This is a rush transcript from "Your World with Neil Cavuto," February 18, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When you look at happened -- what happened to General Flynn, a highly respected man, look at -- I mean, his life has been destroyed.

You look at a Roger Stone for a tweet and some other things. You take a look at what's happening to these people. Somebody has to stick up for the people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Was the president tipping his hand there? On his way to California now, but not before setting off a firestorm, defending General Michael Flynn and Roger Stone, while commuting the 14- year prison sentence of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and pardoning former New York City Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik, and former San Francisco 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr.

He wasn't finished, also offering clemency to fallen financier Michael Milken.

There were others, but is all of this just coming attraction for what and who could be next?

Welcome, everybody. Happy to have you. I'm Neil Cavuto.

We're going to get to all that in a minute.

First to the guy who broke all of this news on FOX Business today and the implications today, Charlie Gasparino.

Charlie.

CHARLIE GASPARINO, FOX NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Neil, what we're hearing is that this is sort of a softening up, so to speak, of the electorate, of the news media to more pardons to come.

And those two pardons, as you sort of tipped your hat to right then and there, would be Roger Stone, his former -- former adviser, longtime former adviser, and General Flynn.

So a lot of people in the know say those are the two that are on the deck next, and this is just him sort of changing the news flow, getting people prepared.

It's an interesting group that he -- that he pardoned today. I mean, you can make a good case for each one of them that they should be pardoned, including Michael Milken, who's landed an exemplary life after leaving prison. A lot of people were suspect -- suspected that -- a lot of people said his initial prison deal was much ado about nothing.

He didn't do massive insider trading. He created a junk bond market that helped thousands of companies, new companies get financing.

Bernie Kerik, try to find some of the real bad stuff in what he did, and it's -- it gets pretty murky. Blagojevich, interesting character, he boasted in a -- he was taped boasting about selling a Senate seat for President Obama. Remember, the governor -- he was governor of Illinois. The governor gets to choose the senator, of the sitting senator, if he leaves that seat, as Obama was doing to run for president.

A lot of people thought it was kind of an offhand remark. And he served eight years in jail. So you can make good cases for each one of these. They are going to get a lot of pressure, a lot of scrutiny.

He did it before he -- before he was reelected or voted out of office. Pretty interesting there. He's -- it's full transparency. He didn't wait until he got bounced out of office or was about to end his term or he gets reelected.

He didn't, so the voters can see what he's doing firsthand. And there's got to be a method to the madness to that. And a lot of people think the method to the madness is, he's softening up people for Roger Stone and for Mr. -- and for General Flynn to do something about their sentences -- back to you, Neil.

CAVUTO: Very interesting, my friend. And thank you again for breaking yet another big news story.

GASPARINO: Any time.

CAVUTO: Charlie Gasparino, he's the best.

Did the president just tip his hand, to Charlie's point, on what he couldn't be planning for Roger Stone, maybe others?

John Roberts is at the White House was more on that.

John, what do you think?

JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Remains to be seen. As the president likes to say, we will see what happens.

But, first of all, let's go to the Blagojevich commutation. The president has been lobbied literally since the day he took office by supporters of Rod Blagojevich for a pardon. In the end, the president stopped short of a full pardon, commuted his sentence, which means that Blagojevich will be released from prison. And that could happen some time this afternoon.

But he still will have a criminal record, the president saying today that Blagojevich had spent enough time in jail, eight years, for his attempts to sell the Senate seat once occupied by Barack Obama.

In total today, the president issuing seven grants of clemency, also to Bernard Kerik, the former New York City police commissioner who spent three years in jail for making false statements, Michael Milken, the former financier, junk bond king, as was mentioned just a moment ago.

And Eddie DeBartolo, who was the former owner of the San Francisco 49ers for more than 20 years, who was convicted on a federal felony for not reporting extortion money that he allegedly paid to the former Governor of Louisiana Edwin Edwards to try to get a casino license for a riverboat.

DeBartolo was pardoned, bringing to the White House today football legends Jerry Rice and Jim Brown. Listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM BROWN, FORMER NFL PLAYER: I'm going to make it real Eddie DeBartolo, he is a great man. I'm here to support him, and not have any fear and making sure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

ROBERTS: The president was apparently on the fence about the pardons with everything else going on around the attorney general and Roger Stone.

In the end, though, he decided to go ahead with it.

The reasons for his reluctance to do it all, though, driven home there at Joint Base Andrews this afternoon, when he was asked whether he is considering pardons for Roger Stone, Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort.

Here's what he said:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'm not even thinking about that. There's a process that people are going through. These are unrelated situations, where people have done a great job with very, very strong recommendations. But we haven't thought about that yet. Right now, there's a process.

I think Roger Stone's been treated unfairly. I think General Flynn has been treated very unfairly. I think a lot of people have been treated very unfairly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Remember, the Roger Stone sentencing is scheduled for Thursday. It's unlikely, though, that he would go to jail immediately, because there is still a petition before Judge Amy Berman Jackson for a retrial.

But, at some point, the president will likely have to make a decision whether he wants to pardon these people -- Neil.

CAVUTO: You know, you have covered lots of presidents, John.

This one is unusual in the granting of pardons, clemency, stays, and what have you, early and throughout his presidency, in other words, not waiting, as some presidents do, in a rush at the last minute.

ROBERTS: Yes, or at least at the end of the year.

CAVUTO: Right.

ROBERTS: But, remember, Bill Clinton, when he was on his way out the door, he issued I think it was somewhere around 200 pardons.

I was here, but memory fades over time. But I remember the name Marc Rich. Marc Rich jumped out...

CAVUTO: That was hours before, yes.

ROBERTS: Jumped out at us like a neon light.

Of course, that was probably his most controversial pardon, but any one of these, Manafort, Stone, Flynn, those could be very controversial for President Trump.

CAVUTO: John Roberts, thank you very, very much.

Your memory seems intact to me.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: All right, Senate Judiciary Committee member Louisiana Republican John Kennedy.

Senator, always good to have you.

What do you make of these pardons and acts of clemency, what -- you name it? What do you think?

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): Well, it's clear the president's been busy today.

Neil, I don't want you to faint or anything, but I don't really have an opinion on the individual cases. I just heard about them a little while ago. And I need to go back and look at the individual cases.

I guess all I really feel comfortable saying is that the president has the power, and he has decided to exercise it.

In terms of all this being a precursor to other pardons, I don't know what the basis for all that is. I wouldn't jump to those conclusions, necessarily. They could be right.

But I heard the president say that's not the case. And I take him at his word.

CAVUTO: All right. I always appreciate your honesty. When you say you don't know about something, you say it.

I built a career on just saying, never, I don't know.

KENNEDY: Now, Neil, Neil, Neil, if...

CAVUTO: But go ahead.

KENNEDY: Neil, if he pardons Michael Avenatti, let me know, OK?

We will talk.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: That would be a FOX Alert, Senator.

Let me step back and look. I mean, this judge, obviously, in the Roger Stone case will be taking up the sentencing issue for Roger Stone. And, of course, it caused a big dust-up in Washington, still does, with a number of judges meeting on the subject and, these 1,000-plus former Justice workers who claim he went one step too far to insert himself in the case.

I never had a chance to talk to you about all of that. How do you feel about it?

KENNEDY: Well, I understand that Mr. Stone's lawyers have raised an issue about the impartiality of at least one juror.

And my response to that is that, well, that's why God made appellate judges. You raise those issues on appeal.

We have had a little dust-up in terms of the sentencing. Let me be clear. I trust Bill Barr. Now, I know that there are like 1,100 -- I read, 1,100 former Justice Department officials want him to resign.

If you -- if you look deeply, you will find out that's been put together by a group called Project Democracy...

CAVUTO: Right.

KENNEDY: ... which is a group that's just -- just to the left of Lenin.

(LAUGHTER)

KENNEDY: I think everybody ought to leave Bill Barr alone and let him do his job.

He's serious. He's mature. And he's smart. He...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Well, apparently, the president kind of agreed with you, I mean, even when it came to his own tweets involving his attorney general.

This is what he had to say earlier today, Senator:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Do you agree with his statement that he -- that you should stop tweeting about Justice Department issues?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: TRUMP: Well, people like that. But everybody has the right to speak their mind. And I use social media. I guess I use it well, because here I am. I'm here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: He has a point.

But the attorney general, as you know, sir, was saying, he does make my job more difficult when he does that.

Obviously, they're on good terms. Nothing is being threatened here or what have you, but it's -- the president is not going to change his tweeting behavior, I guess, right?

KENNEDY: No.

And a lot of this controversy, as you know, Neil, has been orchestrated. On the Senate side, I can tell you who has orchestrated most of it, Senator Schumer.

Now, Chuck is one of my colleagues. I respect him. But it's driven by partisan rage. Chuck is like a teenager right now. He hates everybody.

(LAUGHTER)

KENNEDY: He's still upset over impeachment. And so you have to consider the source of a lot of this pushback.

Let me say it again about Bill Barr. I think Bill Barr exercises power fairly and intelligently. He's tough as a boot. I will bet you none of this stuff is really bothering me.

I think the president does have to be careful about tweeting about active cases at Justice. I -- and I think the president agrees with me on this. You appoint good people and let them do their job.

And there's no question that we have got a problem in the bureaucracy of people that are acting on their political beliefs. But if the president will let Bill Barr do his job, I think he will get all of that straight.

I think one of the things the president is upset about is not really Justice. It's the FBI. We had -- we heard through a hearing, the Horowitz report, about the Christopher Steele dossier and the absolute corruption that was going on by a handful of FBI agents.

And since then, we haven't heard anything from Chris Wray, nothing, zero, nada.

CAVUTO: Yes.

KENNEDY: And I'm hoping that the FBI director is taking it seriously.

CAVUTO: All right, we will watch it closely.

Senator, always good catching up with you. I appreciate it, sir.

KENNEDY: Thanks, man.

CAVUTO: All right.

In the meantime, we told you about the judge in the Roger Stone situation. She will go ahead -- I'm talking about Amy Berman Jackson -- and decide on that sentencing for Roger Stone.

Remember, that was the source of the controversy here, where, early, prosecutors recommendation for up to nine years in the slammer was really fair or a little bit too much.

There are other issues she might be having to look at as well, one going so far as to drop the case, having nothing to do with this, but a particularly -- well, a jury foreman or foreperson -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, so far, no go on going slow with this whole Roger Stone sentencing that is set for Thursday.

Judge Amy Berman -- as I said -- Amy Berman Jackson, I should say, says that Stone will be sentenced, as planned, on Thursday, despite evidence of a juror's particular dislike, some would even say hatred, for the president.

The judge may, however, delay implementation of that sentence until after she rules on Stone's motion for a new trial.

Judge Andrew Napolitano is here right now.

The juror in question is juror number 1261 Tomeka Hart, the foreperson of this jury, who had a litany of hostile positions against the president.

ANDREW NAPOLITANO, FOX NEWS SENIOR JUDICIAL ANALYST: A litany.

CAVUTO: And over-the-top views even of Mr. Stone. You could make a case that the case should be thrown out, couldn't you?

NAPOLITANO: You absolutely could. And I would make that case.

Now, this juror is a lawyer. She knows the implications of failing to reveal prejudices. She obviously -- or I'm going to say apparently -- wound up being on that jury to navigate the jury towards the end that they got. She didn't take that job as a juror with total neutrality, as she told the court she would, because she didn't reveal to the judge or to Stone's lawyers or to the prosecutors any of this vast, vast prejudice against the president and people around him.

CAVUTO: Was that easily accessible, Judge? Could you have found it on social media? Could you have found it on...

NAPOLITANO: You know, the social media that she revealed is the part of it that you keep to your inner circle. It's not the part that you make public.

So on the very same day that all four prosecutors resigned, which is mysterious -- I have never seen that happen -- and Stone's lawyers made an application for a new trial, at least to find out why they resigned -- the judge denied it summarily -- on the very same day, she said, oh, by the way, here's what I have been saying about Stone and about the president.

She just unloaded. She didn't come up with anything new. She revealed what she had been saying all along. I tell you this, Neil. If she had revealed...

CAVUTO: When she say that, reveal that?

NAPOLITANO: She revealed it on the day that the prosecutors resigned, which was the end of last week.

CAVUTO: But no one had a heads-up of this prior to her getting on the jury.

NAPOLITANO: Correct. Correct.

If she had revealed this before she was chosen on the jury, no way would she have been on that jury.

So here's what the judge must do. The judge must bring her into the courtroom and interrogate her. When were you going to tell us this? You're a lawyer. You know the implications of sitting on a jury and having this bias. She has to interrogate the resigned prosecutors. Did you people know about this? Did the FBI agents that testified against Stone, did they know about this, and did you not tell us?

These are things that she needs the answers to. And she should do this before she sentences Stone, because if she concludes that this is so prejudicial, he didn't get a fair trial, then it would be impermissible for her to sentence him, period. She should just throw the case out.

And then the government can decide whether or not they want to prosecute him again.

CAVUTO: All I know is, my Italian dad used to say what you leave out is just as much as the lie as the stuff you misstate.

NAPOLITANO: A very nice statement.

CAVUTO: I thought so, too, which is why I was always in trouble.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: But I do want to ask you why a judge could even consider letting it go as it is, and acknowledge the fact that both sides chose her for the jury, she was approved as the foreman or the fore person.

They didn't know, obviously, about all this. Certainly, the defense team didn't.

NAPOLITANO: The judge has a duty, an affirmative obligation, to make sure the trial is fair to the government and to the defendant.

And if the judge learns of something that implicated fairness after the trial is over, she has the tools with which to affect that, to correct it, and she shouldn't hesitate to use those tools.

Look, one wonders about the judge's impartiality, because it's one thing to sentence a -- or it's one thing to gag a defendant during the trial. You don't want him out in front of the courthouse saying things he could never say to the jury, because the jury will pick it up.

It's quite another to gag him after he's been convicted. That, I never heard of in 45 years as a lawyer. And that's what this judge did to Roger Stone, with no valid basis and no explanation, and in direct contradiction of the First Amendment.

CAVUTO: I don't think Perry Mason would allow this to continue.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Right? There is no there there, right?

NAPOLITANO: How does Gaspo know all these things before anybody else?

CAVUTO: I don't know. Yes, he's a wannabe lawyer, I guess.

Thank you very, very much, Judge. Something doesn't smell right here, you know?

NAPOLITANO: Yes, I agree.

CAVUTO: To put it mildly.

All right, thank you, my friend.

In the meantime, stocks taking a hit on this coronavirus. Fears are taking hold because now a prominent U.S. company, i.e., Apple, is saying, you know what? This stuff is hurting us.

That's all Wall Street had to hear -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CAVUTO: All right, coronavirus, the death toll nearing 2,000 right now, including a top doctor in China who was actually part of the original team that was trying to fight the outbreak.

Jonathan Serrie is following this fast-moving virus with the latest in Atlanta -- Jonathan.

JONATHAN SERRIE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Neil.

In fact, today, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson called his Chinese counterpart to express his sympathies. China, of course, bearing the brunt of this outbreak, 99 percent of the world's reported cases of coronavirus in China.

Today, Chinese authorities announced the death of Wuhan hospital director Liu Zhiming, who became infected with the coronavirus while treating patients on the front lines.

Outside of China, the World Health Organization says there are 92 cases of human-to-human spread in 12 countries. Fortunately, that spread is not sustained. More than 500 people have tested positive for coronavirus aboard the Diamond Princess, which is nearing the end of its 14-day quarantine at a Japanese port.

Tomorrow, health officials will begin allowing passengers who test negative to disembark. Here in the U.S., more than 300 passengers evacuated from the cruise ship aboard State Department charter flights have begun 14-day quarantines at military bases, while 180 U.S. travelers evacuated from Wuhan, China, two weeks ago were released from quarantine this afternoon, all of those travelers testing negative for the virus -- Neil.

CAVUTO: Jonathan, thank you very, very much.

Well, coronavirus took a big bite out of Apple today. But the good side is, it was a much bigger bite earlier today, the company warning that, when it comes to its manufacturing operations and iPhones, there will be a lot less activity going on and probably a lot fewer phones coming from that region, including what was supposed to be, by the end of the summer, early fall, a cheaper iPhone.

So that's delayed, maybe for a while.

Market watchers Danielle Hughes, Jonas Max Ferris.

Danielle, it was sort of -- opened the floodgates of fears that later stabilized that, uh-oh, maybe this is bigger than we thought. What do you think?

DANIELLE HUGHES, DIVINE CAPITAL MARKETS: I think that two things happened at the same time, which was unfortunate for a lot of our stocks.

And that is earnings reports were coming out at the same time that the coronavirus virus reared its ugly head. So that meant that a lot of CEOs had to talk about it.

CAVUTO: Right.

HUGHES: And they had to talk about what was going to happen, what they anticipated. And, unfortunately, there's no real knowledge about this. You have got two sides of the equation for a lot of these product manufacturers like Apple. You have got the production side. So you have got the supply chain that's affected by it.

CAVUTO: Right.

HUGHES: And then you have also got the consumer side, the people in China who were buying the Apple products.

So both of those things are happening at the same time.

CAVUTO: If they can get out of their homes.

HUGHES: If they -- well, that's exactly the point. And Apple doesn't know how this is going to affect the earnings going forward.

CAVUTO: And in the unknown, people sell.

But what I did find interesting, Jonas, not to put a naive positive spin on it, is that the big sell-off that had the stock down -- it was Apple stock down 10 points -- was more than halved by day's end, and some of the other stocks that were dragged down with it recovered, as if to say, all right, this is an overreaction.

What do you think?

JONAS MAX FERRIS, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: It could have been an under- reaction before that, because, in the past, a virus like this really isn't a huge market event.

We like to think it could be, but it doesn't. But in the past, China was a very small economy, relative to the world. And in the past, there wasn't a company like Apple with such a big business in China.

CAVUTO: Right.

FERRIS: Their exposure to China is so much bigger than a Google or a Facebook. It's almost hard to comprehend.

It's where most of their growth comes from. It's like a third of all U.S. sales to China are from Apple. So that company, if sales slow down or decline in China, their whole growth picture turns around. It's a very expensive stock right now.

CAVUTO: But aren't you guys a little worried that this is going to end up being the excuse du jour?

I always joke about retailers who, after a bad quarter, blame it on the rain, let's say, if there was rain. They never credit the sun, in other words, if it was good...

HUGHES: Right. It was cold out.

CAVUTO: Right.

So I'm just wondering if a lot of companies glom on to this as an excuse.

HUGHES: I don't think that necessarily companies would do that when they're -- when they're -- they have come out of such a great quarter.

CAVUTO: Sure.

HUGHES: Let's face it.

I think that there has to be some hedging because they truly don't know what's going to happen. If the coronavirus is contained, in the sense that it's contained both physically and from a standpoint of it being happening only in the first quarter, then, certainly, we will have some outlook onto what's going to happen next quarter and wait to kind of explain the rain.

CAVUTO: Yes, to step back and see.

HUGHES: But we don't know that yet.

CAVUTO: We don't know.

CAVUTO: I do notice some encouraging developments, though, Jonas, where Volkswagen, Airbus, Toyota are reopening some shuttered plants, not all of them. And I don't know how many workers, how many hours.

That is an interesting development right there.

FERRIS: Yes, well, it hasn't -- it hasn't been that much of impact yet to most American companies, the airlines and stuff.

And I think there's going to be -- there's going to be the Milli Vanilli blame it on the rain scenario no matter what happens over there, but specific...

CAVUTO: That is a brilliant cultural reference.

FERRIS: Specific...

CAVUTO: Three people got it.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

FERRIS: We're going for ...

CAVUTO: Yes, you're going for those three. They're loaded.

(CROSSTALK)

FERRIS: They're called my fans, Neil.

(LAUGHTER)

FERRIS: Specific -- specific companies that will take some legitimate hits there at this point is not that bad.

There's -- Apple is a serious situation, because so much of their sales are there. But everybody else, it wouldn't be something they have to play out. They will play it up, but it's not real yet. But it could get a lot worse. And that's why we don't really know yet.

CAVUTO: All right, guys, I want to thank you both very, very much.

Milli Vanilli. He's put the pressure on you the next visit.

(CROSSTALK)

HUGHES: I'm ready.

CAVUTO: Yes, OK.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: In the meantime, Michael Bloomberg is set to walk on a debate stage tomorrow, but this could be like a pay-per-view event.

A lot of those other candidates just thought he bought his way onto that stage -- because he bought his way onto that stage.

(LAUGHTER)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, you're looking live at the Chicago home of Rod Blagojevich, the former Illinois governor who is set to return to his home today.

The president, as you know, pardoning him. He might and stop and talk to the press. You never know.

We're back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CAVUTO: You know, maybe Michael Bloomberg should just put a big old target on his suit, because they are all going to be going after him.

The billionaire will be participating in the first Democratic debate. He has just risen rapidly through the ranks here in poll numbers and the like.

And now that the Democratic Party has made allowances for him to appear, and some of those other candidates participating aren't keen on it, well, they're going to let him know about it.

To Peter Doocy in Las Vegas on how some of them plan to respond -- Peter.

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Neil, Michael Bloomberg is not on the debate here in Nevada, but he will be on the debate -- rather, he's not on the ballot in Nevada, but he will be on the debate stage.

And rivals are now ready with attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And we're going to win this election not because we are buying the airwaves, as Mr. Bloomberg is. We're going to win this election because we are putting together the strongest grassroots movement that this country has ever seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOOCY: And Elizabeth Warren piled on with a tweet a little while ago.

She said: "It's a shame Mike Bloomberg can buy his way into the debate. But at least now primary voters curious about how each candidate will take on Donald Trump can get a live demonstration of how we each take on an egomaniac billionaire."

Now, Joe Biden is asking for help keeping up with Bloomberg's billions, telling donors, by the way, Michael Bloomberg says the health care bill was a disaster, it's a lousy bill, but he has $60 billion to explain that.

And Bloomberg does have the biggest bank account. But Bernie Sanders has consistently had the biggest crowds for the last couple weeks. And another one is building here on the campus of UNLV in Las Vegas ahead of an event that starts in an hour -- Neil.

CAVUTO: All right, thank you, my friend, Peter Doocy following all of that.

Well, we know that Michael Bloomberg has a lot of money, and he's delivering the goods. What's interesting in some of these surveys is how his poll numbers have been very, very strong even with the release of some of these tapes.

But more to the point is, the poll numbers go up as the spending goes up.

Let's get a view of all of this from Democratic strategist Kevin Chavous. We have got Republican strategist Holly Turner and RealClearPolitics' Philip Wegmann.

Phil, what's interesting, even though not all of these polls are post the release of tapes that have come out, like, you know, PEZ candies out of the dispenser over the last few days, he has held up pretty well.

What are we to make of that?

PHILIP WEGMANN, REALCLEARPOLITICS: Well, he's held up very well at a moment when each of the Democratic campaigns is really churning out opposition research like you have not seen before, because Mike Bloomberg has a very long career.

But even before some of that polling came out this weekend that showed him on the rise across the country, you saw that his campaign put out a statement saying that this is Bernie Sanders' race to lose and ours to win, which basically encapsulates the mind-set of the Bloomberg campaign.

They see Joe Biden imploding. They don't think that Amy Klobuchar or Pete Buttigieg are going to be establishment champions who are able to sort of carry the banner. And for the moment, the polls sort of reflect that Michael Bloomberg is doing well.

The question is whether or not he can sustain that momentum on the debate stage tomorrow.

CAVUTO: It's been a long time since he's been in a debate format, if you think about it, Kevin, maybe in his last run for governor in New York. We're going back almost two decades now.

I'm just wondering how that factors here. I mean, is he rusty? Is he going to be prepared for the body blows coming his way?

KEVIN CHAVOUS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, Neil, not only is he maybe rusty when it comes to debating. He's going to be probably everyone's number one target.

CAVUTO: Right.

CHAVOUS: Because he's rising in the polls, everyone is going to be taking their shots at him.

And there's a lot there. They could talk about recently released -- or video that has come up, come to the surface that isn't flattering about how he talked about you can Xerox copy the description of criminals, and it's all black and brown perpetrators, and the recent row about his statements about farming and how it's easy to farm and anybody can be a farmer.

So there's a lot of material there. But it's clear that people are afraid of him in the Bernie campaign and I think even in President Trump's camp. That's the one candidate that they know can really come up and beat them.

I think Donald Trump Jr. retweeted something the Bernie campaign tweeted out about that farming clip from Bloomberg. I mean, if you get those two to agree on something, obviously, you're doing something right, if they're both taking you that seriously.

And he certainly is a threat. He's got the money to spend and it's starting to take root. But he certainly will have to get himself up to speed when it comes to debating, because he will be attacked, and people are looking forward to hearing how he's going to defend some of his previous missteps as governor -- or as mayor.

CAVUTO: Well, there's always the challenge.

But one thing I have learned about consensus, Holly -- and I think you were among those teaching me it -- question it extensively. I mean, Democrats were praying Donald Trump would be the nominee, and that Republican infighting, thinking it that would divide the party and he'd be easy to pick off, he united the party, and it wasn't so easy to pick him off. In fact, he won.

And I can remember when George Bush Sr. and their forces were hoping it would be Bill Clinton, and that any one of those candidates opposing him in '92 were like the seven dwarfs -- and I think they referred to them that way -- and they weren't going anywhere. We know what happened then. So be careful about that.

But I'm wondering if people are prematurely dismissing Bernie Sanders, because, with all of these polls, his poll support has shot up. I mean, a lot of people are paying attention to the rise of Michael Bloomberg, but the unheralded story is the rise of Bernie Sanders, right?

HOLLY TURNER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yes, absolutely.

And, I mean, his grassroots support is unprecedented in the party right now. His small-dollar donors, they will show up to the polls. And we don't know who's going to show up to vote for Bloomberg yet because he hasn't been on the ballot yet. So it's yet to be seen how his supporters are going to show up.

Are these really just name I.D. polls that we're seeing, or are these really true supporters of his? The interesting thing to watch too is what the establishment Democrats are going to do.

Is President Obama going to weigh in? They just can't resist being the ones that pick who the nominee is. They don't want Bernie to be the nominee. They feel like that would be a mistake going up against President Trump.

But are they going to weigh in and put their foot on the scale and swing this primary towards their chosen candidate? And then what's that going to do in the general election, when it's not a person truly chosen by the people?

CAVUTO: Then you got to wonder, Phil, if Bernie Sanders enters the convention with the most delegates -- when I talked to his wife, Jane Sanders, on Saturday, she was saying, he will almost certainly have that.

A lot of eventual nominees enter the convention not with a majority, but certainly with an overwhelming lead in delegates, and then close the deal.

But if he is unable to do so, then it's a second ballot, where those superdelegates come into play. And therein lies the advantage for the others, right?

WEGMANN: Right.

And before we even have that conversation about what's going to be coming out of the convention, you already have Bernie Sanders' supporters on the ground who are getting the best of both worlds.

For instance, their candidate is winning both in Iowa and New Hampshire, and at the same time, they have a martyr mentality, because they do remember 2016. And they're very hesitant of any actions from the DNC.

When the app crashed in Iowa, and Mayor Pete Buttigieg declared victory, you had a lot of Bernie supporters saying that he had stolen the limelight.

And if it does come down to a Democratic Convention, that animosity is only going to be furthered, because these supporters remember 2016. They're distrustful of the party establishment, and it could be a very ugly scenario.

So that's why I think, right now, among other reasons, Bernie Sanders is pushing his supporters to really come out. He wants a big turnout election, because he thinks that that is the one that he will not only win, but the one that can put aside some of these questions ahead of the convention.

CAVUTO: All right, we shall see. A lot coming up.

By the way, forget Nevada. What about, for Joe Biden, next week in South Carolina? The one-two punch you're not hearing about that you should.

Jim Clyburn is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, Bernie Sanders has weighed in on these pardons and commutations the president was busy doing today.

"Today, Trump granted clemency to tax cheats, Wall Street crooks, billionaires, and corrupt government officials. Meanwhile, thousands of poor and working-class kids sit in jail for nonviolent drug convictions. That is what a broken and racist criminal justice system looks like."

So, I'm going to take a leap here and say he was not a fan of these actions on the part of the president today.

All right, in the meantime, Joe Biden's lead is shrinking in South Carolina, the former vice president hoping that the first primary in the South will be his firewall, after flaming out in Iowa and New Hampshire.

To a very influential South Carolina Democrat who all the candidates would no doubt covet his support. I'm talking about the House majority whip, James Clyburn.

Congressman, always good to have you. Thank you for coming.

REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): Thank you very much for having me.

CAVUTO: So let me ask you, Congressman, if Joe Biden fails to win South Carolina, is he done?

CLYBURN: Well, I wouldn't say that.

I do remember 1992 and Bill Clinton.

CAVUTO: Sure.

CLYBURN: He failed in several contests, and ended up the nominee.

But I will say...

CAVUTO: You're right, lost 15 of the first 19 contests. You're quite right.

Go ahead.

CLYBURN: That's correct. That's correct.

And I'm -- I'm a great student of history. And I think anything that's happened before can happen again. So -- but I would say he would be in a very precarious situation if that would be the case.

CAVUTO: He's got to command a lot of that African-American vote.

And there are concerns that it's slipping. When you talk to him, is he worried about that?

CLYBURN: Well, I have not been talking to him a whole lot.

I have spoken with him on more than one occasion. He was here for my big fish fry.

CAVUTO: Right.

CLYBURN: And I saw him in Orangeburg a few weeks ago.

And I don't know that he's worried. I think he, like any candidate, will be concerned. But I hear the same from other candidates as well.

CAVUTO: So, let me ask you, Congressman.

I don't know how it's going to go and who the eventual nominee will be. But, as you have been seeing with Michael Bloomberg, he's been jumping in the polls, on the heels of his very expensive, pricey ad buys, now likely to total $400 million by the end of next month, if you include $125 million slated for Super Tuesday ads.

If he were the nominee, could you, would you back him?

CLYBURN: Oh, I'm going to back whoever our nominee is, absolutely, very enthusiastically.

CAVUTO: Even with the things he has said about African-Americans, or does that bother you?

CLYBURN: Well, not as much as what Trump has said about African-Americans.

Any time that I go to the polls, I'm considering positives and negatives on all candidates. And I try to go with the one whose positives outweigh the negatives.

In my mind, Donald Trump...

CAVUTO: Well, let's leave the words aside, then, right, Congressman. Let's leave the words decide.

Whether you like his style or not, or tweets or not, or comments or not, he's delivered the goods for a lot of African-Americans, has he not, with record low unemployment levels for one group after another...

CLYBURN: Come on.

CAVUTO: ... mostly with African-Americans.

CLYBURN: Come on, Neil.

CAVUTO: You don't think that's something that's constructive?

CLYBURN: No. No, because it's not true.

CAVUTO: What do you mean it's not true?

CLYBURN: I'm 78 years...

CAVUTO: Go ahead.

CLYBURN: I'm saying that the African-American unemployment is not the lowest it has ever been, unless you count slavery. We were fully employed during slavery.

So, it all depends on how you measure this up. So, it is not the lowest it's ever been.

CAVUTO: Well, it's at 52 -- it's at 52-year...

CLYBURN: In the Obama...

CAVUTO: No, I'm sorry, sir. It's at 52-year lows. It has been trending down under Democrat and Republican administrations.

So...

CLYBURN: Absolutely.

CAVUTO: So, happens to be the lowest -- no, no, hear me out. It's the lowest in this cycle with this president. Do you give him any credit for that?

CLYBURN: I give him credit for continuing what we laid the foundation for back in 2009.

Remember, I was there. I was a part of the leadership. I was around that table every day. I'm the one that put into the 10-20-30 funding formula for rural communities. That was my proposal.

It's now been spread by the Republicans. And I give Speaker Ryan credit for moving it from four accounts up to 17 accounts. That is what we did back in 2009. And Trump is building on that.

CAVUTO: So, there's nothing this president has done -- there's nothing this president has done to help improve that process? Because it is a pace that has improved under this president.

You're quite right to say a steadily improving employment picture African- Americans, all groups under Barack Obama. Many economists of all political stripes, sir, say the president took that and accelerated it.

You disagree?

CLYBURN: He continued it. I don't think it's been accelerated at all.

If you look at where we were in 2009, and where we were when Trump became president, the movement from 2009 to that point was much greater than the movement has been from the time he took over until now. He continued it. He did not accelerate it.

CAVUTO: But, obviously, we were coming from a financial meltdown -- we were coming from a financial meltdown at that time. And, obviously, the marked improvement is noteworthy.

But it -- doesn't that actually foster the argument, sir, that, under this president, who took good times, he's made them even better, which is a little startling and unusual, right?

CLYBURN: Well -- well, it's not startling to me.

If you look at the tax cuts, I mean, record tax cuts...

CAVUTO: Right.

CLYBURN: And we are having an economy that's built on tax cuts, not job creation.

Job creation, to me, means not having to do two and three menial jobs in order to make a living.

CAVUTO: Well, that's going to be a tough sell in a year like this right, sir?

I mean, I just wonder. People are going to step back. You have heard about the 90 percent of Americans who are feeling pretty good about where things are. Whether they credit the president for that is anyone's guess.

But they're happy with the way things are going, including African- Americans. You don't agree with that?

CLYBURN: No, I don't...

CAVUTO: OK.

CLYBURN: ... because I go to church with African-Americans. I live with African-Americans. I'm the father of African-Americans. I know...

CAVUTO: You don't think more of them will vote, more African-Americans will vote for the president than he's generally given credit?

CLYBURN: Absolutely not.

That 13 percent that he got of male voters before, 8 percent of African- Americans before, he will never get to that point this year, absolutely not.

CAVUTO: All right, we shall see.

CLYBURN: Yes, we will.

CAVUTO: All right, I put you as a maybe, then, on the president.

All right, I tell you, Congressman, always enjoy having you. Thank you very much for taking the time.

CLYBURN: Thank you, sir.

CAVUTO: All right, jump ball on that and how you feel about that.

In the meanwhile, the latest we're getting on the coronavirus, what might be in store in China overnight. We will tell you about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CAVUTO: All right, doctors are studying what could be a coronavirus deceased patient in China with SARS-like lung damage as a result of the disease. A lot of doctors tell me that is a significant development.

Here's a very good one to explain it. Emergency medicine physician Dr. Janette Nesheiwat joins us right now.

Why is that significant, Doctor?

DR. JANETTE NESHEIWAT, FAMILY AND EMERGENCY MEDICINE: It's very significant.

What the doctors found when they examined this 50-year-old man who, sadly, died from coronavirus, they looked at the tissue in his lungs. And it was similar -- the damage to his lungs was similar to what we saw in SARS and in MERS.

And what happened is, the virus enters the lungs, and it cause inflammation, irritation to the tiny little air sacs in the lungs cause alveoli. And so those air sacs, they fill up with fluid, they swell up, and then you can't get air in and out. You can't breathe. You can't get oxygen to the heart and to the brain. And that's why people pass.

So, they're doing everything they possibly can, putting patients on ventilators, even trying steroids, and...

CAVUTO: But doesn't that mean it's easier to spread?

NESHEIWAT: Well, what do you mean easier to spread?

CAVUTO: Well...

NESHEIWAT: Absolutely. This virus is definitely easy to spread.

If someone is coughing and sneezing, or even if you're asymptomatic, it's spreading. This is a very contagious, highly infectious virus.

But for these people that are passing from it, it gets into their lungs, and they are in the hospital on ventilators, if they can even make it in time, because there's such a shortage of health care providers in China.

But, remember, this is in China. We don't have any cases like that here in the United States.

CAVUTO: But we are getting reports, and especially from the CDC, of more testing positive for this, including those who arrived at this Lackland Base.

NESHEIWAT: Yes.

CAVUTO: I'm wondering, do we have to worry about this getting to be an issue here?

NESHEIWAT: We don't need to be worried.

Health care providers, we are concerned. We are on alert. And what's important here, Neil, is prevention, prevention.

CAVUTO: Right.

NESHEIWAT: And the way we prevent this from spreading is being prepared, prepared with personal protective equipment and prepared with education.

Health care providers need to know how to react. Also, patients need to know what to do. In addition to that, do hospitals have their biocontainment centers in order?

So, all these little things together are very important in helping to prevent the spread of this virus. In addition to that, soon, in five cities in the United States, we are going to be broadening our surveillance of the coronavirus.

So, if I have a patient that comes in -- New York City is one of the five cities -- that comes in with flu-like illness, cough, fever, chest pain, shortness of breath, and they're negative with the -- for the flu...

CAVUTO: You're on it. You're on it, all over it.

NESHEIWAT: ... we're going to -- we're going to test them for coronavirus eventually.

CAVUTO: OK. Thank you, Doctor.

NESHEIWAT: Yes.

CAVUTO: You calmed me down a little bit.

NESHEIWAT: Yes.

CAVUTO: I'm still freaking out about it.

NESHEIWAT: No, don't freak out. It's going to be OK.

CAVUTO: But thank you.

So, stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CAVUTO: You know, we talk about the worry and all of that.

The NASDAQ hit an all-time high today. So, if the markets are panicking -- and panicking is relative -- the Dow was down about 165 points, had been down almost 300.

We survived. We always do.

More now.

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