'Your World' on border crisis, midterms

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The gotaway number of illegal immigrants is higher than reported: Hector Garza

National Border Council VP Hector Garza provides insight on rising numbers of illegal immigrants at the border on 'Your World with Neil Cavuto.'

This is a rush transcript of "Your World with Neil Cavuto" on October 24, 2022. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: All right, we are following the lines and a whole lot of money.

About two weeks now until the midterms, and already half the nation has opened up for early voting, to say nothing and mail-in ballots, which have been going on for some time, turnout surging pretty much across the country where this is going on. So what can we tell from where the big money is going?

We have got you covered and covered on all sides, all angles, all candidates with Jonathan Serrie with the latest on the early voters who are out in force and where that momentum might be going, also Bryan Llenas in Pennsylvania, where Senate candidates are preparing to duke it out on stage, Connell McShane on where both parties are doling out the cash, and we are talking record amounts of cash, and Sandra Smith on what it all means when the final numbers come in.

Welcome, everybody. I'm Neil Cavuto. And this is "Your World."

Wall Street was surging today, some say because they're anticipating a Republican romp in a couple of weeks. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, but we're going to be all over that.

First to Jonathan Serrie in Atlanta, Georgia -- Jonathan.

JONATHAN SERRIE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there's a lot of interest in these elections here in Georgia. More than 837,000 Georgians have already cast ballots either in the form of mail-in absentee ballots or early in person voting, which is what's going on in this facility that you see behind me.

More than 18,000 early-voted on Sunday alone, doubling first Sunday voting during the 2018 midterms. And more than 79,000 voted last Saturday, surpassing first Saturday voting during the 2020 presidential election. That's huge. State elections officials expect to surpass one million total votes by tomorrow.

Governor Brian Kemp says the record high voter turnout disproves Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams' claims that Georgia's new voter I.D. law suppresses voting. But Abrams is doubling down, comparing high voter turnout to adding more swimmers in shark-infested waters. More swimmers may get across, but the hazards are still there.

Today, Politico reports the voting rights nonprofits that Abrams founded, Fair Fight Action, spent more than $25 million legal fees in 2019 and 2020, including $9.4 million that went to the law firm of her close friend and campaign chair Allegra Lawrence-Hardy. Abrams left the organization in late 2021, just before announcing her second bid for governor.

Fair Fight Action tells Politico Lawrence-Hardy was hired for her expertise and not for her friendship with Abrams. In another hotly contested race, Republican Herschel Walker, a Georgia football legend, is trying to unseat Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock, but a well-performing libertarian in the mix, Chase Oliver, could prevent either candidate from surpassing the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a run-off.

If so, the Senate campaign in Georgia could drag on into early December -- Neil.

CAVUTO: Oh, boy.

All right, Jonathan, thank you for that, I think, Jonathan.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Let's go to Bryan Llenas. He's in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. They have got some important goings-on today, a big debate and, of course, a lot of pressure.

What's happening right now, Bryan?

BRYAN LLENAS, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Neil.

Well, look, the bottom line is, the big debate, the one and only debate in this Senate race in Pennsylvania will be tomorrow night. And a big part of the conversation is about the candidates and really their background and experience.

We went to Braddock, Pennsylvania this weekend. John Fetterman was the mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania, for 13 years. In his political ads, he proudly proclaims that he -- quote -- "rebuilt Braddock." He still lives there. He has tattoos of the old steel town zip code and the dates marking when someone was murdered in the town.

The campaign points out, under Fetterman, there were no murders for five years. Local supporters say he brought in for affordable housing, investment and a community center.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PASTOR RICHARD WINGFIELD, UNITY BAPTIST CHURCH: I was here when Braddock was real down. And so, yes, there was growth under his -- under his administration. I feel there was.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He set up that program where kids can study to get their GED.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Build up the morale.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not where we wanted to be, but it's not what we used to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LLENAS: Yes, the statistics tell a different story.

Under Fetterman, the population of Braddock dropped 40 percent to just 1,700 people. The poverty rate increased. And the number of violent crime incidents went up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LLENAS: There continues to be more abandoned properties than there are viable businesses here in Braddock. Some local residents and businessman who say, look, they are conservative, but gave Fetterman a shot, scoff at the notion that he rebuilt Braddock,

BOB PORTOGALLO, BUSINESS OWNER: He built back Braddock, brought jobs? I don't know what jobs he brought.

What did he build back? If I had a choice -- a chance to do it over again, I probably wouldn't have come here. The renaissance of Braddock coming back, it never did happen.

STEVE MANN, BUSINESS OWNER: When he ran for mayor, he was all hopes that he'd bring it back, but I think he just used it as a stepping-stone.

LLENAS: Is Braddock back.

MANN: No. Well, look, drive down the streets and look. It's not back.

He hasn't been the solution, but it's not his fault.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LLENAS: A new CNN poll released today finds that Fetterman is leading over Dr. Mehmet Oz 51 percent to 45 percent among likely voters ahead of the one and only debate tomorrow.

I should say that this is a race that FOX News has always said is a toss- up, as all the polls show that this race has continued to tighten -- Neil.

CAVUTO: Yes, these swings are just beyond the pale, Bryan.

Thank you very, very much, Bryan Llenas following that.

We are also following the money in these races here, because that has a lot to do with the outcome, as you might know and where momentum or at least people betting real money on that perceived precede momentum is being plunked down.

Connell McShane has more.

Hey, Connell.

CONNELL MCSHANE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Neil. It's always helpful, as you point out, to follow the money, but especially in the weeks leading right up to Election Day, and especially when we zero in on the so- called outside money, the funds that come from super PACs, big corporations, unions, and the likes.

And that's why a headline out of New Hampshire on Friday caught our eye, seemed to speak to priorities on the Republican side, at least, as the Senate Leadership Fund, which is aligned closely with Mitch McConnell and the Republicans, pulled support from Don Bolduc, the Republican candidate in the Senate race against Senator Maggie Hassan, the Democrat, even though the race is pretty close, and pulled the support, so it could spend about $5.5 million elsewhere, shift the priorities.

So, where is elsewhere? Top three states we came up with when we looked at this money, the outside spending, Pennsylvania and certainly Georgia and Nevada as well. But if you look at Pennsylvania first, that's number one. More than $130 million has been spent, $20.3 million in favor the Dems; $9.6 million goes pro Republicans.

But when we start to look at negative spending, that's when the story really starts to take shape, $56 million against the Democrats; $44.5 million is anti-GOP. Then there's Georgia. That's number two on the list, $105 million total. This similar breakdown, I mean, the pro numbers are, at least on a relative basis, small, $6.2, $10.4 million respectively.

But then you look at the negative ads. They just have been rolling in, in Georgia. And, once again, it is these Republican grips with at least a small advantage, much closer than it was in Pennsylvania, a lot of money spent on both sides. And then finally, Nevada, and that's number three.

And the pro spending there is heavily in favor of the Dems. And you might say that's the party in power. They're trying to promote policies that they hope to keep themselves in power. But you look at the Republicans, once again coming from the outside, trying to draw a contrast, really putting big bucks into negative ads against the Democrats. In Nevada, it breaks down pretty much 40 to about 32 or so.

But the bottom line, Neil, with all of this, when you talk to Republicans, you talk to Republican strategist, a lot of them will tell you control of the Senate may very well come and run through Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, right? We hear that all the time.

But now you look at the money and where the priorities lie, and it seems to back that up even more -- Neil.

CAVUTO: I'm thinking of some of these sums, Connell. It used to be what presidential elections were.

MCSHANE: Yes.

CAVUTO: It's just staggering.

MCSHANE: Oh, it's crazy. It is crazy.

CAVUTO: Amazing.

Connell, thank you very, very much, Connell McShane on all of that.

Well, this is a midterm election year, but it's generating the kind of interest and support and actually just the volume of activity that we see in a presidential election year.

And doesn't Sandra Smith know it? She's been following this very closely, the co-anchor of "America Reports."

SANDRA SMITH, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: I always follow the money.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: But she's like a dutiful lawyer. Got your papers and details. You're over everything.

SMITH: This is for you. This is for you, Neil Cavuto.

CAVUTO: Man, oh, man. So what's going on here?

SMITH: Massive spending across the board.

CAVUTO: Yes.

SMITH: I mean, this is certainly going to be a record, most expensive midterm race ever shaping up to be 2022.

This is billions of dollars that are being spent on TV, radio. Think about the digital space for these ads.

CAVUTO: Incredible.

SMITH: I mean, it is everywhere.

And if it's not about the economy, it's about crime, it's about immigration, our border. Obviously, parental education, parental rights have become a huge part of this election. But you go to that Pennsylvania Senate race. And, I mean, this is obviously one of the tightest in the nation ahead of that big debate that we're going to all watch tomorrow night, $130 million poured into this, into the Senate race, against the Democrats.

CAVUTO: Incredible.

SMITH: So, if you follow the money, you clearly see why Dr. Oz has been able to pull ahead and shrink the margin there, $57 million spent against the Democrats in that race.

But then you look at control of the Senate possibly coming down to Georgia and Nevada. And those Senate races there, Neil, it is really something to see. And you follow the money, you see that a majority of the now over 4100 million spent in the Georgia race went towards -- against Democrats, I should say, $43 million spent there, against Democrats in Nevada, almost $40 million.

The Wisconsin race really interesting to watch as well, over $40 million spent against the Democrats there, $80 million almost in total. And then Arizona's Senate race, which we know, according to our latest power rankings, is in the toss-up category, more money there has been spent against the Republican Party, over $27 million of it. So that's going to be really interesting to watch in one of those key just four toss-up races that we currently have in that category in our power rankings, Neil.

CAVUTO: You know what's amazing, Sandra. And I guess we will -- the proof will be in a couple of weeks.

You always talk about a last-minute surge, and I am old enough to remember, in 1980 -- and I mentioned this once or twice -- I'm sure show the crew is sick of hearing -- where Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter were essentially tied going in the weekend before. Then something happened.

There was a wave. Of course, it's now the historic landslide it was for Reagan. And even with the Republican gains in the midterms in 1994, they were expected to pick up anywhere from 30 to 35 seats. They picked up 54.

So is there anything you're getting in your research or the people you talk to -- and you're everywhere on this -- that...

SMITH: Yes.

CAVUTO: ... hints of something like that happening?

SMITH: You know, what really speaks to me is the folks up in the Northeast part of the country who are talking about their home heating bills and not able to afford them this winter.

CAVUTO: Yes.

SMITH: Neil, this -- these races are coming down to really tangible basic economic stuff in a lot of cases.

In that particular race, the Pennsylvania Senate race, obviously, crime has been a big issue there.

CAVUTO: Right.

SMITH: Philadelphia's homicide rate has been skyrocketing.

But when it comes to the -- some of these tangible economic issues, when it comes down to basic necessities with -- I spoke to one woman who works for a nonprofit up there in Maine, where it gets really, really cold.

CAVUTO: Absolutely.

SMITH: So she said folks in the Northeast are talking about sacrificing groceries for heating bills, OK, choosing between the two, taking on a second or third time job.

CAVUTO: Right.

SMITH: This is happening across the country just to pay the cost of inflation.

You have to think that, going back to your Reagan reference, there's a lot of folks who are asking themselves as they head to the ballot box, am I better off than I was two years ago?

CAVUTO: Yes.

SMITH: And people are finding their economic, their financial situation is in peril. It's a difficult time for many. They don't feel safe getting on public transit. That's not just happening here in New York City.

CAVUTO: Everywhere.

SMITH: That's happening everywhere.

And so they're asking themselves these really basic questions, and it could come down to financial well-being and personal safety for a lot of people heading to the ballot box. And that's going to come down to Republicans and Democrats asking themselves that question. And you could have those switch- over voters.

Have people decided? One would assume, historically, as you know...

CAVUTO: Right. Right.

SMITH: ... most people have already come up in their head how they're going to vote.

CAVUTO: But even people on the fence, maybe if they just see that utility bill then natural gas prices heat a lot of those homes, they have doubled and in some cases tripled. So they know what they're facing.

And that might be the deal-clincher for them.

SMITH: Well, it was really interesting today. The president, he took a little trip over to the DNC.

CAVUTO: That's right.

SMITH: He delivered a message there, and we listened to a bit of it.

And he -- his pitch seemed to be to the staff and to -- the messaging for his party is to say, well, this inflationary situation, it's not just happening here at home. It's happening globally, everywhere. People -- that doesn't comfort anybody.

CAVUTO: It doesn't cut it, yes.

SMITH: It doesn't really...

CAVUTO: Yes. To say, you think we have it bad, they have it bad, well, we don't like having it bad.

(CROSSTALK)

SMITH: No, we don't like having it bad, and we want to be the best. And it's just not the case for some.

CAVUTO: This is not the best that we wanted.

SMITH: Yes.

CAVUTO: Yes, you're right. You're right. And these pocketbook issues are coming back to haunt the party in power.

We will see if there's that swing. But, Sandra, if you could work just a little harder, we'd appreciate it here.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Going around the clock here.

All right, a quick peek at the corner of Wall and Broad. We had a run-up today. A lot of this was built on the belief here that maybe we're through the worst of it, the Fed might pivot, that they fear a slowdown. You heard the same drill last week. I don't necessarily buy a lot of that. I just thought I'd pass that long.

But there's a new sort of bubbling kind of theory here that the markets are sort of telegraphing a Republican takeover not only of the House, but of the Senate. This tends to be a rightward-leading group. That doesn't mean that they just as -- that that will pan out, but that is just the latest sort of grist for the mill here, but just passing that along.

Also passing along what's happening at the border. That is a huge issue right now, some record numbers that we have never seen before. And to hear some experts tell it, this doesn't even cover the story, not even a fraction of it.

Stay with us. You are watching "Your World."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, a lot of -- even, what, 15 days of the big election, and already some record numbers to report on what's happening at the border, close to 2.378 million who have crossed that border toward the end of the fiscal year.

And signs here, with the half-a-million plus so-called got-aways, we're really talking about three million. Could be substantially higher than that when all those T's are crossed and I's dotted.

Jacqui Heinrich at the White House with how they're looking at this, if they are indeed -- Jacqui.

JACQUI HEINRICH, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: It's unclear, Neil, if they are.

The administration has in recent days kind of shifted its messaging and its focus on big issues that are important to voters, like on the economy. He even dabbled a little bit in discussion of crime, took a question that from my colleague Peter Doocy.

But we haven't heard anything from the president or the White House really on the border, even though the president said last year that he should probably get down there. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Do you have plans to visit the Southern border?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have been there before. And I haven't -- I mean, I know it well. I guess I should go down, but the -- but the whole point of it is, I haven't had a whole hell of a lot of time to get down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEINRICH: Well, the president said he hadn't had time to get to the border. But we have tracked him going to Delaware upwards of 50 times since taking office.

And the Texas Department Public Safety is taking issue with the fact that this administration has still not admitted that there is a crisis at the border. And those new numbers today show the U.S. closing out fiscal year 2022 with 2.4 million encounters. That is the highest ever, including 600,000 got-aways, quadrupled the previous five fiscal years.

And the press secretary was asked to explain how that happened. Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This new migration challenge is driven by people who are fleeing falling regimes and economic collapse, as you know, in Venezuela and Nicaragua and also Cuba.

It's impacting the entire Western Hemisphere. While we're trying to deal with the challenges, as you all know, you have Republican governors who are using these migrants, using these folks who are trying to flee communism, falling regimes and economic collapse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEINRICH: So, a bit of a gulf between the issue that people want to hear from them about and sort of the root causes.

And you're hearing Democrats who are running for reelection trying to square that circle. Listen to Henry Cuellar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HENRY CUELLAR (D-TX): Well, the border is not secure.

When you have 1.7 million individuals last year and then another 2.7, that's over 4.5 million individuals encountered at the border. Plus, the -- if you add the got-aways, that's going to be over five million individuals in just two years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEINRICH: So you have got a Democrat in Texas saying that the White House is not admitting that there's a crisis when there is in fact a crisis here.

And that's feeding right into criticism from Republicans. The RNC giving a statement that says: "This is a failure. Joe Biden and Democrats created a humanitarian crisis at our Southern border that only worsens, yet they can't be bothered to fix it. As Democrats turn a blind eye to the devastation they created, Americans face the consequences every day, as deadly fentanyl pours into our neighborhoods and crime surges across the country."

So, by and large, Neil, really more of what we have heard in the past on the issue of the border, which is the White House saying they want to address this, but Republicans are not helping them do that, and really punting the issue to Congress -- Neil.

CAVUTO: Jacqui, thank you for that.

Jacqui at the White House.

Well, thank goodness for Bill Melugin, because he was on top of this before anyone else was and still is. He's an Eagle Pass, Texas, with the latest -- Bill.

BILL MELUGIN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Neil, the thing about this was, the federal government decided to wait until three weeks into October to finally release these September border numbers. And when they did it, they did it at 11:15 p.m. on a Friday night and going into the weekend.

It was pretty obvious news drop. And some of the other data you haven't talked about yet, take a look at this graphic right here. The numbers showed that fiscal year 2022 ended with 98 Border Patrol arrests of people on the FBI's terror watch list here at our Southern border.

Just to put that number in perspective for you, 98 is more, almost quadruple the previous five years before that combined together. Another way to put it in perspective, when President Trump was in office, the highest year he had of these there arrests were six in 2018.

We just had 98 in fiscal year 2022. Take a look at this video we shot right here in Eagle Pass earlier this morning. More and more of these groups continue to cross basically as the sun comes up every day out here. This is a group of well over 100 crossing illegally. And the new fiscal year picking up right where last year left off.

CBP sources telling us here in this Del Rio Sector just in the first three weeks of October alone, there have already been more than 29,000 illegal crossings. That represents a 50 percent increase over the same time last year.

Then take a look at this video given to us by a source in the Rio Grande Valley showing a group of drug smugglers in broad daylight carrying bundles of drugs they have just brought across the Rio Grande. And they go to a waiting vehicle in a parking lot. They load that vehicle up with the drugs. Then they go back to Mexico. And the vehicle drives off.

Well, Texas DPS tells us they later got into a pursuit with that vehicle and arrested the driver. Take a look at these photos. Once they stopped that vehicle and they popped open the trunk, they found 10 bundles of marijuana back there totaling 240 pounds.

They arrested the driver, who ended up being an 18-year-old U.S. citizen who was smirking at the camera as they took a photo of him. And then, lastly, take a look at this photo, a human smuggling stash house bust in Casa Grande, Arizona. That is in between Phoenix and Tucson, pretty deep into the interior of Arizona.

Border Patrol in the Tucson sector coming across the stash house and finding 46 illegal immigrants being held there, those stash houses obviously dangerous. They're obviously sometimes use for drugs, for moving migrants further inland into the United States and dangerous for those migrants.

And case in point with that, Neil, some sad news to report. Fiscal year 2022 was the deadliest year ever recorded here at our Southern border for migrants, with Border Patrol, CBP sources telling FOX News 856 migrants died right here at our Southern border in fiscal year 2022, again, the highest ever recorded -- we will send it back to you.

CAVUTO: Staggering, just staggering. Bill, thank you very much.

Bill Melugin in Eagle Pass.

All right, to Hector Garza right now, the National Border Patrol Council vice president.

Hector, you keep telling us about this, and Bill Melugin keeps reminding us about this, but very little action on the part of anyone in Washington to do something about this.

What do you do?

HECTOR GARZA, VICE PRESIDENT, NATIONAL BORDER PATROL COUNCIL: Well, it's quite clear that the floodgates at the Southern border are wide open for illegal immigration and for drug smugglers.

Unfortunately, the solution here is going to be a brand-new presidential administration that actually has the willpower to actually want to secure the border and save American lives and save lives of those migrants who come across the border illegally.

Quite frankly, it's just out of control of the border, and then we're tired. And I don't know how much longer we can go with this unsecured border and with this crisis.

CAVUTO: I just wonder. It's gotten increasingly bold. And you were the first to remind me of how bold it gets. And you can see it on some of the drone footage we got where, even looking at cameras and drones and like that, the march goes on and is unabated.

And I'm just wondering where you see this going. I mean, we just had 2.32, 2.4 four million, maybe up to three million, including got-aways and illegal migrants through the country. Where does this number go?

GARZA: Well, it's just rising. And I want to point out that, even though the CBP reported about 600,000 got-aways, those are illegal aliens that cross into the country illegally and evaded capture.

CAVUTO: Right.

GARZA: Those are only the numbers that we know of and that the administration is actually reporting on.

We know, the boots on the ground, that the number is almost double that, because we know we have areas along the border where we have absolutely zero Border Patrol agents to secure the border. You talk about the northern border, and you talk about the coastal border, we have very, very limited manpower.

So we know that that got-away number is actually skyrocketing, is higher and even double than what is being reported. But there's no end in sight. And, unfortunately, American lives are being lost. And, unfortunately, this is going to continue to happen until we get a new administration and somebody that actually cares about the border and cares about migrants and cares about the American people.

CAVUTO: Hector, we will watch it closely. Thank you in the meantime.

We are also focusing on other developments, including in England, where they have their third prime minister in little more than a couple of months. But what does he see that he has to do? Because a lot of people are saying that change either comes fast, and now, or the revolving door of prime ministers continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, a transatlantic difference.

Britain has a new prime minister coming in who is all of his 42 years old. We have the oldest president on record, en route to becoming 80 years old. Is it a trend that ends?

After this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: You know, I think, in Britain, this is the first time the guy at Downing Street is worth more than the guy who's sitting in Buckingham Palace, because the new prime minister is beyond just wealthy. He's super wealthy.

He's also very, very young.

Alex Hogan on the big changes at 10 Downing Street -- Alex.

ALEX HOGAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Neil.

Rishi Sunak will meet with King Charles III tomorrow before he steps into this role. And, today, members of the Conservative Party celebrated the news, as well as celebrating this 42-year-old who really came up the ranks. It was only seven years ago that he became a member of Parliament.

He is the former finance minister. But, earlier this summer, however, Sunak lost the Conservative Party leadership contest against Liz Truss. One of the reasons for that, critics have called him out of touch with reality and the general public, given his own personal wealth. He and his wife are worth more than $830 million.

Well, today, Sunak vowed to serve. He's focused on the economy, saying that it is a great honor to be tapped as the next prime minister of Britain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RISHI SUNAK, INCOMING BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We now need stability and unity. And I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together, because that is the only way we will overcome the challenges we face.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOGAN: He is the youngest prime minister of the country we will see in about 200 years. And he's also the first minority prime minister here in the U.K.

But it was a very nerve-biting type of end to this race, because there was that one other candidate, Penny Mordaunt, and she pulled out just a minutes before because she was not able to get enough support. Same thing with Boris Johnson last night. Even though he said he had enough support, he said it was -- quote -- "not the right thing to do" -- Neil.

CAVUTO: Yes, this is a lot shorter than the last go-round. Interesting.

Alex, thank you very much.

Alex Hogan.

Well, there is a generational shift going on in Europe right now, if you include the new prime minister of Italy, who is all of 45 years old, and, of course, in the case of the incoming British prime minister, all of 42 years old. If you take both of those ages together, you're almost at, where, well, Joe Biden is now.

And, of course, the president acknowledged it as an issue. Age should be an issue. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it's a legitimate thing to be concerned about anyone's age, including mine. I think that's totally legitimate.

But I think the best way to make a judgment is to watch me. Am I slowing up? Am I -- don't have the same pace?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: All right, well, that will really be the ultimate challenge of everything.

We have had older presidents before who've been facing the same question, of course, none as old Joe Biden.

Burt Folsom of Hillsdale College, great historian in his own right, on the significance of that.

You can't time these things, Burt, but it is interesting that Britain now has a new leader coming in who is roughly half the age of President Biden, not that that should matter. But, of course, it does get back to this issue of some countries going younger. And we have had at least the last couple of presidents on the older side.

What do you think?

BURT FOLSOM, HILLSDALE COLLEGE: Well, that's for sure.

I think, a lot of times, though, the issue is not so much the person's age, but the competence that the person reveals. There have been some challenge just to President Biden on his cognitive skills.

I mean, if you look at it, for example, Winston Churchill was prime minister when he was 80 years old.

CAVUTO: Yes.

FOLSOM: And Mitch McConnell is older than Joe Biden, and although people are critical of him, not necessarily for cognitive decline.

And so I think that's the key thing. Of course, the president -- people live longer than they did 100 years ago, 20 years longer. And I think President Reagan may have broken the barrier on this, because he did very well in his 70s.

And in the debate, when age was the issue in 1984, Neil, you may remember that he was asked about his age, and he said, I promise not to use for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience against him. And so...

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Yes, I remember that. As soon as Walter Mondale laughed at that, you knew the game was over here. And, of course, Ronald Reagan went on to win in a landslide.

But there have been times in this country too, Burt, where, not that was the goal, but I'm thinking, after the two terms of Dwight Eisenhower, the country turned to a young senator, 42 years young, at that, John F. Kennedy.

And I'm not saying that the same environment exists. But do you think there gets to be a point where people say, all right, well, we will try younger.

FOLSOM: Right.

Well remember that Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon, who was also in his kind of mid-40s.

CAVUTO: Good point.

FOLSOM: So both parties went to a younger candidate.

And I think, again, the issue of age and the competence became an issue there because President Eisenhower had a severe heart attack at age 60 -- roughly 65. And that raised questions on age and the presidency, which made it advantageous to both the Republicans and Democrats to go with younger candidates in the next presidential election.

CAVUTO: That's very true. People forget Richard Nixon himself was very young going up against Jack Kennedy. But it was clear that both -- both party leaders were young going at it against each other.

That was then. We will see what happens the next go-round.

Burt, always good seeing you, my friend. I appreciate it.

FOLSOM: Thank you, Neil.

CAVUTO: All right, in the meantime, half-a-world away, taking a look at Ukraine right now, Russia getting nastier, and now hinting of still more nuclear activity, but being coy about that.

The latest from there with Trey Yingst in Kyiv -- Trey.

TREY YINGST, FOX NEWS FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT: Neil, we spoke exclusively with Ukraine's defense minister earlier today, and he gave us some information on where Iranian forces are in this war.

More after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, still the ongoing talk of from Russia using tactical nuclear weapons. It gets kind of in the weeds here, but, obviously, in Ukraine, they're quite concerned.

The latest from Kyiv with Trey Yingst.

Hey, Trey.

YINGST: Neil, good afternoon.

This morning, we spoke with Ukraine's defense minister about the latest in this ongoing war. And we also asked him about the allegations that Russia claims, without evidence, the Ukrainians plan to use a dirty bomb.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLEKSIY REZNIKOV, UKRAINIAN DEFENSE MINISTER: It's absurd and absolutely fake. It's the next stage of Russia information campaign against the civilized world, because they are trying to stop delivering to Ukraine any kind of packages of support or help.

And, also, they are trying to organize next kind of pretext for using by their side some kind of nuclear threats.

YINGST: The types of threats against Ukraine are changing. We have seen now Iranian-made weapons on the battlefield. What do you need in order to stop these drones from targeting Ukrainian cities?

REZNIKOV: The priority number one for Ukraine, it's air defense systems, with different types, short-range, middle-range and long-range.

YINGST: There are reports that Iran has military personnel in Crimea.

REZNIKOV: Yes, it's true.

YINGST: What about Belarus?

REZNIKOV: I'm sure that they have also in Belarus, because Iranian drones, they use from two main direction, from the south from the Crimea, and from the north from the Belarus.

They use Belarus like they (INAUDIBLE)

YINGST: Do you know how many? I mean, are we talking dozens?

REZNIKOV: It's an issue of our intelligence, so it doesn't matter 10 or 20. It means, just one, it's enough.

YINGST: But you can confirm there are Iranian military personnel in both Crimea and Belarus?

REZNIKOV: According to our intelligence, yes, it's true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YINGST: I also asked Defense Minister Reznikov about reports indicating the Israelis are providing the Ukrainians with intelligence about Iranian- made drones. Reznikov says those reports are not true -- Neil.

CAVUTO: Trey, thank you for that.

Trey in Ukraine.

In the meantime, we knew it would be a bad report card of how our schools were doing. We didn't know it would be this bad -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FMR. GOV. JEB BUSH (R-FL): It's likely that the nation's report card will show horrible, horrible -- a horrible situation of decreases in learning, particularly with low-income students. Years of efforts to try to improve rising student achievement actually could be blown up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: All right, well, Jeb Bush was right. He did have an advanced notion that that nation's report card would have some bummer grades for us and a reminder that we have got to do something and fast, because, post- COVID, we are still not back, not even close to being back where we were.

Jeff Flock following an old from Philadelphia.

Jeff, this is something we were expecting, but not expecting this bad.

JEFF FLOCK, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK CORRESPONDENT: This is one of those report cards, Neil, that if you had brought home this one to your Italian father when you were a kid, he'd probably take you over his knee and spank you.

Take a look at the numbers. Not pretty. Both math and reading, fourth graders and eighth graders tested, and in no instance in any state in the union was there an improvement. All of the scores were down 2019 compared to now.

And if you drill down a little farther, for example, eighth graders, math proficiency, we didn't start out very good. It was 34 percent proficient, a third of students proficient in math in 2019. It's now down to below 30 percent. A lot of people, of course, blame the pandemic lockdowns and the length of them.

The education secretary today responding to that, Miguel Cardona.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIGUEL CARDONA, U.S. EDUCATION SECRETARY: This isn't a red and blue issue. People are bringing politics into the classrooms. We know what to do. And let me tell you, day one, I said, let's get our schools open right away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLOCK: Unfortunately, that didn't happen, particularly in high-poverty areas.

And this report found that high-poverty areas did worse, 22 weeks of lost learning in high poverty areas, low poverty areas, just 13 weeks. They tended to do better.

I leave you with one more bleak statistic, if that wasn't bad enough. One school in Philadelphia in the inner city, in a poverty-stricken neighborhood, the James Rhoads Elementary School, just 5 percent of students there proficient in math, the Pennsylvania average, 37 percent.

And, Neil, as the governor pointed out at the outset there, if you don't do something about this, we have failed an entire generation of students. And that's going to hurt everybody. So...

CAVUTO: It already is, my friend.

Thank you very, very much, Jeff Flock, who never had a bad report card in his life, straight A's all the way through. Me not so much. The challenge used to be, as my dad said, Neil, put a number in front of the decimal point and the average, and you will be off to the races.

All right, in the meantime, off to the races in Colorado, where there's a difference, and a big one, between powerful Republicans, whether they back the Republican candidate or not. Some are calling it the Ron and Don show.

We will explain -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, they're calling it the Ron and Don show, as in Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump having very different views on the Republican candidate running for Senate in Colorado.

Ron DeSantis is backing him unequivocally, saying that he is the best hope for Colorado, that America needs his strong leadership, and desperately so, Donald Trump saying it's a big mistake and writing on TRUTH Social that he wasn't really a Republican, but a RINO, a Republican in name only. And here we stand.

David Drucker is The Washington Examiner, senior political correspondent.

David, good to have you.

This is a little unusual, to put it mildly, but, again, two very different views on a Republican candidate that normally would get the backing of the hierarchy of the Republican Party, but is this much ado about nothing? Or how do you define it?

DAVID DRUCKER, THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Well, it's kind of a fun story.

Look, normally, we wouldn't necessarily pay attention to differences among Republicans. They tend to have different ideas about who would make a good Republican in the U.S. Senate. But these are two heavyweights, and they could be headed on a collision course in the 2024 Republican presidential primary.

And that's why I think we're paying such close attention. Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, did what you would expect any prominent Republican to do that's interested in growing the party's reach in a blue state and piling on, trying to win a Senate majority and make it as big as possible.

He's endorsing a viable candidate in a state that's a bit of a reach, but could be possible in an environment like this. What made this very intriguing, Neil was that he did so after Donald Trump had essentially told the Republican base in Colorado to ignore O'Dea.

CAVUTO: Right.

DRUCKER: And, of course, why did he do that? Because O'Dea has tried to put some distance between himself and Donald Trump, because it's the only way you're going to win in a bona fide blue state.

And, look, where Ron DeSantis is acting like your standard party builder, taking the best he can get under all circumstances to grow the party, Donald Trump has always been interested in doing what is best for him, not necessarily what is best for the party, even though, in so many instances, he has helped expand the party's reach in states where the -- where the Republicans were not always as competitive as they are now.

CAVUTO: It might be a moot point in this notoriously blue state. I don't mean to use a pejorative like that, but President Trump had said: "There's this RINO character in the great state of Colorado, Joe O'Dea, that is running against the incumbent Democrat for the U.S. Senate, who is having a good old time saying that he wants to distance himself from President Trump" -- again, all this coming from President Trump -- "and other slightly nasty things. MAGA doesn't vote for stupid people with big mouths. Good luck, Joe."

And then enter Governor DeSantis, who is backing Joe. That's as opposite as you can get.

DRUCKER: It really is.

And I just think it shows you the difference between the two politicians, right? One is interested in loyalty to him. The other is interested in growing the party, at least if you take the actions surrounding Joe O'Dea at face value and look at him for what they are.

You're never going to be able to grow the party in a state like Colorado if you hug Trump tight. It's just not possible in the tribal political era that we live in. And if you want to gain seats in a favorable political environment for Republicans, you try and take good candidates who do what it takes to win in these states.

But this is not much different than when Trump has done -- done in other states. This cycle he endorsed the candidate who can't win for governor and Maryland, who can't win for governor in Massachusetts, essentially scaring out Governor Charlie Baker. He endorsed the candidate who can't win in Pennsylvania and a candidate who can't win for governor in Illinois.

CAVUTO: Yes.

DRUCKER: So, some of his endorsed candidates will win, will make it to Washington this fall, but, in many instances, where candidates were not with him, he went against them, even though they would have put Republicans in a better chance to take advantage of favorable political winds.

CAVUTO: David, President Trump last week had spoken to our Brian Kilmeade and said it would be disloyal for other Republicans to run for the White House if he is.

I'm cutting to the chase here, but I think that was the gist of it.

DRUCKER: Yes.

CAVUTO: What did you think of that? And do you think that a Governor DeSantis would honor that, in other words, not want to mess with Donald Trump and wait to see what he does?

DRUCKER: Well, that's a big question.

Look, there is a sense in politics that, when somebody brings you into the fold, like Trump did, with some Republicans, when you look at his Cabinet, that the loyal thing to do, the sort of proper thing to do, in terms of political etiquette, is wait to see what that individual is going to do first before you decide to run.

But we live in an era where Donald Trump himself has not paid attention to political norms or forms of etiquette, and other Republicans are taking cues from him. So I don't think you can expect Republicans to necessarily not run just because he's running.

They may make political calculations that running against him in a Republican presidential primary would be futile. But I think where there's an interest to run and where there's a belief that they might be able to make some headway, you will see them run anyway. And I think that's how Governor DeSantis is likely to look at it. Is there a path?

CAVUTO: Yes. Well, even Phil Gramm was here, the former Texas senator, saying he doesn't think that argument holds up, that it's going to be a busy, open season of runners. So, we will see what how happens.

David, thank you very, very much.

DRUCKER: Thanks, Neil.

CAVUTO: David Drucker.

Real quickly, I want to pass along that Russia plans to raise at the U.N. Security Council tomorrow its accusation that it's Ukraine planning to use a dirty bomb attack. Ukraine, of course, says it's just the opposite; it's Russia doing that. And here we go.

Here's "The Five."

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