This is a rush transcript from “Your World with Neil Cavuto," August 14, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: All right, thank you, Bill Hemmer, very much.
We're monitoring a lot of developments simultaneously. The president has arrived in New York City. We're monitoring that. He's going to visit his brother, who has been very, very sick. We will try to get the latest there on that.
Following some fast-moving developments, meanwhile, on COVID-19. Right now, California has just hit better than 600,000 cases. And the governor there saying he's on top of this. He has not hinted at what new actions he might take to address this.
All of this as, in the United States, we're getting word for two days running 50,000 new cases each day. Have not seen that in a while, even though some other trends point to positive developments on the COVID-19 front.
Welcome, everybody. I'm Neil Cavuto. And this is "Your World."
And what a visit "Your World," focusing on the virus, focusing on stimulus around the virus, and the president outlining plans to provide still more stimulus on his own, talking up a $3,400 check relief program that still technically needs Congress to give the OK.
But Congress is out of session. The Senate and the House won't be back until after Labor Day. So, how far can he go? We are on that, and also on this with James Clyburn, of course, a big help to Joe Biden to put him over the top, get him a South Carolina win, and then move on toward the Democratic nomination, now weighing in, not only on that newly minted ticket also featuring Kamala Harris, but what he thinks the Democrats have to do now to respond to what the president's doing on his own.
So, man, oh, man, have we got a lot to cover in the next hour.
So let's get right to it first with Steve Harrigan on the latest count of the virus nationally and in some of these problematic states, I guess, Steve, like California.
To you, my friend.
STEVE HARRIGAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Neil, California topping 600,000. That got the big news.
We have just been hearing California governor Gavin Newsom talk about the digital divide. You might not link the digital divide with the coronavirus right away, but, certainly, it is crucial for online learning.
The government wants to make sure that there are affordable Internet plans for all California children going to school. About 95 to 97 percent of them will be doing distance learning. Here's the governor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): Took a lot of the CARES Act funding, a lot of the federal dollars for this pandemic. Many other states used that money for general fund purposes, appropriately and understandably. We used a disproportionate amount of that federal stimulus dollars, and we gave it to our education system this year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIGAN: Of course, that 600,000 cases of coronavirus, that's the figure that's getting all the attention.
One figure getting less attention is 19 percent, a decline in hospitalizations in California by 19 percent. That has the governor saying that this could be a possible turning point, the mayor of Los Angeles saying there are signs of light now.
Of course, concerns ahead too, with a heat wave approaching California, triple-digit temperatures expected in the Central Valley. Problems are, that could lead to wildfires. It could also lead to crowds on the beaches without social distancing.
Here in Georgia, the mask fight continues. The governor of Georgia has dropped his lawsuit against the mayor and the city council. They tried to put in a mask mandate. He fought it. Instead, he's going to issue an executive order which basically does the same thing, allow businesses to opt out, not force their customers to wear masks -- Neil, back to you.
CAVUTO: All right, Steve Harrigan, thank you very much, Steve in Atlanta.
Let's go to John Roberts outside the White House right now.
John, it's interesting to note the president upped the ante when it came to taking on Congress over lack of action to provide coronavirus relief. The question is, how far can he go, huh?
JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, he can't go very far on these particular demands by himself. He needs Congress to do what he wants to do, but he's letting the American people know, this is what I'm prepared to do. Now it's up to Congress to do it.
Let's show you some of the tweets that the president sent out just a little while ago, the president saying he is prepared to send direct payments, $3,400 for a family of four, to all Americans. He's directed the Treasury secretary to get ready to do that.
He's also prepared to send additional PPP payments to small businesses he says have been hurt by the China virus. And in the third tweet, the president says that he's ready to send more money to states and local governments to save jobs for police, firefighters, first responders and teachers, including $105 billion dollars for schools.
But there you see at the end, he says Democrats are holding this up.
One of the big sticking points is cost-cutting measures that have been implemented at the U.S. Postal Service over the last few months. In fact, the Postal Service, according to The Washington Post, sent out a warning letter to 46 states, saying all of the mail-in ballots for November's election may not make it, in time to get counted.
So Democrats are asking for $25 billion a month, including $3.5 billion for mail-in votes for the Postal Service to get it back up to speed. The president has resisted that idea. He doesn't like the idea of mail-in voting to begin. And he says another $25 billion, what else do you want?
But I asked him this afternoon in his press briefing, if the Democrats were to come over to your side and give you some of what you're asking for, would you be willing to sign off on that $25 billion and the $3.5 billion to handle mail-in voting?
Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Sure, if they give us what we want. And it's not what I want. It's what the American people want.
ROBERTS: So if they were to give you that...
TRUMP: Yes, if they would do it.
ROBERTS: ... you would sign off for the money for the Postal Service?
TRUMP: Yes, but they're not giving it to me. They're giving it to the American people. I mean, giving it...
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: ... agree to that?
TRUMP: Yes, I would -- I would certainly do that. Sure, I would do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So, the president saying and kind of negotiating there in real time on television that if the Democrats come over and give him some of what he wants, if not all of what he wants, he may be willing to sign off on that.
There's some question, though, Neil, whether the president needs to cut a deal with Democrats at all, because he's done those executive orders and memoranda which provide for unemployment insurance, maybe provide for protection, at least some, for eviction and cut payroll taxes until the end of the year. Does he really need to do a deal with Democrats?
Or can he just got to hit them over the head with it all the way through until November?
CAVUTO: John, on another issue, we know the president has arrived in New York. He's going to be visiting his brother Robert, who is in the hospital. Do we know any details about that?
The president kept it very vague, very general in his remarks today,. What do we know?
ROBERTS: We don't. He was actually asked about it what his brother might be suffering with in the hospital.
The president was vague, just saying that he's not doing very well. I was told that he was apparently very sick, but we don't know from what. That's the thing. And so far, they have kept it private, and we're going to honor that privacy. So all we know is that his brother Robert, with whom he says he's very close and cares a lot about, is very sick in the hospital.
But the president seemed to indicate that it's something he could pull through from, so we will keep watching it, Neil.
CAVUTO: All right, thank you, John Roberts, very, very much.
You're looking outside a hospital in New York, where the president is expected to arrive shortly. But, as John Roberts pointed out, that he has not commented beyond that. So, again, we will monitor this for you.
In the meantime, this comes on the same day we have learned for the CDC director that, if you think things are a little problematic now when it comes to COVID-19, it could get really, really funky this fall, indicating that America could be bracing for the worst fall, from a public health perspective, that we have ever had.
Dr. Roshini Raj joins us right now, the NYU Langone associate professor of medicine, much, much more.
Doctor, what do you think the CDC director meant by that? Normally, we have been led to think, in the warmer weather, this would mitigate somewhat. Just the opposite has happened. And now, when people look at the fall, they think, well, maybe things will stabilize then.
He seems to be saying no. Do you agree?
DR. ROSHINI RAJ, NYU LANGONE HEALTH: Yes, I think it is a very appropriate message, because so much of this virus, we know, is dependent on being in close quarters.
And when you think about it, when the temperatures start to drop, those outdoor dining options are no longer going to be there. People are going to be in closer quarters more or in smaller groups.
And this is a potential for some spread. We also have the great experiment of schools reopening in some parts of the country and what's going to happen with that. And then, of course, you add flu season, and the fact that this is the time where people get the flu and pneumonia.
All of these are going to be taking up hospital beds, maybe having confusing symptoms that could be confused with COVID. So there is a lot of potential there for things to get worse. And that's why he's really warning us to stay very vigilant and really stick to those four simple measures, as much as we can, which is wearing masks, washing your hands, social distancing and being aware of crowded places.
CAVUTO: You know, Doctor, former Vice President Joe Biden made a little bit of news yesterday talking about the necessity of wearing a mask and that it should be federally mandated.
What do you think of that?
RAJ: Yes, I think, at this point, we're seeing that, in many parts of the country, we're going in the wrong direction, not the right direction. And masks do help prevent the spread and prevent you from transmitting it to other people and you contracting the virus from other people.
It's not a perfect system or a perfect safeguard, but it definitely can decrease the number of cases and the number of deaths. So I do think that would be a good idea.
And I really quite -- can't quite comprehend why people are resistant to that, certain people. It seems to become a political issue. There are certain groups who can't wear a mask and children under the age of 2 not recommended to wear a mask, because they may not be able to tell if they're not breathing properly to take it off.
But for everyone else who can, I certainly think it's the right thing to do.
CAVUTO: Doctor, thank you very, very much.
We're monitoring all of this very, very closely here.
This comes on the heels of reports we're getting out of Europe, by the way, I want to pass along that the rising virus infection rate across Europe has already triggered some travel restrictions, that, and in New Zealand, which had this under control, Auckland pretty much under new lockdown procedures.
So, increasingly, with this virus, my friends, it remains like a Whac-A- Mole situation, under control in one place, moves on to another place. Than that old place where it was under control has problems again. That has been the story that the CDC directors seemed to be hinting at when he said, this fall could be a problem.
All right, could be a problem when it comes to getting Congress and the president to ever agree on relief triggered to dealing with the virus right now. The president is acting on his own, because he says Democrats and Republicans couldn't cobble something together.
We have someone who's going to put this in some perspective here, what obviously is happening that has James Clyburn, the House majority whip, worried the president's going too far. What would his guy Joe Biden do, and what does he recommend?
We will ask the congressman who put Joe Biden over the top back in South Carolina -- after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KUDLOW, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: Right now, the negotiations are stalled. We were asked by Speaker Pelosi, I think, to get our numbers up to $2 trillion or $2.5 trillion. Secretary Mnuchin said no, because the president prefers a $1 trillion number.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAVUTO: All right, well, things really have not changed that much since I spoke to Larry Kudlow, the White House economic adviser, 24 hours ago.
The president pressing ahead with a plan to push for $2,400 stimulus -- $3,400 stimulus checks for families up to four. They haven't delineated who gets that and what individuals would get.
But the fact of the matter is, the president's still going along on his own, because, he says, well, Congress isn't.
James Clyburn joins us right now, the South Carolina Democratic congressman, also the House majority whip, the man who everyone, obviously, would readily acknowledge put Joe Biden in the driver's seat after winning that state's primary, going on to take the Democratic nomination, just picking his running mate.
This is the kingmaker, I think they call you, Congressman.
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: So, very good to have you. And thank you for taking the time.
REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): Well, thank you very much for having me.
CAVUTO: What do you make of what Larry Kudlow is saying, no deal, no deal looking good?
CLYBURN: Yes, I heard that.
But he ought to be ashamed of himself. The fact of the matter is, we know that state and local governments need assistance. People have jobs in state and local governments. Banks in little towns here in my congressional district, they are dependent upon the accounts that come from state and local governments.
This whole notion of not funding state and local governments is crazy talk. And I would wish that they would get serious about what the real issues are.
We have a health care crisis, but we have an economic crisis. And we ought not deal with this as if there are silos here, because the health care crisis affects the economic crisis. And you cannot solve one without the other.
So, this whole notion of having, I got a $1 trillion program, the question is, what does it do? If you got a $1 trillion program that is totally inadequate, that doesn't make it a good program because it's small.
What makes it a good program is if it gets the economy back up and running, if it gets us beyond this pandemic, which we know we got to get beyond. If your program will not do that, come to the table, and let's develop one that will.
CAVUTO: All right, so let's talk a little bit about what the president has proposed.
We talk about this measure right now to get virus relief checks out to people, much like we did when all of this started. Now, he's added to that, as you know, on top of a payroll tax cut that he's looking at those who earn up to $104,000 a year, extending unemployment benefits at $400 a week, $100 coming from states to kick in.
And there are -- the devil in the details of that and how states could afford to do that. I get that, Congressman. But by opposing what he's offering and coming up and trying to come up with another measure, do you risk looking callous, that he's -- there he is with an offer to get that aid out to people right away, and you're blocking it?
CLYBURN: Well, I wish we had done more to block that unheard-of tax cut that was supposed to trickle down and make the economy better. Did it do that? No.
I will tell you what it did do. It got rid of...
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: Well, wait, wait. I think it's fair to say -- you could argue over whether that was the lone catalyst, but we were doing fine before this virus arrived, right? We got down to 3.5 percent unemployment. The economy was chugging along. We had gained about 12 million jobs.
I mean, you could make a pretty good argument that we were bouncing back from that, and maybe the cut in regulations, the cut in taxes did that.
CLYBURN: Well, Neil, look, who are "we"?
I'm doing that because I know -- it might be right to say is, but the fact of the matter is, W.E. Who is that? That ain't the people that I represent.
They were not doing well before this virus. And they're doing worse as a result of this virus.
The fact of the matter is, how do we keep judging the health care or the health of the economy by what's happening on Wall Street? I judge it by what's happening on Main Street, and, in some of these communities, backstreet.
If they aren't doing good, then I'm not doing good, because I go to...
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: Congressman, you can revisit that. I understand what you're saying, sir, but you can revisit that.
But for the time being on this stimulus measure the president is looking at, are you rejecting it out of hand? Because the president will come back and say, well, I was there to cut the payroll tax. I was there to extend unemployment benefits. These guys didn't come to the table. I did it on my own.
Do you look indifferent to something I know you don't like, but it's better than nothing that's already there now, right?
CLYBURN: Come on. A payroll tax only affects people who are on payrolls. If you aren't on a payroll, the payroll tax doesn't do anything for you.
I'm looking out for people...
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: But isn't that where the employment benefits kick in? But, Congressman, isn't that where the unemployment benefits kick in, help for those who have work, help for those who don't have work?
And when the payroll tax cut was an issue, you were for it when Barack Obama had it, right?
CLYBURN: Yes. And we didn't have a pandemic when Barack Obama was there.
We did have a Great Recession. Remember that? The Great Recession of 2008. I was in the room when it was declared -- when OMB and the secretary of the Treasury came in there and said...
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: But you have already stated things are very bad. You have already stated things are very bad with the pandemic as we speak.
And a payroll tax cut, if it was warranted then, not only once, but twice, under Barack Obama, why isn't it warranted now?
CLYBURN: Simply because we did not have a pandemic when he did this.
We now have a pandemic. We have got people who are sick. We have got over 160,000 people who are dead. That's why. The times are different. And so what we have got to do now is get people well, get people out of these nursing homes, out of these hospitals, and back to work.
So, we can't worry about giving a payroll tax to people who are working, when you have got people in hospital beds and...
CAVUTO: All right.
CLYBURN: OK?
CAVUTO: All right, Congressman, I do want to -- you were so helpful to Joe Biden in getting him over the top. Your endorsement was crucial before South Carolina. He won that primary. He never looked back.
There's some criticism of his performance, even though many argue he did a good job picking his running mate, Kamala Harris, that he avoids the press, he doesn't take questions. He has sort of like a rope-a-dope strategy to sort of stay away from the media.
Do you think he's playing it too cautiously?
CLYBURN: I think he's doing exactly what he ought to do until these conventions are over.
I don't blame him for not getting out of here in front of his own convention. He is not the nominee now. He's still the presumptive nominee. He gets the nomination next week.
And then have respect for the Republican Convention the following week. And, after that, game on.
CAVUTO: And he will be more active? You think, after that point, he should be more active, be out there more?
CLYBURN: Yes. And I'm going to be out there more.
CAVUTO: OK.
CLYBURN: And a whole lot of other people are going to be out there more, absolutely.
CAVUTO: Congressman, always good seeing you. Thank you very much for taking the time and talk to us.
CLYBURN: Thank you, buddy.
CAVUTO: Congressman Clyburn, the -- of course, the House majority whip.
Stick with us here. We will see, of course, if we get any Republican response to that -- after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: Only in California so far, an assemblyman who wants to tax the rich, the very very, very rich, and if they have any thought of leaving the state, tax them after they do. Can he do that?
After this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, the president has arrived in New York City, a hospital, to visit his brother Robert.
We don't know what is ailing Robert. We do know that he's very, very sick and the president thought it was time he wanted to see his brother. He's there now.
Alex Hogan with more in New York City.
Alex, what do we know?
ALEX HOGAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Neil, as you just mentioned, the president arriving here at the hospital.
There's a lot of blocked traffic and roads, people awaiting the president, many just trying to get a sneak peek. The White House didn't mention what exactly is wrong with Robert Trump. However, they did say that he is considered seriously ill, and the president himself noting that earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I have a wonderful brother. We've had a great relationship for a long time, for -- from day one. It's a long time ago. And he's in the hospital right now, and, hopefully, he'll be all right. But he's -- he's pretty -- he's having a hard time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOGAN: Again, the president arriving here just minutes ago.
The White House, again, will not say why he's in the hospital, just that he is seriously ill. But he did previously spent a week in New York City hospital in June, but, again, no reason why.
The 72-year-old filed a temporary restraining order to block the publication of a book written by his niece Mary, the daughter of the oldest Trump brother, Fred. Fred Trump died in 1981 from complications with alcoholism at the age of 43.
A judge threw out Robert's request to block the publication. "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man" came out on June 14.
Robert, again, is hospitalized here. As far as the president, we know that he will be going to Bedminster, New Jersey, to his golf course later on for the weekend. But, for right now, he's still here. He's expected to leave from the same area that we saw him coming in, a bunch of caravans arriving here just moments ago, and his plane had touched down about 40 minutes ago in New Jersey -- Neil.
CAVUTO: Alex, thank you very much, Alex Hogan in New York City.
In the meantime, we're following the great race among states to find some way to pay for the post-coronavirus world that has their budgets just shellacked.
There is a novel approach by one assemblyman in, well, at least California, that goes something like this: Tax the super rich, and tax them if they ever think of leaving. Can he do that?
The legality of chasing people long after they have left your state.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, well Elizabeth Warren talked a lot about this during the campaign. So did Bernie Sanders, a wealth tax based on your worth.
If you're worth a lot of dough, in California, an assemblyman there wants to tax you for it. But what made what Rob Bonta, the Democratic -- California Democratic assemblyman, is up to so interesting to me was that, even though money can always fly away, right, and the rich can always go somewhere, he is, well, looking at a way to counter that.
Take a look at.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAVUTO: After they have moved, and they have left, you're still taxing them? They're no longer California residents. You can't legally do that.
STATE REP. ROB BONTA (D-CA): For 10 years.
The wealth was accumulated during their time in California, during the nexus that they had with the state of California. And that is what we're proposing in our bill.
We believe we can do that. Certainly, we're open to dialogue and discussion as we move the bill forward. But we think it's a sound approach and has strong legal foundation.
CAVUTO: Sounds like they'd be prisoners of California. They might hate it. They might hate getting screwed by the tax man, but you're not letting them leave. You're saying, if you leave, I'm still going to zoom you.
(LAUGHTER)
BONTA: Well, you remember Senator Elizabeth Warren had her penalty if you changed citizenship.
This is not that. But this does say -- it recognizes the fact that wealth was accumulated over time in the state of California. And if we're going to have a wealth tax...
CAVUTO: But what if it wasn't, Assemblyman? What was if wasn't?
What if someone moved from another locale to California, is worth a lot of money, got that money in another state, another locale, he, she arrives in your beautiful state, and learns that that wealth is going to be taxed?
BONTA: It is a beautiful state. Thank you.
The -- when people move in from out of state, the same applies. The wealth tax phases in 10 percent a year over 10 years, so they're not hit with it on day one. It recognizes that wealth may have been accumulated outside of California. And once they move to California, that that wealth continues...
CAVUTO: But, Assemblyman, if I'm one of those -- if I'm one of those who knows that I'm a wealthy person, I'm moving to California, and I know they have got this graduated plan, this wealth tax that's going to start from the day I move there, why the hell would I want to move there?
BONTA: Because it's California, because we have some of the greatest business ecosystems, markets, the largest state in the nation, one of the greatest edge education systems for work force.
We have Silicon Valley and the ecosystem of...
CAVUTO: No, no, Assemblyman, you're quite right.
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: You have a lot of allures. You have a lot of allures that appeal to a great number of people.
But the fact of the matter is, they were apparently not appealing enough for scores of companies to leave your state, go to places like Texas or Florida, safer confines for themselves and their money.
I mean, it hasn't been just an exodus. It's been a jailbreak.
BONTA: Look, on the margins, Neil, some businesses may decide to leave. That's their decision. We still do have a lot of very successful...
CAVUTO: They already have. They already have.
BONTA: We have quite a few successful businesses in California, Neil, as you know, Silicon Valley.
CAVUTO: I know. But they're down. They're running away. They are running away, right?
BONTA: Well, our millionaires and billionaires have grown. Our economy has grown.
I don't think that the image of folks fleeing has panned out. I don't think it's historically true. On the margins...
CAVUTO: Well, I think you're little -- you're representing that a little curiously. I think the millionaires and billionaires you talk about is, over the course of time, people's wealth has increased in California, as it has increased across the country.
So it's a little disingenuous for you to imply with that there are people just in record numbers, I have got to be in California. There are plenty of other wonderful places for them to be. I know where your heart is on this, Assemblyman. And I get that.
But do you think it's going to boomerang on you, and a lot of people you're counting on to foot the bill will say, to hell with you?
BONTA: I don't think so, Neil.
We have 150, approximately, billionaires in the state of California. Their wealth has grown $175 billion during the pandemic. We have people, as you know, who publicly have stated, Eli Broad, George Soros, Abigail Disney, saying, tax me more, impose a wealth tax, I want to invest in the common good, our common future. I know we're all in this together.
And so we like to look at data and evidence. And the data and evidence around millionaires in California and billionaires is that they have grown. They are not fleeing.
And this is a way to address some of our most challenging issues, our climate crisis, our health care, academic -- our education system. And it's patriotic to do that and it's fair to do this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CAVUTO: All right.
Charles Payne was hearing that. He was all ready to move to California. He heard about this thing where, even if he were trying to leave California then he would still be zoomed on this tax.
Charles, good to have you, my friend. What do you make of this?
CHARLES PAYNE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Nuts.
(LAUGHTER)
PAYNE: I think I'm making "Fatal Attraction." You think you're going to leave me? Not after you made all that money in this state. There's no place on the planet you can go.
Oh, yes, we know you paid taxes while you were here. We know you hit -- we hit you up every year, every time you got on the highway, every time you bought something. We hit you left and right on property tax. We hit you at the business. But you want to leave this state? And you think you're going to take your money with you.
Wow. That is some scary, scary stuff, Neil, I got to tell you that. But he was really calm and convinced about all of this. But I just -- it just tells you really what kind of a predicament California is finding themselves in, because, for all the bluster about the handful of billionaires who talk a good game, because no one's stopping them from writing a check right now.
If Eli Broad wants to be so genuine -- generous, if Abigail Disney wants to be generous, cut the check, cut the check, show us how it's done.
But this is mind-boggling stuff. It's scary stuff, I will say.
CAVUTO: What makes it scary is the point -- and he's a good guy. I know he devoutly believes this is the best solution for Californians, who generally do support higher taxes on the rich.
Oftentimes, in these polls, you and I see them, the state of New Jersey, when people are polled on this, as long as it's not me. Don't raise my taxes.
PAYNE: Right.
CAVUTO: And I get that.
But the wrinkle that he has here about the ball-and-chain nature of keeping you here. If you dare wander to Florida or Texas or these other locales, and you will still be paying California for the wealth you accumulated, presumably there, for up to 10 years.
That doesn't seem very legal to me.
PAYNE: Well, I mean, it's like, regulators, mount up, right?
They're going to have posses all over the country. Oh, you think you're chilling out somewhere in Florida? Well, look out your window. It's crazy, Neil. It really is, is like a Philip K. Dick novel of the worst kind of darkness you can imagine, these folks showing up at your house because you made money in California nine years ago.
But, again, I think it gets to something else here. They're talking about this raising $7.5 billion. California, it is a rich state. And it's an overwhelmingly rich state. So why are they mismanaging all of the taxes they already take in?
Why do they keep making promises to a whole lot of people, citizens and non-citizens, that are so onerous and so expensive? The main folks who are getting hurt there are the middle class. And that ladder of opportunity is gone, OK?
So, yes, a lot of people are doing very well in Silicon Valley. Unfortunately, if you're born in California, you don't really have really a great shot of getting a piece of that action.
CAVUTO: All right, so you're not a fan of this.
All right, Charles, always good seeing you, my friend.
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: Great perspective.
PAYNE: You too.
CAVUTO: But, holy cow, on this, I agree. Like, be careful what you wish for.
Thank you, Charles Payne, bestselling author, whose show is a rock star on FOX Business.
And just a point of reference here. The idea that this could spread beyond just the well-to-do, remember when the Alternative Minimum Tax was started to try to get those very rich folks who tried to avoid taxes, so that they would be looped in having to pay at least a minimum taxes.
Right now, the AMT affects close to half of all taxpayers. So, it starts small, gets big.
More after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, a stunning development in U.S. attorney John Durham's Russia probe of who knew what and when, when a former FBI lawyer apparently sent a signal he's going to go ahead and plead guilty to at least making a false statement in the first criminal case involving this entire probe.
David Spunt joins us with more from Bridgewater, New Jersey -- David.
DAVID SPUNT, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Neil. Good afternoon.
It is a single count of falsifying a document. But it's significant, Neil, because it's the first tangible piece of a result that we have seen from this John Durham investigation.
You have heard it many times over the last year-plus, John Durham, the U.S. attorney in Connecticut, tapped by U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr to look at the origins of the Russia investigation, John Durham, the man for the job.
Again, this is the first result we have seen from that investigation today.
The defendant, his name is Kevin Clinesmith. He's a former FBI attorney in the General Counsel Office. Now, the document he admitted to falsifying part of a larger collection of documents used to issue a warrant to surveil former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
Now, Clinesmith altered the e-mail to say Page was not a source for the CIA. But Page indeed was at some point in time. It's not clear the exact point in time. The FBI never disclosed that CIA-Page relationship because of Clinesmith's e-mail change.
Now, Clinesmith's attorney, Justin Shur, at least a statement to FOX News: "Kevin deeply regrets having altered the e-mail. It was never his intent to mislead the court or his colleagues, as he believed the information he relayed was accurate. But Kevin understands what he did was wrong and accepts responsibility."
Neil, legal experts say it's unlikely that Clinesmith will spend time behind bars because he will be pleading guilty, in fact, in this case.
Meanwhile, the Durham probe continues. There could be indictments. Attorney General Bill Barr, who I guess largely is overseeing this, has come under a lot of criticism, because we're just about two-and-a-half months out from the election. He says, of course, this is not political.
I'm in, as you mentioned, Bridgewater, New Jersey, not far from the president's golf club in Bedminster. He will be here this weekend. He mentioned it briefly at the White House today. But I can expect he will probably be sounding off on this topic at some point over the weekend -- Neil.
CAVUTO: I would imagine.
David, thank you very, very much.
I want to go to Chris Swecker right now, the former FBI assistant director.
And, Chris, criticism had also come, speaking of the FBI, of FBI Director Christopher Wray, that he was not following and pursuing this aggressively enough. I believe Bill Barr spoke out in his defense, say he's done a great job, been very aggressive.
Your thoughts on that part?
CHRIS SWECKER, FORMER FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Yes, Chris has done everything he can to right the ship.
I think people think he's moving slowly. He's doing his best not to interfere with the investigation of John Durham, which is an ongoing criminal investigation. So, if there are remnants of the -- sort of the bad apples in the FBI, he's not going to kick the anthill until John Durham is done with what he's doing, because that takes precedence over any administrative action inside the FBI.
Most of the bad apples have gone, however.
CAVUTO: The president has been impatient with this -- no, I hear you.
There is a not-so-subtle pressure coming from the president on, I guess, the FBI director here. But you think he is doing the right balance here?
SWECKER: He's walking a fine line.
CAVUTO: Right.
SWECKER: With the Durham investigation, and the scope of that investigation, he is really walking on a razor right now.
And then, of course, there are other rules in place too as well in protecting sources. Some of these sources have been blown already by the media and leaks and that sort of thing. And he's -- I think he has put as much out there as he can put out there right now, until John Durham is done with what he's doing.
CAVUTO: Where do you think this is all going?
SWECKER: You know, I was interested in this case, which, as Bill Barr says, is not earth-shaking.
But you often see the small people, sort of, so to speak, people further down the food chain, rolling on people further up the food chain, and I'm wondering if this is what's happening here, that he is just the type of person that you would use to get up to the seventh floor, where Andrew McCabe was or Peter Strzok or Page.
I would note that he worked with Page, Lisa Page, the attorney that expressed so much animus towards Trump. He himself expressed a great deal of animus towards the president in various e-mails. And he was one of the people who was taken off the Mueller team because of that.
But I think there are bigger things in scope here.
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CAVUTO: Yes.
If the president were to lose, does all of the zealous investigating go away? Does it magically disappear?
SWECKER: Overnight. No doubt about it.
CAVUTO: Yes.
SWECKER: John Durham -- I mean, John Durham would probably be removed the day after.
I don't think Bill Barr would remain much longer either. That would be fairly quick. None of this would go anywhere if the president loses the election, unfortunately, because I think this needs to see sunlight.
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CAVUTO: Yes, at least get out there -- get it out there.
SWECKER: Right.
CAVUTO: Chris Swecker, the former FBI assistant director.
Stay with us. You are watching "Your World."
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CAVUTO: All right, you probably are sick of getting a lot of poll news.
Of course, you heard about the latest FOX one that has the president trailing Joe Biden by seven points. He had trailed him by 12 a couple of months ago. But this was the one that caught my attention. We asked these subset questions, if you will.
The message you would send to the government, right now, 36 percent would say, leave me alone, but 57 percent would say, lend me a hand. The group saying lend me a hand is up from 34 percent who felt that way a year ago.
Heather Zumarraga on this, the Zuma Global president, a great read of the economy and the markets, Gary Kaltbaum, practically an institution when it comes to following the markets, or we should put him in an institution.
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CAVUTO: I kid you, but welcome, both of you.
Let me get your thoughts, Heather, all kidding aside, on that. If I'm the Republican candidate, right, no matter where, on the presidential level, all the way down, I'm hearing that a lot of people are saying, lend me a hand, what do I do?
HEATHER ZUMARRAGA, FINANCIAL ANALYST: Of course. Who wouldn't want a free handout or during the coronavirus pandemic?
Even Larry Kudlow has said that heavy government spending and borrowing was necessary with those that lost their jobs, for example, due to no fault of their own. But post-pandemic, I really think policy-makers should focus on cutting back on some of these subsidies, freeing up the nation of really big government that we're creating right now.
CAVUTO: Well, the fact of the matter is, that might be all well and good. Deficits, debt might be a worry, Gary, but it could explain why the president was talking up the relief he was, acting unilaterally in extending it today to $3,400 or up to $3,400 stimulus checks for families of four.
What do you make of that?
GARY KALTBAUM, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: I think the president sees the poll numbers.
And let me be clear, Neil. The economy is getting better. Corporate America is doing pretty darn well, new yearly highs at FedEx and UPS and things like that. But underneath that, small business not so great, service industry not so great. So many people still don't have a job.
And those people continue to need a bridge. And you know me. I hate debt. I hate deficits. I hate too much spending. But there are moments in time where government has to stand up and look at the people and see, because of a pandemic, there is a problem.
I work with these families all the time. There's still a lot of trouble out there. So I think those poll numbers are for real. And, hopefully, both parties can get together and do the right thing.
CAVUTO: All right, now, there are all sorts of ideas out there about how you can give people things. Republicans generally favor tax cuts. And Democrats have been talking about more stimulus and spending, Heather, although neither party is unique to sort of blowing away spending levels and deficits and debt.
But I am wondering, for the American people, especially given some of the improving economic stats we have seen, is it necessary, or does a party risk the wrath of voters if it does nothing?
ZUMARRAGA: Well, as you stated in the survey, in the statistics, the American people as a whole, 150 million received the direct stimulus payments and 25 million were relying on the $600-per-week supplemental bonus employment -- unemployment claims.
So, I do think the data is getting better. Almost half of those that were unemployed during the pandemic have gone back to work. The retail sales data this morning, ex-auto, means people are out there spending. That means that the stimulus is working.
But I do worry about debt and deficits in the future. And many other congressmen, Senator Rand Paul, Mitch McConnell, are all sounding -- Ted Cruz -- sounding the alarms on the debt and deficits in the future.
That's why gold is up. And that's why you're seeing signs of inflation, with the dollar at the lowest levels since 2008.
CAVUTO: Gary, very quickly here.
The president has been arguing, Republicans have been saying -- Larry Kudlow echoed it again with me yesterday -- that the trend is the president's friend, that the data that's been coming in has steadily been getting better. Claims -- who believed we would say that it's good news that we're at 963,000 jobless claims, but it had been over a million -- well over a million for 20 consecutive weeks.
Your thoughts?
KALTBAUM: It's definitely much better.
But it's got to keep getting better. We're still a 10 percent unemployment. That's a big, big number, up from where we were when we were 3.5 percent.
CAVUTO: Yes.
KALTBAUM: So, a long way to go, but, definitely, we're on the right track, and, hopefully, it continues the right way.
CAVUTO: All right, final word, Gary. Want to thank you.
Heather, I want to thank you.
In the meantime, we will be exploring this a lot more tomorrow, when we explore how this is all reverberating with voters, and, right now, with those who think they have a stake in this action. We're going to talk to the stakeholders tomorrow.
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