Rob Fazio honors his father who lost his life on 9/11 while helping others

close

Video

Rob Fazio honors his father who lost his life on 9/11 while helping others

This is a rush transcript from “Your World with Neil Cavuto," September 11, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Thank you, Bill, very, very much.

I'm Neil Cavuto, and this is "Your World."

No political nastiness today. Bygones are bygones, at least for this day and the significance of this day. Of course, we all know what happened 19 years ago today. At this very hour, they were looking through the rubble of the World Trade Center and fearing tens of thousands had lost their lives, when all was said and done, close to 3,000, but the significance not lost all these years later, a nation that tries to come together in the middle of a COVID virus crisis here, some spikes in cases, but some return to normalcy as well.

Hope springs eternal, just as it did then to today.

The significance of this, with the bipartisanship in recognizing the horror of that day, first in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where you will find our Hillary Vaughn -- Hillary.

HILLARY VAUGHN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Neil, today, Americans are united in grief and in gratitude, and in remembering those whose act of heroism 19 years ago changed the course of history.

The president today retelling the story of what happened on United Flight 93 when passengers on the plane took on terrorists, stopping an attack on the U.S. Capitol that saved countless lives.

The president saying today, this sent a message to the world, America is a land worth defending until the very last breath, and those on-board Flight 93 did just that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Nothing could have prepared them for the dreadful events of that morning. But when the moment came, when history called, they did not hesitate. They did not waver.

Together, they charged the cockpit. They confronted the pure evil. And in their last act on this earth, they saved our Capitol.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUGHN: Today's ceremony was closed to the public due to the pandemic, but one thing remained the same.

The ringing of the bells of remembrance hung in the air, as, one by one, the 40 names of each hero on Flight 93 were honored.

Today, Democratic nominee Joe Biden pressed pause on politics to make today about the memory honoring those who lost their lives. And this picture really says it all, the former Vice President Joe Biden, and the current Vice President Mike Pence sharing a moment before the anniversary ceremony at New York City's Ground Zero.

Biden followed to the president's visit here in Shanksville to pay his own respects and meet with families of those who lost loved ones.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: It's one thing to react when you're a situation where you're confronted with something, and you (OFF-MIKE)

It's another thing to consciously know that what you're about to do is likely to cost you your life. I mean, that is an incredible, incredible thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUGHN: Biden wrapped up his visit here stopping by the local fire station, those who were first on the scene here at the site of the crash on September 11.

Biden's campaign made a point to pull down all of their ads today to honor September 11 and this moment. But there were a few ads that still popped up accidentally, one of those here in Pennsylvania -- Neil.

CAVUTO: Hillary, thank you very, very much, Hillary Vaughn on all of that.

There are so many iconic moments that come back on this day that we all recall of a certain age.

I think of those in their 20s or younger who have no formative recollection themselves of the significance of this day. But that moment that Andy Card had to inform the president of the United States at the time, who was reading a story to children at a Florida school, that the nation was under attack.

The president maintained his composure, but it was up to Andy Card to say, essentially, we are at war.

He joins me right now.

Andy, I can never get over the significance of that moment and the burden you had to share that news with the president in the most unusual venues. I know you're asked this all the time, and probably every year on this anniversary.

How did you break it to him? What did you say?

ANDREW CARD, FORMER GEORGE W. BUSH WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Well, Neil, thank you for having me on. You're helping us keep that promise never to forget.

So, that day, the president thought he was going into a classroom to talk about his favorite topic, which was leaving no child behind in education and reforming our education system.

And he thought it was going to be an easy day. Just before he had walked into the classroom, he'd been told that it appears a small twin-engine prop plane had crashed into one of the towers at the World Trade Center in New York City.

And I remember his reaction to hearing that was, oh, what a horrible accident. The pilot must have had a heart attack or something.

And he and the principal of the school went into the classroom. The door shut. I'm standing there when the acting national security adviser on the trip, a Navy Captain Deborah Loewer, said: "Sir, it appears another plane hit the other tower at the World Trade Center."

And that's when I knew it couldn't have been an accident, it couldn't have been a coincidence. And so I had to pass a test that chiefs of staff have to pass all the time. Does the president need to know?

Sometimes, you pass the test. Sometimes, you don't pass it.

This one, yes, the president needed to know. And I thought about what I would say. I walked into the classroom and finally got the chance to go up, without -- I didn't want to interrupt the cadence of the event. They were second graders sitting in front of the president, getting ready to read a story with them.

The press were all -- was surprised that I had walked into the back of the room. I came in kind of backstage.

And I remember Ann Compton from ABC gesturing, "What's up?"

And I motioned two planes crashing in. And she motioned back, "What?"

And then I walked up to the president. He did not see me coming. I leaned over and whispered into his right ear: "A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack."

I then stood back from him, so that he wouldn't ask me a question or start a dialogue. I presumed there was a boom microphone picking up everything that was going to be said, and I didn't want to have a dialogue with him.

But it was an unbelievably rare message to deliver to a president. But it's even more absurd than it would have happened in a classroom with second graders kind of on stage.

CAVUTO: Yes.

CARD: And that was the shock.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: So, even all the reporters in that -- I'm sorry, Andy.

All the reporters in that room, they were unaware of the second plane going into the World Trade Center? So, they were unaware as well, right?

CARD: I believe so.

Ari Fleischer would know better, because he was with them.

CAVUTO: Right.

CARD: But I think there had been a buzz before we arrived at the school, that I heard Dan Bartlett say it and Karl Rove: Did anybody hear about a plane crash in New York City?

But that was the first plane. And that was the one that the president had been told was flown by...

CAVUTO: Right.

CARD: It was a small twin-engine prop plane crashing into one of the towers at the World Trade Center, so a very different scenario.

CAVUTO: Now, he stayed -- the president stayed where he was, Andy. He stayed where he was. He didn't get up. He didn't want to alarm people. I think that was the way he explained later on not leaving that room instantly.

What were his thoughts about staying there with the kids and digesting the information you had told him?

CARD: I believe -- I could not see the front of his face. I could see the back of his head. And his head was nodding up and down.

He never turned to me, really. He never turned around to see me. He turned saw that he could hear what I was saying into his right ear.

I honestly believe the words that most impacted what I said was, I said, "America is under attack."

And I say this -- I don't know that this is what the president thought, but I honestly believe that was the day he realized what the real burden of being a president is.

CAVUTO: Right.

CARD: This is where you take the oath to preserve, protect and defend.

And I think he was focusing on his responsibilities. I kind of say that was the day he became president. He took the oath January 20 of 2001, but I think it was September 11, 2001, where the magnitude of the responsibility, really, he acknowledged was his responsibility.

And I think he lived up to the expectation that we all had that he could meet that responsibility.

He was a remarkably calm, cool, collected leader. He was compassionate. He had -- he actually was thinking better than a lot of the people around him. He made decisions that nobody told him to make.

For example, on Air Force One, as soon we got get back on Air Force One, he said: I want to get President Putin on the phone, so he doesn't think this is some excuse to go to war.

And -- but I was very impressed with the cool, calm, collected nature of his leadership and the compassion that he showed.

CAVUTO: All right.

CARD: But he is also a -- he was very anxious to get back to Washington, D.C., and show the American people and the world that America was still able to function and that he was in control and going to make things right.

And he did.

CAVUTO: And so did you, Andy. You don't get enough credit keeping your calm and keeping your wits about you, when many others would be a little bit more histrionic.

CARD: Well, my job -- my job...

(CROSSTALK)

CARD: Yes, and it was...

CAVUTO: Yes.

CARD: And he and I did have firm words a handful of times that day, but I tried the very best to make sure that he had the right information to make tough decisions.

CAVUTO: All right. All right. You served him well.

Andy Card, chief of staff for George W. Bush, and, on that fateful day, the man who had to let the president of the United States know, we have been attacked.

Just incredible, the significance of that day and how, three days later, the president sent a signal to the world.

More after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

RAYMOND KELLY, FORMER NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER: The city has a very different feel than it had six months ago. People are anxious. People are worried about their own -- their own safety.

And those business leaders are concerned. So, that's why -- one of the reasons why people are just reluctant to come in and go back to their normal way of working.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

CAVUTO: All right, Ray Kelly is the former New York City police commissioner right now.

And he says this time it is different, that, unlike right after 9/11, even in the financial meltdown, he's not so sure people are going to rush to return to the Big Apple, because the environment is so dicey.

Leaving the virus aside, the high crime, the inefficiencies, the high taxes, all of that combining to create an environment that at least the commissioner indicates won't be hospitable maybe for quite sometime to come.

A number of business leaders have already relayed that to the mayor of New York City.

We're going to talk to one of them.

Susan Li on the importance of what's going on here and how the city comeback might be in jeopardy as a result.

Hey, Susan.

SUSAN LI, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Neil.

So, 160 CEOs and business leaders, they want New York City to be cleaned up and made safer. So, we're talking about some of the biggest companies and wealthiest billionaires on the planet.

That includes the CEOs of Citigroup, MasterCard, Nasdaq, Pfizer, the NBA and Revlon, writing to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, saying that: "Unprecedented numbers of New Yorkers are unemployed, facing homelessness or otherwise at risk. There is widespread anxiety over public safety, cleanliness and other quality of life issues. And we urge you to take immediate action to restore essential services as a necessary precursor for solving the city's longer-term complex and economic challenges."

They want de Blasio to clean up New York streets by first restoring the billion dollars to New York City's police department restart garbage pickups and graffiti removal. But the city also faces a deficit of $9 billion over the next two years, which might include 22,000 layoffs of government workers in the coming weeks.

But citizens are concerned over the spike in violent crime. Over the past four weeks, there has been a jump of nearly 50 percent in killings, shootings more than doubling from last year. De Blasio says he has asked for more money from New York state, which they have not yet authorized.

But some good news for the city today, as the biggest bank in America is getting back to work. J.P. Morgan announced that its senior trading and sales staff will be back to the New York City offices by September 21.

You know that finance and insurance vital to New York City's economy, generating more than 60 percent of the city's private wages and, also, of course, a major contributor to the city's taxes -- Neil.

CAVUTO: Susan Li, thank you very, very much.

So, they're worried, right? And you can understand why they're worried, to Susan's point.

One of those who signed on to that urgent letter to the mayor with us right now, Frank Bisignano, the Fiserv CEO, very big in the financial high-tech arena.

Frank, you signed on to this because you're worried about the city. You're worried about all your people who work in the city, but the people in New York in general, right?

FRANK BISIGNANO, PRESIDENT AND CEO, FISERV: Yes, and all the small businesses in New York, too.

I mean, this is not just about a partnership that signed on that letter, but it's to support all the businesses in New York. And, specifically, we have been very focused on helping small business in New York recover.

CAVUTO: When you relayed these concerns -- I don't know whether you did so individually. I know many of your colleagues had.

What did the mayor say? Or what were you hearing back?

BISIGNANO: You know, I think the mayor -- the mayor's put together task forces. He's put together constituents to talk to him about it.

Obviously, this is a difficult situation. I think you saw a movement occur this week in the past seven days around restaurants. Now, that's 25 percent capacity. And I think the governor has been helpful in guiding it to potentially it could get to 50 percent.

I spoke to a great restauranteur, Danny Meyer, today, who is hopeful that he could see up to 25, get from 25 to 50.

I think the real issue is how the New York City partnership always worked. It's a partnership between government, all those companies that signed on, and bringing better things to the city.

And we want to be part of the solution. And I'm hopeful that the letter causes us to have more help to guide all the things that need to cause our people to feel safe.

I was down at the memorial this morning across from our office. And it was somewhat heartening seeing the amount of people there. And, of course, 9/11 is always a very tough day for the world, for America, and specifically for New Yorkers and those in Lower Manhattan.

But there was an outpouring of people there. And it gave a sign that you can bring life pretty well back to the city, I think. I know...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Well, they say that a lot of people have been saying, Frank, that that's going to be tough.

I have talked to the former New York police commissioner, who is saying it's different this time, in that the rampantness of crime, just the inhospitable environment of an administration -- talking more about the mayor -- that won't change until, at the very least, he goes.

Is it that bad, that nothing can happen under this mayor because he has been tone-deaf to some of these concerns? That's the rap he's getting from the business community, certainly all these restaurant owners who were relieved that he was effectively overruled by the governor to get their restaurants back open.

Your thoughts?

BISIGNANO: Well, my thoughts is that small business is vital, and that safety sits above everything.

And I think that I have confidence that government will always ultimately respond. And if that meant that the governor had to get involved, well, we're fortunate he did. I think the mayor would like to see things operate better.

I hope that we all can help them get to a much better place. New York to beacon of commerce. And you saw it down at the memorial today, as all sides came together. It's a place that commerce can and will continue. But there's a lot of work to do right now on the recovery.

CAVUTO: All right, that's probably an understatement, Frank.

Frank Bisignano, the Fiserv CEO, among 160-plus CEOs worried about their city, worried about where it's going.

In the meantime, there were some worries at the corner of Wall and Broad today, as technology stocks once again resumed their swoon. It was a rough day for the Apples, the Amazons, and the Alphabets and a host of others, now turning increasingly on each other amid talk of federal investigations and the like.

For the week, the Dow was off. The Nasdaq was off the most, though, 4.1 percent, one of its worst weeks since this whole pandemic thing erupted back in March.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: Well, you can't miss this billboard if you're driving into Austin, Texas, this put out by a police group after hearing that Austin is cutting its police budget.

It's getting that bad. And it's not ending there -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, a day off for political nastiness, at least today, on the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on this country.

But it will resume full-throttle tomorrow, as the candidates hit the campaign trail and target a lot of these battleground states, where jobs are the issue, and, more importantly, American jobs.

Don't be surprised if you keep hearing this made in America theme that will be very big both for Joe Biden and the president of the United States.

Tom Bevan of RealClearPolitics with us right now, David Burstein, the Democratic strategist, Lauren Claffey, the Republican strategist.

So, Tom, this issue now, the economy becomes a front-and-center issue again. In battleground states, it's sort of like a flip of some of this other stuff. Some of the gains that they had seen were stymied by the virus, as they were elsewhere, but the concern about jobs that could still migrate to other countries or particularly south of the border.

The president's been arguing, it's a lot better with the trade deals he crafted than the ones Joe Biden and Barack Obama crafted. Who's winning this argument thus far?

TOM BEVAN, CO-FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE EDITOR, https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__REALCLEARPOLITICS.COM&d=DwICAg&c=cnx1hdOQtepEQkpermZGwQ&r=tgDLkJy54PfJyWJwul3dKe54qGxqO7b7d5vjo7RcZds&m=KevH1CRC7r_uhrqn--LBAN_ka_rSXZkmTl34_hwYsWw&s=OP4SrZzaU6PmKsHQvCyrRUimqkdn9rTzkzOSNCQlpnI&e= : It's a good question. I mean, it's just starting to get joined, I mean, obviously.

But Biden is doing some really smart, shrewd things, right? Number one, he's copied Trump's playbook. I mean, everything he's talking about sounds like it could be right out of Donald Trump's mouth, in terms of bring jobs back to America, building things in America, buying things made in America.

He's also leveraging this idea that the recovery -- he's acknowledging there's a recovery, just saying it's not working for everybody. And that sort of plays into one of Biden's strengths, which is that voters think that they trust more -- trusts him more and he cares more about people like them.

Then the last thing he's doing is, he's trying to walk away from some of the more radical elements of the party, the ban on fracking, New Green Deal, those sorts of things.

But, as we have just seen, this is going to -- at some point, it's starting to run and will run into -- headlong into his vote in favor of NAFTA, his vote for most favored nation status with China. And he's going to have to answer those questions.

And so far, he hasn't -- his initial swipes at those answers have not been adequate, I don't think.

CAVUTO: You know, David, I'm wondering too, I mean, he does -- he's very cautious -- that is, Joe Biden -- about embracing some of the trade deals he and Barack Obama were able to cobble together, because the fact of the matter is that the jobs that they promised would build in the United States didn't build nearly to the degree they said they would.

And there's stubborn kind of, how do I balance that to say, well, this president is doing a worse job, when, statistically, the gains that he was experiencing were better, certainly prior to the virus, than the Obama/Biden administration. How do you play that?

DAVID BURSTEIN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, look, I think it's a couple of things.

First of all, as you know better than many, Neil, that strong economies are not just about one thing. And now we're in the current reality, which I think, for a lot of voters, supersedes the trade deals that may have been signed back at the beginning of this year.

And, look, you did see in that interview Biden acknowledge some of the improvements over NAFTA. And the deal does include big parts of TPP, which, of course, Obama and Biden put together and championed, along with people in Congress. And there was some bipartisan support for USMCA.

So, I think -- I always think it's smart for someone like Biden now, as he did in the general, to not every day just be hammering on and saying Trump's the worst person ever, Trump is the worst president, because I think it hurts him with some of these swing voters who are trying to make up their mind.

And I think it actually one of his advantages as we head into the general, that he's able to make some of these kind of acknowledgments.

But it doesn't change the fact that the economic reality today, there was a pandemic. A pandemic did happen. The response was not handled well. And here we are, and people are hurting all over this country.

And I would -- the more important thing than a trade deal is the failure, current failure on both sides of Congress to actually get a new stimulus relief bill done for people who are hurting from the pandemic.

CAVUTO: Well, we could argue about whether that even comes to pass at this point, to your point.

BURSTEIN: Right.

CAVUTO: But, Lauren, is it a sign of the pivot, though, that maybe the virus isn't a front-and-center issue right now, as the number of cases recedes, the number of worrisome cases, hospitalizations, even deaths begins to recede, and that, if, I believe, there were, at the height here, 28 states that had worrisome spikes?

I believe now it's down to three that are in that category, six others that might be near that category, but way down. In other words, the trend is could be the president's political friend here, if this stabilizes, and that's why Joe Biden is now pivoting to this issue of manufacturing jobs and how secure you are in these battleground states, because he knows that.

What do you think?

LAUREN CLAFFEY, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yes, I think that's right.

I mean, obviously, the polling that we have seen has put coronavirus and the concerns of health and safety as the number one issue for voters. However, the economy and their jobs and the being able to provide for their families is often number two. Health care is number three. I mean, it's all right there.

So, especially when you're targeting Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, these battleground states that are very blue-collar, labor-heavy, you have to talk about these trade deals and these -- and stopping the outsourcing of jobs.

So many of these communities have been devastated by jobs going overseas to China, jobs going to Mexico. And so even though the USMCA did not go into effect until July of this year, so we haven't really seen the full effects of it yet, it's still a signature trade deal that Trump can tout that really stresses his populist sentiments.

And I think that's another key issue that we're going to see here, less about trade, but more about elitist vs. global -- elitist vs. populism, globalism vs. protectionism, some of these things that really make Americans feel that Biden is out of touch with where they are, and Trump is in line.

CAVUTO: All right, we will watch it very closely.

Guys, I want to thank you all.

I want to go to John Roberts at the White House.

And, John, I do want to get into these other developments today, but your thoughts on how the administration might welcome a discussion about jobs and the economy and all of that, because that plays to their wheelbarrow, their strengths, or so they argue.

JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, when you take a look at all of the issues between Joe Biden and President Trump, the one area where President Trump continues to lead is on jobs and the economy, which is why he's talking about this idea of a robust V-shaped recovery from coronavirus, why he continues to push states to get back into the game of being back in business, why he was praising J.P. Morgan for saying all of their employees are going to come back to work on September the 21st, because that's his goal.

He's not winning on some of the other issues, particularly on the coronavirus. So, if he can keep it on the economy, the president thinks he can win.

Something that may help him with Jewish voters, though, is -- was announced today, the president announcing that Israel and Bahrain are going to normalize relations. This comes a month after the president announced that Israel and the United Arab Emirates were going to do the same thing.

Here's what the president said about it in the Oval Office just a little while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Two peace agreements with Israel in the last 72 years. This is now the second piece of agreement that we have announced in the last month.

And I am very hopeful that there will be more to follow. I can tell you, there's tremendous enthusiasm on behalf of other countries to also join.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: One of those countries that people are talking about could potentially be Saudi Arabia.

You're looking there of a picture of prosecutor John Durham. And you're asking, why am I looking at that?

If we can drop the lower third there, I will tell you why. It's because -- there you go -- the woman over his right shoulder, Nora Dannehy, is a close aide of his who has been with him for a long, long time. This photograph was taken back in 2006.

She was recruited to join his investigation about 18 months ago, but this afternoon announced that she is resigning from his team and the Justice Department. According to The Hartford Courant, she is resigning to at least partially protest what she sees as political pressure by the attorney general, Bill Barr, for Durham to come out with a report before his work is done.

The suggestion was that Barr is pushing Durham to get a report out before the November election.

Nothing yet in response from the Department of Justice -- Neil.

CAVUTO: Wow. Got a lot in there, John.

Thank you very, very much, John Roberts, at the White House.

We have been telling you what's going on in Austin, Texas, about how they voted to cut the police budget there. A police benevolent group put out this billboard, among others, to say, well, you're entering this city at your own risk.

The mayor is apoplectic over this, issued a statement. We will get to the bottom of it right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: Well, they say don't mess with Texas.

That might apply to, don't mess with Austin police budgets in Texas, because, ever since some cuts were announced, law enforcement officials there and those sympathetic to them have been enraged.

Kevin Lawrence of the Texas Municipal Police Association, the executive director, with us right now, responsible for this billboard that got a lot of news national attention, even international attention, essentially saying, enter at your own risk, in light of these -- in these cuts.

Kevin, what prompted that?  KEVIN LAWRENCE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TEXAS MUNICIPAL POLICE ASSOCIATION: Well, the fact that the city council decided to cut the police department budget by fully one-third, by $150 million, is what led to it.

And, obviously, we wanted to show our support for the brave men and women of the Austin Police Department. And we wanted to create a dialogue about what's led to this, the false narrative that is causing these public policies to change.

CAVUTO: Kevin, how close was that vote? When I heard the one-third figure, I couldn't believe that.

Now, some of those who advocated the cuts are saying, this is just being rechanneled into other areas that would be more beneficial, so it's not an outright cut to the police. But you say it most certainly is.

LAWRENCE: It is absolutely a cut to the police. It is not simply reallocating. It's not going from one part of the department to another.

And, by the way, my understanding, it was a unanimous vote. So, I mean, the money is being shifted to things like abortion programs and homeless shelters. Even part of it has been allocated to a committee that hasn't been named yet for a mission that hasn't been established yet.

CAVUTO: So, the mayor -- we tried to reach out to him, Mayor Steve Adler -- did put out a statement saying that: "Austin is the safest big city in Texas and among the few safest in the country," says that: "We will continue to make an already safe city even safer and, importantly, safer for everyone. As we get close to November, expect more distractions that intend to divide, rather than unite."

What he is essentially saying is, you're distracting. What do you say?

LAWRENCE: Mayor Adler is being disingenuous, and he's using dated information.

A couple of years ago, Austin was, in fact, one of the safest cities in Texas. But because of policies that this council has invoked, has enacted, that has changed. I was talking to an Austin police officer yesterday who pointed out to me that the murder rate is up 63 percent in Austin this year.

CAVUTO: So, where does this go now? Are the cuts rock-solid? Are they going to happen? What's the response from the community?

LAWRENCE: Well, we're going to keep pushing.

We have had overwhelming support from the community. I mean, the feedback from the general public has been more than 10-1 supporting what we're trying to do and trying to get the council to reverse this position.

But we're going to keep pushing, because the fact of the matter is, we don't have a choice, that, as long as they keep going down this path, the city is going to be less safe, less livable.

CAVUTO: All right. We will see where this goes.

Kevin, thank you very much for taking the time to explain this and let us know what's going on, of course. Even with this statement from the mayor, he's always welcome to come on and explain in person, just as Kevin did.

In the meantime here, do want to let you know these fires are still largely out of control in California, by the way, not just California. We're seeing the same in Oregon and Washington state, millions of acres that are burning up like crazy, and millions more that could be vulnerable as well.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, the back-and-forth over the president's taxes yet again.

The president is urging a U.S. appeals court in New York right now to block enforcement of the Manhattan district attorney's -- this is the president calling it -- dragnet subpoena for his tax returns. He has been increasingly running out of options to prevent the district attorney's office from getting them, but right now appealing to a U.S. appeals court to end it once and for all, at least for the time being.

Can you once and for all, at least for the time being? Well, that's what he's trying to do., So we will keep you posted on that and where this whole tax situation goes.

We're also keeping you posted on those incredible fires out West that have quite literally changed the skies over California, to a degree in Oregon and Washington as well.

Jeff Paul right now with the latest from Monrovia, California -- Jeff.

JEFF PAUL, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Neil, the weather seems to be improving here in Southern California.

It's still very smoky. And, at times, it almost seems like there are snow flurries out here. But that's just all the ash that is floating over this area blanketing parts of Southern California that are close to these fires.

However, it is helping, all that sort of sun coverage from the smoke, lower temperatures, which is helping firefighters get a better grasp of containing the fires that are burning, especially here in Southern California.

However, you go further north to Oregon, it seems like the situation there is only getting worse. You got a lot of damage up there, hundreds of homes destroyed, entire towns nearly wiped out. And authorities are now bracing for the death toll to rise.

Police in Oregon are also looking into one of the fires as a possible arson case. Countless numbers right now of Oregonians have been forced from their homes. And many people are given very little time to leave, leaving behind pretty much everything they own and not knowing what they will return to.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Called my husband at work and said, we're getting out of here. My 4-year-old grandson was crying that he wanted to bring his toys with him.

I had to sit down and explain to him that the most important thing is that we get out alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: In California, more than three million acres have burned this fire season so far. That's an area greater than the size of Rhode Island, Delaware, and Washington, D.C., combined.

Officials say the death toll has also gone up in the Golden State, the northern part of the state especially hit hard, where 10 people so far have died and 16 people are missing. But we are learning that there is some help coming in from kind of all over the country, Utah, Colorado.

And, in Texas, there, Governor Greg Abbott approved sending nearly 200 firefighters and 50 trucks to help out firefighters here on the front lines -- Neil.

CAVUTO: Amazing,

Jeff Paul, thank you very, very much, following these fires that don't seem to end. It's like a Whac-A-Mole thing, under control in one area, and then they erupt in still another. So we will keep you posted on that.

Also, remembering the significance of this day. Sadly, I was covering this 19 years ago, looked at it, and look back at it every year since.

But no story, no incredibly gripping story has touched me more than that of the Fazio family. Maybe you're familiar with them. It's one of the most profound lessons in life I have ever taken away from covering this now almost two decades in.  I will explain after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: You know, over the years of covering not only the 9/11 attacks and the annual remembrances year in and year out under different presidents, the one story that grips me to this day is that Ron Fazio, an Aon services worker at the World Trade Center, who was safe, got out, everything was OK. He was OK.

But, no, no, no, no, he was worried about his people, 175 co-workers who worked in that tower, wanted to make sure they all got out. So he got them out. He did the best to get each and every one of them out. They're alive today because he did that, a good many of them.

He held the door for them, even though it slammed on him when he most needed it.

His son, Rob Fazio, has become a quick friend of mine. I have known him all the years, watch him grow and get married, have a child. I understand, I understand another one could be on the way.

But I'm deeply honored to have you back, Rob.

And I always think of your dad this time. And I'm so glad we're on remote, because, emotionally, I think I might be able to handle this better than last time.

But here's the thing about your dad. You didn't know 19 years ago where the heck he was, like so many they were missing. And you would put out signs and photographs, here he is, here he is, if you see this man.

And then, to coax your dad, there were the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups attached to that. What did that mean?

ROB FAZIO, SON OF SEPTEMBER 11 VICTIM: It was something where he had a heart condition. He wasn't allowed to eat sweets, but he did anyway.

So, we put on a flyer: If found, please feed Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. And he's become such a symbol of positivity that the 9/11 Museum actually asked if they could have the onesie that our daughter Reese we named after him to be in the museum.

They also asked, Neil, if we could have one of your onesies as well. So, I thought maybe you would check on that.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: We don't want to go there, buddy.

Over the years, I have gotten to know you and your wonderful family. And this was a weird year for you guys, right, go back there with the COVID-19 thing. You were thinking, maybe we shouldn't, that they were going to have all the namings of the victims like your dad on tape.

And you decided to go anyway. And you were kind enough to share this picture of you and your lovely wife and child at the event today. That had to be very, very special.

But let's take a look at this, guys. I think we have this from today.

Look at the races, the Reese's garb on everybody.

You did that. Why?

FAZIO: You know, it was something that I needed to do for myself.

And I get strength from being down there. And I just remember -- we have a lot of conversations. Right now, during this time, it's very tough for everyone. And, basically, we weren't sure what we were going to do.

My wife woke up 4:30 in the morning. She's the leader of our house. She said, we're going.

(LAUGHTER)

FAZIO: We got in the car, and we went. It wasn't easy in the beginning. It wasn't easy navigating New York.

But when people talk about 9/11, they talk about where they were. And what I like to talk about is how we were. And that brings me back to the connections and the conversations and the sense of community and support.

And I feel like America needs to get back there. And that's why I needed to go.

CAVUTO: And your wife's expecting. How soon is -- what's the big date?

FAZIO: It's -- the date is September 27. There was a scare when Secret Service wouldn't let us out.

CAVUTO: Oh, man.

FAZIO: And one of my friends said, I think she's contracting, and I did get a little bit nervous.

CAVUTO: I think that was your dad from above intervening, come on, get her out of here.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Rob, the one thing I'm always amazed -- and we have repeated this through the years -- that your dad was safe, could have gotten out, everything was fine, but he had this obligation to go back, make sure everyone else was fine.

Those kinds of stories always amaze me, because so many were rushing out of those towers. And here he was staying in there, making sure everyone was OK.

And I have always asked you -- and you have always been polite -- does it get you angry, in retrospect, he could have survived, he did survive, everything as OK, but that gallantry cost you a relationship with your dad and your children with their granddad?

He'd be 76 years young today. And you never had that, because of that bravery of his. In a way, it's got to have mixed emotions.

FAZIO: I didn't lose my relationship with him. It strengthened my relationship with him.

And think about this, Neil. If people around the world know your father's legacy and the spirit and the way he lived his life, my daughter and my next daughter are going to know what a tremendous man that he was and what he did in such tough moments.

And I think that's one of the things that we have to do, is realizing acts of kindness are important, but so are acts of understanding, understanding other people, and really just realizing we have a choice in how to respond to crisis or trauma or to not having your grandfather around as a little child.

And we intend to raise them to be strong, just like we all are.

CAVUTO: Well, you're a chip right off that old block, and none the bitterness or wackiness or the vengefulness that I might have in the same situation, but that's not you at all.

How is the family holding up on these anniversaries, when it all comes back?

FAZIO: We're hanging in well.

There's always a wave of different emotions. And, for me, it's -- it sounds weird, but it's one of my favorite days of the year, because I am able to think about Hold the Door and what we're going to be doing in our next programs.

And during this crisis, we are able to reach out to so many people, and that really makes my dad's legacy present.

CAVUTO: It's living alive and well in you, Rob.

The Hold the Door Foundation, Hold the Door For Others, is something that has grown exponentially to look at the good that can come out of a tragedy.

Rob, I wish you well and your beautiful family. Thanks for reminding us of the things that are important and bigger than life and death itself.

Good night.

Content and Programming Copyright 2020 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2020 ASC Services II Media, LLC. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of ASC Services II Media, LLC. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.