approaching, categoryis approaching. it stays there, hovers over land,. >> 25 inches of rain. stuart: unimaginable. we're on it and we'll cover it. my time is up. neil, sir, it is yours. neil: we're following the hurricane as well, stuart. this is category 3 storm, we'll keep track of it on this channel and fox news updated live "cost of freedom," when all this will hit the fan apparently all at once, 10 through noon eastern time. special live "cost of freedom" because of veriments from mother nature. this political storm continues to brew between the president and senator mitch mcconnell. we thought a lot of this was being put to bed when mitch mcconnell was coming out with complimentary thins to say

about the president but the president followed up with tweets, despite the two will meet sometime first full week of september, after next weekend's labor day weekend, the president tweeting i requested that mitch mcconnell and paul ryan tie the debt ceiling legislation into the popular va bill. coming from the president which passed for easy approval. in other words, he is attaching strings to raising the debt ceiling. they didn't do so, president says. we have a big deal with dems, holding them up as usual on debt ceiling approval. could have been so easy. now it's a mess. only problem i have with mitch mcconnell after hearing repeal and replace for seven years he failed. that should have never happened. in case you thought these guys were going to smoke the peace pipe and aarp apparently they're smoking at something else and smoking and smoldering at each other. something for tax reform near and dear to the markets is another thing, right? we're getting latest indications they're pushing this back

sometime around christmas eve. fund-raiserextraordinaire noelle nikpour what it means for the grand ol' party and the rest of the country. what do you think, noelle? >> this is really horrible. to be put into position we don't know what will happen with entire republican house and senate and yada yada, it is said we don't know if this will be a bill or not, if it will be passed through. one of the things, do you remember, neil? he has a beef with mitch mcconnell, but do you remember one of the biggest victories we have is neil gorsuch being on the supreme court. neil: that's right. >> do do you remember what mitch mcconnell did, postponed hearings. neil: we got into yesterday. i have no particular horse in this race or argument here. all about the agenda, whether you're republican or democrat, there are a lot of sound points to this economic agenda being foisted by both men.

they agree on broad blueprints to pick up on the economic activity which by any measure has been paltry over last few years, well off the lows of the recession, i grant you, but i worry it even comes to pass now and does this get in the way of that? >> you have got a point there but the sad thing of it is we shouldn't be having this debate. he shouldn't be doing this. why can't the president work with everybody? why is this played out nut public so much? but i will tell you with pressure of the fail health care passing two times, didn't get passed, we have got a lot of pressure on this tax reform and you know paul ryan has assured we'll have the funding in for his wall and everything else and everything is going to be okay. this is still not a sure thing and the fact it is not a sure thing is worrisome to not only

republicans but to everybody since tax cuts, they affect the economy 100%. you know like donald trump was taking credit for the great market, as well he should, but what's going to happen with this market if we don't get these things into play? what is the market going to do? is he going to take credit for that? what will happen afterwards? everybody is looking at the republicans, praying, crossing our fingers we can get this done because it is not what will happen to midterm elections, not what -- >> right on all accounts, whether people of your political persuasion or not, fact of the matter, something i raised on the show yesterday with my buddy stuart varney i think hope is dwindling these tax cuts get addressed this year. that is my opinion. it is reinforced with on going bad blood between president and mitch mcconnell apparently getting worse, not better, then mitch mcconnell signaling himself tax cuts could be pushed back even more.

i want you to listen to this. >> i think we'll produce a much better tax code, that will make a huge difference for our country and it will be done during this congress. neil: did you catch, did you catch the end of that noel? it will be done during this con gas. >> yeah. neil: this congress goes into next year which means not necessarily this year. next year becomes very problematic to do that in election year, can be done, not dismissing the possibility but it's a lot harder. what do you think? >> i think he is giving himself some wiggle room, don't you think? and i think he is alluding to the fact there is some trouble, there is some trouble in paradise, where republicans really should unite. health care i understand, a lot of states and division, but tax reform? that is one of the things on the republican party platform the we're for less regulation, low taxes, that is kind of what we stand for. if we can't come together with

this, this will be really katy-bar-the-door but i do, when you played that tape, you're right. i think mcconnell is kind of alluding to the fact, we, you know, there might be some pushback and that's really unfortunate and we need mcconnell and trump, especially trump. really it is trump, to remember mitch mcconnell's loyalty when during 2016 when he pushed those hearings, we have the big victory with gorsuch. so he needs to remember that. neil: that was before he became president where essentially, against a lot of bad press, i remember mitch mcconnell getting a lot of bad press at time, worked all the strings as leader of the senate to push back on the president, then president president's choice for the supreme court, paved the way for neil gorsuch. i know we work in a world where, what have you done for me lately. but he had done that in the past, whether you like mitch mcconnell or not. i'm not casting aspersions on either gentleman, they're not, gentlemanly, and it is causing

problems. thank you so much, noelle nikpour. all of this is kind of stuff that gets in the way of the tax cuts and we keep mentioning tax cuts, tax reform, whatever you want to call it because that is what a lot of folks seem to think the advances are holding up, prospects of taxes but now when you say the president saying debt ceiling measure will be a real battle and he wants to attach serious spending issues to it like more funding for the va, possibly tie it to building a wall between ourselves and mexico, you can understand how that seems out of zing, not own with republican leadership who want a clean debt ceiling extension, hike, if you will, much like the president's own treasury secretary steve mnuchin who had been hoping for a clean debt selling hike, the president doesn't share that time to ask new york republican congressman tom reed whether he does. congressman, the sense i get not all republicans are on the same

page on this issue of a potential government shutdown over this debt ceiling thing but that is led by the president of the united states. what do you think? >> no, i think we're, we obviously will have to take care of the debt ceiling and keep the government running, and neil, what i do believe is happening you will see the rise of governing members of in congress of house and senate on both sides of the aisle, willing to shed the shirts-skins game brought us to gridlock. work for the american people, that is who hired us, that who we work for and that the biggest opportunity i see the next 90 days. neil: do you think there should be a clean debt ceiling increase? >> i'm open to that, if we have a debt ceiling a serious conversation needs to be had what is causing the debt to go up, how can we fix it? maybe that is a sweet spot getting members together. i am not opposed to it, you need to recognize what the debt ceiling represents, uncontrollable debt increase

going up each and every single day not sustainable. neil: seems debt ceiling is still built on more spending. i understand spending ills which the debt ceiling is placed but the president might want to add by building a wall or more funding for veterans affairs which might be noble goals. that is not the issue here. more spending is. isn't he and others advocating same approach complicating matters, especially the president's case, sir, doing it against the better advice of his treasury secretary and others? >> i agree with that. that is fair criticism, when you're talking about the debt ceiling we should talk about reforms and budget side of the equation. i think that is where we come down. everyone recognizes the national debt is a crisis that is not sustainable. if you use the debt ceiling is as something to negotiate with, why not tie it to something that will fix the problem of the national debt?

to me that is where governing members come in. at the end of the day if the debt crisis hits, who suffers? the american people. if we see that we see a path to the finish line with those members willing to vote and govern. neil: i know congressman, you're in the house and prominent member there, so i'm asking you about things that involve a little bit of back and forth between the senate leader and president, that ajita, continues between the two so it is not eased up. i'm wondering hearing that the president and senate leader might not meet until after labor day, time's a wasting. i hear the senator talking about getting tax reform in this congress, he didn't say this year, this congress, what do you think of that? >> i still think we're going to get tax reform done this year. the reality of the situation it needs to get done this year to get the economy growing for the american people and relationship between mitch mcconnell and the president, at the end of the

day they share a common bond in the agenda they want to achieve for the american people and tax reform is the number one priority. i think that will overcome any differences two people have. they're professionals. they're representing the american people and want to get to the common goal of tax reform. neil: do you think the president should be effectively trashing a guy on his own side? >> whatever the president does i will let the president answer for. neil: would you do that? would you do that, publicly go after another republican in such a public way? >> what i try to do, it is not republicans or democrats. i try to have a sincere conversation to see where the common ground is. i think mitch mcconnell and president are on the same page. they want to do tax reform and do tax cuts for the american people and that will bring them together. regardless of what any differences played out in the press. neil: why are they -- at each other? >> i have 11 older brothers and sisters, neil, i tell you within the family we have awkward

conversations at time but because at the end of the day we have common bond and common goal advancing our family interests, that brings us together to allow us to function. neil: i hear you. i come from a italian family that does the same thing. some relatives disappeared. i don't know what happened. >> thank you very much, neil. neil: we're following up on joe arpaio. remember i talked with him yesterday and the president dangled out -- possibility of a pardon in arizona? president is getting paperwork together doing just that. a lot of folks are angry about that. we're keeping eye on certain category 3 hurricane in the gulf. we'll be watching this around the clock as well. we're planning a live and very news-filled "cost of freedom," saturday 10:00 to 12 on fobs news. -- fox news. the fallout will be big whether

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delivers consistent network performance and speed across all your locations. fast connections everywhere. that's how you outmaneuver. your insurance on time. tap one little bumper, and up go your rates. what good is having insurance if you get punished for using it? news flash: nobody's perfect. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. switch and you could save $782 on home and auto insurance. call for a free quote today. liberty stands with you™ liberty mutual insurance. neil: all right. want to correct something i said a little earlier about harvey, this tropical storm. i said it had risen to a category 3. i missed the fact it was expected to be a category 3 with winds of 111 miles an hour at at

minimum makes landfall in texas thought to be friday night or early saturday morning. it's a tropical storm now but upon landfall meteorologists are saying it could be up to a category 3. wanted to clarify all of that. meanwhile this whole issue of sheriff joe whether he deserves a pardon, remember i talked yesterday to the former maricopa county sheriff and his thoughts on that but the issue now is haw far the president wants to go at least getting paperwork in order to do just that, to pardon the guy. i want you to look at this. >> so -- neil: when you would round up illegals what was the criteria that you used that became so controversial. what was it? >> first of all i had the authority, my people, to do it, because we had the authority to act as immigration officers. number two, there is certain criteria. we didn't go around stopping people because of their color. we stopped them on violation of

law in pursuant to that if they're here illegally, and supreme court says today that you can do that, stop people and ask where they're from. so it is a very controversial situation. a lot of people don't understand it so i'm fighting it out and we'll see what happens. neil: all right, now as what we do know is happening, at least at the white house behind the scenes they're readying paperwork to pardon the guy. you might recall that i spoke to former governor of arizona jan brewer, there should be no rush to pardon. unlikely he will do jail time and yeah time he would look at that with largely misdemeanor charge, six months in jail, which the 85-year-old at this point not have to serve a day. now, nevertheless, it is stigma of that really sticks in the craw of those at the white house who think the government, and particularly obama justice department where sheriff joe says all of this started was

simply unfair trying to corral him in on charges that seemed very, very specious to them. still former justice department official tom dupree says the president could be risking a whole lot more backlash than is worth with a pardon. tom, good to have you as always. what would be the risk, given timing of charlottesville, i could understand that. what would be the rick? >> the risk here, neil, the president would be portrayed or could be portrayed given the sheriff special treatment. that the sheriff was convicted of criminal contempt. in ordinary case people who are convicted serve their time. there has to be extraordinary reason for a president to step in to pardon someone. the fact the sheriff is obviously acting in an area driven this nation with controversy, i think really heightens the stakes here. if the president were to do it, i think there would a backlash. i don't think that fact is going to deter this president who will do it if he thinks it is right thing to do.

i don't think anyone should underestimate the potential backlash if the president goes ahead and pardons the sheriff. neil: leaving the political controversy aside, tom, with what would be the risk president waiting out whatever sentence might be meted out here, might not be any at all. might not do any jail time and avoid the controversy that way, seeing what the judge ultimately decides? >> i don't think there would be a lot of risk waiting a few months to see what sentence is handed down. at the same time if what the president is thinking by pardoning arpaio the president can send a very strong political message that this conviction was unwarranted, and that the sheriff shouldn't have to bear stigma of conviction so the sentencing is somewhat irrelevant. from the president's perspective the point wipe the conviction off the books and essentially vindicate sheriff arpaio. neil: a lot of presidents pardoned a lot of peep, thousands over the years, seems

a lot of presidents do pardon, final weeks in office, most of the time, there have been a lot of nefarious characters come to mind, marc rich, fugitive finance ear with bill clinton, you know, hundreds of convicts with barack obama maybe unjustifiably in prison too long, i'm not here to debate, but certainly there have been controversial pardons. so where would this stacks up with them? >> well i think this would certainly be one of the more controversial pardonsit took place. it is also a little unusual, you note, neil, historically a lot of times pardons come at very end of a presidential administration for obvious reasons, when a president going out the door he doesn't have to face the electorate anymore, clears his desk and says i will just do it. this is very different because the president would take this step at an early stage in his administration. neil: gerald ford did with richard nixon. that cost him an election we would argue. >> we know how that turned out.

neil: i know you're a crackerjack deputy attorney general asking you to weigh in with politics, would a move like this hurt the president politically or too early to do so? >> i think it's a little early. the pardon would energize the base. on other hand, a lot of people would say this under mines rule of law, even if you disagree with what the federal courts directed the sheriff to do, to stop his immigration enforcement, even if you disagree with that, you still have to respect a court order. a lot may depend on the reasoning the president gives if he goes ahead with the pardon. if he explains himself, says why he think this is sun just conviction. -- is unjust conviction and people that might go one way or the other might get on board with the conviction. neil: tom dupree, we don't know what the administration is doing but obviously getting paperwork ready and what i hear lawyers are getting paperwork ready i worry.

>> thanks a lot, neil. neil: want to take a peek at the dow. you heard me more than enough times worry about future of tax cuts whether that falls apart. i look at a lot of little crumbs and follow the crumbs on the tax cut. to me it is crummy news. i don't think we get them this year. maybe mitch mcconnell talking about the prospect we'll get them but will happen from this congress, that changed from earlier talk about this year. i heard someone else say maybe christmas eve, best-case scenario, then the nasty back and forth between the various leaders on capitol hill, the republican leaders with the president, then the president tweeting some nasty things about them, that is not a good environment at all for the prospects of tax cuts. so i'm wondering wondering if id environment for stocks? one of the best reads of the market i have ever known has some thoughts on this. gary kaltbaum is here, only here. when they actually did start saving.

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neil: all right. we should alert you what is

going on right now. the white house, the president meeting with his budget director mick mulvaney after blaming a lot of republican leaders for the debt ceiling mess. we should point out mulvaney was among those who didn't think it was bad idea to attach things to a hike in the debt ceiling but mulvaney at time if you recall when we were talking to him, things that should be attached should be spending cuts. don't keep propelling more spending that prompts hikes in the ceiling. try to cut spending. ironically the president is, his boss is looking to attach more spending, whether va benefits, more to help veterans and separately to build that wall between our border and mexico. now you might find these to be perfectly valid reasons to stymie up a debt ceiling measure but it is actually more spending attached to a measure that would call for more debt to support that spending. i know it gets confusing. fortunately a guy much better

explaining this fallout, my friend for many decades, gary kaltbaum, a great read of the markets. gary, you and i were chatting about the fallout for stocks, if this gets delayed, i don't think we get tax cuts this year. i could be wrong. this gets delayed next year if then, then what? >> you're absolutely right. october 24th, then christmas and then saying next year. neil: first time i heard that. >> markets is deteriorating. three months ago, 70% of the market was working. you're down 40, 45%. neil: what does that mean? >> stocks uptrend versus downtrend. neil: you're looking beneath the surface. >> more areas of trouble. markets top out when there is so much weight because of weakness, finally indices fall. transports below long term. small caps -- neil: you think they're doing this or jumping on an excuse? >> part of the process right

now. you can take all excuses you want, leave no doubt, since the election, i'm saying big portion of the market rally came out of the election. market did nothing for year-and-a-half and shot out of the cannon after the election. i think a lot of it was the potential for trump to get things done. you can see we're sitting here what i call a mess on daily basis. i count the days, okay, next day, next day. we got a few things done, but the big stuff just not happening. neil: so it doesn't happen this year, is it more problematic next year or do they realize, do they see the problems that could happen if they don't get something done? >> i almost hope when they announce that we can't get it done just yet the markets take a big hit to give them a big signal to get off their rear end to get it done. neil: usually market tantrums do that, for good or ill. >> it should. i don't understand, i kind of

have an idea of politics. last i looked they have the white house. they have got congress and they got the senate. neil: you're right, incredible. >> state legislatures, governorships, they won and they act like where they were eight years ago when obama had everything. i keep hearing oh, we're ready, we're coming out with this -- it just never happens. neil: they will never get a chance to run congress like this. this will be more, if they botch this, this is not something we'll come back six or eight years and american people will try them in power again. this could be a generational shift. people will remember the degree to which they botched this. >> politics is about opportunity. opportunity like this does not come around often. neil: why does the market, i know it has been tepid, you look underneath the surface, not just market averages, that is day deteriorating, you're quite right. why is the market by and large held up? >> central banks. i've been saying that for a while. neil: explain. >> europe is printing a trillion a year.

japan a trillion a year. they have negative interest rates. we're at 1% they're talking like we're tightening. neil, we watched this for a long time. the normal used to be 5% interest rates. neil: right. >> we have the easiest monetary policy in the history of time and that always has been a good floor for the market. oldest printing going on and economies are getting better. they should be five or 10% with all the money flowing out there. i worry about the day of reckoning, other outcome of easy money, look at massive debt going on. neil: markets climb a wall of worry. they have been climbing that worry. >> it is the norm now to raise the debt ceiling. it used to be debt was bad. ratings services are saying if you don't have more debt it is bad. we're in bizarro world right now, neil. it should be the other way around. i keep writing right now, $435 billion of our taxpayer dollars pay interest on the debt, into the toilet. doesn't pay for anything, for veterans, nothing.

they don't say anything about it. they keep moving. trump is talking more spending. let's spend more. neil: don't cast aspersions on any individual. what i cast aspersions on those individuals collectively getting nothing done. >> nothing. the knicks will still stink this year too. neil: there is that. that wasket ball. >> that is basketball. neil: gary, i love the guy. he is the best. kind of schooled me on this. what does that tell you. we have a lot more coming up. how would you like to hear a story of a politician who went to jail presumably getting a lot of money for something to make a deal with someone, only he didn't get the money, he didn't get anything and he still did six years in the slammer? and he put up with nearly a decade of hell. he is out of prison. he is out of time. and man, oh, man, is he out to right the historical record on himself. former alabama governor don

siegel man is here.

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neil: for politicians could be a thing that always trips them up, pay-for-play. they got money, used influence of their job, usually caught with the money, a lot of it. the thing that happened with former alabama governor don siegelman went to jail, put healthsouth founder and ceo, richard scrushy over half a million dollar payment to the state of alabama that would be part of a hospital fund, medical fund, that he would oversee, that scrushy would oversee. the alabama democratic above didn't see any penny. didn't have a bag with loot in it. instead of spent seven years in the slammer forking he says he never did and no proven rewarded personally to him. he is out now, every reason to

be furious now but he is making sure none of this happens to anyone else, democrat or republican. former democratic governor of the state of alabama, don siegelman. great to have you. >> neil, a little over five years since we had a conversation. neil: incredible. >> because i have been in prison had an excuse for not coming on your show. neil: i was saying, we talked to bigwigs in prison, tyco boss comes to mind. i'm not comparing you to the former tyco boss. the good apparently on you personally profited from this relationship with the former healthsouth ceo richard scrushy. he wanted to play on a hospital trust in your state and he gave you money to do that, but he didn't give you money personally. you got no personal rewarded out of this, so what happened?

>> well actually, he didn't want to serve on the board and he didn't give me any money. it was campaign contribution to a referendum to support education. the important thing here. the important thing i was not charged with receiving a single penny. governor mcdonnell in virginia, admitted to taking over $175,000 in gifts, a rolex watch, use after ferrery and he didn't serve a day in prison. neil: claire my. neil: where did the money go, governor. explain. >> it was referendum to establish a lottery to benefit public education. this is the first case -- neil: nothing to do with health? this advisory board scrushy

would sit under, seemed to be a clear connection, something ancillary to his business, this had nothing to do with that? >> i appointed him to the board subsequent to the contributions, so they made out like the crib shun was in exchange for the appointment but the important thing here is, that this could happen to any governor or any president. it could happen, could have happened to president obama or could happen to president trump. this is why i asked president obama to pardon me and this is why president trump should pardon me, because, if it can happen -- neil: what would the pardon do, governor? he is looking pardoning sheriff joe arpaio in arizona. very different kind of a case but does a pardon remove all the stuff you went through before -- it will not undo the seven plus years you spent in jail? >> no, it is not going to do any of that. it will clear up the law so that people will understand that you

can't go around putting people in prison for something is clearly not a crime. in my case, you know, it gets more involved because the prosecutor's husband was running my opponent's campaign. the judge had a grudge against me, and because i had caught him earlier trying to pocket $300,000 out of the state retirement system and had embarrassed him. but, you know, something that president obama should have done and something -- neil: wasn't the judge later on forced out of office, governor? >> yeah, he was forced out of office because he was a violent thug. he beat up his wife. he committed eight violent crimes. was, found guilty of perjury and lying to police. neil: that was the guy who sentenced you, guy that went after you. now what i'm curious about the supreme court refused to take up this case. you had a number of state attorneys general arguing on

your behalf. and now -- >> yes. neil: now people are wondering about what the fallout could be? your fear, i think if i get you right, this could happen to republican or democrat, anyone in power because obviously campaigns, governors, senators, they get money, either comes through the campaign for for initiatives that you oversee. could be perfectly innocent. >> exactly. neil: all of suddenlien looks like a pay-to-play deal, so what do you want to happen? >> the president needs to clarify this by saying this is not something we're going to prosecute. if a campaign contribution to president trump or to a super-pac from someone ends up as the secretary of education doesn't mean that the president has agreed to a bribe. that is exactly what happened in this case. there was no evidence of an agreement between richard scrushy and myself. in fact the only evidence was, that he didn't want to serve on

this board. so in order to clear the air, to clarify what should be prosecuted and what shouldn't, the president need to step in and grant a pardon. neil: i think that is unlikely, governor. you know the system better than i do but i'm wondering if this is still a live and viable issue where anyone can go after any public figure and raise questions about the contributions they're getting, either directly for their campaigns or in your case, for the state, for any initiative or any undertaking, if, if it, if it can be turned around against them, they deal with what you dealt with? >> and that's why, we have one legal mechanism left. it's a freedom of information act case that is pending in the northern district of alabama. based on the fact that it has been revealed by the department of justice itself that my case was politically-motivated.

they have evidence of the lead prosecutor sending emails to my, my opponent and his campaign manager and his son, giving them updates on the investigation and their attempt to prosecute me. neil: in other words, 2004 you were running for election, but more to the point, you were thought to be a threat as a presidential candidate, and that could have stymied george bush's re-election plans, right? >> the kiplinger letter in 2001 taughted me as a dark horse candidate on democratic side, south together with historic east coast and west coast, democratic states in order to mount a challenge but the important thing here is, to me, is that the truth be known. so i mean, that's why this foia case, this freedom of information act is so important. neil: right.

>> and you know, yes, it would be, it would be helpful if president trump stepped in and said, you know, this is wrong. neil: that is not going to happen governor. that is not going to happen. what i said at the outset, not being facetious, normally look for a big ol' suitcase full of cash, that would catch you in the act. there is no suitcase. there is no cash. i found the whole thing weird. i will, while i have you, sir, given the dust-up in charlottesville, and concern over con confederate statues, some in alabama as well, people say take them down, rip them up. what do you say. >> it is not inanimate bronze statues that worry me. it is inanimate activity of congress and the white house that concerns me. we need to be more concerned about solving problems of the country, education, infrastructure -- neil: know that, would you think what they're doing now is take

them down. take them down and get those into those issues later? >> i personally think it is dangerous because it can inflame the far right. neil: gotcha. >> extremists resulting in more violence, more disruption and it just gets us off message. we need to be focused as a country on healing the wounds, preparing a workforce for the future, bringing in manufacturing jobs, putting families to work, so they plan for their own family's future. neil: governor, yours is a fascinating case when so many on both sides, republicans, democrats, former and present attorneys general says this was excessive. indeed it was. >> indeed. neil: very good to see you back in the proverbial saddle. be well. >> thank you. thank you, neil, for nailing the judge in 2012. you called that shot right.

neil: that was pretty incredible. governor, thank you, very, very much. you don't have to be on the right and left to say this didn't square right at all. we were talking about these confederate statues. i'm telling you, we jumped the shark on this it is getting crazy. i'm worried someone will dig up a confederate general named cavuto and -- game over. after this.

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liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance. >> i always call this jump the shark moment, robert lee, versus robert e. lee, this reporter at espn, who has taken himself out of covering a game this weekend or next weekend i should say between the university of begin i can't -- virginia and william and mary. i didn't know william and mary had a football team they do. president john skipper, defending the robert lee issue. there was question in these divisive times robert's assignment might create a distraction or worse, expose him to social hectoring and trolling. speak for yourself co-host jason whitlock on this. the sports world is getting a little too pc or crazy or both. jason what do you think.

>> neil, my initial reaction is like yours, i find this humorous an preposterous, but when you think about this, something serious i've been trying to talk about and explain to people. the media, corporate media, totally afraid of social media. totally afraid of twitter backlash, and making all kind of decisions based on how is twitter going to respond? if you understand twitter, and how far left it is, and how it is controlled by silicon valley, and northern california, and san francisco, the people on the far left extreme, that's what's driving the decision-making of so many media executives and so many members of the media, and so many celebrities. everything they're doing, coming out of their mouth is like, well, how is this going to land on twitter? in order to things to land well on twitter, you have to be way far left. so, but --

neil: would who initiate the conversation? obviously guy has been named robert lee the entire life. i can see the charlottesville come up, and all statues coming down, he might have very well-said, boss, i don't know if i -- >> he didn't do that. neil, i worked at espn. neil: doesn't make any sense to me. so what do you think happened? >> i worked at espn. i worked with all these executives, including john skipper who i have a lot of respect for. they are so far left and they are so far afraid of twitter, they brought it up. they're sitting in a room, oh, my god, this guy is named robert lee. how is twitter going to react? neil: how would you know, jason? >> because i worked there, neil. neil: we see you guys, i say, oh, these are the people that i'm hearing, but, how would anyone otherwise know who is broadcasting the game? >> they wouldn't know, because i'm telling but the place where i worked and the executives i worked for, and what drives

their decision-making. they live in a twitter bubble. neil: who will make a big deal of it? >> no one would. neil: twitter or someone says, oh, my god, robert lee, no doubt a descendant of robert e. lee. show the two together. they're not related at all. go ahead. >> i get why you're incredit louse and let me ask you this question, have you not seen dramatic shift in the media? we're used to the media being liberal, but this far extreme liberalism, being driven by silicon valley. the media used to be controlled by new york an traditional new york liberal. this liberal that is out of silicon valley and northern california is extremist in a way we just haven't seen and they're driving the media. neil: it is nutty, i can understand, i've seen, been in this career a while like you, i know that. and you can kind of live with that, work around it, but this

is crazy territory here because now they're going so far as to preempt a broadcaster who has nothing to do with anything, save the name. what is next? you're going to be so worried about a liberal outcry over what you're doing, that you want everyone to be john doe, unless the -- d.o.e. family is tied to confederate general? >> 1000%. colin kaepernick, in his statement, concerned that robert lee might be a distraction. so let's remove him from this job. neil: incredible. >> that is the thing. when people say the nfl might be concerned that colin kaepernick is a distraction, everyone acts like that is preposterous. everyone at espn acts like that is crazy and nfl ownership must be racist. they couldn't be worried he is a distraction because distractions are overrated. but look at espn. neil: there is news. there is confederate general

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>> i think we'll be able to produce a much better tax code. it will make a huge difference for our country, and it will be done during this congress. neil: did you catch that? it will be done during this congress. welcome back, everybody, i'm neil cavuto, you're watching coast to coast on the fox business network. and that calmed me down a little bit.

really? we're still going to get these tax cuts? it's not about me. it's about you, america. and when i see this drip, drip, drip on the debt ceiling thing when it's supposed to be cleaned and then i hear the bad blood between the president and, you know, mitch mcconnell, and it's apparently still bad. the developments today, i'm going to get to that in a second. and then i hear the aforementioned mitch mcconnell talking about this congress and split this in assuming i wasn't on the air today, and i wouldn't notice, and i knew notice. and then i hear speaker paul ryan moments ago maybe responding to this had a different timetable. take a look. >> our goal is to get this done this year in 2017, in calendar year 2017. in congress, we worked on this all last year in 2016 hoping to be ready so that if we had the opportunity politically to be able to pass this bill, we wouldn't sit there in january of 2017, you know, just

starting the work. so we've been working on this for almost two years. . neil: all right. two quick things i noticed there. obviously, they didn't pour a lot of money in the set in the backdrop for the speaker of the house. and two, he was trying to dial back the cynicism and the concern that was building no doubt from mitch mcconnell's comment saying that tax cuts were a this congress development. not a this year development. but i'm telling as i said before to my buddy stuart varney and elsewhere, these things don't look like a sure thing. certainly this year. and times wasting. times running out. we can get to a legislative calendar, we can get to the bickering coming up after that and then getting to the tax cuts. that's an aggressive timetable, my friends. now, former florida republican congressman knows how washington works and getting legislation done. allen west is here. the washington times columnist madison, we've got daily caller editorial director vince. so allen west, to you first on

this. i don't think they're going to happen this year. i just don't. what do you think? >> you're absolutely right, neil. i don't think it's going to happen. and the thing you have to understand that you saw senator mitch mcconnell and representative speaker of the house paul ryan, they're not making these decorations from washington, d.c. they decide to take an almost 45-day recess, a vacation away. when they come back in after labor day, they have only 12 days in session for the month of september before you start a new fiscal year. and you just talked about the budget, the debt ceiling, all of the things that have to happen, and we really did not see any work on any new tax reform plan until this year. something that all of that should have been laid, the foundation's laid for before they came into this congress. so the important thing is can they get it done this year? i really don't think so. will they be able to make it retroactive to the beginning of this year, which is what the markets expect? they have to. neil: you know, again, vince, my big worry is the time frame in which you want to do all of this.

i remember they were pushing back saying march and april and then they said by the summertime and then the holiday then september, someone else is talking maybe christmas eve. again, as we mentioned with mitch mcconnell, this congress, assuming that it's next year, the more it gets delayed, i think the more it's looking denied. what do you think? >> yes. because it's less likely that anything gets done when you have members of congress, members of the senate who are looking at the 2018 calendar and thinking to themselves i don't want to be part of any legislation for fear it's going to hurt me. this congress has been by its procrastination and fearfulness. president trump gets elected in november, inaugurated in january, in that time frame, there was no movement on obamacare repeal. they could have spent that whole entire section of time preparing to have something for the president on day one. and colonel west just mentioned it. the house freedom caucus and others were pressuring them skip the recess. keep working straight through. they didn't do that.

and now as these guys come back, this fearfulness, this idea that they get drawn into these dumb political battles of the media and what they think of donald trump, that's all hurting them. and, meanwhile, they could get real electoral victories that workers benefit from, ie tax cuts. neil: no, you're right. it's possible. so i don't want it to sound like the end of the world, but it is the end of the world. so, madison, let me raise this for you as the president's adviser. did the president complicate things by this battle of back and forth words, nasty words, tweets, even continued today about mitch mcconnell, about paul ryan, about screwing up things they didn't like to screw up. could he have done that, or are these the very people he's inclined to get through. >> no. i think it's very important that he did this publicly for the simple fact that this is the way the american people feel about some of their congressman right now. i mean, these people are not

working for the people that elected them. this is a huge issue. we haven't had expansive tax reform for over 30 years. people are suffering. a lot of families across this country don't know what their family's going to be able to afford for their children until april 15th. it's very confusing. very complicated tax system. they trusted the president, they allowed him to make changes and change the status quo. meanwhile, we have a congress calling their own defeat before making a concerted effort. neil: he's the big boss. >> they have nothing done, neil. neil: you're a great guest, but try as i might blame my hard-working producer. they always come back to me for some reason. and i think that's something that's going to stick with the president, sorbed careful and not do you know what in his own tent; right? >> yeah. i disagree with you, neil. he certainly didn't pick these people to be running congress.

i don't think he's at this point a big fan of speaker ryan or mitch mcconnell just for the simple fact that they're not recall getting anything done. and president trump does understand that people are suffering. he does understand what these people need, and he's trying to get his part, but he's -- neil: he's not doing anything. my frustration is on -- >> it came to his desk, he would sign it. neil: that i understand but you can't expect something magically appear on your desk and shout down the people who were supposed to get it to your desk. i think you're right about that but allen west, my big concern now is that times wasting. and then i see all of a sudden likes of mark meadows and others suggesting that paul ryan and mitch mcconnell either get an agenda through or potentially lose their jobs. what do you think? >> no. you're absolutely right. when you think of this has been a leadership failure, and i have to agree. i think it was president truman that said the buck stops here, and that is the responsibility of leadership. so you have to make sure that

you're setting that policy vision. and you just can't advocate it over to speaker ryan or to leader mcconnell. you have to say these are the critical policy points i want to see happen with health care reform. this is what i want to see happen with tax reform. you cannot just say send something to me and put it on my desk, and i'll sign it. because then you're surrendering to the people on capitol hill. always remember that ronald reagan was able to get an incredible tax reform package done and speaker of the house at that time was "tip" o'neill. a very staunch at the time. neil: if taxes are pushed until next year, they'll even get done next year. what do you think? >> i don't., but they should. i don't think they'll get it done, but they should. here's why. electorally, it plays well for them. the democrats have a very tough electoral calendar next year. democrats have no idea what they stand for right now

they're not even sure if they're pro-choice or pro-life. we're seeing disputes that seriously might damage their ability to get elected next year. republicans should sees the moment. if they can come up with a workers message, one that suggests the economy's going to improve through the middle class, they should jump all over tax cuts as an opportunity for the election. neil: you would think. madison, i would hope that your hope springs internal here. so we'll see what happens. thank you, all, very, very much. in the meantime, we are following this news on what had been tropical storm harvey. now apparently hurricane harvey. winds up to 80 miles per hour the minimum to be a hurricane. they're saying it makes landfall presumably in texas in the gulf, it will be a category three, and it will be ugly. more after this

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. neil: what do you make of all of this? >> to punish someone because their name may offend someone is just shocking, and it is going too far. has america gone too far? absolutely blowing up mount rushmore, blowing up stone mountain because of the statues there. . neil: all right. but it is all the rage; right? to take all of these confederate

symbols and crush them, get rid of them, move them, do whatever you can to make sure they're out of our memory and out of our sight? brunell joins us, the former trump national diversity coalition bigwig. brunell, very good to have you back. what do you make of this push right now? alveda king said enough is enough. >> well, you know, god bless you and god bless america first. what it is is it's basically -- nobody cares about these statues. let's just be honest. the problem here for the democratic party is that they left the poor and middle class behind in favor of donors and big interest companies, and donald trump came in, got those voters, they voted for him, and he's in office. so every step of the way now, they're using any tactic they can. first, it was russia, russia, russia, racism, racism, racism, now it's statute, statute, statute, instead of them going back to the table, getting back on the ground, and getting in touch with the

people they're trying to use fear mongering and race to, you know, cause problems for the president. neil: now, i had asked alveda king. i'll ask you. as an african-american, do you find those statues offensive? she grew up in the south and the atlanta area later on. those statues are everywhere. stone mountain of course featuring robert e lee, jefferson davis, stonewall jackson, they're everywhere. and i wonder -- it's one thing for me growing up for a while in the atlanta area to see that as a young white guy. for you, what is it like? should then removed? are they offensive to you personally? >> honestly, i live in chicago, i'm from the west side, i live -- you know, lived on the south side, north side, we've got statues everywhere. and to be honest with you, i've never thought about those statues in my life until, like, my 5-year-old maybe last year some time, we were downtown, we saw a statue of a native american on a horse, and he asked about it. but as far as george washington and anybody else,

no. never even thought about it. neil: that brings me to my next question, brunell. there's another push to say, well, not just the confederate journals and types and not just the robert e lees or the jefferson daviss. maybe al sharpton said the jefferson memorial because he had slaves, in fact, had a child with a slave. george washington, same thing. he had slaves. and on and on we go. what do you think of that? >> yes. why don't we just tear up the constitution and all the dollar bills that we print our money on? and every history book that maybe even imagine. imagine if you said, hey, malcolm x had some issues with certain races. we should burn his books. we should tear up any history of malcolm x. again, it's all fooling. it's all based on the fact that these people, this democratic party does not have a message. does not have what they need to get the people back. and if they continue to go

down this rabbit hole of racism and statues, they should expect to see our president donald j. trump and the republicans ton to have a majority. neil: you touch on something that maybe there's something bigger going on here that this is not just about addressing racism or anger or what happened in charlottesville. that this might be opportunity to delay or deny the trump agenda. explain what do you mean by that. >> what i'm saying is every day, you know, if you're really a researcher, and you go in and get your own news, and you don't depend on the media, you're hearing about the immigration going down 70%, you're hearing about the nafta deals he's rejected, you're hearing about school choice in neighbors and one million jobs into the economy and 100 million to flint, michigan where they had water problems. all of these different -- like donald trump is the terminator. he's chipping away at every little thing. and what they're afraid of is finally he will get to the inner cities, the billions

that he promised to put into them. and once, you know, people wake up, and they have vocational programs and jobs and community investment, donald trump will not have to talk or say too much. people are going to go out and vote for him in droves across this spectrum. he got 8% of the black vote this time around with that agenda in place that he promised to african-americans and latinos in inner cities. we're talking about maybe a jump from 8% to 50% or more. so that's what the fear is. their fear. neil: you really think he's going to get 50% of the african-american vote? >> i believe he could do it if he puts the action behind the words that he said during the campaign about putting money into our inner cities. absolutely. people want to work. they don't want a handout from the government. they want to work. they want the best education. all he has to do senate bill a man of his word, and i truly believe that he will win it by a landslide next time. neil: wow. >> popular and electoral. neil: well, you were saying

that before the election, so learned not to dismiss. >> and he won, didn't he? . neil: he did. he did. you were correct? >> i knew it. neil: you did know it. you did know it. thank you. always a pleasure, brunell. >> god bless you you and god bless america and god bless our president donald trump. neil: you as well. >> amen. neil: a couple of things that we are following up here, including reports of an active shooter in charleston, north carolina. much more on that, police are investigating this. it might be a domestic dispute. a guy storms into a restaurant and tells everyone to get out. we don't know much more than that. we'll keep you posted. also let you know once tropical storm heavier is now hurricane heavier in excess of 80 miles an hour. it could get more than that. to rick on how much worse. what are you hearing, rick? >> yeah. probably a lot worse. just bake a hurricane hunter aircraft in the storm now. they found winds of 80 miles per hour, gets it to the hurricane status. we are very confident of the track of the storm going from the southeast texas coast.

this area has not seen a major hurricane in 47 years, and that storm causing incredible damage. this will likely be a storm like that that will cause incredible damage from the hurricane itself, that storm surge in the wind, the bigger problem is after the storm gets here, it stalls out for a number of days and brings a lot of rain. in the meantime, right now we have very warm waters, not just warm water on the surface, but really warm water, really deep. and that's what these storms need to strengthen. and because of that, we don't see why this won't continue to rapidly intensify, and that's why we're talking about maybe a category three or four hurricane making landfall here on the texas coast tomorrow night or early saturday morning. so not a lot of time here to prepare. today's the day to get out. by tomorrow, the rain will already be moving in. so folks on the texas coast, this is your day to prepare for what's going. notice what happens here to these models. after they hit landfall, they squiggle right here. it gets blocked. the storm isn't able to move

anywhere. we're probably talking next tuesday to wednesday before it finally moves on. but that means we have from tomorrow all the way through tuesday to wednesday of rain, and that is going to cause massive flooding for us. hurricane warnings in effect now. probably see those extended a little bit. this is one of our models. take a look what happens. comes and makes landfall here some time saturday morning, and then it kind of stalls and dips back over the water a little bit and stays in this general area where tuesday, wednesday, and we still have this. that's why, neil, we're talking about such incredible rainfall amounts. and not in just one area. had a lot of flooding over the years in texas with storms over a specific area. take a look at this. a very wide land from south of corpus christi into houston, seeing well over a foot of rain, maybe a spot over 25 inches or so in louisiana. but you have the storm surge moving in, all of that rainfall, the water not able to get anywhere, potentially talking about a major, major

long duration event here across parts of texas over the weekend and into the early part of next week. neil: all right. rick, thank you very, very much. obviously as rick pointed out, this could be quite serious. i'm going to be live saturday covering the fallout from all of this beginning on noon eastern. again, keeping an eye on the fallout but even of you those who are not in the hurricane path, it could be a massive path. you know the drill with these things, they have a way of pushing up energy and food-related prices just on the fear factor alone. which is why we're live 10:00 a.m. to noon on the live cost of freedom on saturday on fox news. we'll have more after this what . communication. that's why a cutting edge university counts on centurylink to keep their global campus connected. and why a pro football team chose us to deliver fiber-enabled broadband to more than 65,000 fans. and why a leading car brand counts on us to keep their dealer network streamlined and nimble. businesses count on communication, and communication counts on centurylink.

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she's outlining her reaction here. i think she has taken one lump sum, which would be close to half a billion dollars. let's go live because she has a lot of friends right now. >> and retire and take care of herself and her family, and then figure out what else she wants to do in her life. so i think this is a wonderful occasion. it's wonderful for massachusetts, it's wonderful for the retailers, and it's a win, win, win. so thank you, all, for being here today. >> thank you. [applause] how can you ask a woman her age? you don't have to answer that. >> i can tell. i'm 53 years old, and i have a 31-year-old daughter and a 26-year-old son. >> no. i didn't. i just wanted to do this. i wanted to just get it over,

done with, and then everybody would just leave me alone. >> have you always been comfortably financially? or have you struggled? >> i've been okay. i'm not saying i'm the richest person in the world but i can't say i'm the poorest person in the world. i may do with what i have. >> is there anything a trip, or car, or. >> no. as a matter of fact, i just bought a car september of last year, and i just plan on paying it off. >> what are you going to do tonight to celebrate? >> i'm going to go hide in my bed. [laughter] >> i think that's a good answer. thank you, all for being here. . neil: all right. she is the powerball winner. gets all the money. doesn't have to share it with anybody here, and it's a jackpot that came out north of $760 million maybe i think it was. and they always have the big ol' check there. next to her. can you imagine going to the bank with that? like -- anyway, she's going to take one lump sum. it's not going to be 20, 30-year annuity. a lot of people are doing that these days.

i understand nine out of ten lottery winners tend to do that because they're not so sure the state will make good on that with all the state budgetary problems. so the better part seems to be to take the tax hit, go ahead and take the money up front, and she is going to do just that. so good for her. she's going to hit a lot of friends. she will not be able to avoid people wanting to befriend her. all right. in the meantime, new york city mayor bill de blasio is into this removing statue thing. but christopher columbus in columbus circle and elsewhere in new york, and it has a lot of italian americans upset, no less than one joe at city hall. >> the greatest city in the world new york, new york. leave our statues alone. [applause] stop the political correctness. the political correctness is killing us. you can't keep the sovereignty, keep the greatness, keep the texture,

the character of the united states of america. neil: looks pretty good behind that podium, doesn't he? was he practicing for running for office? i don't know. joe, good to have you, my friend. what is the deal with going after christopher columbus now? >> you know, it's a distraction. i don't know what this distraction is for, neil. but i mean as an italian american, i knew that wasn't coming. i called this on my radio show, neil. i called it a couple of weeks ago and said they're going to go after columbus. that christopher columbus statue in columbus circle in manhattan was put up in remembrance of 19 indian americans slaughtered and hung in new orleans, accused of doing something they did not do. so that was in remembrance of those italian americans. we as italian americans -- don't get me started, man. we go through racism, disrespect, i tell you. the one thing we have is christopher columbus. now they're trying to take it away. neil, one word. forget about it. neil: okay. but i'm wondering now. i don't even know what they would call columbus circle

then if they remove columbus statue. but leaving that aside, this is going to be overkill; right? the argue against him when he treated native americans when he got here. but it extends to george washington he had slaves and thomas jefferson that he had slaves and almost anyone can be sort of brushed up into this. what do you make of it? >> it's true. don't forget, fdr interned italian americans during the second world war because we were fighting mussolini. neil: and, by the way, that came up. there were groups that were very concerned about his statue in the washington mall. amazing. >> yeah. teddy roosevelt when those italian americans were hanging god rest their souls in new orleans, teddy roosevelt said, oh, they got what they deserve. we're going to take everybody down. everybody's got to stop. it's a distraction. there's no platform, no point, no purpose. it's just a distraction and you know what, neil? i knew it, and i said it. they're going to start treading on the italian american heritage, and i think on my grandparents coming in

who worked so hard, they learned the language, they learned the laws of the united states of america, and my grandmother would tell me you have become a meta gone. we are the foundation, the ethnicity and the mosaic is the foundation of the united states of america. and now they're going to start picking on that. listen, i don't -- you know, neil, we're fired up about it because i can't really talk about the confederate statues. i'm not from there, my history isn't of that. but once you start treading on italian americans, i mean, really. and we all have flaws. look at me. how much flaws do i have? that means i'm not going to get a rest stop on the new jersey turnpike now? come on. neil: no, you're not. but i also hate to break it to you. there's a civil war general named after you. and that doesn't look good. do you think the politicians -- you touched on, but i think you are right about this. this isn't so much about the statue as much as anything to distract or prevent the trump agenda.

because they don't like trump. and, by the way, it's a very old and reliable strategy just deflect, deflect, deflect. >> that's all this is, and that's -- we do the radio show every morning and the folks are kind enough to call in, and that's exactly what it is. and they're going to pick on one statue after another statue, and they start going affiliate italian americans, you know. hey, by the way, neil, that lottery winner, is she single by any chance? . neil: just thought you would ask that. you know, you look really good behind that podium, and i know you were winging that speech. you don't rely on script. you looked pretty good up there. >> well, i felt comfortable. but everything's from the heart, and i'm so proud to be from jersey and in new york city. and we're real here. we're grounded here. and all the americans are always -- we're very patriotic. we're very proud to be from america. don't take the history away. don't take the sovereignty of

the united states of america away. my grandparents so proud to come just a block away from here, neil, at ellis island. pass the statue of liberty. they came in a freighter from the gulf of naples. and the one symbol we have is christopher columbus. don't take that away. it's all we got as italian americans. they're ripping party our history, neil, and i have to tell you. it has got to stop. neil: joe looks pretty good up there. all right. we have a lot more coming up, including floyd may weather, connor mcgregor, the big fight and just as i told you would happen, now the world is moving my way. mcgregor is going to pull off the upset of the century. >> and when it's all said and done, you know what? i'm going to feel a little bit sad because you all should have kept your mouth shut. you should have left me that

game where we bounce heads off the cameras and drill them into the floor. you should have left me where i was because this man is not on my level. he's not even a quarter of the man i am.

>> we are prepared for 12 three-minute rounds of nonstop pace, and i will go forward, and i will put the pressure on him and break this man. trust me on that. eight ounce gloves. he made a big error, in my opinion. neil: lighter gloves, they could be an advantage here because connor mcgregor is the ultimate fighter, but the one concession of this lighter glove thing and now people are saying it could come back to haunt him. is that so? john, what do you think of that? >> neil, i think connor mcgregor beating may weather is about the same odds as you

and i having coffee in brain tree, massachusetts and winning the next powerball $700 million. it's not going to happen. neil: oh, it's going to happen. it's going to happen. i'm telling you. >> floyd has been fighting since he's been walking. neil: he's going to win. why don't you agree with me? >> well, because floyd's been fighting since he's been walking, you know? and this is connor's first boxing match. neil: i think you're antiirish. you have a problem with the irish people. >> i love italian americans. i love irish americans. i love. neil: he's going to win, and it's because they're trying to rig it, john, so that they -- the guy can't even do what he does, ultimate fighting. so they've made it almost predestined that it's down to a boxing match and this guy has no chance, and i don't know. sometimes when you stack the deck, the deck stacks back at you, and i don't even know what that means. >> well, i can tell you that

the center of the sports world will be the t-mobile arena this saturday night. and the only way that connor wins this fight is if floyd gets into the rink and some of those $100 bills falls out of his shorts, he slips on one of the $100 bills and connor gets a lucky shot. but other than that, it's not going to happen. although, there are a lot of conspiracy theories out there that there's a setup for a rematch that floyd's going to promote connor's entry into professional boxing, which i think is a good bet. neil: that's interesting. >> the way the contract's written, i can assure you that connor's feet will not leave the mat, nor will they touch floyd may weather. and the only way that floyd gets hurt or hit is if connor forgets his contract and raises his foot. neil: is he out if he does

that? in other words, do they stop the fight if he does that? because that's the only way your guy can win on a technicality like that. >> my guy being the money team? i'm on the money team. neil: i have no idea. >> okay. neil: to the extent of my knowledge, so work with me. >> you're correct. neil: switching gears, my friend on what's going on at espn. the espn president trying to explain that robert lee took himself out of this whole, you know, announcing the university of virginia football game on i guess september 2nd. and that -- out of an abundance of caution. and i'm adding to it here to say that it doesn't make sense. it's crazy. i don't know why it got to this point where a guy who bears no resembles, has no connection, just say he's out covering a game that he has always covered.

>> well, i think it's indicative of the upside down world that we're living in. i guess the eclipse came in and must have inverted the planet somehow. you're right. it's probably some low level associate producer, certainly nobody as talented or smart as ralph, let's say, and they made a decision that was just very reactionary. i doubt -- i know john skipper. john skipper is a great guy. north carolina tar heels, and i guarantee he was not in the details of making this decision. neil: no one is owning up to it, john. and if we live in an environment today where -- that's what i call the jump the shark moment where this ridiculous stuff now extends to even someone who has the same name. >> you're -- no, you're absolutely right. we -- everybody is -- you're always right. and everybody's extremely oversensitive right now.

and i think that, you know, people don't know robert lee, the espn broadcaster is actually from the same hometown as one of my employees. and a little known fact. robert lee, his mother named him after robert red ford. his mother was an immigrant. she had no idea who robert e lee was, and she named him after robert red ford. so he's not even named -- you know, not even the accurate namesake. it is. it's ridiculous. . neil: all right. the news take away here is that connor mcgregor is going to win big. your final thoughts. >> neil, i assure you that floyd money may weather will win this fight if for some reason connor mcgregor wins the fight, i will come to new york, come on your show, and we will shave charlie gasparino's head together. neil: you know, that might be worth the price of admission. all right. i'm going to watch it. john tatum, always good to see you, my friend.

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>> i'm adam shapiro live here in wyoming where members of the federal reserve system along with central bankers from across the world are gathering today and tomorrow to explore ways to boost economic output and growth globally. one of the problems they're confronting is the fact that quantitative easing, the policies that were put in place to deal with the financial collapse and recession may not be working now to help people who did not gain with the economic recovery. one issue being considered is when the federal reserve here in the united states will start unwinding its $4.5 billion balance sheet. now, the federal bank of kansas which sponsors this says it's probably time to start doing the unwinding sooner rather than later. >> looked at the past meetings and how the committee has begun to prepare for and talk about it, and the last meeting, we indicated relatively soon.

so it's certainly is time to talk about that, in my view, and talk about the start of that process, and i think the economy is in a position where we should. >> and investors will be paying close attention to a speech that fed chair janet yellen will be this morning. they'll be looking on when the fed will start raising interest rates and when it will actually start the unwinding of the balance sheet. back to you, neil. neil: thank you, buddy. adam shapiro, samsung, galaxy note. there's a new one coming out, and they promise that it won't blow up or be on fire or prompt any airline to stop telling you to bring them on planes. connell mcshane on the come back that they hope is back. connell. >> all those promises, neil, on the phone. but, yeah, any time we have a close phone launch, it's on watch. this note 8 taking the place of note seven known for those

battery fires. this is a bigger version. samsung does promise it has a more reliable battery. we'll just run through a few of the specs on the phone, it has this dual lens camera on it. one of the things the camera does is take the portrait shots like iphone 7. huge screen. 6.3 inches. the iphone apple is five and a half, and it can translate complete sentences rather than just words. so that sounds good and the phone enters what promises to be a crowded market this fall for smartphones in general. the presales start today. now, apple's expected of its own new offering at some point in the next month or two. for all the bad press that samsung received last year with the fires, i think people maybe forget how much of the market this company has overall. look at these numbers. global smartphone market share in this pie chart for us. samsung, 22%. it's about double the 11% from apple. well ahead of the smaller players out there.

so samsung's a big deal and what this s8, you get the smaller battery, you get the safer battery, we presume. that's what they're telling us, and you get a much, much larger screen. so people like a large screen on their phone, this is the one to look at, and they're hoping to put the debacle last year in the rearview mirror, and i guess this is the way to do it. you also get out ahead of apple, neil, timing wise since the preorders start on this today and apple is not expected anything for a month or so. neil: amazing. these things are getting so complicated. thank you, buddy. well, we have fired google engineer james, you know that guy; right? he says it's more than just folks like him there. in fact, there are a lot of james out there, and he's making it clear that's a big problem. deirdre bolton here to explain. >> yeah. neil, this is ripping this company apart. there is a mobile app that basically surveyed a lot of google employees. 56% were actually against this guy being fired. now, what i want to say is it's anecdotal.

about 500 employees surveyed. there's about 75,000 plus. so it's clearly a slice. but even people responded, like, listen, i may not agree with everything this guy said, but i disagree that he was fired. i mean, the ceo cut his vacation short to address this issue. they canceled a company wide meeting on diversity, they were actually worried about employees safety. i mean, this is how tense this is getting. neil: what do you think he's saying that got them so riled up? >> what he's essentially saying is that women and men have different personalities, women suffer from anxiety more than men be they shoulder responsibility in a more psychological way, and therefore it's difficult, harder for them to be in positions of leadership. so it's not that unlikely. i mean, he went on. it was a ten-page memo. so it's not unlike you probably remember larry summers when he was president of harvard. neil: yes. and women were not up to the man -- >> the biological difference and there are hints of that. but this is really going to come down to the state of california does not let employers punish employees for

having a political stance. so this is what's going to be interesting. . neil: but did google say he was terminated over political views? >> no. and that's what's going to be interesting from a legal standpoint. so google is going to say we have a right for everybody who works here to feel comfortable; right? neil: right. >> and so hostile work environment, that's a pretty big deal. so that's going to be google's angle. his angle, i think from everything that i've been reading and hearing is going to be i have a different view than what the overarching view at google is, and i was expressing my view. so that's going to be that lawsuit. but one interesting tweet i wanted to read out from capital managing director who says dear google. stop teaching my girl that his past financial freedom lies not in coding but in complaining to hr. thanks in advance. dad. that went bananas viral on both sides. so that's an outsider. but he's just seeing this. this whole issue is really -- neil: and that comes from those who might not be of the conservative baptized.

it's right leg a lot of other workers there who feel he was unfairly targeted; right? >> yes. so there are people -- listen, it's very equal on both sides. there are people who say this guy should be made an example, he should have been fired. there should be more done. and then there's other people saying, like, listen, he shouldn't have been fired for those. it was a very personal view. he wrote this memo. it was circulated other people who shared it. so he wasn't -- he didn't take out an ad in the new york times. but this is splitting this company apart. i mean, it's really, really divisive. they're also, google facing another lawsuit, which is somewhat related, which is are women making less money than men, the engineers for doing the same job? and that is a potential class-action lawsuit. so google is going to have its hands full. neil: all right. thank you very much. deirdre bolton. in the meantime, we're waiting for white house press briefing. sarah huckabee sanders will be doing the honors, the first one i think since donald trump returns from that vacation of his, also the reaction on the

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trish: just moments away from a white house briefing, featuring sarah huckabee sanders. this will be the first one since donald trump got back from vacation here. comes at time he is recriticizing again mitch mcconnell. mitch mcconnell yesterday

tried to put a nice spin back and forth between to of them but the president retweeting nasty comments whim. a lot of people interpreting that as a sign, uh-oh, all is not cozy in paris. tax cuts look less likely. the gift looking unlikely this year. that is me. trish: not good, thanks so much, neil. possibility of a government shut down increasing by the minute as president trump vows to build that wall as senate majority leader mitch mcconnell suggests tax reform might be pushed back. is this deja vu? going through repeal and replace thing all over again? counselor to the president, kellyanne conway is here to answer that question and a whole lot more. i'm trish regan. well-come to "the intelligence report." republican congress standing in the way of the president with senator