couldn't really think of what would have encompassed all of the different services, so that's what i came up with. >> pete: that's power powerful. >> abby: we'll have more after the show as well as all your photos so do not go anywhere. >> pete: have a wonderful veteran's day. >> can president trump get help ratcheting down the north korean threat? can democrats survive the bombshells one of their own keeps teeing up, and can republicans get the momentum to see those tax cuts through? well for the next two hours, we're on top of everything there , welcome everybody, i'm david asman in for neil cavuto. happy veterans day this is the cost of freedom. a lot going on right now. the president wrapping up a busy day with world leaders in vietnam, but it's his comments on russia that are making headlines this hour, we're on it here at home, vice president mike pence will be honoring our nations' veterans leaving a deeply moving ceremony at

arlington sex airy in less than an hour. we will take you there live. and the war of words between democrats keeps mounting as former dnc chair donna brazile keeps exposing how the fix was in for hillary clinton. well now one of the former candidates is speaking out right here, and house republicans preparing to vote on a crucial tax cut bill next week, but it's the senate bill and something majority leader mitch mcconnell just said and has a lot of folks very concerned right now, but first to president trump. he just told reporters he's not going to argue with russian president vladimir putin over election medaling and said he said, "having a relationship with russia would be a great thing not a good thing, especially as it relates to north korea." to retired four star army general jack keane for details on all of this jack good to see you thank you for being here. happy veterans day and thank you for your years and decades of service in the military protecting us all.

thank you. >> thanks, david and best to our veterans out there. >> david: thank you so much so let's get to the president's comments on russia. it boggles the minds to think of how many presidents have said they trusted vladimir putin going back to george w. bush, of course president obama, wisper ring little favors to vladimir putin in his ears and others ears and now, president trump. what do you make of all of this? >> well i don't make too much of it. i mean, here is what i think where the president is coming from. he believes that if he has a relationship, a personal relationship with another head of state, that that gives him some leverage to work tough issues. it doesn't mean that he's making any accommodations to that leader on management policy. i know for a fact that that team that surrounds him on national security to a person is very clear eyed about russia. they know that russia sees the united states as their strategic

enemy. russia is an an adversary of the united states. they're tram alling on our allies interest in europe. they're trampling on our interest in the middle east and they are aligned politically with iran and helping north korea as we come to find out now , so yes, we have to go in and talk to the russians to be sure. we don't ignore them, but we go in there on firm ground knowing who we're dealing with and personally, putin is a thug, and i'm confident the president knows that. >> david: you bring up a terrific point general, not surprising that you do but the point being that the president is surrounded by advisors, particularly since his experience in international affairs is somewhat limited his business experience which is enormous but it doesn't necessarily carry the same sort of weight as public policy, but the people that surrounded president obama, i would say a lot of them were quite naive about russia and its intentions in the world and that played out in world awares as we saw

particularly in the mid east and developments of isis et cetera. this president has a group of advisors who have been dealing with the russians and political and military affairs for decades and they have a very clear understanding of what it is their interests are. >> yeah, i agree with that but i also think that the president trusts his own capabilities. his lane is negotiation. he's done that all of his life. i know also for a fact that when he entered initial conversations with heads of state, the team around him was surprised at how relaxed he was how confident he was in dealing with issues he didn't deal with before, how he deals with people in inter personal relationships. he has established a very good relationship with president xi of china of the president of japan, with the vietnamese as well. now that doesn't mean they're going to do our bidding for us but it is a beginning to maybe leverage some very tough policy

issues, and i think that's all it is. >> david: let's talk about one of the toughest issues and one of the main reasons he's in asia now dealing with north korea. he says about russia having a relationship with russia would be a great thing not a good thing and it would be a great thing especially as it relates to north korea. how specifically could russia help us calm down the situation with north korea? >> well, it's come to light there's a possibility that russia is providing back door assistance to north korea while the chinese and other countries are cutting off all assistance to north korea. after all the u.n. resolution that russia supported was that all the nations would stop doing business with north korea and most countries of the world have done that so the neuce is getting tighter and if russia is back dooring that and ignoring that and the only reason it would be doing it is because it's not in the united states interest. russia usually takes an opposing

view of anything the united states is doing in the world. they clearly see us as a strategic enemy. would it be good to sit down and talk to the russians about that and maybe put some evidence in front of them of why we have come to that conclusion? that's stuff that we should be doing. >> david: i'll tell you evidence. the evidence of three carrier groups off the coast of korea right now despite the president 's calming remarks that sends a clear message to north korea and to china and russia that the u.s. is not fooling around getting tough with north korea. >> there's no doubt about it. that has all to do with the president being in the far east and reassuring our allies that american leadership is back in the endo pacific. this is very critical because our allies have been pushed around by china for a long time now and this is sending a message not just about north korea but about american leadership that we are exercising global leadership and we do not intend for the chinese

to trample on our interest in the pacific and of course we're sending loud messages about the trade imbalance that's been taking place in the endo pacific for years and the president wants to bring that to a halt. >> david: general i'm getting a wrap but have we ever seen three carrier groups in that concentrated form in the seas before? >> well the last time was over 10 years ago and so yes, it's highly unprecedented to be sure it is all about sending a message. yeah we've got an exercise going on but the real thing is this is what we do. you have arrows in your quiver to reinforce the diplomats. this is military strength reinforcing policy development and that is something we gave up for the last eight years. >> david: general jack keane, thank you very much and again happy veteran's day. thank you david. >> david: to amy kellogg now following the president in vietnam. amy?

>> amy: hi, david. well it's not entirely clear why a proper between the two leaders did not take place. it could be quite frankly that russia is too toxic in the united states and it wouldn't have looked great for trump but apparently president putin did want that meeting and he told reporters this afternoon it was down to scheduling issues and protocol issues but he added that whoever on his team was not able to work through those issues would be punished; however i must add he did have a glenn in his eye when he said that now david, the two leaders did meet a few times on the sidelines of the asia pacific economic cooperation summit and their offices did issue a joint statement on syria with agreed points including the need for a non-military solution there. trump told reporters today, he did ask putin at the summit about allegations russia medal led in the 2016 election

and trump said putin again denied having done anything. trump said, "look, i can't stand there and argue with them. i would rather have him get out of syria. to be honest with you i would rather him get to work with him on ukraine rather than standing and arguing about whether or not , because the whole thing was setup dye the democrats." trump said repeatedly today he believes the lack of a relationship with russia is hurting his and china's efforts to get north korea to give up its nuclear weapons program. here by the way was what the north korean state broadcaster had to say about trump's rhetoric on this trip. "wreckless remarks by an old luna tic like trump will never scare us or stop our advance on the contrary, all this makes us more sure that our choice to promote economic construction while building up our nuclear force is all the more riotous." tomorrow we hill have a full day of meetings with the vietnamese

president prime minister and general secretary of the communist party as one of the five remaining communist countries in the world. david? >> david: although it's a big fan of donald trump what i hear amy kellogg thank you very much reporting live from vietnam. well, former dnc chair donna brazile saying for hillary clinton, the fix was in. well now, one of those former democratic presidential candidates is speaking out, here and only here and to sell tax cuts does this guy need to sound more like these guys? ♪ remember when christmas was magical? let's get back there. celebrate the arrival of santa at bass pro shops this saturday and the unveiling of santa's wonderland. time passes. hold onto christmas.

>> david: lots of questions this morning after senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is now talking about tax hikes to fox business networks lauren simonetti, wow this thing is getting kind of weird. >> well some people will see their taxes go up. i'm going to explain everything right now, david. the senate majority leader acknowledging yeah, some families are going to see their taxes go up. that's actually the headline of

a new york times article that the senate tax bill revealed this week would increase taxes on millions of middle class families while benefiting high income households. yeah, some people are going to see their taxes go up at all income levels but it's not until david the very last paragraph of that long article that the times notes the senate plan would realize, get this, $30 billion in lower taxes next year, and that the majority of families will see a $1300 savings in 2018 got it? okay? so this is how the senate republicans bill is different than the house version of tax reform. let's start with businesses. both cut the corporate tax rate to 20% but the senate doesn't slash it until 2019. that's why it lowers the cost of the bill but it potentially delays companies making key decisions. as for individuals, the senate bill fails to simplify the number of brackets so you still have seven but it lowers the rates for them including that top personal tax rate that would come down to 38.5% hopefully

giving some upper middle class families relief and the top rate kicks in at $500,000 in income. although, those in high tax states new york, new jersey, california, illinois, no longer able to deduct their state and local taxes under the senate plan. under the house plan they would deduct up to $10,000 in property tax either way, this part will be a tough sell in both chambers the white house says focus on the main objective here. helping businesses helping the middle class families and they stress what's similar in the bills, nearly doubling the standard deduction, increasing child tax credits, and repealing the amt. critics questioning quickly if this senate bill really does help the middle class. if we go back to the times analysis, they say a quarter, a quarter of middle income families would see their tax bill go up an average thousand dollars next year, but many other middle income families would see significant savings so there's a lot to get done and not a lot of time to do it.

here is your timeline. the house votes on their bill next week, a senate vote could happen the week after thanksgiving, with the plan to get it on the president's desk david this year. >> david: good for you for really going through raking through that new york times report because so often the times headline is very different from what you actually see. >> lauren: i had to go to the last paragraph and the article was long. >> david: it's extraordinary and by the way senator told me yesterday he says that 500,000 on the top rate actually is a mill dollars for couples so 500,000 for singles a million for couples so it is pretty high but again, seven brackets that's too much. meanwhile, wall street giving the senate's plan a chilly reception the dow and s & p 500 snapping an eight week winning streak joining me now, and lauren to discuss are the stars of bulls & bears, we got john layfield, gary b. smith and ned ryan gentlemen good to see you. john, first of all, we should say the new york times doesn't

like tax cuts they never have and so they're bias against it so i wouldn't hang everything on a new york times article however we have a watered down tax cut. it's much less than the house was and the house plan was much less than what donald trump wanted, so we go from watered down to watered down to watered down and we see the market going down this week as well. is there a coincidence? >> no, not really. i think the market has such a good run right now. i think the market is waiting on a corporate tax front. i think they understand the republicans. they're the dogs, they never planned on having new tax cuts never planned on doing repeal and replace obamacare. they could brag about it all they want on the campaign trail and all of a sudden they got the cart and don't know what to do with it. what the market is dealing with these individual tax cuts are politically pretty much un palletable, the repatriation of money which completely changes companies like ge and apple's balance sheet if that happens that's what the market is waiting on.

>> david: frankly gary there was one bit of news in particular that spooked the markets and that was when we heard about the delay in the corporate tax cuts, then the markets you could see the markets come down markedly when that happened. if you delay the corporate tax cuts you delay business decisions and that could delay the economy right? >> gary: absolutely david look i'm of the opinion that once again the republicans have critterred away an easy sell. i was just, you already know the mainstream media is going to be against this. i was just doing a quick span of the headlines this morning. vanity fair, too unhinged to pass, time morally bankrupt, even forbes came out and said that it's going to slam small businesses. okay, we acknowledge that the mainstream media is against it. here is the problem. the reason trump won the election was that he was the greatest salesman for trump in the world. what's he doing now? he's over in china. he's over in asia. he's not selling this, and even

if he tried to sell it, he's not a detailed person. as lauren pointed out this thing now is such a myriad of this and that or this and that it's going to be tough to get it done. that's why i think you're seeing market go down. >> david: in fairness by the way the asian trip was planned long before they knew this was a critical week where the house passing the tax bill to the senate and the senate doing what it did, but ned, talking about the delay in the tax cuts because that's what concerns me the most as you well know, the reagan tax cuts of 1981 were delayed until 1983 and i don't think it's coincidence that in 1982, smack in the middle of that delay, we had a recession. the economy declined about 1.9%. it wasn't until the tax cuts kicked in in 83 that the economy began to zoom up. >> no, and the thing that i was thinking about is the whole point of donald trump and tax cuts was to make this flatter and simpler for the taxpayers.

this is nothing like that and i have to say, david looking at this senate bill and the way that it deals with inheritance, deals with real estate depreciation, doesn't deal with the carried interest loopholes, how it deals with raising the small business pass through tax. there are a lot of us starting to think do you know what? this really benefits the super rich globalist and does screw the middle and upper middle class because the thing that worries me a little bit david, i actually agree with the new york times. this is a tax-- >> david: you're in trouble, ne d. >> but david i think the thing that's really sticking out like a sore thrum, donald trump said he was going to close that carr ied interest loophole. do i think it's a coincidence that gary cohen and steve mnuchin have not really addressed that issue? do i think the swamp dwellers in d.c. haven't dealt with it? of course not. they won't bite the hand that feeds them their campaign. >> david: the thing where i see swamp dwellers is in the seven brackets. one of the keys to the original tax cut plan that we heard from

the trump people in april was that they were going to reduce the number of brackets. we now have seven brackets. the first plan had three bracket s and then expanded to four brackets under the house plan and now we're back to seven brackets. >> that's potential bubble tax that secret hidden bracket for the high income households and it's complicated and i think the messaging is a little bit wrong here. yeah, you want to get democrats on board particularly as you reach out to middle class families and i think that's where the seven brackets come in you can kind of lower taxes for more people. >> david: it's not simple. the idea was simple. >> lauren: the new york times article we were just talking about doesn't even get into this they don't talk about that corporate tax cut, how that will make wages go up. the tax foundation said they're going up about 3% not to mention what it does to gdp. >> david: guys we've got a lot more to talk about this later in the show we have to wrap this segment up. thank you so much to all of you. after the donna brazile, hillary

clinton bombshells we now know the fix was in. coming up next former democratic presidential candidate lincoln c haffey is speaking out and forget the dnc. new revelations have some wondering if the same was happening at the fbi. you can also grab large particles, pull in piles and directly engage floors. duo clean. invented by shark.

>> david: the fallout is continuing from the donna brazile bombshells and the dnc and hillary clinton and our next guest former democratic presidential candidate lincoln c haffey had a birds eye view of what was happening in the dnc when he was running for the democratic nomination so governor thank you first of all for being here. we appreciate it. did you see what's so upset donna brazile about what was happening with hillary clinton's takeover of the dnc before she was a nominee? >> well three cheers for donna brazile i like a truth teller

and yes absolutely. there were only four of us that dared to challenge hillary clinton for the nomination and we always thought that the fix was in with the dnc. i know i felt that way through the whole course of it and then even getting into some of the mainstream media. >> david: good for you a lot of democrats are falling behind the clinton machine which is a very powerful political machine in american history and that machine is coming down hard on donna brazile's head for having said what she does or what she about the corruption or the fix being in, but you say she's absolutely right. >> lincoln: oh, yes and its been a year since the election and the clinton people just haven't looked in the mirror over the course of this year. they've been blaming the russian s and everybody else, blaming senator sanders. they've got to look in the mir on and say how could we, as a clinton campaign, lose to a seemingly unelectable man? donald trump had never held elective office, not even as

governor or senator, congressman , councilman, never held elective office and they got to look in the mirror and say what did we do wrong rather than striking out beating up on donna brazile a truth teller. david: you brought up the russians and in fact, as we found out from donna brazile's book, hillary clinton's campaign had a lot of control over the financing of the dnc and we now know that the dnc helped fund this fusion gps project to get the trump dossier which relied a lot of russian sources. i'm just wondering, hillary says i didn't know anything about it even though it's millions of dollars they spent on fusion gps and the trump dossier, you believe hillary when she says she knew nothing at all about the financing of fusion gps? >> lincoln: well this will all sort out but i've always felt this had no very very little influence on the election. find me 10 people in wisconsin that voted for donald trump or for hillary clinton because of

the russians. i just don't think you'll find them. it was the e-mail controversy. it was the clinton foundation controversy, it was the speeches to goldman sachs controversy. it was the ethical issues, it was the aerogance i just don't think it was the russians. and it will settle out who did what with the russians. >> david: they were clearly trying to mess things up i think for both sides but you know you talk about the russians what about the media? i mean the media seemed to be one-sided in this race. talk about their role, particularly with regard to hillary clinton. >> lincoln: again, there were only four of us that dare challenge her and i know from my experience, i was never invited on any of the sunday shows to either share my views or to get beat up. i wasn't even invited on and finally when we had the debate i got eight minutes out of two hours and the moderator was rabbit punching me and talking over me as i tried to answer my

questions. i just thought the fix was in all the way through and i fought donna brazile. >> david: was that the debate where donna brazile apparently gave some of the questions in advance to the hillary clinton campaign? >> lincoln: i believe it was a subsequent debate, david where some of the leaked e-mails show ed she had done that. that makes my point again is that that makes my point also. >> david: well the hillary clinton camp now is using that as an example why not to believe what donna brazile says about them, even though obviously donna brazile if that story is true she was trying to help the hillary campaign. >> lincoln: i'm sure if you invite senator web and there's people or senator sanders people they will say the same thing. they will support from their experience how the dnc was weighted towards senator clinton

there's no doubt about that. >> david: one thing donna brazile says in her book is she didn't see anything illegal. a lot of improper activity going on but nothing specifically illegal. did you see anything you'd consider to be illegal in what the clinton campaign did? >> lincoln: no i'll agree with donna brazile on that. it's unethical but probably not illegal. highly unethical but probably not illegal. >> david: how does this all sort out. how will it affect the democratic party? we already see people like liz warren at first siding with donna brazile now backing out a little bit from that position. where will this leave the dnc? >> lincoln: i do think we just have to look in the mirror and see what happened how did we lose to donald trump and that just hasn't occurred. they're blaming everybody. i think everybody has to come together and say what did we do wrong and senator sanders kind of caught fire and took off and he was never really given a chance, i don't think, by a lot of the mainstream media and also

by the dnc, and that was a mistake. i think he would have won. i believe he would be the president if he was our nominee. >> david: we got to go but bottom line is you agree that the election was rigged in hillary's favor? >> lincoln: oh, yes i agree with donna brazile with that and i applaud her for sharing her experiences. i lived it david. i was for a short time anyway i was out there and i agree with what she's saying. >> david: governor lincoln chaf ee, thank you very much we appreciate it. from the dnc to the fbi why did former fbi director james comey soften his language to describe hillary clinton's actions? why former fbi assistant director james calstrom says something is very wrong here. that's next.

>> david: president trump peppered with questions on election medaling this morning, just said the fed's ought to look at the democrats and that fake dossier. well we know fbi director robert

mueller is looking into mike flynn and his possible ties to turkey. we know he is looking into the paul manafort ukrainian connection but what about the hillary clinton russia connection? wasn't russia the focus of his investigation? on the phone now is former fbi assistant director james calstro m, whose been quite vocal about all of this. jim let's talk about what we know about the dossier and the democrats involvement. we now know that hillary clinton 's campaign hired fusion gps to get dirt on donald trump. we know that. they spent millions of dollars doing that. second, fusion was used by the russians to put out dirt on trump and specifically created the trump dossier, so we know that and third, we know that hillary's campaign says now that they had nothing to do with fusion gps, even though its founder glenn simpson has a lot of history with hillary clinton and the folks in little rock,

arkansas, so what do you make of all of this? i mean, is there a coverup going on here? >> james: hi, david, good morning and let me just say if you pass on happy marine corps birthday to you. >> david: thank you so much. semper fi to you. >> james: of course it's a cover up and of course hillary clinton lies she's a pathological liar david. she's lied her whole life if you go back and the shenanigans down at the rose law firm and the tint she had on the water gate hearing where she got fired for lying and just goes on and on and on. she's a pathological liar. >> david: but mueller's investigation is supposed to look into russia. we have clear evidence there's a connection between the dnc, the hillary campaign, fusion gps, and russia. isn't that the sort of thing that mueller's team is supposed

to be looking at? >> james: you know, it's hard to say. i mean, i think the whole thing is disgraceful quite frankly, david. i mean, without question, yes. a special council should be looking into these things, but this whole thing with mueller, you know the way that rosenstein , something on his own decided to appoint a special council and that appoints to mueller and turns out i know from personal history as a conflict of interest about 20 miles wide with jim comey, so i mean it's in violation of the statute that enables the special council and it says a lot about his lack of credibility and his lack of ethics that he would even accept the post, so who knows what he's doing. i mean it looks like he's just basically, you know, following the break rooms of this perpetrated fraud that the democrats, hillary clinton and the rest of them have tried to

basically enable the duly- elected president of the united states. it's 99% smoke. it's bs. >> david: but jim forgive me if you're looking for a connection between russia and medaling in the u.s. election, why not look at what fusion gps was doing with the dnc and the hillary clinton campaign and putting out russian-made dirt on donald trump? >> james: without question. it's like david, you know, it's like a giant in the woods that you kind of just walk by and don't see. i mean it's pathetic, and not only that, how about john padest a, how about his brother, how about all of the interest that they've had with russia over the time so if you want to look at russia and the government or people associated with the government they're looking in the wrong place and are they going to indict a few people? sure. is it right what they're doing? i don't think so. they're not looking at the huge

issues of the day, like the un masking of hundreds and hundreds of citizens of this country. you know, benghazi, all of the lying that took place. it's just pathetic. >> david: there's another former fbi director james comey in the cross hairs because it seems like he really went out of his way to avoid any kind of indictment of hillary clinton. now one might say it's because he was afraid of interfering in the political campaign or whatever, but it's clear that he actually changed his language from language that would be an indictable offense to less so, when he was looking into the various things she had done with her e-mails. what do you make of all of that? >> james: well that's true and david i've been talking publicly for about a year and a half on jim comey who basically went astray from the very beginning of this thing. i mean when he gets a referral from the intelligence community

passed through the justice department that has a flag on it , basically doesn't allow him to put people before the grand jury. i mean right then and there, you know the whole thing is a fraud and i can only say what i would have done if was the director. i would have stood up and had a press conference and respect every resigned because anyone that knows a thing about investigations knew that investigation was going nowhere and the notion that obama was going to let his justice department indict hillary clinton was crazy but i mean this whole thing goes back to the fault of the democrats, putting up a flawed candidate that pretty much everybody in the world knew was flawed and knew that had this track record of deceit and lying and getting money for certain things that they've done politically, so comey danced with the devil and the music stopped and he was trying to back pedal and trying to perpetuate this fraud on the american people.

>> david: jim very quick final question. do you think going back to the beginning do you think that it's possible that mueller may now be looking into fusion gps and whether or not there was a connection there between russia and the hillary campaign? >> james well all i can say about that is if he has any credibility and has any feeling about ethics and the rule of law, he certainly would be doing that with a lot of gusto, and i hope that's the case. >> david: james kallstrom, a great american good to see you jim thank you very much for being here appreciate it. >> james: my pleasure david. >> david: growing calls for roy moore to dropout of the alabama senate race of sexual misconduct allegations against him are true but how can anyone prove charges that are 40 years old? in gadson, alabama have the very latest. hi jonathan. >> hi, david well roy moore still staying in the public eye just wrapped up a speech at the

public library where he was the featured speaker at a veteran's day program sponsored by the mid alabama republican club, we're getting reports there was some protesters outside and now roy moore flatly denies the allegations against him, listen to what he told shawn hannity on his radio program yesterday. >> four weeks out of an election it's obvious to the casual observer that something is up. we're also doing an investigation and we have some evidence of some collusion here but we're not ready to put that to the public just yet. >> moore says he has no intention to dropout of the race he told hannity, if you step aside for any allegation you might as well not run because when you run you're going to get allegations. moore continues to enjoy support from former trump advisor steve bannon who spoke at the citadel in charleston, south carolina. >> until i see additional evidence on judge moore, i'm standing with him.

>> and moore is scheduled to face democrat doug jones in a general election on december 12. david? >> david: jonathan thank you very much. let's take a look at live pictures of arlington national cemetery where vice president mike pence is leading a ceremony to honor our nations' veterans on this veteran's day. it will be starting at the very top of the hour we'll take you there live. but first, to sell tax cuts, should this guy be more like these guys? people are fighting type 2 diabetes... with fitness... food... and the pill that starts with f. farxiga, along with diet and exercise, helps lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes.

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>> david: forget the tax cut bill itself is the gop's problem the messaging and the selling of the tax bill, frank lunts joins us now you've been looking into this, frank. >> frank: yes, and what we found is that there are a lot of questions that haven't been answered, even though we've gone through the ways and means mark up. i brought two clips. this is instant response we've

been testing ads on tax reform all across the country, and i'm going to show you two ads one that didn't do so well and the other one that did tremendously well. the first one talks about corporate tax rates and it's not something that the average american wants to hear. now you're going to see dials. the red line represents republicans the blue line represents democrats and the higher the lines climb the more favorable the reaction let's take a look at corporate tax rates. roll it. >> lowest economic recovery since world war ii. millions of americans dropout of the workforce, take home pay flat, america's outdated tax system has produced slow economic growth. we have one of the highest tax rates in the world. american companies are disappearing along with good paying jobs. we need a plan to make america competitive again. call congress and tell them we can't wait any longer to give american workers the tax reforms they deserve.

>> it did okay. it's not that it did horribly but the public reacts to individual tax rates as opposed to american, so tell me what i'm going to pay. tell me how it's going to impact me personally? we've got an ad that used the language, the words of john f. kennedy whose still popular and still credible today, even it was almost 60 years ago, he came out for tax relief and the response was tremendous. let's take a look. >> it's too high today and tax revenues are too low and the sound its way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now and the reason is that only full employment can balance the budget and tax reduction can pave the way to that employment. the purpose of cutting taxes now is not to incur a budget deficit but to achieve the more prosperous expanding economy which can bring a budget surplus

>> that's one of the best ads that comes from the job creator 's network and one of the best ads we've tested and i've worked for many groups i'm showing the ads now and i want to offer full disclosure. the reason why that works is that jfk was a democrat and the fact he's coming out for tax cuts is incredibly credible. >> i'll tell you if you just looked at the words and didn't hear his voice you'd think it was ronald reagan. it was exactly the same kind of message and as good as communicator as jfk was and still is, he wasn't the great communicator. that went to ronald reagan. i want to play for you a clip of ronald reagan selling his 1986 tax plan back in 1985. let's play the clip and then i want your reaction. >> i'll start by answering one question on your minds. will our proposal help you? you bet it will. how will the proposal work? the present tax system has 14 different brackets of tax rates ranging from 11-50%.

we would take a giant step toward an ideal system by replacing all that with a simple three bracket system. >> david: now frank that's interesting for two reasons. one, just the simplicity of his language. you go from all these brackets just down to three, but then you look, bring it up to speed to where we are today. we just had the senate announcing that they weren't going to cut the tax brackets. we're going to keep it seven tax brackets. first of all that messaging is terrible on the part of the rep senators and secondly i'm wondering if donald trump comes back from asia and delivers a simple address the way ronald reagan did would he have the same success that ronald reagan did? >> it depends to whether he uses that language. you heard me through the wire. ronald reagan's opening question , will our proposal help you, five words, a simple question. that is exactly what paul ryan should be asking that is what mitch mcconnell should be saying

, but it's not. they're getting all these grand pronouncement pronouncements about the economy and jobs. simple question will it allow you to help keep more money in your pocket and third showing all of the different tax rates there, will it make it easier, simpler and quicker for me to file. ask those three questions and answer them, and that's how you communicate this tax reform. and they're not doing it. >> david: ronald reagan shares something with donald trump. i know they are totally different people, different presidencies and different backgrounds but they both did speak directly to the individual out there and say that this is how it's going to affect you. they have this capacity. that's why a lot of democrats came over and voted for donald trump because he was able to reach across the aisle, focus on the personal concerns that people have. it's again why i'm wondering is it too late for him to come back and rescue the simple idea of a tax cut from the senators who have made it more complex than it has to be.

>> it's not too late. you've got the entire house debate coming up next week but you've got to engage the american people and what ronald reagan did is he actually looked straight into the camera as i am right now and he said you have to get involved. if you want a tax cut, call your congressman, call your senator and that has not happened. they need to engage the american people across the country from maine to california and get them on the phone on monday and say i want my tax cut. i want to pay less. washington should spend less, and we need this for jobs. we need this for the economy. we need this for the country. call them and tell them you need it and i haven't heard that declaration by anyone in washington. >> david: the king of messaging , you know what it takes, let's see if we see it from donald trump. thank you very much for being here frank. fascinating stuff appreciate it. >> thank you. >> david: we are moments away from honoring our vest rans at arlington national cemetery if you've seen this before you know it's a very very moving cemetery

that by the way is the tomb of the unknown soldier. it's one of the most sacred spots in america. vice president mike pence will be laying a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns followed by a speech and we have it all covered for you again a very emotional ceremony be prepared but very powerful and really brings us back to our roots and what we have to be thankful for in this country. joining us now, former uss cold commander kirk liphold and tony shaefer. the 11th hour of the 11th month, of the 11th day, that's what veterans day is, was based on armacists of world war one, colonel shafer, and that was supposed to be the end of all wars. it wasn't. we had world war ii which followed that after that korea and then vietnam and now the war on terror. it's still, this is why we honor veterans, because frankly, we

will always need our armed forces, no? >> that's correct, look the actual transition from the armac ist day to veterans day started in 1954 and from that point on it became a day to recognize and honor all of those who have served and many whom have parished, and that's the idea here. i think we've recognized that a single war is not going to sustain or protect our freedoms. it is an ongoing battle that we will never walk away from. president reagan said it gave a speech on this issue regarding the fact that look, we could never let down our vigilance. we will seek to sustain peace through any number of means but we will never surrender it, and i think it's that fact, david, that we've been having so many men and women from this day to the past honor that legacy and i think this is why it's so important to have this day to honor for example, commander lip

hold and his crew for their honored service and god bless you, kirk, for being on, and all of those who have now continued to work on sustaining that effort and i don't want to make this political david but this is why it's so important for the nfl to honor and respect our veterans who have served so ardu ously to protect us. taking a knee does not do anything except disrespect those who continue to serve today. >> david: let me bring the commander in because colonel sch afer was speaking of the cold war that ronald reagan faced. our war on terrorism is a very different type of war and you were there for the first military strike against the united states in that war which was the bombing of the uss coal. that preceded 9/11 just by a little bit of time. did you realize when it was struck that this was really the sort of pearl harbor of the war

on terror? >> well, good morning, david and thank you first thank you to all the veterans out there, tony especially you, but also those families on the home front who support them and allow them to go out there and defend our freedom and david when you look at it the attack on uss coal was fundamentally different. up until that point attacking buildings and embassies are things that house and represent u.s. interests. the attack on coal was an attack against our ability to defend our interests around the world. there for it was an act of war it was not reacted to and consequently we paid a price that we're still paying today. >> david: colonel by the way i just want to alert our viewers on the left side of the screen that is the tomb of the unknown soldier, usually you'll see a soldier, marching in pace in front of the tomb itself. right now they've halted that for the laying of the wreath. the vice president will be doing that at exactly 11 a.m. eastern time. that's about three and a half minutes from now but colonel sch afer, in 1993 preceding the

bombing of the uss coal we had a bombing of the world trade center here in new york city. we never knew, never had any conception that those towers could be brought down by a terror strike years later, but that strike alone caused six deaths, thousands of injuries. did you sense back then that we were about to enter into a new war? >> well unfortunately, a lot of us were sensing that things were changing. kirk accurately reflected the fact that his crew was the unfortunate target of this change in expansion of the global strategy of radical islam , as kirk pointed out. up until the point his ship was attacked and his ship was attacked is a symbol of our presence and protecting the freedoms of not only us but our allies, the passage of free-trade and all those sorts of things, the very difficult job the navy does this was a direct attack so there was a trend we had not recognized fully and kirk suffered

consequences of because we did sense and the intelligence community things were changing and unfortunately i'll be blunt the clinton administration was neglect on actually allowing the intelligence professionals to stipulate and put forth what we knew to be this growing threat. the growing threat we looked back on now as you point out started in 93 and went on so this is one of those things we cannot ignore. we do recognize today that radical islam continues and only through president trump's change of strategy have the chairman of the joint chiefs and the pentagon and intelligence community been properly re focused i might add to start looking at defeating this threat which again as you point out god bless kirk liphold, god bless his crew for having suffered and had to be the first casualty of the new war on terror. >> david: commander and colonel i just want to again alert viewers momentarily we'll see the parade of colors and then see the vice president laying the wreath. obviously we don't want to talk over any off this ceremony which is so important for us for our

nation, for our history, so i'm going to have to stop anybody in mid sentence but commander, quickly, do you think that the current administration has it right in the way they are preparing this country for the war on terror? >> i think right now, david they're making steps toward it. i'm not sure they've really wrap ped their arms around a true strategy in order to confront the radical islamic threat we are now facing. it is continuing to grow. we can see their engagement policies continuing from the last administration are continuing because obviously we're engaged in africa, we saw that with the recent deaths of four soldiers. >> david: commander forgive me for interrupting but we are see ing a man very interested reorganizing the military in the united states . that's jim mattis at the end of that front row there, as we are awaiting the vice president of the united states. we understand the parade of colors has already happened, presenting of the flags, and the vice president is due to come out to lay the wreath in 15 seconds.

this is a military operation and again, if you have been to the tomb of the unknown soldier, you know how precise they are and how important timing is and precision, i assume this will be happening at the top of the hour. it's 11 a.m. eastern time and i believe we're about to see the vice-president walk down to the tomb of the unknown soldier for the laying of the wreath. and this is veterans day, let's just take a listen to what's going on in national arlington cemetery. cemetery. >> . >> ladies and gentlemen, vice-president pence has arrived and the honorable david

shulkin, and aguilera, army national military cemetery and commander general of the united states army military district of washington.

[moment of silence]

[moment of silence] >> honors. attention.

attention. >> just want to alert viewers, it is a tradition on veterans day that there is a two minute moment of silence which is what we just saw, what we experienced, we did not want to break in to a tradition that's been honored for decades now, going back to the end of world war i. two minutes of silence, it is an honor to those who died for their country and now, we see, i believe that's the vice-president walking. we will have the laying of the wreath. they are beginning to come in. this is the party, but that was not an accident on the part of any of those who organized this event, that was a planned two minute of silence which we did not want to break into. let's, again, listen to the

natural sound coming out of this event. just want to mention, if you have been to the tomb of the unknown soldier, you might have noticed if you're watching the parade in front of the tomb, if anybody in the audience says anything, laughs too loud, or even whispers too loud, the

soldier, marching in step and say, ladies and gentlemen, you must respect where you are. be silent, please. he stops where he is, he embarrasses the heck out of whoever it is that's talking in the audience, and goes on with his duty. that's why the solemnity of the occasion, that's why the silence that you hear, and again, we will honor that silence. let's listen in. [moment of silence]

>> we're still joined by colonel shaffer and commander

liphold as well. and i want to emphasize, we'll stop at any moment we feel is appropriate. the camera shot, you didn't can't see everything happening there. but the honoring of silence at the tomb of unknown soldier is something that's absolutely uncompromised when you're there. we want to give the viewers as much a feeling of being there as possible that's why we've allowed the silence to exist. but while we maten-- wait for the vice-president your thoughts. >> and the years of the coverage of our wars that is interned there, that's why it's so sacred, the tomb of the unknown is what they guard because it's emblematic that we've had men and women go forward and some

have fallen and it's totally unknown. the spirit of the fact that these people will always be unknown, but they went forward without fear to do that very difficult thing. so, it's they who are, i think, the most honored. one of my favorite speeches is the gettysburg address, delivered by president lincoln on the 19th of november of 1863 where he talked about the members of that battle who, quote, unquote, gave their last full measure of devotion. that's what this honors is the idea that people have sacrificed everything to sustain our freedom. david: and commander, i believe we're watching the vice-president make his way to the platform there. it's extraordinary. i'm sure you've experienced this when you hear somebody talking too loud in the audience observing the tomb and you see the guard stop in his tracks and silence that observer. >> it is an amazing thing to watch, i mean, the guards there,

they truly represent the honor that we, as a nation, put forth to those unknown soldiers who did go forth and pay that last measure of devotion. i'm never forget when i got back with my crew we attended the veterans day service immediately after the attack november 2000 on the u.s.s. cole. sitting in that ceremony and listening to the president speak, knowing that we were honoring those soldiers who have gone forth, soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines, the veterans that we have today. they're the ones that truly create the circumstances for our society to exist. they're the one-- >> they're presenting the colors. forgive me, commander. >> they're the ones that truly deserve the nation's thanks. david: let's listen to the national anthem. ♪

♪ ♪ >> 0

>> present.

♪ [ ♪taps playing]

♪ >> order.

>> . >> all right, with the 24 notes that are in taps, one of the shortest and most moving melodies you will ever hear, the vice-president leaves after playing the wreath. we are going to be hearing from speakers talking about the meaning of veterans day and the importance of it. we still have with us commander liphold and colonel shaffer with us. commander liphold whenever i hear taps, it sounds cliche to say it, but those 24 notes never

fail to give me the shivers. >> if they don't pull at your heart strings, then you really are just devoid of emotion. i mean, i have attended services at arlington cemetery where we have buried those who have paid the sacrifice for our nation and every time that song plays, it just tears at my heart and you have a tear in your eye because it truly is that last and final note of thanks that we, as a nation, give to honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. david: colonel shaffer. >> well, look, i have a hard time after everything i've been through not tearing up when i hear it by the fact that it represents, as kirk said, that last full measure of devotion to the duty of the country and obviously, for those families who stay behind. i mean, that's one of those things, too, that often, you know, we forget that as much as we wish to honor the dead, we

must sustain those who remain. and the families who have to endure the loss of a loved one are equally important and must be acknowledged and i think this, again, is one of those days for family members of the fallen are also part of the reason we have this is so that we can honor their sacrifice of their loved one for purposes of helping defend our freedom. so, that's why this day is most complex and as you point out, 24 notes, very simple, but amazingly deep where it touches us and where we live in our soul. david: commander, there's a false notion, i think, running around particularly in the mainstream media that the military just consists of wealthy -- of people who have -- are too poor to do anything else. the wealthy get a break on serving in the military when in fact, that's not true at all. you see many communities, many

different individuals from all backgrounds getting involved in the military now and are all volunteer service. so, the military does affect a big cross-section of humanity in the united states. >> when you look at it today, david, the military forms some of the best and brightest that our nation has to offer. only 27% of america's youth today even qualify to enter the military and of that 27% that remain, typically the military takes the top 20%. so, you're literally getting those who are our best and brightest coming out of high school, coming out of universities and colleges, who choose that life of consequence to serve our nation, and they go on to form literally the leadership backbone of the nation. you can learn any kind of business skill you want and whether you serve for four years or 40 years, when you get out, you have a wealth and breadth of skills that contribute to the nation, to the fabric of what makes our society and our economy work. and those typically are the

military. if you look at businesses, they want to hire military. they come with a sense that they and they alone are responsible for their actions and the consequences that come from it. they have personal responsibility, they have leadership skills, they have management talent that they can bring to bear. this is why going into the military is such a wonderful option for young men and women to consider today because they not only can give to their nation in service, but they can give back to their nation again at a point in time when they choose to get out and become contributing members of society. david: i've got to say both of you gentlemen are perfect examples of what the commander was just saying, these are the kind of people, the folks i have as guests right now, who represent the military. by the way, we're going to be hearing the invocation, the prayer for veterans from chaplin michael mccoy. he's director of veterans affairs, national chaplain center and we're going to then hear from the president of the korean war veterans association, we're also going to be hearing from the president of the master

of ceremonies himself, mr. matthew webb and then, of course, we'll be hearing from the vice-president. we want to bring all of that to you as soon as it begins. they had to get to a slightly different local, it's again, in arlington national cemetery, but that's where they're getting ready to speak. colonel shaffer, again, we have two big memorials every year for veterans, for those who have fallen and for those who have served, memorial day and veterans day, is that enough? >> i think it's-- you don't want to go over the top, david. look, as kirk was just pointing out, we honor the service of those who have given everything they can for the country and many of us are very humbled by our service. we talked about who enlists. the military is the great equalizer, in 1981 when i enlisted i pulled kitchen patrol scrubbing pots as a private e-2. and i think we all have adequate representation, i think this

is-- we have to remember, today is remembrance days for those in the british commonwealth which also honors their fallen. so the dates we have i think are adequate and i think, again, people like you, david, people, networks like fox or other organizations, the uso, things like that which actually do honor, sustain and support the community of veterans is very important. so as long as we have those things, i can't speak for all veterans, but i think kirk and i would agree the recognition is important, but the idea that we will have the means to continue to serve and help others to enlist and serve is very important to the path forward for our nation. david: commander liphold because you were commander of u.s.s. cole, one of the first military strikes in the war on terror against the united states, and it was that war and of course 9/11 that brought in people who didn't usually think about joining the military, people from the upper west side of manhattan, for example, who

actually joined up as a result of seeing with their own eyes the fact that america is in danger if we don't defend it from our enemies. did you see a change in personnel coming into the military after 9/11? >> i did. i think that if there's one thing about americans is that when it really comes down to it, despite politics or how their views or issues are framed, americans are very patriotic. they know the gift of freedom that we possess. they know the foundation that it comes from. and when they feel that that is threatened, americans will join up and serve because they want to contribute to that life and become a part of something bigger than that because they know that's what makes up our nation and the chance they get to raise their right hand to serve their nation and to be able to go forth and potentially put themselves in danger, knowing they're writing a blank check up to and including their lives if necessary, that makes us a great nation. we do not have to go out and

have a draft anymore, that we have an all volunteer service because we know we can tap into that reserve of americans who believes in what our nation stands for and serve. david: colonel shaffer, it seems to go in waves. we had, of course, ronald reagan, who was very tough in the military and won the cold war essentially, even though it happened after he left office and then we got lazy about things, and cut way back called it the peace dividend during the clinton years and some say it led us to leave down our guard which gave room for the terrorists to make their move. then with gw bush, we got very active in the military and president obama's era we pulled back again and now it seems we're building up again. so it's like a rollercoaster, isn't it? >> look, to your point, i enlisted in '81 and i fully thought that i would die in germany for those who remember

the cold war, the perceived opening battle, if you will, between us and the soviets. and i've talked to my dear friend bud mcfarland, national security with president reagan. i complimented him, i thought i would die on the battlefield in germany and you guys got us through. to that point, after the wall came down, we game into this malaise, if you will, in the '90s, we had the peace dividend, we've won the war and time to let everything go and i think we attributed far too much for our military and frankly vigilance against those who challenge us. and we saw the chaos come back to bite us in 2001 and we have to endure that as kirk pointed out. america's youth once again rose up and jumped in to help continue that very difficult challenge of maintaining our freedom, but there's-- this is never going to end and i think this is where i've seen

the chief of staff of the army saying no one task force smith. task force smith went into korea in 1950, ill-prepared and not ready to go to war. so we've failed, david to learn that lesson because we had the same thing between 1945 and 1950. it's one of those things we have to find a way to be better prepared and understand it's necessary to be-- to have strength as part of our diplomacy to always seek diplomacy, but having that strength is important to be ready to fight if necessary. david: indeed, commander, we're seeing that play out on the korean peninsula right now. one of the aspects of the military that donald trump is insistent we need to build on is our u.s. navy forces and we are seeing the three carrier groups off the north korean peninsula right now making a message to the dictatorship in north korea thatter woo -- that we're not going to fool around. >> that's a wonderful signal to send and a bigger picture to

look at resides in washington. the united states senate and the house of representatives must get a military budget passed so that we don't have these continuing resolutions that hold up programs, that don't give the military the ability to man, train and equip the forces while we search those three carriers out there, i guarantee you, large complements of each of those ships and the battle groups that formed it we had to draw back from units getting ready to go out there just back from deployment. they're not fully manned like they need to be, so consequently, the military needs a budget that they can count on that they can know is going to grow and give them the tools they need to defend freedom. right now, we don't have that predictability and that's one of the great faults weech we have in the legislative branch. and while donald trump is trying hard to enlarge the military because it's an insurance policy. you want to have a military so

big, so robust with the capability and credibility that is a measure of last resort, it will be used. but when we do use it, it must be decisively and overwhelmingly to defeat any enemy. we don't want parity. we don't want to close to parity. we want to remain the sole superpower and use that force judiciously to defend our freedom and economy around the world. >> and we attempted the incrementmentalism and go here and there and result in the stalemate we had to walk away from. and fortunately, vietnam is a friend and with the president's visit. one thing that kirk said is correct. it's not only about the ability to sustain and fight an enemy, it's the ability to defeat an enemy with overwhelming force and again, not to be a bully,

but to be the brother in arms with our allies to make sure that they will trust us, and i think that's one of the things as kirk pointed out earlier, president trump is going in the right direction, and passing a budget that allows for things to be created. we've got to look at things that's not funded properly, i'm a critic of the f-35. and we've got the requirements of the nuclear navy that have not been met. this is something that the obama administration allowed to the point of failurement it's president trump's job to figure out strategy and budget and capabilities. david: gentlemen, stay with us. i want to broaden this with g e gordon chang, and the question is whether the commitment to the military that we've seen through

the trump administration is something that's appreciated, not necessarily appreciated in a good way, but understood by the chinese and other people in the asian region, that we need to have a little more respect from? >> the south koreans and the japanese are concerned that the united states doesn't have the assets in the region to protect them and they're also concerned about political will. will the united states come to their rescue if indeed they are attacked? having three carrier strike groups in the region at the same time is an important message. you know, the military says that this was just coincidental. of course, it wasn't. it was important to reinforce president trump's message that he delivered so well in tokyo. david: gordon, from the chinese side, i'm wondering, sometimes they're playing games as they always will. do you think they really appreciate-- actually, i'm going to stop myself because i believe we're hearing the colors for the vice-president to come in. let's listen.

>> ladies and gentlemen, the vice-president of the united stat states. ♪ ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing for the procession of our nation's colors and those of our veteran service organizations. as we march on the colors, the united states air force band will play the national enblem

march. please put your hand over your heart or render a hand salute. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ >> please remain standing for the prayer for all veterans delivered by chaplin michael mccoy. national chaplain center. >> let us pray, eternal god of nations and veterans, you are so awesome in so many ways. we invite your presence in this most sacred garden where many of our veterans and families have gathered and many of our nation's heroes rest. we give you thanks on this veterans day for the courage, devotion and sacrifice of all

those who have worn our nation's uniform and offered military service for this country that we could enjoy such freedoms. god, we ask that you bless our nation's veterans. encourage and bring healing to those who are suffering from both visible and invisible wound of war. god, hold safely in your hand our military members, veterans, their families, and all who live in this great nation. god, remove evil acts from our midst and grant us peace at home and abroad. give to us grateful hearts and a united will to honor our veterans. may we always hold them in our love and our prayers until your world is perfected in peace and

all wars cease. god, give us all a joyous spirit as we honor our nation's veterans, let your presence be evident in this celebration of their service in the name of god, who challenged us to care, amen. amen. >> . >> now, i'd like to invite mr. thomas stevens, national president, korean war veterans association to lead us in our pledge of allegiance. >> i pledge of allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with

liberty and justice for all. >> please be seated. >> it is now by distinct privilege to introduce the members of the veterans day national committee. the committee was formed by presidential order in 1954 to plan this annual observance in honor of america's veterans and to support veterans day observances throughout the nation. please hold your applause until i've introduced these special guests. if you're able, please stand when your name is called. thomas stevens, national president, korean war veterans association. ang angel, national commander,

american gi forum. frank kowalski, national commander, catholic war veterans of the usa. joe parker, national president, blinded veterans association. john rowen, president, vietnam veterans of america. keith harmon, commander-in-chief, veterans of foreign wars of the united states. william starkey, national president, fleet reserve association. david zurflu, national president, paralyzed veterans of america. marion polk, national commander, american veterans, am-vets. >> raul hellwig national chander. john 0s strossski,

noncommissioned officers. and larry from the american legion. corneil just van neff commander purple heart. wendell well, marine corps league. lion smith executive director military chaplain's association. jerry wall don, legion of valor of the usa. david gibson, commander-in-chief, military order of the world wars. john adams, national president, the retired enlisted association. brian thacker, washington d.c. agent, congressional medal honor society of the usa. gary augustine, executive director disabled american veterans. dana atkins, president, military

officers association of america. jeff ladue, president, air force sergeant's association. dean coppola, board chair, united states public health services. mr. robert swan, national commander, polish legion of american veterans usa. not with us today is paul warner, national commander from the jewish war veterans, as they do not attend a cemetery on the chabot. they'll celebrate veterans day at the vietnam wall and world war ii memorial. the associate members of the committee are located in the boxes to my left. i'd like to ask the presidents and the national commanders that comprise our associate membership to stand and be recognized. ladies and gentlemen, please

join me in recognizing our national leadership with your applause. [applaus [applause] >> it is now my pleasure to introduce our veterans service organization host for 2017. the korean war veterans association of the usa. the korean war veterans association of the united states of america or kwva is honored to serve as the host organization for the 2017 veterans day national commemoration at arlington national cemetery. kwva is incorporated as a nonprofit corporation that meets the requirements for a veterans service organization under section 501-c-19 of the internal revenue code of 1986 and that it's organized under the laws of

the state of new york. the kwva mission is to defend the nation, care for veterans, perpetuate their legacy, remember all missing and fallen, maintain their memorial, and support a free korea. if you have ever honorably served in korea as a member of the u.s. armed forces from september 3rd, 1945 to the present, or served outside of korea june 25th, 1950 to january 31st, 1955, you qualify for membership. the korean war veterans association is represented today by their national president. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome mr. thomas stevens. [applaus [applause] >> thank you. vice-president pence, secretary shulkin, distinguished guests and my fellow veterans and their

families, good morning and happy veterans day. my name is tom stevens, i'm the national president of the korean war veterans association of the united states of america. the croon korean war veterans association has the honor of hosting the veterans day commemorations here in washington d.c. often referred to as the forgotten war, the korean war began on june 25th, 1950 when some 75,000 soldiers from the north korean people's army poured across the 38th parallel, the boundary of the soviet-backed peoples's republic of r korea to the north and the pro western korea to the south. and the peninsula is still divided today. today, i would like to pay

special tribute to all who have served on the korean peninsula, from the start of the war to the present. your service and dedication to ensure the stability and freedom of the republic of korea will be remembered for years to come. we honor and thank you for your service to our country and to the republic of korea. on this veterans day and all such days, when we pause to remember, there are essential lessons for the young and indeed, for the rest of us as well. appreciate the blessings of freedom, recognize the power and virtue of sacrifice, and respect those who gave everything on behalf of the common good. veterans day reminds us of what we can achieve when we pull together as one nation, respecting each other with all of our myriad differences, but

coming together, we can fight any battle and face any challenge. may god bless the united states of america and all of the american heroes we honor today and may god bless, also, those who still stand at the ready and may give us the wisdom to do what is right for tomorrow. thank you, we're honored to be the host veteran service organization. thank you very much. [applaus [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the honorable david j shulkin, secretary of veterans affairs. [applause]. >> thank you. it's great to see all of you on this wonderful veterans day. mr. vice-president, mrs. pence, medal of honor recipient brian

thacker, secretary mnuchin, secretary mattis, secretary zinke. the secretary shanahan, secretary wolfen, former va secretary jim peak, tom stevens, from the korean war veterans association, and all the representatives of our veterans service organizations, assembled veterans, members of our armed forces, va colleagues, other distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, i don't think i've left anybody out. the department of veteran affairs has two main missions to honor the dead and care to are the living. in accordance with a solemn president made by president abraham lincoln in his second inaugural address in 1865. we at va keep that promise 365 days a year and in this past year we've made great progress towards also keeping president trump's promise to veterans, strengthening our ability to

provide timely, high quality care and benefits while also improving outcomes and experience for veterans. but twice a year, we invite the nation to join us in keeping lincoln's promise, by honoring the dead on memorial day, and honoring the living on veterans day. there was a time when more americans understood the importance of honoring the living. many more americans had connections with the military. in the 1950's, nearly half of all americans, nearly 45% had served in the military or had an immediate family member who had served in the military. today, that number is just 16%. so, i've invited one veteran from each of our recent major conflicts to be here today, to remind us why we honor veterans. first, to my left in box 40 is jessica haltin of kalamazoo, michigan. jessica, will you stand?

gre great. [applause]. jesse ran out of money for college so she enlisted in the navy in 2010 and trained as an aircraft mechanic and served with a hawk eye squadron in japan completing three six month squadrons. after four years on active duty she used the g.i. bill to finish her bachelors degree and earn a masters in national security policy which she will finish in may. congratulations, jesse and thank you for your service. [applause] next, in box 40, jeff roper. jeff, would you stand? jeff. [applause] >> jeff was born in fayett fayettesvil fayettesville, north carolina. he was in the gulf war with the 320th infantry, first airborne

division. he was in saudi arabia when an anti-tank round went through the tent and struck the tent next to jeff's and exploded, peppering his back with schrapnel. he was able to stay with his unit. he retired with 20 years of service and now works at my office at department of veterans affairs and he's here representing both gulf war veterans and va employees, one third of whom are veterans. thank you, jeff. [applaus [applause] >> in exdown here in front is tom devlin from newtown, pennsylvania. tom, where are you? okay. tom enlisted in the marines in 1966. two years later he was a rifleman in vietnam when a bo

boobytrap sent him flying through the air. he served nine years in the marine corps reserves before switching services and joining the air national guard as a medic. he's retired now after 27 years of active service. tom credits the vet's center in silver spring, maryland with saving his life. he showed up there one day at his wit's end thinking of suicide, but the vet's center staff brought him from the brink. tom, to you and all the other veterans, welcome home. [applaus [applause] >> next, in box 40, in the back, is bill scott of marlo, oek. would you stand? okay. coming up there. great. true to his roots as a proud member of the chickasaw nation, bill fudged his birth date to enlist in the national guard when he was just 16. when the korean war broke out, he could could have used his

young age to get out of going, but he didn't. he deployed to korea with the 45th infantry division in 1951. despite his age, bill was made a squad leader and promoted to staff sergeant. he served nine months in combat before returning home and going back to high school for his senior year and then he used the g.i. bill to go to college and he's had a very good life ever since. he's been a patient at va facilities in two states. he's bought two houses using va home loans, and he lives in one of them now with linda, his wife of 52 years. congratulations to both of you. [applaus [applause] >> finally, also in box 40 is caramel wetzel. who grew up on a farm in west virginia. c carmel, nice to see you. carmel was drafted in 1942 and

deployed to france from the 26th infantry division one month after d-day. first, he drove a truck for the famed redball express, an endless convoy that moved food, fuel and ammunition to the english channel to patton's army. and november 1st, 1944, amid fierce fighting, he was captured by the germans. he spent the rest of the wore as a p.o.w. mostly at starlag 2-a. winner was 1/6 of a loaf of bread. he escaped once sneaking out of the barracks during a nighttime bed check and remained at large for 15 days before they were recaptured and only not shot because several americans who escaped before them had been shot. after the war, carmel went back to driving a truck, but for two years in his spare time and without any pay he built

apartments in baltimore more other veterans returning home from the war, amazing stories and there's hardly a veteran alive who doesn't have one. our guest speaker -- [applaus [applause] >> our guest speaker today also has a story to tell, not of his own service, but of his family's. the vice-president's father, second lieutenant edward j pence, also served in the 45th infantry division in korea, not long after bill scott, our teenage chickasha sergeant. in the wars last month, ed pence was awarded the bronze star for higgs actions as a rifle platoon leader near pork chop hill. that's not all. in 1983, the vice-president's older brother first lieutenant greg pence also served with the 3rd 3 battalion in beirut

lebanon just before the infamous barrack bombings that killed 241 americans service members and 58 french paratroopers. and now, currently serving is the vice-president's son, marine 1st lieutenant michael pence who is now in flight school, flying jet trainers. that's quite a service record for one family. and what it tells moo he is that when it comes to caring for the men and women who have served our country, the vice-president is a man we know will always do the right thing. ladies and gentlemen, it is my great personal pleasure and professional honor to present to you, the vice-president of the united states, mike pence. [applaus [applause]

>> thank you, secretary shulkin. secretary mattis, secretary zinke, all the members of the cabinet, secretary wilson, general dunford, general salv admiral caldwell and admiral michael. to director mclara, to distinguished members of congress and all of our honored guests, but most of all, to the men and women of the armed forces of the united states of america, and to all our veterans who have worn the uniform of this great nation, happy veterans day. [applaus [applause] >> there's a day in the spring when we remember those who served and did not come home,

but today, veterans day, is the day when all across america in gatherings large and small, we pause to remember those who served and did come home. for nearly a century, since the guns of the first world war fell silent, and the 11th hour, the 11th day, the 11th month, the american people have observed this day, first as armistice day and now as veterans day. and i thank you all who are here, and all that are gathered around this nation for continuing this great tradition. and to our heroes near and far, i bring veterans day greetings from a great champion for the men and women who have worn the uniform of our armed forces, the 45th president of the united states of america, president donald trump.

[applaus [applause] >> at this very moment, our president is halfway around the world, but i know his heart is here. in this hallowed place and at every veterans day service across the country. president trump asked us to be here at this national veterans day ceremony to, in his words, honor all americans who served in the army, navy, air force, marines, coast guard, in times of war and peace and to pay due respect, due respect to those americans who have passed the torch of liberty from one generation to the next, for they surely have. and so, i say to each and every one of you veterans gathered here, and all of those that might be looking on, we're grateful for your service.

we're grateful for your sacrifice. and i'll make you a promise, just as you fought for us, we will always fight for you. [applaus [applause] >> the bible tells us if you owe debts, pay debts. if honor, then honor. if respect, then respect. the debt our nation owes those who have worn the uniform is a debt we will never be able to fully repay. in the hour of our nation's birth, our best and bravest stepped forward to defend our freedom. the unbroken cord of their service stretches back into the mists of american history. from bunker hill to bellawood, from san juan hill to saipan, from the coral reef to kandahar. nearly 50 million men and women have donned the uniform of the

united states. and nearly 20 million still walk among us today. and as we speak, a new generation of american veterans is being forged across the wider world. as i look out today, it's a humbling sight. i see heroes from the second world war, korea, vietnam, and more recently from iraq and afghanist afghanistan, and many more who have watched in times of peace. yesterday, in da nang, vietnam, our president commemorated the 50th anniversary of the vietnam war and met with some of the heroes who fought that war on the very soil where they fought. as the president said yesterday, we salute our brave vietnam veterans and recall the sacrifices they made for our freedom, and for our nation's strength. some 9 million americans served