standing out to you? >> well, you know, i mean, i think obviously you see people with weapons there, and i think that's part of the challenge. as you as you rightly pointed out, we know that these groups are still armed and still have capabilities. and that's going to be something that the israeli government is going to be closely watching. there's no doubt that they're watching who's in this square identifying these individuals. some of them are covered up and identifying who the fighters are, and then maybe following them even as they leave and trying to identify where they're going. and so part of the challenge here, if you think about the real challenge about fighting in gaza and fighting hamas, is that these are terrorists who don't care for the rules of war, who don't care for the civilians of gaza. and so they hide their weapons, they hide their headquarters in schools and hospitals. and so when you see the israeli forces going to these schools and hospitals, it's not because they want to take out schools and hospitals. it's because that's where hamas is putting their fighters, putting their weapons, and knowing that they will gain world support for every civilian that dies. and so it's in hamas's incentive to

have palestinian civilians die because they gain notoriety. and they they make the israelis look bad. and that's how they gain support by putting their own civilians on the line. and this is sort of the laws of war. and the laws of modern conflict are not designed to deal with a force that intentionally puts civilians at risk. and they assume that a nation state or a government that controls the population wants to protect its civilians. that's just not true for hamas. they see benefit in palestinian civilians dying. >> right. and i, in these videos that we're seeing, i see like a stage set up, there's a podium. i believe in one of them at one point. again, i'm seeing a reported uniformed hamas and palestinian palestinian islamic jihad operatives out there in the square here as well. and we see cars, vehicles lining up there. this could be happening at any moment. now, i recall last week that it got a little agitated

there in the crowd happening, israel warning hamas to have a little smoother transition for safety and security reasons here. but what we're seeing this happening as well. but what do you believe is happening in israel and with benjamin netanyahu in coordinating and communicating as this process unfolds? >> well, obviously, there's the other question of the transfer of the of the 200 detainees from israel, as well as you as you and trey yingst pointed out earlier, these are they're trading one female soldier for 50 palestinian palestinian detainees. these are, you know, 30 of each of these group of 50. so, you know, roughly 120 of these detainees will be people who've gotten life sentences. and, you know, as a prosecutor, you know how hard it is to get a life sentence in, in a, in a judicial proceeding. and so these, these men who are being released, almost all men, if not all, if not all men are murderers. they're they're terrorists. they're people that actively plotted attacks, killed people.

and so, you know, i have no doubt that this is a frustrating outcome for the for the netanyahu government and for the people of israel. and i think, you know, we'll see how this plays out. but at the end of the day, that is the deal. that's that's that's been put on the table. the deal has been agreed to. and this will continue. now, this is the second of a series of about six or 7 or 8 releases that will take place over the next series of weeks, one a week until this 33 hostages are gone. but remember, it's also important to note there is still another 60 or so hostages. many of them, we believe are dead. so about a third of these, of the roughly 90 hostages that remain in in gaza, are suspected to be dead. so there's really about 60 living individuals, these 33, some combination of them maybe, maybe dead. but but we believe that the bulk of the 33 are alive. so, you know, by the time this is over, about half of those who are alive remain alive, will be returned. the deal does involve the return of both bodies and living hostages. >> right. and i know there's a

lot of hope and a sense of relief, as trey said in israel, that this does we see this to fruition. a big factor in, of course, reaching this cease fire deal in the first place. the timing, again, with the new administration here in the united states, with president trump and the first exchange of hostages here, i'm sure him and his administrators and his advisers are up watching these live photos as well. how do you think they may respond as we see this unfold? >> well, look, i think there's no doubt that that hamas was watching carefully the u.s. presidential elections and the outcome of that contest, and now the taking of office by president trump with some trepidation. i think they recognize that president trump will come down substantially, you know, as an american leader should, on the side of the israelis against the terrorist attack. i mean, again, you just have to think back to nine over 11. and i know for a lot of your your listeners today, a lot of them lived through it. a

lot of them were around for it. some of them were young enough to not even experience it. but if you imagine the, the, the shock and horror and anger amongst the american people on that day, multiply that by a dozen. you have a sense of what what's happening, what happened in israel. and so, you know, we fought a 20 year war. we went around the world and we chased down al qaeda terrorists around the globe to keep our people safe. and so, you know, you to give you a sense of what the israeli population is going through in just the last 15 months. so while it does appear that we're coming to a to an end of this conflict and that everyone hopes the peace will, will, will, will come to pass, there's no doubt that the israeli government, the israeli public, will continue to, as we've seen them do for decades, hunt down every single last leader of hamas, just in the last. in the last 15 months, they've killed the leader of hezbollah. they've killed the leader of hamas, they've killed the opposition leaders. they've killed senior senior iranian leaders. they've essentially decimated iran's air defense capabilities, syria's air defense capabilities. so the

israelis have had a lot of counterterrorism successes as a result of this conflict, i think, and put a lot more damage on hamas than its fellow terrorists, palestinian islamic jihad and the like. then i think anybody could have imagined at the beginning of this conflict. >> absolutely. jamil. and also a week of a cease fire giving hamas over the last seven days or so a chance to come up for air, reorganize. and look, they have we're watching live photos there in gaza city of a hamas militant taking the stage. looked like they were maybe signing something. what do you think was happening there? >> yeah, that's hard to know. i do. i do imagine that hamas is going to use this opportunity as a propaganda victory to say, look, look at these israelis handing over 50 of our, of our of our toughest guys, 30 of them life sentences for each, for each female soldier. and you know, the hard part about these trades and these have happened many times over the years. the most one of the most famous ones back in the day, gilad shalit, you know, and you see these large handovers of

prisoners. the hamas knows that by taking hostages and by kidnaping israelis, they can gain back a lot of their people. it creates all the wrong incentives. and yet it's hard to it's, you know, when you think about the position of the israeli people, the position of the israeli government, you can't imagine, you know, any way but getting these hostages back. and so you've just got to do what it takes. but but, you know, making these trades and making them at such large multiples does incentivize exactly the right, wrong kind of behavior on these militants. and so i don't doubt that hamas will use this as a propaganda victory with his people and say, look at what we've gotten back. look, now you're able to go back to your houses and look at these houses that have been destroyed by the israeli government. what they what they fail to mention to the palestinian people and the people of gaza is it's our fault we did this to you. we caused this to happen to you. and actually we want to put you in harm's way. we hope the israelis come back and kill you, because that we think that gains us prestige on the world stage and harms the israelis. so, you know, that's that's i think the real challenge of this whole situation is the

people of gaza are caught in the middle between a terrorist group that wants them to die, and an israeli government that says, we've got to get hamas out of here and out and out of, you know, get the weapons out of their hands so they can't kill more israelis. >> and again, we are looking at live pictures. you can see on your screen a split of what we were just talking about with jamil, the gaza city square, palestine square, where we are anticipating the hostages to be released. we did see the international red cross trucks just moments ago arriving there as well. and then on the other side of the screen, live pictures of the hostages families, the four young, brave israeli soldiers, female soldiers who are. here we go. this looks like this is it, jamil. let's listen in live as we see these four young women be released from hamas after 15 months in captivity. ya habibia

habibi. it is. incredible

pictures from gaza city. the four female israeli soldiers are now in the custody of the international red cross after spending more than 570 days in hamas captivity after being kidnaped on october 7th, 2023. this is the second wave of a six week hostage exchange phase one of the ceasefire between israel and hamas. wow. jameel jaffer is still with me. jamil. these young women look to be in good spirits, raising their hands in victory as they took the stage with cheers from the crowd there. what's your reaction? >> yeah, look, they do, they do look, they do look well, they look like they at least, you know, in the last few days have been, have been fed and they

were given appropriate clothing. and so, you know, at least as of right now, we'll, we'll learn a lot more about what happened to them in their 15 months in captivity. once they get back and they're able to sort of recover. but but at least, you know, they look they look good. now, i do want to note as we look at these, as we look at these pictures on the left with the, with all the, all these, all these militants, you know, i think the most noticeable fact here is that all these militants have their faces covered. right. this is how, you know, we're dealing with a terrorist group, right? soldiers generally don't cover their faces. these are not soldiers. these are terrorists. if anybody has any questions about what these people are, that's how you know. >> that's right. no doubt they are cowards and they are terrorists. and i am thankful these young women are now safe and they are on their way home to their families. we just saw live celebrating on the border. they will soon be in their custody and care. and on the ground there in tel aviv, we still have our chief foreign correspondent, trey yingst

live. trey, what can you tell us? >> we're watching these remarkable scenes out of gaza. hamas and islamic jihad are clearly making a show out of this release. of these three, i excuse me, four women who are currently now in the hands of the red cross. we've been watching this live. thousands of people gathered in palestine square in gaza city. this is an area where israeli forces operated for months, and now hamas is organized. they have fighters there wearing green headbands. we're looking at these images here of the red cross vehicles leaving the square after briefly, we saw these four israeli hostages, four former israeli soldiers who were taken on october 7th. they are waving and smiling again. they have been forced to do this by hamas, but an indication they are indeed alive and they are in good enough health to be able to walk. we see a split screen and

many of the channels that are covering this. people gathered in hostage square here in tel aviv to celebrate the release of these four israeli soldiers. and then that other side inside gaza, where the red cross vehicles are leaving the square. again, this is a moment of relief for the israeli people who have been waiting for these women to come home. they have been held for the past more than 15 months by hamas inside gaza, and they will be released for an estimated 200 palestinian prisoners, 120 of which are serving life sentences. we are getting some more information from israeli media today indicating that 70 of those palestinians will actually be deported from this region. we're not sure where they will go, but an indication that the israelis were able to get some of the more violent offenders who are being released for these four israeli hostages released out of israeli territory and out of the west bank. >> and, trey, i know we were watching the live pictures of

the family members of these four brave young women celebrating as soon as they emerged from the suvs there in palestine square. i know you've been on the ground. you've talked to a lot of these family members. can you even put into words what they may be feeling and anticipating, as they soon will have their daughters back in their arms? >> well, i think the first thing is just the fact that they are alive. we spoke with hostages, who were released in november of 2023, 50 days into this conflict, that said, they saw these women in the tunnels beneath gaza, now nearly ten times that amount of time, they are released. and again, they appear to be in good health, which for the israeli people is such a relief. you can't imagine what these women have gone through, living through an entire conflict that erupted between israel and hamas. and so again, there is that sense of relief, but also frustration as the israeli people watch the images on screen and they see just the, the, the show that

hamas put on to try and make it seem like they were helping these women. they they sent the previous three hostages home with gift bags that had images of gaza and images of them in captivity. and again, it is part of hamas's effort to try and show the world that they are not defeated inside gaza and that they are still fighting the israelis. they see what happened with this cease fire as a victory, and they see the organization and ability to release these hostages in such an organized way as sending a message to the israelis and to the entire world about their efforts amid the conflict. >> and these young women, trey, wearing uniforms. can you give us any insight as to what that may mean? of course. like you said, parading them around in palestine square, taking them on the stage before the women actually emerged from the suvs, there was it looked like a hamas militant at a desk signing some papers. any

insight on what that pomp and circumstance was all about? >> absolutely. when we look back at previous prisoner exchanges for hostage exchanges, such as gilad shalit in 2011, it is sort of a symbolic thing for the factions inside gaza, like hamas and islamic jihad, to release soldiers wearing uniforms because they're trying to show their people that they were able to take a higher profile individual during the massacre and then ultimately release them, exchanging them for palestinian prisoners again. hamas will use this moment as an effort for pr not only in gaza, but also in the west bank, to be able to basically show the people of gaza that they were successful in taking soldiers because, again, these are considered of higher value. and that is part of the reason that the release is different than last week. it's why there

are palestinians who are convicted of terrorism that will be released as part of this exchange. and again, this all has to do with the equation that was hammered out in doha, qatar, with negotiators over the past 11 months to try and get an understanding of what this is going to look like, how many people are going to be released for these hostages. but as we look forward here again, this is not all going to be good news. the israeli people are celebrating today. i'm looking at the split screen here at the channel that's covering this. and you can see families in hostage square. one woman is holding her hand in a heart symbol. and then you see on the other side, palestinian civilians in gaza who were there in palestine square in gaza city for this release. it's not all going to be good news, though, and that is part of this horrific story that we continue to cover. the israeli people still have a major question about the bibas family, a family that had two

young children, one of them a baby, dragged into gaza on october 7th, and their fate is still unknown today. but again, the latest information that we have, these four israeli female soldiers who were taken from the nahal oz base on october 7th, were just released to the red cross and they are on their way to idf positions on the gaza border to ultimately be reunited with their loved ones. the base that they were taken from that sits along the gaza border. 54 israeli soldiers were killed at that base. these young women were taken hostage. and again, they've been held inside gaza since early october of 2023. >> truly excellent news that they are now in the custody of the red cross. on their way home back to israel, we were just showing live pictures from hostage square there in israel, with israelis waiting for the homecoming to welcome these young women back. talk more to me about the next steps for

these young women. i know the idf and local hospitals have all been preparing for any needs they may have. >> absolutely. we were on a briefing last week with israeli officials who described more of the details of this process. and when we look at how this unfolds, it is a process that focuses on physical health primarily and psychology. they want to ensure that these women are in good enough health to be immediately transported to local hospitals, and so they will be taken to a reunification point, one of three along the gaza border, and they will meet their parents there. this is different than last week where it was just their mothers. this week it will be both mothers and fathers. some of those images just so emotional because you see, it's the first time they've been able to hold their loved ones. in 15 months, they will be reunited there and then, likely flown by helicopter to an israeli hospital in central israel, at which point they will be further evaluated by doctors.

they will meet with psychologists and a team of people that are not only from the military, but also from the health sector here in israel, to ensure that they have everything they need to be reintegrated back into this society after being held as a hostage. and that's really just a critical thing for the israelis as they look forward, they want to ensure that these women are going to have everything they need down to the small toiletries that they would need, mouthwash and things like deodorant and just things that humans use on a daily basis. they have them in small care packages at this reunification center just to make them feel comfortable. they have a variety of clothes that they can choose from, so that they are able to feel warm, and then they'll be transported to the hospital, where again, they'll be able to meet not only with doctors and psychologists, but also with their friends and family if they desire to do so. they want to be delicate of this process and not put too many people next to these women at once,

but slowly introduce them back to their loved ones and ensure that they are not in a state of shock. certainly, there will be confusion and so many emotions for these women after just being paraded through gaza city, now again in the hands of the red cross, and then hopefully ultimately reunited with their loved ones along the gaza border, i do want to just give you a little bit of information here. again, this is just a statement from the idf that we're getting in just now. the red cross has communicated that four israeli hostages were transferred to them and are on their way toward the idf in the gaza strip, in hostage square in tel aviv, people are chanting everyone. now, there's a real understanding here that as these hostages start to trickle out of hamas captivity, that it becomes more and more dangerous for those that remain inside gaza. and we do know there are still dozens of hostages that are still alive being held by hamas. >> that's right. trey, now, you did mention these young women will be able to meet with their family when they reach the

israeli border. are are you getting any indication that we may be able to witness that live as that unfolds? >> we likely will not be able to see those images live, but we will be able to see a number of videos that will be released by the israeli military and the gpo, the government press office here in israel. just to give some some context here to how they do this. it is a process that they try to keep as low key as possible. and so initially they will not have the audio on some of the videos. they will also blur the faces of some of the loved ones. they want to give the families of these hostages as much privacy as possible, and that's been such a concern for the hostages for them, that has dealt with the families from the beginning of this conflict. this is an organization that has organized the interviews and the information coming from the families to be communicated not only to the media, but also

to the public. but they will release these videos showing likely some of the moments where they are reunited with their loved ones. and again, if last week is any indication, these videos will serve as a window into some of the most vulnerable moments for these families. and if we have any of those videos, we could pull them up and just show you. last week, emily and sharon were some of the two of three hostages released last week. and you just saw them, them hugging their mothers and then their loved ones coming around them. and it was a moment of relief for the israeli people, again, to see that these hostages are alive, that they made it through more than 15 months of captivity, because, again, some of the hostages were held in apartment buildings inside gaza, but others were held in the tunnel network beneath the gaza strip. and then everything in between. we spoke with a number of hostages who were released from hamas captivity in november of 2023, and they described these

horrific conditions. i remember one woman telling me that when she was taken into gaza, they were taken to a house that served as a hamas base in the gaza strip, and she was watching on a local television channel what some of the images were from along the gaza border, what took place on october 7th. and when you think about what these women have gone through over the past more than 15 months, they've been largely kept in the dark. they still are not aware of how large the october 7th attack was. they don't know that israel has has gone through such a horrific event. of course, they know that the massacre took place. they know that hostages were taken. but when you think about the information that they had inside gaza, they didn't have access to computers or cell phones to be able to read about the extent of the october 7th massacre, who was killed and who wasn't killed. that was part of the issue. in november, family members were released, and the first question they had was was, are my loved ones

okay? did they survive? and in some cases they did, and in some cases they didn't. and when you think about these women that were dragged into gaza against their will on the morning of october 7th, again at the base, 54 israeli soldiers were killed and others taken hostage. these women served in a specific role. but again, they were were 19 and 20 years old when they were taken. and when we think about the individuals like na'ama levy, if we can pull up her photo or the photo of these four women who are on their way back into israel right now, they were were young girls serving in the army, a mandatory service here in israel. they were not combat soldiers. they were working in a surveillance unit that simply gathered information along the israel gaza border. and again, we told you about na'ama levy earlier when we spoke. and i think that she represents so many of these hostages. you saw that symbolic video, a horrific video of her being dragged from

a jeep and her blood stained pants, and you see the fear on her face, but again, you see the defiance. she was not going to be murdered by these terrorists. she was going to live for her family. and i think when you heard from her mother, from na'ama levy's mother, it i thought put really a, a an underscore to this entire war and this attack on october 7th, her mother stressed that na'ama was a peace activist in high school. she spent her time sitting with palestinians. you hear in one of the videos i remember along the border, hamas terrorists had basically gathered these women. and you hear in the video, she says, i have friends in palestine, and they still took her hostage. and after more than 15 months, today she is going to be reunited with her family here in israel. we know that the red cross is currently taking these four young women to a point where

they'll be reunited with their loved ones along the gaza border at an idf reunification center. and the latest information that i have here, as we're talking, israeli television channels are broadcasting from the houses of some of these hostages. their extended family and friends are waiting for them. and so we'll likely get some videos. you just imagine what this is like for them. they have been waiting so much time to finally see first that they are alive, and secondly, that they are in good health, that they could be reunited. and leary aalborg, the one of the four soldiers i'm learning right now as we talk here, her friends are speaking with israeli television channels, and they're saying we cannot wait for her to make us laugh, as she always did. and again, we talked so often about the numbers of hostages released from gaza, the number of palestinian prisoners that will be exchanged for these hostages. but each one of these hostages represents an entire life. and i think when you speak about jewish tradition,

this is really important to note here. the israelis and jews around the world, they believe that to save a single life is to save the entire world. and so there are four universes coming back today for the israeli people. and again, the anticipation couldn't be higher here in israel. >> no doubt, answered prayers are happening today for the families. the story of these young women, it is awe inspiring. and you mentioned that it does come with a great cost to israel. and the number a lot of people, when they look at the change here for four soldiers, for 200 palestinian violent murderers, prisoners. explain how that in some way makes sense here to make this happen, tray. >> the bottom line here is that this war was not going to end without diplomacy. it wasn't going to end without serious

diplomatic efforts that for months were stalled in doha, qatar, if not for president trump and his middle east envoy, steve witkoff, these women would not be on their way home today because steve witkoff went to the middle east and he told the negotiating teams a deal must be done before inauguration day, before president trump takes office. and he got the deal done. and ultimately, we're starting to see these hostages reunited after these women crossed today, seven israeli hostages in total will have been reunited with their loved ones. but again, they will be exchanged for palestinian prisoners. now, last week, less violent palestinian prisoners were released. we are talking about some people that were held in israeli jails just for a matter of months. this week. the prisoners that are going to be released, according to reports, 120 of them are serving life sentences in israeli prisons and 70 of them, according to reports, will be

deported as a result. now, there was some israeli media over the weekend reporting that a handful of these people, some of them convicted of murder, will be released back into israel because of their citizenship. and so, again, it just illustrates how difficult this situation is, because in order to get these young women home again, one of them who spent their years in high school as a peace activist, dozens of people who are convicted of violent crimes and murder are going to be released. and so it's part of the reason this deal was largely unpopular in israel. it's part of the reason that israel's national security minister, itamar ben-gvir, resigned from the government over the process. and it is part of the reason that a lot of pressure is being put on israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and his cabinet, because this is not an equal deal. it is not releasing hostages for hostages. it is releasing hostages for prisoners who have been, in most cases, convicted of

serious crimes. and so as we look forward here and we talk about the situation on the ground. and again, i'm just getting an update as we speak here. and so i want to just give you read you this information off of my computer here. israeli media says all heads of the security echelon, including the head of the shin bet, the mossad chief, and others are monitoring this operation, as they did last week. and israeli media says in a matter of moments, these women are going to be transferred to the idf. and again, you saw sort of the effort by hamas to make this look like an organized event in gaza city, in palestine square, a very famous place inside gaza. they set up this stage and paraded these women across. and these women did not walk with their heads down. they walked with their heads high. and despite the fact they were surrounded by militants, armed men in masks covering their

faces, these women again were transferred to the red cross. and according to the latest information that we have, are on their way to a reunification point along the gaza border and they will be reunited with their loved ones at that location. >> i love how you said that, because, again, while hamas was trying to stage this as some sort of show of force propaganda, these four israeli soldiers had their heads high, also sending a message. trey yingst, thank you for your time, your excellent reporting and insights. i'm going to turn now in the final moments before we hit a commercial break to jameel jaffer for his final thoughts. i know you've been watching along with us, jameel, what do you what do you want to say before we send this off? >> well, i think one, you know, the point that trey just made about the women holding their heads held high on that stage as they're being paraded around, you look at what the israeli soldiers there have set up at that crossing point with the helicopter. they've set up white barriers so these women can be transferred without

being sort of a media spectacle. and so the very different treatment that even in this moment that that hamas uses this as a, as a political ploy, while the israelis are simply trying to respect the women's privacy and get them home. >> exactly. thank you, jameel jaffer, for your time this morning. we really, really appreciate your insights there. and again, for those of you just joining us for israeli soldiers have just been released from hamas captivity after 15 months since october 7th, 2023. we were just looking at those live pictures of the helicopters, the idf helicopters on standby to receive them, to safely fly them to israel, to the hospital where they will eventually be reunited with their loved ones and their family members. this is a historic morning, and it's just part two of a process that we will continue to see. if this cease fire between israel and hamas continues to go smoothly. for now, i'll send it

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free. text grace to 424424 today. >> this is a fox news alert. president trump is in los angeles. he just met with city firefighters who presented him with a battalion chief, 47 hat. trump told the group, we won't let you down, fellows. in moments, he's going to receive a briefing from the officials there. we'll bring it to you live when he does. karen bass is around the table. you see here over on the left there. all right. well, the senate is also other news is set to vote on secretary of defense nominee pete hegseth. confirmation tonight. let's go live to capitol hill where fox news senior congressional correspondent chad pergram is standing by. chad, how is it looking tonight for pete? >> laura. good evening. this vote is close. this is high

drama. on a friday night in the senate. the vote is on a razor's edge right now. there are two republican no's, lisa murkowski of alaska and susan collins of maine. now, mitch mcconnell, the former minority leader in the senate, he voted in favor of getting over a filibuster yesterday, but we don't know how he will vote. thom tillis, the republican senator from north carolina, has kept close counsel on this. he indicated yesterday that he still had some questions. it's going to be about the math. as i always say, they can lose up to three votes. if they lose three votes, then vice president vance would break the tie. this has happened before. only once on a cabinet secretary nomination, you had mike pence, the former vice president, break a tie on the nomination of betsy devos to be the education secretary. that was in 2017. the senate is going to vote here probably around 8:57 p.m. eastern time. why? 857 well, yesterday afternoon they finished the filibuster. they cut off the filibuster at 257. so they have

30 hours. there's a 30 hour meridian until they can vote. and we expect that vote to start sometime around 9:00 eastern tonight. laura. >> chad, thank you so much. we'll be watching. and joining me now is ben domenech, fox news contributor, editor at large, the spectator. ben, before we talk about the pete situation, interesting scuttlebutt. i know you're following it out there in california where gavin newsom shows up uninvited to greet president trump, and he gets that nancy pelosi moment with the wagging of the finger like he has a finger. in the new york post, there's a big photo where he has a finger pointed at trump. now it's just a picture. it's caught a moment in time. but thoughts tonight about that. maybe we'll show the video. yeah. >> look, i think that gavin newsom has shown himself to be such an empty denim shirt over the course of the past several months. i mean, this is a guy who, quite frankly, has so much

national ambition, and yet he doesn't pay attention to the things that you ought to be paying attention to if you're the governor of a state, if he wants to be a chief executive who's able to export himself to the national level, then you can't just be somebody who's running around looking for media hits and where the most dangerous place to be is between him and a camera. the simple fact of what whatever happened in california is that the buck stops here when it comes to gavin newsom, and that's something that he's unwilling to accept in this moment. he just wants to shift blame as much as he possibly can. and i think that donald trump's presence, they're taking this very seriously is just another reminder of the fact that he's so much more of an active person than joe biden was. you know, joe biden was president when all this stuff was happening. why wasn't he going out there to these places? why wasn't he on the ground in north carolina? and the simple fact is, of course, he couldn't be trusted to do that kind of thing. his own staff knew that he couldn't be

trusted to do it. and so, look, i'm glad that we finally have an actual president again who's going to be paying attention to the american people, even if their leaders like gavin newsom aren't? >> but the point of, i think in reading between the lines and the body language, it was kind of like, i'm an alpha dog, too, right? he wanted to kind of alpha dog one up trump, and that's just not going to happen. this is like a historic. >> week. >> and there's no way you're going to outdo trump. not no way. not happening. >> no no no not not not not going to work, gavin i mean, look, this is this is this is what trump does best. he does this. you know, the irony of this whole situation, by the way, is remember when the media was telling us that one of the biggest reasons that we needed to elect joe biden was because of his empathy. you know, i mean, look at this scene that's happening in north carolina and in california today. and it's just a reminder that this is a president who cares deeply about the american people and wants to meet them where they are. and that's something that i think he can do with the

energy that is required of the commander in chief. and that's a very good thing for the country. >> well, and i remember ben, and we're watching live video of the president. he's about to sit down for this briefing. karen bass and other city officials are in this kind of makeshift room. we're going to dip into it and listen as the president sits down and karen bass is sitting next to him. melania is behind him, and, well, he was greeted with a lot of applause, ben, and a very warm reception from firefighters. darrell issa is there and they're chanting usa, usa! and again, this is what america wants to see in a time of crisis. i think gavin newsom was saying, don't play politics, mr. president. let's work together. and i think president trump just wants to see california actually reform itself. so this doesn't happen again. >> look, i think one of the most interesting things to come out of this, obviously, we've been dealing with this deluge

of information from him ever since he, you know, accepted and was sworn in as president. but one of the things that i thought was really interesting was him bringing up, especially in that victory rally, the issue of rebuilding los angeles, saying that we're not going to just let this fester, we're not going to abandon a great american city to the mismanagement of democratic politicians. instead, he said, you know, we're going to rebuild it. we're going to build it in a way that is going to make it something that is great for the olympics, it's great for the world cup, etc. and i think that's another sign of the approach that he has when disasters strike, which is to say we're going to go back in there and we're going to, you know, roll up our sleeves and get the job done. and that's something that i think is really encouraging and should be encouraging, even for californians who don't like the president, even for californians who voted for kamala harris, that he's someone who's dedicated to rebuilding los angeles and not just letting it die on the vine.

>> well, and i think this is where we remind people just about to dip into this, that donald trump knows how to work with democrats. he did it his whole life, and he's seated and i think, are we going to dip into this, guys? >> well, thank you very much, everybody. this is an honor to be with you. unfortunately, it's a very sad period. but what makes you feel good is i met so many of the homeowners and every one of them, a lot of them, and every one of them said to me, they want to rebuild. i said, will you go elsewhere? no, no, no, no. it wasn't even like a question. they loved the area. they love the people. it's like a family. it's incredible, actually, when you see some things like that. we just left north carolina and we had just a similar type of disaster. it was water instead of fire, but boy, that water did damage like i've never seen before. and then you come here and you see this. but the people are so amazing and your fire department was so

beautiful. every one of them is in perfect physical shape. i said, what do you guys do? they have very high standards, i can tell you. and we took pictures with all of them, but very nicely they gave us a little helmet and i said, are you really you wear this? is this real? and they said, yeah. i said, it's awfully heavy. you have to be very strong to wear that. but that's the original, right? so it's pretty good. but i just want to thank everybody. we're going to be with you. your governor met us at the plane and we had a good talk, very, very positive talk. we have to work together to get this really worked out. i don't think you can realize how how rough it is, how devastating it is until you see it. i didn't realize, i mean, i saw a lot of bad things on television, but the extent of it, the size of it, we flew over it in a helicopter. we flew to a few of the areas and it is

devastation. it's incredible. it's really an incineration. even some of the chimneys came down okay. when you have the chimneys come down, you know, that's pretty hot stuff. and a lot of them were down. that was a bad sign too. but i just want to commiserate. and we're going to celebrate. we'll be back to celebrate one day soon, i hope soon the federal government standing behind you 100%. the first lady and i are in california to express a great love for the people of california. we we've had i've had great support always in california. we did very well recently, as you know, relatively speaking, at least i can say. and it's been it's been amazing. i have property in california not too far away, actually. right up the road in palos verdes is a big property, and i've always loved it. i've always loved being here. but we have to grieve for the 28

californians who have tragically perished. and sadly, you're going to be finding more. and that's going to be very sad because i know people are missing. and when you look at that kind of incineration, you know what's going to happen, you're going to find some more. but with all that we've gone through, i watched your firefighters and they were really fighting at a big disadvantage. i got to know a lot of them just now, and they're incredible people. they were so happy. they were saying, congratulations, sir. you know, they're thinking about country maybe even before this location that they all love. but i'm pleased to be joined by many of the great california leaders, both democrat and republican. and it's an honor to meet some of you. i didn't know, but i know every one of you by name. l.a. county supervisor kathryn barger. thank you, catherine, very much. mayor karen bass.

thank you, karen, it's nice to meet you. representatives jay obernolte, where's jay? jay. hi, jay. it's been a tough period. jay. right. vince. fong, kevin. kiley, vince. vince and kevin. hi. hi, vince. a man i know very well. i know him too well, actually. and i say that actually with love because he's a great he's actually been a great congressman for a long time. and he's a great leader. and he loves the area as much as anybody. right, darrell. so darrell issa, young kim. congratulations on an excellent career i appreciate it. another one i know pretty well is, to put it mildly, is tom mcclintock. and he's with he's been with us for a long time. we have some interesting things going on in washington. and it's an honor that you have

that you guys are here. thank you, darrell, very much. tom. george whitesides, good. george, thanks. it's a great name too, by the way. brad sherman oh, i know brad well i know brad, but that's all right. we're on the same side of this one. i know that we'll work together brett. very well. a lot of respect. and presidential envoy rick grinnell, who's done a fantastic job for me over the years, he was ambassador to germany and he was fantastic. so two and a half weeks ago, over 100 mile an hour winds transformed the palisades fire and other areas, too, into absolute infernos of death and destruction. and this is already the most expensive natural disaster. they say in american history. that's that's pretty amazing. the numbers are going to be staggering. most importantly, we have to get it built, and we have to hopefully

find as few people as possible. we have already too many, too many. 28. at least. they say we're going to work very hard with the mayor, the governor, the supervisor and everybody and get the resources behind you. we have some amazing people and we have some amazing fighters for things like this. i also had the concept of getting some of the best developers in the country. i've had so many calls from developers and they want to come in. they don't want anything, they just want to come in and help and they really know how to get things done and get things built. i would ask that the local officials, because we're going to waive just about essentially waive all federal permits. we're going to have you go very quickly because the federal permit can take ten years. we're not going to do that. we're not going to we don't want to take ten days. i would.

so we're declaring this a national emergency. by doing that, i can give you immediate like immediate permits. i'd ask that the local permitting process be the same. some of the people were saying they're going to have to. they're going to be forced to wait 18 months for their permits. and i don't think you're going to do that. i can't imagine that. so they are literally in a position right now. they'd like to start tonight and they'll clean their site. they'll do everything they just want to start. and they were very concerned with the 18 months. so i'm sure you can get it down to, i would say not even 18 days. they are ready, mayor. they are ready to start there. i met so many of them. the fire took place. it's nice and cool there now. and they want to start taking the debris. they want to take the debris. they want to do everything. they'll get rid of everything. they're going to do it by by their own hand. and you're going to see some amazing things happen. so we're

waiving the federal permits. either waive them or give them to you so rapidly. it's not going to it's going to be essentially the same thing. but we're going to try and just wave them and we'll rely on the local. but the local i hope is going to do the same exact thing. they're literally ready to start right away tonight. so if you could do almost the same thing or the same thing would be great for a building permit, you're going to have to, you know, check things out a little bit. a lot of them, every single one of them said they're going to rebuild. i didn't have one person say they're selling or they're leaving or they're disgusted. they love their community and it's incredible. we even had one from your neck of the woods, right? do you want to stand up? it was so nice the way you they she greeted. she greeted my wife in a in a very different in a very different language. right. and it was very nice to see. and you're staying and you're going to rebuild and everything else.

yeah. everybody. everybody. so it's really great. so i'm signing an executive order to open up the pumps and valves in the north. we want to get that water pouring down here as quickly as possible, and let hundreds of millions of gallons of water flow down into southern california. and that'll be a big benefit to you if look, if you don't want it, you're going to tell me, but just i can't imagine it. i tell you who does like it is the fire department. when i said that they were very happy with that, they didn't mind hearing that. but we have a lot of water that is available, and i hope you can work that out among yourselves. but i think this will show that we have to have that water. we have to have that water. you're talking about unlimited water coming up from the pacific northwest, even coming up from parts of canada, and it pours down naturally. it has for a million years. for a million years it pours down. you'll never run out. you'll never have

shortages. and you'll you won't have things like this. and when you do, you'll have a lot of water to put it out. so i'm going to ask that you figure that out, but i am. i really strongly recommended this seven years ago, and i think i'm going to just do it. if you have big problems, you're going to let me know. but i just can't even imagine it. but we're also surging federal resources and assistance to the state. and california must adopt the common sense policies to prevent fires. and we all know that, you know, we were talking 7 or 8 years ago. i was talking to people from austria, people from finland, people that live in forests. one of the gentleman, he the top, one of the top great leaders of austria, said, we don't have forest fires and we have trees that are actually far more flammable than they have in california. but they, they

literally raked their forests. they take down if a tree comes down, they take it down. they say, you have 18 months after that, it's like a matchstick. and i know environmentally, some environmental groups like the trees to just melt into the ground. but when they do melt into the ground, they become an inferno. so i think you're going to have to change your ways in terms of that. you have 30 years of leaves and those leaves are dry as a bone, and they are they burn. you know, interestingly, because i was at paradise, who's the general. right. a long time ago, i was at paradise. what a beautiful paradise that it was. and how is it doing, by the way? are they rebuilding? right. i remember when he said you were up here, president, i went there. i never saw anything like it. but you know what amazed me? the. i'll never forget it. the trees were okay because the trees are loaded with water. they suck that water out of the ground. and this was an inferno, just like i would say. no different than this. and it was also the wind

that caused a lot of problems. i mean, you had tremendous winds that there's not a lot you're going to do with. it was yet up to 100 mile an hour winds. it's unheard of. but when i was in paradise, i noticed that the trees, they were dark on the bottom, but they were absolutely living. and they lived because they're soaking wet. but the trees that were on the ground within 12 to 18 months, they say 18 months at a maximum. you have to cut them up, take them away because they're matchsticks. but we saw that. you saw that with me. i commented at the time. i said, look at this. the house is burned down and the tree is standing, and it's other than being a little different color on the bottom, and it went through an inferno. it's amazing. it's soaking wet. so i think they have to do it. it's called management of the floor. and when the gentleman from austria and also finland and other countries, they said we manage our, the, the forest floor very, very carefully and we don't have forest fires, you know, they just don't have them. so i'm sure you're going to do the same thing. so there

can be no golden age without the golden state. it's a great state. it's a fantastic place. and we're going to have a we're going to have a big celebration soon. we're going to come back and we'll come back as much as you need, and we're going to turn it around and we're going to open the coffers. you know, america wants us to be taken care of. this was a horrible thing to watch. and the way it just kept going and going, and then they'd find another area. it was like it was like a genius on the other side. the fire was a genius the way it kept moving. but we're not going to stand for it. i just met with the olympic people and they're all set to do a real job. so we have the olymp fox m chanley painter in new york for israeli female soldiers.