us. last words here, grace? >> thank you. [laughter] joey: how about you? >> one word, love. rachel: oh! [laughter] pete: 21 pineapples.com and -- rick: candidly kind.com. pete: have a great saturday, everybody. see you tomorrow. ♪ ♪ neil: 24 days and counting. inflation has the majority of american voters worrying, and now fed hikes have big bank ceos saying a recession is coming. what will it mean for both parties come november? president biden is wrapping up his west coast tour today in oregon, pollsters mark penn and lee carter in a moment. welcome, everybody, i'm neil cavuto. happy to have you this very busy weekend where muse dominates -- it's always that way now. i guess this is why we decided

to go live every weekend, because the news doesn't stop, nor should we. very good to have you. let's get the read of what's at stake as we wrap up a number of key debates, other contests simply too close to call as the battle for the house and senate is on. the very latest from kelly o'grady in los angeles on the real pain that a lot of shoppers/voters are feeling right now. >> reporter: good morning to you, or neil. that inflation number came in hotter than expected this week, and the big worry is what's called core inflation. that's a number when you don't factor in food or energy prices. that came in at 6p.6%, the -- 6.6%, so it kind of shows how inflation is becoming entrenched in our economy. here's the president this week downplaying that inflation number. >> americans are squeezed by the cost of living. it's been true for years, and folks don't need a report to tell them they're being squeezed. >> reporter: the numbers tell a very different story though.

look how prices have skyrocketed since the president took office, and then digging into that cpi report, food prices are up significantly. look at that, eggs, 30%. and i'm sure i don't have to tell you at home, you're probably eating breakfast watching this well aware that your milk and coffee are costing more than 15% more. energy was also a big driver of that headline number, and as we head into the winter, we're going to see the highest heating bills in 10 years. americans can expect to spend up to 28% more than last year to heat their homes. how much you pay in total is going to vary, but any of those numbers on the screen are not cheap. you may start -- it may start to force consumers to pull back on spending. one bright spot though, if you can call it that, because of inflation, you're going to see an 8.7% increase in social security benefits, the highest in 40 years, so that's going to equate to an extra $146 a month. the fed's watching prices rise, they're likely going to get more aggressive through the rest of

the year, and this will, i'm sure, impact voters when they go to the polls for the midterms. me. neil: yeah, we'll have more in just a second. kelly o'grady, thank you very much for that. well, the president's wrapping up what has been a three-state, some call it a blue-state tour, out west. but his message has been pretty much the same in the states he visits. things are tough but they're getting better. is that the case? alexandria hoff with more. >> reporter: hi, neil. the president's many oregon today, and there's a -- in oregon today, and there's a high stakes governor's race right now. the president's there to campaign but also sell his own accomplishments, and that means addressing rising costs. the president did so during his stop in irvine, california, yesterday saying that republicans would be the ones to make things worse. >> when it actually comes time to do something about inflation around the kitchen table, republicans in congress are saying, no.

the republicans take control, the prices are going to go up as will inflation. it's this simple. >> reporter: these remarks came after the release of september's consumer price index report which revealed what the president called progress. it shows inflation rose 8.2% compared to the year prior, a slight dip the from the month prior but higher than initial predictions. in california where gas prices are reaching over $6 a gallon, the president said he's going to announce a plan to bring down the cost next week. congressional democrats signaled it could have to do with saudi arabia. here's the president. >> what's your message to saudi arabia? >> we're about to talk to them about it. we're about to talk to them. >> in what way, sir? >> what are you going to -- >> stay tuned. >> reporter: not a lot there yet. in oregon president biden is expected to highlight democratic policies to preserve social security and lower prescription drug costs. the president has accused

republicans of putting the program on the chopping block. interestingly, president biden skipped over arizona and nevada during this trip, two states marked by their toss-up senate races. neil? neil: you know, alexandria, i am curious and, obviously, the president and his people are trying to emphasize the positive, the job backdrop is pretty strong. but i wonner what the boomerang effect could be when you keep telling people, you know, the economy looks like it's going to rebound, it's on its way, and they then go to the brosly store or the gas -- grocery store or the gas station and see quite the opposite picture, whether it's going to hurt them? >> reporter: yeah, you know, it's really push down the road at this point now. we are so close to the midterm election date, so as long as you can kind of keep that hope alive in people who already support you, already plan to vote to your side, it could be an effective messaging strategy, but we're going to have to see. and if those two states out west, arizona and nevada, they're still up in the air. it's unclear if the president

was invited to campaign alongside those candidates. of we know he was in oregon. neil: all right. thank you for that. the bottom line is if you have a 401(k) or pension fund or directly or indirectly are invested in the markets, you seen your worth crumble. and, again, it crumbled some more yesterday on the rather discouraging notion that the higher prices go and the higher interest rates go, we're not seeing any effect in the prices at all for what you pay when you go to the grocery store or gas station. so that means after the federal reserve has effectively quadrupled interest rates over the past year, actually less than a year, and now plans to do so again with the betting that they hike rates three-quarters of a percent next month, maybe another three-quarters of a percent after that, so they will have more than quinn opportunity thinged by that time, and not a sign that it's showing up in better inflation numbers. should we worry? let's go to my friend, gary

kaltbaum, who has a lot riding on that. gary, what do you think? should we worry now that after all these hikes, it's not doing the trick? >> very much so. not only is the wealth effect in reverse, everything we worried about on how sticky inflation can be when it really hits -- and i'm not talking about just going up, but really hits -- how it sticks doesn't go away, worsens over time. we're seeing it in droves. and it's like the movie "the gremlins." one goes away, two pop up. you see the price of lumber come down, then you see oil prices go up or natural gas or heating oil or cotton. and now you're seeing it in food in a very, very, very big way, and i do my own little studies going to the supermarket. i'll spend an hour or two there and just compare where things were a month ago, three months ago. they're still going higher right now on staples that people need.

not just want, but need. and that's why you're seeing not just the fed playing catch-up, you have the 2-year yield at 4.5% right now, neil. you have the 3-month treasury bill that was 0 last year nearing 4%. that is the market telling you there is big trouble afoot, and i'm not so sure the powers that be are doing enough to combat it. they sure talk a big game, but nothing really getting done, and the word stick is front and center right now. it is sticking. neil: yeah, bigtime. and, you know, you referred to the 10-year. that's over 4%, first time we've seen it that high in over 40 years, and a lot of mortgages are attached to that, home equity lopes, car -- loans, car loan ares. it's one thing when you get a 30-year mortgage close to 7%, it's another thing now to have to qualify at that higher level. so it's a double whammy. what do you think? >> yeah, the 10-year hit a few

closing high yesterday, neil, and the combination of unaffordability with mortgage rates going up is now hitting the other little park, and that is the housing market. another part of the reverse wealth effect. every night i go on zillow, realtor.com, i go in about 15 city, and very simply, what i am seeing are a lot of arrows down now. that is people not wanting to, but having to lower prices. every night i'm seeing more houses come on to inventory. every night i'm seeing pending sales going by the wayside. so, unfortunately, i think that's another part of the vicious cycle. i'm sorry to say that. i wish it was different, but i deal in reality, and i just think that all the negatives are coming to fruition here all coming from massive amounts of easy money that portioned prices up and now -- forced prices up and now getting the opposite that's taking things down. and where it stops, ooh i'm not even sure, and i've been one of

the big bears out there. neil: you know, i've always looked at the backdrop, and i know the administration clings to the strong jobs environment not as strong as it was, but we're still gaining jobs. that was something that you and i remembered was not happening with the carter stagflation. we were giving up hundreds of thousands of them every month. that's what the administration clings to as it does robust consumer buying. i get delta this past week saying it sees strong holiday flying demand. so consumers willing to spend. i don't know how long that lasts, but what do you make of that? >> i'm not as thrilled on the consumer as others because savings rates are plunging and credit card usage is skyrocketing. that is a one-two punch that doesn't bode well. as far as the job market, areas that have had trouble like mortgage business, you've seen a real big drop in jobs. i am watching it so close

will -- closely, neil, because i think that could be the next shoe to drop. i have little prediction in my mind that we're going to see 5% in the next six months unemployment because once it starts heading the other way, it goes quickly. i really hope i'm wrong about it because then we're dealing with real trouble. and what i believe is recessionary environment right now, we'll go into a deep recession. that's the last thing we want to see. and, again, i really do believe that the wealth effect on the upside was a big part of the economy. you're getting the exact opposite right now. and every tick down in every asset price works against what we're seeing. so, again, job market, fingers crossed. but i'm less than thrilled at what i'm seeing right now. neil: well, you do your homework at the grocery store, you're there an hour, two hours checking things out. i'm usually there that long just getting the free samplings. [laughter] very different agendas. gary can, we're going to be

seeing you next hour to weigh in on the markets and that paper loss people are feeling could affect their psyche, to your point. in the meantime, record high inflation and maybe because of it record high voter turnout in a little more than three weeksful we'll explore the connection, you decide. ♪ ♪ down in the middle where the -- ♪ out in the middle where we've -- ♪ pro laundry pair. so you and your favorite sweater can forget about all about those hairy situations. shop maytag and more exclusive out of the blue innovations at lowe's.com. my most important kitchen tool? my brain. so i choose neuriva plus. unlike some others, neuriva plus is a multitasker supporting 6 key indicators of brain health. to help keep me sharp. neuriva: think bigger. with my hectic life you'd think retirement would be the last thing on my mind. hey mom, can i go play video games?

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♪ ♪ >> i was doing really good, and now we're not. >> the gas prices, food and everything else cuts down on fun times, i guess. >> i feel like it's not as bad as it was a few months ago. >> buying food, you know, takes over, like, a quarter or third of my income. >> couldn't blame just one person. that's like blaming the coach on a football team when there's a whole team will. >> when the economy's doing good, we give kudos to the

president. economy's doing bad, should do the same thing. neil: a lot of passion about the economy, about inflation, and normally in a midterm election you -- however angry people feee into record numbers, especially in a year where the presidential contest isn't on the ballot. it might be different this year. last time we saw very high midterm turnout, you'd have to go back to 1994. of course, that was the gingrich republican revolution, if you are. it certainly -- if you will. it certainly humbled bill clinton, but a couple of years later he ended up getting reelected taking cues from that. we have lee carter and mark penn, geniuses, both. lee, get me your read on the anger out there. is it enough to get more out to the polls than we would typically see in a midterm election? >> i'm not sure, and the reason for that is when you look at the polling numbers on how people feel about the inflation,

economy, immigration, those are the most important issues to americans. most people think that reprints are -- republicans are more likely to be favorable on those issues and think that democrats are focused on every other issue. so you would expect republicans to be running away in the polls, and that's simply not happening. and i think the reason for it is that republicans are spending so much of their time talking about how bad it is when most americans know how bad it is. they're reminded every time they fill up their tank with gas, every time they check out with groceries, every time they pay their energy bills. we know how bad it is, we don't need to be reminded. what we do need is a plan on how to get better. and i know the republicans are starting to see the plan with their commitment to america, but it hasn't taken hold left so people are left wondering, what is the difference going to be? if republicans can answer that over the next months, they're going to run away, but right now people are not sure how it's going to get better.

neil: i want to go to the election itself and let's say, mark, just hypothetically that republicans take back the house. they might even take back the senate. that's a higher climb are, i grant you. but the one thing we learned from a guy you used to advise, bill clinton, is that, you know, a savvy, pretty politically-attuned president can learn from such events. bill clinton did. famous era of big government is over. and he ended up getting reelected. i'd like to try to juxtapose that against if it's that kind of a scenario, what a joe biden does. >> yeah. i mean, first, let me just say to lee's comments, we are picking up in the harris poll. maybe not a greater absolute turnout, but when we screen to likely voters now, the congressional horse race goes from 50-50 to 53-47. we're seeing voters who care about inflation, immigration and

crime being more energized. and to your point -- neil: so 53-47 in favor of republicans. >> yes. neil: okay. >> in favor of the e rerepublicans. it's the first time we're picking up that strong a difference in the likely voters, so we are seeing things cupid of tip in the -- kind of tip in the republic direction the closer we get. to your point, neil, if there is a divided government, mitch mcconnell said i'll make a moderate out of president biden. i just don't see that happening because i don't know whether biden's actually running for re-election. bill clinton wanted to be reelected, didn't want to be a one-term president, ran on a program of being a centrist and wanted to get back to there. he felt his white house and administration had taken him away from what he genuinely believed and brought me and a team in to kind of reestablish the center. will that happen again with joe biden?

i don't see the evidence because president clinton didn't know '94 was coming. joe biden knows this midterm's been coming, he's doubled down on almost everything. he had the maga speech, you know, he's doing a little effort here, but he basically dug in. so i'd like to see what you said happen, i've written a number of articles about the president should have made a pivot six months ago, he should do something about the border, do something, you know, to restrain spending, he should do something strong about crime, but he just hasn't. i don't think that's going to happen. i'd like to see it happen. neil: you know, obviously the economy, inflation, all this stuff is now getting to be front and center in a number of these key debates including last night's in georgia with raphael warnock and herschel walker. i want you guys to react to this from last night. >> he said he would not have voted for the inflation reduction act, and i think he should tell the people of

georgia why he thinks they should have insulin -- expensive insulins lin. >> at the same time, you've got to eat right. he may not know, and i know many people that's on insulin, and unless you're eating right, i said lin is doing you no good -- insulin. so you have to get food prices town do, and you've got to get gas down so they can go get insulin. neil: what do you think of that, lee? walker was saying it comes back to just eating right and affording what you're eating. >> i think the message of eating right is one that is pretty dismissive of what many die bet -- diabetics go lu. but i think his point about getting cost of living down as a whole was well taken. and i think his performance overall last night was a good one. he need to have a good night with all the controversy that's been surrounding him, and i think he was able to address and set himself up to allay a lot of concerns that people had about him. and i think he was focused on those issues that are most

important to americans which is really about getting the cost of living back to manageable. it does feel like it's out of control, and contrast that with what the president said, the president said, look, things are starting to get better. people don't believe that it's really getting better. neil: all right. we'll see. mark, i robbed you of a response to that, but i hope to have you back soon. again, the other big issue, of course, what's happening at the border. some new developments that are, shall we say, scary. after this.

neil: all right, the border is still a mess. better than 2 the million, as you know, a record number of migrants crossing into this one. that doesn't include likely the hundreds of thousands of so-called gotaways, but the administration seems to be focused on the roughly 24,000

venezuelans trying to get here and trying to rein at least that number in especially since a disproportionate number of venezuelans like to claim asylum to ease their way here or at least get them in here to adjudicate their case. the rio grande city, texas, mayor joins us now. mayor, this subset of the migrant population coming into the country and the fact the administration is focusing on that, i'm sure you would welcome any focus on the border and anyone trying to get in here, but that contingent, what do you think? >> well, good morning. thank you for having me on your program. and we must call it for what it is, and this is biden's rendition of remain in mexico 2.0. and ironically, biden is following trump's lead which, by the way, remain in mexico is highly effective in managing large influxes of migrants. and currently, we are

experiencing record numbers of apprehensions, over 2.2 million. now, the flip side is that remain in mexico is not a permanent solution for our broken immigration system. however, it is beneficial when our migrant processing capabilities are overextended and compromised and, cop subsequently, jeopardizing our national security. so, absolutely, wills a component will. and and -- there is a component there. and we must address our broken immigration system, and i know we've had these conversations before. but nonetheless, at this point is it too little, too late? i don't know. bottom line, this is something that we need to address as a country. we need to address our asylum laws, our immigration laws, our visa programs, visa overstays that account for almost half the population living in the u.s. illegally. and we have close to a million annually. so bottom line, there is something that we must -- we

need to do and, unfortunately, we haven't done it thus far. and i know we've had this conversation that both political parties have failed to prior tides the our broken immigratior broken immigration system. but bottom line, we need to take action. not words, not promises, not rhetoric, action. of and not browns, blacks or whites, not as republicans or democrats, but as americans. carefully manage the balance between immigration and border security which can mutually coexist. we just haven't found the middle ground. neil: yeah, you're probably right about that. but, mayor, does mexico need to take action as well? do you think they help this process? as you know, they're not keep on this idea that a lot of these venezuelan ares and their cases are going to be handled in mexico which, as you rightly pointed out, does seem to be going back to the policy of the trump years. but i am curious as to whether you think they're making this

situation worse. i mean, after all, the overwhelming number of migrants who make their way to our side of the border paris make -- first make their way to the southern side of the mexican border from guatemala and points south. and it doesn't appear that mexico does anything to stop that. finish. >> well, we must work with mexico and the northern triangle countries to counter these human trafficking operations and gather intelligence. and mexico is willing to be a partner in this. however, we need to absolutely sit down with them and have a conversation because there are many elements to in that benefits both countries. so it is something that do -- neil: but we've had those conversations, haven't we, mayor? we have the conversations. i'm just wondering, do they ignore us? maybe things are being done behind the scenes that i'm unaware of, but are they doing can as much as they could be doing? >> at this point i don't know

what the -- yeah, you said there have been conversations, but what exactly did they have the conversations on in i don't know. honestly, i don't know the information. however, the people that i've worked with -- by the way, i do make many trips to mexico with my counterparts here, mayors, and we sit down and have conversations. and guess what? both, we have mutual understandings of what needs to happen here at border, and they do share many of the same concerns, security, safety, tourism, commerce. and guess what in they're -- what? they're willing to work with us. i work very well and closely with the mayors right across the border here. so, honestly, i do not see why the governors or the president of mexico would not have, are open to the conversation of sitting down and working this out. because mexico benefits too by having a good working relationship with the u.s. you're talking about billions of dollars in trade and every

conceivable commodity and service, destination, anywhere, usa. here at our own two-lane bridge hering it's other a billion dollars in trade, and that's just one single bridge. but we have so much, so many opportunities that we can work with mexico, and this is one of them. and they are open to idea that we need to address immigration and, absolutely, have a hold on it because if not, we're going to continue to have these issues. now, another thing, by the way, and this is something that we addressed too. according to the u.s. bureau of labor statistics, employment is projected to grow by 12 million jobs. the future crisis will be labor shortages. it's going to be a -- neil: we've got to act, we've got to act on this, to your point, mayor. thank you. i wish we had more time, sir. it's always good having you, i appreciate it. >> thank you. neil: in the meantime, we're

focusing on what our response will be forget to what mexico does or doesn't do, but saudi arabia and what it already has done by leading an opec-wild effort to cut production by 2 million barrels a day. the administration has promised a response. some say don't sell any more weapons to the saudis, maybe ever. the response from saudi arabia has been hostile to even that idea. let's just say the sheikh hasxp hit thene fan. usa. $99,700: approved! by using your va home loan benefit, you could get approved for an average of $60,000. i got $68,461. credit concerns? call newday. when banks say no to a veteran, newday can say... approved!

♪ neil: all right, we're learning a little bit more about the saudi snub, as they like to call it. the administration had made a push before the saudis met with some of the opec leaders, opec+ country leaders, to tell them to hold off on any production cut. as you know now, these countries went ahead and cut production by about 2 million barrels a day. the president is enragedded,

promises a response to all of this. but it comes at a time when many say this is the president's own doing or at least the democratic party's push toward clean energy at the expense of what we have plenty of here. sort of made this all come to pass. right now a lot of wall street honchos and the like saying it is lunch we served up to ourselves. charlie gasparino on the impact of all of this. i guess, charlie, we're just trying to find out now what the administration response will be. apparently, it asked to hold this off, the saudis opted not to. now there's talk about our upping the ante by maybe denying weapons sales to them in the future. what do you have? >> all of the above, and i can tell you the major financial players in america are just shaking their head that this is maybe one of the worst foreign policy mistakes, you know, in an administration that has some really big ones.

this one is up there. and here's why, neil. if you're going to unilaterally disarm and and embrace green number, you're going to have to get your energy from somewhere, your gas from somewhere, oil. and, you know, saudi arabia is one of the places. it's a place that is controversial, no doubt. and if you're going to take a strict line on human rights, i mean, you know, extremely -- you know, i'm not downplaying the khashoggi murder here, and i don't think anybody on wall street is, but if you're going to constantly attack the saudis and make them -- basically suggest that they're a pariah state, they're not going to help us out when we need it. and i think it's kind of simple math here to and geopolitics. the other thing is where they're a little worried about -- because wall street firms, traders, investors, i mean, this is, you know, geopolitics is always infused in their decisions, this could be a

really destabilizing issue here in terms of the middle east and in our broader aims. i mean, we are, you know, definitely worried and should be about iran's influence in the region. they are the sponsors of recordism. terrorism is never good -- terrorism, terrorism is never good for business. this is what the wall street honchos are saying. saudi arabia is, essentially, an opponent of iran. it's this, again, simple. if you're going to alienate potential allies, again, by taking very strict, have a strict moral code, you know, you're going to -- especially in very dangerous area of the world, well, you know, you're going to pay the consequences. you're going to pay economically and strategy strategically in foreign policy. and, you know, the biden administration kind of not getting that even though there are people there that clearly understand it. now, why is that? i think and wall street guys would say right now the biden administration is pretty much the captive of the progressive left on so many policies

including this. you know, you see it in green energy, you see it in simple regulatory affairs, who'd be appointed to the sec, to the ftc, up and town the line. the progressive -- up and down the line. the progressive left has the check as it sort of applies to foreign policy and economics. and that's what you're kind of seeing here. it's very dangerous too. neil: can i can ask you, charlie, we don't have much time, but you and i can remember the oil embargo -- >> oh, yeah. neil: and the odd/even days, all that. opec overshot things by, you know, continuing to strangle global economies to the point that we had a global recession, and opec itself turned out to be on the brink in just a matter of a couple of years. so so peck, are the saudis overplaying their hand? >> i mean, we're in different situations, by the way, the odd/even was your license plate.

neil: remember that? , yeah. >>s it was crazy stuff. you know, i don't know. i'll be honest with with you. i can just tell you from a strategic standpoint, saudi arabia is in a different place now than it was back then. back then it was an avowed enemy of israel. it is not that right now. and that's one of the reasons why wall street's worried about this sort of, you know, fierce opposition. this is -- yes, the khashoggi murder was bad, but this is not a player in the middle east that's looking to dislodge our influence there, that's looking to destroy israel. and it's actually a bulwark against iran which is, by any measure, is a much worse global actor. and plus, we need them for our economy. so i think it's a little bit -- neil: by the way, if we're using murders and what happens under a despot or kingdom's watch, i mean, we talked to stalin as we

were trying to get out of world war ii. >> yes. neil: you know, you can't be choosers. charlie, always good to have you on, my friend. >> yes, yes. one of the greatest mass murderers of all time was our ally back then. neil: yeah. so just put it in perspective. charlie gasparino, the best in the business giving us the business. maybe a reminder that you've got to go slow trying to give another country business especially when you're in the position of not being able too old that. in the meantime, how do you deal with a vladimir putin who seems to almost every day talk about the wisdom of using tactical nuclear weapons? this past week he did it no fewer than a dozening times. what do we do about that? after this. i want to give you a hug. you see that? that's when i realized we can't let another year go by. i think we're good. okay. let's go.

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when taken with fulvestrant, regardless of menopause status. verzenio + fulvestrant is for hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer that has progressed after hormone therapy. diarrhea is common, may be severe, or cause dehydration or infection. at the first sign, call your doctor start an anti-diarrheal and drink fluids. before taking verzenio, tell your doctor about any fever, chills, or other signs of infection. verzenio may cause low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infection that can lead to death. life-threatening lung inflammation can occur. tell your doctor about any new or worsening trouble breathing, cough, or chest pain. serious liver problems can happen. symptoms include fatigue, appetite loss, stomach pain and bleeding or bruising. blood clots that can lead to death have occurred. tell your doctor if you have pain or swelling in your arms or legs, shortness of breath, chest pain, and rapid breathing or heart rate, or if you're nursing, pregnant or plan to be. every day matters. and i want more of them. ask your doctor about everyday verzenio. neil: all right, we're understanding nato is going to be kicking off some nuclear drills.

this, of course, after vladimir putin has said that he is open to using nuclear weapons, tactical weapons, however you want to look apt it. the fact that he has even mentioned the word nuclear no fewer than a dozen times over the past week has given pause to the world and at least in ukraine, very big pause there. let's go to trey yingst right now in kyiv with more. trey. >> reporter: neil, good afternoon. the price of this war continues to play out on the bodies of civilians here in ukraine. but there is a buggeriesing right now of -- big risk of nato countries being dragged into the conflict, and that is the focus of this entire renal. in a kharkiv graveyard, yellow and blue ukrainian flags mark the graves of fallen soldiers. there's no end in sight for this bloody and unnecessary war. >> translator: we will fight, we will assure that ukraine would win and everything would be in our hands, and the enemy's foot will not walk on our land.

he always said victory is ours. >> reporter: she lost her son to the conflict after he was killed by a russian nine mine. she's one of thousands of mothers who have endured unimaginable suffering over last seven months. yesterday e ukraine marks here . the president, volodymyr zelenskyy, visited injured soldiers in the hospital. he later addressed the world from kyiv. stwhrt they still have the opportunity to terrorize our cities and all europeans, blackmail the world, zelenskyy says, but they have no chance, and they won't because ukraine is moving forward. >> reporter: while ukrainian leadership works to defend their country, there are concerning developments as peers rise over the -- fierce rise over the conflict expanding. russian strategic bombers have been moved close to the finnish border. on monday nato will hold joint drills in the face of russian aggression. these are significant drills happening on monday because they

don't only serve as practice for nato countries, but they also send a direct message to the russian leader, vladimir putin, about his continued invasion of this country. neil. neil: you know, i'm very curious, trey, what you're seeing the russians doing now or how the ukrainians are responding to what seems to be an easing of some of the brutal attacks including on that city behind you, that he's playing some sort of a shell game here. what's the word there? >> reporter: the ukrainians are bracing for the possibility of escalation. they understand that while the russians don't have the firepower to keep up a sustained attack on cities like kyiv or kharkiv, the second largest city in ukraine, at any given time, even right now, they could launch another missile attack and use these iranian drones being fired from belarus. and just this morning we had air raid sirens in kyiv, and it's a remind e to the population that lives here they have to get

underground immediately because an attack could be coming. ukraine is keeping its military and civilian posture high. they don't want people to be too relaxed despite the fact that life does continue behind me, but there are millions of people who are desperate to get back to some sense of normalcy. so balancing that posture, allowing people to get educated and go to cafés and restaurants and simply be human. neil. neil: simply be human. i like the way you phrase that. you're right. trey, thank you very much. be safe, my friend. trey yingst in kyiv. a lot of people are wondering what the the end game of vladimir putin and is he listening to voices back home. turnses out that he is but not the voices that he is, the hawkish voices you fear. after this. no, he's seizing the moment with merrill. moving his money into his investment account in real time and that's... how you collect coins. your money never stops working for you with merrill,

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>> neil, at this point putin is fighting a two-front war, one in ukraine and one in moscow. he's got hard-liners who are criticizing him for the way this war is going. and it's pretty clear that the tide of war has really changed in ukraine. and that putin is losing. he is in a place where he doesn't have a lot of places to go, and that's what makes him very dangerous right now. neil: indeed. leon panetta says putin's like a cornered animal right now. that doesn't make the animal any less dangerous, something that we've heard once and twice from my friend and colleague, general jerry boykin. essentially, what leon panetta was saying was a desperate guy could do desperate things. does it worry you? >> well, i think we have to take it very's -- very seriously, and

i think he cannot ignore the voice of the power base in russia, but he also can't ignore the voice of the moms that are, whose sons are coming home in body bags. so he is up against a very hard wall here. i am one who still maintains that it is unlikely that he will use a nuclear weapon. now, i hope that he doesn't, but there is that opportunity or that chance that he could become so desperate that he sees no other way out than to extract his forces, if nothing else, by using a nuclear weapon. i still hi it is -- think it is a remote possibility. pleasure. neil: you know, i might not have gotten the exact response right, general, france seemed to intimate that if he goes that route, at least france would not. there's an open-ended question here as to whether you use, i

don't understand, limited tactical weapons. i think you can't be a little bit pregnant, it's a whole new era, but what did you make of that and what should our response be outside of saying it's armageddon? >> i think macron has made a big mistake. look, he may have every intention of standing on the sideline if there was a requirement for a nuclear response to a russian nuke attack, but i think that it's a bad mistake for him to break ranks with nato and to come out in terms of his own individual, solitary position on what he will or will not do. now, that said, i don't think any of the nato nations in the remotest kind of way want to see any kind of nuclear response if he uses a tactical nuclear weapon, a low-yield nuclear

weapon, i don't think any of them want to see a nuclear response to that. i think what they all want to see is a conventional response that would just destroy, decimate his military inside of ukraine, and it'll be a continuous bombing campaign using everything that they can muster. but i don't think that they will respond with a nuclear weapon. macron, i think, is once again has broken ranks with nato. neil: we shall see, general. thank you, very good seeing youful general jerry boy kip on what's going on right now. scary threats out of virginia -- vladimir putin, even sometimes scarier responses out of western leaders. when we come back, trouble at the border and the bolting from the president on his response to what's going on there. not from republicans, as i say, from democrats. >> the president decided he was

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to make a life changing difference for a paralyzed veteran today. >> kamala harris is absolutely wrong on that. it's not secure. we have a lot of work to do. >> when the president decided he was going to do something dumb on this and change the rules, you know, that would create a bigger crisis, you know, i told him he was wrong. >> biden does need to step up immigration and border security, absolutely. >> they're listening to the immigration activists, but who is listening to the men and women in green and blue? who is listening to the border commun communities? >> all right. here is when you know you're in trouble on the border crisis when those in your own party are saying you're in trouble on the border crisis. welcome back, i'm neil cavuto and we're focusing on what's