Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders battle for top spot in Iowa polls

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Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders battle for top spot in Iowa polls

Latest Iowa polling shows Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders in close race ahead of caucuses; reaction and analysis on 'The Five.'

This is a rush transcript from "The Five," January 30, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: And of course, covering all of that next Monday, the caucus resumes with live simultaneous global reaction, which they tend to generate. Here comes a The Five.

JESSE WATTERS, FOX NEWS HOST: Hello, everybody. I'm Jesse Watters, along with Kennedy, Juan Williams, Dana Perino, and Greg Gutfeld. It is 5:00 in New York City and this is The Five. It looks like it could be game over for the Democrats' impeachment spectacle. President Trump has been declaring victory on Twitter. And Republicans have been signalling that they could vote to acquit the president as early as tomorrow. Here are some highlights from the trial today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That this points to the exact problem taking place here, and that is my colleague, Mr. Cipollone has said this really taking the vote away from the American people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But what we have seen over the last couple days is a descent into constitutional madness.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But the vice president, by his account, never once asked his son to leave the board. Instead, he started investigating the prosecutor who was going after Burisma and his corrupt oligarch.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATTERS: And the reason President Trump is ready to declare victory is over two videos that are surfacing, Juan, from John Bolton and the other from Adam Schiff. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will be meeting President Zelensky. He and President Trump have already spoken twice, president called to congratulate President Zelensky on his election and on his success in the parliamentary election. They were very warm and cordial calls. We're hoping that they would be able to meet in Warsaw have a few minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Particularly, given the history where we had the politicization of intelligence over WMD. Why we would pick someone who -- the very same issue has been raised repeatedly, and that is John Bolton's politicization of the intelligence going on in Cuba and on other issues. Why we would want someone with that lack of credibility I can't understand.

WATTERS: Wow. OK, so that hurts, Juan. But let's just take a look at it from the week, all right? Democrats went first. Obviously, landed some punches then the Republican defense came in Saturday, obliterated them. Then you have this leak about Bolton. And it looks like the Republicans were getting a little defensive. And now, as the White House team has finished making their case. It looks like there will be a vote on no witnesses and the president will be acquitted on Friday, maybe Saturday morning. Wow, a lot to digest, Williams.

JUAN WILLIAMS, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Well, I mean, you know, I just find so much of this upsetting. But I start with game over? Well, wait a second. So game over on the basis of the Bolton tapes as the president. I think to myself, if that's the case, if Bolton is exonerating the president, why wouldn't the president and his team want Bolton to come before the American people, before the impeachment trial and testify? But, of course, we all know that's not the case. He doesn't want Bolton anywhere near this. He, in fact, is putting up every roadblock to stop Bolton from testifying. And he continues to refuse to release any material. So this is all showmanship, and he is terrific at showmanship. Donald Trump can put on a show. But in terms of protecting the American Constitution, in terms of stopping us from becoming a monarchy with a king that answers to no one. You know I just wonder what is going on in this country.

WATTERS: I think the president has been answering to a lot of people since the day he went and office. He's been checked every single day --

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: And by the way, who's paying for Rudy Giuliani? You might know, Jesse.

WATTERS: Attorney-client.

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: I can afford my own lawyer. Kennedy, what do you think about these tapes that have surfaced? It looks a little hypocrisy.

LISA KENNEDY, FOX NEWS HOST: None of this is a surprise. These are politicians, and by nature they are going to contradict themselves. And Adam Schiff won in 2000. He beat Jim Rogan in his district to become a Congressman because of his outrage over Bill Clinton's impeachment. So obviously, the arguments that he made he is now arguing against his own logic. And I understand positions can evolve. And certainly, it's been 20 years since he ran for that office and he's been stinking up Congress ever since. However, John Bolton can't have it both ways. He can't be a patriot and a compromise or at the same time. So it's one of the other. And I actually wouldn't mind hearing from John Bolton. I want to know how he can square some of the salacious things that he has reportedly written in this book with, you know saying the president was warm and cordial. So either he was -- he is not a patriot and he was just disseminating propaganda on behalf of the president because he's totally compromised himself or somewhere in here he's lying.

WATTERS: Yeah. So right now, what do we have -- few more questions and then tomorrow? What do we tomorrow, Dana? They have a few more final thoughts and then they're going to hold a vote.

DANA PERINO, FOX NEWS HOST: Then they'll have a vote. So -- and the vote will be where -- it's kind of -- it's like a technical thing. You have this gateway vote so see if there's going to be witnesses, if it's clear that's going to fail I think there will be a motion to have the acquittal vote and there's some amendments. So it could be a long night, but I do thing -- I believe that Mitchell McConnell has steered the Republicans in a way that they will be able to finish this by late Friday night, maybe early Saturday morning. It could be a really late night or an early morning, depending on your perspective. I have been surprised that nobody has brought up the fact that in December, just a month ago, the IMF, the International Monetary Fund, they finally released their money and loans to Ukraine. And if you look at the reason that they were holding it back or like they were concerned about it, it was all about corruption. So that isn't a surprise. So it's not a surprise either that John Bolton, the National Security Advisor, would go on Radio Free Europe and talk about corruption in Ukraine because it was a well-known thing. I would also point out that Senator Alexander from Tennessee was considered somebody who has got this great reputation and he doesn't want to sully that and he's got -- he's retiring at the end of this year, so maybe the Democrats thought he would vote for impeachment. Over the past two days, unless I have missed something in the last little bit, he hasn't asked a single question, which makes me think he has all the information that he needs and the Democrats have failed to force a vote on witnesses. And that is a contrast with the media says. The media always says Republicans don't have enough votes to block witnesses. No, it's actually that the Democrats haven't been able to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt and force a vote and force a vote --

(CROSSTALK)

KENNEDY: -- very quickly to add to that, that frustrated Susan Collins. She is one of the people that, you know, we've been looking to --

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: The media always tries to box Republicans and with the narrative. So speaking of the media, this is Joe Lockhart saying some just really explosive stuff about the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What I thought when I was watching it was this is un- American. This is what you hear from Stalin. This is what you hear from Mussolini, from authoritarians, from Hitler, from all the authoritarian people who rationalized, you know, in some cases genocide, based on what was in the public interest.

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: So Alan Dershowitz being very effective making the case for the president, and the media's going after him big time.

GREG GUTFELD, FOX NEWS HOST: I'm really going to miss this. I actually hope that they don't vote tomorrow because I'm starting to like this a lot.

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: No, you're not.

GUTFELD: But what the media is doing right now is they're intentionally misrepresenting what Dershowitz said. Dershowitz said you can't be impeached for doing something in the national interest if it also helps your re-election, because everything you do that is good helps you in a re- election. So if you -- impeachment about this, which is about investigating corruption in the Ukraine, you could just as easily impeach him for introducing a Middle East peace plan or a trade deal, because that also helps his personal interests.

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: I always listen to you, but --

(CROSSTALK)

GUTFELD: So anyway, that is why Bolton's bombshell actually helped Trump because it enforces the idea that Trump's interest wasn't corruption. Now, if a space alien came down and said I see two sides. One side says impeach. The other side says acquit. What is the difference? One has been saying impeachment for three solid years. That is the difference. So that explains the emotion. That explains the hyperbole, because they put years into this. This is a sunk cost that they can't let go. Now, Juan, I know what you're going to say so I'm going to pre-empt you.

WILLIAMS: Thank you.

GUTFELD: The reason why these two sides mirror each other is because it really is about the power of Congress versus the power of the president, right? Dershowitz says that if you can impeach over obstruction of justice, which is vague, that gives the Congress too much power. Every Congress now can impeach the president at a whim and the president becomes a puppet. The other side says if you don't impeach him, Trump is a tyrant and a king. So you see how the argument is exactly equal. The only difference is one has been doing it for three damn years.

WILLIAMS: No, no, no.

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: Greg Gutfeld did not care about impeachment for months and months.

(CROSSTALK)

GUTFELD: I've been trying.

WILLIAMS: Just for the audience's sake, just be very clear, this is not about corruption in the Ukraine. This is about Trump seeking dirt on Joe Biden.

(CROSSTALK)

GUTFELD: You just validated my point.

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: You said oh, no --

(CROSSTALK)

KENNEDY: So you wanted Trump's tax returns, and you asked a lot of questions about his real estate deals because he was running for president. Why isn't it OK to ask questions about Joe Biden when he was Vice President? Why is it OK to not have the same line of inquiry?

WILLIAMS: So let me get this straight, because this is something Trump's lawyers are saying. Oh, it is OK to get information from a foreign government? What are you talking about?

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: This is exactly in violation of campaign finance -- and literally nobody has said Joe Biden has done anything wrong.

WATTERS: Everybody said it!

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: Now, all the Democrats who are running for president against Joe Biden said I would never --

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: -- everybody knows it. Be sure to tune in tomorrow. It will be a lot like this. We are counting down to the Super Bowl LIV on Fox. We'll be in Miami tomorrow. We got some major surprises. Plus, a Sunday episode, you don't want to miss that. Coming up next, an impeachment debacle, Democrats can't even get their stories straight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WILLIAMS: Welcome back. It's been another marathon day of questions and answers in the Senate impeachment trial. The lead impeachment managers are taking some heat, though, from Republicans over the strength of their case against the president. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The question was raised earlier as to what the proper standard of proof is. People pointed out the Constitution doesn't say. But the highest standard of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt, and these facts have been proven not beyond a reasonable doubt, beyond any doubt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This will be the first impeachment trial in history that involves no witnesses if you decide you don't want to hear from any, that you simply want to rely on what was investigated in the House. That would be unprecedented.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAMS: Well, you know, it seems to me always, you know, from court trials that I've seen that every prosecutor thinks they have proven their case. But it's never bad to say, well, may be some people in the jury don't agree. And I've got additional evidence in the form of a man with direct knowledge of events, John Bolton. What do you say to that, Greg?

GUTFELD: Oh, me? Don't fall for that. That's bogus. You don't have to call witnesses. You don't have to -- you don't listen to the other side for advice. You need to ignore the hyperbole, because the hyperbole is a sign that they are tied up in knots over this. And this is the only thing they have left is Bolton. And so they're going to keep saying oh my god, you don't call witnesses. Oh, this is going to be historic. We're going to be talking about this political suicide. No, because even if the call witnesses, they're going to say now you are trying to drag out the election and you're going to try to keep our candidates busy. They are always going to find something. They hate you at the start. They're going to hate you at the middle, and they're going hate you at the end. So stop thinking about if you're going to hurt their feelings. No witnesses give them the business end of a happy face.

WILLIAMS: All right. So Dana, I think the political calculation is here. Republicans say, well, you know, how was it in my self-interest to vote against the president? The president's base is loyal. I think 80 plus percent of Republican support Donald Trump. So they are careful of challenging this president. But the contrary position from the Democrats is where is principle? Where is the idea of profiling courage, willingness to stand up for the Constitution and what's right?

PERINO: Well, it's interesting because you can't actually hear or see the senators because of the way that the camera is. But we do have the Republicans that were part of the hearings in the House. And I think about Mike Johnson from Louisiana who knew that case backwards and forwards. And I would say that on the merits, somebody like that says they haven't proven beyond a reasonable doubt. They do not have a case. And it is not all political for all of them. Maybe a couple, but I think that especially for the people we've been talking about that might possibly vote to see additional witnesses. I think that they have not been persuaded just from reading the tea leaves from what they are saying. You see that Susan Collins is frustrated because Adam Schiff won't actually answer that question that she put forward. So I think there's a lot of frustration. Plus, I also think this. The Democrats are being extremely political. Speaker Pelosi today said that acquittal is not legitimate without a trial with new witnesses. So they want to go into the election season saying he was impeached and that's for life. And it doesn't matter that he was acquitted because it wasn't a fair trial because Republicans covered it up. And this could be right. They did from the beginning when they pulled that lawsuit from Superman, the deputy to Bolton, because they didn't want to actually have the president be affirmed in his executive privilege claims. So now they can just there was obstruction. And -- but I do want to ask other thing because I didn't get a chance in the previous block. Can I ask a hypothetical? If we, as a people, had found out that President Obama was asking a foreign government for help in a corruption scheme, but it just happened to be that that scheme involved Donald Trump, but that would be in the national interest. But it would also help him politically because it might have helped Hillary Clinton. Would our position then be what Alan Dershowitz is saying is that well, that's cool.

GUTFELD: It should be.

WILLIAMS: Oh, no, not even close.

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: We don't need to do a hypothetical, because Hillary Clinton went out and paid for hers --

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: -- a dossier. Juan, you already spoke.

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: Get out of here. Fine, go right ahead.

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: What Hillary Clinton did if she launders money through a law firm to send to a foreign agent, Christopher Steele.

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: What are you talking about?

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: So he takes this money and he goes and gets sources from Ukraine, from Russia, all fake news. All of it was fake, the dossier. That was then laundered through the FBI to spy on the Trump campaign, and now we know half of those warrants were illegal. Because that is what the IG says. So how is that not paying for foreign election interference?

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: How is that not digging up there on a political enemy to help yourself get elected?

WILLIAMS: Just give me a chance because it is my block. But I just want to say that we don't have to deal with theoreticals. In fact, President Obama said there was Russian interference. He went to Mitchell McConnell and said, can we come out together and say --

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: You're not addressing the point I made.

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: No, hang on. Let's finish. And you know what McConnell said to Obama? He didn't want to make any announcement --

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: -- doesn't have anything to do with what I'm talking about.

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: I only have a minute, go ahead.

WATTERS: All right. So when the Democratic senators sent a letter to the top prosecutor in Ukraine and said you better cooperate to investigate Donald Trump, with Mueller, or else we are not going to give you foreign aid. How is that not threatening an ally with foreign aid to investigate a political opponent?

WILLIAMS: Let me get this straight. We were opposed to corruption in the Ukraine. This is news to you?

WATTERS: You have nothing, Juan.

WILLIAMS: OK, fine, all right. So Kennedy, today Donald Trump Jr. was tweeting why is Chief Justice Roberts blocking Rand Paul from asking a question about the whistle-blower? They also wanted to ask questions about Schiff and the whistle -- and I'm thinking to myself, we got the perfect call and we got a transcript of it. Everybody knows what happened. It's no secret here.

KENNEDY: No, and here is how I feel about that. Because if there are people within the security apparatus who are trying to undo an election, that is problematic. If there are legitimate whistle-blowers who are keeping an eye on government and the expanded surveillance tape, which violates the Constitution at pretty much every turn, you have to make sure that those people are protected. So, you know, we are at an impasse here. But I do think it's legitimate to ask Adam Schiff. And he's some made public statements and now he's statements under oath that are contradictory about, you know, his involvement with the whistle-blower, his office's contact with the whistle- blower, whether or not they helped coach that person, and also Lieutenant Colonel Adam Vindman. He was about to reveal who he had conversations with about that phone call, and Schiff stopped him because he was protecting himself so --

WILLIAMS: You think it was himself, OK.

KENNEDY: Yes, himself, his house, and the malfeasance they're in, by God.

WILLIAMS: There you go. All right, Trump, he's trying to outdo the Democrats with a rally in Iowa tonight ahead of next week's all-important Iowa caucuses, that story coming up next on The Five.

GUTFELD: Yeah.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GUTFELD: President Trump trolling the Democrats ahead of the Iowa caucuses. He is holding a big rally tonight in Des Moines. That's in Iowa, Dana. And after CNN smeared Trump supporters, Mayor Pete Buttigieg is being attacked by some in the media, some. The Atlantic is accusing of him of using coded language over this tweet. In the face of unprecedented challenges, we need a president whose vision was shaped by the American heartland rather than the ineffective Washington politics we've come to know and expect. Predictably, Mayor Pete's campaign is trying to walk back the comment. I read the walking back, but Kennedy, why the -- what is wrong with that tweet? What is the dog whistle?

KENNEDY: Nothing. And he's from the great state of Indiana.

GUTFELD: Yes.

KENNEDY: It's a wonderful place to be from.

GUTFELD: Great state is racist.

(CROSSTALK)

KENNEDY: Everything is racist. Everything is coded language.

WATTERS: You mean white state. That is what you mean.

KENNEDY: So people who have a problem with that with their cosmopolitan biases need to spend some time in the heartland and find out why people call it that. And they should meet your neighbors. What you do when you live in places like New York and D.C.

GUTFELD: Exactly. You try to avoid your neighbors, Dana. Trump is holding a rally tonight. What do you call that, oppositional programming?

PERINO: Like psi-ops.

GUTFELD: Psi-ops. What should we talk about, you think?

PERINO: Well --

GUTFELD: New riffs? He needs new riffs.

PERINO: I think that its -- we are gearing up for some time to hear about his plans for a second term, because right now it's hard to say exactly what that would be, and now he might do that in a state of the union, which is only six days away, next Tuesday, so there would be that. But I also think he -- in the last state of the union remember said, the line that I remember the most, the United States will never be a socialist country. And Bernie Sanders is having a bit of a moment, and I would bet that he would talk a little bit about that tonight.

GUTFELD: You know -- there is a story that's in the Des Moines Register that I think he should read about a man convicted of sex crimes who is no longer considered a threat because he is changing his gender. So that is happening right now. I think that the people on the Trump staff should Google that. That's a good talking point.

WATTERS: Well, if I was Bernie Sanders, I would be furious with Nancy Pelosi, because she has kept him off the field in Iowa leading up to the caucus and let Biden and now Trump have the entire state to themselves. And Amy and Liz Warren, so I understand why Trump is there now, you want to kind of flex your muscle, get a taste of the ground game, some voter contact. That's fine. Remember, he beat Hillary in Iowa by nine points. And according to the latest New York Times poll, he is beating all the Democrats in Iowa right now. And Biden, he is a very weak front runner, right? So he is vulnerable for a one-two punch. If you can beat him in Iowa, then New Hampshire, then the donors are going to start reeking out.

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: But Trump is not running in the Democratic Party.

WATTERS: Thanks, Juan.

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: Bernie or Warren, both of those early primary states, that is a scary idea.

WILLIAMS: Let's just lay this down. Iowa is a red state. Trump likely will not go back there for the -- in the general election. He's likely to win Iowa in the general election. And what he's doing now is really like trying to say, oh, here I am, here - - but you know what, people in Iowa, the Democrats in Iowa, are going to have their caucus next Tuesday. It's not going to have any impact whatsoever on it. So you know, you just like this is another Trump -- I don't know. He puts on shows. People think, wow, the circus is in town. I got to go.

PERINO: Juan, I don't want you to get in trouble. The election is Monday.

WILLIAMS: Oh, Monday, sorry, Monday.

PERINO: Yes, not Tuesday.

WATTERS: And also, Barack Obama, he won Iowa. I don't think it's all red state. I think it's switch --

GUTFELD: It just seems that the GOP is more fired up and the Democrats are just more anxious.

PERINO: Well, and also --

WATTERS: I you can sense anxiety better than anyone.

GUTFELD: I am the king of anxiety.

WILLIAMS: You know, what I know is --

GUTFELD: I have to catch a flight after this. I'm freaking out right now.

WILLIAMS: What I noticed this week was that the Senator from Iowa Joni Ernst said, oh, do you know what we're doing here with impeachment? I hope the voters of Iowa notice what we're saying about Joe Biden. I go, oh, so that's what this is about.

GUTFELD: Again, politics, Juan? Politics?

KENNEDY: It's also a show of unity. It is a way for the president because throughout the week he's going to have at cabinet members, administration officials throughout Iowa, and they, you know, from Betsy Voss to Vice President Pence are going to be all across the state talking about the President's message while in Iowa, you know, we're going to hear about those first allotments from the precincts. We're going to hear how candidates are doing right out of the gate on Monday night. We didn't get that in 2016. And Hillary Clinton barely squeaked out a win over Bernie Sanders. So there is a lot of chaos there. There is -- it is a fractious party and I think the President is trying to show that even with impeachment, and all that's going on with media and Democrats after him, he's going to go out there and show that he's got a solid message.

WILLIAMS: Well, I just wonder if he's going to go out there with the solid message of more dirt on Joe Biden. Maybe he's trying to put his finger on the scale for Bernie Sanders.

PERINO: Well, the other thing that happened today is Bloomberg pulled into the third spot ahead of Warren in a national poll.

GUTFELD: Right. And you know what, despite not being able to figure out how to eat ice cream or shaking --

PERINO: Or shaking hands--

GUTFELD: Shake a dog's paw. Yes.

WILLIAMS: It didn't hurt him though, this impeachment, didn't.

GUTFELD: No.

WILLIAMS: No. And he's running ad. Dana and I have been having a conversation about Republicans running ads on opposing impeachment, but Bloomberg has been running ads attacking Trump on health care and on impeachment issues.

GUTFELD: Do you actually think he's running for president?

WILLIAMS: Bloomberg?

GUTFELD: Yes, you do?

PERINO: I do.

WILLIAMS: What do you think?

GUTFELD: I think he's just taking down Trump. I don't think he's running for president.

PERINO: He hates Trump.

KENNEDY: So envious, he thinks that he should be the billionaire in power. Like, why does he get this? Why not me?

GUTFELD: Exactly.

WILLIAMS: Who's the other billionaire?

GUTFELD: Donald Trump.

WATTERS: Nice try, Juan.

GUTFELD: All right, coming up. The World Health Organization is declaring the coronavirus a global health emergency. That next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PERINO: We have breaking news about the coronavirus The World Health Organization is declaring the outbreak a global health emergency. And here in the United States, the first person to person transmission has been reported. And this comes as the Trump administration has announced a task force to deal with the crisis. So far, the virus has killed at least 170 people in China. And here's what officials are now saying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX AZAR, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: The president is ensuring that we are proactively preparing and also taking the necessary steps to prevent or mitigate any potential further spread of that virus here in the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PERINO: Greg, they just did this announcement this afternoon. Do you think it's soon enough?

GUTFELD: Well, I think they waited a little too long. But, you know what kind of drives me a little crazy is when you get the lectures from people in the media that say, you know, the panic is worse than the pandemic. And it's like, it doesn't have to be either or, you know. It's a two -- the prison of two ideas. Yes. And so it's like, you know, you either have to be, oh, let's be calm, or let's be crazy when there's an infinity of ideas in between. And I do think it would be wise to have a temporary ban, travel from China. And I don't know the answer to like people coming from other countries that came from China, but I'm sure that these -- there are people who deal with this stuff, who've dealt with pandemics, who would have the solution. But the idea that like, you know, taking precautionary steps is always good, especially when the horse has left the building. And it has left.

PERINO: And the barn.

GUTFELD: And the barn. Yes, it's hard to have horses and buildings.

PERINO: It is hard, but you know, we could try.

KENNEDY: They got coronavirus in wet market.

GUTFELD: There you go.

PERINO: And there's a lot of questions, Kennedy, about really what happened in China and when. And the reports I read today is like no one is actually really sure.

KENNEDY: No. And so one of the scientists who was working on it because the first case was December 1st, and they had several human to human transmissions by the middle of December. And one scientist went on a WeChat message board and said, you know, the government is not taking this seriously, we have a very, very serious virus that is going to lead to a crisis. And he was condemned and reeducated by the Communist Party and had to publicly apologize for that. So that's one of the things because you don't know what they were doing, and they were more concerned about word getting out about the virus as opposed to the virus itself. They were more concerned about containing the message than the sickness. Now you've got 7,000 people on a cruise ship who are being held hostage. They can't even go down a little fight.

WATTERS: And overboard.

PERINO: That's -- that is one of the problems, Jesse, in the -- in the communist system or an authoritarian system. If you're a local official, then you're expected to keep everything perfect. So you want to keep everything perfect so that you don't ever want to deliver bad news to somebody, and that means you suppress bad news which makes the problem worse.

WATTERS: Yes, my stuff never delivers me bad news. I wonder if I'm running an authoritarian self.

PERINO: I thought you -- I thought you only -- always get good news.

WATTERS: Yes. They like kind of come into my office sneaking around, and then they just hand me a piece of paper. And I said, what? Get out of here.

GUTFELD: You really are an inspiration.

WATTERS: Thank you. Listen, I -- we live in Manhattan. I take the subway every single day to and from work.

GUTFELD: (INAUDIBLE) do dome people.

WATTERS: There's some people that take town cars, and there's people from all over the world on my small subway cars, some of them are wearing masks, many of them are coughing, and do I look nervous? No. I'm not afraid of this coronavirus at all. And I think other people -- they have the right to be scared. That's their business. Greg is terrified. He's shaking in his shoes.

KENNEDY: We'll play this during the eulogy, by the way.

WATTERS: But out of abundance of caution, I think the White House got to listen to the task force recommendations in a week, a week and a half, maybe two at the very latest. If they don't have a hold on this thing, you slap the travel ban on China both ways.

PERINO: Juan, any thoughts?

WILLIAMS: Well, I mean, I think the key part -- the key point to be made is trust. You got to be able to trust our government to deal with this. Now, you know --

PERINO: And other governments to deal with it, yes.

WILLIAMS: Well, exactly. So you got to have a sense of not America first, to your point, Dana, because this is not an America first type of issue. And you've got to have, you know, when the -- when the first contagion hit here in the U.S., the President said, oh, we've got it totally under control. That was his quote. Well, obviously, now we've seen increasing numbers of people contracting the disease, and that makes me a little anxious. But I think the bigger point is look, you know, the President and this administration eliminated the Office of Pandemic Response.

WATTERS: Oh, God.

WILLIAMS: They scale back on CDC overseeing --

WATTERS: No they didn't.

WILLIAMS: -- these efforts to stop kinds -- this kind of thing. And he ended a program to detect new virus threats like coronavirus before they linked to human beings. So to me, you say OK, I understand you want to cut back, but right now --

WATTERS: Juan, I brought the sheet of paper by from the budget yesterday that said increase of funding year after year after year.

WILLIAMS: For what?

WATTERS: For the CDC and the Health Organization.

WILLIAMS: No. In other words, what I just said to you was the Office of Pandemic Response scaling back on CDC overseas --

KENNEDY: Too many offices. Too much bureaucracy. Maybe that's --

WATTERS: It's the overall budget, Juan.

WILLIAMS: No, we're talking about the coronavirus. We're not talking generally. I'm just saying, trust is the key thing here because I think the minute that we lose trust in our government, then you start to see people panic, and it goes from pandemic to crazy.

PERINO: Well, there's no reason -- there's no reason not to trust.

GUTFELD: Yes, but it but the other people you can't trust is the media who has -- who treats everything in the last three years, like a booming catastrophe. Trump is the virus that they've been screaming about. So the - - and I mean, entirely, the media has pretty much let this --

WILLIAMS: Yes, I think it's --

GUTFELD: They've let this story go.

WILLIAMS: It's the media that we should blame for all the turnover inside the Trump administration. It's the media to blame for not building those walls. It's the media to blame for the Muslim ban.

(CROSSTALK)

KENNEDY: Wash your hands, don't touch your face. You're welcome.

WILLIAMS: There you go.

PERINO: All right up next, a new law is letting accuse fentanyl drug dealers back on the street. We'll talk about it next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KENNEDY: Well done. A big debate brewing over a new policy that lets accused criminals back onto the streets. Thanks to New York's new bill reform law, six people are free after they were busted for allegedly running a $7 million drug trafficking ring which included over 75,000 envelopes of heroin and fentanyl. This coming is as New York City's top cop is voicing his concerns over the new bail law saying it is leading to a major increase in crime. Jesse, does crime pay?

WATTERS: Well, if you're selling all that fentanyl, probably. But I mean, you got to slap these guys with a lot of bail. That's the only incentive they have they're showing up at the court date. And if you don't have that incentive, you're going to be a flight risk and then you get -- the cops going to hit you with the blue light, you're going to flee, high-speed chase and then innocent people are at risk when you -- when you elude police. Not only this, you had another guy, a Colombian national, illegal immigrant busted with heroin -- with fentanyl in it, and now he's out. And then you had another woman, anti-Semitic attack in Brooklyn on three women, goes in, no bail gets out, attacks another woman in the next day.

KENNEDY: (INAUDIBLE) because I understand the bail policy for nonviolent offenders, but for people who are actually going out committing assaults, I don't think --

WATTERS: Well, it's interesting. They've watered down crime some of these crimes. You have aggravated assaults on a child, aggravated harassments, prisoner escape, rapes, riots, robberies, and vehicular manslaughter. So I don't know why you'd handcuff a judge that knows criminality better than Andrew Cuomo. Andrew Cuomo is going to have to rewrite this now.

KENNEDY: Now, Juan, is it a matter of finding balance because criminal justice reform has been one of the hallmark pieces of legislation for President Trump? It passed in a Republican administration, in a Republican- controlled Congress. Jared Kushner was pushing that. Obviously, in New York State, a lot of people feel we have not found the sweet spot. How do you do that?

WILLIAMS: Well, it is the sweet spot. And New York is I think the safest city in the country.

KENNEDY: Cops are saying that the crime has spiked. Violent crime, burglaries has spiked 32 percent and they're blaming the bailout.

WILLIAMS: Of course. I mean, look, police should do policing, and we have very good police here. And they're going to make the argument for their side to make it easier. But there's another side to this argument, which is that if you have money, if you are I get busted, Kennedy, we're not staying in jail.

KENNEDY: I'm calling you.

WILLIAMS: Thank you. So we have money, and those people get out. It's not the case that they're any less of a risk to the general public or to public safety. And the idea is that most people who do get bail show up. They come to court. But you can --

KENNEDY: Yes, but if you can't make bail you rot in jail for the same crime that --

WILLIAMS: Right. That's what I point to you. But the point that I was trying to make is that overwhelmingly, the statistics indicate that people who go out on bail show up for their trial, and the big problem is you get overcrowding in jails with people who are being unfairly held because they don't have some money.

KENNEDY: All right, Dana.

PERINO: Well, I just wonder if -- this often happens. You have really good intentions to try to help possibly lower-income people that get caught up in the system, but then they pass a law that solves the wrong problem.

KENNEDY: Yes.

PERINO: So now they've created an additional problem and I think that it is so alarming. It's only been in place for six weeks so I think they'll have to have a special session and revise. I'm not saying get rid of it, but just revise it and be more innovative on how they solve it.

KENNEDY: Yes, I think you're right that there are these growing pains and you know, sometimes action and intention don't meet and we're seeing the --

GUTFELD: I think we're being way too diplomatic here. You can -- I don't think you can find a bigger cause and effect right now. You just said got rid of the detainment until bail and what is it, robberies up 33 percent, grand larceny, auto theft up 63 percent over the year -- on year after this laws in. And people are just like, oh you know -- you know, fentanyl dealers.

KENNEDY: Right.

GUTFELD: These are people responsible for killing millions of our citizens, right? Because it's mixed in with street drugs, it's deadly. The reason why -- so they took the discretion out of the judge. The judge can't do anything. So now you just have to wave them through. I mean this is -- it's not going to matter until the citizens speak up and then -- or maybe to the mayor or to the governor, money starts leaving this -- leaving the state because tourism will suffer.

KENNEDY: Well, OK, but there are people who say that these are trends, but they -- you have to have a longer-term in order to really assess the effect that it's going to have. If crime is spiking over a couple weeks, that's bad, but if not --

WATTERS: I would just say, someone is going to get lead out with no bail and they're going to kill someone.

GUTFELD: Yes.

WATTERS: And it's going to be over every paper in New York City and Cuomo is going to get killed.

GUTFELD: Yes, of course. And I'm tired of hearing that overcrowding is somehow worse than victimization, right? I'd rather have overcrowding if that's -- if that's the two prison of ideas you're going to have, I'll take -- I'll take the overcrowding.

KENNEDY: I would take an overcrowded sauna anytime. "ONE MORE THING" is up next -- and that's hot.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WATTERS: Time now for "ONE MORE THING." Juan?

WILLIAMS: All right, so on Monday night, ESPN's Elle Duncan paid a unique tribute to Kobe Bryant. She recalled meeting him when she was pregnant. She told him she was having a girl and Bryant told her girls are the best. She got teary-eyed talking about Kobe's love for his four daughters. That prompted daddies around the country to share pictures of themselves with their daughters with the #GirlDad. Here's Russell Wilson and his daughter, Michael Strahan and his daughters. And I want to chime in too. Here I am holding my daughter as a little girl. And here we are walking -- and here I am walking with my kid.

KENNEDY: That's so cute.

WILLIAMS: Kobe, I agree. Girls are the best.

WATTERS: Great pictures. All right, Dana Perino.

PERINO: All right. Well, I don't -- you're not -- you're not going to believe this. Cheetahs, jaguars, and big cats, guess what they really like?

WATTERS: What?

PERINO: Perfume. OK, so Banham Zoo in Norfolk, England put out this appeal on Tuesday for any unwanted fragrances that you have at your house. And because the cats are running low, and it turns out that they really love Calvin Klein perfume for some reason, and it makes them, you know, play around, they get closer to the trail cameras, they really enjoy it. And guess what their favorite perfume is?

KENNEDY: CK one.

PERINO: It's actually Obsession for men.

WATTERS: That gets a lot of that --

GUTFELD: You know it.

WATTERS: You can smell it from here. It stings the nostrils. Greg.

GUTFELD: Great show tonight, by the way, Dana.

PERINO: Thank you.

GUTFELD: You did an excellent job.

PERINO: I appreciate it.

GUTFELD: OK, Saturday night brand new GG from the Super Bowl city of Miami. Saturday, February 1st, 10:00 p.m. We have Emily Compagno, we have John Rich, Kat, and Tyrus. Watch it. OK, I get to do this too. Greg's Grooming Tips. You know, you go to Miami, you got to look good, right? So I've been taking some hair tips from this little fella. Yes, look at that. That I believe is a mouse -- I don't know. Is it a mouse or is it -- it's definitely got a rabbit.

PERINO: It looks like a chinchilla.

GUTFELD: Or maybe it's a chinchilla. He looks very happy.

PERINO: What are they going to do with that comb?

GUTFELD: I don't know. What are they going to do with him?

PERINO: I don't know.

(CROSSTALK)

GUTFELD: All right, that's enough. Disgusting.

WATTERS: So the GG show plug on a Thursday?

GUTFELD: Yes, because we never know what could happen tomorrow.

WATTERS: I see what you did there, Greg.

GUTFELD: I'm one step ahead of you.

WATTERS: Yes, you are. You are. Let's see if we can dial up the promo from you. Juan -- no, no, excuse me. Kennedy.

KENNEDY: Thank you very much. So now we have the ability to get fast food whenever we want it, even in the middle of night, even in the U.K. But what happens if your McDonald's delivery driver gets pulled over for not having the right insurance. That happened in England in Nottinghamshire. That's the name of the town. That's real. Police pulled over a guy. And so you're thinking oh, the Popo, they're bad people. You know what they did? Sure, they detained him because he didn't have the right insurance. They deliver the Mickey Ds to the people in need.

WATTERS: That's great.

KENNEDY: The police went and deliver the food.

WATTERS: You think they stole a few fries? What did they call it over there? Chips, what do they say?

KENNEDY: Chips in the bobby

WATTERS: That's right. OK, we are going to be live from Miami at the Super Bowl on Friday and very special show that everyone is excited about on Sunday as well. And so we ask people questions on Instagram. What do you want to see from the five when we're in Miami? So here are some of the responses. All right, Dana Queso 2.0. The next person wants to see the end to impeachment.

PERINO: I think they're going to get it.

WATTERS: And we might actually get there. The hosts tossing around the football. Some of us --

GUTFELD: Never.

WATTERS: Some of us will be. Also, they want to see Jesse in a speedo.

PERINO: You're wearing one now.

WATTER: Maybe. Dana maker her mascot prediction on who will win. I want to see Jesse scream. That could happen. And then Greg in a speedo.

GUTFELD: No.

WATTERS: Well, I would scream if I saw Greg --

GUTFELD: Never. It will never happen.

WATTERS: All right --

GUTFELD: A speedo and Greg though.

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