Transcripts For FOXNEWSW The 20240703

Reporting there are no signs of life. Seen at the crash site of a helicopter that was carrying president Ibrahim Raisi and others. News of reeses death comes nearly 15 hours after the helicopter crashed in a remote part of the country during dense fog. Rescue efforts have been hampered by bad weather and tough terrain. A number of other top officials, including the countrys Foreign Minister, were also on board. The chopper was heading back to the countrys capital when it reportedly went down. The crash comes at a fraught moment in the middle east, with War Raging In Gaza and weeks after iran launched a drone and Missile Attack on israel that was in response to a Deadly Strike on its diplomatic compound in damascus, Hardliner Raisi became president in a historically, uncompetitive election in 2021. Irans Supreme Leader is stressing the business of irans government will continue no matter what. Under the iranian constitution. In irans first Vice President takes over if the president dies. Joining us now is the director of professor at the institute for politics and strategy, as well as a former Policy Planning Director at the State Department and Fox News Contributor Kiron Skinner, karen, thank you so much for coming on with us early this morning, you know, i want to talk to you about, you know, why does this matter . And what this new leader coming in, how its going to affect the world, and really, the timing of this all, it couldnt be worse timing. And thank you. Ashley, you just set this up so nicely and so precisely, the iran is in crisis, and its put the middle east in crisis. And it has been, moving toward a kind of regional dominant strategy for quite some time. And the Supreme Leader, khamenei, has in, in the now deceased president or had a, his closest ally for the regional strategy for the attack on the west, for the drone strike that just happened that you mentioned against israel, which was unprecedented with the to crush the mass protests that have been taking place, in the past few years in the country for using armed proxies. The houthis, hezbollah, hamas to menace the whole region, so this makes us very nervous. Those of us who are concerned about, global conflict, about the middle east and what it means for the United States as well. Weve lost a president of a country thats tied to the theocracy, on in a big global strategy. Weve lost a Foreign Minister apparently, as well. And were expecting now elections in the middle of all of this within 50 days, given the constitution of the country. Whos next . How do they keep this moving . Does it possibly mean that that the militias and the armed proxies kind of in the confusion of the moment of whats happening in tehran, go their own way and become even more aggressive without the kind of tight grip of the leadership in the country . You know, karen, you talk about the loss of these two leaders, the Foreign Minister, this is, Iranian State media saying that the Foreign Minister was on the chopper. And then, of course, you have the iranian president , raisi, even though those two, especially the president , has to had to, speak directly to and get orders from the Supreme Leader. I mean, this is no feat. People should still take this seriously, that two leaders, are dead. According to Iranian State media and this is cause for concern, is it not . Absolutely. The president was 63 years old, relatively young man compared, to the to the Supreme Leader whos in his 80s and he was seen as someone who could, move to the to that post one day. Hed been the head of the judiciary theory, he was someone that the u. S. And the west had a lot of intelligence on, he was sanctioned by the United States for his role in the mass murders that took place after the long war between iraq and iran, 1988. Weve known about him for a long time, hes known as an oppressor. Hes known to use the secret, security to attack his people, its hard when you have a big shift like this and think about what happened last week, if the u. S and iran were talking in oman about you know, the regional difficulties about the Iranian Nuclear program, which now has taken itself to close to weapons grade, so weve got all these things happening and economic misery in the country, if you look at social media just tonight, critics of the regime in iran are talking about all of these things and womens rights. So theres a lot happening internally in the country that, makes us concerned and, a very dicey, volatile situation within iran. And then you think about the region, a very volatile region thats engulfing the broader middle east, the United States, iran, russia, many parts of the world, the russia, iran relationship, the military, the armaments exchanges. Thats significant. Iran is part of almost every major geopolitical conflict that involves the great powers at this point. And of course, israel. Yeah i mean, if you look at the News Releases from places like russia saying theres all Hands On Deck with anything that that iran might need and help and in finding him. And this was obviously before the crash site was found. And then you compare it to that of the United States, where they just said theyre monitoring the situation, tells you really all you need to know about the relationship between russia and iran and then the United States and iran, any shock to you . The iranian government has been so slow to release information and get word out. You know, i dont see that as, as, as a major issue or the big issue of the moment. Frankly, i think in the fog of this conflict, you know, of the helicopter crash, that, you know, its often difficult to get the right information. The Weather Patterns appear to have been very poor, that that there was a hard landing, as we understand. I dont think thats The Big Story here. I think the story is weve got a volatile country thats had an ambitious, grand strategy, has upped the attack on israel at an unprecedented level, just a month ago. And here we are with a transition of power. And that, to me, is not the greatest cocktail for stability and so i think weve got to take this extremely seriously. Iran, you know, the term has been used a lot. Its been in a Shadow War Or Twilight war with many of its neighbors and with the United States for a long time. And what does that mean, really, in the background, since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, weve been in a Military Conflict in one way or another with the tehran government, and its not been the explicit hit, you know, World War Two type war. Some of the other conflicts weve been in always in the background, always in the shadows, often at night. And here we are with a potential, you know, change in leadership. And someone that was, as i said, as a successor, to the Supreme Leader and that, you know, gives us a lot of pause. Who are we dealing with next . The negotiations that are taking place regionally that the u. S. Is involved in, that israel is involved with. Where do those stand in light of this . You know, apparent, shift in regime that will happen in the next month or so . Yeah. The first person ive spoken to that has said that its kind of put a, a date stamp on it within the next month or so. So well see when this all transpires, kiran, thank you so much for getting up and staying up with us early on Monday Morning to talk about this. Always great to get your take and your expertise on this. We appreciate your time. Joining us now is behnam ben taleblu. He is a Senior Fellow at the foundation for defense of democracies. And ben, i know we spoke to you, about 30 minutes ago or so and im not quite sure if you heard our previous guest and what she had to say, but she did bring up a good point about why iran matters. And you know, how this new leader coming in should make everybody weary across the world . Whats your take on that . You know, shes absolutely right. And its a pleasure to be back with you so soon. In essence, i remember when Doctor Skinner was leading Policy Planning at a time of increasing u. S. Sanctions, pressure against the government of the islamic republic. And when the designation campaign against the Supreme Leader of irans office, as well as raisi , was well underway in 2019, everything that Doctor Skinner was talking about, about irans larger enmity with the u. S, its Shadow War Vis A vis the u. S. And its global strategy to integrate itself with americas competitors. So today, iran is closer than ever, not just with, you know, regional adversaries of the u. S, but global adversaries of the u. S, like the russians, with whom iran is tightening political and military ties with, as well as the chinese, whom the iranians are tightening economic and political ties with as well. So all of this has implications not necessarily today, because iran, unfortunately, continues to get away with murder, quite literally in the middle east today, really, since october 7th, but also since 1979. But for the long run, Great Power Competition prospects that the u. S. Will have against, its nearpeer competitors in moscow and in beijing, as far as the relationship between rouhani and the Supreme Leader, do you know anything about that . Was it a strong relationship . It is indeed believed to have been a strong relationship, if you look closely, since at least 2005, since the election or Quote Unquote, election, i should say, of then president ahmadinejad, irans former Polyester Clad Holocaust Denier in chief, as i like to say, he has been the Supreme Leader of iran, has been orchestrating the ultra hard right shift in the regimes politics. As you may remember, before that, there was the Reform Movement in iran. That was something that was politically and militarily crushed by the state against the society. And the Supreme Leader has really taken the mask off. And since 2005, been contracting the political space, the room for maneuver, the acceptable boundaries of public space in that country, making it smaller and smaller and smaller and moving it further and further and further to the authoritarian and islamist right inside of that already limited political space in that country. And raisi is the ultimate manifestation of that. He is someone that was selected again to become president in 2021, and is largely believed to have been on the shortlist to become irans most powerful person after the regimes current octogenarian Supreme Leader passes away. And as i mentioned before, with the passing of raisi, now that shortlist as to who will become irans next most powerful person, just got a lot shorter, you know, and kyron, she was also talking about the crisis in, in the middle east and how its now become more difficult. But, i want to hear your thoughts on the drone strike that happened not long ago on israel. And really the timing of all of this. Because, you know, the more we talk about this and the more information we get coming in and talking to the experts about this, i mean, this is something that the world should be concerned about. Thats right. Because in general, hypothetically pretend none of the tit for tat that we saw between israel and iran in the month of april last month, hypothetically. Pretend that didnt happen. Pretend october 7th and the Israel Gaza War and the multifront war by irans proxies against israel in the region was not happening. The reason this matters, even pretend none of that was happening is because the regime in iran is so unpopular that it cannot afford exogenous or, sudden surprise shocks to its system. Thats why every president since 1982 has served two terms, because the government doesnt like to have these kind of sporadic or surprise elections. The fact that there will be one in about 50 days, means that the regime is going to have to find a way to tightly manage it, tightly control it, push its own political elite to the forefront. Again, the regime doesnt like, again, to have to continue to is actually quite poor, i should say. Its continuing to stage, manage and feign popular interest when it knows that its legitimacy is at an all time low inside that country. And when you mentioned earlier in the lead, that of course, raisi was Quote Unquote elected, i should say, again, selected with the lowest ever recorded president ial turnout in the history of the government of the islamic republic. Thats the proof in the pudding. For so long, these guys used to point to their stage managed, tightly scripted selection processes as a way to deflect pressure and feign legitimacy. Now they cant do that, and now theyre about to have to expose bare their underbelly to the world as to how unpopular they are. That when you add on the gaza conflict and the april tit for tat, this is a regime that feels empowered in the region, and its empowered because its had an Ultra Hard Line political consolidation inside the country. So theres no dissenters in the Corridors Of Power in the islamic republic. And that nonexistent room for dissent just got a little bit smaller, a little bit tighter. Right and obviously all eyes are going to be on them in the coming weeks and months, even more so than before. But how do you think the iranian people feel about this . You know, one need have only today within the past 12 to 14 hours, looked only to social media to see multiple, multiple, not just memes, jokes, solicitations by the iranian people, calling for indeed, the news of rayces passing to be confirmed. This is a regime that is deeply, deeply unpopular within the iranian street. And as youve seen within every different boom and bust cycle of protests from the streets against the state since 2017, the population has taken every opportunity, whether it was an economic crisis, political crisis, environmental crisis, social issue, Foreign Policy issue, to show how different it is from the ruling elite in tehran, how much closer their views and values and interests are with the west, and in particular with americans, than the rest in the region, as well as in the rest of the Governing Body inside the islamic republic. So ultimately, the iranian people found raisi to be deeply reprehensible, deeply anathema to who they are and the culture and civilization that they have, so it is not at all shocking that youve seen the regime begin to slowly deploy security forces. Its not all shocking that you see on social media people felicitating or celebrating. Youve even seen some reports of fireworks in different parts of tehran, in anticipation of the news of his passing. So again, this is a sharp contrast between state and society. And the regime is trying to tamp down this contrast, both on the street and on social media. You know, what are the chances that that the iranian people get somebody a leader, get somebody that is a leader that they want in office . I mean, because it doesnt seem like they get too much of what they want. Unfortunately, it seems like they get not much at all of what they want. If you look at at this, you know, there may have been an argument maybe 30 years ago that, you know, iranians were going to settle for the least bad option. But thats not at all the case. Now, when you look at whos been governing this country for the past 20, 30 years, i can say now with full confidence that so long as there is an islamic republic, so long as khamenei is at the helm, you will have a structure of power in that country. In tehran that is 180 degrees opposite the views, values and interests of the iranian people. And again, dont take it from me, take it from the slogans heard in multiple rounds of Protest Slogans from 2017 to present that are not talking about reform, theyre talking about wholesale change, and theyre not playing this game that the regime used to play between principalists or or reformers. Remember in 2018, the iranian people were chanting reformist principalists. The jig is up in the same year they chanted outside of out of iranian government buildings in front of official institutions, saying the enemy is here. They lie when they say the enemy is in america. So again, this is a population that has not been cowered despite the regimes, again, repressive, brutal use of force against them, whether it was on the street or in cyberspace. I think it was you i was speaking to earlier about this, on online, it was heavily, you know, seen by a lot of people that the, the population they were talking about revolting, if this came out that that he was dead. I mean, what what do you foresee happening with the population and with the people, the iranian people, after all of this . I know its hard to its hard to, you know, think forward that like that because, you know, we dont we dont know what we dont know. But from your standpoint, what do you think is going to happen . Well, i need we have conversely to take another phrase from rumsfeld, i think we have known unknowns in this sense. There are things that we know that we dont know. Theres a lot of this kind of enmity and animosity, again, between the street and the state brewing. And its not just brewing beneath the surface. Its pouring out in the labor strikes that we see in the protests that weve seen in the slogans that we hear in the Social Media Activism that we see. So this is, again, a society that is ready to push past the authoritarian structures of government that has thus far been unable to. So, in my view, its always been a matter of when, not if, there will be yet another street protest. You know, when i was talking to Kiron Skinner just before you, she she said that the, the slowness of the iranian government getting this information out, it wasnt necessarily the story, but do you think that that has something to do with this . Do you think that is a big part of this story and how theyre trying to cover it up, i think its just part of an understanding of the play by play, you know, particularly for a government like understanding how that government works. Exactly. And for a, for a government like this before theyre going to go out and formally announce something that they know to have essentially be true, which is that helicopter which crashed as the way that it did would have led to basically the burning of the cabin, as youve even seen the rescue teams talking about online. Now, they would want to get all their ducks in the row in terms of messaging and in terms of managing, the transition to the next president and the 50 day period where the first Vice President , mohammad mokhber, would be taking over, so in essence, this really is more about how that authoritarian regime engages in statecraft, but it does also in terms of trying to get the teams out there in time and allegedly seeking foreign help and trying to get foreign help or the limited capacity of some of their own rescue teams, is also is worth noting here as well, in terms of a competence issue. And then my final question for you, you do know this area that the as far as the terrain where this chopper went down, is this a likely scenario of this happening . I mean, is it as bad as what theyre saying . And the Iranian State media is reporting and showing us . Well, its not just the terrain. So the choppers believed to have gone down in irans East Azerbaijan province, thats in the north west of the country. Thats just shy of the caucasus mountain region. Iran itself is actually a plateau consisting of several different mountain chains. So the elevation is high. It is rocky. But the conditions on that day when the helicopter, you know, crashed essentially were believed to be highly, highly foggy, even when you saw the rescue teams, the limited footage of the rescue teams beginning to move into position as well as reports from the area, it was exceptionally foggy. So this could have been a pilot issue vis a vis the weather ockhams razor approached. The simplest explanation could be the most likely. It really, indeed was the weather in that geography. Okay, ben and ben, thank you so much for your time. I especially staying up and staying on with us this morning. We appreciate you and your expertise on this topic. Thank you so much. A pleasure. Of course. Joining us now is michael santos, Foreign Policy and National Security expert and mideast expert. Michael, thanks for getting up with us early this morning. I just want your thoughts on this this situation as a whole. Well, i agree with the last guest that, you know, weather is a likely culprit, its often being pointed out that the president is largely a figurehead. All the power is in the Supreme Leader and the Iranian Revolutionary guards, which are basically a terrorist force, very dangerous. However, since this government, tries to place all of its legitimacy and basically divine right, claiming that they represent god, i think this is going to be perceived as weakness both within iran. And many people hate the government in iran and throughout the middle east. And its very discrediting and it makes them look weak and incompetent. Well, how does this affect, you know, people backing off that . How does this affect the middle east in the future and especially how the world looks at them . Well, you know, this is a man, the president who was known as the butcher of tehran for executing so many iranians. He is part of a brutal establishment. He openly cheered the terrorist atrocities of october 7th. He is definitely an enemy of the United States, and so, you know, you dont want to gloat about some of these accidental deaths, but definitely this Evil Regime In Tehran is one that its good for us. Things that harm this government. Theres no way that this is not good for the United States. The setback, because it is destabilizing to them. Their weaknesses are gain. To be brutally honest, they, according to the constitution that they only follow in the most superficial way, will have to have election in 50 days. And it undermines the whole transition of an ailing Supreme Leader who is evil and does. The United States is the great satan and israel needs to be destroyed. And this guy was believed to perhaps be the handpicked successor, though, of the Supreme Leader. So it causes an enemy of the United States a great deal of trouble right now. You said their weakness is our gain. How should the Biden Administration be working on that . I mean, we dont want to get blamed. I mean, this is this is whether this is a very you know, they make up all kinds of lies. Theyre you know, typical Military Type Dictatorship that makes up all kinds of lies. The us has to continue to be strong , but and thats the key thing we have to be strong and we have to weaken the terrorists like the head of middle eastern terrorism, to a large extent is in tehran. And this guy, even though hes somewhat of a figurehead, was the potential successor to the man who controlled it all. So, we just have to recognize this is the enemy, not just of the United States of america, but of the iranian people. This is a murderous government thats executing people, torturing people, and very, very oppressive. And hopefully, lets hope that this helps push forward the point that iranians are free. So how does this affect the iranian government then . I mean, whats going through their minds right now with the news of this . If he was supposed to be the successor . I mean, i think its a major pain. I mean, so its not certain he was going to be the successor for khamenei, the Supreme Leader. It was suspected. Theres other possibilities so that they can still choose it. And the president is a figurehead, but they do have to do the election. And theres a lot of the population that oppose this government. They really despise the whole system. There are dangers to United States here because the Iranian Revolutionary guards are a military terrorist threat. That is very, very hardcore. And elements within that could start to seize even more power than they have. Given that the Supreme Leader whos evil and hateful is of poor health and is getting really old. So there are risks here. Ostensibly, the president Foreign Minister, are not in the Chain Of Command of the military. It should not affect and basically powerless. So it should not affect the Foreign Policy, the military power policy, the terrorist policy, but it does create a political vacuum. Mostly it puts pressure on them because of the election. Its hard to predict how anything like this will play out. But this is a very weak, fragile regime. The so many of the people, probably a majority of the people, despise this government. And i think that what we can only hope is that helps topple this evil government. That is what our ultimate goal or what we definitely would wish to happen, you know, protecting against them. The United States and israel did a very good job. We were able to intercept virtually every ballistic and cruise missile. So we just have to keep alert. We have to watch for iranian backed terrorists, that threat is not going away any time soon. So you were mentioning, us staying on alert. I mean, is this something that americans should be concerned about . Yes i mean, the iranian backed terrorists have murdered many americans. They have on american soil. Yeah. Were talking on american soil. Thats something they should be concerned about. I mean, yes, theres only one chase of a significant attempt of an attack on american society. American territory and american soil. But that has been a huge concern of the fbi and cia that iran or one of its Terrorist Proxies could strike on american soil. Weve been living with that risk since the early 80s, when they bombed a marine peacekeepers in lebanon and their embassy in lebanon. Then they struck a Jewish Community center in argentina. So this iranian terrorist axis has been targeting us for a long time. They have so far refrained from attacking, for the most part on american soil, because they know that consequences and retaliation would be devastating. So i dont think that this should be like a terrible concern because, you know, there are so many threats that pose all of us every day. I wouldnt let it , you know, interfere with peoples plans. I think the risk of them striking the United States and europe, is there, this shouldnt be a trigger. Unless more radical players of a very radical, Hard Line Government take charge. This government, though, has often acted in fear, recognizing that that the United States is immensely powerful, they fired a barrage of Ballistic Missiles at israel. They were largely intercepted. And also Cruise Missiles and drones. Israel struck back, and they try to pretend it didnt happen. They covered it up. So there is a track record of iran backing down. So i would not want anyone to think that theyre that theyre an imminent threat. But it is a very evil government. It is a murderous government. And it has only limited its actions against the United States by our strength. But we havent managed to limit their terrorist attacks enough. So there are their practices are undermining, you know, global trade, the oil supply potentially causing gas prices to rise more this summer than it should, and they will do everything that they can get away with. So the fact that this is disruptive to their plans, which are very evil and they are in alliance with russia and china and north korea, this is a good thing for us, in crazy governments, you have a lot of crazy figures, and theres always a risk that a crazier person will emerge. We sort of even saw that in a way, in russia, the way putin emerged. And he turned out to be far more hardline, than anyone realized since i was kind of too late. Okay. A lot to take in there, michael santos, thank you so much for your time this morning. We appreciate it. Youre very welcome. Have a great evening. You too. Thank you. Thank you. Joining us now once again is Kiron Skinner. Shes a Fox News Contributor and Research Fellow at the hoover institute. Karen, thanks for staying on with us. I kind of want to piggyback on what michael was just talking about, about how iran has a history of backing down. Do you think theyre going to back down following this . In essence , do you think their backs are against the wall after the news of this, i think theyre in a very difficult position to be more aggressive regionally because of the fact that theyve the u. S. Intelligence has signaled that after the drone and missile strike last month against israel, there wasnt a lot of hard evidence that the government wanted a wider war and that this is also the case with hezbollah, which has been menacing. Israel for years. Northern israel and has increased its own attacks against Missile Attacks against israel since october 7th. But even they are are are concerned about this wider conflict. So i think thats where many analysts have seen tehran. They did the strike. They saw it as retaliation, to the Israeli Government for its own strike against that killed some quds force members in in damascus. But they didnt want the big war that could engulf the whole region and indeed really lead to a third world war. You know, lets talk about china, russia and north korea. Michael santos mentioned, obviously, those are three of our adversaries. How do they play into all this . Yeah, i, i like how michael santos, kind of, presented the geopolitical landscape on the one side, weve got, iran and russia unified in the ukraine war, with iran helping to arm russia in that war. And for those who, say that, you know, the u. S. Should not be supporting israel in this conflict, theyve got to understand. And thats why i think part of this, you know, tragedy, if you call it that, in iran today or yesterday, is so important, iran is not just a regional actor, though. It seeks regional dominance. Its playing at a on a bigger landscape. And along with the great powers and so its connection to russia also can affect what happens ultimately to israel. So that relationship will, i think, be where it is and continue. So weve got to see iran in that context. Iran is an enemy of the United States. There are no diplomatic ties. Those were cut in 1979. Your previous guest just mentioned the fact that 241 u. S. Military officers were killed in 1983, and, you know, in lebanon, there have been the attack late in more recent years in in argentina, all over the western world, iran has been attacking those who stand against its regime. And the fact. So this makes it a bigger conflict. This is not just a country in one thats menacing its neighbors, though. Its doing that at an increasing and unprecedented level. Its one that has attacked the west. And, you know, we hear all the time and sometimes weve heard it so much that we forget the language the us is the great satan. Israel is the little state thats how they see us. We are an enemy from their standpoint. And what makes this even more volatile is that youve got an aging regime. Youve got younger people who are against the regime. And as ive said, look at social media and look at the statements coming out tonight, this is not just a period of mourning for everyone. This is also a discussion about the sheer repressive regime that they have, iranians have suffered under since 2021, when the president came to power, the former lead of irans judiciary, where he used that office also to repress and hurt his own people. You know, kyra, before i let you go, the sentiment that ive gotten from all of my guests tonight is that the world should be on high alert, and as far as you know, for americans on american soil, michael was saying that they dont need to be, you know, On Extreme High alert. No more than we already are. And what we have been for years now. But what are your thoughts on that . Do you think this is something that americans should really be concerned about . You know, we have so many issues that were facing in our own country, high inflation, a president ial election coming our way, you know, all of the domestic issues that americans are grappling with in the postcovid era. So i dont think an iranian attack is, you know, the number one. But i think understanding the responsibility that the u. S. Has ins bigger conflict with iran, and thats what i try to say in the previous segment of this ongoing background war, that saps our attention, our energy, our military resources, its really pretty profound. And, you know, we want to see a resolution to the iranian crisis. Its been there for us since 1979. My students at pepperdine werent born when this conflict started, and its now, and it is a major part of their life as well. Also, the momentum that we have been, the diplomatic momentum that the u. S. Has been able to really i think, push forward as a result of this conflict with our arab partners, the abraham accord, countries, that the deal that was brokered between israel and some of its neighbors under the Trump Administration and our european partners, we want to keep that moving. The energy to be focused on how do we unify against, both in the region and in europe, against iran. We want that to keep moving. Then the indirect talks that i mentioned also that were taking place last week between the u. S. And iran, in oman, with oman, is the kind of go between, we want that discussion to keep moving as well. On the Iranian Nuclear program, on regional dominance, a set of issues. Theres no doubt theres going to be a lot of moving parts. Kyren, i have to cut you off, we really appreciate your time this morning and your your insight and expertise on this, thank you again. We appreciate you again. If you are just now joining us, Iranian State media is reporting president Ibrahim Reshi and other top officials have been found dead after their helicopter crashed sunday morning. This news comes nearly 15 hours after the chopper was first reported to have crashed. Stick with Fox News Channel for this breaking coverage. For now, im ashley strohmier, live in new york. Were going to send you back to regular programing. Good for you. You look happy and healthy. Not me. If you ever get jealous. Welcome back to the Big Weekend Show. Trump fixer turned foe Michael Cohen is expected to return to the stand tomorrow as trumps Hush Money Trial enters its final stretch. Fox news Correspondent Cb Cotton is in new york city tonight. Hi, griff. Well, as the trial winds down, the question now is whether former president Donald Trumps team will put up a defense. Trumps lawyers certainly dont have to. The burden is on the prosecution to prove to a jury that trump is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. So jurors will have to decide whether they believe the prosecutions key witness and former President Trumps exlawyer Michael Cohen, who testified that it was trump who approved plans to suppress negative stories in an effort to protect trumps 2016 president ial campaign. Cohen testified, quote, everything required mr. Trumps sign off, end quote. The defense, though, has argued trump was trying to protect his family and not his campaign. During cross crossexamination, transferring tartlets, has worked, doing it right cohens credibility and blanche highlighted License Cohen is told under open the past any also trying to accuse cohen of like again during his wi for this trial, arguing that cohen lied about having a phone call with trump over the Stormy Daniels payment. Blanche pointed to text challenging cohen that the phone call was instead with trumps bodyguard to discuss harassing phone calls cohen had been receiving to that point, cohen maintained, he spoke with both the bodyguard and trump and the same phone call. Court resumes tomorrow at 9 30 a. M. Local time. Court was not in session on friday, so the former president could attend his sons high school graduation. And this means that jurors will have had a long weekend to ruminate on the Cross Examination thus far. Griff. And you can catch it all here on fox news. Now to this Friendly Fire courtesy of senator John Fetterman over this bad behavior in congress. I do have a point of order, and i would like to move to take down miss greenes words. That is absolutely unacceptable. How dare you attack the physical appearance of another person . Are your feelings hurt . Her words down. 000 Girl Baby girl. Oh really . Dont even play baby girl i dont think we are going to after that chaos. Fetterman joked that he was sorry to Jerry Springer forever comparing congress to the wild talk show. Then aoc called him a bully. Today, fetterman was the one saying, dont even play. I mean, ocasiocortez seems to be suggesting that youre a bully. Oh, well, of course thats thats absurd. I was just simply responding to the kind of chaos and everything that representative greene started as well. And if everyone on the committee was proud of what theyve produced, theyre entitled to their opinion. Or if they feel that this is the kind of video that you want to send to a classroom of eight grade civics kind of students across america. Again, thats their choice. All right, i know, molly, you dont agree with the hoodie as senate dress code, but do you agree with fetterman . Hes got a point there about the chaos. Kind of a point. But also were spending so much time talking about unkind words that were said in the house and about how thats how that looks poor to the rest of the country. Bleach blond. What actually looks bad to the country, i think, is that washington, dc is destroying our country. Their policies are horrible. We have no border. Our economy is bad, our Foreign Policy is bad. And on each and every one of those issues, John Fetterman and a host of other people have voted to create the chaos. And so it is kind of like nobody likes to see what happened there with the fight. But i think most americans are much more worried about what has happened to the country under the leadership of these socalled civil people. Kennedy. This is the moment i thought was the most entertaining. As long as were going down. The mean girls reality tv show. Watch this from rep Jasmine Crockett. Im just curious, just to better understand your ruling, if someone on this committee then starts talking about somebody bleach blond, bad built, butch body that would not be engaging in personalities, correct . A what now . Chairman, i make a i make a motion to strike those words. I kind of feel for james comer there. Hes like, what . But then crockett went on tv today and tried to clean it up. You attacked . Yes. So . So to be clear, what i asked for was clarification on the ruling. I did not state anything to her. I specifically asked a question and i didnt even mention her name and so it was for clarification. And thats what i asked for an and he obviously didnt hear me. Okay. Yeah. And i hear that. But she went after your appearance and then like you went out like you went back at her 1000v. I did as a in a very lawyerly way, maga has historically been on social media doing the things, saying, oh, shes black with lashes and nails and hair. And so shes ghetto. And so to me, this was her buying into that rhetoric. Kennedy. What do you think, i think that her rationality is very much beneath her. But i would say that for all of these congresswomen in particular who have become addicted to attention, and they i wish they had an addiction to limiting the size and scope of the federal government. Unfortunately they do not. They just want press. They want us to talk about them as though theyre real housewives of new jersey. And those women are far better behaved at a Reunion Special than these women are, who, you know, its like they should have a little bit of dignity and decorum. A reality show every time now. Yeah, but its come on. Its still congress. Doesnt that mean anything or are we just are we just addicted to destroying institutions in this country . You know, tom, fortunately for you, because i know you love Jasmine Crockett is the heroine in all of this. Oh, yeah. Shes got a t shirt. We can show it to you. Its being sold by representative crockett. Says bleach blond, bad built butch bomb d although some eagle eyed folks looking at purchasing one found. If you look closely, its crocus, tx, so theres a bit of a misspelling. I dont know if we can get you a correct grammar one, or you just get the bad grammar. Is that grammar . I mean, ive misspelled my name on occasion. You cant blame her. But no, you know what . I think politics has been a performative sport as long as i can remember, and so i dont. Ive never seen any dignity in this kind of stuff. I remember in college i was watching the Vice President ial debate in 1988, and Lloyd Bentsen turned to dan quayle, and he said, youre no jack kennedy. And the crowd went crazy, like like it was at a sporting event. And the next day, bentsen now, i know, but im watching, you know, david brinkley. And theyre all saying that was terribly effective politicking there. And im thinking, are you people serious . I had no respect for these people back then. I still dont i respect dan quayle like a lot. But do we do we get the representative that we deserve . I mean, voters know who they mean. They do this on the Campaign Trail and then they get elected. Yeah. So i mean, thats the way it is. And just talking about jerry nadler. Yeah. There you go. My god. I mean, well leave it there with jerry nadler coming up, our Silent Salons, the new trend thats next. And senators ted cruz and katy brand joined Fox And Friends on the curvy couch tomorrow morning. Dvr the show starting at 6 a. M. Eastern. If you cant get out of bed and catch it live. Could you be loved . And be loved shell renewable race fuel. Reducing emissions by 60 . Were moving forward with indycar. Because were moving forward with everybody. Shell. Powering progress. Welcome back to the Big Weekend Show. Well, there are some who go to extremes just to enjoy some peace and quiet. Thanks for coming. Hey, thats. Whats the idea . What do you got . Laryngitis. Oh bowel silence took a vow of silence. You took a vow of silence. Spiritual advisor. Is that what you just said. And he told you to do this . Youre mouthing. Oh, its okay to mouth. Its okay to mouth. Youre still communicating, but a much less effective way. Now, customers can ask their hairdressers to cut the chit chat. Some salons, like this one in new york city, are offering patrons the option of booking a quiet hair appointment, noticed a shift in more social anxiety since covid, so theres a lot of people that might be nervous to come in and have to make small talk with a service provider. I think its so convenient. I work remote, so its really great to be able to come sort of multitask and continue to get work done while im here. And these Silent Salons may be part of a larger health trend, as 82 of people say they are making Wellness A Top Priority in their life. Wow wellness, whatever that is. Kennedy. I want to talk about this silent salon thing. I mean, the way those ladies were talking, i wouldnt mind a little silence with all that Jibber Jabber that was going on there and that salon. What is wrong with people . What is everyone now, ellen like . Dont look at me. Dont talk to me. They dont know that. Make eye contact. Doesnt make eye contact. Our audience doesnt know that well. And its only going to get worse because generationally, you have a lot of young people who are having a harder time communicating because they spend so much time on screens, like, if you hang out with teenagers as you do. Yeah, you know, they sit there and they text each other, theyll all be in a room. Theyre like, yep. So its only going to mushroom into a much bigger problem in terms of wellness. If you pay, you will live. Yeah. You wont believe it. You can pay for it. Ive heard that molly the. Do you think im really obsessed with this silent thing . Thats really what i want to talk about. People booking ahead of time. But i understand it because thats what i do in my uber. When i do uber, i say, please silent. But they talk anyway. They dont good for them because it is good to talk to other humans. And i totally get by the way that people are introverted or they might not want to talk. Thats probably why they should be talking to other humans. And as a bit of someone who struggles with this myself, i think thinking about it less about what you want and more about giving to other people can be a good way to get over that hump of not wanting to talk to anybody. Yeah, griff, i think you want to talk all the time. I think something tells me youre out there on the street corner. You got the microphone in your hand. Theres no way im doing the silent thing. And by the way, ive been going for more than ten years to the same guy, zach. Multiband hes the best hairstylist in dc, and we have great conversation. As i look more to my conversation with zach once a month than i do actually getting my haircut, which i probably need one now, but im out. Like this is ridiculous. Not to mention those teenagers that dont want to talk because theyre socially anxious, are taking pictures of themselves to put out. Go figure. Yeah, living all of their lives online. Okay. Stick around for the big four. That is next. I just wanna use your love tonight. Whoa im your overly competitive brother. And im ready for a rematch. Here take a free shot go ahead knock yourself out. Your about to get served. Seriously . Get allstate, save money, and be better protected from mayhem like me. Why choose a sleep number smart bed . Can i make my side softer . I like my side firmer. Sleep number does that. Now, save 50 on the sleep Number Limited Edition smart bed. Plus, 0 interest for 36 months. Shop now at sleepnumber. Com of World War Two and the final journey of the greatest generation. New season streaming now on fox nation. Welcome back to the Big Weekend Show. 37 bigger than last weekend. Take that shrinkflation. Its time now for the big four. Our picks for the biggest stories. Everyone will be talking about this week. We all love names that start with the letter k, am i right . In this case, there werent enough people with the name kyle to get together and kyle, texas yesterday to break the world record for the largest gathering of people with one name, 708 people showed up, which is a few hundred short of the 2325 people named ivan who Got Together In Bosnia Seven years ago. But still, hats off to kyles everywhere, including kyle, my swim coach kyle mcculloch, also kyle smith and kyle lamb. Just a few of the kyles that i know. Theyll all Go To Texas Next year. Molly. Shout out to my cousin kyle as well. Charges are expected to be dropped against golfer scottie scheffler, who was arrested on the way to the Pga Championships in louisville, kentucky, on friday as he arrived at the golf club and police say he disregarded signals from an officer trying to give directions. This man was arrested on friday, went to the hoosegow spent the morning in the clinker, got out, shot five under par and then he had a rough day yesterday. Today shoots six under par. This is the greatest Athletic Achievement of our lifetime. Yeah, tom. All right. Beautiful. A california grandmother completed a jaw dropping 29. 6. Mile, 17 hour swim through Shark Infested Waters in san francisco. The 55 year old is the first person ever to make the swim from the mainland at the Golden Gate Bridge to the tiny farallon islands. I, i can swim, but in the pool, like back and forth. I couldnt do this. You could do it, tom. No in fact, were sending you next week, and sharks will help. You know, kennedy, the sharks are your friends. They will help you. Finally, in a major throwdown to democrats, former President Trump will host a Campaign Rally in the bronx on thursday as he sets his sights on flipping new york. Read this november. I dont know if thats going to happen, but i love that hes going to the bronx, where biden won by 77 points. Richie torres, the congressman from that district, is already on social media saying donald trump is the biggest threat to the bronx thats ever existed. Its like, i dont know how its going to go, but people are going to be talking about it on thursday because it is going to be a sight. Its also amazing because his opponent is literally trying to put him in jail and bankrupt him right now, and hes actually just campaigning. I mean, they say going into the lions den, the bronx is the lions den, i dont know. He went there for a Campaign Stop after court not long ago, and he received a heros welcome from crying children. He did. Before we go, please dont forget to follow the Big Weekend Show on fox, facebook and instagram at Big Weekend Show. The big weekend. Indeed. That does it for us. We will see you next week. And life, liberty and levin starts right now. I try. This is a fox news alert. Im ashley st