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"don lemon tonight" with the big star, d lemon. i found it hard. it's hard to find. oh well, well whatever, never mind. that's how i feel about that lawsuit. except for one aspect. >> yeah. >> that firm does a lot of legitimate work about a very important area of the law which is people who were abused, and through the process of pornography -- >> that's not what this is about. >> right. and they -- especially the idea of years later, realizing what happened to you. that is a really, really important and delicate construct in the law and society. and i just hope that somebody's not misapplying it for profit here. >> i think you're being -- listen, you're being very generous, as -- and -- and very careful as you should be. i am not. because this is where our judicial system, the legal

system, the court system should be overhauled and looked at because someone should look at that and say get out of my courtroom with this. >> well, that could happen. >> well, and it should happen. let's just be honest. but that's -- that's not what this is about. look. good luck with them, for all of that. fine. but it, also, for legitimate issues when it comes to what you are talking about. it diminishes that because there are people who have real issues, that should in the court of law. the legal system is being over -- it's overwrought and overrun with people who file these lawsuits that should not -- i mean, barely have the merit or whatever. >> you have -- you have sanctions. you have frivolous lawsuits and no one's saying -- >> if someone put my picture -- my naked picture of a kid on an album, this is me as a kid. look. that's how most people -- that's how that person should be. that's how that person should be, and they did it for years. so let's stop the bs.

that's not -- it's bs and it's -- to say it's not about money, it is about money. i'm sorry. >> well, there's -- there's money attached to the lawsuit. so obviously -- obviously, there is. >> ask them to remove it and tell them you don't want any money. >> look. every lawsuit has to survive some rejudgment. which means if you assume all the facts as presented by the plaintiff, do you have a claim upon which relief should be granted under the law? i don't know that this survives because if you assume all the facts, even the way the guy did, it doesn't make any sense because -- so just now? this isn't, hey, i remember what someone did to me way back when and, you know, it was so horrible that my -- my -- psychologically, i suppressed it. he's been well aware of what this was the entire time. he's got never mind tattooed across his chest. but it is an interesting thing. >> here's what a judge should say. take this out of my courtroom, please. >> yeah. but that may be what happens. >> and that's what should happen because, otherwise, people are going to continue to do that. and any -- anybody -- any law firm worth its salt should say

to these people, stop it. stop it. >> if you look at the law firm, it does a lot of important work. what i am saying is this. >> i don't know about the law firm. i just -- i am looking at this. i looked at this today. >> just the threat and the cultural place that we are right now about what's okay, what isn't, and what's the standard. take a look around at how people are portraying the album cover when discussing this story. take a look and you will see what is interesting to me about it. which is just the threat of being on the wrong side of something that's cultural right now sparks quick responses. >> why is the album cover even back in the zeitgeist? back in the ethos? it's because of those. otherwise -- >> unless you are a fan, the 30th anniversary is coming up. >> it's an iconic-album cover. i never even saw it. i never even thought about it. never even saw the kid's genitalia. i just saw it as a cute baby and they are talking about grasping for money and the album meant something, beyond, right? it had a meaning. >> right. if he was never paid in the

beginning, if his parents were never paid for the image, that's one thing. >> well, that's the thing. >> right. but this is very different. >> well, if you are going to say this is child pornography, then what's your parents? what do your parents have to do with it? what's their -- i mean, do they have an obligation here? is there an onus on them? >> they do, the father has told the story before. look. we know what this is about but again, it's capturing a lot of people's attention and it was worth kind of just pushing around just to see. >> that was a good story. i'm glad you did it. >> i will tell you something else that matters a whole lot more, and kind of triggers the same sense of what's right and what's wrong. and i am very -- i'm more worried tonight about afghanistan than i have been any night up until now in this new phase of biden's administration arguably botching the exit. um -- which is, you cannot be focused on a deadline right now. you have to get your people out. and here's why. phil mudd, who knows way better about this stuff than i do. he says there is no good answer. yeah. but there can be a worse answer. which is if you leave, you

guarantee anyone who's left behind is gonna be in a bad way and they will be looked at. and they will be hunted. and there will be recriminations. if you stay past the deadline, that may cause problems. but that assumes that the taliban really wants to get down against the united states of america. >> yeah. >> if you leave and you leave americans behind, god forbid, or you leave allies behind, you guarantee they have problems. >> yeah. >> do you guarantee problems if you stay beyond the 31st? i don't know that. >> you not -- you're never going to get everybody out. >> try. >> of course. and they are trying. i think actually -- i actually think they are doing a good job of getting people out. look at the -- the -- the tens of thousands of people they have gotten out. i think the administration has done a good job. those images, initially, what happened. did that reflect poorly on the united states? absolutely. >> right but they're doing the job they are doing now because they screwed up the job, originally. so i don't want to give 'em too much credit. >> that's fine but i want to

give them the credit because that's a lot of people. >> but they had to get them out because they screwed up the exit. >> but they'd have to get them out, anyways. >> had they renegotiated the deal in the last seven months, they could have done it on their own time. not the taliban's. >> but they would still have to get people out and even in seven months, i think it is an impossibility to get every single person out of the country who wants to get out of afghanistan. >> but that's not our job. our job is to get americans and the strategic allies. not everybody. >> you're just -- you're making my point but that is my breaking news so i'm going do get to it. >> i love you, d lemon. >> you as well. i will see you soon. this is d"don lemon tonight." we have got a lot tonight but i have to begin with the breaking news out of afghanistan. that's what i was just telling chris. i want to get to it. citing security threats. here it is. citing security threats. okay? americans have been warned to stay away from the kabul airport and those at three gates have been told to leave and do it immediately. that, amid fears of what's being called a very specific threat stream from isis-k about planned

attacks against crowds outside the airport. and those crowds have been growing. more than 10,000 people swarming the airport today. a u.s. defense official tells cnn there are real concerns isis-k, a sworn enemy of the taliban, wants to create mayhem. they want to do it amid fears that they're capable and planning multiple attacks. that as the white house says 19,000 people were evacuated over a 24-hour period. more than 82,000 evacuated on u.s. military and coalition flights since august 14th. did you hear that? more than 82,000. that's a lot of people. evacuated on u.s. military and coalition flights since august 14. secretary of state tony blinken, antony blinken, says that there could be as many as 1,500 americans still in afghanistan. and he says efforts to evacuate americans and afghan allies will continue past the troop withdrawal on august 31st. >> there is no deadline on our

work to help any remaining american citizens who decide they want to leave to do so. along with the many afghans who have stood by us over these many years, and want to leave and have been unable to do so. that effort will continue, every day past august 31st. >> so the white house is saying that they are looking at options to make sure americans can still leave afghanistan after the end of the month. the stories coming out of kabul tell you just how chaotic the situation at the airport still is. one woman and her two children tried nearly a dozen times to get in for a flight to join her husband, a u.s. citizen. finally, making it through when she dressed her baby daughter in yellow, and held her over her head so that she could be seen. after sending a photo of her to marines in a whatsapp group. and we are learning tonight about 20 san diego students from a school district with kids ranging in age from preschool to 8th grade. are you listening to me? who have traveled to afghanistan

this summer to visit family, and are now unable to get to the airport. we got more on this story. that is coming up. but in the midst of the race against time in afghanistan, the president is not -- is not losing sight of his agenda here at home and his promises to americans. >> does he think that the build back better plan is as urgent and as time sensitive as this evacuation of americans and afghan friendlies from kabul? >> well, first of all, i think it's important to the american people who care deeply about whether they are going to have jobs. whether they're going to have childcare. whether they are -- whether we are going to be able to compete with china and countries around the world to understand that we have to do multiple things, at the same time. that's exactly what any president of the united states has to do. >> right at the top of the president's domestic agenda, covid. more than 100,000 americans are hospitalized with the virus. a number we haven't seen since last winter. the number of cases in children

soaring. texas children's hospital reporting a record number of kids hospitalized. and with the back-to-school season and delta running rampant, there are worries that it could get worse. 28.8% of the eligible population -- 28.8% of the eligible population 12 and up is not yet vaccinated even after the fda gave full approval to the pfizer vaccine this week. some folks don't want vaccines. but take a look at this. all right? they don't want vaccines but look at this. this is a line for monoclonal antibody treatments in tampa. again, that's emergency authorization, as well. that, as the mask wars are heating up across the country with deadly information running wild from anti-maskers. >> there's a lot of good guys out there ready to do bad things soon! watch what's coming! these -- these mandates are

[ inaudible ]. >> why so angry? it's -- it's a mask. and then, there is this school board meeting in south carolina and the outrageous, bogus conspiracy theory that the cdc is somehow plotting to turn schools into concentration camps. >> cdc is considering what is called the shielding approach to prevent covid-19. it is the plan to shut down schools and to use them as camps. to physically isolate men, women, and children. now, we know that concentration camps were something that the nazis did. but it can come here at any moment, and we need to be aware. >> just because you can have

kids does not mean you should. yeah, i said it. and it would be funny, if it weren't for the fact that people's lives are at stake. the misinformation, the lies, they're killing us. and then, there is the big lie, of course, that fueled one of the darkest days in american history. january 6th. that's when blood-thirsty rioters tried to overthrow our free and fair presidential election. hunting lawmakers forced to run for their lives. beating police. american heroes trying to defend the seat of our democracy. the house select committee investigating january 6th, demanding documents from a long list of government agencies, including the doj, the pentagon, the fbi, homeland security, and the national archives keeper of the previous administration's white house records. they, also , want documents and

communications related to the trump family, including melania trump, ivanka trump, jared kushner, eric trump, and the former guy's oldest son and namesake donald trump, jr. you remember he said this about lawmakers who were just about to vote on january 6th to certify joe biden's electoral college victory, right before crowds of violent trump supporters marched on the capitol. here it is. >> you can be a hero. or you can be a zero. and the choice is yours but we are all watching! the whole world is watching, folks. choose wisely. >> who is he talking about there? you can be a hero or you can be a zero. choose wisely. [ laughter ]

sorry. sorry. the committee also looking for records from election deniers, like rudy giuliani. >> let's have trial by combat. >> and looking for evidence of the former guy's pressure campaign to overturn election results in georgia. >> so, look. all i want to do is this. i just want to find -- uh -- 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, because we won the state. >> with those last three sound bytes, it should be like circus music or looney tunes music. and we lived through that. can you believe that? we lived through that. that's the actual truth. that's when comedians, especially especially late-night hosts, didn't really have to write

anything. they would just play the words back that the folks actually said. well, he is saying now that he's going to invoke executive privilege in an attempt to block requests from the committee. we already knew they want telecommunications companies to preserve phone records of several people, including some members of congress. and some of them might be pretty worked up about that. remember this. this is just last month, right? this was congressman jim jordan himming and huhhing trying not to make eye contact. thrown for a loop by one very simple question. did you speak with the then-president on january 6th? >> did you speak with president trump on january 6th? >> yeah. i mean, i speak -- i spoke with the president last week. i speak with the president all the time. i spoke with him on january 6th. i mean, i talk with president trump all the time. i don't think that's unusual. i would expect members of congress to talk with the president of the united states when they're trying to get done the things they told the voters in their district to do. i -- i -- i'm actually kind of

amazed sometime people keep asking this. of course, like i said, i talked to him last week. >> on january 6th, did you speak with him before, during, or after the capitol was attacked? >> i'd have to go -- i'd -- i spoke with him, that day, after? i think after? i don't know if i spoke with him in the morning or not. i -- i just don't know. i'd have to go back and -- i mean, i don't -- i don't -- i don't know that -- when -- when those conversations happened. but um, but what i know is i spoke with him all the time. >> so, oh boy. you speak with him all the time. you spoke with him on january 6th. maybe after. but you'd have to go back but you don't know when those conversations happened. but all you know is that you spoke with him all the time. recognize this phrase, come on, man? so, you are trying to tell us that you don't remember when you spoke to the president of the united states on -- when this was happening on this day.

the day the capitol was attacked by rioters. this was all going on, on that day. and playing out live on television screens all over the country which includes the capitol. and you don't remember? a day none of us will ever forget. we saw it all live on our tv. like i said before, the misinformation and the lies, they are killing us and they are killing our democracy. the misinformation and the lies about covid and about the big lie that fueled the attack on the united states capitol. we got to get a handle on all of it. as mentioned in our breaking news, an ominous warning tonight that americans should stay away from the airport in kabul. and anybody who's already there should leave, immediately. what does this mean for desperate people still trying to escape the taliban with time running out? >> there is a threat. this has been a dangerous place that has had threats by isis.

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this is our breaking news tonight. the u.s. embassy in kabul advising u.s. citizens at a number of gates at the kabul airport to, quote, leave immediately. leave immediately. citing security threats outside the gates. australia, also, warning its citizens saying there is an ongoing and very high threat of terrorist attack. state department says that there are about 1,500 people who may be americans left in afghanistan. so joining me now, the legendary

journalist, sam donaldson, and cnn military analyst, retired general mark hertling. i am so glad to have both of you on. thank you so much. general, of course, i am going to start with you. cnn reported earlier today the concerns about security around the airport in kabul have increased based on, quote, a very serious threat stream from isis-k about planned attacks against crowds outside the airport. now, this ominous warning tonight. what's your assessment of what's happening there on the ground? >> yeah, it's something i have been talking about for a while, don, on cnn and various programs. this is all about of a neo operation. you know, in a contested, noncombatant evacuation operation, a neo, you are going to have different phases of the operation. we saw the first couple of days being the chaotic phase. then, it smoothed out and we were starting to get a lot of folks out. we're now in the time when the enemy is about to get a vote or they are trying to get a vote. and that's why the embassy issued this warning tonight. i don't think this is the end of

the evacuation. but we're going to go into another phase here, pretty soon, if -- if we can contain any threats to the airfield. we're going to go into a phase where we end this thing and there are going to be some last lights out. it's going to be heart wrenching. there is going to be equipment moved and soldiers ready to -- to defend the runway, and defend the final airplanes going out. but it's going to be difficult. >> yeah. the alert, general, says anyone at three of the airport's gates should leave immediately. and u.s. citizens should avoid traveling to and from the airport and avoid airport gates, unless specifically instructed to go there. does it sound to you like these gates and the people around them have become targets? >> yes, absolutely. and i've been saying this for a couple days that as a guy who planned and almost executed a neo, the biggest concern you have is when the enemy does get that vote. and what i see from my experience in iraq and other

combat zones, those gates with the literally thousands of people is a huge danger zone, don. that -- that -- you know, it would be embarrassing for both the taliban which we don't really care if it's embarrassing to them. but it would be dangerous for the folks who are trying to get on the flights. a vehicle-born explosive device. i have seen those explode at gates and in hard targets and they will potentially kill tens or hundreds of people. and that's exactly what the embassy is trying to avoid right now when we've got that crush of humanity outside those three gates. >> got it. sam donaldson, the president was briefed on contingency plans but remains committed to that august-31st deadline. and now tonight, we have this warning. if the threat is so urgent, what decisions to you -- do you expect him to -- to make in these critical days remaining? >> this urgent threat is one that the president of the united states will have to meet, and make certain that it's turned back with all the power we have.

assuming we can turn it back. # you know, i'm horrified by what's happening over there. all americans are. the chaos. the threat to us. the threat to afghans. the threat to afghan women, later on. i'm -- don't have a cold heart about these things but joe biden has gotten one thing right. the most important thing. the essential thing. after 20 years and $80 billion and all of our efforts, he's getting out. and after this, another mother, another american mother will not see her son or daughter in the military come back from afghanistan in a body bag. we lost 58,000 in vietnam. we have perfect relationships with that country. i would like to see perfect relationships or good relationships with afghanistan but it's a different country with different people, a different religion. different people who want, i think, to do evil for us. so we can't do it. but you are getting out and that's important. >> well, sam, following the --

the fall of kabul, a lot of comparisons were made to the fall of saigon. are those comparisons still fair to make as the u.s. operation reaches its final days. they have really ramped up the operations since then. they have gotten i think 82,000 people out. they are getting a lot of people. i think it was like 1,500 they say may be americans who are left there. now, that doesn't include our afghan allies but they've really ramped up their efforts. is that a fair comparison? >> they've done a terrific job but we didn't have it that hard in vietnam. our secretary of state, henry kissinger, had made a deal with the north vietnamese negotiator. let us out. don't press us. give us a decent interval. then, whatever happens is not our business. and so, in 1973, all of our prisoners came out. john mccain came out. all of our military came out except, of course, a very few. and for two years, the north vietnamese kept their word. and then, like a wolf coming down on the fold, the north

vietnamese swept, in weeks, down to saigon and our final ambassador there. the few americans left. clutched his flag, our flag to his breast and the last helicopter took off. so we didn't have this chaos then because the north vietnamese kept their word. i don't think the taliban will keep their word. i don't trust them and i don't think the general trusts them and i don't think americans who have been over there and know them far better than i do are going to trust them. and it's unfortunate but right now the thing is get out. >> i want you to respond, general. let me ask you this question as -- as you are responding to that. based on the few, you know, americans left, it seems to be the case that some of those people are not directly -- um -- near the airport. the pentagon confirmed that they are performing extraction operations by helicopters to get people there. how difficult is it to organize and pull off these kinds of missions? >> well, i won't comment on whether or not we're doing that, don. i'm smart enough not to do that. but i will tell you that the

special operating forces that conduct extraction operations are extremely well-trained. they do it in a very precise manner. it is very difficult when you're talking about an area that's as wide as some of the areas they might be going into in afghanistan. so, yeah, it -- it's tough, no doubt about it. but there -- we've seen over the last couple of days isas the --s the evacuation operation has continued, some unbelievable courage and heroism and empathy of all service members, not just special operators and some of the afghan special operators that are at the airfield. but especially, the marines and army that are guarding the field. but -- and i say this as an army guy -- those pilots that are flying those c-17s and c-130s are doing some phenomenal work. i heard a story about a pilot today that when he was told there were -- you know, his crew chief told him there were 900 bodies onboard and did he have enough power to take off? and he just said, watch me.

that's the kind of heroism that these young captains and majors flying these aircraft are conducting. >> amen. thank you both, gentlemen. thank you, general. thank you, sam. i appreciate it. investigators want to know everything trump and his closest confidants were doing around january 6th. a special committee demanding documents. stay with us.

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it all, comes down, to this. ♪♪ the house select committee investigating the january 6th capitol insurrection pushing to get documents from multiple government agencies and the request is absolutely massive. the committee digging into trump and his role in the riot and -- and they are seeking records relating to dozens of people that he had communications with. trump already vowing to invoke executive privilege to fight the requests. let's discuss now. cnn's senior law enforcement analyst and former-fbi deputy director, mr. andrew mccabe is here. he is the author of "the

threat: how the fbi protects america in the age of terror and trump." good evening, sir. a lot to talk about. it's been a little bit. it's good to see you. so the committee is demanding a huge trove of documents across eight agencies, including the doj, the fbi, and the national archives which holds the trump's administration's records. what does the scope of this tell you about what the committee is looking for? >> well, don, i take it as a very good sign. um, i was -- i have been skeptical of how well the committee would -- would execute their responsibilities here, from the very beginning. um -- you know, with their undeniably and unavoidably political origins, i was concerned that they wouldn't really go for -- go for broke. but i got to tell you that this document and information request is a very good sign that they are, in fact, embracing all the possible aspects -- um -- of this attack on our democracy. what led to it?

the information that each agency had leading up to it. what happened the day of the attack? what sort of communications were happening between people in the white house, between folks in the white house and on the hill? and then, of course, how we handled the aftermath. so i think it's a good sign that the committee is being aggressive, and they are going to try to be as complete as they can. >> the former guy is saying that he is going to invoke executive privilege. we have seen that before. do you think that's going to work, this time? >> it'll be interesting to watch. i'm not surprised at all that he is doing it, as you mentioned. you know, we've all been down this road before. um, but there is a lot at stake here in this request. and every agency, every entity, the national archives. they're not going to be able to wholesale deny the requests simply because the president may be mounting some sort of a legal challenge. you know, the national archives. we have laws and regulations in this country that require the national archives to preserve

these sorts of records for exactly this purpose. um so, we may end up litigating around the edges, particularly around some of the specific white house information. but there is a lot that the other agencies have to offer here. um, and i think there's -- you know, we -- we'll probably have more success getting information from dhs, from the fbi, and from doj. >> they are trying to -- to look at trump's every move on and around january 6th. they want documents related to his wife, melania. and -- and his children. former-white house officials, allies close to him, like rudy giuliani. if you were on this committee, what would you want to see the most? >> well, i think those things that you've mentioned are particularly interesting because, as we know, several of those folks were present at the rally on the -- on january 6th before the attack on the capitol. so it's -- it's only logical that you would want to know what sort of conversations and

communications they had leading up to their presence in that rally. maybe, after the rally. conversations about what was happening, as it was happening. so that stuff, i think, will be fascinating if we can get it. but for me, don, the really most significant information here is understanding what the agencies, and particularly the fbi, knew about the threat picture in the days and weeks leading up to january 6th. and how they handled that information. what sort of decisions they made about it. what sort of assumptions they may have built into their assessments and how they handled that information. i think that's where we have, really, some room to improve on the obvious failure of january 6th. >> when i said it was -- it was wide ranging and wide reaching, they also want documents. i found this interesting. related to any discussion of the 25th amendment from november 3rd of 2020 to january 20th. look. a lot of this stuff, these requests, you don't know if they are going to get it. but why would they want to see that?

>> boy. that's a fascinating one. and that request led me to wonder, you know, what have they been tipped off that might be out there? you know, what sorts of communications and interactions between folks maybe in the white house, maybe cabinet-level officials may have been taking place that none of us are even aware of, yet. so, it wouldn't be -- it wouldn't be odd for some of these very specific requests to be targeting things that the committee already has information knows exists. we don't know that for a fact yet but it will be interesting to see as we go down the road here. >> thank you very much, andy mccabe. good to see you. >> sure, don. crisis in afghanistan. but is that what most americans are focused on? the priorities are the people. next. [zippers fasten] [engine revs] woo-hoo! it's time for your extracurriculars. ¡vámanos, amigos! (upbeat pop music in background throughout)

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president biden and his administration juggling serious issues, both internationally and domestically. evacuating thousands of americans and others from afghanistan with the deadline to withdrawal just days away. while, also, focusing on getting his economic agenda through congress and pushing americans to get vaccinated against covid-19. there is a lot to discuss. frank luntz is here.

he is a pollster and communication strategist. we know him. wow, he is back stateside. good to see you, frank. welcome home. >> good to see you. thank you. >> does it feel weird being back? >> for the first 24 hours. now, it actually feels good to be back. but, don, i am leaving again in about seven days. going back to the motherland. and i look forward to returning. >> well, let's talk about what is happening overseas. okay? so there is so much attention on what's happening in afghanistan. the way it fell to the tall iba. but is this a big priority for the american people with everything else, domestic issues like the economy, infrastructure, covid? >> it -- it's a higher priority than foreign policy normally is because we see what's happening in afghanistan. and, don, the key component here is actually not just the policy. it's the visuals. >> right. >> you see the airport in chaos. we see people falling off of planes. it reminds them of what happened on 9/11 and the reaction's very negative. i want to emphasize that it's

not actually what's happening right now that i'm focused on as a pollster. i'm looking at what happens in the weeks and months to come. what happens to the schools for women? what happens to terrorism? are we marked across the globe? or is the taliban truly different? what the president's looking at right now is not just what's happening in august of 2021. what really matters is over the next six months and 12 months. and one more point. foreign policy is only an issue for the white house. it is rare that congressional races ever turn on a foreign-policy issue. so we are looking at 2024 and its impact on the off year, off-season elections in 2022. >> got it. okay. so, if we look at president biden's handling of the issues. this is just a poll. it's from -- um -- nbc news. the situation in afghanistan, just 25% approve. on the economy, 47% approve. coronavirus, 53% approve.

the afghanistan numbers are low. but if the white house can contain the fallout, and get everyone out, will it matter in the long term, as you said, in 2024? because you're looking ahead. >> i'm also looking at the attributes. do you believe in what the president says? do you believe he has a command of the facts? do you believe that he is agile and flexible to take into account what's happening? we always talk about issues because that's how we've looked at campaigns and that's how we've looked at politics. but the fact is -- and this -- this goes back really to ronald reagan and the last 40 years. the attributes. do you trust that individual? do you have confidence in them? do you have peace of mind? those are even more important than the issues. and i also look at trends. and the president got started -- got a very good start, february and march. his numbers were much higher than -- than donald trump's even though trump doesn't want to acknowledge that. but those numbers have fallen back much quicker than they did

for donald trump four years ago. and i know that the white house, in its heart of harts, earts, i concerned right now because it's not just afghanistan where the numbers have fallen but they are ten points lower on the economy. they are ten points lower on covid than they were in february and march. and what politicians do is they look at trends, not the actual number, what it is viet now. but the trend over the last three, four, five months. and those trends are not good for the president at this moment. >> let's talk about covid now. but between the seriousness of this delta variant and pfizer getting full-fda approval, will more skeptics roll up their sleeves and get the shot? what are you hear something hearing? >> so i'm hearing good news and bad news. the good news is that you are going to see a surge in vaccines over the next 30 days. the combination of the fda, the -- the delta variant which the public is aware of and very concerned about. the -- the fact that there are now mandates in -- in offices and in places of employment. these are all having an impact.

that's the good news. and the bad news is that i believe you can now pinpoint a number where we will not climb above. and when you bring health experts on, you should ask them act this. about this. i don't think we are going to get above 75% vaccinated based on what polling numbers show and based on where we are right now. so we are going to go way above our current level. but i don't think we are going to get to the levels that dr. fauci and people at the cdc want us to be at. the consequences of that are significant because it means that we will be susceptible to variants and some of them could be even worse than they are right now. and -- and the last point, which is one that you have been making on your show again and again, is that there are some people that just won't respond to the facts. they won't respond to the information. and what the american people want more than anything else is the truth. and they're getting the truth, and they're still saying no to the vaccine. i don't know how to overcome that. >> yeah. and -- and saying no to the vaccine.

and then, some of them lining up for monoclonal antibody therapy which -- it makes no sense. okay. quickly, before i have to let you go. um, you -- you have done this polling on how americans see the country. what -- what is that? >> it's very negative. and by the way, there is a there's a word for americans who won't respond to the truth and the facts. we call it meshugga. and with the holidays coming up for the jewish people i think that's a very appropriate word for some of these people. what concerns me about where americans stand right now is so few of them feel like their country is invested in them. don, there's been billions of dollars that have been spent, trillions of dollars, to bring our country back after covid and yet you've got only a third of americans who believe that their country is invested in them and their future. we've got now just under 50% that believe america's exceptional. over a quarter believe america's a failed country. and this stuff makes me very nervous. i understand the anger. i understand the frustration.

i don't understand the violence. but i get it that people feel disappointed. but i don't think this country's a failed country. whether you're a democrat or republican, there's something for everyone in america, and we always come back. the fact that we are so negative and so pessimistic, i think we need to talk about it. and the data that we have suggests that the numbers are only getting worse with each passing month. >> thank you. listen, i think the attack on institutions, especially over the last five years, is a big factor in that. frank luntz, thank you. i appreciate it. i'll see you soon. be well. >> thank you. more than half of schools in florida going against their governor to require masks. he is fighting against them. but his constituents, take this, mostly aren't on his side. okay, it's an app that compares hundreds of travel sites for hotels and cars and vacation rentals like kayak does for flights. so it's kayak. yeah, like kayak. why don't you just call it kayak.

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take this. a majority of florida voters are not happy with how gop governor ron desantis is handling the pandemic. 51% disapprove of the governor's response to the coronavirus crisis and things are not going well in the state, with metrics trending in the wrong direction. last week, florida reported more deaths than any other time throughout the pandemic. and daily cases and hospitalizations in the state are also at record highs. a majority of florida voters also disagree with how desantis is handling schools. and the coronavirus situation in florida schools, not good. not good at all. almost 12,000 students have tested positive for covid so far this year across florida's 15 largest districts. and thousands of students and teachers have had to quarantine because of those cases. desantis has issued an executive order banning schools from instituting mask mandates but eight counties have defied the order as cases have grown.

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