Rob O'Neill reflects on emotions of 9/11
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This is a rush transcript from "The Five," September 11, 2015. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
ERIC BOLLING, CO-HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Eric Bolling along with Kimberly Guilfoyle, Geraldo Rivera, Dana Perino and Greg Gutfeld. It's 5 o'clock in New York City and this is The Five.
It's the 14th anniversary of 9/11, the day that would change America and the world forever. Ahead on The Five, the Navy SEAL who fired the shot that killed bin Laden will join us to remember that. Rob O'Neill will be with us in a little bit. But first, as we face new threats, America is in the process of selecting a new leader and there are new developments on both sides of the 2016 race. Today, Vice President Joe Biden has yet to announce whether he's going to run, but he explained his struggles with the decision last night on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. It was his first TV interview since the death of his son Beau.
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STEPHEN COLBERT, THE LATE SHOW HOST: I want to talk about the elephant in the room, which in this case is a donkey.
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COLBERT: Do you have anything you would like to tell us right now about your plans?
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Yes.
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BIDEN: I think you should run for president again and I'll be your vice president.
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COLBERT: You said, you said recently, you said this weekend that you don't know if you are emotionally prepared to run for president.
BIDEN: I don't think any man or woman should run for president unless, number one, they know exactly why they would want to be president and, two, they can look at folks out there and say, "I promise you, you have my whole heart, my whole soul, my energy and my passion to do this." And I'll be lying if I said that I knew I was there.
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BOLLING: The vice president then told a moving story about a recent trip he took to Denver, where he met with a group of military families and what happened when someone brought up his son's name.
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BIDEN: I was talking about them being the backbone and citizen (ph) of this country and all of us said was going great. And a guy in the back yells, Major Beau Biden, bronze star, sir, served with him in Iraq. And all of a sudden, I lost it.
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BOLLING: Dana, I don't know if he's running or not, but boy, we saw a candidate on the left finally, with a little heart.
DANA PERINO, CO-HOST: Right likes and they didn't have to telegraph that he was going to all of a sudden be spontaneous and authentic. That is just Joe Biden and he is -- he's natural and he's comfortable talking with people. I think that -- unfortunately for him, timing isn't of your -- it's not in your control. So he can make a decision still to run for president. But the filing deadlines are getting very close. If you look at Larry Sabato's website this week, they have a nice chart that shows at the -- I think at the end of September is when you have to file for Iowa. And then in South Carolina, you have to file and it's a $40,000 fee in order to file. I mean, there are just logistics that have to happen. But what I saw in him yesterday was, he's obviously really thinking it through and I think he's going to do it.
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BOLLING: I feel he's going to do it, too. Greg, I feel also he wants more people to beg him to do, which was not bad thing in politics.
GREG GUTFELD, CO-HOST: You know, I was watching this and there was two things struck me when Joe Biden talked about his relationship with President Obama as if they were besties. That they are the closest VP/P ever when the message was no harm would come to Obama's legacy, if you let me continue to water your plants in the White House. That's what he said. And then you know this for a fact. Colbert just delivered a massive smackdown to Hillary. Basically, this was a coronation of Joe Biden. Both Colbert and Joe Biden share the same tragedies. Joe had lost his wife and child in a car accident and Colbert lost two brothers and a father on nine --on September 11th in 1974. So there was a very strong emotional bond there. You can tell that Colbert was basically saying that, "Here's a wonderful person. Not like her. This is a great person." And essentially, in my mind, I felt that he endorsed her, right?
PERINO: Him.
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GUTFELD: Him.
PERINO: He endorsed him.
BOLLING: He endorsed.
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GUTFELD: Him. True. Sorry.
PERINO: Well, wait until next week when she, you know, when she's on. Then I think that will.
GUTFELD: Well, that was -- he's -- didn't she turn him down?
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PERINO: She did.
BOLLING: She says.
GERALDO RIVERA, CO-HOST: How did Colbert's relatives die?
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GUTFELD: Plane crash, plane crash.
BOLLING: Plane crash. K.G., Joe Biden helped his cause. You and I have been talking about this for a long time.
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KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE, CO-HOST: Weeks perhaps, yeah.
BOLLING: It's time for them to get in.
GUILFOYLE: Look, I mean, I'd like to see him get in the race. If I had to choose, I much prefer Joe Biden over Hillary Clinton, any day, any time, but I still think he's harder to beat.
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GUILFOYLE: Well, OK. Then somebody better step up on the other side.
PERINO: This is true.
GUILFOYLE: I want to get after it as good as I got. And hey, whoever wants to, run against. Let's go for this and do what's best for the country. I think that he's a, you know a genuine person. He's very likable. He got tremendous feedback, great crowd response or Labor Day weekend. And yeah, maybe he does want more people to say it so he doesn't feel bad. He's a good guy, right? He's a party guy, so doesn't want meaning, Democratic Party. He doesn't want them mad at him, if he pushes the first female potential president out.
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BOLLING: Aside from filing deadlines, what's the right timing as a politician?
RIVERA: I think the timing has passed for Joe Biden. I mean, me, personally is a good and decent man, but as Dana suggests, there's a mechanical process involved. He hasn't raised $1 and that didn't sound to me like he had fire in the belly. When you contrast Joe Biden's renaissance with the exuberance of some of the republican candidates, particularly Trump, I mean it looks like he is, "You know, come on, you made it, I'll advance with you, maybe I won't." I mean, I love the guy. Don't get me wrong, but he is not had that kind of the zinging political success when he runs under his own moniker. He's tried for the president .
GUILFOYLE: But would you call Hillary fired up?
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PERINO: Yes.
GUILFOYLE: She puts me to sleep.
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RIVERA: I think that Hillary's problem is different than (inaudible).
GUILFOYLE: She's like (inaudible).
PERINO: But her --
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RIVERA: Her problem is.
PERINO: But his initial problem is her.
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PERINO: Not the republicans.
RIVERA: I think Hillary's problem is that she does not wear well and the more you see her, the less you like her.
BOLLING: All right, they want us to move on, please.
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I would tend to agree with that. But anyway, a lot of democrats have been hoping Biden will run with Hillary Clinton's scandal, sinking her in the poll numbers. Chuck Todd and Charles Krauthammer talked about a party in panic mode.
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CHUCK TODD, MEET THE PRESS HOST: A month ago, when she was having bad poll numbers, when it was starting to go down, one of the things they hung their hat on is, well, as bad as her numbers may look, she's still in better shape when matched up against any republican. Well, that's not happening anymore, right? But suddenly, if her electability is in question, well, that's when the hand wringing truly begins and that's when donors start panicking.
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CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: The Democratic Party is so denuded of town has been so demolished. I think by six years of Obama is on that, who are the alternatives? The panic is that there's nobody else around. When you're fishing for Al Gore, the proposed substitutes are all part of remarkable gerontocracy.
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BOLLING: All right. Can I add one more issue there?
RIVERA: Sure.
BOLLING: Democrat fund donors are worried about giving money to Hillary Clinton, a losing cause.
RIVERA: So who will they give it to, Walter O'Malley?
BOLLING: Whether that's stats, exactly the point.
RIVERA: Failed governor of Maryland? I mean, he needed Doc -- Krauthammer is absolutely right. Where is the democratic bench? For goodness sake, I mean, it should be one vivacious candidate, one successful senator, someone who steps up to the plate. Bernie Sanders is 74 years old. I mean that's -- he's older than me. I mean, when you're older than me, you should be thinking about doing something else than running for the free world.
BOLLING: Is Elizabeth Warren absolutely off the table?
PERINO: I.
BOLLING: She says she's great.
PERINO: I think that.
RIVERA: I like her. She's got a little of that.
PERINO: I don't think she's got. She's not even in a position to begin to run for president at this point because she's decided not to.
GUILFOYLE: Thank (inaudible).
PERINO: However, don't forget that many key meeting on -- in August on a Saturday. Remember when Joe Biden.
BOLLING: Joe Biden.
PERINO: Left Delaware and he was headed back for a little powwow (inaudible) with his team at the vice president's residence.
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PERINO: And who they stop by and see Elizabeth Warren.
GUILFOYLE: Elizabeth Warren.
PERINO: On the Hill. So I think that was -- I thought that was a little bit of a shot (inaudible).
GUILFOYLE: And then the Clinton people try to say, no, no, no. It was just a typical meeting that everyone has with Elizabeth.
PERINO: On Saturday in August?
GUILFOYLE: Think Elizabeth Warren saying, "Hey, don't give out, you know turn over politics to Wall Street.
RIVERA: May I.
GUTFELD: Here's.
RIVERA: At one second.
GUTFELD: Can I -- you know how panicky Hillary run Clinton's campaign is. You judge by the shape of David Brock's hair.
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GUTFELD: That the head of media matter. The worst her campaign gets.
RIVERA: Looks like eraser head.
GUTFELD: And it is -- it is like eraser head. You're absolutely right. I mean, by the way, this panic mode implies.
GUILFOYLE: Looks are there.
GUTFELD: There are other modes. There are no other modes anymore for this campaign, if you don't get out of panic mode.
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RIVERA: I don't want to throw water on the fire here, but if you look at real clear politics, Hillary Clinton is 30 points ahead of Bernie Sanders. More than that, ahead of Joe Biden, not that he's declared.
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RIVERA: But she is going to be the democratic candidate.
BOLLING: And that's with some important, though, Geraldo is that -- Greg is right. You know, when you go to real clear politics, it's the average. If you do the last five or last four polls, national polls, nowhere near those numbers. She's getting smoked.
GUILFOYLE: Yeah, and in head to heads. It's like Iowa, New Hampshire.
RIVERA: Do you want to bet on Hillary? I bet Hillary is the nominee. I think that the more.
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BOLLING: All right. In the republican race, the stage is now set for next week's debates. This time Carly Fiorina will join the same 10, who took part in the Fox News prime time debate. The five candidates who didn't make the prime time cut this time, Perry, Santorum, Jindal, Pataki and Graham, they'll appear at the earlier debate. Jim Gilmore didn't meet the criteria for either forum can eliminate around. Greg, a couple of candidates taking shots at Donald Trump trying to make a case from themselves on the upcoming debate, Governor Jindal, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina.
GUTFELD: Yeah. I was hoped by the following week, half of these people are gone because the weak are finding strength in numbers. And because of that, they skate on the surface of issues. I want to more about how they gonna defend America against existential threats. By not just having 45 seconds to say bomb something. I want to know how they're gonna deal with technology, married to terror. I want to know if they have any ideas about where the world is going. You can't get that with 17 people. It's got to get down to 10 and sooner than later because it ain't helping.
BOLLING: K.G.?
GUILFOYLE: Yeah. I mean, at a certain point there's a lot of like a clutter and you want to get to the specifics of the issues.
GUTFELD: Things sway.
GUILFOYLE: Yes. And set up the room. Which way should the bed face? Come on people, pull it together, right?
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GUILFOYLE: Yeah, it can change the game.
GUTFELD: Clutter is everything.
GUILFOYLE: That is everything like clutter here.
RIVERA: I'm just worried if it goes on any longer, Bobby Jindal will mode Donald Trump.
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RIVERA: They actually physically attack Donald Trump to get some press.
GUILFOYLE: This is.
BOLLING: Well, he is really going out. In fact, I think at one point.
RIVERA: Silly.
BOLLING: He said Donald Trump was like he has a squirrel nesting on his head.
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GUTFELD: And it's not true. Trump is actually sleeping under a squirrel.
PERINO: That's interesting.
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PERINO: This is what I think. After next week's debate, so a week after that, so the third week of September, when those polls come out, can we all just agree, that if you're not in the top 10 at that point.
GUTFELD: Yeah.
PERINO: You're not going to be president of the United States. It's just not possible. So I think at that point, you might start to see it when we're down.
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RIVERA: Do you think Carly Fiorina made the cut because she's a woman? I mean, she came in 11th.
PERINO: No. Actually Geraldo, give up (ph) is another (ph).
RIVERA: Here's a difference between 11th and 10th.
PERINO: No, if you look at her debate performance and her poll numbers after that, then she won her right to be there on the merits.
GUILFOYLE: She's legit.
RIVERA: Well, I've been some other.
PERINO: What a thing to say.
RIVERA: Who is there that should not be?
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GUTFELD: Is it Rand Paul?
GUILFOYLE: No, Geraldo.
PERINO: You're talking affirmative action all due date?
RIVERA: I think it should Rand Paul.
BOLLING: And who is it, so as the 10th? Is Chris Christie I think, he is the 10th and then Carly is the 11th.
GUILFOYLE: Right.
RIVERA: But there's a big difference in three, she is in the (inaudible).
GUILFOYLE: Yeah, but Geraldo, you are lucky. We're talking about numbers for Carly Fiorina.
RIVERA: Right.
GUILFOYLE: That was from July. But now when you balance in everything post-debate, the numbers, she's legitimately.
PERINO: Target.
GUILFOYLE: In the top 10 and the debate.
RIVERA: Then, do you agree that.
GUILFOYLE: Should reflect the accuracy of the current standings.
RIVERA: Do you agree that someone should be jettison to keep it at 10th. To make it manageable as Trump asks.
GUILFOYLE: Listen, the truth of on the top 10 then beat it.
PERINO: And Trump -- I don't think that's Trump's decision. That's CNN's decision.
GUILFOYLE: Anyone saw the profits.
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RIVERA: I like that one.
GUILFOYLE: I like this party, wants to give it to the military, to the veterans.
GUTFELD: But will he match it?
GUILFOYLE: Now, there you go.
PERINO: That's so special.
GUILFOYLE: Ask him.
GUTFELD: Yeah.
BOLLING: All right. We'll gonna leave it right there. Next, we mark the 14 years since 9/11 with a Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden. We'll be right back.
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PERINO: Today, our nation is marking the 14th anniversary of 9/11 with tributes across the country and prayers for the thousands of victims and their families. None of us will ever forget that day and another day that came nearly a decade later. Geraldo is on the air on May 1st, 2011, when this news broke.
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RIVERA: I seen here Capitol Hill Producer Chad Pergram confirmed Osama bin Laden is dead. Can it be, ladies and gentlemen? Could it be? Hold it. Bin Laden is dead. Multiple sources, Osama bin Laden is dead.
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PERINO: And thousands of miles away, the man who risked his life along with others, to make that news was watching. That's Rob O'Neill. He fired the shot that killed Bin Laden. He is now a Fox News contributor and joins us on this 9/11. It's so good to have you here and first of all, if I could express gratitude and thank you and.
ROB O'NEILL, SEAL WHO KILLED BIN LADEN: Thanks for having me back.
GUILFOYLE: Yes. Thanks for having you.
PERINO: Today, you went down.
O'NEILL: Yes.
PERINO: To the World Trade Center site and memorial. And maybe just ask for your reflections on the day.
O'NEILL: Yeah, I've been down there. That was probably the fifth time. And I recommend to everybody to go see it. It's a story -- it never gets easier. It's not a happy place to be. It's chronological. It brings you back to exactly where you were from the time you found out planes were hijacked or north tower was hit to this, you know south tower, the Pentagon and flight 93, and then, you know the rebuilding process. It's common to run into first responders that were there, family members who lost loved ones and it's just a very emotional place. It's really powerful. I love going down there. It won't be the last time I go.
PERINO: Right. Let's take it around the table. Kimberly?
GUILFOYLE: Yes. You know just its powerful. Really just comes back, it's like 14 years like it happened, you know yesterday. I was on a plane actually, at the time when this happened and we had to ground the plane in London at Heathrow. It was an American airlines flight at the time they weren't sure if our flight was one that was compromised. It was just a very frightening time and then finding out what had happened and being stranded and not being able to get back into the country for over a week because of what had happened. You know, you just think about the people who have lost loved ones and you know the pain and the suffering, the heartache, you know will just never go away. And days like today, you hope and you pray that yes, this nation never forgets.
PERINO: Geraldo, have you ever talked about that moment?
RIVERA: We did briefly. We did on the Fox & Friends when Rob first appeared. But I tell you brother, I feel linked to you and your colleagues. The history, I just -- what you did is something all Americans, every freedom loving person in the world owes you a tremendous debt of gratitude. Did you know at the time or did you feel a sense that you were avenging the 3,000.
O'NEILL: We knew that we were going because of the people that died on 9/11. We knew that they went to work on a Tuesday morning. The skies were through supporting their families. They weren't supposed to be casualties in a war on terror. What they didn't know we were fighting. So when we talked about the chance of us not coming back on a mission to kill Osama bin Laden. We knew -- we knew it probably wouldn't accept that because we are doing it for the people -- the jumpers, we are not allowed to talk about jumpers now because apparently, it's too realistic. It happened. A lot of them jump because it's better than burning alive. We talked about them, that's why we're going and that's why we're gonna do. So we accepted death because we're gonna die anyway. We're gonna die avenging these people.
BOLLING: I was there, I watched the jumpers. And I also want to thank you for what you did. So Rob, will you talked extensively about your training, the light -- lead-up to the shot the night. You talked about the Intel that went into getting the bin Laden shot. Are we right now more prepared, less prepared, or equally as prepared as when did you it for the next bin Laden, whoever he or she may be?
O'NEILL: Well, it seems like a lot of places in this country have forgotten what happens. They forget to admit there are people out there that believe in ideologies that want to kill us because we don't believe what they believe. They are out there right now and I've seen the same kind of patterns. We are aware that can be a catastrophic hit here, but they are kind of pushing it aside. What's happening right now in Syria and Iraq, you are staging for a spot where they can plan for it and even stuff with the immigrants, the migrants who never -- the refugees. We're not allowed to say that there could be terrorists in there, but there could be.
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BOLLING: How are we? Militarily, are we prepared? Do we have the Intel infrastructure?
O'NEILL: Yes. We always have. We've always been a strong and some people are a little bit tired because they have been deploying quite a bit. When asked to go to action, this military is ready. It's just a question that as the will of the people ready? Are we willing to admit there's still a threat out there? Are we gonna handle it differently?
BOLLING: Right.
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PERINO: Right. Can I get Greg in here?
RIVERA: I'm sorry, sure.
GUTFELD: No, I want to talk about the threat and we keep saying over and over again every year never forget. But there's one thing we always forget. We were surprised. This was not part of our calculation, 9/11 was the failure of our own imagination. We never thought that this could happen that a box cutter could turn a plane into a missile. And what hurts my head, when I think about this is that 9/11 was almost necessary to prevent another greater 9/11, to force us to think about these things and think more imaginatively because the next threat is gonna be nothing like this. And my question to you is that when you're in a discussion and you mentioned that you killed bin Laden, how many people don't believe you and do you ever have to pull up to Google yourself?
O'NEILL: Well it's not so much the "I killed bin Laden" thing because I'll be the first to admit that I didn't do anything on the entire mission up until the end. Based on position, I was following really cool guys watching them do really cool stuff.
PERINO: Can you hold that thought for a moment.
O'NEILL: Absolutely.
PERINO: We have Breaking News from your home state. This is something we can report now. This is something we can report now, GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry is about to drop out of the 2016 race. He's speaking in St. Louis. Let's listen in.
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RICK PERRY, GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How in the world are they going to deal with the president of Russia? Are they gonna deal with the leaders of China? Are they gonna deal with the fanatics in Iran?
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PERRY: And my second warning is this. We cannot indulge nativist appeals that divide the nation further. The answer to our current divider- in- chief is not to elect a republican divider-in-chief. Conservatism is inherently optimistic. It celebrates the power of the individual. It believes in free markets and we don't believe in state controlled answers. It knows free individuals can govern their own lives better than centralized government. Progressives think they need to protect the people from themselves. Conservatives think we need to protect the people from government.
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PERRY: We got too much government, too many government answers, too much government meddling all at the expense of individual freedom. We need to get back to the central constitutional principle that in America, it is the content of your character that matters, not the color of your skin. That it doesn't matter where you come from, but where you're going. And in America, blind to color, an America that champions the individual, that recognizes merit. There is no room for debate that denigrates certain people based on their heritage or their origin. We can secure the border of this country and reform our immigration system without inflammatory rhetoric. Without that base appeal that will try to divide us by race, by culture or creed. And let me be crystal clear here. For those of us in Christ, our citizenship first and foremost is in God's kingdom.
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PERRY: Our brothers and sisters.
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PERRY: Our brothers and sisters are those who are made in the image of God. And our obligation, after loving God with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our soul is to love our neighbors as ourselves, regardless of where they come from. Demeaning people of Hispanic heritage is not just ignorant, it -- betrays the example of Christ. We can enforce our laws and borders and we can love all who live within our borders without betraying our values. It is time for us to elevate this debate from decisive name calling, from sound bites without solutions, and start discussing how we will make the country better for all, if a conservative is elected president. And let me say something. I know a little bit of something about enacting conservative principles because we've done it in my home state. During my 14 years as governor of Texas, created nearly one-third of all the jobs created in America. We passed balance budgets. We cut taxes. We set aside billions of dollars for a rainy day. We elevated our high school graduation rates to the second highest in America. I want you to keep in mind in 2003 Texas was 27th in the nation high school graduation rates. This is a state that's pretty diverse. This is a state that in the year 2000, the population in our public schools became a majority/minority. It's a diverse state, (inaudible). Ethnically, culturally, geographically, economically, we have a high number of young people who have English is the second language. It's not the easiest bunch of kids in America to educate. And we were 27th in the nation in 2003. Some people would say, you know, that's pretty good. I'm actually being in the middle of that with 4 plus million people in that state and that diverse population, but we didn't think so. I didn't think so. And we started putting policies into place. We put policies into place that really made a difference. We started -- we had the largest teacher incentive pay program in America. We had a huge expansion of charter schools. We started testing kids in the fourth and eighth grade and testing where it matters, but we could intervene and get them back on track. And in a 10-year period of time, we went from 27th in the nation to second highest high school graduation rates in America.
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PERRY: That's conservative governance. That's giving people the opportunity to succeed in life and not have to depend on government. We didn't -- interesting. We based all of that, all of that success that happened in that state on conservative principles. We let people keep more of what they work for. We didn't overtax them or overregulate them. We have the most sweeping tort reform in the nation. It did mattered.
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PERRY: You want -- if you were a pregnant female from El Paso to Brownsville that is 1,200 miles. In 2003, you had to leave that county to get prenatal care. But because of the tort reform it was put in that in place. Because of those conservative policies that were put in place. Individuals across that region of the state now have access to health care. This has been about access to health care. This is about the Christus Spohn Hospital system in Corpus Christi serving South Texas, and apparently, high minority population that saves $100 million a year in defense costs. That's $100 million that can go back to doctors and nurses and technicians and technology and buildings, making people's lives better. That's what conservatism is really all about. We got to get back to it. We can do this. It can be done. It can happen all across America. I'm going to tell you, 2016 is the most important election of our lifetime. I know you hear that every time there's an election. This just happens to be the truth this time. It's true because we have had 6 1/2 years, 6 1/2 years of expanding the welfare state and a contracting of the freedom state. There are two visions for America. The government runs well fair state. Like you might find in the state of Washington or California or New York; and you've got the limited-government freedom states like you find in places like Texas or Louisiana or South Carolina or Florida.
The centralized state offers more regulations and less freedom. A world where everything costs more. from college tuition to the cost of housing. to the price of government. Their answer to our current economic mess is more government solutions. More tax dollars placed in the hands of bureaucrats. More distribution schemes and a shrinking pie for the middle class.
I think it was Margaret Thatcher that said the problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of spending everybody else's money.
But it doesn't have to be that way. With the right nominee, we can cut taxes on corporations and individuals. We can unleash growth and create jobs and lift wages. We can create opportunity by drilling for American energy and selling it all around the world.
We can restore our reputation abroad by reasserting our moral authority; by standing with our allies, like Israel; by standing up to our adversaries, like Iran.
We can be the America that we know in our hearts we are meant to be: a nation of ideas and innovations; a place where freedom flourishes; that special land that those heroes at Normandy died for.
Conservative principles, applied consistently, will make the better place for all of us. But especially those minority Americans. More African-Americans are living in poverty today than they were when President Obama took office. That's because he offers them government programs instead of creating new incentives for people to work.
We can improve the lives of America's minorities. The formula is simple. Stop these politically-correct regulations that keep housing from a single mom. Let the low- and middle-income Americans keep more of what they make. Challenge all of our kids to excel in school. We did that in Texas. And you know what the result was: an extraordinarily powerful economic place.
From 2007 through the end of 2014, 1.5 million jobs were created in that one state while the rest of the country collectively lost 400,000 jobs. Those are conservative policies. It is a place where life was protected and people flocked there. They came in droves. We added some 6 million people to our populations during that decade.
And in case you're asking, or you're thinking, it wasn't because the weather is so great in August that they came. They came there because they -- there is still a place where freedom matters, where freedom reigns.
For me, the message has always been greater than the man. The conservative movement has always been about principles, not about personalities. Our nominee should embody those principles. He or she must make the case for the cause of conservatism more than the cause of their own celebrity.
I still believe in the power of that message. A message that offers hope, redemption, and solace in the midst of storms.
When I gave my life to Christ, I said, "Your ways are greater than my ways. Your will is superior to mine." Today I submit to you his will remains a mystery. But some things have become -- have become very clear to me. That is why today I am suspending my campaign for the presidency of the United States.
We have a tremendous field of candidates. Probably the greatest group of men and women. I step aside knowing our party's in good hands, as long as we listen to the grassroots. Listen to that cause of conservatism. If we do that, then our party will be in good hands. And I want to share with you, I've...
PERINO: All right. That was Governor Rick Perry -- former Governor Rick Perry of Texas, who has been in the presidential season in 2012 and then again this time around, but he's going to hang up his spurs. And he is not going to continue in this presidential race. I think that's probably a good decision for him, and we certainly wish him well and admire him for throwing his hat in the ring and trying to make a go of it this time -- Eric.
BOLLING: Great guy. Fantastic governor. Did a lot for the state of Texas. Obviously told us a lot about it. Just -- I think it's a smart move. He spent a lot of money. He was running out of money. It was time to step aside.
Congratulations on whatever the next step is for you, Governor. You're a good man.
PERINO: Geraldo.
RIVERA: Heartbreak for him. Remember last time around for a month there, he was the most likely candidate to win the presidency of the United States. So heartbreak for him.
But I heard him call Donald Trump the anti-Christ. That's what I heard there. By invoking Jesus and putting Jesus in play in terms of the way you handle migrants, immigrants. I think that he was very, very strong in his critique of Donald Trump. And by constantly referring to the need for a conservative candidate, it sounded to me every sentence was "not Trump, not Trump, not Trump."
PERINO: I do think this is also Rick Perry's moment. So we'll leave Donald Trump to comment on it later.
Greg, do you have any thoughts?
GUTFELD: I was just on Twitter, trying to see if Trump had tweeted yet about this. But he's not on there.
Can I go back to the question that I asked...
PERINO: Rob O'Neill?
GUTFELD: Yes. I asked you, when you face somebody and they don't believe that you actually killed bin Laden, what do you do? You're in the midst of telling a really great story.
O'NEILL: Well, no, it's not -- it doesn't really matter to me if people don't believe me that I did it. I know the team did it. And not just the team that went there but the team of the men and women from the intelligence committee and the people that made the decisions.
It's a little -- it's a little irritating when people say, "Well, we didn't see the pictures, so it didn't happen. And we obviously didn't land on the moon either." Stuff like that.
I mean, one of the reasons that I came out and said that bin Laden was dead, "I know it because I killed him," was to help the families with the healing process. That's doing it right now. So to be honest, if they believe me, then they get comfort or healing, I'm fine with that.
PERINO: Can I ask you about that, though?
O'NEILL: Sure.
PERINO: You've been down the -- I'm sure you've met a lot of victims' families.
O'NEILL: Yes.
PERINO: Is there any particular story or individual -- you don't have to name their name -- but could you describe what it's like when you meet them and talk with them?
O'NEILL: It's incredible, because you can see the emotion is still there right with them. Just the way they look, and you can see the tears in their eyes. They tell a story about their loved one. Today it was a husband. It's been a daughter. It's been a brother-in-law.
And you can see it even when they told me the story before. I have friends of mine that lost loved ones and they tell it again. The pain is still there. But the healing is also there, because they know that we found the guy responsible for it, and we did everything this nation could. And we went and got him.
PERINO: Quick last question.
GUILFOYLE: You know, Rob, it just must be such a wonderful feeling when you go down there to the memorial, and you see the people and you see the look in their eyes. How does it make you feel?
O'NEILL: It makes me feel incredible. Because right down there, there's pretty much no partisan politics.
GUILFOYLE: Yes.
O'NEILL: The cops are well-respected. The firemen are there. There's Port Authority is there. EMS is there.
Everyone is in -- everyone is silent. There's not a lot of laughter until people come out, and they're just trying to comfort themselves that we're -- you know, we got -- we got through it. It's still hard. It's such an incredible place. I couldn't recommend a place in the country to visit, other than -- more than that.
PERINO: Rob, thank you so much...
GUILFOYLE: Thanks again.
PERINO: ... for being a part "The Five" today and hanging with us there for that breaking news.
O'NEILL: Very -- my pleasure. Thanks so much.
PERINO: All right. Thanks for joining us. More to come on "The Five." That's in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC: "THEME MUSIC FROM 'GOLDEN GIRLS'")
GUILFOYLE: So cheesy.
GUTFELD: Thank you.
RIVERA: Was that from "The Monkees"?
GUTFELD: Aaa! "Golden Girls."
All right. It's "Facebook Friday." We don't have a lot of time. The show's been running long. So we're going to start here.
Sylvia R. -- this is when we get questions from our viewers -- to "The Five": "Are you all superstitious? If so, what are you most superstitious about?" Dana -- we'll go around.
PERINO: I'm not at all superstitious.
GUTFELD: Not at all?
PERINO: I'll knock on wood, but I don't really believe it.
GUTFELD: You'll knock on wood.
PERINO: You know, knock wood.
GUTFELD: I thought that was a euphemism. Eric.
BOLLING: Baseball background.
GUTFELD: Yes.
BOLLING: Extremely superstitious. Never step on a line in baseball, the foul lines.
Walking into the building, there's "1211" printed on all of those carpet runners. I have to walk through the ones. Can't touch them; have to walk through the middle. And every time I push a button on the elevator, I have to knock it twice.
GUTFELD: That's...
BOLLING: Weird.
GUILFOYLE: He's got a lot of them.
GUTFELD: ... OCD.
PERINO: Or what will happen?
GUILFOYLE: Bad things.
BOLLING: We don't want to find out.
GUTFELD: Do you knock on wood?
RIVERA: I knock on wood whenever I get a 7:11, you know, randomly. With -- I wake up at 11 minutes after seven or 11:07. I was married once on 7/11. My daughter's born on...
BOLLING: How did that work out?
PERINO: You never had a Slurpee? Do you like Slurpees?
RIVERA: Do I like them? Not really. No. I don't. Hate...
GUTFELD: How could you hate Slurpees? You are not an American.
GUILFOYLE: I had the most delicious Slurpee. It was a Coca-Cola one.
GUTFELD: Stick to the question at hand, crazy person.
GUILFOYLE: It was so good. Listen, I don't have superstitions. I just bet on myself.
GUTFELD: Wow. My only superstition, I will not eat a black cat.
BOLLING: When it crosses from left to right in front of you.
GUTFELD: Yes. If it's under a ladder, especially.
All right. Let's start with Kimberly. "What word would be used to best describe you?" This is from Phyllis R.
GUILFOYLE: Oh, boy.
PERINO: You would have to go first.
GUILFOYLE: I have nothing appropriate to say.
BOLLING: You are a wordsmith.
GUILFOYLE: I know.
BOLLING: You are queen of words.
GUILFOYLE: No, no. Tenacious.
BOLLING: I like "tenacious." That's good.
GUILFOYLE: And... (WHISPERS IN GERALDO'S EAR)
RIVERA: Woo.
GUTFELD: Geraldo, tell us what she said.
RIVERA: I cannot. I'm a lawyer.
Passionate for me. I was going to say flamboyant. But I want to stick with passionate.
GUILFOYLE: Can we pick?
BOLLING: I would say determined. My mom's last words in my ear were, "Never quit." And I take it to heart.
PERINO: Short.
BOLLING: Awww.
GUTFELD: That answer was short.
PERINO: Yes, well, we have ten seconds left.
GUTFELD: Yes. What's the obvious one? Cranky. Crankiest person alive.
GUILFOYLE: We're not going to correct you.
GUTFELD: All right. That's it for now.
RIVERA: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) you're not married to him.
GUILFOYLE: Yes.
GUTFELD: I say let's do four more minutes. OK. Up next, after last night's NFL season kickoff, the Patriots, which is a football team, found themselves at the center of yet another controversy. That when "The Five" returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RIVERA: Welcome back to "The Five."
Having barely dodged that four-game Deflategate suspension, thanks to a federal judge who must have been a fan, superstar quarterback Tom Brady led the Super-Bowl-champion New England Patriots to an opening-day victory over the scrappy Steelers of Pittsburgh, the Pats winning 28-21 on a rainy night before an adoring crowd at Gillette Stadium.
But the victory was tainted, believe it or not, by allegations someone tampered with the headset signals that allow the quarterback to communicate with the coach. Here's Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin on ESPN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was an ESPN report that your radio went out, your communications.
MIKE TOMLIN, COACH, PITTSBURGH STEELERS: That's always the case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here?
TOMLIN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you're saying that every time you play here, you have radio problems?
TOMLIN: I said what I said.
We were listening to the Patriots radio broadcast for the majority of the first half on our headsets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coach to coach or the coach to quarterback?
TOMLIN: Coach-to-coach.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIVERA: After deflating the balls, do you think they'd have the balls to do it again? What?
GUTFELD: I don't know. You know what they did? Instead of hearing their actual coaches or fellow players, they heard Nickelback, which is why they lost.
RIVERA: Do you think they really would do that?
BOLLING: So here's the real deal. Give me a break. You guys -- Tomlin, you guys blew the game. You had a shot at this game. You left Gronkowski wide open. You had 10 men on the field. The -- you missed field goals.
RIVERA: Two field goals, yes.
BOLLING: This is a ridiculous -- don't blame the headsets.
By the way, if you're hearing coach to coach, that's an advantage. That's an advantage you could use, not a disadvantage. Stop it.
RIVERA: Kimberly.
GUILFOYLE: I'm taking you don't buy this?
RIVERA: Spygate, Deflategate?
GUILFOYLE: I don't know. I mean, you know, they just seem to have incredibly bad, guilty-looking, seeming...
RIVERA: Shifty looking coaches.
GUILFOYLE: Yes. Shifty kind of stuff.
Listen, the last thing that he wants is a kind of another controversy or a scandal. People are saying that they're cheaters.
RIVERA: Do you -- can you watch football now without thinking of the subtext, Dana?
PERINO: Yes. Actually I can -- yes, I can do lots of other things. I like to have football on in the background, but I don't like to sit down and really watch it.
And I'm going to tell you something. If they had our audio guy, Jack, that would have never happened.
GUILFOYLE: Jack!
RIVERA: Hello, Jack. Jack.
Do you think they should be punished? Investigated? Isn't this pretty silly now?
GUTFELD: I think they should be forced to play nude. Then we know they're not cheating.
PERINO: I think we should be forced to do a football...
RIVERA: I can't believe that they would have...
GUILFOYLE: Nothing to do with the audio if they're naked.
GUTFELD: I know. I didn't have an answer.
RIVERA: Kimberly.
(CROSSTALK)
GUTFELD: It's Friday. Come on.
RIVERA: "One More Thing" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLLING: All right. It's time for "One More Thing." But before we do it, it's a very special day tomorrow. We have a birthday.
GUTFELD: You people.
BOLLING: Our buddy, Greg.
PERINO: Excellent. Happy birthday.
GUTFELD: Oh, wow. It's a cookie slice of pizza.
GUILFOYLE: It's a cranky-pants pizza. Cranky-pants.
PERINO: You know K.G. wants that.
GUILFOYLE: You know it.
BOLLING: And while you're enjoying your cookie slice.
RIVERA: Where is the wine?
GUTFELD: Show 10 p.m. Sunday. I've got Karl Rove. I know you love Karl Rove. And Governor Bobby Jindal. I wonder what he's going to say? Who knows? Time for this.
GUILFOYLE: This is delicious.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUTFELD: Greg's Top Forty Music Corner
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTFELD: Hey, good news for all you old people.
GUILFOYLE: Oh, my God.
GUTFELD; The Turtles, The Turtles, remember The Turtles, "Happy Together"? They're re-forming. I got some video of them playing right now. There he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(TURTLE CLIMBING ON ELECTRONIC KEYBOARD)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTFELD: There he is. I think that's -- I'm not sure if that's Flo or Eddy or both. Bu he's quite talented.
And now at this point I'm going to shut up.
RIVERA: I noticed that photo you used of yourself is, like, from high school.
GUTFELD: How do you know that -- when you have seen my high school photos, Geraldo?
BOLLING: All right. I've got to go. They're telling me to go. So tonight I'm hosting "The O'Reilly Factor." Big one because Carly Fiorina is going to be on. And we ask her if she accepts Donald Trump's explanation about not her face it was her persona she was talking about. And also, Bobby Jindal is going to be on. And I plan on asking him if you really want to go after Donald Trump? Do you think that's a great strategy? All right, so check it out, 8 p.m., DVR or watch it live -- Dana.
PERINO: OK. I'm going to win "One More Thing" of the week today. One of the 100 search-and-rescue dogs that were at Ground Zero, 16-year-old golden retriever Bretagne. She's special in the eyes of many New Yorkers and guess what? Her owner, Denise Corliss, was from Texas Task Force. They got to come to New York right after 9/11. They came, and they worked here, trying to help rescue people, find people trapped beneath the rubble of the World Trade Center.
Now 14 years later, she is the last known living 9/11 search-and- rescue dog. And to honor Bretagne and to pay respect to the September 11 anniversary, the company Bark Post teamed up with One Hotels, and they brought her back to have a sweet 16. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Bretagne!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to One Hotel, Bretagne. What I have here for you is our gourmet burger.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you wonder where we're going?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bretagne, look. Happy birthday, sweetie.
Oh my gosh. Like Christmas. Bretagne.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERINO: A day set for a queen. A queen of a dog, and thank you so much, Bretagne and your owner, Denise, for coming to New York and helping all of us.
BOLLING: K.G., you're up.
GUILFOYLE: Today, I have the honor of representing FOX News Channel and the Noreen Fraser Foundation at BGC Charities Day. And every year, Cantor Fitzgerald and their affiliate, BGC Partners, in conjunction with the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund, commemorate the 658 friends and colleagues and 61 euro brokers who perished on September 11, 2011. And they distribute 100 percent of their global revenues on that day to worthy charities.
So I was able to go down there with some people you saw -- Pam Anderson and Tony Sirico from "The Sopranos," Run-DMC, a bunch of people. And get on the phone and make some money and do some trades.
PERINO: I bet you made a lot of money.
GUILFOYLE: Yes. One trade was 100 million.
BOLLING: We've got 20 seconds.
RIVERA: I was at another Cantor Fitzgerald event. You know, Cantor Fitzgerald, they lost over 600 of their 900 employees on 9/11. So that's Miss New York. Steve was also there. Steve Buscemi was also there, Louis C.K., 50 Cent was there. Vanessa Williams; Mayor Rudy Giuliani, America's mayor. Johnny Gehman (ph), the...
BOLLING: All right. We've got to say goodbye now.
RIVERA: He said that Trump will not live in the White House.
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