This is a rush transcript from "Your World with Neil Cavuto," July 15, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: All right, thank you, Bill, very, very much.
We are monitoring the president's remarks. We're also monitoring some developments he might touch on after he's done with that speech. Right now, we're looking at the great debate as to whether we have an in-person school year. Right now, that could be in doubt. They're debating it as we speak now in Houston, Texas.
But this has been a trend, as we take a look at the United States, where school systems in Los Angeles and in San Diego, Atlanta, San Francisco, Broward County, Florida, so many other places that are looking at delaying in-person learning, some going just the virtual route.
Others are considering combination of all of the above. Now, the president's made it very, very clear he doesn't think the virtual route is the thing to do, that he wants all in-person schooling to resume this fall, but growing signs all around the country and dozens of locales that that will not happen.
Welcome, everybody. I'm Neil Cavuto, and this is YOUR WORLD.
We're going to be looking at this and the impact of this, speaking of higher learning, what even happens at the college level. In fact, we're going to be looking right now at what happens at the college sports level a little bit. We're going to be talking to Edward Orgeron, of course, the LSU head football coach, what he makes of all of this.
He still wants to see a college football season salvaged, but that is proving a lot easier said than done.
In the meantime, I do want to go to Casey Stegall following these fast- moving developments in Dallas -- Casey.
CASEY STEGALL, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Neil.
Yes, it's pretty safe to say that how our students and young people around the country start this school year is going to look very different and it's going to be a patchwork of a lot of different plans.
And those are plans that are going to be based on advice from state leaders and also local leaders as well, depending on the COVID situation in various communities. Many public school districts, like Austin, Texas, have pushed back their original start dates, like you were just talking about, by a couple of weeks.
Others are beginning with online learning and then transitioning to in- person teaching, which is the plan down in San Antonio. A growing number of K-12 schools have also announced a mix of both virtual learning and in- person education.
In North Carolina, for example, students are going to go to a classroom every other day or every other week. Masks are required for staff and students, as are daily temperature checks.
Nearly all states are also giving parents the option. If schools are open, they can still elect to keep their child at home and participate remotely, as is the case now in South Carolina, although today the governor said virtual learning isn't as effective.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. HENRY MCMASTER (R-SC): What we need to do is take every step at our disposal to see to it that our children get back in their classrooms, where they all want to be, where the teachers want them to be, where the district personnel want them to be, and all of us want to be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEGALL: Colleges and universities also face unique challenges, most offering a mix of in-person and virtual instruction.
U.C. Berkeley, for instance, is also placing limits on student housing, no more than two people assigned to a dorm room. Emory University in Atlanta will require all students living on campus to take a COVID test before they even move in.
Everyone must wear a face covering in residence hall common areas. So, really, no matter where you live, getting back to learning and doing it safely poses some challenges, and also is going to look different than people have ever seen it before -- Neil.
CAVUTO: All right, thank you, my friend, very much, Casey Stegall following all of that.
If we get any developments on these cities or locales that are looking to formally make that move to postpone the start of in-person training, we will pass those along.
Dr. Anthony Fauci was weighing in on this subject a little while ago today, saying that, among other things, he doesn't want to stop the nation in its tracks, but he does urge a pause. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NIAID DIRECTOR: I believe we need to almost push the reset button. And by the pushing the reset button, I don't mean everybody locking down again.
I mean, obviously, that's the more draconian. And I do not mean that. I want to make sure, because whenever I allude to it as something that should be considered, everyone thinks that I said that.
No, what we need to do is say, we're not going in the right direction now. So we got to call a time-out, do a pause and say, what do we need to do? We need to take a look, and maybe we need to walk back a bit and say, if you're going to open, we have got to get everybody on the same team.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAVUTO: All right, we need to take a pause. What does that mean?
Let's get ask Dr. Nicole Saphier, the FOX News contributor, "Make America Healthy Again" bestselling author.
All right, he says, take a pause. He's saying not to shut everything down, that he's been misinterpreted on that. As you know, Doctor, Peter Navarro, among others, criticized the doctor for being wrong more often than he's right and giving false advice.
He obviously chafed at that, challenged that, but where are you on this, the pause or an outright shutdown?
DR. NICOLE SAPHIER, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Dr. Fauci definitely is under the microscope these days. And he has to be very careful what he says, because he's criticized no matter what comes out of his mouth.
I mean, he is correct, in that there is glaring evidence of viral transmission throughout the communities of the country right now. And so, as we saw, there is possibility we can stop the virus. We saw what we have done in New York and New Jersey.
But, as Dr. Fauci said, there was harsh lockdown orders. And that is not a long-term solution.
But this pause that he's referring to, I think that everybody collectively wants to get our children back in school. That should be our number one goal right now. So, pause and take a minute to think, what do we need to do, as a society, as a country, to come together to do what's best for our children?
And that may be stop going to in-person dining right now, certainly not going inside to bars and socialization. Maybe we should try and decrease the amount of inside socialization that is occurring right now. You see, throughout the country, we are having cluster outbreaks because of house parties and large indoor gatherings.
I think it is our time to take responsibility. We are in the midst of this global pandemic, but one that we know we can control by our own behaviors. So, if we take the knowledge that we have from how to decrease the transmission, then we can lessen that community spread and get these children back to school.
CAVUTO: Doctor, speaking of which, we have just learned that Houston schools will remain virtual, at least for the first six weeks of the fall academic year.
And this follows at least half-a-dozen other major school systems that are also putting off in-person schooling. What do you think of that?
SAPHIER: Well, Neil, I think we have to look at it, not even by a state- by-state basis, but a school-district-by-school-district basis.
If there is a large amount of community virus transmission, then it is probably a good idea for the schools to potentially delay going back in- person, starting with distance learning. But there has to be a plan in place how they're going to get these kids back into school.
We have to remember we're also going into flu season, and flu and cold and all of that other stuff that tends to circulate in those classrooms, they're going to be happening again. So, again, we have to come together, do what we can to decrease the amount of circulating virus, and get these kids back in school.
But just by delaying the distance learning, that's fine, but the community transmission, that's not us. We are the ones that have to stop that spread, so that they can transition from distance learning to get them back into school.
CAVUTO: Doctor, we will see what happens on this front. More and more school systems are putting it off.
Dr. Saphier, great seeing you again.
So, we know about a lot of school systems at the elementary, middle school, high school level that might put off in-person classes and the like.
We also know of a number of colleges and universities, led by Harvard, that are also at least starting things off with virtual online classes, even though they will be charging full freight for the privilege. But what does this also mean for college sports right now and the future there?
Let's go to Ed Orgeron. Of course, you know him, the LSU head football coach.
Coach, always good to have you. Thank you for taking the time. How you doing?
ED ORGERON, LSU HEAD FOOTBALL COACH: I'm doing great, Neil. Great to be back on your show.
CAVUTO: Same here.
So, let's talk a little bit about this. Do you think we will have college football this fall, with so many conferences opting for only in-conference games, or, in the case of the Ivy League, no games at all? Where are you?
ORGERON: Yes, I think we definitely need football. I think we're going to have football.
There's obviously going to be some adjustments. Obviously, the safety of our young men are going to be first. But we are ready. Our guys came back early. We spent a week on educating on COVID-19, what to do, especially wear the mask, social distancing.
We have not had one breakout of a virus in our workouts. Our guys have done a tremendous job. We feel that we are capable and ready to handle this and ready to play football.
CAVUTO: Will they be playing to a full stadium? How is that going to go?
ORGERON: You know, I don't know that.
But, obviously, I want Tiger Stadium as full as we can.
CAVUTO: Yes.
ORGERON: And I think that, if you do wear a mask, if you do take a temperature, and the right people come to the game, I think that we could fill it up and have a great year.
CAVUTO: Obviously, football is very important to LSU.
But it is important to a lot of schools that need the money more. You guys are almost self-funding. But I am wondering what you think it would mean for schools that maybe don't have the name recognition and the impact that yours does, or even your reputation brings ahead of time.
Are they in a world of hurt here if they delay things? ORGERON: Yes, I do believe so.
I do believe that we have to make adjustments. But I do believe we need to play football, for many reasons. And, first of all, I think the country needs it. I think the state of Louisiana needs it. The economy needs it. We all need it.
I think our children need to get back to school. And we need to get on the right track and find a way to fight this thing.
CAVUTO: You know, the concern too -- I know they are going to have normal in-person classes this fall at LSU, but Louisiana had briefly seen a spike in cases, certainly doing better than other states in the region, including Georgia and Texas, where the spikes have been severe.
But when parents talk to you -- and I'm talking the parents of those who play for you and the students of the school -- do you think it is safe?
ORGERON: I do believe that, if everybody wears a mask, they practice social distancing, it is safe.
It is something that we have to push forward, and we have to find a way to go on and live our life the way we live it, and to beat this thing.
CAVUTO: So, when you are rallying the troops and the players, how do they feel?
Are any of them concerned right now that your rival Clemson, of course, a number of players tested positive for the virus?
ORGERON: Yes.
CAVUTO: There is a concern right now that that is something that it's the next wave. Do you worry about that?
ORGERON: Neil, we talk about it with our players.
We feel that we are giving them the best care, the best education. It is something that we have to go through.
We have a saying here, we don't blink. Whatever the situation at hand is, we are going to have to be able to master it, and focus in on having a great season. That is our mind-set here at LSU.
CAVUTO: All right, coach, we wish you well. Hope it all works out OK. I have no doubt it will, but a lot of people are anxious.
Coach Ed Orgeron, of course, the LSU head football coach.
So, what is it that they say? Go, Tigers. A lot of Tigers for schools, including Clemson, right?
All right, in the meantime, I do want to get the read from Kristin Fisher. She's been monitoring developments certainly at the White House, where the president, of course, is in Atlanta today outlining infrastructure plans.
But, Kristin, he took a Rose Garden opportunity yesterday to step back from all of this and say that it's important for everyone to see schools back, it's important that the economy move forward, and any of these stops in that imperils that. What's the latest you're hearing?
KRISTIN FISHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, the White House still really continuing to make this push to reopen schools.
But the big story that's really been dominating the narrative here at the White House today is this feud between White House trade adviser Peter Navarro and Dr. Anthony Fauci, which has really been simmering for quite some time, but it just burst into the open today with an op-ed that Navarro wrote for USA Today.
And even though President Trump has not been briefed, personally briefed, by Dr. Fauci in more than two months, today, President Trump came to Dr. Fauci's defense and said that Peter Navarro should not have written this op-ed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, he made a statement representing himself. He shouldn't be doing that.
No, I have a very good relationship with Anthony.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FISHER: Now, here is the op-ed that President Trump was just referring to, the headline, "Anthony Fauci has been wrong about everything I have interacted with him on."
And that was by Peter Navarro. So, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, he is now fully engaged in this matter.
And in an interview with The Atlantic, Dr. Fauci called the effort to discredit him by some in the administration very bizarre.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NIAID DIRECTOR: If you talk to reasonable people in the White House, they realize that was a major mistake on their part, because it doesn't do anything but reflect poorly on them.
I can't explain Peter Navarro. He's in a world by himself. So I don't even want to go there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FISHER: Doesn't even want to go there.
Now, right now, President Trump is down in battleground Georgia talking about expediting infrastructure projects and an executive order that he signed to cut red tape and remove burdensome regulations.
The White House says it used to take, on average, over seven years to permit a big highway project, like the I-75 down in Georgia. Now that process will be cut to under two years.
And the other big issue that President Trump has been talking about quite a bit today is the possibility of some kind of federal intervention in Democrat-run cities like New York and Chicago which have seen these big spikes in violence.
And President Trump today teased a big announcement about this topic sometime next week, Neil.
CAVUTO: Kristin, real quickly, this argument that Peter Navarro went ahead and wrote this column that really ripped Dr. Fauci a new one, wouldn't it be procedure for him to run that by certainly others at the White House or indirectly try to give the president a heads-up, so he's not surprised?
FISHER: That would absolutely be the procedure.
And the White House communications team, from the White House press secretary, to Alyssa Farah, I mean, multiple members of the White House communications team have come out today and said that Peter Navarro circumvented the normal process and did not run this op-ed by them.
And it's very telling that you now have the chief of staff, Mark Meadows, coming out and somebody speaking on his behalf, but saying that he is fully engaged in this matter. I think it's very clear that a lot of people inside the White House were not pleased that Navarro circumvented the normal process and went ahead and wrote and published this op-ed.
CAVUTO: All right, Kristin, thank you very much, Kristin Fisher.
By the way, we are learning right now that Kroger is soon going to be demanding everyone going into the stores, all customers, follow the lead of employees who work there and wear a mask.
You might have heard earlier today that Walmart has said that will be the policy going forward for all 5,000-plus of its stores around the country. Now, some of them are required anyway by edicts in their respective states. Walmart is saying, all customers in all our stores in all the states will adhere to this policy, as will Sam's Club.
This on the same day the National Retail Federation has recommended that all member retailers of that organization advise the same, everyone wear a mask, those working there, and those shopping there.
We have a lot more coming up, including what happened in New York last night, because the violence doesn't stop, and it keeps going on, but now a top religious leader who says there's got to be a better way -- after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CAVUTO: All right, she is tough, boy.
Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg now back home, we're learning, doing well, after being hospitalized on Tuesday, apparently suffering from fatigue. There had been talk of an infection, bottom line, released from Johns Hopkins University. She is doing well, as I said, resting comfortably at home.
So we will keep track of that.
Also keeping track of renewed violence in New York, where police officers themselves were the targets. This involved a clash between a Black Lives Matter group and another group that had a distinctly different view of it, United Clergy Coalition forces who were trying to say there's got to be a better way of dealing with all of this.
Aishah Hasnie has more right now from Brooklyn, New York -- Aishah.
AISHAH HASNIE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Neil.
We're actually outside City Hall right now. We moved just a short while ago.
We have just seen hours and hours of clashes between, as you said, police and those counterprotesters, starting with this morning out on the Brooklyn Bridge. Let's show you that video again during that pro-police March, alarming video showing a protester striking NYPD officers with what looks like a rod.
The New York Post reporting at least 10 people have been arrested because of this. Four officers suffered serious injuries, including the chief of department, the highest ranking uniformed officer, Terry Monahan. He suffered some minor hand injuries.
Then more counterprotesters re showed up at City Hall. They were clashing with police and parishioners once again. And I just talked to an organizer, a protest organizer, who told me that they were upset with those parishioners because they felt like those parishioners didn't quite exactly understand that they were marching with police, perhaps somehow they were tricked into it.
This follows another night of gun violence, one dead, five hurt, when several gunman opened fire in Brooklyn. The mayor blames the effects of coronavirus, but one police union president calls him a liar. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED MULLINS, NYPD SBA PRESIDENT: You can't be locking people up right now and letting them out two hours later. We saw what happened with that.
The laws need to be reversed. And then we need to have real conversation in the communities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HASNIE: And that same union president, Ed Mullins, calling on the mayor to resign.
By the way, the mayor just announced that he has launched a Brooklyn crime prevention plan, and he has now signed that choke hold, that anti-choke hold bill into law today. And we just reached out to his office to find out if he's going to make a comment about all the violence we saw on the Brooklyn Bridge earlier this morning -- Neil.
CAVUTO: But no law against the rioter who put a police officer in a choke hold. If it were reversed, that officer would already be out of his job, no?
HASNIE: Yes.
CAVUTO: Aishah, thank you very, very much, Aishah Hasnie.
I want to go to Bishop Albert Jamison, the bishop with the United Clergy Coalition, one of the members here, a Pleasant Grove Baptist Tabernacle pastor as well.
Bishop, you were there and witnessed a lot of the events today.
BISHOP ALBERT JAMISON, PLEASANT GROVE BAPTIST TABERNACLE: Yes.
CAVUTO: How did it get so out of control?
JAMISON: Well, it may look out of control to you guys, but it wasn't really out of control to what we have seen.
There were some protesters that came and was trying to lay on the floor. It was only about seven of them that were doing that, compared to those of us that was doing it. It was that it caught us off-guard, because we was not expecting any of that at all.
And so it was a great surprise to us. So they held us up on the bridge for like 30 minutes to try to clear it and try to straighten it out. And so we saw it from the beginning. We just thought there was some people that were coming towards us.
And then, when they started acted up, the policemen caught it, and then they tried to move them. And they resisted. They laid on the ground and wouldn't do it. And so that's how it all started.
CAVUTO: Bishop, this started, I guess, as a pro-police march, not necessarily an anti-Black Lives Matter march.
Explain what you were trying to do, the message you were trying to send.
JAMISON: Well, there has never, ever been a group that have marched -- that was marching for the Jericho, Jesus prayer march. Everyone was protesting.
We was not protesting. We was -- just wanted to bring prayer to the city. There's no secret that our city is in trouble. And so we were coming together, and all of our pastors, Latinos, I mean, the Jewish. We had a nice group of people coming together just to pray and proclaim Jesus Christ as being lord of the city.
CAVUTO: I know you're trying to urge calm, Bishop. And that's such a beautiful thing to try in this day and age.
And I think you're quite right. I mean, we focus on the dust-up with these officers triggered by a few of Black Lives Matter crowd. But that was far from typical. And I'm wondering where you see all of this going in New York City.
Do you see things calming down? Or do you still see the same frictions?
JAMISON: No. It's going to calm down.
But, listen, the name of our march was the Jericho March. Notice what was going on in Jericho. It's in the Bible. It's in the Book of Judges in the sixth chapter. The Canaanites, the Ammonites, and all the -- all kind of the army was against Israel.
They had problems. But they marched, like we did. And, at the end of the march, they was crying, shouting and praising unto their God, and the walls came down.
Our whole idea was to come. There has never been a march for Jesus. You have never heard nobody talking about prayer. It was a whole lot of fighting. Yes, we had some people. There were around about 15 people, but 15 people compared to 6,000 people? We didn't even consider it.
We kept on doing our thing, because the Bible says, if you resist the devil, he will flee. And the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but are mighty.
Our country, the world is in trouble. They have no cure. They have nothing to help us. And so the answer is -- and I believe that the Republicans are not the problem and the Democrats are not the answer.
But if my people that are called by my name shall humble themselves, pray, seek my face and turn -- notice God promised two things. He promised that we would hear from him. And there's no doubt in our mind -- no doubt in my mind that if there ever was a time we need to hear from God, we need to hear from God now.
Whether or not you want to believe whoever your god is, there ain't no god answering now. And then the second thing the Bible says, he will heal the land. We all can agree. Nobody has a cure for this. Our land needs to be healed.
They're talking about it's coming back up again. They're talking about there's a resurface of it again. We can't afford nothing like that. And so we came together to call on God and ask God to heal the land. And we need an answer from you.
And that's what the march was about.
CAVUTO: All right, Bishop, thank you very much. I know you are trying to do some good in the world, where sometimes we're reminded of only the bad.
Bishop Jamison, thank you very, very much.
This is not a situation, as the bishop pointed out, unique to just the New York City area. They have had violent uprisings in Portland, Oregon, by the way, but the message from the mayor there is that, everybody else, stay out. We don't need troops. We don't need Homeland Security. We don't need any of you -- after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: Boy, Anthony Fauci has been a busy bee today, telling Reuters right now in an interview just wrapping up that he's very intrigued by these Moderna test on antibodies that are building up to ward off the virus, confident of a vaccine, in fact, by the end of the year.
We will have more after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, well, a message to Homeland Security from the mayor of Portland, Oregon: Stand down. We do not need you, so butt out.
He's making it very, very clear that he can handle whatever's going on in his city, which has become increasingly restless, sometimes pretty violent.
Jonathan Hunt following it all from Los Angeles -- Jonathan.
JONATHAN HUNT, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Neil, political leaders in Oregon have never been comfortable with the presence of heavily armed federal agents on the streets of Portland.
And their patience appears to run out completely after an incident over the weekend left a protester in the hospital with a fractured skull. Watch carefully hear. A gas or smoke canister is fired toward a protester who's standing still. He bends down, appears to flick the canister a few feet back in the direction of, but not near the line of agents, in front of Portland's federal courthouse.
Seconds later, that protest is hit directly in the head by some sort of impact munition. Unclear if that was another canister, a rubber bullet, a sponge or beanbag round. But that's what prompted the mayor of Portland to call for the federal agents to get off the streets, and Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley to write to Attorney General Bill Barr and acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, saying -- quote -- "We unequivocally condemn such acts of violence and any effort to target, attack or silence those peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights."
President Trump said again today that, if local officials in cities like Portland can't control protesters who've attacked police with rocks, buckles and hammers, then he, the president, will.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The left-wing group of people that are running our cities are not doing the job that they're supposed to be doing. And it's not a very tough job to do, if they knew what they were doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: And President Trump also promised some sort of announcement next week with the attorney general and the FBI, as the debate continues, Neil, over whether sending in militarized federal forces actually calms or inflames all these sorts of situations -- Neil.
CAVUTO: Jonathan, thank you very much, my friend.
Charles Marino is here with us right now to expound a little bit on what Jonathan was reporting. He's the former Department of Homeland Security adviser.
Sir, very good to have you.
CHARLES MARINO, FORMER DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY OFFICIAL: Thanks, Neil.
CAVUTO: Obviously, some mayors, even the governors recoil at the thought of bringing troops in, Homeland Security folks in.
But, in some cases, they're warranted. In fact, they're urged. How do you feel about what's going on in Portland right now?
MARINO: Yes. Thanks, Neil.
I think what's going on in Portland right now is kind of indicative of what we're seeing around the country in a lot of the major U.S. cities. It's not only do they not want federal law enforcement resources, but they can barely tolerate their own law enforcement departments, their state and local law enforcement agencies.
So, really, quite frankly, there's just no pleasing them in terms of having any capacity to keep and maintain law and order within their communities. And what we're seeing is, we're seeing significantly constrained law enforcement agencies around the country that are leading to exceptionally large rises of violence in these cities, New York, for example, Neil, up 160 percent.
You're seeing the same around L.A. You're seeing it in Atlanta, Chicago. During any given weekend, the violence exceeds that of Afghanistan and Iraq. I mean, what does that say about where we are currently in this country with maintaining law and order and allowing our law enforcement agents to do the job that they were charged with?
CAVUTO: You have got to think about it too, Charles.
I mean, even some of these cities where, let's say, police chiefs have to answer to the mayor, in Seattle, the police chief was saying, this has got to stop. They have cordoned off a six-block radius here. There's going to be violence. There was violence, as you know.
But the bedlam continues, and the resistance on the part of many of these mayors, maybe going back to the Floyd situation and fearing it gets out of control, well, by resisting help, it does get out of control, doesn't it?
MARINO: Yes, it sure does.
And anyone in law enforcement, back to my previous point last time I was on with you, is that what happened to George Floyd should never have happened. And those officers need to be accountable. But to label 800,000 state and local law enforcement officers as racists, murderers, the enemy, evil, it's just not true.
The statistics do not support that type of language in describing law enforcement officers around this country. And now what we're seeing is, we're seeing a prioritization of importance here that really doesn't match what law enforcement officers are supposed to do in terms of protecting their community.
If we look at Portland, we had city blocks that were taken over, as encampments were set up by force. And yet the Portland Police Department, to appease their local political leaders, wanted to point out very quickly that they didn't use any force. They didn't use any tear gas. No protesters were injured.
So if that's going to be the priority, then we really shouldn't even have these officers on the street to endanger themselves.
CAVUTO: Charles Marino, a lot of good points there. I appreciate it.
Hopefully, some calm can return, no matter where you are on the side of this ledger here. But if it can't get done in the locales with just the mayors' forces, then maybe they got to look to other forces. So we will monitor that.
Also monitoring the election results last night. A lot of people bemoan the president's poor performance right now in a lot of national polls. Well, he has an impeccable winning record when it comes to candidates he chooses and he thinks are best for the job.
They keep winning -- after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It was a tremendous win for Tommy Tuberville last night. I'm very happy about it, and also a tremendous win for Ronny Jackson. And it looks like it could be a tremendous win for a gentleman named Gonzales.
You know about that too. That race is still a little bit going on. It's -- by the time I got involved, a lot of the votes already cast. But I got involved really at the last moment. We think he can easily win that area.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAVUTO: All right. Well, the president saying he is the Midas touch when it comes to backing candidates who go on to win. He has an impeccable batting average here. Almost all of his choices go on to victory here.
Emily Larsen of The Washington Examiner with us right now.
Emily, I'm wondering if that telegraphs something. What do you think?
EMILY LARSEN, THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Well, it really shows that Republicans really trust President Trump, and they are going to follow his lead when it comes to a lot of choices between Republican picks.
So you see that -- saw that with the Alabama Senate race in particular. But it's important to note that this is not a universal rule. Madison Cawthorn, in North Carolina, who won the primary for Mark Meadows old seat, was not endorsed by President Trump, and won...
CAVUTO: That's right.
(CROSSTALK)
LARSEN: ... over a Trump-endorsed candidate. And he's only 24 years old.
And so it also shows that, while Trump has great sway over the Republican voters and voters who identify as Republican are motivated enough to go out and vote in primaries, it doesn't necessarily mean that he's going to have the same sway over people who vote in the general election.
At that point, Trump needs to start appealing to swing voters, most likely people who did not vote in either primary. And those primaries so far are not going to tell us how that is going to play out.
CAVUTO: Right.
And it is interesting too, because I talked to that 24-year-old candidate who is not at all inclined to criticize the president, even though he was not the Trump-picked candidate. In fact, he said he would welcome the president's endorsement, didn't say a bad word about him. So it's very, very clear he doesn't want to ruffle any feathers.
But you're right. This sort of sets the table for the fall campaign and who will be the respective nominees in each party.
But I'm wondering how you see that sorting out, the president largely being judged on how he's dealing with the coronavirus, how he is dealing with all of that. And in battleground states -- again, it depends on the battleground state -- it's an uphill battle.
How do you see it going right now?
LARSEN: Well, there is a lot of time left in the race.
There's more than 100 days. And a lot can happen in those 100 days.
CAVUTO: That's right.
LARSEN: Right now, it is a big pill battle for President Trump. And it's going to depend a lot about how the economy is doing in some of these swing states, like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, but more so whether people feel safe and safe to see their loved ones and safe to not contract the coronavirus.
How much is it being spread in these swing states? And so that's going to be a very big issue. And that will be probably a very big determining factor about whether those voters who hadn't voted in decades who voted for Trump in 2016 come back out to support him this time around.
CAVUTO: Where does Jeff Sessions go now?
It was almost a little sad to see him sort of trying for his old job, losing the nomination. Didn't help, of course, his fractured relationship with the president. But he remains a popular figure in Alabama. You wouldn't see it last night in the thumping he took, but what about his future?
LARSEN: Well, I would expect Jeff Sessions to still be a prominent figure in Republican circles. There are still a lot of prominent Republicans who respect him and some who even would have preferred him over Trump's pick, and really like what he did as attorney general, despite what President Trump -- his criticisms of Sessions for recusing himself from the Mueller probe.
But, at this point, it doesn't look likely that he's going to run for office again.
CAVUTO: Yes.
LARSEN: But he could be somebody that a lot of people go to for advice and probably still be very influential in Alabama politics as well.
CAVUTO: You don't see him running in a third-party role here?
LARSEN: Well, this year, I would -- I never predict third parties, but -- it's certainly possible, but it's not something that's on my radar.
CAVUTO: Yes, I was just talking about Alabama, whether they would even allow that.
Emily Larsen, thank you very, very much. We will monitor it closely.
All right, in the meantime here, we should tell you that the great mask assault is on, Alabama the latest state to say they're not just a good idea. We're forcing the issue, wear masks.
This on the same day Disney, a world where it's required, is expanding the number of parks opening, beyond Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. There, too, the rule is masks, just like SeaWorld, just like Universal. It's just the new way of life.
And even Anthony Fauci has said, it's a good thing to have and a good thing to do.
More after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CAVUTO: All right, well, not just a good idea when it comes to masks. More and more states, localities are urging them, in fact, now demanding them.
It's the new policy in Alabama minute ago. And, of course, it's been the continuing policy in amusement parks and elsewhere that have reopened, including Disney, which added a couple of more parks, including Epcot and Hollywood Studios, to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, both -- all where you have to wear masks, like you do at SeaWorld, like you have to do at a host of other places.
Phil Keating keeping track of this, and the hope -- that is, I guess, the hope, Phil, they say, wear these now and lives are saved later, right?
PHIL KEATING, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: That's right.
As for a coronavirus vaccine, well, Moderna, the biotech firm, announcing it will soon be entering its final phase of its testing trial on human volunteers.
Miami's mayor and -- rather, the CDC and the Fed all urging every American to wear a mask in public, with International Health Metrics reporting that, if we all wore masks outside the house, you could save 40,000 lives.
Miami's mayor, Francis Suarez, is also warning that, if the COVID situation does not start improving, the city may go from the current partial reopening to full-on shutdown.
And Oklahoma has its second straight day of record new COVID-19 positives. And the governor, Kevin Stitt, announcing via Zoom that he is one of those cases -- back to you in New York there, Neil.
CAVUTO: Wow. Incredible. We get more and more that kind of news.
Phil Keating, thank you very, very much.
All right, Phil touched on it, of course, Disney World opening and expanding, Disney Hong Kong closing, and worrying.
What's going on in this world?
After this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CAVUTO: Well, states and municipalities aren't the only ones that revisit restrictions when there are spikes in cases. Businesses do it all the time.
Now, you wouldn't see that at Walt Disney World in the United States, in Florida in particular, where they have expanded despite a spike in cases in the state, to all the major kingdoms now being open, including Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom.
But, across the world, Disneyland Hong Kong is closing for the time being because of a spike in cases there, noticeably more worrisome out there.
But let's get the read from Seth Kubersky. Seth is the bible on all things Disney, by the way, "The Unofficial Guides" co-author, much, much more.
Very good to have you with us, my friend.
Do you know what the Hong Kong thing was about, what's going on there that prompted this?
SETH KUBERSKY, AUTHOR, "THE UNOFFICIAL GUIDES": Yes, I believe that Hong Kong itself had a spike of about 50 cases in a day, which is obviously a very small amount, compared to what we are seeing here daily in Florida.
I do not believe it was any way directly related to the theme park, but simply, out of an abundance of caution, they decided over there to shut back down.
But other Asian parks, such as Tokyo Disneyland, is still currently operating.
CAVUTO: Right.
Seth, you have had a chance to go to Disney World post the new opening, right? What's it like?
KUBERSKY: Yes.
Well, I have gotten to spend three days in the parks, and I'm going back again tomorrow.
CAVUTO: Wow.
KUBERSKY: And it is both a dream and a little bit of a dystopian nightmare.
A dream in the sense that, if you have ever been there on a hot and crowded summer, with people jostling you and running strollers into the back of your heels, it's the complete opposite of that, wide empty streets, being able to walk on to Space Mountain or any of the other top rides without hardly a soul in front of you.
CAVUTO: Wow.
KUBERSKY: That's a pretty amazing experience. People would pay top dollar for that kind of VIP treatment.
But, at the same time, all the cast members are wearing not just masks, but full face shields, so they look like dental assistants. And the characters are off waving at you from a distance. So you can't give Mickey a hug.
And, most importantly, mouse ears are still not mandatory, but face masks are. And you can tell people are smiling by their eyes, but you can't see their faces.
CAVUTO: That's wild.
Seth, thank you very much. I apologize for the abbreviated time.
But, as Seth was reminding us before, they are kind of mandating this and making sure, even the characters will tell you, put the mask on, or you're out of here.
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: You're out of here. OK.
Anyway, here comes "THE FIVE."
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