‘Your World’ on holiday travel, COVID origin, Biden’s budget proposal

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This is a rush transcript from “Your World with Neil Cavuto,” May 28, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated. 

NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: All right, the great rush to get out of time
and town.

We’re at Dallas/Fort Worth. We’re at Miami Beach International and the New
Jersey Turnpike. We have got you covered on the great rush to find some
relief after 14, 15 months and a lot of those sorts of cramped up in our
homes. We have got Lydia Hu in Asbury Park, New Jersey, with the latest on
what beachgoers are doing there, preparing for rain, unfortunately, that is
coming there, and Grady Trimble at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
on how they’re dealing with the surge that’s on.

But it’s a good surge, a surge of people waiting to have fun.

Welcome, everybody. I’m Neil Cavuto, and this is “Your World.”

And they call this the unofficial start of summer. But, for a lot of
Americans, it could not come a moment too soon, even though it is
technically not yet officially summer.

Let’s get the read from Lydia Hu right now at Asbury Park in New Jersey,
where the beachgoers are psyched, no matter the weather — Lydia.

LYDIA HU, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Neil

It’s a busy travel weekend expected ahead, AAA expecting about 37 million
Americans to travel to some destination, possibly some of them coming to
Asbury Park, New Jersey this weekend, but many of them are being told to
pack their patience, because the ongoing worker shortage is expected to
impact the travel experience this weekend with longer lines at the hotels
waiting to get your room, longer lines at the restaurants for a table,
possibly even shortage on rental cars.

There might not be any available left this weekend if you haven’t booked
one already. We have been talking to restaurant owners along the boardwalk
here in Asbury Park, and they tell us they are feeling the strain of this
worker shortage as well. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have one cook in our Mexican restaurant, when we
normally have five. A lot of people left the industry. A lot of people are
still on unemployment. And we have money to be made.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Servers have been great, but they’re a little bit
run-down right now. We need about, I would say eight to 12 more people. If
they showed up right now, we could hire them on the spot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HU: And you can see that the weather is just really not optimal conditions
for a Memorial Day weekend holiday. But in speaking with people that are
here, they’re not going to let that stand in their way, because they are so
delighted that the mandate for indoor masks is being dropped for fully
vaccinated people.

So a lot of the people that are here at the beach, they’re heading inside
to the restaurants and to the bars to enjoy each other’s company and relax
over this holiday weekend — back to you, Neil.

CAVUTO: Yes, that’s a great scene behind you, Lydia.

Thank you very, very much, Lydia Hu.

Grady Trimble with us right now, not at Dallas/Fort Worth. My apologies for
that. He’s at Chicago’s O’Hare.

How’s it looking there, Grady?

GRADY TRIMBLE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Busy day at both of those airports
today, Neil.

A lot of the passengers I have talked to have told me it feels like
traveling before the pandemic. And hotel and airfare, they’re getting
closer to pre-pandemic levels as well.

The travel booking app Hopper says that you will pay 12 percent more in May
for your ticket compared to just a month ago, and ticket prices are
expected to go up another 4 percent and peak next month.

The travelers we talk to say, though, they’re not bothered by these higher
prices. They are just happy to be traveling again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I booked this flight about a month-and-a-half ago, and
was really kind of shocked. Looking at other places, other times, a lot
cheaper, but, this weekend, I paid a lot more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There’s a lot more people. There’s more cars. It just
seems like almost back to normal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It’s just time for us. We have had enough of staying
indoors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TRIMBLE: And while mask mandates have been lifted in most places on the
ground, they are still required in the skies and at airports.

This altercation, where a passenger is seen repeatedly hitting a Southwest
flight attendant, is the latest over that requirement. The FAA says it’s
seeing a spike in unruly and dangerous passengers, more than 2,500 reports
since the beginning of this year, the vast majority of those, almost 2,000
of them, over mask compliance.

And just this month, Neil, the FAA says that it has announced fines against
passengers ranging anywhere from $9,000 to $52,000.

CAVUTO: All right. Everyone’s just got to calm down, right, my friend?
Calm down. We’re only going to get there together and we’re all going to
have fun. And we’re all just going to put up with this.

Thank you very much, Grady Trimble.

Front and center right now with the acting TSA administrator, Darby LaJoye,
kind enough to join us right now.

Administrator, very good to see you.

How are things looking from your vantage point?

DARBY LAJOYE, ACTING ADMINISTRATOR, TRANSPORTATION SECURITY
ADMINISTRATION: 
Well, I think TSA is ready.

As you’re reporting, we’re seeing airplanes that are full and airports that
are full. And we think it’s a great sign of the improvement the country is
making. Case counts are down. Vaccines are up. And confidence is growing in
travel again.

CAVUTO: How do you advise travelers, Administrator?

I mean, we have heard of some of these incidents. They’re more anecdotal
than certainly universal, but they happen, people fighting over whether a
snack table has been raised or whether someone’s wearing a mask or whether
their kid is wearing a mask.

But how do you advise people to deal with these things?

LAJOYE: Well, to your point, Neil, we think the vast majority of people
who travel really are very polite, and they appreciate the work that they
get from both TSA and our flight crew members.

But, to be clear, if there’s an assault on either a TSA employee or a
member of the flight crew, we really are taking a zero tolerance policy.
Odds are, when that plane lands, you will be met by TSA and law
enforcement, you will be placed under arrest. And, as you reported up
front, you do face tens of thousands and fines.

And so the message is very clear. Treat people with respect. Pack your
patience this summer. We want to continue to see full planes and airports.
But I think we have all got to practice a little bit of patience as volume
returns to our airports.

CAVUTO: You know, it’s interesting too, if you think about it. Some of
these incidents you refer to, Administrator, were happening when the planes
were a lot less packed and airports were a lot less frequented than they
aren’t now.

Now, of course, they’re stuffed to the gills, I’m not saying back to 2019
levels, but pretty close. Where do you see this going this summer?

LAJOYE: Well, I think it’s going to continue.

And what we have seen really starting on Mother’s Day weekend is a very
steady increase throughout the summer. So, we will see what this weekend
looks like.

We are anticipating a very busy start of the travel season. But I also
think that it’s important to recognize that we’re going to be busy through
the summer and into the fall. TSA has really made a priority in getting our
folks hired. We are averaging over 5,000 applicants a week for folks who
want to come work for TSA. We have hired over 3,100 officers this year.

Between now and Fourth of July, we expect to hire another 1,000 more. And
as we get closer to Labor Day, we will be closer to 6,000 officers that we
have hired this year. So, TSA is ready to make sure that people can get
through our airports in a safe and secure manner.

CAVUTO: You know, Administrator, it’s been a long time for a lot of
people, but many of them probably forgot what you have to go through when
you go through a TSA line and what have you.

So, there are going to be delays just on lines here. And that’s where some
of the friction can start with some, not all, but what’s your best advice
for those who have to — in a rush to get on a plane and how soon they
should get to the airport, all that?

LAJOYE: Well, get to the airport early.

As you pointed out, the entire — a lot of folks have been sitting at home
and haven’t traveled for a while. So airports are going to look a little
different.

CAVUTO: Yes.

LAJOYE: All of our officers at checkpoints will be wearing a mask.
Passengers will be wearing a mask. You will see acrylic shields all
throughout the airports.

And so check with the airline to make sure your schedules are current and
get to the airport early. When you pack your bag, start with an empty bag.
Anything that we find, we have to take out of a bag, simply delays the
entire process.

So, pack your patience. Come to the airport early. Be ready for a safe and
secure journey to visit friends and family.

CAVUTO: All right, so you’re saying, Administrator, that, you’re my wife
and she takes seven or eight bags with her at a time, she better get there
probably the day before, right? Kind of…

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: You don’t want to wade into that one.

LAJOYE: Yes, check with the airline.

CAVUTO: Good man. Good man.

(LAUGHTER)

LAJOYE: Yes.

CAVUTO: All right, Darby LaJoye, thank you very much.

Nicely played, sir, the acting TSA administrator, Darby LaJoye, on that.

All right, we have a lot more coming up, because, in the middle of this,
did they do this just coincidentally, this debut, a big old budget for the
United States, the biggest budget we have ever seen, right before a
holiday?

After this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: You know, I almost feel like, I don’t know, Dr. Evil, $6 trillion,
$6 trillion.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: That is the budget of the United States for the next year.

It has never been so big. The spending has never been so much, the tax
increases to come never so high. These are some blistering numbers here.
Now, whether it all goes through, there are a couple of features in there
that would worry investors. We will get into that in just a second here.

But, bottom line, it’s as big as they get. And, so far, a collective shrug
in the financial community. Maybe they don’t think it will come to pass.

But, anyway, Blake Burman on what’s in there. A lot of things, I guess —
Blake.

BLAKE BURMAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: A lot of commas, a lot of zeros,
Neil, when you just put that graphic up there of $6 trillion.

But over here at the White House, the argument that they are making is that
the president’s economic plan and economic vision is working, they believe,
so they say more spending is needed down the line in terms of the American
Families Plan, American Jobs Plan, which is a part of this budget as well.

And there is certainly spending in the first proposed budget that the
president will be sending up to Congress, the headline, $6 trillion for
fiscal year 2022, which starts in October. They are also projecting a
deficit of $1.8 trillion because of it. That would be about 7.8 percent of
GDP.

The acting OMB, Office of Management and Budget, the director, Shalanda
Young, describes the White House thinking this way, saying — quote — “The
decades-long global trend of declining interest rates, even as publicly
held debt has increased, gives us the fiscal space to make necessary up-
front investments.”

So that’s part of how the White House views this. But, Neil, they are also
projecting huge deficits, about $7.5 trillion for the next five decades,
double that, about $14.5 trillion, over the course of a decade.

Should be no surprise Republicans here in Washington say this is a no-go.
The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, for example, saying in a
statement — quote — “Now we know why the administration tried to bury
their budget announcement on the Friday before a holiday weekend. President
Biden’s proposal will drown American families and debt, deficits and
inflation.”

Now just to give you an idea, Neil, as to how the White House views
potential spending down the line, in 2031, a decade from now, it calls for
a possible $8.2 trillion in government spending — Neil.

CAVUTO: Eight-point-two trillion dollars.

All right, thank you.

BURMAN: Yes.

CAVUTO: That’s it. I’m done with Dr. Evil right now.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Thank you very, very much, Blake Burman.

Russell Vought with us right now, the former director of the Office of
Management and Budget under President Trump.

Director, very good to have you back with us.

These numbers are staggering. And I did notice also, by the same 2031 to
which you heard Blake allude, at that point, our debt-to-GDP ratio, in
other words, all debt we have vs. of all stuff we have, is going to be 117
percent. We will owe more than we’re worth. That’s scary.

RUSSELL VOUGHT, FORMER OMB DIRECTOR: It is scary. It’s staggering.

And that’s the case now, and it’s only going to get worse right into the
future. This is something that they clearly buried on a Friday because they
didn’t want to have the comprehensiveness of their fiscal picture to be
added up before the American people, trillions of dollars in debt and
deficits that we’re just going to have a hard time paying off.

CAVUTO: All right, let’s talk a little bit about how they want to break it
down, that they are really prioritizing non-defense spending. That’s going
to go up 16 percent, defense spending a little bit more than 1 percent.

What do you think of that?

VOUGHT: Yes, I think it’s an example of where their priorities are
completely out of whack.

I mean, the one place that I would propose to have an increase would be in
the area of defense, and not to have excessive increases for education and
commerce and Health and Human Services. We’re getting out of the response
to COVID. COVID has been given everything it needs to be able to fight that
battle, and then to just continue to grow government.

Look, the answer is really easy. We need to stop spending money that we
don’t have. This budget is more of the same. And I think the interesting
part about it is, this would have been the opportunity for the
administration to pull up a little bit, with high inflation that those —
the skeptics are being proved right to some extent.

We had the announcement today, the highest increase since 1992. We —
interest rates are going up on Treasury bills since — over the last
several months. So, to the acting director who’s saying that this has given
us a window of time, that window has vanished.

And now we’re looking — we got to secure the country, and you give us a
budget that is $6 trillion and underfunds defense, of all things. It’s just
— it’s fundamentally unserious. And it is not fit for the economic times
that we are in.

CAVUTO: All right, that might be the case. I know you hear the rap from
Democrats who say Republicans are fine ones to judge anyone on fiscal
austerity and watching deficits that grew under your boss. They grew under
the president before, a Democrat, another — the Republican before him.

So this does seem to be a trend that no one can get a handle on. What
happens if we don’t?

VOUGHT: Well, I’m encouraged that this might be the moment where we have a
bipartisan interest in getting after our fiscal health.

I mean, I think one of the reasons why they don’t have the votes for the
infrastructure bill…

CAVUTO: I don’t see any of that. I don’t see any of that.

Where are you looking where there is a bipartisan effort to get this under
control?

VOUGHT: Well, right now, they don’t have the votes right now to have — to
pass their infrastructure bill, the not-infrastructure bill, the $2
trillion bill, and the next package doesn’t even seem to have a prayer at
this point.

And so they don’t have Democrat votes. Now, yes, you’re right, Neil, that
some of that’s the opposition to the tax increases. But I think there’s
also increased concern about inflation and the economy. And to the extent
that they don’t have Democrat votes, and Republican votes are going to be
vanishing at this point soon if they continue to negotiate in that
direction, I think we have a shot to stop some of these bad bills from
being tacked on to our debt and deficits.

CAVUTO: All right, if both sides can agree that we have to do something
about this, or we’re going to leave a whole mess for our kids and grandkids
and their kids, maybe we’re making progress, but I don’t see it yet. But we
will see.

Director, always good seeing you. Have a wonderful weekend.

VOUGHT: You too. Thanks, Neil.

CAVUTO: All right.

In the meantime, the investigation on to understand how COVID started, and
the Chinese aren’t helping. So, how do you think that’s going to go?

After this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: You know, they say sell in May and go away.

Well, if you had done that at the beginning of the month, you would have
missed a chance to see the Dow move up about 2 percent overall in May and
the S&P move up, the Nasdaq barely down.

So, not so bad — after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, how did it all begin?

The administration wants to look into that and has given top U.S.
intelligence agencies about 90 days to do so. Both parties, though, on
Capitol Hill are revving up their own crackdown.

With more on that, Jacqui Heinrich — Jacqui.

JACQUI HEINRICH, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Neil.

Well, today, the White House refused to comment on intelligence after The
New York Times reported intelligence officials have a batch of unexamined
evidence that needs more computer analysis.

Now, after China announced it won’t cooperate in any more probes about the
pandemic origins, President Biden ordered the intelligence community to
declassify its materials and also expand the probe for 90 days to include
resources that weren’t previously part of it, like national labs and health
and medical experts.

But this comes as Congress is also pushing to get to the bottom of this.
House Republicans launched an investigation into a federal grant to
EcoHealth Alliance, which awarded taxpayer money to the Wuhan lab to study
coronaviruses in bats after SARS in the early 2000s.

Now, the group is concerned that EcoHealth knew about the Chinese attempts
to cover-up the pandemic and didn’t inform the U.S. government. They also
want to know whether the lab was conducting any research outside the grant
that could make a virus deadlier.

Also, two bipartisan bills were introduced in the House this morning. The
first would strip China of sovereign immunity. Now, that would allow COVID
victim families to directly sue the Chinese government for damages. That’s
similar to actions taken against Saudi Arabia after 9/11. And it would also
review the actions of the World Health Organization.

The second bill would establish a bipartisan commission modeled after the
9/11 Commission, which would focus on COVID origin response and also
preparations for a future pandemic as it relates to supply inventory. Those
goals were also mirrored in the Health and Human Services and DOD budget
requests, which were also released today.

And, meantime, another effort to establish a 9/11-style commission failed
on Capitol Hill today after Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would
investigate the January 6 insurrection. But the White House said today
President Biden is committed to a full and independent probe — Neil.

CAVUTO: Jackie, thank you very, very much. Have a wonderful weekend.

Want to go to a bipartisan effort right down.

No matter what the president’s doing to get to the bottom of the beginning
of COVID and its origins, Republican and Democratic congressmen leading an
effort to get their own commission to look into the same thing.

With us right now, Republican Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. We have
got Josh Gottheimer, the Problem Solvers Caucus co-chair of New Jersey. So,
they’re both co-chairs, I should just stress there, and a bipartisan effort
to get to the bottom of this.

Gentlemen, thank you for taking the time.

Congressman Fitzpatrick, if I can begin with you.

Is it that the reason for this and what you’re doing with your colleague
that you’re not satisfied with the way the administration wants to look
into this, or that this would be a better way to go about it?

REP. BRIAN FITZPATRICK (R-PA): Well, we’re not satisfied, Neil, with how
China has dealt with it. They have been lying from day one, just like they
have throughout their history, lying to the World Trade Organization.

They got admitted December 11, 2001. They started lying on December 12.
They have lied about the virus. They have lied about currency manipulation
and intellectual property theft. That’s what they do.

And I think it’s time. And this is a strong message, Neil. You have five
Democrats and five Republicans that have forged together to pursue this,
both on the sovereign immunity stripping, as well as the COVID origination
investigation.

We need our intelligence community to do their investigation, which they
are. Congress has an oversight role to play. We got to do our job. Our
world and our country have been through hell over the past 12 months.
There’s got to be accountability.

CAVUTO: You know, if the Chinese don’t cooperate, Congressman Gottheimer,
you have to wonder how far this can realistically go, or whether we will
ever find out what really happened. Do you worry about that?

REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D-NJ): Well, I believe, like Brian said, that we
have to get to the bottom of this. We have got to get to the facts.

And am I concerned that China’s not going to tell the truth and exactly
hand it over? Of course, I’m concerned about that. It’s why, as the
president said this week, we actually have to get all the intelligence and
everything from the intelligence community, bring it to bear, so we can get
to the facts.

The reason we want this bipartisan commission to come together is, we want
to keep the politics out of this. This shouldn’t be a Democrat or
Republican issue. This should just be about the United States of America
and finding out where this came from, how it actually got to the United
States, and obviously killed and hurt so many of our fellow citizens.

So, I think we owe it to the country to get to the bottom of it, and figure
out exactly what role China played.

CAVUTO: I know that you’re not relying on the World Health Organization to
get any answers. And it was interesting that when the president announced
this investigation, that he would bypass the WHO as well.

Congressman Fitzpatrick, what does that say about how Washington feels
about the World Health Organization?

FITZPATRICK: Anybody that has spent even a little bit of time looking at
this, Neil, knows that the who is a wholly owned subsidiary of the
Communist Party of China.

All the evidence points to that. And look no further than a tweet that the
WHO sent out mid-January. This is just two weeks before President Trump cut
off all travel to China, to and from China. Two weeks earlier, the WHO was
parroting CCP’s talking point that there was no human-to-human spread of
COVID-19.

Let’s just think about that, of all we have been through, of all we know,
that the World Health Organization, whose sole responsibility it is to
track pandemics and viral activity, is parroting the Chinese talking
points.

This is not hard to figure out, Neil. And a lot of people are asking for
the smoking gun evidence. That’s never going to come. It all exists in the
Wuhan Institute of Virology that’s on lockdown. They now have a military
general overseeing it, when it was a civilian. They have military guards
outside of it.

We’re not getting access to it. That’s where the only direct evidence will
exist. So, we’re going to have to rely on proving a murder through
circumstantial evidence. But the circumstantial evidence is overwhelming.

CAVUTO: You know, there are a lot of families who would want to know
exactly what happened, Congressman Gottheimer. And they want to sue China
or be open or allowed to sue China.

Will they, with what you folks are looking at, down the road?

GOTTHEIMER: Well, listen, I think we have got to get to the facts first,
and then let — and figure out what happened. I think the country wants to
know, as Brian pointed out.

And it’s going to take us actually doing the work. Thinking that we’re
going to rely on other outside organizations has obviously not proven to be
fruitful to date, and one we shouldn’t — and we shouldn’t be — we
shouldn’t expect that that’s going to change.

So, I’m in Northern New Jersey. We got hit here in early March very hard.
We lost a lot of people. And so many people were sick, just like around the
country. And we fought to get masks and fought to get — and part of what
our bill focuses on is making sure we have proper stockpile, God forbid,
this ever happens again.

CAVUTO: Right.

GOTTHEIMER: We have a lot of work to do, both looking forward, but I think
in terms of looking back at what happened, it’s essential that we do
everything humanly possible to get to the bottom of it.

I know families are going to want relief. But, first, we got to figure out
and get all the facts together. And that’s what I believe we must do
urgently. And that’s what this legislation does.

CAVUTO: Gentlemen, I want to thank you both very, very much.

And keep us posted on your progress. Very, very interesting, and
encouraging you’re both working together to make sure this happens.

In the meantime here, the big holiday weekend is on. Everyone wants to have
a good time, I’m sure including yourself, but there is the issue of crime.
And that’s a big worry, particularly now — after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, I want to share a video about a bizarre shoot-out
earlier this week in New York City, brazen, to put it mildly, and not all
that uncommon.

In fact, this is something that we have been seeing igniting around the
country in the New York metropolitan area. Violent crimes are up triple
digits. Homicides alone are running at about a 60 percent clip over last
year at this time.

To James Craig, the Detroit police chief, on how we prepare for all of that
and what could be a recurrence this summer.

Now the difference, so many people traveling and trying to enjoy
themselves.

Chief, it’s always good to have you.

JAMES CRAIG, DETROIT, MICHIGAN, POLICE CHIEF: Thank you.

CAVUTO: What do we do? This stuff has gotten to be increasingly common?

CRAIG: Yes, it has, Neil. It’s not a good situation.

I was looking at your programming earlier. And just — I mean, what’s going
on in the airports? One of the significant problem, we can’t just put it
all on the pandemic. But people are not handling conflict very well.
They’re escalating right into violence that causes death.

We have seen more and more of that. We have seen multiple shooting
situations. But the other thing that is not helping is this demonizing the
police, the impact that’s having on violent criminals are becoming
aggressive towards our police officers.

So there are a lot of dynamics. But I got to tell you, Neil, I was reading
something. The Los Angeles chief had made comments about this violent crime
is because of gang violence and some other thing.

Well, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Let’s talk about bail
reform, the decisions that some of these judges are making to release
violent predatory criminals back into neighborhoods. That’s a big issue.
When you see violence going up all over the country, what’s the common
denominator?

Well, yes, we can talk about the pandemic, but what about what’s happening
in the courts? What about what’s happening in some of the prosecutorial
offices. Look at the L.A. prosecutor wanting to close, reform prisons.

It’s — so, there are a lot of common things that are going on today that
some are just not talking about. And it’s not getting better.

CAVUTO: Well, also this defunding movement as well, right, Chief?

CRAIG: Oh.

CAVUTO: And now a lot of the same cities and municipalities that had been
cutting funds are now coming back and increasing funds, because they have
been dealing with spikes in crime, the likes of which they have never seen.

What do you think of that? We’re going to be giving some examples as you’re
speaking.

CRAIG: Well…

CAVUTO: But it’s a trend now to reverse that.

CRAIG: No, it’s a trend they’re reversing, but the damage is done.

Let me tell you why. So we talk about defunding. Well, let’s back off
defunding. But you want to end qualified immunity for police officers. They
did it in New York. So what does that do to the psyche of a police officer?

I am not supported. Why should I put myself at risk if nobody’s going to
stand up and protect us? Fortunately, here in Detroit, there’s no defunding
talk. I mean, there’s a few that talk it, but the leaders, the people who
sit in seats of leadership, don’t want defunding.

And who’s talking to the people who live in vulnerable communities? They
don’t want defunding. And who does it mostly impact? People of color. And
so it’s shameful when these conversations are taking place and they’re not
taking in consideration of who’s most impacted by that.

And then the other thing, Neil, we shouldn’t forget that, along with police
officers not feeling supported, now what? Do they shut down? Do they do
what’s called de-policing. Not de-policing in Detroit. Some of these
cities, because they don’t feel supported, why take the risks? They’re not
out doing proactive policing.

In fact, New York shut down in proactive policing.

CAVUTO: Yes. And it’s a problem today with the spike in crime.

Chief, I know you’re retiring next week.

CRAIG: Yes.

CAVUTO: All sorts of talk about you running for governor. Are you?

(LAUGHTER)

CRAIG: Well, everybody wants me to break good news on their show.

And, Neil, I love you. All I can say is, I’m in deep thought, reflection,
and evaluating my options as I move forward. But I’m going to continue to
have a big voice. I promise you that.

CAVUTO: Sounds like you’re running.

(LAUGHTER)

CRAIG: I didn’t confirm it. I didn’t deny it.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: No, I know. I’m just — all right.

See, I can do that when we’re on remote. See, I can do that, because, to
your face, I wouldn’t dare do that.

Chief, it’s very to have you. Thank you for all you have done for your
people and how you kept the calm for so many for so long. Thank you, sir.

CRAIG: Thanks, Neil. I appreciate it.

CAVUTO: All right, in the meantime, some bad news to pass along with you –
– no, as I do you.

Foster Friess has died. You might recall him as a big Republican mover and
shaker. He’s funded many presidential campaigns. But he started out as a
value investor and became a billionaire. But, over the years, when I talked
to him at political events and other events, it was all about giving back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER FRIESS, FOUNDER, FRIESS ASSOCIATES: I’m going to be just in the
trenches wherever I’m needed.

This is our country. And my son and daughters, they say, why? Why are you
giving away our inheritance? They don’t really say that, but I’m teasing
them.

(LAUGHTER)

FRIESS: What good is it for them to have their inheritance if they don’t
have a country? So that’s their message to me. And they have encouraged me
in supporting all these political activities.

CAVUTO: Bottom line, Foster, I hear a lot of hard feelings, and I don’t
know if they’re going to go away.

FRIESS: No, they’re going to go away. I think people love this country.
John McCain loves this country. Ted Cruz loves this country. The unions
love this country.

CAVUTO: Yes, but John McCain doesn’t love Ted Cruz.

FRIESS: But that doesn’t matter. They will…

CAVUTO: Well, it kind of helps, doesn’t it?

FRIESS: Yes, but, see, we can get them together.

I do like the system though, Neil. I went on vacation, told my wife I was
going to gain 15 pounds. I only gained 10, so I told her I lost five. She
didn’t buy it, but that’s the way the government works.

(LAUGHTER)

FRIESS: And I don’t call it delay. Delay is a negative word. Postponed,
deferment, those are negative words.

Let’s reschedule it, because then, we know, a year from now, it’s going to
be back in. And, also…

CAVUTO: Yes, but, Foster, I tried that in school. Can we reschedule this
exam?

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: It didn’t work.

But we may. Hope springs eternal.

FRIESS: My favorite school story is about the young — the mother who goes
up the second floor. Boy Jim, you get out of bed. You get out of bed.
You’re going to be late for school. I’m not going. The teachers hate me.
The kids saved me. Why should I go?

I will give you two reasons. Number one, I’m your mother. And, number two,
you’re 42 years old and the principal.

(LAUGHTER)

FRIESS: Yes, the more you go out through the malls and walk around and
kick the tires and watch, I remember walking through a plant one time, and
there was so much dust on the inventory that they should have been written
off months ago.

So, it — a reason we were successful, again, we went out and walked
through the plants and talked to the people. And that still, I think, will
always — that will always be a very good strategy. I believe that
terrifically.

Everything I have been able to achieve, I owe to America and this country.
And I’m sticking it out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: A good and decent man as you can ever find, a man who made his
fortune on Wall Street and gave it back tenfold on Main Street, gone at 81
years old.

Foster Friess, we will miss you, my friend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, you psyched to have some fun now this long weekend?

The rather unconventional kickoff of summer, it’s on. But, depending on
where you live, you might get rained on.

Rick Reichmuth more on what we could be looking at.

Hey, Rick.

RICK REICHMUTH, FOX NEWS CHIEF METEOROLOGIST: All right, so this is maybe
one of those times when we talk about summer starting on June 21, instead
of Memorial Day. Sorry.

I got some pretty bad news here, especially across a lot of the Eastern
Seaboard, and especially really across parts of the Northeast. Take a look
at these temperatures. This is right now. It is 48 degrees right now in
Chicago, 62 in New York. Enjoy the 62, because it’s about to plummet, and
get a lot colder as we move forward into tomorrow and into the day on
Sunday.

Warm down across areas of Florida. We have a bit of a storm that’s moving
through. It’s going to bring some pretty significant rain over about the
next two-and-a-half days, especially to parts of the Northeast.

Here’s what we’re looking at right now, some pretty big showers,
thunderstorms, not that severe, not looking at any tornado activity yet
today across parts of Texas, but some pretty big boomers going on right
there, definitely some hail and some wind.

And then kind of the bulk of this moisture pulls off towards the East
Coast. Problem is, is, behind this really significant rain, another bit of
a system is going to develop, and it’s just going to linger there for a lot
of the weekend, unfortunately, a bit of a kind of a coastal storm.

It’s going to keep things really cool, keep things really breezy. And it’s
going to keep, unfortunately, watching a lot of moisture.

So, this is the future radar. Just take a look at what happens. By the time
we get in towards all the day Saturday, into the day on Sunday, we have got
this storm that is just plaguing areas of the Northeast, not going
anywhere. And then along with that cold, with that rain, it’s going to be
some really significantly dropping temperatures.

Rainfall over the weekend, that’s — there you go. It’s areas of New
England especially. There’s a drought going on across New England. So you
want to get that, but maybe not on Memorial Day weekend. We’re also going
to be watching those storms firing up. This is the time of year we start to
see this dry line develop and storms firing up every afternoon, especially
across parts of West Texas, West Oklahoma and Kansas.

So we’re going to see that continuing on throughout the weekend.

But here at FOX Weather, I tell you what. We’re watching really cool
temperatures to start at the unofficial start of summer this Memorial Day
weekend, not looking good, especially across parts of the Northeast —
Neil.

CAVUTO: All right. I will still take it. And you’re the best.

REICHMUTH: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Rick, thank you very much.

Even when he gives you bad news, he does so in a nice manner, right, Rick
Reichmuth.

All right, so, the fun to become, and now wrapping up the month has been
historic, if you think about it. This has just been a great month for
respecting Asian heritage, and a particularly timely month for doing so,
given all the latest developments and some of the problems.

Susan Li has been following that from the beginning and joins us right now.

Hey, Susan.

SUSAN LI, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Neil.

So, this week, we meet the director who showed Hollywood that a diverse
cast and filmmaking can make money at the box office. After the success of
“Crazy Rich Asians,” Jon Chu wants to help open the door for talent of all
colors.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: It’s the story of a block that was disappearing.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: General.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Call me Chuck.

JON CHU, DIRECTOR: We are here on day — I have no idea, “Crazy Rich
Asians.”

LI (voice-over): Director Jon Chu has enjoyed his fair share of box office
success, working with some of the biggest names in Hollywood.

CHU: I didn’t want to be seen as an Asian American director or as an Asian
director. I just want to be seen as a director.

LI: Before making blockbusters, Jon Chu grew up near Silicon Valley, where
his family has owned a Chinese restaurant for over 50 years.

CHU: I get thrown all the stuff to carry around on a vacation. And I was
in charge of the camera. So, I started shooting our family on these
vacations.

LI: But success wasn’t instant for Chu. He made big-budget action movies,
but not all his films were hits.

CHU: I made a movie just four or five years ago that I think was the one
of the lowest opening movies of all time.

LI: Disappointment didn’t stop him from taking risks on the big screen,
directing the first Hollywood film featuring an entirely Asian cast for the
first time in 25 years.

CHU: I really see our movie as a result of people speaking up. I really
see our movie as a reflection of what’s happening, of the movement that was
happening around me.

LI: But for Hollywood to change, Chu thinks you have to empower people to
think beyond limits.

CHU: I need to dream bigger, and not just for myself, but I need to dream
bigger to show that the next group that comes, that you’re allowed to dream
that big.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LI: Now, I asked him if the success of “Crazy Rich Asians” has meant
typecasting has ended in Hollywood. He says it’s not clear-cut yet, but
there is an awareness and the conversation is happening.

Neil, I just want to thank you and your team for helping us celebrate this
month.

CAVUTO: No, no, I want to thank you on what you have been dealing with
just as an individual. That’s pretty hard stuff, but hope springs eternal
better days are here.

Susan, thank you very, very much.

LI: Thank you.

CAVUTO: Well, we asked a lot of you to write us and let us know how you
feel and share some of your thoughts.

I didn’t know so many of you would, and some of you would be so nasty —
after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: You know, some of you were surprised when some viewers were
disappointed that I came back from vacation and that I hadn’t died.

Victor in New Jersey said: “I didn’t — I didn’t want you dead, just
horribly incapacitated enough that you wouldn’t ever return. Nothing
personal.”

Well, thank you for the clarification, Victor.

Michael writes: “I was keeping quiet and hoping my dream had come true. I
see Neil Cavuto is back and was only on vacation. He should apologize for
destroying dreams.”

JCG tweets: “I heard those e-mails sent by some who were not happy to see
you back. To those morons, I know, I have worked with Neil Cavuto. You
should be half the guy he is. N.C., a check would be fine.”

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: J.C., a check is in the mail as we speak.

Chesterfield tweets: “Most of the rest of us love you, Neil.”

I will go for most.

Clara: “I’m sure you have fans, but your family doesn’t count.”

Always a comic.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Edward in Brooklyn: “I’m betting Cavuto dredges up a few good e-
mails today to prove he isn’t universally hated, even though he is.”

But you said universally.

(LAUGHTER) 
CAVUTO: OK, now, we got Willie, who writes: “Most journalists” — or “More
journalists should do this. Not often you see a humble cable host.”

Oh, get out of here.

But, Willie, you might want to talk to Larry: “Chubby, arrogant, clueless
ass, and he’s boring too. Then there’s that stupid toupee. No matter — no
wonder his ratings stinks.”

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: They don’t. OK, maybe they stink.

All right, we have got “Partially Vaxed Skynet,” who tweets: “Neil Cavuto
has grown on me. I’m not going to lie. And he doesn’t fall in line, which I
appreciate.”

Vince writes: “I could never figure out where Cavuto was coming from or
whose side he’s on. Then it hit me. He’s on no one side. He hates everyone.
Much easier to understand now.”

Windoctor: “I never watch Cavuto. Don’t like him.”

And then there’s Kevin, who tweets: “I do not care what people say about
you, good or bad. You have been a role model for me for years as a
professional and successful news anchor. A dedicated and sincere Cavuto
fan.”

I was happy to hear that, until I got one from Anne.

Wait a minute. My assistant’s name is Anne. Could that be her?

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Anyway: “Pompous, elitist, phony, wormy, sanctimonious twit who
doesn’t realize the only reason he’s on TV is because people feel sorry for
him or he’s paid them off. Can’t stand the guy. Never watch the guy.”

Well, apparently, you do, because you keep e-mailing me.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: All right now, we have got Fivefoottwo, who tweets: “There’s the
problem. Why would Cavuto be reading hate mail when he first returns? Can
you say drama?”

What do you mean drama?

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Why would I make drama?

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: It is a little dramatic.

Then we have Great American, who writes: “Another failed RINO at FOX News
with low ratings desperate for someone to pay attention to him.”

Well, did you pay attention to me? Just say.

All right, then RINO InNameOnly tweets: “I really don’t understand why
anyone hates Cavuto. I also don’t understand why anyone loves Cavuto.”

It’s a riddle and a conundrum, isn’t it?

All right, Fred: “Neil is a mutt. And I do not hate him. I just do not
watch him anymore.”

Well, apparently, you do, because I think you would write every day.

All right, then there’s Van: “Neil is a good guy. I have met him before.
And he’s a really nice man.”

See that? A guy’s met me who says I’m a really nice man, which I am.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: I can be so nice I can say people leave me and say, I hated him
before, but he’s a really nice man.

A.B. writes: “He should have retired after his heart attack long ago.”

Was that necessary?

Cleaver remembers very well my heart surgery, believe it or not, five years
ago next month. How time flies as you’re recovering.

“The good news back then was that we all discovered you actually had a
heart. That blew me away. Pity it didn’t blow you away.”

Really?

“All right, I have heard about all your medical issues, cancer in your 20s,
M.S. now. Kudos to hanging in there. I guess you have got that going for
you.”

Well, you think you feel a little bit or a little sad.

Anyway, there’s Ben in Rochester, New York. This is my personal favorite
that my staff dug up, really: “Man, you are one nerdy, self-absorbed nerd –
– needy,” I should say. “Look at me. Have pity on me. Feel sorry for me.
You ever think, with all of these medical issues, God is trying to tell you
something, like maybe he hates you, too!”

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: I was hoping, by sharing some of that, you would feel a little
warmer and nicer toward me. Maybe? I guess not.

By the way, I recognized your writing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Well…

CAVUTO: Yes, I don’t know.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: All right, we might share some other doozies tomorrow at 10:00
a.m. Eastern time. “Cavuto Live” is back with Cavuto.

My thanks to David Asman for handling that. He — God, you loved him. Ooh,
not a bad thing to say about David Asman.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Me, me, forget about it. But enough about me.

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