as always, the story goes on. a new episode of the untold story podcast, martha will talk about must-read summer books with dana perino. see you back here monday at 3:00. "your world" starts right now. >> neil: so you feeling hungry? this is something that republicans in iowa have been salivating for months now. it's the party's big dig in des moines and it's tonight. all the presidential candidates, all of them except chris christie. he will tell us why he's not at that table. now back to the lincoln day dinner and what is on the menu, or should i say who is on the menu. i'll give you a hint. it rhymes with hunter.

all the guys aiming to be president can't stop mentioning in the hawkeye state today. food for thought. food fight on. welcome, everybody. i'm neil cavuto. so glad to have you. how many times can you mention the name hunter biden in ten minutes? that's how much time each republican presidential candidate had to plead his or her case in des moines for tonight's big dinner. let's say if this were a drinking game and all you had to do is take a shot every time you heard someone mention hunter, you'd be plowed before you're halfway in to your salad. just a thought. it's a game. i want to convey that to you. to bill melugin in des moines to set the table for us. bill? >> love the analysis right there, neil. a lot of republicans running for president in this cycle. all of them will be here

tonight, september for chris christie. for those that do show up, it's going to be their very first time all being in the same room together with a chance of coming face to face with each other. we'll explain what's going on. more than a dozen of the gop candidates will be here in des moines for the lincoln dinner held here every year. each candidate will get ten minutes on stage to speak to the audience and try to connect with voters and make their pitch. at the same time, vice president kamala harris is also here in des moines today. she's meeting with activists about abortion rights and abortion legislation. she's been very critical in recent days at the state of florida over its new education curriculum for black history. she says that extremists in the state are pushing the idea that slaves benefitted from slavery. ron desantis, he's here in iowa. he responded to her. take a listen. >> just say we've now seen this

kamala harris lie exposed about florida's high school curriculum. she tried to demagogue something that had been done by a lot of black history scholars, consistent with florida law. so these are things that are obviously phony narratives. you know, we're going to fight back against that every chance we get. >> it wasn't just kamala harris. gop presidential candidate tim scott also on the campaign trail here in iowa. he also rebuttes governor desantis and the state of florida for the new standards. take a listen. >> slavery was really about mutilating humans. it was devastating. i would hope that every person in hour country and certainly running for president would appreciate that. >> meantime, normer president donald trump's legal woes continue. he faces new charges on obstruction of justice in the

classified documents case. jack smith accusing him of seeking to erase mar-a-largo security camera footage after a grand jury subpoenaed it. the trump campaign responding saying" deranged jack smith knows they have no case and looking for anyway to salvage their illegal witch hunt to get somebody other than donald trump to run against crooked joe biden." back out here live, former president trump will be here tonight. he will be in the same room with governor desantis, who he's formed a rivalry with at this point. i had a chance to talk with voters that said they will attend tonight. they said they're haul undecided going into theening. they want to hear what the candidates have to say. the event starts at 6:00 and we'll wait to see if there's any fireworks or as you mentioned, how many times they plan to mention hunter biden. back to you. >> neil: that was a drinking game. that didn't mean that you have to participate in it. thanks, my friend. bill melugin there. all right, to the gentleman who is not going to be there

tonight, stands out for that, chris christie, 2024 gop presidential candidate. former new jersey governor. governor christie, good to have you. >> neil, thanks for having me. good to be here. >> neil: same here. why aren't you in iowa? >> neil, look, what we have decided to do this week is to work hard on our fund-raising. we've had a number of great fund raisers this week all here on the east coast. that's what our agenda was this week. i'm sure we'll get to iowa at some point. being one of 14 people tonight speaking for ten minutes versus making sure that we have the resources that we need to be able to win the republican nomination, i made the choice to do that here on the east coast. >> neil: we were talking. half kiddingly that hunter biden's name will come up a good deal tonight. many arguing in your own party that it's time we get the same attention to what that is about as we have to donald trump's

problems. you stood out but saying it was time for a special counsel a long time ago but you also said of the former president's troubles that he brought them on himself. what do you think? >> well, he did bring them on himself. there's no doubt about that. and in addition now with the superseding indictment that was put forward yesterday. for having done this work for seven years as the u.s. attorney in the fifth largest office in the country, out of 94, we did 130 political corruption cases against republicans and democrats over seven years and never suffered a defeat. 130. i look at that superseding indictment and tells me one very clear thing. they have a cooperating once, maybe one, maybe two that are cooperating and providing them with information. that is in the indictment against the former president.

these are things that he brought on himself. what our voters need to begin to think about is, we have a frontrunner right now that when he gets on the stage for the fox news debate august 23 will be out on bail in at least two different jurisdictions if not three, between now and then. how are we going to beat the democrats with a candidate that is going to be out on bail facing numerous self-inflicted wounds in courtrooms across this country? nobody wants to talk about that in the race because they're afraid of donald trump. i've known him for 22 years. i'll never been afraid to tell the truth, neil. what i just said is the truth. >> neil: you know, nikki haley took umbrage to that, governor. she says she has taken own the former president. she said she's not anti-trump referring to you. what do you think on that? >> i have great respect and

affection for nikki. she asked me to campaign for her in 2010 when she ran for the governor and again in 2014. we've been friends a long time. here's the bottom line. nikki has not figured out her position on donald trump. in one interview, she thought he shouldn't run againn't then she said she wouldn't run if he did. she changed her mind. then she said she wouldn't run. now she's running. if she's not clear with the fact that she's been sending very, very mixed messages and hasn't spoken directly about whether donald trump is fit to be president given all the things that he's done and by the way, neil, you know, a report that is very spotty. he said he was going to repeal and replace obamacare. he failed to do it. he said he was going to build a big beautiful wall across the border of mexico. in four years, he build 52 mills of new wall. he said he's going to balance

the budget, which we should be concerned about. he added $6 trillion to the debt. it's what he failed to do as president, not personally. >> neil: i mentioned nikki haley, governor but i can extend it to tim scott. you criticize i'd him for not blame donald trump at the january 6. you've talked about ron desantis and the new african american teaching and the florida board of education. it gives some the impression that you have a scorched earth policy when it comes to republican presidential candidates beyond donald trump. what do you say to them? >> i'm sorry, neil, i'm telling the truth. i agree with tim scott about the new standards in florida. i think that what they have done is wrong. worse yet, what i really criticize, governor desantis for, he said i didn't have anything to do with it and i department know anything about

it. that's not leadership. that's looking out what's going on in your state and saying you're not responsible when you're the governor. look, on nikki haley and tim scott, look, i was disappointed with tim when he said the president was not responsible for what happened on january 6. the president invited all those people to washington, said it was going to be wild. then when he got there, they got there, he repeated the lie that the election was stolen and we know it was not. and then he asked all of them to march up to capitol hill and said he would march with them except we know if donald trump is in danger of breaking a fingernail, he won't do it. he went back to the safety of the white house. sent those people up to capitol hill and said mike pence needed to do what he needed to do or he was a disappointment to all of us. finally while he watched the violence going on, he sat for hours in his dining room at the oval office and did absolutely

nothing. i don't know if that makes him criminally responsible or not. but it sure as hell makes him morally responsible. knowing tim scott what i do, what a good man he is, a good man and i consider him a friend, i didn't criticize him. i expressed disappointment that he was unwilling to say the president is morally responsible for what happened on january 6. >> neil: i wonder what you make of what mitt romney had said, somebody had to find somebody to take on donald trump. he picked off the candidates and acquired the delegates that he needed to win the race. what do you think of that? >> i don't disagree with mitt. we're in july of 2023. when i look back, we had 17 people in two different debates

many 2015. when we get to the fox news debate august 23 there will be seven or eight people on that stage. so less than half of where we were before. and, you know, i think there will be a culling of the field over the course of time. mitt said if you haven't done well by february 26, you should get out. i don't disagree with that. look what i did last time, i didn't dough as well as i wanted to in new hampshire. in the beginning of february, i got out of the race and consolidated behind donald trump, supported him, chaired the transition and worked to make him the next president of the united states and we succeeded. i don't disagree with mitt. i don't think it's quite the time yet. he doesn't think it's the time either. >> neil: he was renering to coming out of new hampshire, let's see where we stand. if you're not doing well, do what you did back thin and bow out. one of the things i did want to

discuss with you as well is what could happen by may when we're going to have this -- the president on trial, if he can't push it back. by that time, it's possible that donald trump holds these numbers and polls, he could have accumulated enough delegates to be the party's nominee and that would put the party in a bit of a pickle if it turns out, as you said, that the trial doesn't go well and other trials don't go well, then you could have a convicted felon as your nominee. that is not out of the question, is it? >> not only is it not out of the question, it's likely. neil -- >> gillian: would you support that candidate in that event? >> look, i've answered this yes a dozen times, neil. we're not going back over it. i'm going to take the pledge in the debate that the rnc wants us

to take and i'll take it every bit as seriously as donald trump did in 2016 when he signed the pledge. all of us were on the stage, we were asked to refirm it by raising our hands. nine of us raised our hands. one didn't. that was donald trump. so look, here's what will happen. it's worse than what you're talking about. because he will be indicted by the special counsel another time. i did this work as i said for a living for seven years. you do not send a target letter to someone unless you intend to indict them. it's the last thing that you do to give them an opportunity to come before the grand jury before the grand jury have asked to make a final decision on indictment. so there will be a third indictment. it seems clear to me that it is more likely than not that he will be indicted unthe rico statue in georgia for what he did in terms of interfering in atlanta. here we are. it could be when we get on the stage august 23, he could be out

on bail in four different jurisdictions and trials happening at least in two of them, if not three -- >> neil: how could you in that have event -- i get it. how could you in that event -- i know you have addressed this. i'm not clear on how far it would go. the you have someone that is facing all of that after may, after the may trial and who knows what else after that, he would be -- obviously in big legal trouble but constitutionally he could still run. you're a legal expert like no other. is he and can he continue to run and if he becomes president, can he pardon himself? >> this is totally unchartered territory, neil. when richard nixon got in trouble, he did what i think is ultimately the patriotic thing by resigning from office. and he did not put the american

people through what donald trump is about to put the american people through in this situation. so i don't know the answer to that question. for do i think there's anyone that knows it. we just have theories now, neil. here's the thing that will correct it. folks should vote for someone else. we have a number of good candidates. i think i'm the best one in the group obviously. but there's a number of good candidates here. donald trump should not be the republican nominee for president of the united states. he's done it to himself. you know, i'm going to be -- >> neil: i can't see chris christie supporting that per for the nomination if by that time he has acquired all the delegates necessary and all the baggage attached with that. if so, how you could accept that person as your nominee? >> you know, you know me well, neil. you've known how much i care about law and order and right and wrong and telling the truth.

so that would be an impossible task. >> neil: so let me ask you this. donald trump seems to single you out in his messages on truth social. >> doesn't he? >> neil: he said that you contributed to mitt romney's loss. he's raised this a number of times. that you were star struck by barack obama during the whole sandy storm incident, which you worked with the former president to get new jersey and the northeast back in shape. when you hear that and it keeps coming up and this is the latest, what do you think of that? >> well, one, it lets me know i'm inside his head in a big way and he's worried about standing up on that stage on august 23. i would say this. my stated, our state, neil, because you're a resident of our state, our state suffered the greatest natural disaster in its history and the second greatest natural disaster in the history of this country.

you bet that i welcomed the president of the united states when he came to see the damage, console our citizens and offer to help us rebuild and recover. that's what a responsible leader does. what an immature child does is to criticize someone for that. and this is the kind of self-centered immature child that donald trump is. how could you criticize a governor, how could you do that for saying that i want to do everything that i can to rebuild my state and to help every one of the citizens i was elected to serve recover? it's outrageous. so you know, what we responded with, he made fun of me on that. so we sent down a picture of him with hillary clinton at his wedding. now, i didn't invite hillary clinton to my wedding, neil. he invited her to the wedding, gave $100,000 to the clinton foundation and donated to her campaigns numerous times because he put his own personal greed ahead of the good of the country. i will never do that. he does all the time.

>> neil: i wanted to get your thoughts while i still have you, governor, there's much made of some of the pit falls of some older established poll situations. you saw the mitch mcconnell frozen moment speaking to reporters. there was the dianne feinstein lost trying to decide what she was supposed to do ahead of a vote. we've seen this again and again with president biden, whether fair or not. you think there should be an age at which you can no longer hold office? >> i think the better way to do it, neil, we should have term limits. you know, i served as a governor in new jersey where i had term limits. two terms is all i can do. if we had term limits for folks in congress, 12 years in the house, 12 years in the senate, that if we had term limits, that that would eliminate a lot of this conversation. >> neil: that wouldn't stop the private citizen, joe biden, for

running from president. you know, old guy. for that matter, donald trump right now. there is a sense -- depending on the individual, i know where you're coming from, maybe that that is in order. there should be a competencesive test. maybe it extends to people younger. how do you feel about that? >> i don't think we need a competency test to know that joe biden is no longer competent to be president of the united states. you can see it every day. when you fall asleep in the oval office while the whole media is watching in a chair across from the president of israel, i don't think need to wonder whether joe biden is competent to be president of the united states. i don't think we need him to take a medical test. in the same way as donald trump shows his continued anger and selfishness and petulence. 70% of the american people say they don't want this matchup to be donald trump against joe biden. two guys that on election day, a combined 160 years old.

past their sell-by date, neil. the american people will decide that. i believe they'll decide on our party before the republican national convention next year in milwaukee, wisconsin. >> neil: i know you've been asked this before. the upcoming debate on fox. seems clear that donald trump says why should i bother. what do you think of that? >> first of all, it's wrong. he owes it to the voters of the republican party and to the rnc to be willing to get up there and be compared next to the other candidates that have qualified. the rnc set up stringent qualifications to get on the debate stage. 40,000 donors is no small feat. we're over 52,000. if people want to help, go the ch chrischristie.com and do that. i've known him for 22 years. i think he will be there. >> neil: really?

and over and under on that. >> i do. >> neil: very good seeing you again. governor chris christie from new jersey. thank you, sir. >> thanks for having me and everybody have a great weekend. >> neil: you too. be safe. meantime, gauging what the former governor had to say with the outgoing new hampshire governor, what he thinks about that after this. my retirement funds allow me to enjoy what i love to do. as long as you can make an impact, why stop? ♪oh♪ ♪then you take me by the hand♪

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>> neil, look, what we decided to do this week is to work hard on our fund-raising. we've had a number of great fund raisers this week here on the east coast. that's what our agenda was this week. i'm sure we'll get to iowa at some point. being one of 14 people speaking for ten minutes versus making sure that we have the resources that we need to be able to win the republican nomination, i made the choice to do that here on the east coast. >> neil: chris christie explaining why he's not in iowa with the other presidential candidates. julia manchester joins us, the hill national politics reporter. julia, help me with, this he's opted not to go to that. that's his druther. does he stand out by not being there? >> there's a number of ways to look at this. you and i are talking about

this. that makes chris christie stand out. makes him different from the rest of the field not wanting to be there with someone like donald trump. at the same time, there's a risk factor in all of this. other candidates like donald trump himself have had to answer for this. you know, iowa is known as a place where you have to earn caucus support. i can see others attacking him for not atenneding because we know these events are crucial in terms of building a support base and caucus goers, their support. however, it mittly chris christie has a different goal in mind than these candidates. he's very much on a mission to make him the anti-trump candidates to create that contrast. he's certainly has so far.

>> neil: i'm wondering now because that can spill both ways. by extending that and criticizing your opponents that you feel are not anti-trump or not very critical up in like nikki haley and tim scott. can that scorched earth approach the way i framed it come back to bite him? is he someone as someone that isn't only alienating superintendent supporters but some of those gives supporters? >> yeah, it could come back and bite the governor. i'm sure he's very aware of the risks in this. he clearly has his own ambitions, his own goals here going forward in the primary. gop primary voters still look donald trump as the standard bearer, whether they're going to vote for him or not in the primary. it's notable that we've seen already some republican

candidates like ohio and west virginia coming out to endorse donald trump, sort of an -- >> neil: that fear persists. right? the reason i mention it, chris christie has developed a distinct possibility that by may of next year when this trial and the whole business case starts the fact of the matter is that he could have acquired all the degets he needs to be the republican nominee and will put the party in a tough position. he will be their nominee in that event. then what do they do? >> it's a good question. we talk so much about how trump's legal issue ironically benefit him right now in a gop primary. when you go to a general election, that's a different scenario. some of these trials he has to be there in person and that would take him off of focusing on the campaigns. he will get that natural

attention by being in front of the camera or the courthouse but it's not the attention that he wants. >> neil: thanks, julia. great catching up with you. meantime, facebook. does it censor what it gets in the news? that was a big issue in the past. coming back to haunt mark zuckerberg today after this. our ears connect us to the moments that matter. give them the nutrients they need with lipo. it's formulated with ingredients clinically shown to protect your ears from dizziness, ear ringing, and even hearing loss.

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to have and to hold from this day forward. ♪ you don't... ♪ c'mon, bear. ♪ you don't have to worry... ♪ ♪ be by your side.. ♪ ♪ i'll be there.. ♪ ♪ with my arms wrapped around... ♪ >> neil: chris christie wants to focus on new hampshire. but the governor of new hampshire focusing on iowa. why is he there? what trouble is he causing? more after this. and advice can help you prepare for today's longer retirement. hi mom. that's the value of ownership. you won't overpay for glasses if you shop at america's best. they offer two pairs and a free, quality eye exam starting at just $79.95. i can see from your expression that you find that shocking.

...aaaaaaaand, you don't have ears. book an exam today at americasbest.com. >> neil: you know, even though it's been a wonderful week for mata stockholders and with the better than expected earnings and mark zuckerberg getting ready for a cage match with elon musk, they just don't flip over. edward lawrence with the latest.

edward? >> two major drops now on what congressman jim jordan is calling the twitter -- the facebook files that he's posting on twitter. the second drop here, pointed more towards the pressure from the administration and now facebook caved to some of that. fox business has obtained these e-mails and verified them. one tweet showing an e-mail from met that's president of global affairs asking why facebook removed claims that covid was manmade. the response, because of pressure from the administration. later another e-mail from the same person seems to cave to the white house, so facebook could garner favor for other topics like data flows in yet another exchange. facebook claims the surgeon general wanted facebook to remove true information about the side effects of the covid vaccine. in that e-mail, facebook says that it labels content like this and demotes some of it. jim jordan calls it a smoking gun. >> the white house was demanding it and they wanted to keep their

cozy relationship with the biden administration. they censored first amendment speech. that's what we got. we'll have more documents that will show it even more so. >> this new wrinkle of the amount of pressure social media companies felt concerns some experts. will rinehart says when you have a cozy relationship with the government and large companies. >> what we learned recently is that they felt pressure. that to me is suggestive of coercion. that is -- that's definitely not passed the first amendment scrutiny. >> so in a statement from meta, which owns facebook, they said they handed over 53,000 documents and made about a dozen current or former employees available to the judiciary committee. the company says they will continue to work with the committee going forward. back to you, neil. >> neil: thanks, edward, at the white house. jacqui heinrich with the president today. and the big theme in maine, his

first visit as president there, talking on manufacturing, the economy and not saying much about the name hunter. jacqui knows. she's there now. >> not by name, neil. but he did seem to hint at the talk about it. the president is in maine for a lucrative fund raiser in freeport. he first made a stop in auburn to tout his administration's efforts to bring back manufacturing in a state that ranks 12th worst in the nation for it. in in his remarks about the economy, it seemed that the president had impeachment on his mind. >> "the washington post" suggested republicans may have to find something else to criticize me for now that inflation is coming down. maybe they'll decide to impeach me. i don't know. i love that one. >> president biden taking a swipe at congressional republicans after kevin mccarthy

appeared to dampen prospects of a formal probe any time soon amid criticism that once an inquiry has begun, there's no turning back. mccarthy defended his threat that if congress can't get the information that they want, he will pull the trigger. >> when you're provided information, you have to get the answers, this is the rule. whether you like it or not, it's the rule. so all that means is congress would use their power to get the answers. i think the bidens, they would want to to clear their name. >> devin archer is expected to testify about the president's role, if any, on monday. the white house missed a thursday deadline about whether the fact had knowledge of his son's overseas business deals or if there was no involvement. the press secretary has similarly refused to answer reporter questions about that shifting language only saying that nothing has changed.

officials won't say whether the president has been in touch with his son's legal team but they inside the case is being handled independently by the doj, neil. >> neil: thanks, jacqui. to john ratcliffe, the former director of national intelligence. great having you. so many things to get into. if i touch on the hunter biden stuff first where obviously that plea bargain thing didn't go well at all. justice department is still investigating. less than 30 days now that they can decide to go on with the plea bargain, revamp it, what have you. it's fair to say it's widened out. now what? >> well, neil, the big take-away from that plea agreement falling apart is we learned that joe biden's doj lawyers were also hunter biden's defense teams. what is suppose to be an adversarial proceeding, what we

learned is the lawyers were all on one side. they were all working to help hunter biden, they were all working to hide a blanket immunity agreement from the judge and they got caught. really, you know, that's why things fell apart. i will tell you, neil, as a former u.s. attorney, i don't know if i've seen a more politically corrupt case than this where the department of justice has officials cutting off lines of inquiry and tipping off witnesses and, you know, all of the things -- offering unicorn-type settlement agreements and diversion agreements that have never been seen before. you know, merrick garland, be christopher wray, u.s. attorney weiss, they all look terrible in this. the big thing, neil, for me so the consequences of this as to hunter for a legal standpoint are one issue.

that plea agreement falling apart, it's the political consequences that can be so huge. i think that the biden white house thought that they were going to be in a position to say, look, justice was done. he pled to a misdemeanor. it only a misdemeanor, republicans. it's time to move on. instead what you got as you reporter talked about, you have witnesses like kevin archer coming in. if he gives a first hand account under oath and says that job was on a call where hunter said as is being reported, the big whigs at burisma need our help and joe biden delivered that help five weeks later by using a billion dollar leverage to get the prosecutor against burisma fired, neil, we're going to be in an impeachment proceeding faster than joe biden can climb the steps of air force one. >> neil: maybe a little faster than that. but let's pursue that with you,

director. we don't know about this quid pro quo. might be out there. but i want your take on your former u.s. attorney as chris christie said the special counsel was warranted. he seemed to go slow on the idea of impeachment with joe biden. i don't know if that extended to kevin mccarthy's plan of at least knock around the possibility of an impeachment inquiry. how do you feel about that? >> you know, the problem is that joe biden has said repeatedly he didn't have anything to do with hunter biden's business dealings. no one from the family made any money from foreign dealings. like i said, if devin archer testifies and gives a first hand account from inside the biden business transaction and it indicates not just hunter but joe played a role or was paid from those funds, i don't know how house republicans can't move

forward with it. i don't think a special counsel does anything. it's too far along in this proceeding. unfortunately, house republicans are the ones doing the work of the department of justice right now. this really looks bad. one of the biggest losers is the department of justice and the fbi and the way this has been handled, especially against the backdrop of where they're working apparently so hard on all the things i talked about not to pursue a case involving joe biden and his son. at the same time, working at warp speed to bring charges against the former president. to the american public, it looks incredibly unfair. >> neil: director, while i still have you, former director of national intelligence, we're waiting to hear what could be the third round of indictments concerning the former president, donald trump's role in the january 6 uprising on capitol

hill. another one for the georgia recount. chris christie say that would disqualify him right now. he would be damaged goods. tarnished goods. it's piling up. i wonder if we get to a point by may of next year and he's accumulated all the delegates necessary to be the republican nominee, holding in the polls as he is now, is he damaged goods running for the highest office in the land? >> well, what we've seen with regard to republican voters is that it hasn't hurt him. >> neil: that's clear. i'm talking from your vantage point with your security expertise and all of that. is it dangerous? >> well, i think the -- i think we have to see how these things play out, neil. honestly, i don't see -- anyone that practices in the national security realm doesn't believe that jack smith's case won't

proceed to trial before he would or would not become president. these cases take years. the classified protection act is a laborious process. jack smith made an interesting decision. he superseded two days ago to add a defendant, which may strengthen his case against donald trump but will slow it down. i didn't think would have a chance to get to trial by may of next year anyway. certainly don't when you add defendants. new lawyers that have to get clearances, have to have access, have to fight over the classified documents, what -- >> neil: would that be a security risk? mike pompeo has raised that as a hazard. not weighing in on the legitimacy of the claims or not, sir. would that be a security risk? to have a president bedevilled by that kind of thing should hi assume office? >> well, you know, we've got --

the challenge, neil, is this. the two leading contenders for the respective parties both have classified information, special counsels investigating them. that's not a good situation. so all of the way around, we're going to have to look at how classified information is handled and mishandled. you know, we need to be in a better position than we are with respect to the country. i don't think anyone would dispute that. >> neil: got it, director. have a safe weekend. >> you bet. >> neil: meantime, another midair scare that is getting people to say, you know, these things keep happening. how can we get them to stop? after this. ♪ limu emu & doug ♪ what do we always say, son? liberty mutual customizes your car insurance... so you only pay for what you need. that's my boy. now you get out there, and you make us proud, huh? ♪

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>> neil: all right. two a midair scare involving an allegiant airlines passenger jet. getting new details on a sunday flight. pilot forced to make a 600 foot climbed to avoid a collision with a nearby business jet. the flight attendant was thrown to the ground in the process. the faa telling fox digital that allegiant air flight 425 took

evasive action after an alert. an air traffic controller in miami has instructed flight 485 to turn eastbound at an altitude of 23,000 feet when it crossed in front of a northbound gulfstream jet. the faa says an investigation is underway. got a little close for comfort. that's the kind of stuff that can scare people and also prompt flight delays. it's been a record summer for that. casey stegall in dallas fort worth international in how they're dealing with that. casey? >> hi, neil. good to see you. aviation industry experts say they can't hire people fast enough, especially because certain professions like pilots and air traffic controllers require certification and training. it takes time. for example, it's about three years or so to fully train a brand new air traffic

controller. that means the shortage of about 3,000 of them nationwide will not disappear overnight. for will the lack of pilots. especially with a high number of upcoming retirements. analysts say if a plan is not developed by now, we could have up to 30,000 pilot vacancies in 2032. >> this system has failed and will continue to fail until and unless you get a fullsome program that embraces the fact that if you don't have the skill set of the people to do this, that your infrastructure will start to collapse. it's a heavy lift, but welcome to the major leagues. >> now, delays are up since before the pandemic. for example, 17% of domestic flights were delayed in july 2019. compare that to 27% for this july. what is more?

that is even with close to 220,000 fewer flights in operation. >> weather is the instigating factor. weather is not the cause. weather starts that domino that cascades. >> the u.s. department of transportation says it is investigating what it calls unrealistic scheduling by the airlines. if a carrier sells seats to passengers even though there's a high chance that they may not be able to staff the flight. secretary pete buttigieg has said that if a carrier is caught doing just that, neil, there will be penalties to face. back to you. >> neil: thanks, casey. thanks for that. for those of you just joining us, we had chris christie, the former new jersey governor, presidential candidate explaining why he's the only prominent republican candidate not in iowa today for a big lincoln day dinner. he opted to focus on new hampshire. still remains his case. chris sununu is the

new hampshire governor. he joins us for the lincoln day event. seems odd he stands out as not going. what do you think, governor? >> i think it's going to be a great night. the first time that all candidates with the exception of chris and i get it he's back in new hampshire. can't blame him for that. all the candidates want to be on the stage at once. the conversation is happening in new hampshire, happening in iowa. the conversation has been about policy so far. that's is not what is going to get him over the hump. tonight has to be about personality, leadership. they have to bring something to the table to show they're putting gasoline on their own fire and getting people excited. >> neil: the governor has said many times that he shouldn't be the only one criticizing donald trump. he isn't technically. others are doing so. you've been doing so from the beginning, not afraid to take on the former president. they're afraid of ticking off

his supporters. what do you think of that? >> that's a horrible political strategy. if you're afraid to tick off a trump voter, here's a little inside word. the trump voter is voting for trump. you won't win them anyway. makes no sense. these are all of my friends. i've told them all the same thing. you have to bring something against the former president. chris does it better than most. he knows the former president better than most. he really does hit hard as the president deserves to be hit. everyone has to stand on this stage and not just give their typical policy speech, not just put us to sleep with the downer. they got to bring something alive and they have to push back. you're down 20, 30 points in the polls. if you're not willing to hit him, get off the stage. >> neil: you know that might come up in the debate in donald trump makes that debate next month. might not. i am curious to get your read on mitt romney's call.

i think you said much the same, governor. there should be a weeding out process and maybe it happens in february, around the new hampshire primary. even governor christie himself where he placed all of his marbles back in that in 2016 and didn't do well. he placed sixth in your state and opted out of the race. that mitt romney wants to see the same thing so that everyone can coalesce around one or two alternatives to donald trump. what do you think of that and who might those individuals be? >> you definitely need to coalesce around one candidate opposite the former president. the fact is, the former president is polling 40% in new hampshire. 60% of the most hardcore based republicans don't want the guy. so on a one-on-one race, that's the path to victory. you'll see about three phases weaning down. there's three or four candidates that don't qualify for the

debates and they have to step down. come october, if you're still sitting there in zero, 1, 2% land, you have to get out as well. right before the iowa caucus, maybe not right before but around christmas, you have three or four more go and finally the final coalesce will come around new hampshire and shortly before super tuesday. which is the big one. from then on, if trump is still out there, he's going to have to go one on one against someone. he won't win in 24. that message is clear to your viewers, do yourself a favor, don't and this to the biden and kamala harris ticket and understand while we say thank you for your service, mr. president, we have some great alternatives out there. let's find one to get around and bring the party in to the future, not spend our time litigating the past. >> neil: by the spring of next year when the first trial is supposed to be for donald trump, could be others after that and

could be looking up like planes at la guardia. the fact of the matter is, he could have acquired all the delegates that he needs. by that point, those candidates, the party itself, would have to rally around donald trump, right? >> well, it could happen. but it won't. it won't. this is a soap opera. the only thing worse than a boring soap opera is? the rerun. that's what trump is. it's the same drama over and over again. when are again. what are we going to have the time for you and the other folks on television, the media to talk about inflation, to talk about who is hurting this country and border security and draining the swamp and fiscal responsibility come all of the things we are supposed to get with the former trump administration and we got nothing. by clearing the decks a bit, and allows republicans to focus on the things we need to to win in '24. that's all that matters, winning in november '24 is all that matters. >> neil: chris christie didn't address whether donald trump

debates. next month, i want you to respond to this, chris christie. >> he owes it to the voters of the republican party and to the rnc to be willing to get up there and be compared next to all of the other candidates well qualified. remember, the rnc set up some pretty stringent qualifications to get on that debate stage peer 40,000 donors is no small feat to be able to do, we are now over 52,000 donors, and if people want to help, then go to chris christie.com and do that. i think he owes it to folks to get on the stage and do that. and by the way, i have known for 22 years, i think you will be there. >> neil: he thinks he will be there. do you? >> i don't know about the first or second debate, but i am with chris, i don't think he will be able to resist periods poll numbers will show he is a whim, does not have the strength -- his ego won't let hy or another.

>> neil: you are not running for reelection in new hampshire. do you regret not being in this race now? >> no, look, i ma party guy. i think there is a huge opportunity to get this party back. that's why want my energy. working with young people, ge gen z, the next generation of republicans to take this country forward, that's what this is about. >> neil: governor, thank you. "the five" now. ♪ ♪ >> jesse: hello, everybody, jesse watters along with kennedy, harold ford jr., shannon bream, and greg gutfeld. it's 5:00 in new york city and this is "the five." ♪ ♪ joe biden outright mocking republican talk of impeaching him over the real bidenomics, which we all know is having hunter's group but millions of dollars overseas, spreading the wealth around his family and that pretending he knows nothing about it. >> now that inflation is coming