Skip to main content

tv   Shepard Smith Reporting  FOX News  September 29, 2017 12:00pm-1:00pm PDT

12:00 pm
facing his worst fear. the officer sneaking out as he tried to capture a snake. bystanders tried to help. he opened the door and got the snake out. america's news headquarters signing off. i'm sandra smith. here's trace. >> president trump pushing his tax plan and making big promises. >> a giant before massive, the biggest ever in our country tax cut. >> but after setbacks in congress on healthcare, will republicans get anything passed? what would it mean for you? we'll talk to chris wallace from "fox news sunday." and the president pushing back claims on a slow response in puerto rico. even as we hear about new stories about suffering after the deadly storm. geraldo rivera is live. and a new warning for anybody thinking about a trip to cuba. americans getting sick in a
12:01 pm
series of bizarre attacks. the feds say they still don't know who is targeting americans. that's ahead this hour on "shepard smith reporting." i'm trace gallagher. president trump praising the new tax plan and praising the biggest tax cuts in history. he also promised to make the tax codes simple, easy and fair and he says the u.s. needs to encourage companies to stay in america. >> one team, one people and one great american family. this can be remembered as the moment we took control of our destiny and chose a future of american patriotism, prosperity and pride. >> the white house and republican leaders have released a frame work for overhauling the tax code but still missing a few
12:02 pm
details. it calls for doubling the amount that isn't taxed for $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for married couples. he would reduce the number of tax brackets to three, 12%, 25% and 35%. still no word on what income levels fall under each bracket. the plan would get rid of the estate tax, which critics call the death tax. some democrats say the plan doesn't do enough for the middle class. senate minority leader chuck schumer called it a sweeping tax cut for millions and billionaires. the president says plan does not benefit the wealthy. john roberts is live for us at the white house. john? >> trace, good afternoon to you. the president has been making this case for weeks now. now he has more meat on the bone in terms of what you talked about there. the actual proposal. he was talking about the tax cut on individuals. today he went to the national
12:03 pm
association of manufacturers in d.c. for their convention and outlined to them what all of this would mean for corporations. here's what it would mean. the president is proposing to cut the corporate tax from an average of 35% down to 20%. the small business tax rate and this would include s corps, pass-throughs, so proprietorships and llcs to max out at 25% and immediate full expenses of capital expenditures for five years. if you were to buy a new truck or equipment or a backhoe, computers, you can write it all immediately and do that for a period of five years. so for companies that are trying to retool or expand, that would be an enormous boon for them. here's what the president said in terms of what he wants this to do for the country. listen here. >> this is a revolutionary change. the biggest winners will be
quote
12:04 pm
every day working families as jobs start pouring into our country. when companies leave our shores, it's american workers that get hurt. they get fired. when companies stay in america and move to america, it's our wonderful workers that reap the benefits and the rewards. >> democrats though don't like this plan too much. you mentioned chuck schumer at the top. he said cutting taxes for the wealthiest americans and giant corporations leads to bigger ceo bonuses, more stock buy-backs and dividends for shareholders, not jobs and higher wages. the president says if you make america a good place to do business, companies will stay here as opposed to moving their manufacturing processes or headquarters overseas. that will attract more investment from overseas and that will benefit american workers. trace? >> john roberts stay with us for a moment if you would. the president continuing to defend his administration's response to the devastation in
12:05 pm
puerto rico. during his tax event, the president started talking about the crisis affecting more than three million americans. he says the u.s. will not rest until the people of puerto rico are safe. >> we want to take in a massive federal mobilization to assist puerto rico. now virtually everything has been wiped out and we will have to really start all over again. we're literally starting from scratch. >> people in the u.s. territory living without electricity, drinking water, food and medical supplies. some say they're still waiting for aid. the president says thousands of troops and federal relief workers are there. he also says the u.s. is sending truck drivers to help get the supplies to people inland. the president pointed out this comment from the island's governor that told neil cavuto the president is doing what he can. >> has the american response
12:06 pm
been satisfactory to you? >> yes, it has, neil. i want to clarify these two points that sometimes that seem contradictory. number 1, we do need more aid but the president and the administration has done everything that they can, that we have asked them to do and we've gotten those results. >> the trump administration also facing backlash over comments from the acting homeland security secretary, elaine duke. yesterday told reporters the federal relief effort is a good news story. that's a quote. the mayor of san juan called the statement irresponsible. she said it's a people are dying story. let's get back to john roberts in the white house. john? >> and the acting dhs secretary was asked about that yesterday, trace. saying that people on the ground there are saying that they're on the verge of a catastrophe there. the white house says they're doing everything they can to get as much aid to puerto rico as
12:07 pm
quickly as possible. the big problem has not been capacity to get goods and services there. it's to get them from the port cities out to the areas of the country that have been so hard hit. they say debris clogs the roadways. often only one way in and one way out. the president as his helicopter is arriving here keeps saying they're doing a good job and getting good reviews. the president tweeting governor rosella said every time we have spoken, they have delivered. the fact is that puerto rico has been destroyed by two hurricanes. big decisions will have to be made as to the cost of rebuilding. for the moment in terms of debris clearing, the federal government is picking up 100% of the cost. the president says that there will need to be some difficult conversations ahead to figure out how and who will pay to built puerto rico. listen here. >> ultimately, the government of puerto rico will have to work
12:08 pm
with us to determine how this massive rebuilding effort will end up being one of the biggest ever, will be funded and organized. and what we will do with the tremendous amount of existing debt already on the island. we will not rest, however, until the people of puerto rico are safe. >> florida governor rick scott was here awhile ago. of course, his state was picking up from hurricane irma. he's also very much involved with helping out the people of puerto rico. he said the logistics for helping out puerto rico completely different from florida or from texas. because it's an island, very mountainous with limited access to many areas means there's many problem that they didn't deal with in either florida, texas or louisiana. he reiterated this idea that they have to get more people in there as well and methods to get
12:09 pm
those supplies from the port cities out to the hardest hit areas. listen to rick scott here. >> i talked to the president about it. i told him, of course, the biggest issue right now in puerto rico is we need more truck drivers and we need more trucks. we have to get everything out of the port, whether it's the fuel, the water. the biggest thing is the fuel. their issue is different from florida. we had a problem of getting fuel in to the ports. they had the fuel. they have to get it out of the ports. >> again, the problem is getting stuff out of the ports. the u.s. senate is going to have its chance to weigh-in on this. they'll be meeting with the fema administrator, brock long monday. see how that goes, trace. >> yeah, they had a lot of volunteers in texas and florida. very few in puerto rico because everybody is affected. john roberts, live for us. thank you. more now on how the u.s. military is responding to the crisis in puerto rico. defense officials say they're putting a three-star army general in charge of the recovery effort. lucas tomlinson is live at the
12:10 pm
pentagon. lucas? >> good afternoon, trace. about two hours ago, the hospital ship comfort set sail from more folk and will arrive in puerto rico tuesday. >> my orders are a minimum of 30 days. you know, again, those are decisions that are made much above our level. what we'll do is we'll go out there and hit the ground running or hit the deck plates raining as we say in the navy and we'll keep moving until somebody tells us that we're no longer needed. >> some critics said the ship would have left sooner but captain robinson said two days ago, there were less than 100 people on board. now there's over 800 doctors and crew. the comfort deployed to south america and treated over 120,000 people. the ship has six emergency rooms and hundreds of beds. today the u.s. military says one hospital in puerto rico is fully functional. now the army corps of engineers
12:11 pm
has completed a damage asse assessment on the main dam and has issued a flash flood watch because another 1-3 inches of rain is expected this weekend. the pentagon placed jeffery buchanan, a three-star general in puerto rico. he arrived yesterday. his deputy, richard kim arrived to establish a headquarters. they will focus on logistics, mudslides and failing structures. a short time ago i heard from an officer from the 35th army signals battalion in puerto rico and helping set up satellite communications which have also been hampered on the island. trace? >> yeah, they need those cell towers and communications. lucas tomlinson live at the pentagon. ahead, we'll have more on the puerto rican disaster response and the president's tax plan. will he have better luck getting that through congress than he did with healthcare?
12:12 pm
"fox news sunday" anchor chris wallace joins us live next. lder. but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve short-term memory. prevagen. the name to remember.
12:13 pm
♪ the sun'll come out for people with heart failure, tomorrow is not a given. but entresto is a medicine that helps make more tomorrows possible. ♪ tomorrow, tomorrow... ♪ i love ya, tomorrow in the largest heart failure study ever, entresto helped more people stay alive and out of the hospital than a leading heart failure medicine. women who are pregnant must not take entresto. it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren. if you've had angioedema while taking an ace or arb medicine, don't take entresto. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure... ...kidney problems, or high potassium in your blood. ♪ tomorrow, tomorrow i love ya, tomorrow ♪ ask your heart doctor about entresto. and help make tomorrow possible. ♪ you're only a day away.
12:14 pm
remember that accident i got in with the pole, and i had to make a claim and all that? is that whole thing still dragging on? no, i took some pics with the app and... filed a claim, but... you know how they send you money to cover repairs and... they took forever to pay you, right? no, i got paid right away, but... at the very end of it all, my agent... wouldn't even call you back, right? no, she called to see if i was happy. but if i wasn't happy with my claim experience for any reason, they'd give me my money back, no questions asked. can you believe that? no. the claim satisfaction guarantee, only from allstate. switching to allstate is worth it. >> president trump and republican lawmakers say they're focuses on their tax plan after the senate failed to pass of healthcare bill. paul ryan said it was frustrating. so will they have better luck with taxes than healthcare? let's bring in "fox news sunday" anchor chris wallace. great to see you, chris. it's funny.
12:15 pm
a lot of this stuff is marketing when it comes to politics. did laugh when gary cohn, the white house economic adviser was at the press briefing saying the average return for middle class americans will be about $1,000. so you can remodel your kitchen. the internet went crazy and said, you know, $1,000? has he watched hgtv? you can't even buy a dishwasher for $1,000. gives you that, you know, notion they're having a tough time marketing how to really get this tax plan, you know, to the heart of the matter and get it sold to people. >> yeah, a couple things gary cohn said. he also said the average middle income family makes $100,000. i was stunned by that. the median income family in this country makes $55,000. so again, it raises questions as to whether or not the white house understands. let me say, if he has a guy to do a kitchen for $1,000, i want that contractor right away.
12:16 pm
they'll have a tough time with this. everybody says well, tax reform is easier because that's the republican montra. tax cuts. they're going to be sizable tax cuts here. let me give you one example. one of the ways in which the administration wants to pay for what will be about a $5 trillion cut in revenue over the next ten years is by doing away with the deduction that people get for paying your state and local taxes. folks in high tax states like california or new york or a bunch of other states, they don't like that because of the fact that it means that that's a deduction they're not going to get. now, there's 33 republicans representing those high tax states. the republicans could only afford in the house to lose 22. so this means the high tax state republicans obviously a lot of them are blue states that mostly have democrats, but there's some
12:17 pm
republicans, their voters will lose a big and important tax deduction. they're concerned. they'll want either something in compensation for that or to have that pulled back. that is a trillion dollars of added revenue to the government ending that deduction. you take that away, this becomes an even bigger loss to the treasury. >> trace: what do you make of paul ryan's rant where he's saying there's not enough stuff getting done. he said the 274 bills as of september 22 have passed the house and not getting the same in the senate. he's saying they need to do more. is it a fair assessment or saying the house is passing these things knowing the senate will fix them, so it's not really fair to lay it on the senate? is that fair from paul ryan -- >> he's clearly right. they are passing a lot of things in the house. they're getting bottled up or not passed or defeated in the senate. but having said that, the house
12:18 pm
and the senate are two different bodies with two different sets of rules. first of all, except for budget reconciliation and most folks know by now that that is one bill a year that you can pass with 51 votes, you need a super majority, 60 votes, because they can threaten the filibuster to stop it. so the rules are different. there's different balance of power. they have a 22-vote majority in the house. the republicans do. they have a two-vote majority in the senate. the margin for error is much smaller in the senate. we saw that with the obamacare defeat. it's not that mitch mcconnell and the senators are sitting on their hands. they have different rules and they have a much more narrow majority. as a result, ryan is right. much less is getting passed in the senate. >> you know, below you, chris, there's a promotion for sean
12:19 pm
hannity. rush limbaugh was on last night and again tonight. he says if the republicans would come together for three months and stand behind the president and get behind his bills, they would actually own politics for the next two decades. newt gingrich came on later and agreed with that. what is your assessment of that take? >> again, that's only for the budgets reconciliation matters. everything else in the senate, they can't pass with just republican votes in the senate. they need eight democrats. they got 52 republicans, they need eight democrats. but you could argue in the case of obamacare repeal and replace and if they can pass a budget resolution in the case of tax reform, if they got together, they could get things done and push the trump agenda. the problem is that we've seen this in obamacare, i think we'll see it in tax reform as well, there's not one republican party. there's a huge split in the party. we saw that in 2010 when you had
12:20 pm
the tea partiers win, huge victory for republicans but they didn't have to govern. they were running against the president who would veto a lot of their measures. now they have to govern. so the splits that were covered up, now with the republican president we can see there they're. they're there big time on healthcare and see it to some degree on tax reform as well. governing is a lot tougher than just being against and opposing. >> trace: yeah. a lot of people on social media made that point to newt gingrich. thanks, chris. >> thank you, trace. >> trace: this weekend on "fox news sunday," chris will have the latest on the disaster response in puerto rico with fema administrator brock long. he will talk about the tax plan with mick mulvaney. that's this sunday on your local fox station and a special time at 8:00 a.m. eastern.
12:21 pm
that's because of football. it will replay on fox news channel later in the day. don't travel to cuba. that's the warning from the state department. they're also pulling half of their staff out of havana. that story next.
12:22 pm
12:23 pm
12:24 pm
>> trace: the u.s. is pulling diplomats and their families out of cuba after mysterious sonic attacks against americans on the island. that's what a state department official confirms to fox news. the associated press reported the state department ordered more than half of its staffers to leave the united states. the u.s. is warning against travelling to cuba. investigators say 21 american diplomats and family members have come down with a strange disease or symptoms including brain damage, hearing loss and
12:25 pm
concussions. according to a.p., one victim described waking up in a hotel room to a blaring noise that went away when he got out of bid. when fbi agents searched hotel rooms, they said they couldn't find any devices. cuban officials have insisted they had nothing to do with the incidents. josh lederman is a foreign affairs reporter that covers national security for the associated press. he co-wrote today's article on the u.s. pulling diplomats out of cuba. josh, great to see you. you look at the relations between cuba and the united states and right now they're paper thin and this is not about to help. >> they were dell cut to begin with for sure. this will make it harder for that warming of relations that took form in 2015 to continue. cuba spent the last couple weeks pleading with the united states not to do what it did today. saying don't be hasty.
12:26 pm
you have no evidence this was united states. the u.s. decided today that yes, that's true. the u.s. isn't pointing the finger at cuba but cuba has been unable to assure the u.s. government that diplomats are safe on cuban soil and the u.s. has to take significant actions to protect not only american diplomats but tourists that could be harmed by this. >> sure. they're extrapolating saying it's not just the u.s. envoys. if you travel to cuba and you're in havana, then, you know, you have the same risk. and the question becomes if you look at cuba's response and i know they're denying this, josh, but there's not this all hands on deck mentality to get to the bottom of who is responsible for these attacks. >> well, the u.s. has actually praised cuba's wellingness to
12:27 pm
investigate this. many officials flied down to havana to do some searches what the cubans have not been able to do is get to the bottom of this and say it won't happen again. it's considered the responsibility of a host country to protect diplomats, make it a hospitable environment and in the absence of cuba being able to say we are not going to be experiencing these things happening to american diplomats in the future, the u.s. has said this is not sufficient. >> trace: yeah, protect diplomats and tourists. look at the analogy of mexico. many say there's corruption down there. but when something happens in a tourist part of the country, they're all over it. if word gets out that mexico is not safe, the tourism industry goes caput. and now that's what's happening. maybe it's not safe in cuba and
12:28 pm
cuba can't -- all they're trying, they can't get a handle on who is behind this. >> certainly potential effects on the tourism industry in havana, which is a life line for the cuban economy could be immense. i wouldn't rush to say that cuba isn't doing things that they should be doing to investigate this. we have to keep in mind, the best u.s. law enforcement intelligence, the top people that investigate these crimes for the united states have not been able to figure out what's going on. so if the u.s. can't figure it out, it makes sense that this is so perplexing that it's been difficult for the cubans to get a handle on as well. >> trace: that's a fair assessment, josh. good to see you. thank you. >> thanks a lot. >> trace: well, no matter how bad the economy tanked in puerto rico, the island's agriculture industry had been a bright spot until now. hurricane maria stripping fields, killing livestock and leading farmers and their
12:29 pm
families facing a very uncertain future. we're live on the ground in san juan coming up. (upbeat music)
12:30 pm
- [announcer] presenting the shark ion flex 2x. the free-standing, cord free vacuum that can live anywhere because it has two rechargeable batteries. that means you can always be charging, even while you're cleaning. with duo clean, multiflex, and powerful suction so you can go, and go, and go again.
12:31 pm
welcome to hassle-free runtime with shark. >> i'm julie banderas with a fox report. a stampede killing 220 people in india. it happened in the morning rush hour at a train station in mumbai. a railway spokesperson says there was a rainstorm and a huge crowd of people trampled each other as they tried to stay dry. two women are alive after a car plunged off a mountain road in california. a helicopter managed to hoist them to safety with a good samaritan. an off duty officer saw them. and in paris, the 300 millionth
12:32 pm
visitor to the eiffel tower. [vo] quickbooks introduces rodney. he has a new business teaching lessons. rodney wanted to know how his business was doing... ...so he got quickbooks. it organizes all his accounts, so he can see his bottom line. ahhh...that's a profit. know where you stand instantly. visit quickbooks-dot-com. pcountries thatk mewe traveled,t what is your nationality and i would always answer hispanic. so when i got my ancestry dna results it was a shocker. i'm everything. i'm from all nations. i would look at forms now and wonder what do i mark? because i'm everything. and i marked other. discover the story only your dna can tell.
12:33 pm
order your kit now at ancestrydna.com.
12:34 pm
>> trace: president trump says tom price is becoming a distraction from the unveiling of the trump tax plan. the president has said we'll see
12:35 pm
whether price keeps his job after taking expensive charter flights when cheaper commercial flights were available. price told fox news that he looks forward to regaining trust of the president and the american people but he got the go-ahead to take those trips. listen. >> what were you thinking at those moments? these flights were clearly to places that had commercial air possibilities. >> these trips were approved through the normal process. it was deemed appropriate and that that was the necessary way to be able to make my other obligations within the department. >> price offered to pay $52,000 to cover the cost of his seats on the plane. politco estimates the total cost was $400,000. we should note if he pays the $51,000, that's no guarantee that he will keep his job. the president is about to speak. we're waiting about 15 seconds from now. let's hear the president on top
12:36 pm
price. >> we'll see what happens. we have -- he's a very fine man. we'll make a decision sometime tonight. he's a very fine man. as far as puerto rico is concerned, that's been going really well. it's been total devastation. we have over 10,000 people in puerto rico right now. we're getting truck drivers because the people from puerto rico, the drivers just aren't there. they're looking for their homes. they have other problems. likewise with the police force. but i think it's going really well considering. rick scott, governor was florida was there. he's going to get involved also with puerto rico. and we've made tremendous strides. very tough situation. a big question is, what happens -- we have to rebuild. if you look at it, the electorate is gone, the roads are gone, the telecommunications
12:37 pm
are gone. the real question is what will happen later. it's a tough situation. the loss of life is always tragic. but it's been incredible the results that we've had with respect to loss of life. people can't believe how successful that has been relatively speaking. >> [question inaudible] >> i can't hear you, john. >> [question inaudible]
12:38 pm
>> the governor of puerto rico has been unbelievably generous with his statements. he's been praising our efforts. this is a very difficult -- this is a total devastation. when you looks at texas and when you look at florida, you know, it's a whole different level. nobody has ever seen. when you have a category five wife out an island like this. you have nothing. you don't have the roads, you don't have anything. you don't have the people to operate the equipment. that's why we have hundreds of truck drivers being brought in to the island to operate the trucks. because those people have lost their homes. so they're unable to do it. and the police have lost their homes. so they're unable to do it. it's a tough situation, john. >> was it too early to say puerto rico was a good story? >> i haven't heard that. what i can tell you, we've done an incredible job considering there's nothing to work with. a very big question is what are we going to do with the power
12:39 pm
plant? the power plant has been wiped out. it's not like let's go back and fix it. that's what i do. i'm a good construction guy. you don't go back and fix it. there is nothing. the power grid is gone. so we have a lot of big decisions. you're talking about the dollars are really tremendous. i'm be talking with the democrats and we'll be talking to congress about what we're going to do a little bit longer term. meantime, we've saved a lot of lives. we've done a really good job. now we're bringing the people for distribution. >> [question inaudible] >> in cuba? you know, the problem we've had in cuba. we'll be coming out withing? . >> [question inaudible] >> we're looking at puerto rico. that's a very, very big thing you're talking about.
12:40 pm
you know, we're spending hundreds of millions right now. it's a territory. these are great people. i know the people very well. they're great people. there's a massive investment. you're rebuilding all of it. at some point, as you know, there's hundreds of millions -- a tremendous amount of money already invested in puerto rico by others before the storms. that money has been in serious trouble. so now on top of it, a lot of other money. so a lot of -- look, a decision has to be made. what are you going to do? puerto rico was flattened. a big decision comes as to what we're going to do. i'm there to help. i can tell you that. >> [question inaudible] >> we have great secretaries and we have some that own their own planes, as you know. that solves that. but we put it an order no more
12:41 pm
planes. look at past administrations. look at the obama administration and take a look at the amount of time that they spent in the air, they spent a lot of time in the air. but i felt very badly because secretary price is a good man. but we're looking into it and we're looking to it strongly. >> do you consider it a fireable offense? >> we'll take a look. i'll announce something in the near future. >> [question inaudible] >> i have a great cabinet. we save hundreds of millions of dollars through negotiations. i'll give you an example. with the f-35 fighter plane, me, myself, i've said hundreds of millions of dollars in negotiating. that's one of the reasons i don't like seeing anybody even have a question about flying. i just don't want to do that. we're saving tremendous amounts of money no matter where we go. look at what we've done in
12:42 pm
florida or texas. we've done that for relatively little compared to what other people do. so i don't like to see that happen. i think it's a shame. as a human being, tom price is a very good man. i can tell you that. >> [question inaudible] >> that's unacceptable. >> [question inaudible] >> i've had four meetings from the fed chairman and i'll be making a decision over the next two or three weeks.
12:43 pm
>> [question inaudible] >> we are -- first of all, brock has done a fantastic job at fema. elaine duke is acting and she's working very hard. you know, i think what fema has done has been incredible between all of these hurricanes and doing so well. but we'll be making that decision probably within a month. homeland security. yes. >> you said you spoke to jerry jones and other owners. >> i've spoken to other owners. i really think it's coming together. i noticed last night or i was told -- i didn't see it, but i heard everybody stood for the national anthem. that shows respect for our country, our flag and for the national anthem. so you know, i'm very happy. i heard that. and they should stand. you have to stand. it's our national anthem. you have to stand. i spoke to numerous team owners. i did speak to jerry. yes. thank you. >> trace: you can see the president -- >> i was disappointing. i didn't like it cosmetically or otherwise. i was disappointed. you know, this is an
12:44 pm
administration that saves hundreds of millions of dollars on renegotiating things, on new trade deals. you'll see the results soon. we're renegotiating nafta, renegotiating so many different things and making better deals. you'll be seeing other things come up. i don't like to see somebody that perhaps says the perception that it wasn't right. >> [question inaudible] >> i don't want to say but we'll be announcing something today. >> do you expect his resignation? >> we'll be today. >> [question inaudible] >> i'm not aware of that. i mean, i heard it was very ministerial. i'm not aware of it. anything else, john? go ahead. he always treats me so nicely. >> are you going to announce something with tom price today? >> probably today somebody will be announced.
12:45 pm
i think he's a very fine person. i certainly don't like the optics. we renegotiate deals. as an example, the f-35 fighter planes. i've saved hundreds of millions of dollars. i don't like the optics of what you just saw. >> [question inaudible] >> bad things happened in cuba. very bad things. you'll see what is happening in cuba. they did some bad things in cuba. >> [question inaudible] >> probably sometime today. >> do you feel pressure -- >> i'm not happy. i can tell you. i'm not happy. >> what about the rest of your cabinet? >> trace: we were told the
12:46 pm
president would speak between 5 and 7 minutes and he spoke about ten minutes as he got off marine one. you heard the headlines there. he said as far as tom price is concerned, he would decide price's fate sometime tonight. price flew on government planes to the tune of $500,000. he said he would pay $51,000 or a little over that to pay for his seat. now the president decides what he plans to do about secretary price. the lion's share of the news conference was about puerto rico and the devastation down there and the government's response to that. let's get to geraldo rivera who is in san juan, puerto rico. we spoke 24 hours ago. in that time, has there been improvement in getting the goods and supplies to the inland areas? >> there has been some improvement, trace. if i can just reference the president's remarks.
12:47 pm
i think that people are looking for good guys or bad guys. they're looking to place blame. the partisans to the left are blaming trump. the partisans to the right are blaming the incompetent puerto rican government. i think the reality -- the president -- i don't disagree with anything he said reporting puerto rico. the persons or the two people most to blame are irma and maria. the two historic devastating hurricanes that hit this island within a period of two weeks and knocked it to its knees. the devastation accurately portrayed is stem to stern, east to west, north to south. i don't think there's a person in this 3.4 million residents of this island who has been left unaffected. the south side where the government has not yet made their surveys, who have brought direct assistance, is still devastated. roads blocked everywhere.
12:48 pm
if you need to place blame at all, i think it's on the failure of the electrical power system. the electrical grid. you know, i was here september a year ago where the electric power grid went out for three days because of a fire in a single power plant. irma knocked out 70% of the power grid that was not yet restored when maria came and knocked out the rest of it. that's why they can't pump the gas out of ground or the water out of the ground or can't run elevators or air conditioning. that's why hospitals are relying on emergency generators. there is no power. the bankrupt and the president referred to this, trace, directly, the bankrupt puerto rico electric power authority, prepa, they're $36 billion in debt. they're responsible for poor maintenance and an old system.
12:49 pm
where the cables and poles on this island, there are outages on every single block. it's going to take hundreds and hundreds of pole men, linemen to put telephone poles in to string it up. that's why there's no cell phone service. there's no internet. that's why the panic has been gripping the puerto rican people. the president is doing the right thing. he's right, this is where the rubber meets the road, trace. remember, the power authority, $6 billion in debt and bankrupt. how much is the united states willing to pay to help the puerto rican people stay away from sliding into the third world? right now puerto rico is in the dark ages. it's going to take something of the scale of the martial plan that rebuilt europe after the chaos and the ashes and the destruction of world war ii. i say call it the trump plan if
12:50 pm
that's what it takes. he built these impressive buildings and the hotels and so forth. if the president is committed to raising multibillions of dollars to rebuild this junk, to string electric power from town to town. there's notice wrong with the power plants. that's the irony. the power plants are fine. it's the grid. it's the power cables themselves. the lines themselves that have not and could not and never could withstand 150, 160, 170 miles an hour winds, trace. >> trace: and a key to this whole thing, geraldo, who will pay for what down there. great work in san juan, puerto rico. thanks, geraldo. we just heard president trump said he will decide tonight if his health and human services secretary tom price is in or out after he used taxpayer money for
12:51 pm
expensive charter flights. our political panel weighs in next.
12:52 pm
12:53 pm
12:54 pm
>> we'll see. we have -- he's a very fine man. we're going to make a decision sometime tonight. he's a very fine man. >> trace: that's president trump talking about health and human services secretary tom price and the decision if tom fired will be fired tonight. let's bring in our panel, capri is here from the american university and brad blakeman, a former adviser to george w. bush. yesterday if you asked me if tom price stays or goes, i would say
12:55 pm
he goes. >> but standard operating procedure on friday, the president is complimenting him on his past service but i don't think he will be sticking around. that creates another challenge for the white house, getting another secretary if price were to go confirmed by the senate. in light of healthcare being the number 1 issue after taxes for the president to be tackling. >> trace: do you agree, capri, that the $51,000 pay back is not going to cut it? >> i certainly think there's any time there's an exorbitant amount of tax dollars for an unjustifiable use, $500,000, $51,000, i'd surmise that $51,000 is used to pay back the travel of secretary price's wife. this comes on the heels of
12:56 pm
secretary mnuchin utilizing a government plane to go to kentucky and hang out at fort next and maybe see the eclipse. so i think president trump has two choices at this point. one, either ask him, demand he pay back the full amount of money for the tax dollars and create a policy whereby no member that doesn't have any jurisdiction internationally is utilizing these planes or he lets them go. the other thing that maybe he's doing is utilizing president trump -- >> trace: let me get brad in here. we have to go. this was the guy head of the republican study committee. this is about government spending. so i have one seconds for you. go ahead. >> and in washington, you have to do as i say. and not as i do. you have to change. you have to mean what you say and do what you ask other people to expect from you.
12:57 pm
that's the bottom line. >> trace: right. brad, capri, thanks both. >> thank you. >> trace: i'm trace gallagher in for shepard smith. "your world" is next with neil. neil will tell you about the dow in three seconds. d tonight... four weeks without the car. okay, yep. good night. with accident forgiveness, your rates won't go up just because of an accident. switching to allstate is worth it.
12:58 pm
your bbut as you get older,ing. it naturally begins to change, causing a lack of sharpness, or even trouble with recall. thankfully, the breakthrough in prevagen helps your brain and actually improves memory. the secret is an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve short-term memory. prevagen. the name to remember. (avo) but you also have a higher risk of heart attack or stroke. non-insulin victoza® lowers a1c, and now reduces cardiovascular risk. victoza® lowers my a1c and blood sugar better than the leading branded pill. (avo) and for people with type 2 diabetes
12:59 pm
treating cardiovascular disease, victoza® is now approved to lower the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death. and while it isn't for weight loss, victoza® may help you lose some weight. (avo) victoza® is not for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. do not take victoza® if you have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to victoza® or any of its ingredients. stop taking victoza® and get medical help right away if you get symptoms of a serious allergic reaction such as rash, swelling, difficulty breathing or swallowing. serious side effects may happen, including pancreatitis. so, stop taking victoza® and call your doctor right away if you have severe pain in your stomach area. tell your doctor your medical history. gallbladder problems have happened in some people. tell your doctor right away if you get symptoms. taking victoza® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. common side effects are nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, decreased appetite, indigestion, and constipation. side effects can lead to dehydration,
1:00 pm
which may cause kidney problems. ask your doctor about victoza®. >> neil: welcome. i'm neil cavuto. the month, the week, the quarter in the history books for investors. this has been an incredible ride that goes uninterrupted. we're 3/4 through the years, my friends. we're up appreciably on all the market averages. if you think a little bit about what was coming in the middle of this, north korea, distractions like the nfl, back and forth on who is a patriot and not, investors kept buying and expectations for tax cuts coming