Biden hasn’t outperformed in first year: Lieberman
Former Sen. Joe Lieberman reacts to Biden’s press conference and makes midterm election predictions on ‘Your World.’
This is a rush transcript of "Your World with Neil Cavuto" on January 20, 2022. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): We're for food on the shelves. We're for America independence in energy, lowering the gas price, so it doesn't harm us. We're for stopping runaway spending, so we don't create inflation like they have.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): What the president calls chunks, I would hope would be a major bill going forward. It may be more limited, but it is still significant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDRA SMITH, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: All right, it looks like Nancy isn't too fancy on cutting back the cash for the president's Build Back Better plan, as Republicans hammer the White House on policies they say are adding fuel to the inflation fire.
Welcome, everybody. I'm Sandra Smith, in Neil Cavuto, and this is "Your World."
And two very different worlds for taxpayers and voters heading into the 2022 midterm elections, with Democrats trying to salvage President Biden's spending agenda, despite price hikes slamming consumers.
This hour, former Chrysler and Home Depot CEO Bob Nardelli on the pain consumers are feeling, former Democratic V.P. nominee Joe Lieberman on why Democrats, may want to start worrying, and Ohio Republican Senator Rob Portman on another threat that will impact those energy prices you're paying.
First, though, to Democrats' push for more spending.
Hillary Vaughn is at the White House with the very latest from there.
Hi, Hillary.
HILLARY VAUGHN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Sandra.
Well, President Biden says he thinks the cure for an economy that is closely getting -- or getting close to overheating is to actually spend trillions in government spending, saying he thinks the answer is to pass his social spending package, the Build Back Better bill.
But he admits it could be a while before that actually happens, saying yesterday, he is open to chopping the package up and trying to pass it piece by piece. But he says he still needs the votes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, he wasn't necessarily dictating what the size will look like. He wants to get as much, as big of a chunk as we can get done, done and through Congress.
He also recognizes that nothing is going to get done without 50 votes. So we're not confronting a choice between what can happen and our ideal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUGHN: And on the economy. President Biden did have some things to brag about yesterday, including record job creation in year one, a holiday supply chain crisis he says he successfully avoided, and those bare shelves on TV, he says they're not as bad as you think, saying shelves across the country are stocked 89 percent.
But he did say people are paying more at the meat counter and at the gas pump and inflation is a big problem. President Biden, though, says that, as far as the high price pain that consumers are facing, he is passing the blame to others.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Four big companies dominate the markets, pay ranches less for their cattle they grow, charge consumers more for beef.
The inflation has everything to do with the supply chain. The whole issue of energy prices, that gets a little more complicated. We're going to continue to work on trying to increase oil supplies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUGHN: And, Sandra, Republicans have made the case that President Biden started in office as president inheriting an energy-independent country, and that it is President Biden's energy policies that have actually contributed to these high gas prices -- Sandra.
SMITH: Yes, interesting.
We were talking to Senator Barrasso in the 2:00 hour today who pointed to the fact that we have doubled our oil purchases from Russia in the middle of all this. All right, Hillary, thank you very much.
Bob Nardelli in just a moment.
But, first, I want to get right to FOX Business contributor Brian Brenberg on this. Be sure to catch him hosting "FOX Business Tonight" at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time.
Brian, great to see you.
BRIAN BRENBERG, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Hey.
SMITH: So it struck me when I was listening to President Biden last night, when he was asked what his plan is to bring down these high prices that are a huge challenge for every American family right now, to bring down those prices, he said Build Back Better is the answer.
So explain to me how spending more money is going to bring prices down.
BRENBERG: I can't. I can't explain it. Nobody can explain it, Sandra.
He says he has 17 Nobel laureates who are telling him to spend more money to bring down inflation. And everybody knows that's not going to work. He can try to do it all at once. He can do it in chunks like he's talking about now, whatever that turns out to be. But the bottom line is, we have too much money chasing too few goods in this country.
And that's why we have rising inflation. If this is his plan to get it under control, Sandra, we're not going to get it under control in 2022. He needs to turn around. He's in a nosedive. But what he said yesterday was he's just going to keep diving. Not good for America.
SMITH: Not only that. He said the problem with inflation also is in the lap of the Fed.
BRENBERG: Yes.
SMITH: Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: A critical job in making sure that the elevated prices don't become entrenched rests with the Federal Reserve, which has a dual mandate, full employment and stable prices.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: I think I'm quoting him directly when I say the buck stops with him.
(LAUGHTER)
SMITH: So what else can he blame for these high prices? I mean, this is an urgent matter to get energy and food prices down.
BRENBERG: Yes.
It is urgent. And he's not treating it as urgent, Sandra. That's the problem. People want to know that their president cares about these things. When he tells them, the problem isn't my policy, the problem is I'm not communicating in simple and plain enough language, that's insulting. That's insulting to people who go to the grocery store and they see exactly what's on the shelves.
They put money, they put gas in their tank. They can't keep this up. He can't keep this up. He passes the buck to the Fed. He passes the buck to businesses, Sandra. You heard him go after meat producers and grocery stores. That's the last resort of somebody who is not prepared to take inflation seriously.
And, sadly, we're seeing it from him all over the place, including last night.
SMITH: So, real quickly, as far as where things might be come midterm elections, voters are already frustrated with those high prices. You have got guys like Andy Puzder saying that America's lurching from pandemic to major recession because of all this spending.
You have got Goldman Sachs out with a new note forecasting the possibility of $100 oil. So I guess it's anybody's guess where things might be a few months from now. Final thought, Brian.
BRENBERG: We saw retail sales drop in December.
Sandra, at some point, when prices get so high, people say, wait a second. I can't do this anymore. I got to pull back on spending. Businesses can invest.
SMITH: Yes.
BRENBERG: Now you're talking about stagnation, not just inflation. You have heard that term before, stagflation. It's a 1970s term. We don't want it back. We're flirting with it right now. Shouldn't be.
SMITH: All right, Brian Brenberg, thank you very much for joining us. Always good to talk with you.
BRENBERG: You bet.
SMITH: Our next guest is a former CEO of two major American companies, and has been warning about inflation and its impact on the economy.
Bob Nardelli, former CEO of Home Depot and Chrysler, is joining us now.
Bob, it is great to see you. I was just thinking, I haven't had the chance to talk to you in quite some time. So allow me to pick your brain, because we all feel this inflation from a consumer standpoint, but talk about the challenges being the head of a major company. I shouldn't say major. I should say a company big or small.
As you try to navigate inflation and the spiking energy and food prices, no matter where you look, prices are going up. What is that like to navigate if you own or are in charge of a company in this country?
ROBERT NARDELLI, FORMER CEO, CHRYSLER: Yes. Well, Sandra, it's great to be with you.
And you're spot on with your question. I have been in business now 50 years. And I don't think I have ever seen such a challenging environment for anyone to run a company. And you're exactly right. I'm heavily involved in a lot of smaller private equity groups and also large corporations.
And I have never seen it, as I said, more challenging. And we have an administration that made a lot of promises during the campaign. And to their credit, they implemented them immediately. The only problem is, it's had a tremendously negative impact on our economy, and our stature within the world today, within business communities.
So, if you think about it, what was one of the first things, Sandra? We surrendered our position as being energy-independent.
SMITH: Yes.
NARDELLI: And as a result of that, geopolitical position was the integrated, record oil prices impacting every household and businesses in every fashion you can think of, from transportation to production of petroleum products, et cetera.
Supply chain, you were talking about it earlier. Supply chain is having a direct impact. It's inseparably linked on inflation today. We stopped building the fence. Immigration is coming in. Our debt is spiraling. Crime rates.
So the level of complexity for a CEO today is like nothing I have ever seen. And I'm not talking about decades.
SMITH: Yes.
NARDELLI: I'm saying this has happened within the last couple of years, Sandra.
SMITH: That is remarkable. And that's a big statement from you.
And while you were talking, we were showing oil prices nearing $87 a barrel, as I mentioned, Goldman Sachs forecasting $100. You're looking at gas prices that are up $1 from a year ago, and approaching the possibility of $4 is right around the corner as a national average.
And, again, we feel that as consumers, but imagine being a company, to your point, and having to pay those higher energy prices to ship your goods all over the country.
Now, as a result, Bob, I will ask you this. Andy Puzder went as far as to pen a piece in The Daily Mail, saying: "America's lurching from pandemic to major recession after Biden's massive government spending programs released -- released the inflation -- released inflation," I should say.
He's talking about the inflation problem, but he's saying what is exacerbating it is the talk of more spending. And that could send us to recession.
Would you go that far?
NARDELLI: Yes, I think we're right on the cusp of that, Sandra, to be honest with you.
I sit on both sides of the table. I'm heavily involved in manufacturing and businesses still today. And as we get price increases, as fuel cost goes up for transportation, as we're having to pay an exorbitant amount to get labor to come to work, we unfortunately pass those on.
I mean, you see it in the paper today. P&G is going to be raising their prices.
SMITH: Yes.
NARDELLI: There isn't a company out there today that isn't forced to raise their price to the consumer.
SMITH: Yes.
NARDELLI: And the consumer is bearing the brunt of this mismanagement that's taking place in our country today, Sandra.
SMITH: And I know you wrote just that, yes.
(CROSSTALK)
SMITH: Bob, I'm sorry.
I want to get to these pictures, because I think it's something a lot of people are seeing all over the country, and a lot of folks send us their pictures. It's not just the higher prices that shoppers are dealing with. It's also these empty store shelves in a lot of different parts of the country. Some people say we're making a big deal out of it.
But it seems to be happening more and more. What do you make of that? These are brand-new pictures that we are putting up. We are sure to do that, because we want to make sure we're on the situation as it is today.
NARDELLI: Yes.
SMITH: But more and more people are experiencing this when they walk into their local stores or shops.
NARDELLI: Yes, I was a little shocked yesterday at number. I think it was 85 percent or more, going to 95 percent.
I can tell you, as a consumer, I'm experiencing those empty shelves. And there's still this problem, Sandra. I just don't understand. When we have a national emergency, tornadoes, fire, floods, we converge on that with every resource in our power.
Yet we have Long Beach, we have L.A., we have Savannah. Why aren't we converging on this to get those 100-plus ships empty, to get containers moving? There was some discussion today about 18-year-olds being able to dry interstate.
SMITH: Yes. Trucks, yes.
NARDELLI: Yes, trucks. And why aren't we allowing that?
People were saying, well, I don't want an 18-year-old driving a truck next to -- and, quite honestly, Sandra, in interstate, interstate, they're able to do it, right? Intrastate, they're able to do it. Interstate, we got to open it up and get this stuff moving. That's going to...
(CROSSTALK)
SMITH: All right, Bob.
NARDELLI: It's going to help on demand.
SMITH: Yes.
I was going to say, they can empty the ships. Then they have to transport the goods on the trucks, and need drivers to do that.
Bob, great to see you, Bob Nardelli. Thank you.
NARDELLI: Thank you.
SMITH: All right, well, a Russian invasion of Ukraine looking more likely by the moment, the U.S. scrambling to stop it.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken just touching down in Geneva ahead of crucial talks with his Russian counterpart tomorrow. So where's all this heading?
We're going to ask Republican Senator Rob Portman, who just returned from Ukraine with a message for this White House.
But, first, this: We are live in Los Angeles, a vigil for Brianna Kupfer about to get under way outside of the furniture store where she worked and was stabbed to death, the suspect in custody, but his rap sheet begging the question, could this have been prevented?
I just spoke with the Los Angeles County sheriff. Hear who he says has blood on their hands today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Police accountability is a top priority for this DA. He's working to restore the public's faith in the criminal legal system by holding law enforcement officers who violate the law accountable for their crimes.
So he's putting more heat on the police than he is on the criminals?
ALEX VILLANUEVA, LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, SHERIFF: Yes, he believes that more cops in jail and more crooks on the street makes us safer.
There's a very narrow segment of society that ascribes to his beliefs. But, in reality, it's the people walking the streets every day that are facing increased threat of being killed, robbed, raped, their catalytic converters stolen, their vehicle stolen. That is a grim reality that people face as their everyday lives.
These woke wonders I think that somehow is the burning priority for them, it is not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: That was L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva joining me on "America Reports" earlier today, blasting soft-on-crime policies after the slaying of 24-year-old Brianna Kupfer.
A vigil for her will be getting under way at the bottom of the hour.
First to the latest on the suspect now in custody.
FOX News' Jonathan Hunt is in Los Angeles for us on that.
Hi, Jonathan.
JONATHAN HUNT, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Sandra.
Before he allegedly stabbed Brianna Kupfer and left her to bleed to death, Shawn Laval Smith had been bailed on both coasts, Democrat and Republican prosecutors involved, COVID court delays also playing a role, a perfect storm of circumstances tragically ending with the death of Kupfer, who is being remembered at a vigil today at the store where she worked and where she was murdered.
Shawn Smith was arrested after a member of the public spotted him and called 911. He was out on bail following a misdemeanor shoplifting arrest here in California. But his long criminal record began on the East Coast, and the most serious charge against him appears to have been for firing a flare gun into a vehicle in which a young boy and a man were sitting.
That was in 2019 in Charleston, South Carolina. It was a charge that could have meant 10 years in prison. But we understand Smith was freed on $50,000 bail, and less than 10 percent of that was paid before it seems Smith took advantage of the March 2020 COVID-related court shutdown in Charleston to skip town, leave the state and head West.
In October 2020, he was arrested for stealing from a Home Depot in Covina, California, and was released on $1,000 bail for that misdemeanor charge. Then, a year ago today, just outside San Francisco, he was arrested for vandalizing a car and biting a police officer.
He served a little more than four months behind bars, then, at some point, made his way back to L.A. and that fateful day a week ago. We expect Shawn Smith's initial arraignment on murder charges to happen tomorrow, Sandra.
His bail, in the meantime, has been set a $2 million -- Sandra.
SMITH: Jonathan Hunt, thank you.
HUNT: Sure.
SMITH: The Manhattan district attorney also facing questions as crime surges out of control.
FOX News' Bryan Llenas has the latest details.
Hi, Bryan.
BRYAN LLENAS, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Sandra.
Well, Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg was just grilled by lawyers at New York University Law School and by media at a virtual press conference. FOX News was not called on for a question, but Bragg clarified that controversial charging memo he sent to prosecutors earlier this month.
That memo told prosecutors to no longer charge for lower-level crimes like marijuana, subway fare evasion and resisting arrest. And it ordered armed robberies to be charged as a misdemeanor if there is no genuine risk of harm.
It also said they would only seek jail time for murders and violent offenses. Today, he reaffirmed that armed robberies with a gun would be prosecuted as felonies and that he's laser-focused on gun violence. Bragg also apologized for writing what he said was an unclear and legalistic memo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALVIN BRAGG, MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I certainly understand why people took it and viewed it as a static document.
This is something that's got to live and breathe under the circumstances of specific cases, under the judgment and wisdom of those who have experience and have dealt with it. And that's what we're doing. We're doing this every day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LLENAS: This is after an 11-month-old baby in the Bronx was shot in the face by a stray bullet last night. The baby girl was sitting in a parked car with her mother.
Police say a man fired a small-caliber gun twice while chasing another man. No arrests have been made. New York City Mayor Eric Adams called this shooting a wakeup call and said district attorneys need to step up.
The question is, how is DA Bragg's policies to lower the incarceration rate, how that will square with efforts by Adams to put more police on patrol. Sandra, Adams is speaking at the Conference of Mayors today in Washington, D.C., where he's expected to push for a unified federal and local efforts to fight gun violence, which he says is a cancer -- Sandra.
SMITH: Bryan Llenas on that for us.
Brian, thank you.
With cities across the country facing this crime spike, what needs to be done to stop it?
Former Las Vegas Police Lieutenant Randy Sutton is here to weigh in.
Thank you so much for being here.
I go back to the words of Alex Villanueva when I spoke to him earlier today. We will take our police back, right? They had a hiring freeze. That didn't help the crime situation there. They're dealing with an awful situation there. But so many great American cities across the country are dealing with this crime wave.
RANDY SUTTON, FORMER LAS VEGAS POLICE LIEUTENANT: Well, the culture of lawlessness has been brought in through the debacle of -- actually beginning with Ferguson.
That's where -- that's where most of this began. But it's continued on with the -- with the media portraying law enforcement as a racist culture, when, in fact, it is a culture of heroism. And we now have what I call Trojan horse district attorneys being placed into positions where, while they swear an oath to protect their citizens, they're doing quite the opposite.
You have George Gascon in Los Angeles. You have Bragg in New York. Bragg is trying to walk back the fact that he was caught red-handed by issuing that memo, which basically stated exactly how he feels. And that is that we're just not going to prosecute as many people as possible.
And Gascon, of course, when I say -- when I call them Trojan horse prosecutors and district attorneys, what I'm referring to is, they were let into the gates, right, they were let into the gates of the city by the voters, which -- which is astounding, even though the reality is that they have been -- they have been funded through the...
SMITH: Yes.
SUTTON: ... Soros foundations. And it's...
(CROSSTALK)
SMITH: And, sadly, the situation with Brianna Kupfer -- we're about to see this visual that is expected to happen outside this furniture store, where she was killed in broad daylight.
And many are asking the question, now that we are seeing the lengthy rap sheet of the suspect involved in her killing, could this have been prevented?
SUTTON: I think that that's a great question, because it shows you that the system is broken from coast to coast.
He should not have -- he should be in prison right now for the attack firing into the vehicle a couple years ago. So it shows that, whether you're on the East Coast or the West Coast, that these institutions are failing us. They're failing the people by not holding people accountable for their crimes.
SMITH: Yes.
SUTTON: You're looking at New York, you're seeing this revolving door justice system that is getting worse and worse.
And with Alvin Bragg being elected, it's going to get -- it is going to get much worse. And here's the other part of this that hasn't been discussed. Could this -- could this have been prevented if they're -- if the LAPD had been given the ability to do policing the way policing should be done, proactively?
And that's been crushed by the district attorney there and also by the politicians who are in charge of these major cities.
SMITH: Yes.
We call Gascon and Bragg, by the way, and we have not heard back, but we do welcome them to come on the show. We have seen Gascon repeatedly defend his policies, his soft-on-crime policies, that many say are leading to this blatant crime that is happening in the streets there, that grad student just going about her daily life when she was stabbed in broad daylight.
Appreciate you joining us, sir. Thank you.
SUTTON: Thank you.
SMITH: And now to brand-new images showing Russia's military building up on the border of Ukraine. We're going to have the latest on the scramble to stop Russia from moving in.
With crises mounting and poll numbers plummeting, President Biden still says he is outperforming. So, should Democrats be worrying?
Hear what former Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Lieberman is saying on that. He's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SMITH: Profits streaming in for Netflix. It just reported earnings that beat estimates and revenue that matched expert expectations last quarter.
But the stock is down in after-hours trading on the weak guidance it gave for the current quarter.
Back in 60 seconds.
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SMITH: Outperforming, not overpromising, that's how President Biden is defending his administration, as a new AP/NORC poll shows his approval rating falling to a new low of 43 percent as he marks one year in office, down 16 points from July.
So, should Democrats be worried as the midterm elections approach?
Former Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Lieberman joins us now.
Great to see you, sir. So...
FMR. SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (I-CT): You too, Sandra. Thank you.
SMITH: Yes. No, good to have you here.
So let's take a big picture look at this. I mean, we all digested that news conference last night. President Biden seemed eager to ask a bunch of questions. He stayed there for a while. Did it help him, considering these low poll numbers? Did it get him out of anything and all these challenges that he has before him?
LIEBERMAN: I don't think it helped him very much. It might have hurt him a little because of some of the misstatements, particularly the one where he seemed to be distinguishing between a Russian invasion of Ukraine and a Russian incursion of Ukraine, which doesn't make any sense at all.
And he clarified that today, but it was an unfortunate mistake.
Time will tell. I mean, he's got to perform. I don't think he's outperformed in this first year of his administration. And that's disappointing to a lot of us who supported him last year. I think he's performed some. He adopted a couple -- helped adopt a couple of important pieces of legislation, one on COVID relief, another bipartisan infrastructure reform bill.
But, honestly, then he went on to overreach for the Build Back Better bill and this federal control of voting rights, and set himself up for a defeat that is more in the minds of people in the country than the victories he had.
And, of course, the big disaster, I think, in foreign policy was the terribly mistaken and chaotically executed retreat from Afghanistan, which really has unsettled our allies around the world and emboldened our enemies. I think, in part, that's why Putin is now banging at the door of Ukraine and why the Iranians are being so arrogant in the negotiations and unreasonable in our negotiations over the nuclear agreement in Vienna.
SMITH: Yes, it's a big statement.
So he had a lot of questions on foreign policy last night. He also seemed to...
LIEBERMAN: Right.
SMITH: He seemed to feel the need to clarify that he is not a socialist, and that he is not Bernie Sanders.
This -- here's the moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: You guys have been trying to convince me that I am Bernie Sanders.
I'm not. I like him, but I'm not Bernie Sanders. I'm not a socialist. I'm a mainstream Democrat, and I have been.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Interesting that at this point in his presidency he still feels the need to clarify that.
LIEBERMAN: Yes, that's not a good place to be.
I mean, look, I know Joe Biden forever. I served with him for 24 years in the U.S. Senate, and never thought he was a socialist at all.
But, in pushing for some of these big spending programs, trillions of dollars, like the original Build Back Better bill, it appeared to a lot of people that he was adopting the platform of people like Bernie Sanders on the far left of the Democratic Party. And he opened himself to exactly that kind of criticism.
Well, of course, Bernie was out there applauding him for doing that. So, there was an actual way in which people began to suspect that maybe Sanders and people on the left of the Democratic Party had more influence on the president than people in the center-left, who really were the ones who nominated him and then helped get him elected.
SMITH: I have got 10 seconds.
Do you have any midterm election predictions, based on what you have seen from this first year of his presidency?
LIEBERMAN: Well, right now, the president and Democrats have a lot of work to do.
I mean, the polling is all against them. The number that I always look at, do you think the country is headed in the right direction or the wrong direction?
SMITH: Yes.
LIEBERMAN: Right now, two-thirds think it's headed in the wrong direction. That's what it was last year, 2020. And it's part of the reason why President Trump was denied reelection.
So Democrats have a lot of work to do to get back in the center of American life and politics.
SMITH: All good points.
Joe Lieberman, great to have you here. Thank you so much for your time.
LIEBERMAN: You too. Thank you, Sandra.
SMITH: OK. OK.
All right, well, the president cleaning up remarks about Russia here, while things look dicier by the minute over there. Is an invasion of Ukraine imminent? Can anything be done to stop it?
Reaction from Republican Senator Rob Portman just back from that region -- next.
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SMITH: With an attack by Russia or Ukraine appearing -- on Ukraine appearing more likely, stakes are high for the U.S. and its allies to get Putin to back off.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is getting set for talks with Russia's foreign minister tomorrow, but the White House forced to clean up this remark by the president yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I think what you're going to see is that if Russia will be held accountable if it invades. And it depends on what it does. It's one thing if it's a minor incursion, and then we end up having a fight about what to do and not do, et cetera.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: FOX News correspondent Greg Palkot is in Kiev, Ukraine, with the very latest on that cleanup and where tensions are building and where this stands right now.
Hi, Greg.
GREG PALKOT, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Sandra.
Yes, there has been a very strong reaction to the president's comments on the crisis here. And, yes, tension all around us is building. We saw new images today of the Russian troop buildup now said to be over 125,000. We have also learned today some of the troops are within 25 miles of the border, just about 50 miles from where we are in Kiev.
President Biden, again, tried to clarify one comment he made yesterday, that a minor incursion by Russian troops might not trigger a major reaction. Here is how he tried to clean it up today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I have been absolutely clear with President Putin. He has no misunderstanding. If any, any assembled Russian units move across Ukrainian border, that is an invasion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PALKOT: But this was after Ukrainian President Zelensky tweeted: "We want to remind the great powers that there are no minor incursions and small nations, just as there are no minor casualties and little grief from the loss of loved ones. I say this as the president of a great power."
Here's more of what we saw and heard today in the city.
PALKOT: As for the people of Ukraine, they have been living with war for years. What do they think of a greater chance of a Russian invasion?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PALKOT: Biden says he thinks that there could be an invasion. Do you think there could be an invasion?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You mean the Federation? You mean the Russian Federation by force to Ukraine? I think it's not probable, very low probability.
PALKOT: Do you think there will be invasion by...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope not.
PALKOT: You hope not.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right now, I don't think we stand a chance if we do get invaded. So, hopefully, that doesn't happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PALKOT: All eyes now here and around the world are in Geneva, Switzerland tomorrow, Sandra.
That's when Secretary of State Blinken meets with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, trying to sort out this diplomatic tangle and maybe keep the troops away -- back to you.
SMITH: Greg Palkot, thank you.
So, what are the stakes for the U.S. in this fight?
Let's bring in Senate Foreign Relations Committee member and Ohio Senator Rob Portman, just back from visiting Ukraine.
Senator, thank you very much for your time.
I will get to the -- to what exactly is at stake here in just a moment. But having just returned from there, how would you assess the likelihood that Putin will invade Ukraine? Is it going to happen?
SEN. ROB PORTMAN (R-OH): Well, Sandra, nobody knows.
But I think it's much less likely if we do the right things. And one is to stay on message, to have a unified, consistent, very clear message that if he does make this terrible mistake that the consequences will be devastating, one, with regard to sanctions.
And the president has talked about that in the past. He talked about it again today, as he cleaned up his remarks. It's important that we make it clear that this is not going to be the normal sanctions that Russia has figured out a way to get around, but it's going to be something that hits their economy and particular their energy sector hard and individuals within the country who are responsible for making these decisions.
Second, the military buildup is really important, because the Russians seem to know that, if they try this, that they will have a dear cost to pay. And that will be a Ukrainian military that is far better trained than they were in 2014, has much better equipment, and are willing to fight.
So my hope is that these things will keep this from happening by providing a deterrence. The talks are fine. I know they're ongoing. But the Russian talks, their goals in these talks are just not realistic at all. To say that NATO cannot accept new members, particularly Ukraine, runs against everything that we know about NATO.
They have an open door policy. It's not our decision. It's the decision of the people of Ukraine and it's the decision of NATO.
I also will tell you, I'm concerned about keeping countries in the region together and on message. And I worry particularly about Germany, and their unwillingness to say publicly that, of course, they would stop this new pipeline, Nord Stream 2 pipeline, should there be an invasion, and also not providing other countries with the ability to provide arms because they are NATO members.
So, we got to be sure that everybody's on board here to avoid the bloodshed, to avoid this terrible mistake from happening.
SMITH: And I'm sure you would tell me that Putin and Russia have had a lot of leverage when it comes to energy, and the fact that they have got oil and energy that Germany would need.
Jacqui Heinrich, our White House reporter, just had an exchange, and I believe we have got the pool tape now, where she asked the president a question specifically as it pertains to the possible invasion of Ukraine. And the answer is something. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACQUI HEINRICH, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Why are you waiting on Putin to make the first move, sir?
BIDEN: What a stupid question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: So, we weren't able to put it up on the screen just yet, because we just turned that on.
But I will tell you the exchange. Jacqui Heinrich said she asked him: "Why are you waiting for Putin to make the first move, sir?"
And as you have seen him -- saw him smile and laugh at the end, he fired back: "What a stupid question."
I just wanted to get your reaction to that.
PORTMAN: Well, I hope what he means by that is that we are making moves, in terms of providing unprecedented amount of military assistance, defensive military assistance to Ukraine. We certainly should be.
And the president has just authorized another $200 million, which is good, and, then, second, that we are doing other things in the region to prepare for this possibility.
One thing that has been very clear is that the cyberattacks last week were based from Russia. And, clearly, this is part of the Russian hybrid warfare, as they call it. So that's another area where we can help quite a bit. We have a Cyber Command. We have the ability to do a lot more in terms of cyber. I hope we're doing that. We're pushing for that, and then, finally, letting the Russians know and Vladimir Putin know that, if something should happen, we're going to build up our defenses, not just in Ukraine, of course...
SMITH: Yes.
PORTMAN: ... but in all those countries in the region, including the Baltics and Poland and others.
SMITH: I have got to leave it there, Senator, but then did he open the door with that minor incursion comment?
PORTMAN: Yes, that was -- that was a big mistake. And that's why I was glad to see today them clean up that language.
But there is no such thing as a minor incursion. As President Zelensky of Ukraine said, in a small country, a minor incursion is an invasion.
SMITH: And that was a big moment, and they have had to do a lot of walk- back, a lot of cleanup this morning and throughout the day as a result of it.
Can't take it back.
PORTMAN: Absolutely.
SMITH: Good to have you here, Senator. Thank you very much for your time.
PORTMAN: Thanks, Sandra. Thanks for having me on. Take care.
SMITH: OK.
All of this is threatening to send gas prices soaring even more at the pump, so how much more? We are on it.
And the president vs. the polls. Biden says he does not believe them, but can he risk ignoring them?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SMITH: Well, drivers may need to start bracing for even more pain at the pump. A potential move by Russia into Ukraine is threatening to send gas prices even higher.
FOX Business' Jackie DeAngelis has the details.
Jackie, aren't gas prices already up a buck year over year?
JACKIE DEANGELIS, FOX BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: They are. Sandra, good afternoon.
Look, as if we didn't have enough energy issues pushing these oil prices up, President Biden's press conference yesterday added another reason that the market is worried. The comments that he made about Russia invading Ukraine, essentially sanctioning a small invasion, has the market pricing in instability in the region.
He also downplayed the hold that Russia has on European oil, but remember that they supply about 35 percent of Europe's energy. If Russia invades Ukraine and a conflict ensues, there will be no doubt that there will be disruptions in the energy market and that could spill over here to the United States. It's all connected.
Let's review for a moment the other reasons that oil is rising. Of course, you have Biden's ban on drilling on federal land. Then you have got his strong push to incentivize alternative energy. And then, of course, you have post-pandemic demand returning without adequate supply.
Now, yesterday, Biden was Bragging that he convinced other oil producers to up their production, that he tapped the SPR and gas prices came down that whopping 12 cents. Well, of course, we are seeing that gas prices are up once again.
And that's something that people have to think about. The bottom line here, of course, is that analysts have been calling for over $100-a-barrel oil this year. We are not far off that mark now. Geopolitical instability and also tensions with Russia not going to help the situation, not in any way - - Sandra.
SMITH: OK, Jackie DeAngelis on that for us.
We will be watching it. Thank you.
President Biden vs. the polls. He doesn't believe them. Do you?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: How do you plan to win back moderates and independents who cast a ballot for you in 2020, but polls indicate aren't happy with the way you're doing your job now?
BIDEN: I don't believe the polls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Whether the president believes the polls or not, they are not looking good with independents. And that's a big deal because more Americans now identify themselves as an independent than a Democrat or a Republican.
Joining us now is the reporter asking that question, McClatchy White House correspondent Francesca Chambers, along with GOP pollster Lee Carter.
Great to see you both. Happy to end this hour with you.
So, Francesca, I will start with you first and get your reaction to the president's comment on that. He doesn't believe the polls.
FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, MCCLATCHY D.C.: Well, the latest polling from NBC News out today shows that he only has an approval rating of 36 percent among independents.
And whether the White House either believes the polls or is just listening to Democratic strategists and allies of the White House who are saying that he needed to change his approach, the White House is saying that he will be doing things a little bit differently this year.
He will be spending more time on the road and relying more on his legislative team, rather than brokering deals himself on things like Build Back Better.
SMITH: Hmm.
Lee?
(LAUGHTER)
LEE CARTER, REPUBLICAN POLLSTER: Well, I think he better listen to the polls.
I mean, the drop among independents, I think, is the steepest drop I have ever seen. He's lost more than 23 points among independents since the day he took office in just one year. And he's lost on issues that are really important to American voters, issues like the economy, issues like handling of COVID, issues like foreign policy.
Across the board, people are having a really hard time finding one thing that they can point to that says he is the right guy for the job. Five out of six Americans are saying they're worse off today than they were a year ago.
So, he might not want to hear the polls. And that's -- that's certainly a great coping mechanism for him. But he better. And I would and I would recommend all Democrats really listen to the polls, because it's not looking good for them in the midterms either. And so the people are speaking. And they're saying they're scared. They're saying they're anxious. They're saying they're frustrated.
And they're saying that they want real leadership, and they're not getting it today.
SMITH: Yes, and it's approval on the economy. It's approval on foreign affairs. It's approval on a lot that has just continued to fall.
Most Americans disapprove than approve of how he's handling his job as president, 56 percent to 43 percent. And what is so notable is not ebbs and flows. This is a sharp drop over the course of the first year of his presidency.
Francesca, I will ask you, finally, should Democrats be worried as we enter into February we're quickly approaching, and we are in a midterm election year? Final thought?
CHAMBERS: Well, the Democrats I'm hearing from are concerned. And that's why they were providing that advice to the president and his political team that they needed to shake up their approach here.
When they're looking at the polls, it's not just his drop among independents. It's his drop among -- in support among the Democratic Party base...
SMITH: Right.
CHAMBERS: ... including young voters and African-Americans.
SMITH: All right, Lee, real quick?
CARTER: Look, he's dropped 12 points among Democrats too. So his polling numbers across the board show that he has significant ground to make up if he's to have any success in the midterms, and then ultimately in 2024.
SMITH: And you know several months can be a heck of a lot of time in politics. So, we will see what happens before November.
Thanks to both of you -- both of you for joining us.
CARTER: Great to see you.
SMITH: All right, thanks again, for all of you for joining us and watching.
I hope to see you back tomorrow 1:00 Eastern time, John Roberts and myself, "America Reports." We will see you each and every weekday.
Keep it right here for all the latest news. Thanks so much for joining us. I'll see you tomorrow.
"The Five" starts right now.
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