please call the number on your screen and give just $19 a month only $0.63 a day, or whatever you can to help kids like us this christmas. and when you do, your gift will have two times the impact. >> all right. welcome back, everybody. we're learning that some aid is

going to eke out and get to the war with some aid coming to ukraine, it's hurry up and wait. and that's because of the battle they're having on capitol hill whether it should be tied to border security funding. it's been the battle royale for republicans who insist on it and democrats who say that it shouldn't be part of this. griff jenkins has the latest from eagle pass, texas who are tying this border issue with so many others, griff. griff: neil, good morning. and you know, i am in eagle pass, texas yet again and i have spent more time in eagle pass than any other location on assignment this year because of a border crisis that continues to surge to record breaking levels. let me take you to the drone right here where we are in eagle pass and you can see every day, here we are, you see the buses lining up in the middle there. the migrants. it's actually a group of four

or 500, they break them up into groups of about 100 and process them, most of them. i was just over there, most of them are from venezuela, but as we know they've had more than 150 countries in just this del rio sector alone which have three days of 3,000 migrants a day, neil. remember on tuesday, we had 12,000 across the entire southwest border, on that day there were 3,000 just in this area for a sector that only has about 40 to 50 agents on shift on any given shift. unbelievable numbers. let me show you video we shot from this very location, you see a migrant handcuffed, he was arrested for the sexual assault of a child and led off and separated, a reminder, neil, not everyone who is crossing are innocent folks looking for a job or a better life. now, let me take you out to arizona, to lugevilles the

other center of the crisis. you can see the groups of migrants along the wall and our ca cameraman says 200 to 250, some from central america, some from af africa, that's part of the crisis whether you're in texas or arizona. now, in that sector of tucson, the chief yesterday, john modlin, we learned a regard breaking 18,900 apprehensions just this week, the record from last week was 17,500. so, they continue to hit these high water marks, so much so, neil, it's prompted arizona's democratic governor into action. katie hobbs, she tweeted out this yesterday, quite a jaw-dropping tweet saying that she's sending out $512 million reimbursement bill to the biden administration and calling on

the president and his administration to immediately solve the unmitigated crisis caused by the policies and what's happening there. now, back out here, i can tell you and report that governor hobbs will go to her border, we're not sure at lukeville or where she goes. she's taking action much like we've seen the last couple of years, governor abbott taking action in the distance behind me. you see the containers lining the rio grande, with concertina wire on top. neil: we'll see how it goes. we want to go to the senator of louisiana, this is the impasse to hear the folks in washington tell it and the reason why the aid or ukraine and israel sort of stopped at the door. do you think that tying it to the security at the border think it's justified as many of your colleagues do?

>> absolutely. by the way, republicans tying it to the problem at the border implies that the border problem is a republican problem, it's an american problem and the fact that the biden administration is doing nothing about that is frankly un-american. we should be able to control our border, but the only way that we in the senate, republicans in the senate think we can do anything is to tie it to ukraine and israel, which the biden administration clearly cares about. we just want to make them care as much about the border as they do care about abroad. neil: so i wonder with where this goes? obviously you heard governor hobbs of arizona sent along the bill she has had to deal with, the pay for all of this and the migrant issue in her state. i cannot imagine that's going to get a, you know, reimbursed there. so, new york's democratic mayors found out the same thing, looking for help from washington, not getting it there. and where is this going? >> well, first, if the american

people make it an issue, the biden administration has to pay attention. the best i can tell you, he wants to get reelected and doing all kinds of things and spending all kind of moneys for student loans to buy votes. why doesn't he do the right thing when comes to policy and that may help him politically, but got to control the border. neil: i can't mean to jump on you, their position is and i want you to react to it, they feel it's an important issue just like you do, and the white house saying we'll work on a deal, but that's separate, it shouldn't be tied to it. the republicans argue unless it tied to this, they'll never address it. >> absolutely, we don't trust the president on this. he has all the tools he needs to control the border. congress has given him those tools already, but he chooses not to use them. i'll also point out the obama administration had a far lower influx of people than does the biden administration.

so it is the conscious decision of this administration not to use the tools. republicans, we just want them to use the tools, have metrics. listen, we care about israel deeply, we want to support israel, but we've got to control the border and this is the only way to get you to use the tools that you've been given. neil: when we talk about that, and of course, president zelenskyy in ukraine gets very worried because he's running into some trouble with the eu right now because they've got budget issues, it kind of gets in the weeds, senator, but you know this better than i, that money from europe might not be immediately forth coming and money from us, might not be immediately forth coming. what do you think about that? >> i'm actually all for fighting the russians through the ukrainians, that's a good thing and their struggle. administration wants that i'll go back to the center point. the center point is that we also have to take care of the southern border. if the biden administration wants to meet its foreign policy priorities, it should address a major domestic policy

priority. at least make that domestic policy a priority. so far they have not and the proof is in the numbers coming across the border. republicans think wait a second if we make it a little bit of a quid pro quo, maybe they'll do the right thing for americans. neil: senator, while you here, politics are not far away, 11 months from the election and five weeks or so from iowa. ken langone, the billionaire, trying support and financial support behind nikki haley, she has the best chance to represent the property in the best way and not donald trump. he made it clear in that discussion we had last night if donald trump's the nominee, he's not keen on the prospects there. i want you to react to this. >> it's between joe biden, it's between donald trump. you've got to make a choice. >> i wouldn't vote for-- maybe i write my wife -- i've got an idea, i'll write my wife

elaine's name in. neil: he went as far as to say, nikki haley he's backing and if it's ron desantis he could go with that. likes chris christie, but does not like donald trump, says he's a certain loser, if it came down to he and biden, he would write his wife's name in not donald trump. what did you make of that. >> i think that's the kind of weakness of president trump. he's got people who absolutely love the guy to death no matter what he does they're going to support him and there are people who normally would vote republican who are not going to. i'll point out that four of the five swing states that he's got to win have democratic governors. and so, even though he's leading in the polls nationwide, you can run it up and some states, but if you don't have the swing states, it's going to be difficult to win the presidency. so, i think what ken is doing is staking a strategic view. neil: still, there's a wall street journal poll out this morning, senator, that shows the former president leading the current one 47-43, furthermore, when you throw in

all the third party extra candidates and there are five of them right now that lead widens, 37-31. if he is damaged goods, that is donald trump, the poll numbers have a funny way of showing that, what do you think. >> but it all comes down to the electoral college. you've got to win certain states. the left runs it up in the blue states. california, new york, new jersey, we know who they are. the right in some red states. it's the four or five swing states, maybe seven or eight. most of those are, four of the top five are run by democrats, republicans have got to be very realistic about this. you know, if, what is it, if's and but's with candies and nuts we'd all have merry christmas. if we're going to be objective what's our best chance to win, we've got to win in these swing states, what kind of candidate is going to win there and that's probably what ken is looking at. neil: now in the swing states and those polls go back a few weeks as you know donald trump was leading and you're right to

point out they're run by democrats and that might change, it's very early, but what would you do if forced to choose between joe biden and donald trump? >> well, you're giving me a theoretical. but i'll vote republican and let's see who the final candidate is. neil: it may be theoretical. >> check back with me in november. neil: so you're not going to answer me. >> i'm not going to take that one. neil: sounds to me under no circumstances would you ever support donald trump? >> you're putting words in my mouth. you've got to talk to me in november. neil: so you're open to supporting donald trump. you're still trying to get me there. [laughter]. neil: i probably am and i'm very rude. bill cassidy, always good seeing you, sir. thank you very much. and i will check back with you on that. bill cassidy. >> that's great. neil: louisiana senator, have a merry christmas, senator. we're exploring a lot of issues and i told you about the extra military aid finding its way to israel, again, part of it is is

linked to this impasse they're having in washington over funding for border security. i should also delineate here the white house position isn't quite black and white on this, when they're talking border security, they're talking a broader plan to improve relations with mexico and latin american countries not just building a wall and security. and bottom line, the two sides are not on the same page on this at all. stay with us. hello 12 hours of relief. 12 hours!! not coughing? hashtag still not coughing?! mucinex dm gives you 12 hours of relief from chest congestion and any type of cough, day or night. mucinex dm. it's comeback season. lowe's knows same-day delivery means getting what you need, right when you need it. holiday shopping got easier on affordable décor and more. you know you can get these all at once, right dad? the holidays got sweeter with same-day delivery. you got this. we got you.

>> all right, everyone might be talking about hunter biden, nine additional charges and if he's found guilty of them he could land in prison maybe nor decades. it's operation ignore from his dad in the white house in general. alexandria hoff has been following that on joe biden and whether the name hunter biden even comes up. it does not appear to be, alexandria. >> yeah, neil, these are kind of sensitive topics for the president to be talking about,

given the subject matter of some of the spending. special counsel david weiss is focusing on the fact that hunter biden could have easily paid taxes, but chose not to, instead spending wildly on women, adult entertainment among other things and none of those things are things that the president wanted to comment on. >> mr. president. >> mr. president, any comment on the new charges against your son? mr. president! >> president biden is talking money today though, stopped las vegas before a three-day fund raising trip in california, on thursday nine tax related charges were filed against his son, three of those felonies. hunter biden dodged charges of, but prior to the charges announced he did an interview with musician moby and claimed the republicans are using him to get his to dad. >> they're trying to destroy a presidency and so, it's not about me.

and their most base way, what they're trying to do is they're trying to kill me, knowing that it will be a pain greater than my father could be able to handle. >> hunter biden's attorney saying that the biden last name is why the latest charges have been handed down, but fox news contributor, former u.s. attorney andy mccarthy sees it differently. >> i can only respond if he were not named biden he would have been prosecuted four years ago on felony tax charges that went back to 2014. >> so none of this changing the fact that house republicans plan to vote on a formal impeachment inquiry week. jacqui: hunter biden has agreed to testify, but republicans say he has to be privately deposed. neil: in the meantime we're getting word from the palestinian authority over this

u.s. veto of the cease-fire resolution that it is now making united states responsible for additional bloodshed. more on that and the latest on the battle in israel after this. at america's best? these savings won't last forever, unlike your eternal elation. ok, settle down. y'know, for someone who doesn't wear glasses, you sure are excited. for a limited time, get 40% off a single pair of glasses at america's best. shop online or book an exam at americasbest.com. you're at eleven. i'm going to need you to tone it down to at least a four. as someone living with type 2 diabetes, i want to keep it real and talk about some risks. with type 2 diabetes you have up to 4 times greater risk of stroke, heart attack, or death. even at your a1c goal, you're still at risk ...which if ignored could bring you here... ...may put you in one of those... ...or even worse. too much? that's the point.

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>> all right. we're hearing right now that the getting more deeply involved in israel. >> hey, neil, since we last talked we heard more blasts coming from behind us. we're just about a mile away from gaza and the war between israel and hamas is getting stronger and stronger. up and down the gaza strip, full scale urban combat maybe

the most for the war so far. paying attention to the strong hold of hamas leaders and also in the north where several pockets of tough hamas resistance remains. one tower cell was knocked doubt near a school, a number of claims to have found hamas weapons stashed away, including this, an ak-47 rifle allegedly hidden inside a giant teddy bear. and the humanitarian situation is worse, millions without food, water, medicine. and the security council calling for an immediate cease-fire, approved by most countries, but the u.s. vetoed it saying there wasn't a strong enough condemnation of the hamas and terror of october 7th. as the fighting rages, concerns grow about the fate of hostages held by hamas. the 137 believed captive latest figure we know, 18 thought to

be dead. there was various reports about a hostage attempt on friday. it failed. getting all of these captives back alive and dead, among the big priorities here as the blasts go on behind us, neil. neil: greg, when it comes to those hostages and i know it's difficult to put a firm number on who is alive and who isn't. it's up to hamas, we're going to release some before anyone can entertain anything about the cease-fire at all, right? >> exactly, neil. they have been dangling the prospect of releasing more for sure. they want another cease-fire. they benefitted much according to experts here by that week long cease-fire in which over 100 hostages were released, but that is why israel says no, we want to keep fighting. we want to keep pushing. we think that is the best way to pressure them to give up the

hostages, but, yeah, that's the wild card in this whole thing, neil. again, covering the wars here for about 25 years, this is the most complicated yet. you don't just have hamas creating a terror attack inside israel and then you can punish them. you've got all of those lives hanging in the balance as well. very, very tricky stuff, neil. >> you know, greg, you're a great student of history and sadly war history as well and your multiple base of languages. today is an anniversary, this very day in 1987 where we had the first palestinian intifada or uprising, in gaza and spread to the west bank and triggered a strong israeli response so when you step back and look at the history of this and you go back to the yom kippur war 50 years ago, this is just almost ingrained in the region and it

doesn't give you much hope for an early resolution of anything, or a resolution that is short-lived. >> a huge history going down decades. you're right, and in noting that first intifada, neil, that was seemed to be for the first time bringing right upfront and center the issue of the palestinians with the yom kippur war and others, it was kind of state versus state. the palestinian issue was brought forward by that grass roots attack by youngsters, what have you, in the intifada, throwing rocks and other things in the streets at the israeli army and then all of a sudden, the palestinian was elevated. there was a second intifada and now some people call what is happening here once again bringing the palestinian issue upfront and center and kind of put aside with the abraham accords and talk of relations again between israel and saudi arabia, now this very much is

front page news again, neil and complicating matters around the region. neil: i knew immediately when i was citing this in 1987 how much you would be all over it and putting it into perspective. thank you for that, greg palkot, be safe my friend and your colleague. and israel prime minister benjamin netanyahu, it's good to have you, mark, and i did want your take on this cease-fire resolution on the part of the united nations vetoed by the u.s., the palestinian authority as you might have heard has not wasted any time condemning that, saying that the u.s. veto alone makes it responsible for the bloodshed. what did you make of their reaction? >> welcome, it's interesting that the palestinian authority on the west bank is condemning the united states and yet, they still have not condemned the october 7th atrocities, the massacres, the murders, the rapes, burning of people alive, the beheadings, they're very selective who they decide to

condemn. neil: so what's also interesting, there's been an effort right now to share videos and proof of what happened on october 7th, but even among those who have seen them, there's a small group of people who say, well, it doesn't justify what israel has done many fold in response. how do you deal with that, mark? how do you answer that, how does israel handle just the pr from that? >> well, neil, we're not acting out of rage. we're not acting out of a desire for revenge. what we're trying to do is to protect our people and the hamas leadership says over and over again, that they would repeat the october 7th massacre. in other words, given the opportunity, given the capability, they would invade israel again and they would butcher our people again.

now, in going into gaza and taking out hamas and destroying their capabilities of hurting us again. we're acting in self-defense. people need to understand that. and that's why the resolution yesterday at the security council was so bad because it was a cease-fire that would have led hamas in power, that just takes us back to october 6th. i understand that there might be people of goodwill that says let's just up the fighting. but a bandaid solution that doesn't deal with the core of the problem with hamas in power means we'll have another at atrosty and there'll be another response and six months there will be another gaza war. no, it can only be done by the removal of hamas. neil: mark, you're asked a lot.

it seems that hamas has seemed to have seized the global sympathy more than you have, it seems infathomable, but it is what it is. and human rights talking about the u.s. and israel being complicit in war crimes and they never cited what hamas did to trigger all of this more than two months ago as a war crime. separately you're blamed for the conditions in gaza that were prior to this attack when the reality was you had no control. that is israel had no control over gaza, hamas did and hamas ruled gaza during this time. so the facts don't get out and i know you have to say you move on from that, but when people deny what happened on october 7th and further deny the historic reality that israel has really had no influence or control in this region for almost two decades, you can't

win. >> it's true. with some people you can't win. whatever we do will be wrong. whatever the united states does will be wrong and that's their position and everything stems from that. but let's be clear, in defeating hamas we're not only doing something that's good for the israeli people who won't have to live in fear of terrorists across the frontier and butchering their children. it's also good for the people of gaza. as you said correctly, hamas has been in power more 16 years and what have they brought the people of gaza, bloodshed, miss r misery, poverty, i don't think they have one thing in their government except for causing horrific attacks as they did against our people and put this war upon the people of gaza. neil: you know, mark, i know after this the prime minister has talked about life in gaza

and who will control and decide that after all of this is settled, but i know hamas shouldn't be a part of it. that's your view. but i've never heard either qatar or egypt or any of these other arab nations agree with that, that hamas should not be part of that. does that trouble you? >> the truth is we hear from many people and of course, the united states says it publicly. britain says it publicly, but others say it privately to us, that they want to see hamas removed from power. the truth is across the arab world in capital cities there's not a lot of support for hamas, as we take out hamas they're not shedding tears. on the contrary they see hamas as an iranian proxy. they see hamas as an extremist group against their own interests, too. so once we have destroyed hamas, as we will, i think

you'll see countries working with the people of gaza, with israel to build something new and ultimately, what we want to see in gaza, a post hamas gaza is a gaza strip that has been demilitarized and deradicalized and that will be good for israel, that will be good for the people of gaza, that will be good for the entire region. neil: we shall see. to your point, we're a ways from there. mark regev, senior advisor to prime minister netanyahu. drawing your life to outside the studios, life is going on throughout much of the world and we've seen an economy that's been strong enough to send out shoppers in record numbers we're told. this is outside our studios here. looking down, but if we could look up, you'll have to take my word for it, radio city and elsewhere there are crowds, i promise after this.

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>> all right. you might not be feeling it, but to hear the administration tell it, the trend is your friend and the latest employment report that showed unexpected job growth close to 200,000 and the unemployment rate at 3.7% in and out of historical lows that that will show up in confidence and in more shopping. certainly we're seeing strong shopping numbers right now to date, a lot of that could change depending on how the rest of these, what, 16 or so days before christmas go. edward lawrence stepping back and looking at all of that. >> well, neil, the administration pushing a better than expected jobs report, but when you take out the striking workers who have been moved back into the job force, then it comes in line, this report with a weaker job growth economy. americans are really feeling that economic pain as the white house is pushing the bidenomics brand. he has signs right behind him just last week i was there, i'm

sure you saw them that side bidenomics, you've heard me and you just stated and many other white house officials talking how bidenomics is lowering costs. >> what's the disconnect between what people are feeling and seeing with regard to the tables and what the president is saying. >> let me just be real clear, we're getting to the holiday seasons, we've actually seen a decrease in eggs, bacon and milk since last year, so we're seeing lowering costs. but inflation is up 17.7% since the president took office. >> inflation, inflation, inflation fell to 3%, that matters. for deputy secretary, it's the low unemployment rate at 3.7% that should resonate. >> when do you feel like people will feel financially secure? >> i think it's important for us to step back and remember what the american people have been through. we've been through a pandemic that was global in nature, russia's invasion of ukraine had a tremendous impact on our

economy. >> no one in the administration could actually nail down all of what bidenomics actually stands for. >> the president hasn't mentioned bidenomics by name since november 1st, are you guys standing behind that term, bidenomics? >> we're standing behind record job growth, record low levels of unemployment, but also, what bidenomics really is about to investing in america. >> and she's talking about government spending, which led to the government being the second largest higher of workers in this jobs report, neil. neil: edward lawrence, thank you for that. and a brilliant market read and economic read of things. what they're essentially saying, gary, and you heard it there, we don't know what you're whining about, things are good. what do you say? >> well, i think they should be listening to americans. i have to tell you, neil, the stunning number that i've seen, a poll number that had two third disapproval rate for the president, jobs unemployment at 3.7%, would i think unemployment was at 10%.

i think other things are at work here and i think it's debt and i think it's price. debt for the consumer is going higher, much higher. credit card usage has skyrocketed and price, people are still paying much higher price for goods from two, three years ago, though the good news in the near term, oil prices have really come down over the last two months and let's hope that sticks. neil: they're buying nevertheless, not everybody and a good many to your point might be slapping it on plastic and pushing their debt, you know, pay back quite a few months, if not longer, forward. but they're still buying and these numbers are a little startle, jetblue and other carriers, the travel demands and robust through the new year. where do you see things going? >> well, at this juncture, i think we're in shape. i go out all the time, i go to the airports and they are

packed. that's the good news. the stock market is up and the people feel a little more wealthy. you know, the hope continues, but i think there's the disconnect is pretty simple and i have to just mention again, debt really does the trick and the other part of the equation is the government. we're running a $2 trillion deficit. that goes into the economy, the amount of government jobs created that's part of this whole thing and i think that people are looking at that, but again, so far so good and as i've said to you many, many times, it's all going to be about jobs going forward. if we continue with a strong job market i think we'll be in shape. if we lose jobs with the amount of debt that's out there, i'm really, really worried as we move forward because there's nothing worse than the consumer carrying too much debt and not able to pay it back, and as we know, the consumer's a good 70% of the economy. neil: you know, speaking of the consumer and maybe if i can extend it, a look at the markets. and we're about six weeks in a row for the major averages,

they're up appreciably, for the nasdaq, almost 40% year to date. unless everything goes upsidedown, like a strong year. i'm curious what you then see for next year traditionally, a strong year for the markets. any presidential election year tends to be that. so, play that out. >> at the end of october, yields topped, oil prices topped, the market bottom, as long as they stay down i think the market is pretty good shape. i worry about valuation, but if we start to see yields backing up towards 5 and oil prices backing up to the highs of two months ago, all bets will be off on the market, but i've got to tell you right now, it's really in shape. i'm the most invested i've been in quite a while. the good news is technology is leading and as you know, technology leads markets up and down, and it remains in shape. the other part of the equation that i really like right now is the financials. it looks like they've gotten over what happened in february with silicon valley bank and

they're getting going. even the regional banks are acting much better here. when you get the one-two punch of financials in shape typically the market stays in shape and let's hope it continues. i hope we get a few months of that. i'm a happy guy if this continues. >> you know, i've had a chance to talk to the red fin ceo and the other guys, they've been joining me on fox business, and gary, if you don't have it, you should, and you're on it, so congratulations. >> yeah. neil: they say the same thing, fear of mortgage activity, crimped activity, and maybe we could see 6 1/2, 30 year fixed mortgage very little time in the new year and a turn around in home prices that might be jumping and might ebb a little bit and more sellers coming into the market, reluctant home owners saying maybe the water is good we'll put our home out there.

what do you think of that, just the real estate part of it? >> well, i think the distortions have to be worked out, neil. i call it the-- because of jay powell not taking it down to zero, and nobody wants to take the mortgage. and rates come down and let's hope they stay down and i believe there's one bit of trouble. i think there's a lot of fantasy land prices out there and they're starting to come down, but i think we're okay and it's just going to be location, location, location. neil: you're in one of the premier locations right now in florida and orlando. >> oh, yeah. neil: good seeing you, my friend. >> thanks, neil. neil: in the meantime, i hate to burst your shopping bubble, if you're along the east coast on sunday, you're going be in in nasty weather, 50 mile per hour winds or more, doesn't stop a lot of people, but it could. wanted to give you a heads-up after this. holiday shopping got easier

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>> all right. i don't want to disrupt your shopping plans, but we're in for nasty weather, a good chunk of the country is. >> it's going to be rowdy across the mid mississippi and tennessee valley, about 30 million in the threat zone for the storms that are going to fire up through the afternoon. it brings damaging winds and even an isolated tornado of possibility. in nashville the next couple of hours, in the evening, 5:00, 6:00, broadway will be rowdy in more ways than one, be aware shopping and out and about and have your fox weather alert active in your fox app. and the next chance for a storm is the east coast, heavy rain moving in the corridor, sunday night into monday morning's commute. we see the snow on the back end, but it's pretty insignificant, a couple of

inches through the mountains. it's the flood potential that's dangerous, 50 million under flood alerts as we go through sunday into monday. d.c., new york, in the threat zone for nearly two to three inches of rain in a short period of time. up through the hudson valley, maybe three to five. so this is where it's going to be difficult and again, it moves in the second half of the day on sunday, at the same time that we see the heavy rain, neil, we also see very strong winds. we have wind gusts potentially up to 70 miles per hour. we have high wind watches for the coastal areas, new york, up through new england and this is where we're going to see the potential for power outages, downed trees and it stays windy through monday. the difference is, the start of the storm, it's a south wind, it's warmer, but it is going to shift behind the storm as we go through monday, that shift to the northwest, neil, it brings in a bitter blast of cold and it's going to add insult to injury and keep the threat for downed trees and potential for power outages going into the start of work week.

>> oh, boy, thank you for that, our fox weather meteorologist extraordinare. fox weather, i should say. into the storm the special tonight at 8 p.m., you won't want to miss it. and fox meteorologist janice dean shares stories with first responders, the guys that go into trouble not running away from trouble and risk their lives rescuing others. again, 8 p.m. tonight. really fascinating to get to the spirit of the season just watching these men and women who just, it's in their dna to do this. all right, and apparently, it's in vladimir putin's dna to want to be leader of russia, he signed up five years and he just might get it, shock and shock, he's the front runner, imagine that.

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>> all right. las vegas bookies have already said that vladimir putin is the front runner to be the next leader of russia because for the last quarter of a century he has been the leader of russia and wants it sign up for what would be another five year term and take him past 2030, six years if he has his way. i wonder what lt. colonel bob mcinnis, he goes back to working with people dating back to bill clinton through the president, could be a couple of more for all we know when all is said and done. what do you think that he's the front runner? >> he's the front runner, he controls the press, he controls the oligarchs and of course, he's having his way in a variety of areas and in spite of the fact that demographically, the country is having its challenges, but with regard to the war in ukraine, it's interesting that he is

escalating the size of his army to 2.2 million, increasing the defense budget and says he's not going to talk to the ukrainian zelenskyy and the like and of course, and then he continues to bombard kyiv and other parts of that country. they're stretched out along a 600 mile stretch, but stopped the counter offensive this summer so feels pretty good about himself and evidently, so do the russian people. neil: you know, what surprises me. i know only certain information gets in and in russia he's popular, but you hear the stories, they're legion, where a lot of russian moms and wives wonder where are our, you know, our sons and our husbands, and this war is dragging on and on. but he does remain popular, maybe the way he's framed it, this is a battle against the evil west and it's for the good of russia to stop the evils of the great western satans, but it's working, right? >> it is, and in part, putin is

reading the west very, very well. he knows that you know, like mr. biden said the other day, we can't let putin win this war. well, you know, really, neil, that's a hobson's choice. the fact is that putin knows that maybe he can't, you know, defeat n.a.t.o. and probably can't defeat ukrainians as long as n.a.t.o. is standing behind them, but he sees four provinces in eastern part of ukraine and they're going to participate in helping to elect mr. putin in march of this next year. some realities are rather sobering. neil: i didn't think of that that among those electing him would be results in ukraine. how long do you see this war dragging on, by the way, in ukraine? right now financing is looking difficult for president zelenskyy. your quick thoughts on that? >> my concern is hopefully this isn't a forever war much like

what happened in '64 with lyndon johnson and you know, after the gulf of tonkin resolution, he charged in that and escalated our activities because he didn't see the right sort of momentum and of course, he made the argument that it was going to spread communism all over southeast asia. well, i think, like i said earlier, this is a hobson's choice, no, it's not. we need to get out of that and we need to recognize this is not 1964. this is 2023 and mr. putin is really calling the shots. neil: all right. got it. colonel, always good talking to you, thank you very much. we should stipulate here the so-called march elections involve no primaries and so far no formal opposition to vladimir putin. it is the way it is. fox continues. can't stop adding stuff to your cart? get the bank of america customized cash rewards card, choose the online shopping category

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>> hunter biden blasting critics accusing republicans of trying to kill