote location right now, i.e., my home, just to let you know that there are no technicians involved with me here, or putting anyone in danger. My wife similarly tested positive.
So the only one who is vulnerable for the time being might be our dog, which is keeping a safe distance for the time being.
But, anyway, very good to have you. We are very good to go and continue this debate that I started when I was out, urging many of you who hadn't got vaccinated to get vaccinated.
But I had touched on something that is akin to the third rail of politics, this whole issue of mandates and forcing people to get vaccinated. I didn't necessarily want to go there.
I did want more of you unvaccinated to get vaccinated, so there's no threat of going there, because the simple fact of the matter is, the more Americans who get vaccinated, my rationale was and remains the better their odds and the country's odds and the world's odds of improving this situation and this scourge that has already killed more than five million worldwide, and close to 800,000 in this country alone.
But it did stir national debate, did it not? And, certainly, we got quite a few responses, which I thought I'd share with you now, as I did earlier my FOX Business show today.
To Dion Baia, who's been sort of keeping track of all of that, my wingman, as I like to call him back in New York.
Dion, thank you for your calls and checking up on me, but I had no idea you were secretly piling up these very nasty tweets and e-mails I have been getting. Can you update me on what the reaction has been?
DION BAIA, FOX NEWS AUDIO TECHNICIAN: Well, it's been kind of divided, Neil. We're glad you're OK. We're glad you're doing all right, you and your wife, and everything is so far so good, and...
CAVUTO: You don't sound like it. You really don't sound...
(CROSSTALK)
BAIA: Oh, I am. I am. I'm very worried about your dog as well.
CAVUTO: This is you glad. OK, got it.
BAIA: Yes.
But, yes, I have been compiling some stuff here. And I guess I will go through them for you, some people e-mailing and tweeting us in about stuff.
Our first e-mail comes from John in New Orleans, who says: "Heard you're back on the show this week. That's too bad."
So, that's not very nice, but I figured we would kick it -- start it off with a kicker.
CAVUTO: That sounds a little mean.
BAIA: Yes, I know. I'm sorry.
CAVUTO: Yes.
BAIA: It wasn't from me.
Got a tweet now from Michael B.: "Listen to Neil Cavuto of FOX News. Get vaccinated, if not for yourself, then to save the life of your fellow worker. Cavuto is immunosuppressed to the max and positive for COVID. He is alive, he says, because he's vaccinated," which I think that is true, you say, Neil.
CAVUTO: And that was the goal, right?
BAIA: Yes. Yes.
CAVUTO: Say it would be a lot worse without it.
BAIA: Yes.
CAVUTO: Go ahead.
BAIA: We got a T.J., who also e-mails: "It's clear you have lost some weight with all this stuff. Good for you. But I'm not happy with less of you. I want none of you. I want you gone, dead, kaput, finis. Get it? Now take your two-bit advice, deep-six it and you."
(LAUGHTER)
BAIA: That's a rather harsh, Neil. So -- but I figured I'd relay that to you.
CAVUTO: Wow. Is he trying out for the "Sopranos" prequel? Geez. All right, go ahead.
BAIA: Yes, it does sound kind of like that.
CAVUTO: Go ahead, yes. Keep it coming.
BAIA: OK, now we got Vince.
Vince tweets: "Hey guys, I bought a new car after being told it was the best. Then I -- it blew up after I left the car lot. So now I'm begging everyone to please buy the same car. Sorry. I was just pretending to be Neil Cavuto," which I think is being a little sarcastic there in that last tweet.
CAVUTO: You think?
BAIA: A little bit. A little bit. A little bit. A little bit.
CAVUTO: OK, a little bit.
BAIA: I know you love that.
Here's another tweet, PolitiFact Bias: "Neil Cavuto has been fully vaccinated for months and has been a vocal advocate about the safety and efficacy of COVID vaccines publicly and repeatedly on air. This is not a new position for him," which is true, Neil.
This is not a new position for you.
CAVUTO: No.
And that's kind of what we were stressing, in all seriousness, said, look, this is something from the very beginning I have been saying that.
BAIA: Absolutely.
CAVUTO: I think the better part of valor is, if you haven't been vaccinated, it might be a good idea for you to get vaccinated.
I understand those for religious, personal reasons don't want it.
BAIA: Yes.
CAVUTO: But I understand also the numbers that the more who do get vaccinated, the bigger the drop in cases.
BAIA: Absolutely, yes.
CAVUTO: But it didn't fall on all receptive viewers, I guess. But go ahead.
BAIA: No, certainly not.
I got another one for you. Ignis, Aspiring to Aspire tweets: "Cavuto is the Tigger of talking heads say, a head full of fluff, just not the -- not cool like Tigger."
And I think, for the record, we had our fact-checkers look at this. I think she is actually referring -- making the correlation that you were like Pooh bear, because he -- Pooh was the one that was full of fluff.
(LAUGHTER)
BAIA: So, she might be kind of making a comparison or a -- I don't know. Maybe it's a leap.
CAVUTO: Sure.
BAIA: So, but I digress.
Here's another tweet from...
CAVUTO: Thank you on the Tigger thing, yes.
BAIA: Oh, you're welcome. You're welcome. Clarifying that.
CAVUTO: Yes.
BAIA: Here's another tweet from SoylentGreenIsPeople. Read into that what you will: "When the asses gather, they call Cavuto boss."
So, that's rather ominous, Neil.
CAVUTO: Wow.
BAIA: So I will leave you with that.
CAVUTO: Well, that was a response I think to a comment don't be an ass about it. Don't get histrionic about it.
BAIA: Yes.
CAVUTO: Just please get vaccinated.
But maybe that was a little impolitic of me to say. And now I'm head of that club, I guess.
BAIA: Yes, you're the head ass of -- remember when that dog, that he's the only one that...
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: Thank you. I get it. Yes, I get it. Yes, got it.
BAIA: OK, OK, anyway. Like, get on with it.
So, here's another tweet: "What doesn't kill me better run. Thank you, Neil Cavuto. Your voices heard by conservatives and I appreciate it." So that's actually kind of nice. We threw some -- a couple of good ones in here too, which is good.
CAVUTO: Yes, just to humor me.
BAIA: Yes, just to humor -- exactly, just to check the boxes.
Cyndi tweets: "Pound sand Cavuto and mind your own business."
That's you.
CAVUTO: Pound sand.
BAIA: Yes, just go keep pounding outside.
OK, and then Charles H., Vaccinated Version tweets: "What if Cavuto can also read? Doesn't that make his medical opinion as valid as yours, since your only qualification is basic literacy?"
That's interesting, Neil, very interesting.
CAVUTO: So, with that -- I get it. That guy was going after people criticizing whether I can offer advice or urge people to get vaccinated, that we -- if you read or talk to doctors...
BAIA: Yes.
CAVUTO: ... and the doctors are telling you that, is that legitimate enough to take some of the advice seriously?
BAIA: Yes.
CAVUTO: So, maybe that's one way of looking at it.
BAIA: And also because you are illiterate.
CAVUTO: Some people will ignore that, right?
BAIA: Yes, exactly. Some.
(CROSSTALK)
BAIA: And then who read, yes.
We get another one from Barbara via Yahoo: "I admire your remarkable strength through so much adversity. Let me give you some advice. Shut up and enjoy the fact you're not dead. For now."
Neil, I did not know your wife has access to these e-mails. So, sorry about that.
(LAUGHTER)
BAIA: But I figure you need to know.
CAVUTO: Well, she's testing positive now, so she's probably angry. And she has every right.
(CROSSTALK)
BAIA: She probably -- yes, yes.
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: Yes, sure.
BAIA: Yes, exactly.
Bobb -- three B's -- tweets us: "Thank you, Neil. I don't care about left or right at the moment. The B.S. politics to date have killed a lot of people. Please do whatever you can. All of us do -- and all of us will do the same. Let's stop all the unnecessary deaths. Get vaccinated now," which sounds like a good message as well, Neil.
CAVUTO: That is a good message.
BAIA: Yes. So that was kind of how we're ending it up there and something on a positive note for you.
(CROSSTALK)
BAIA: And we're so glad you're doing OK, you and your wife. We love you here. And hope you get better soon, so you're not just in your basement, far, far away.
And we hope you come back soon.
CAVUTO: It seems, if you were after my well-being and me feeling good, and then you clearly cull these nasty tweets...
BAIA: I don't hide anything from you, Neil.
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: My well-being, it's not a concern. Oh, yes, that's true.
BAIA: It's all the -- I have got it all here. And I want you to know I'm not going to glaze over the opinions.
And I would give you a big hug if I could, but it would just be awkward through the TV lens.
CAVUTO: Sure. So, yes, it's all electronic.
BAIA: We love you, baby.
CAVUTO: Well, thank you, Dion.
BAIA: Remember who loves you, baby.
CAVUTO: I love you too, my friend.
BAIA: Telly loves you.
CAVUTO: Yes, I know.
BAIA: Yes, remember that. OK.
CAVUTO: You are so much the son I never wanted.
BAIA: I know.
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: Dion, thank you. Thank you.
BAIA: It's just so bad in so many ways.
CAVUTO: I know. I know.
BAIA: See you soon. Love you.
CAVUTO: Thank you, my friend.
BAIA: Thanks, buddy.
CAVUTO: We're trying to put this in perspective, all kidding aside.
I want to entertain all views from all people on this. But the fact of the matter, this is an ongoing issue right now.
And, of course, you had a number of big biotech powerhouses today indicating that they're coming up with drugs and treatments of their own. By the way, this is something else that came up in e-mails and tweets, that I'm being paid by pharmaceuticals, all of that stuff. I was just looking for my check from Pfizer or Moderna. Couldn't find it. Sure it's here somewhere.
But, no, that's not happening. Just because you're pro-vaccine doesn't mean you're in the hip pocket of drug giants. You just want to see that people are being taken care of.
Want to go to Jonathan Serrie on this. He's been following out of Atlanta the push to expand some treatments for those as young as age 5, while a separate push is on maybe even combine various vaccines into a single shot, one that can help with the flu, one that could help obviously with COVID.
So there's a lot going on. To Jonathan on that.
Hey, my friend.
JONATHAN SERRIE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there is a lot going on, Neil.
But it is hard to follow those tweets and letters that you just read. I, for one, am so happy to see you back. You are one of the good guys. Welcome back.
Now let's move on to that third rail you were talking about. Thousands of New York City employees are protesting Mayor Bill de Blasio's vaccine mandate. Most municipal workers who fail to get the shots by Friday at 5:00 p.m. will be forced to go on unpaid leave. The mayor says it's the right thing to do.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey is urging people to get vaccinated, but says the way to do that is through education and persuasion, not coercion. She signed an executive order to challenge federal vaccine mandates and mitigate their effects on her state.
The U.S. is calling on the Group of 20 leading economies to prepare for future pandemics based on lessons learned from COVID-19. The Biden administration says it's also focused on shoring up the supply chain here at home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NED PRICE, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: How do we make sure that in those critical places, that, if factories shut down, it has downstream effects that harm American workers, that we are getting support from the point of view of COVID response to those areas?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SERRIE: COVID shots for younger children are coming closer to reality.
The FDA's vaccine advisers have been holding public meetings all day to review clinical data on Pfizer's vaccine for children ages 5 through 11. A study by Pfizer found that the company's vaccine was 91 percent effective in preventing symptomatic COVID infections in that age group -- Neil, back to you.
CAVUTO: All right, thank you, my friend very, very much, Jonathan Serrie, following all those fast-moving developments.
I want to go right now to Dr. Richard Besser, the president and of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, former acting CDC director, kind enough to join me again,
Doctor, very good seeing you.
All kidding aside with some of the heated and extreme e-mail and tweets I received, my basic message was, I'm not here to treat you or act like a doctor, but follow the advice of doctors, who, just like the ones who told me, said that my situation, even now testing positive for COVID, it would be a hell of a lot worse had I not been vaccinated.
Now, of course, I'm one of those immunocompromised individuals that are now making up about half these new breakthrough cases. But was that message, at least in your eyes, legitimate?
DR. RICHARD BESSER, CEO, ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION: Yes, well, Neil, first I want to welcome you back. It's good to see you back on the air and doing better.
And I want to commend you on your bravery of sharing your story, because speaking out on this issue is one that is challenging.
When you talk about why we vaccinate -- I'm a general pediatrician, and I talk to parents about this all the time. You vaccinate to protect your own children, but you also vaccinate your children because, by vaccinating them, you help protect every other child in that classroom.
You protect the teachers, you protect the staff. And you are fully vaccinated. We're mourning the loss of Colin Powell, who was also fully vaccinated, but was immunocompromised. And we recognize that, by vaccinating ourselves, we not only provide protection for ourselves and our families, but we provide some protection for those people we might pass on the street who have an immune problem that we're not aware of who are at increased risk.
Your comment about would you have done worse had you not been vaccinated, I think that is the case. It's very hard to prove that on an individual basis. But you have a number of conditions that put you at very high risk of having severe disease. And now you're back on the air.
And so I hope people take this information, and they just factor it in to their decision-making. There's a lot of people who are still on the fence.
CAVUTO: But a lot of people don't, Doctor.
I'm sorry, my friend.
BESSER: Yes.
CAVUTO: But a lot of people don't. And they have used this -- and many have e-mailed me and tweeted have been saying, well, this is proof that I shouldn't get the vaccine because you came down with it. Colin Powell came down with it, the myeloma notwithstanding or the fact he was 84 years old.
All they see is recurrences of cases. And they see some of these breakthrough cases and say, why should I bother?
What do you tell them?
BESSER: So, I look at it this way.
When you look at who's been -- who is hospitalized and who is dying, greater than 90 percent are people who are not vaccinated. And there's no vaccine that's 100 percent. But these vaccines are some of the best vaccines, most effective vaccines we have for anything. Measles is about 95 percent.
But some of them for whooping cough are much lower than this. And they still save millions of lives around the world. I kind of use the seat belt analogy is, you wear a seat belt, it's going to improve the chances you survive in a car crash, but there's still a lot of people wearing seat belts who are going to die in car crashes.
And you don't take away from that, well, I'm just not going to wear a seat belt then. You say, no, it's not 100 percent, but it improves my chances. And that's a really good thing.
CAVUTO: So, as a pediatrician, Doctor, if I could focus on that and your background, this push now to get vaccines for kids as young as 5 -- I know what the FDA is reviewing. Pfizer's pushed for that. Moderna has a similar drug ready to go, it says.
What do you think of that?
BESSER: Well, as a pediatrician, and as a parent, I think it would be terrific to have safe and effective vaccines for children.
Thankfully, the risk to children isn't as great. But there have there been over 1.9 million cases in children. There have been over 8,000 hospitalizations in children. There have been over 150 children between the ages of 5 and 11 who've died from this.
And children that age aren't supposed to die from anything, but 150 who've died from this. And we vaccinate children against diseases that cause far fewer deaths than that.
Parents should have that choice, if these vaccines are felt to be safe and effective. And I have been watching the committee hearings all day. They haven't voted yet. I'm not sure which way they're going to go on this. They're really diving into the evidence.
And that's what I want to see, because, if I'm going to recommend these vaccines for my patients, I want to know that there's been an independent review and that the experts in this area feel it's the right way to go.
CAVUTO: Got it.
Dr. Besser, thank you so much for your guidance on this. Appreciate that.
In the meantime, we have a lot more coming up on what's happening in Washington having nothing to do with vaccines and everything to do with a Democratic plan that could pass muster with both sides of the aisle, at least the Democratic aisle.
James Clyburn, the House majority whip, on what he finds encouraging -- after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, we were mentioning vaccines in the prior segment.
We just learned that the FDA advisory panel has gone ahead and approved Pfizer's vaccine for kids as young as age 5 to age 11. The vote was 17, with one abstention. We will keep you posted on that.
Keeping you updated on what's happening in Washington, separately, with this huge spending package that Democrats are putting together, although maybe not as huge as earlier thought, and the tax hikes not may be targeted the way we were earlier thought.
Chad Pergram with more from Capitol Hill.
Hey, Chad.
CHAD PERGRAM, FOX NEWS CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Neil, and welcome back.
Tax the rich, that's the Democrats' plan. In other words, the government would tax paper assets the wealthy hold. Otherwise, they only pay taxes when they sell those assets. Tax observers are dismayed the plan is just emerging now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERICA YORK, TAX FOUNDATION ECONOMIST: Lawmakers are perhaps going to craft an entirely new tax regime to apply to a handful of wealthy citizens. Just the timing alone could lead to implementation details that are not fully fleshed out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERGRAM: Utah Senator Mitt Romney says the plan psychologically discourages investment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): The idea of taxing so-called unrealized gains, meaning trying to assess the increase in value in something, has a lot of unintended consequences that would be really devastating to entrepreneurship and innovation in our country and long term hurt job creation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERGRAM: Democrats have struggled to get an agreement on taxes for the social spending bill.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said today he regrets that Congress lacks the votes to hike the corporate tax rate from 21 to 26.5 percent. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is imploring her members to support the emerging deal -- Neil.
CAVUTO: All right, thank you, my friend, Chad Pergram, on that.
Now, of course, to James Clyburn, the Democratic House majority whip, and his view of targeting the uber-wealthy.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): The wealth tax is something that I support.
I think that all of us are aware that the wealthy, the uber-wealthy, at least, have not really done all that they could do to help the country move forward. And I have not been able to understand this.
It seems to me that we ought to want to have good health for everybody, and you can't have good health if you can't afford health care and you can't afford to eat decent meals. These things are basic.
And it seems to me that those of us who can afford ought to be doing our fair share. And that's not been happening. Everybody knows that's not been happening. And what we're trying to do here is make it happen.
CAVUTO: All right, but this would only raise a fraction of the money that you normally would have had with the income tax rate hikes that were being considered. Are they off the table now? Are we just not going to see those income rate hikes?
CLYBURN: Well, some things have been taken off the table, but not everything.
I spent some time last night with the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Richard Neal. He has assured me that he's put forth 2 -- an- over-$2-trillion effort that he thinks can do exactly what we need to do to cover the cost of this bill.
You got to remember, Neil...
CAVUTO: Without income tax rate -- but without tax rate hikes, how is that possible?
CLYBURN: Well, I didn't say without -- I'm saying it's without the billionaire tax.
He has spread it out in such a way that it is defined as taxing the wealthy, but it goes far beyond billionaires.
CAVUTO: What's to stop you, if you go after billionaires -- there are 750,000 of them, sir -- and the idea is to go after their monies, or if they'd made better than $100 million three years running, to extending this, much as we did with the Alternative Minimum Tax, something that now has ensnared fully a third of all U.S. taxpayers?
Who's to say that isn't going to happen here? It starts with billionaires and the very rich. Eventually, it hits everybody.
CLYBURN: Neil, the reason I'm smiling is because you know that's not what I said.
You and I have been good buddies for a long time.
CAVUTO: No, I know that's not what you said, but that is the fear how it starts, not your view of this. I know that's not your goal, but that it could happen.
And then the Alternative Minimum Tax is a good example of that. It did happen.
CLYBURN: That's right. It could happen, but not on our watch.
We Democrats are doing two things. We're trying to be fair with the tax code, and we're trying not to pass the bill for this onto our children and grandchildren.
CAVUTO: Senator Manchin was asked outright if he has entertained switching parties or even going independent. He says no, and that, in the worst-case scenario, even if he did, he would caucus with Democrats.
Do you welcome him into your party and staying in your party?
CLYBURN: Yes, I do.
We have two independents. Bernie Sanders is welcome into this party. He's an independent caucusing. Senator King is an independent. And they caucus with Democrats. So we do that all the time.
So, if that's the way he wishes to be labeled, and will still help us Build Back Better, I welcome that.
CAVUTO: Do you think he's a Democrat? Do you think Joe Manchin acts like a Democrat? Some of your colleagues, particularly Progressive Caucus, say no.
CLYBURN: Well, Joe Manchin is a Democrat.
He's been a Democrat for a long time. And I take people at their word.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CAVUTO: All right, Congressman Clyburn.
Let's get a fair and balanced read from Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, the Senate Republican Conference chair.
Senator, he seems to, with other Democrats, be cobbling together something that might dispense with hiking all the income rates, including those on the wealthy, and target on the super wealthy with something like a wealth tax. That seems to be where they're going.
What do you think of this?
SEN. JOHN BARRASSO (R-WY): Well, first, Neil, welcome back.
CAVUTO: Thank you.
BARRASSO: On behalf of all your fans in the state of Wyoming, we're delighted to see you doing so well.
And, as a doctor, I am very glad that you were vaccinated. And I hope many of your followers will choose to do that as well.
CAVUTO: Thank you, Senator.
BARRASSO: In looking at this $3.5 trillion massive tax-and-spending bill and how they want to pay for it, just remember, when they target some people, there are more pages in the bill than there are billionaires in the United States.
And the cost of each page, 2, 500 pages in the bill, is over $1, 400,000,000 a page. So everybody's going to end up having to pay for this if they get to finally figure out what's going to be in it and how they want to pay for it. But everyone's going to get hit one way or the other through higher taxes, through higher debt for our nation, and through the punishing, the most punishing tax of all, which is inflation, which is hurting people today when they go to buy groceries or gas, when they go to heat their home.
All of those things are hurting the American public.
CAVUTO: This whole dust-up over the roles that Senator Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema are playing as being the holdouts on some of the bigger spending plans.
Senator Manchin was talking out loud about the possibility of leaving the party, says that doesn't -- isn't going to happen. But, even if he did, were an independent, he would be still caucusing with the Democrats. The fact that he's even talking like that, what did you make of that?
BARRASSO: Well, he and I work very closely together. He's the chairman of the Energy Committee. I'm the ranking Republican on that committee.
We see eye to eye on many issues, specifically American energy. And what we see what the Biden administration has done, has declared war on American energy. And that's why people today are paying the highest at the pump that they have been at seven years. We see natural gas prices the highest in seven years. And half the houses in America are heated with natural gas.
So, Joe and I agree that this is terrible for the country, has caused massive inflation on energy. And now this administration, after it killed the Keystone XL pipeline, blocked drilling in Alaska, blocked exploration on federal lands, which has a huge impact in Wyoming, now the administration is asking OPEC and Russia to produce more energy for America.
I mean, this -- you're talking about a jackpot for those people.
CAVUTO: He is also talking about tapping the Petroleum Reserve, the emergency oil reserve. How do you feel about that?
BARRASSO: Well, it's -- you take a look at the times that it's been used for an emergency, we have that energy in America in the ground. We ought to be able to explore for it.
There is no reason in the world that we are today using more oil from Russia than we are from Alaska. And we're using twice as much now as we were a year ago.
CAVUTO: Got it.
Senator Barrasso, thank you very, very much. And appreciate the kind words as well.
As we follow this drama on Capitol Hill when it comes to whether they can get anything together, some Democrats say, yes, they can within just a few days. We will watch that very closely.
Also watching the president's travel plans, heading to Virginia to help the Democratic candidate. But is the president's very presence the thing hurting that Democratic candidate?
After this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: An FDA panel is fine with recommending Pfizer's vaccine for kids. Now along comes Moderna, hoping to get the same approval for its drug for kids. It's getting crowded.
We will have a lot more after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, the president will be heading to Virginia again to help the Democratic candidate in that race, Terry McAuliffe, but there are concerns that maybe the president could be hurting more than helping.
Alexandria Hoff now with more in Arlington, Virginia -- Alexandria.
ALEXANDRIA HOFF, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, good afternoon, Neil.
That's right. President Biden has campaigned for McAuliffe once before. That was at a rally back in July. But a big question since then is, would the president be making another appearance? Of course, we now know that answer, .
But, in recent months, Democrat Terry McAuliffe has welcomed just about every major big name Democratic campaign for him. All the while, the president was notably absent. McAuliffe did it recently that President Biden's low approval rating and the stalling spending bills have been no help.
His Republican opponent, Glenn Youngkin, has seen a surge in polls lately. The two are now considered tied. Here's what Youngkin says about Biden's appearance tonight:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLENN YOUNGKIN (R), VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I guess Virginians might be excited -- I doubt it -- that Joe Biden showing up. I said, the other day, bring him in. Have him campaign as much as he wants.
I am campaigning for Virginians.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOFF: The other key off-year election will take place in New Jersey.
President Biden was there yesterday to sell his Build Back Better plan. He was joined by Democratic Governor Phil Murphy. Now, Murphy's seat is being challenged by Republican Jack Ciattarelli. In a Democratic stronghold state like New Jersey, this isn't a tight race, by any means, but it has gotten more competitive.
And, interestingly enough, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker is actually coming here to Virginia to campaign for McAuliffe tomorrow. President Biden is expected to arrive here at a very windy Arlington just before 8:00 -- Neil.
CAVUTO: Thank you for that, Alexandria. Appreciate it.
Let's go to Bob Cusack right now, The Hill editor in chief.
Bob, while we're focused on Virginia, rightly so, I live in New Jersey. And that race has suddenly turned very tight, within five points. Governor Murphy, who back in the summer was leading by 26 points, something is going on here. What is it?
BOB CUSACK, THE HILL: Yes, that's right, Neil.
And it's great to see you back in the chair.
CAVUTO: Thank you.
CUSACK: The governors, the Republican governors, they have the momentum in both races. That doesn't mean they're going to win these races. I think New Jersey is still somewhat of a long shot.
But it's more of a real possibility than it was a couple of weeks ago and a month ago. I live in Virginia. I see a fair amount of Youngkin signs in Northern Virginia, which is -- which certainly trends to the Democrats.
So this is a tight race. Youngkin is talking up education. There's been some education controversies in the news, as you know, Neil, and that's helping Youngkin.
But the demographics clearly help Democrats in both states.
CAVUTO: I'm just wondering too, if, for example, Virginia were to go to the Republican candidate, and let's say it ends up being close in New Jersey -- who knows. I mean, it could turn that also be an upset.
CUSACK: Yes.
CAVUTO: That's a whole new ball game, is it not?
CUSACK: It's a political earthquake if Democrats don't win both of these, Neil.
I mean, just from a demographic standpoint, I mean, this is -- I'm not comparing that Republicans to the Orioles, but this is like a Yankees- Orioles double-header. Yankees have to win. Democrats have to win because of the demographics. And if they don't, there's going to be a lot of finger-pointing.
And this -- Joe Biden's agenda could be in peril. And that's why Democrats are so nervous. And that's why Joe Biden is going to these states. And it's smart for the president to do it. But the enthusiasm certainly is on the hungry party. And who's the hungry party, Neil?
It's the Republicans because they're out of power right now, with the House and the Senate and the White House in Democratic hands.
CAVUTO: Now, a lot of Republicans have been saying, we're focused on the future, without saying it in so many words, even though some are saying in more than a few words, that President Trump can be very helpful doing just that himself and not revisiting 2020 and all of that.
How is that sorting out among the Grand Old Party?
CUSACK: Well, that's the big problem for Mitch McConnell and other Republicans is that they would love the president to look forward, not looking back at the 2020 election.
Senator Roy Blunt said this past weekend it would be better if Trump look forward.
Neil, it's not happening. The former president's going to be talking about the 2020 election for the next year and into another likely presidential bid. I think he is going to run. And that's a problem for the Republicans, because they have all -- they can go after Joe Biden, because he's not as popular as he was in the spring. And it's a real opportunity for Republicans.
CAVUTO: Yes, and it could be blown.
We will watch it closely. Thank you, Bob, as always, and for the kind words.
Bob Cusack on that.
Also following this caravan that's making its way up through Central America and right through Mexico. We have discovered that the Mexicans don't seem to be doing a whole lot to stop it or even slow it.
We are on top of it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: Another caravan of migrants is making its way up from Central America through Mexico. And all lives on the Mexican National Guard to see how aggressive they are at either policing the crowd, slowing the crowd, or stopping the crowd, or doing anything about the crowd.
Griff Jenkins right now in Huixtla, Mexico. Hope I'm pronouncing that correctly.
To Griff Jenkins -- hey, Griff.
GRIFF JENKINS, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Perfect pronunciation, Neil.
Let me give you a quick look here. It's day four. It was a rest day. The migrants made it about 25 miles over three days north of where they started in Tapachula. Here in Huixtla, they're resting, but they're starting to move very rapidly at this moment, because this 3,000-strong caravan just got word that they -- the national immigration Mexican officials may come here and try and detain them.
And so they're moving to the Catholic church across town because they believe they're going to get some sort of refuge. I'm not sure exactly what set it off, but someone with a bullhorn saying that these migrants needed to move right away. These are migrants, by the way, Neil, that are from Central America, South America, Cuba, Haiti, as far as Nigeria.
We even have one family from China. That's where things stand now. They will make the trek again tomorrow. These families, a lot of small children out here, they will go north heading towards Mexico City. But, ultimately, as we know from talking all these migrants, they ultimately want to go to the United States -- Neil.
CAVUTO: They all want to go to the United States.
All right, Griff, thank you very much for that, Griff Jenkins.
Let's go to Congressman Henry Cuellar. The Texas Democrat joins us now.
Congressman, another -- another large group heading this way. Are you confident Mexico's doing all it can to help out here, to sort of either slow the crowd, deal with the crowd, or what with the crowd? What do you think?
REP. HENRY CUELLAR (D-TX): Well, first of all, Neil, it's good seeing you again. Welcome back, number one.
CAVUTO: Thank you.
CUELLAR: Number two, look, let's look at what happened in Chiapas. The guard tried to stop them. They got overrun.
Then what they need to do, in my opinion, they can certainly do a lot more. They regroup, intercept, regroup, intercept, so they stop this crowd. But you can't just play defense on that one yard line and then let them go. They break the defense.
So I think what they need to do is regroup, intercept, regroup, and intercept to break this up, because, once they get into Mexico City, then that's a point where they will decide what direction they're going to go, whether it's in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, or California.
But I think the Mexicans can do a lot more. And we certainly have to be ready. I think MPP should be hopefully ready by the time the group gets here, hopefully. And, of course, we still have Title 42, so we can go ahead and address the particular situation.
CAVUTO: Do you think the president should go to the border?
CUELLAR: Well, certainly, I mean, I think the president should come visit.
We know that the vice president probably won't do that. I certainly welcome the president to come down. I think he needs to understand what's happening. He needs to listen, not only to the immigration activists, but he needs to listen to our border communities.
We're at the border. They need to listen to the judges, to the mayors, to the public officials, the landowners that are down there. And they also need to listen to the men and women in green and blue. Those are the people on the front line, and we need to have their backs.
CAVUTO: Now, it seems that the crowds and the drug runners and some of the others, to your fair warning, Congressman, are a lot more aggressive than they used to be. And their numbers are greater than they used to be.
What is your biggest concern right now, besides the numbers, which go up and down? But they seem to be building again, especially if this caravan gets through. It's the safety element, right?
CUELLAR: Well, first of all, we see a caravan where -- a caravan, we pay attention because it's the large numbers.
But keep in mind that there are still small groups that are coming to the border. They're still people coming across. So we're focused on this big group. But, at the same time, we still have the small number of people that are still crossing or still crossing across.
So we can't just focus on the shiny object. We have got to look at what's happening. And those numbers are still pretty strong. And we need to do what we need to do. And that is secure the border, treat people with respect and dignity.
But, at the end of the day, we follow the law. We follow the law.
CAVUTO: Got it.
Congressman, thank you for taking the time. We always appreciate it.
CUELLAR: Thank you.
CAVUTO: Congressman Henry Cuellar on those developments here.
Also following just the weather. You talk about ideal timing to launch an app that can keep you on top of this, we have done just that, but this nor'easter and super cyclone, whatever you want to call it, hitting the Northeast and the East, what a doozy.
The latest next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, call it a nor'easter. Call it a bomb cyclone, but you can simply assess it as nasty, very, very nasty.
Katie Byrne, a FOX Weather correspondent, right now on what the heck to make of the storm that sort of stopped the Northeast and much of the East Coast.
How are things looking right now, Katie?
KATIE BYRNE, FOX WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Neil.
Well, we're getting a little bit of a break from that wet, soggy morning we saw here in the tristate area, but I just checked with the FOX Forecast Center, and they are saying we're probably going to get some more rain in the next couple hours here in the tristate.
And the big concern tonight is going to be the wind, actually, overnight into tomorrow. That's what people are looking out for. And that's why places like Nassau County's Office of Emergency Management are activating, so that they can be pre-active. They're watching the traffic cameras and the roads to make sure that they can react quickly if they see any downed power lines and trees, things like that.
But some parts of the country are still dealing with flooding from this morning. This is in New Jersey, and Union Bridge, I checked in with the police chief there. He said they have been busy dealing with more than a dozen water rescues. Drivers there got stranded in their cars when they drove through flooded waters. Luckily, all of them were able to get out safely.
Then, in Northern New Jersey, more flooding, even with the rain receding for now. The FOX Forecast Center is saying it's going to be back. And a lot of people in the tristate area are saying they'd rather just play it safe this time after Ida. They just want to be overprepared.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVEN MORELLI, NASSAU COUNTY, NEW YORK, OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMISSIONER: I think the entire Eastern Seaboard was caught off-guard with that volume of rain.
We're very fortunate we're not seeing that volume of weather at the moment. We're still seeing a lot of rain, though, and there is still every reason to believe that we need to be careful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BYRNE: For now, more than 8,000 people still without power in New York. That number, we have seen going up throughout the day.
And this severe nor'easter is potentially going to be weakening Wednesday morning -- Neil.
CAVUTO: All right, Katie, thank you very much.
Welcome aboard, an outstanding job, as the whole weather team, Katie Byrne, a FOX Weather correspondent.
I don't know if any of you have had a chance to download this FOX Weather app. It's amazing. It really is. It's for free. But it looks at weather in a whole new way. You have got a 3-D sort of view not only on the ground, above the ground. They give you forecasts out into next year.
I don't know how they can do that, but they do all of this incredible stuff. It is so laden with information and details, it gives you a whole 'nother perspective on stuff. You used to say, all right, what's the weather? But, man, oh, man, this is like that on steroids. You have got to get this thing. It's wild, just wild.
All right, what also is wild, what's going on with prices. They continue to rocket, but now they're putting sort of a dollar figure, what your Thanksgiving meal is going to cost. This is now officially for the birds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, now we know your Thanksgiving dinner is going to be about the most expensive it has been in years.
Now, you could read the numbers here, but it applies to all elements of the dinner, from the turkey to the stuffing to the green beans to the Italian sausage. All right, so maybe you're not into the Italian sausage, but, if you were, that's rocketing too.
And doesn't Kat Timpf, "Sincerely Kat" host on FOX Nation, much, much more.
Kat, always great to see you. I was startled just how...
KATHERINE TIMPF, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Good to see you too. Welcome back
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: Thanks, my friend.
I was startled to see just how much everything's gone up. I don't think people are prepared for that.
TIMPF: Right.
They said everything, the food, the aluminum pan that you're going to make stuff in.
CAVUTO: Right. Right.
TIMPF: Yes, it's not just one thing. It's absolutely everything.
So, although it would be great if it were just simply, as Jen Psaki said, treadmills that were a little bit on backorder, and that was the only issue in supply chains. Unfortunately, it's much bigger than that. And when it's everything, a little dollar here, a little dollar there, that really starts to add up.
The New York Times even saying it might be the most expensive Thanksgiving in the history of the holiday.
CAVUTO: They always say you -- people flock to turkey, no pun intended here, because the cheaper meat. Of course, at Thanksgiving, it's a lot more expensive meat.
But I just wonder what you do, newly married and all of that. Please tell me you're not ordering out or delivering in.
TIMPF: Oh, no, we're going to go on vacation. We're going to go on vacation.
CAVUTO: Oh, OK. That's fine. That's fine.
TIMPF: Because we haven't -- that's another thing that we haven't had a -- really had a chance to do.
CAVUTO: Sure.
TIMPF: But, speaking of that, of course, a lot of people didn't have a chance to have a normal Thanksgiving last year, which also means people are vaccinated, pandemic is waning a bit.
CAVUTO: Yes.
TIMPF: People want to get together with maybe family members that they did not see last year.
So it's going to be more important than ever and bigger than last year, which might make the sticker shock all the more shocking than it would have been it just happened on a more normal year than this one.
CAVUTO: Now, we all know you're a multi-gazillionaire.
TIMPF: Right.
CAVUTO: But how do you cut corners when you have to cut corners?
TIMPF: Well, one way we did accidentally on Christmas a few years ago is, my dad was hosting Christmas, and he had a turkey.
And I said, well, what else? And he said, well, only a turkey. So, on Christmas morning, my now husband and I went to CVS. We got some mac and cheese, put a little salsa in there.
(LAUGHTER)
TIMPF: It was cheaper, but I would not recommend that. That was not to cut costs.
CAVUTO: Got it.
TIMPF: It was because we had no choice.
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: All right, note to self, skip the turkey or anything at CVS for the big day.
TIMPF: No CVS side dishes. I wouldn't recommend it.
CAVUTO: No CVS side dishes, although they do have a lot of processed meats.
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: But I'm just throwing it out there.
Kat, thank you very, very much, Kat Timpf following all of those developments here.
We're going to be looking at the impact of this FDA approval of this Pfizer drug for kids, and that Moderna is looking at doing the same, big subject tomorrow on FBN and FNC.
Here's "The Five."
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