Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas needs to resign: Arizona Gov. Ducey
Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey offers a solution to Biden's southern border crisis on 'Your World.'
This is a rush transcript of "Your World with Neil Cavuto" on December 10, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Welcome to that great '80s show, where everything old is new again, including inflation. It's now running at a 6.8 percent clip. That is the highest level in nearly four decades.
Now, the last time we saw prices running up this fast, Ronald Reagan was president, "E.T." was the top film at the box office. Larry Holmes was the heavyweight boxing champ of the world. And Prince Charles and Lady Diana had just welcomed their first child, William, to the world.
That was then, but no bundle of joy for consumers right now, And let's just say no signs things are slowing down right now. Far from it. The cost of a steak is up nearly 25 percent from a year ago, bacon up 21 percent, fuel oil 59 percent, and gas 58 percent.
Supply chain shortages aren't helping, but growing frustration with a White House that many shoppers say isn't helping either. But is that really fair? And is that even right?
Today, we will ask the White House's top economic adviser, because the National Economic Council director, Brian Deese, is here, and only here.
Welcome, everybody. Glad to have you. Happy Friday. I'm Neil Cavuto Cavuto, and this is "Your World."
And we have got Jacqui Heinrich at the White House on what the president is saying about all of this, and Lydia Hu in New Jersey on how small businesses are trying to deal with all of this.
Let's begin with Jacqui -- Jacqui.
JACQUI HEINRICH, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Neil.
Well, you know what else happened in 1982? Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was born. The president tried to highlight some of the bright spots today as this new report came out, highlighting areas where prices have come down on certain things, things like gas prices, natural gas, used cars. And he tried to assure people that there is cause to be hopeful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think you will see it change sooner than, quicker -- more rapidly than it will take than most people think.
Every other aspect of the economy is racing ahead. It's doing incredibly well. We have never had this kind of growth in 60 years. But inflation is affecting people's lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEINRICH: The president hit some of the same points we have been hearing, that the U.S. is recovering faster than other countries, that wages have risen, unemployment is down.
But he acknowledged that more has to be done before consumers feel confident about the economy's recovery, and he called it a top goal of his administration.
Press Secretary Jen Psaki also acknowledged there's a gulf between the positive indicators and what Americans are feeling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, I think the way American people look at it is not through data, right? They look at it through how things are impacting their lives.
What we can tell them is where we're seeing progress, where we're still going after the problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEINRICH: So, Psaki took a bit of a shot at Republicans in conveying to the American people that people should pay attention to who has a plan, not just who is shouting about that problem with a megaphone.
And the biggest tool the administration sees in addressing this problem is the Build Back Better plan. The president had cited today it'll reduce costs for things like health care, prescription drugs, child care. He called it the most immediate step that can be taken to address cost concerns for families.
Of course, we're waiting to see where that ends up later on this year as it works its way through the Senate, Neil.
CAVUTO: All right, got it.
Jacqui, thank you very much.
Jacqui Heinrich at the White House.
Meanwhile, Americans may have a beef with, well, the cost of beef, meat prices jumping 60 percent ahead of the holidays.
Lydia Hu is at a meat market in Scotch Plains in New Jersey, seeing it up close -- Lydia.
LYDIA HU, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Neil.
There might not be a better place to ask for insight about the meat prices then John's Meat Market, where we are right now, because this butcher has been in business since 1939. And we have got the owner waiting for us just inside.
This is Vincent Losavio here.
Vincent, we are so grateful for your insight today.
Let's talk about the prices, because we know they're going up across the country, even right here in your own shop. You say you have got sticker shock from your own prices that you have to set. What are some that are standing out to you?
VINCENT LOSAVIO, OWNER, JOHN'S MEAT MARKET: Well, right now, rib roasts, filets, everything is. It's astonishing.
All the years I have been here -- my father opened up in 1939. I have been here 50-some years. These numbers are astonishing. They're shocking, . And we can only go off so much.
HU: Right.
LOSAVIO: So it cuts into the profit.
HU: Right.
You actually said that you're making more money when the prices were lower. You only got so much margin because you're carrying only prime cuts. Another example here, rack of lamb was $90 last year. Now that's $140.
I want to ask you about this, Vincent. The White House actually said today that me prices are rising because big corporations are increasing their profits.
What do you think about this? Is this profit-driven?
LOSAVIO: Maybe the big box stores or corporations, but a little small store like us, we can only go up so much.
Yeas ago, when it went up $5, we could go up $5. Now, if it goes up $10, we can only go $5, so we lose another $5. It's not like it was years ago.
HU: And you have been in business for so long. This is not the first inflationary period that you have seen.
Neil, I want to show you a photo of an advertisement that Vinny ran. You said the 1970s, right? Take a look at this, 1970s. This is, "Why pay more because you're really paying less? Less fat, less bone, less waste.
Vinny, it seems like that ad applies now. Why is that relevant to what we're going through?
LOSAVIO: Oh, it's definitely -- the prices were sky-high then. And I said -- everybody said, boy, your prices are high. So I said, well, you're really -- why pay more? You're really paying less, where you're getting less bone, less fat on the meat of a higher quality.
So think about it, it comes out to be less money you're spending.
HU: Well, that's a tip for you right there, Neil.
Hopefully, folks across the country can find a Vinny in their neighborhood that can pick out a good cut for their holiday meal, because it does seem at this point, we just finished a costly Thanksgiving, and we're gearing up for another costly holiday meal around the Christmas season -- Neil.
CAVUTO: All right, Lydia Hu, thank you for that.
As Lydia Hu pointed out here, people are still willing to pay these higher prices. And that is a sign of the strong economy, because they can and they will.
All of this inflation presumably stops when people eventually get to a point and say, we're going to stop doing that. That has not happened. Will it?
Brian Deese is the director of the National Economic Council, joins us from the White House.
Director, very good to have you.
BRIAN DEESE, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: Good to be here.
CAVUTO: Let me ask you first about what the president has been saying about this, Director, that we might already be at the peak and that things are going to stabilize, start coming down.
Is that the way you see it?
DEESE: We never put too much stake in one month's data.
But what I can tell you is that the data in November, they were high, but they -- it was less strong than in October. And about half of the increase in November was driven by energy and cars. Those are both sectors where we have seen some moderation in prices even since November.
The price of gas nationally is falling. The price of natural gas is down 25 percent from its November levels. So we're seeing some moderation that front. But prices are too high. And that's why we are very focused here on the things that we can do to unstick these supply chain bottlenecks that are affecting every country around the world.
The thing that's unique about the American recovery right now is how strong our economic growth is, strongest in 40 years, how strong our labor market is, lowest unemployment claims since 1969.
So we are uniquely well-positioned to address what our real challenge is here with prices. And that's why we're focused on taking the steps that we can, including around the ports, moving things through our supply chains more quickly.
CAVUTO: Director, I could see what you and the president have been saying about coming out of a pandemic, where the economy was essentially in park, and any sort of activity after that or getting back to normal, you are going to see a spike in prices.
But it seems as if the administration was caught off-guard as to the seriousness and the widespread nature of this.
DEESE: I don't think that that's fair.
I think, if you look at -- for supply chains, for example, the president supply -- has signed an executive order on supply chain resilience on February 25 of this past year. He launched a Supply Chains Disruptions Task Force over the summer.
We have been at these issues for some months, even as we have seen very strong economic growth underlying our recovery. We have known that, as you come out of a pandemic, you look at these data that are comparing to a year ago.
A year ago, the economy was on its back.
CAVUTO: Right.
DEESE: We were in lockdown. There were going to be ups and downs.
But you take an example like at our ports. A couple of months ago, we sat down with business and labor and the terminal operators and said, we need to get these ports going 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
In the period since, the dwell time, the amount of time that containers are sitting on docks, has come down about 50 percent. You see Walmart, Target, other big retailers are saying goods are moving more quickly through the supply chain as we get through this -- the squeeze of the holiday season.
So I think we are making progress on that front. But this has been a focus of ours for some time. It will continue to be, because it's important to try to moderate those prices.
CAVUTO: All right, there was criticism early on, Director, that the White House seemed to be dismissing the severity of these price increases, seemingly hanging it on the rich, and that they're the ones who are forced to pay these higher prices, when, in fact, everyone was.
I mean, you widened it, addressed this, so there's no use in going back at that.
But I am wondering now how this gets to be fixed. I mean, isn't this really up to the Federal Reserve? Doesn't it need to start raising rates, to start doing the kind of maybe dramatic, some call it unpleasant, action to get this under control?
DEESE: Well, certainly, monetary policy plays a role. I'm going to leave that to the Federal Reserve. We respect the independence of their decision- making.
From the fiscal policy side, what we need to do is continue to take steps to address what are global supply chain issues. And that's what you're seeing us do, and also to take action to try to reduce costs for families.
And this Build Back Better Act that we're debating in Congress right now, there has never been a piece of legislation in modern American history that would reduce costs for families more in areas where they are really feeling it, prescription drugs, for example. The cost of insulin affects millions of families around the country. The cost of child care, this bill would cut by more than half the cost of child care that a typical family is facing, not only reducing costs, helping get more people to work, because, by providing affordable child care, parents, and particularly women, can get back into the work force.
So there are steps that we can take right now that would help propel the strength of this recovery, while easing price pressures. So that will continue to be our focus.
CAVUTO: All right, well, it would be a first, right, in American history if a big spending package ultimately reduced inflation. It's usually the opposite.
But you mentioned some of these features in that measure, sir, as helping out those who need child care assistance and the rest. We didn't have any of those features back before the pandemic. And for a while, we had an unemployment rate as low as 3.5 percent.
So, if we didn't need it then, why do we need it now?
DEESE: Well, first, what's unique about this package, as you mentioned, is that it is fully paid for.
So, by being fully paid for, you're not adding to aggregate demand.
CAVUTO: But it's not, right? I mean, the CBO says that it's going to fall about $400 billion short in revenue over 10 years.
Now, I don't put any faith in any estimate that's over six months, but, having said that, they don't say it is fully paid for.
DEESE: Well, what the CBO estimated today was a hypothetical bill that is not Build Back Better.
The CBO, the Joint Committee on Taxation, the official scorekeepers, have looked at this bill and said that it is, in fact, fully paid for.
But to go to your question, we have faced challenges of rising costs of health care, rising cost of child care, rising costs of housing well before this pandemic. And they were imposing real challenges on American families, even when we were in the pre-pandemic economy.
These challenges are not new. But the opportunity we have to address them in a way that won't add to inflationary pressures is pressing right now. And that's the logic of this bill. Particularly, you take something like housing, we have underinvested in the supply of affordable housing in this country for years now.
Doing that now will help lower the cost of housing for American families. And if we pay for it, it won't add to aggregate demand or add to inflationary pressures.
CAVUTO: All right, we shall see. The first big test would be getting that voted on, right? So, that remains to be seen.
Brian Deese, national economic adviser to the president of the United States, National Council director, thank you again. Very good having you.
To his point of, if there is panic about what's happening on the inflation front, the market has a funny way of showing it, all the major averages rallying this week, on average, about 3 to 3.5 percent. And, by the way, the S&P 500, that's at an all-time high.
So, for now, no worries. For now.
We will have more after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, so more brutal scenes from Southern Mexico, a truck of migrants believed to be headed to the U.S. crashing, at least 54 killed.
To FOX's Bill Melugin in Eagle Pass, Texas, with the very latest on that -- Bill.
BILL MELUGIN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Neil, good afternoon to you. That's right, two big stories going on with immigration right now.
We will get to the first, though, that crash you mentioned, that horrible crash. And we can get to the video right now. What you're looking at is out of Chiapas in Southern Mexico. As you mentioned, what this was, was a tractor-trailer truck loaded up with almost 200 mostly Central American migrants that tried to take a turn. It flipped over, and everybody spilled out.
And the results were catastrophic, the latest numbers we're hearing right now, 54 migrants dead, another 105 injured. This is making it one of the deadliest accidents involving migrants in the past several decades.
One of the riders who was in that truck who survived told local media there was just too much weight when they tried to make the turn. The truck just couldn't handle it. Horrible situation there.
Want to direct you to another situation going on, though, if we can pull up this video out of Yuma, Arizona. What you're looking at here are migrants who have just crossed into Yuma illegally just walking around the city openly without any Border Patrol there to apprehend them. Border Patrol completely overwhelmed down there. They don't have the manpower right now.
The Yuma mayor saying that more than 6,000 migrants have passed through Yuma in the past several days. That is a 2600 percent increase since October 1, he says. Take a look at this photo right here. Some of those migrants, as they were walking through the city, stopped by to get a quick bite of food at McDonald's.
Again, Border Patrol just does not have the manpower down there right now. These migrants were never encountered by agents. So the mayor of Yuma has now declared a local state of emergency, writing in part that he had to do it -- quote -- "because due to the unprecedented numbers of migrants entering the city prior to being processed and released by Border Patrol," he says, "the influx of these undocumented persons entering the Yuma area is resulting in a humanitarian and border crisis" -- end quote.
And, Neil, earlier today, I reached out to the offices of both Democratic senators for the state of Arizona to ask them if they have got any comment about what's going on in Yuma. Senator Mark Kelly's office got back to me, saying he was on the phone with DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, urging him to take immediate action and send more federal resources down to the Yuma area.
However, when it comes to Kyrsten Sinema's office, I never heard back -- we will send it back to you.
CAVUTO: Bill Melugin, thank you very much for that bill.
Let's go to the Arizona governor, Doug Ducey, who's calling for help from the White House right now. He joins us.
Governor, obviously, you're sending troops to the border. You're trying to deal with this yourself, as is your colleague the governor of Texas and others.
I'm just wondering, where does that stand right now?
GOV. DOUG DUCEY (R-AZ): I have worked now with three presidents, Obama, Trump and Biden.
The Biden administration is far and away the worst. Secretary Mayorkas needs to resign. He's in Phoenix -- or he came to Phoenix. But he's hiding from the border. He took a flight to San Diego, and then San Francisco. The administration is completely nonresponsive.
So, yes, we are surging state badges to the border. We're trying to support the brave men and women of Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection, along with ICE, but they're undermanned, and they're under-resourced from our federal government. So we need some attention on the border right now, in addition to what we're trying to do in Arizona and places like Texas.
CAVUTO: Governor, it confuses me. And you have become an expert dealing with this as governor, obviously.
And I'm just wondering why it comes in these spurts that it does, for example, in the last few days, thousands of migrants descending on that border, and, in between, sometimes, trickles.
What do you make of the all-or-nothing pattern?
DUCEY: Well, this is due to the Biden administration's policies.
We have actually asked them to reinstate Title 42. But they're doing it much like their Afghanistan exit plan, piecemeal, without really thinking it out. So it's happening in El Paso right now, where you can return a migrant back to Mexico legally, but it hasn't been instituted in Arizona.
That's why you have the surge from the cartels taking these people to a place where they find a wide-open border that's unprotected. Now, we're putting all the manpower we can on the border and trying to support our federal partners. But there's just a complete lack of attention and seriousness from Joe Biden and his border czar, Kamala Harris.
CAVUTO: So are you saying that new federal policy that really the administration was legally forced to accept, where we adjudicate these cases on the Mexican side of the border, rather than the U.S. side of the border, that we're not honoring that in your state or in the other states as well?
DUCEY: That's accurate. They're instituting it piecemeal.
So it's happening right now in El Paso, to my understanding. We do not have Title 42 authority here in the state of Arizona. So the cartels take advantage of this. They use the humanitarian crisis that is so heartbreaking on your screen to actually get the drugs, the fentanyl, the methamphetamine and the cocaine across the border, and then to surge it all over our country.
And this is something that is infecting all of our schools and neighborhoods, and not just in Arizona and border states. When you hear about these fentanyl overdoses, those dangerous drugs and poisons came across our Southern border. This is a law enforcement function.
We're going to do everything we can in Arizona, but it's like a balloon, Neil. When you squeeze it and protect Arizona and Texas, they will then go to New Mexico and California.
CAVUTO: Were you troubled that, at least in the Build Back Better plan, at least as it's written, Governor, there is scarcely any money allocated to addressing these concerns at all? They're not part of that.
DUCEY: Well, nothing is going to pass through Congress or the Senate without the help of the Arizona delegation.
So, anybody in the Arizona delegation, congress man or woman or senator, should be a no on any policy that doesn't include border security. We need border security. Never have we had more leverage with our delegation. And this is an Arizona issue that's affecting the entire United States. And it needs action now.
CAVUTO: So, if Kyrsten Sinema, sir, if Kyrsten Sinema were to vote yes, ultimately, on this -- because, as you know, she and Joe Manchin of West Virginia are the two Democrats who appear to be at least reluctant, if not holdouts for the time being, on this.
If she votes for this, what would you think?
DUCEY: Well, whoever votes yes on this is abandoning Arizona.
And we can't wait. We need action this right now. Whatever is moving through Congress, they need to add the language the addresses border security, and you can't be a yes on any vote if it doesn't have that language.
CAVUTO: All right, Governor Ducey, thank you very much for joining us.
We will be exploring this quite closely here.
By the way, we did reach out to Secretary Mayorkas' office. We have yet to hear back. We will let you know if and when we do.
Meanwhile, companies oftentimes want Washington to get out of the way, but now at least two dozen top retail executives are saying, please, Congress, get in the way, do something about crime -- after this.
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CAVUTO: Don't look now, but some critics say "It's a Wonderful Life" is not a wonderful life, and that it's even misogynistic. They want it canceled. Really?
Somewhere, I hear Jimmy Stewart is like, hold on.
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: We will have more after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, well, here's one thing that happens when you have a crime spree ripping a good deal of the country, . Some major companies call on Washington for some action. That is a rarity, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
To FOX's Aishah Hasnie on Capitol Hill with the latest on all of this -- Aishah.
AISHAH HASNIE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is sure one way to put it. And it would be accurate, Neil.
So those 20 CEOs of really large retailers like Target, Nordstrom, stuff that we're familiar with, are pretty much fed up and they are calling on Congress to pass a specific piece of legislation. It's called the Informed Consumers Act.
So it's a bipartisan measure to increase the transparency of online marketplaces like Amazon or eBay to try to stop the sale of illegal products, stuff that's being stolen in these smash-and-grabs.
They write this: "Implementing basic transparency and verification protocols is essential and will finally expose criminals who are selling consumers stolen, fake and dangerous products."
Now, here on the Hill, Democrats are talking about this really only when FOX asks them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: Do you think that is something that should be looked at? Is there a concern about some of these no bail...
SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D-IL): We would need to clamp down on that. If this gang effort nationwide is broken, you're going to see a lot less of the smash-and-grab.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HASNIE: But the GOP is blaming Democrats for all of this.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy sent this exclusive statement to FOX, writing: "Criminal smash-and-grab robberies, deadly attacks perpetrated by criminals out on bail, when they should be behind bars, a refusal to prosecute crime by far left prosecutors in big cities, and a wave of law enforcement retirements and resignations are taking a tragic toll on our communities."
This comes as members of the Squad, like Representative Ayanna Pressley, are lobbying for their FIX Clemency Act. That would take the federal clemency process out of the DOJ's hands and give it to an independent board, Neil, to speed the process up.
When asked what she thinks about pushing this kind of legislation at a time when her own Democratic colleagues are worried about these spikes in crime, she said -- quote -- "One has nothing to do with the other" -- Neil.
CAVUTO: All right, Aishah, thank you.
HASNIE: You bet.
CAVUTO: Have a good weekend, Aishah Hasnie, on Capitol Hill.
Well, as I said, 20 major retailers sending that letter to Congress to get something done, my next guess playing a big part in that letter.
Brian Dodge is the president of the Retail Industry Leaders Association.
Brian, very good to have you.
What reaction have you gotten thus far?
BRIAN DODGE, PRESIDENT, RETAIL INDUSTRY LEADERS ASSOCIATION: Well, we're pleased with the reaction so far.
I think we have come a long way in articulating the problem here. And certainly, sadly, the videos that have been posted online and I think carried on your news channel over the course of the last several weeks of these smash-and-grab robberies have grabbed attention of not only the public, but policy-makers and the need to -- for action here.
The letter was -- is an effort to draw attention to the solution that exists, which is the Informed Consumers Act, which is broadly supported on a bipartisan level, which is a rarity in Congress, and we think it's poised for passage.
CAVUTO: You know, the Chicago mayor blamed a lot of your members, not by line and individuals, but saying that they could do more to deal with this. I assume she was talking in the Chicago area.
What did you make of that?
DODGE: You know, I think there are certainly places around the country where this issue is worse than others.
But this is a $70 billion-a-year problem. It's not exclusive to big cities. It's in big cities, it's in small towns. And so our perspective is, it needs a federal solution. We have an opportunity to work with Congress to get something done. And we're committed to doing that.
CAVUTO: All right. So when you say work with Congress, get something out, would that include more police, funding for more guards or support at stores of all types, all sizes? What?
DODGE: So the solution here is not necessarily focused on the police side of it. There's obviously work to be done there.
But the solution is to take away the easy access that criminals have to unsuspecting buyers. There used to be a time where criminals or thieves would steal products, and the only way they could sell them was in a dark alley. Today, they do it on online marketplaces, Amazon.com, Facebook, and other places.
So, here, what we're trying to do is force those online marketplaces to be accountable for the goods that are sold on their sites, for them to play a role in ensuring that stolen goods and counterfeit goods are not sold on their site.
CAVUTO: Or that they're not rewarded for doing so in California, measures that had a ceiling on how much you could steal essentially, before looking at potential jail time, or not even being brought up on charges because a lot of DAs just let this sort of stuff go.
Is anything in your push going to include those types of remedies?
DODGE: Well, the solution that we have at hand here is focused on taking away the easy access to customers.
We certainly want to work to reconsider some of these felony threshold levels and make sure that law enforcement understand that the criminals involved in this kind of theft are not petty shoplifters. They're organized criminals. They're often tied to much more nefarious criminal activity, like drug sales and human trafficking.
We're part of that effort. We want to make sure that that argument is being made. We're communicating with law enforcement about that now, but we have this really important and powerful solution in front of us right now here in Congress, and we're determined to see it get passed.
CAVUTO: All right, keep us posted, then, Brian.
Brian Dodge, the Retail Industry Leaders Association president.
By the way, it's not just retail leaders who are upset about the response to all of this. So are sheriffs. A big one and an important one is next.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PSAKI: We have actually taken some what we would consider serious steps to help work with these communities, whether it's plussing up police forces in San Francisco and L.A. or having the FBI work directly with the L.A. Police Department to address areas where we have seen an increase in retail theft.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAVUTO: All right, well, the White House doubling down that it is indeed doing its part to combat crime right now. Here's the press secretary, Jen Psaki, on this issue beyond this issue.
But there are issues that keep coming up as to whether it's serious. The White House and the National Sheriffs Association are battling over this spike in crime. The Sheriffs Association is accusing the Biden administration of not helping to curb that problem.
Let's get a review from Jonathan Thompson with us right now.
It's interesting when you look about -- at the argument they're making. And it was early -- early on about the pandemic and this was really caused by the pandemic, accelerated because of the pandemic, now saying they're addressing the issue anyway and providing funds where and when needed around the country.
Where are you on this? And are they doing just what they say?
JONATHAN THOMPSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL SHERIFFS ASSOCIATION: Well, Neil, thanks for having me. And I think you have keyed this up pretty well.
Let me be really clear that crime is not a blue or red issue. It's not Republican. It's not Democrat. I remember Senator Biden sitting in the well OF the Senate not too long ago -- don't want to age us -- calling for 100,000 more cops in the country. I think we're getting to that point now.
We do have a crisis ON our hands. I don't care how anybody wants to categorize it. Sheriffs have asked for help. Sheriffs need help. If we don't get it from the feds -- and we're not getting it. Let's be honest. Sending 70 officers OR deputies to L.A. and San Francisco, that's a drop in the boiling ocean. It's not going to -- it's not going to do a thing for the rest of this country, where we have a systemic problem with crime.
And if we have to do it ourselves, like Sheriff Grady Judd is doing with the attorney general in Florida, then that's I guess what we will have to do. But don't tell us you're helping when you're not.
CAVUTO: So, Sheriff, when they say that, visual and gripping and scary as some of these video images are of brazen attacks on malls or stores, some in the middle of the day, that the these are exaggerations, that crime rates are actually stabilizing, if not knowing down, what do you say?
THOMPSON: I'd say they need to relook at the numbers that they have been fed, because when I talk to the leaders at the FBI -- and I had a -- we had a meeting on this yesterday and today, this very topic of, what is the real information?
And the sad thing is, we all in law enforcement have been saying this since before November of last year. We saw the problem coming. We have told the administration. We told the previous administration the problem was coming. It's here. It's in our face.
And sheriffs have got to decide how they're going to solve these problems with the chiefs in their jurisdiction. And if the feds can help us, we want their help. We want their partnership. This is probably the single most important infrastructure item the country needs.
If you can't have a safe street, you can't have a safe community, you're not going to be able to go out and buy anything. You're not going to be able to buy anything. You're not going to be able to live your life.
So we have got to do something. Right now is the time. We can do it. I think the president has the message. I think he understands the nature of the problem. I think there are some around him that want to minimize it and say, hey, we have got it solved.
Look, we have all got to recognize this is our problem. This isn't -- this isn't the left or the right or the middle. This is every one of the Americans' problem. And sheriffs are here to help solve that problem. But we do need a collective approach to this from our federal partners.
CAVUTO: Yes, there's so far no real coordinated approach with this. Something's got to be done.
Jonathan Thompson, thank you very, very much. We will see where this goes.
In the meantime here, we are looking at other developments that are scant getting attention right now, but a Buffalo Starbucks that has now gone the unionization route and another one in the same area that could follow suit, as Amazon is forced right now to redo a union vote that it thought it had won little more than a few weeks ago.
Is there a pattern here? We explore -- after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to create good-paying union jobs.
Good-paying union jobs.
Good union jobs.
Good-paying union jobs.
Good union jobs.
Good union jobs.
Good union jobs.
Good union jobs.
Good-paying jobs, union jobs.
Good-paying jobs, union jobs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAVUTO: All right, methinks the president is in favor of union jobs, and they are the rage right now and the direction this has been taking.
And, surprises, surprises, even at Starbucks, known to be one of the more generous employers across the country, with wages at around $20-an-hour level and some benefits, including incentives and bonuses for college educations and the like, one store unionized there, reaction from workers there. Another one is close to following the same route.
Hans Nichols has been tracking all of this. The Axios reported joins us right now.
What do you make of these developments, Han?
HANS NICHOLS, AXIOS: Well, from the Biden administration's perspective, Neil, they're big picture is that they want more union participation. They want higher union involvement. And they think that unions drive wages upwards.
And this sort of dovetails into the overall inflation argument. And when you ask White House officials about inflation, before privately, now publicly, they're saying it. They're really making a pro-wage argument. And that is that, yes, there's inflation, but you're also seeing inflation in wages.
And the term they use is sort of real wages. And what real wages are, according to the White House, is, they're rising. And that's their theory of the case. Now, they will get into some specifics sometimes, like, as you saw this afternoon, he weighed in on the situation out there at Kellogg -- Neil.
CAVUTO: Right, right, where striking workers there are being replaced by others. And that's got his wrath right now.
But what is interesting in the Buffalo case and Starbucks in general is, it's one of the country's more generous employers, again, with pay averaging close to 20 bucks an hour, sometimes, in some areas, $23 an hour, and a host in a range, a wide range of benefits. And yet that is targeted and succeeds at least in one store. Another could go the same way not too far for unionization.
That's a big, interesting development. What did you make of that?
NICHOLS: Well, look, you never want to draw too much and make a big broad proclamation from a couple of incidents, right?
I mean, remember, earlier in the year, it was down in Amazon where the Amazon workers voted not to take the collective bargaining route. And some people jumped out on that and said, well, look, this means that everyone's really happy at Amazon and a unionization effort isn't really viable at Amazon.
So, I'd be hesitant to sort of weigh in too much and extrapolate too much from one case. It is interesting, right? The numbers are probably what makes it the most interesting, and that is that these employees are paid above, well above even what people like Bernie Sanders are talking about as a new federal minimum wage.
CAVUTO: Right.
NICHOLS: So, when -- you had that great montage, Neil, of, like, Biden talking about union jobs, union jobs.
He's basically talking about the building trades, with, to some extent, what's happening in health care and sort of federal workers as well. Those are the unions he's talking about, right?
CAVUTO: Got it.
NICHOLS: And the White House was very proactive throughout the entire infrastructure debate to make sure that reporters like myself got quotes from union officials talking about how great the infrastructure package is, because, when you get in the construction trades, the building trades, those are really well-paying union jobs.
And those are the kind of jobs that President Biden, for the most part, is talking about.
CAVUTO: Right.
NICHOLS: But, look, I agree. I think it's an interesting question.
Does -- and he hasn't been directly asked this, at least as far as I can tell. Where is he on the Starbucks -- the Starbucks unionization effort?
CAVUTO: We will probably hear soon enough.
Hans, thank you very, very much, Hans Nichols.
In the meantime, another hot and contested issue. I'm not talking about unionization, I'm talking about some classic American Christmas movies that some are trying to see canceled. And I'm including "It's A Wonderful Life."
It was, at least.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Look, daddy.
Teacher says, every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings. JIMMY STEWART, ACTOR: That's right. That's right. Atta boy, Clarence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAVUTO: Now, that part of "It's A Wonderful Life" was OK. But now there's a new group that says that "It's A Wonderful Life" and a host of others should be on the no watch, don't even play list from now on.
They claim that, in "It's A Wonderful Life," that -- this is incredible to believe, but Jimmy Stewart gets misogynistic, that he grabs his wife and kisses her. And that ticked them off. And don't even get me started on Mr. Potter.
The bottom line is that there are a few others they don't like either. But I figured, who can I get to talk about the big moral implications of this going forward for the world, for society, for humankind as we know it?
And we came up with Jimmy Failla, the "FOX ACROSS AMERICA" host, Abby Hornacek, FOX Nation host who is everywhere, was out on the square yesterday and following all this, as was Jimmy.
And this is the best we could do.
(LAUGHTER)
ABBY HORNACEK, FOX NATION HOST: We were the backup of the backup.
JIMMY FAILLA, HOST, "FOX ACROSS AMERICA": Wow.
CAVUTO: I'm kidding.
This is wild, guys.
I -- let's talk first about "It's A Wonderful Life," all right?
HORNACEK: Yes.
CAVUTO: Do you think that deserves to be just stopped?
HORNACEK: Absolutely not.
I was so upset at this, Neil, that I had to literally sit down and remind myself that this is probably just a few people on the Internet.
FAILLA: It's four guys.
HORNACEK: It's just four guys on the Internet, because then I looked back at last year. NBC played "It's A Wonderful Life" on their network and 4.47 million people tuned in.
So I was like, OK, there's hope.
CAVUTO: It's a great movie.
HORNACEK: But you know what confused me the most about people trying to cancel this movie is because it was way ahead of its time in talking about mental health.
It came out in 1946. In the '40s, no one was talking about suicide, the way that people are talking about it now.
CAVUTO: Yes.
FAILLA: A lot of people don't know that, that George wanted to kill himself because he's a Jets fan.
(LAUGHTER)
FAILLA: And a lot of people don't realize...
CAVUTO: We had no idea.
FAILLA: There were just so many missed field goals. He is like, I can't do it anymore.
HORNACEK: Breaking news.
CAVUTO: Yes. All right, this is a waste of time.
FAILLA: Here's my real problem with the people that are trying to do this, whether there's two of them, which we think there is, or there's 2,000.
HORNACEK: One of them might have been Jimmy. I don't know.
CAVUTO: They're loud, right? They're loud.
FAILLA: These are the worst human beings in the world. And the reason why is millions of people derive joy from watching these films. Like, the world is on fire.
Do you really want to deny people two hours of joy that they get from going back to a simpler time, where, yes, the standards are different? But that's part of the reason you go is to be someplace simpler, and get a little nostalgia out of it.
The solve here is to placate both sides. You rename the film "It's A Wonderful Life, So Check Your Privilege." And then everybody is fine.
CAVUTO: But "It's A Wonderful Life" thing, without bemoaning it, I mean, they jumped on Jimmy Stewart, of all people, because he grabs his wife to kiss her.
It would be one thing if he grabbed the neighbor. But he didn't do that.
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: But then to go after Mr. Potter, the way he talks, not so much was just the evil business guy he was, which is a popular thing in movies, but that he -- the way -- and what he said to his wife on the phone.
And I'm just wondering, really? Is this how far we're going to...
(CROSSTALK)
HORNACEK: And couples also fight in real life. I mean, this is a real-life thing, I guess.
CAVUTO: Right.
HORNACEK: But, yes, I don't know.
I think that when you talk about toxic masculinity is what people are saying, that this was...
CAVUTO: That was this. And that's a common theme.
HORNACEK: That's a common theme.
And I think that people are afraid of traditional values, maybe. Like, walking into the studio, Jimmy let me walk first. And it wasn't because he didn't think I wasn't capable of opening the door myself.
FAILLA: No.
HORNACEK: He was being a gentleman. And I respect that.
FAILLA: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: Actually, he was running late.
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: We kept saying, where the hell is Jimmy?
HORNACEK: He's like, go run interference, Abby.
FAILLA: I thought you wouldn't rat me out.
No, what a lot of these movies are guilty of is not owning a time machine, OK? The standards have evolved. They were clearly acceptable for the past 50 years.
I can't imagine being so self-important that the world should adjust in my sensibility. I don't eat jelly beans. Are we supposed to ban jelly beans if you guys do, because I don't find them good?
CAVUTO: Well, but do you think it's a matter of we're too sensitive to stuff?
I mean, their rap against "The Santa Clause," the Tim Allen stuff, is the way he rips or kids or jokes about being fat.
FAILLA: No, and -- I'm sorry.
CAVUTO: And -- no, no, no.
And that that offended fat people or calorically challenged people. But I have talked to calorically challenged people. They're not offended at all.
FAILLA: No kidding.
Here's the thing. I don't believe anybody's offended. I think there's a currency that comes from claiming offense. Like, I'm upset. Give me something. I want a raise. I want a promotion. I want...
CAVUTO: But not to show the movie?
(CROSSTALK)
FAILLA: That's outrageous. Of course you should show it.
And let me just jump in really quick. Fat phobia, if that's what you call it, it actually works, OK?
I grew up fat. I was 300 pounds, OK? I'm the beneficiary of a tough love society. I got in shape because I knew I was fat. Every day, when I got dropped off at school, the minute I got out of that car, hey, you fat slob. You know what I mean? How much are you going to eat?
And I'd be like, all right, mom, I will see you at 3:00.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
FAILLA: But the point is, fat phobia, in some capacity, it works.
I mean, look at COVID. The number one killer, the most common denominator for people who died was obesity. So, maybe, instead of body positivity, saying be 600 pounds is great, maybe we should make people like me get in shape. I'm not saying...
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: But this never happened to Abby.
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: But you're still -- you're definitely sympathetic to those are getting maligned, right?
HORNACEK: Definitely. Definitely sympathetic.
CAVUTO: Right.
HORNACEK: And I'm actually going to say something that I learned from Jimmy Failla. He came on my podcast earlier.
And we talked about comedy and cancel culture. And what he told me was, it's not necessarily what you say.
CAVUTO: You're right.
HORNACEK: It's the intent behind it.
CAVUTO: Exactly.
HORNACEK: And I don't think anyone had malicious intent in "The Santa Clause," in "The Holiday," in "It's A Wonderful Life."
CAVUTO: So, everyone, calm down. Enjoy the movies.
And listen to these guys. We can do better.
Here's "The Five."
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