mcconnell joins us for an exclusive interview in a few minutes. first up tonight white house correspondent jacqui heinrich. >> good evening, bret with all the clarifications today the white house all but admitted president biden made some unforced errors in yesterday's press conference. >> reading a prepared statement less than 24 hours after his minor incursion comment raised eyebrows and made headlines, president biden clarified. >> if any, any assembled russian movements move across the ukrainian border that is an invasion. but they will be met with severe and coordinated economic response. >> but clean-up was the theme of the day. from the v.p. >> i'm being clear with you right now. >> yes, okay. >> so if you are interested i will continue to be clear, which is that we -- we have had direct conversations through various levels of diplomacy with putin. >> to the press secretary. >> trend on fox news to clarify. >> i was already planning on going on fox news. looking forward to it, in fact. >> members of congress responding to this bleak forecast. >> my guess is he will move in. >> pushing for proactive deattorneys like sanctions now over the true build-up. >> why are you -- thank you. >> thank you. >> shouldn't the threat of an invasion also carry serious economic. >> i just referred to treasury sanctions we announced this morning. it's important to remember who the aggressor is here. the aggressor is russia and putin. >> also under a microscope the president's suggestion the midterms could be illegitimate if voting rights bills don't pass. >> he absolutely is not predicting that the 2022 elections would be illegitimate. the point he was making is that the former president asked a number of states, seven or more, in fact, to overturn the outcome of the election. >> the fall-out from biden's year one presser punctuated by yet another devastating poll. the associated press finding a majority of americans disapprove of biden's job performance. 56 to 43%. >> and tomorrow the president will address the u.s. conference of mayors as multiple big cities are struggling with rising crime. today the white house refused to weigh in on district attorneys coming under fire for being soft on prosecution or downgrading crime, but affirmed the president's support for law enforcement. bret? >> bret: jacqui heinrich live on the north lawn, jacqui, thank you. senate democrats were unable to get enough support to make changes to the filibuster during a vote last night. once again, two of their own refused to go along with those changes. now progressives are criticizing senators joe manchin and kyrsten sinema and already working to undermine them. congressional correspondent chad pergram shows us from capitol hill. >> democrats eating their own. liberals devouring senators like joe manchin and kyrsten sinema, linking them to republicans who blocked the voting rights bill. >> yesterday, on the senate floor, white nationalists use the jim crow filibuster to block voting rights legislation. >> missouri democrat cori bush accused manchin and sinema of ignorance and cruelty. >> the united states senate filed legislation that would protect our fundamental and constitutional rights to vote. for what? because of fear. white fear. >> other liberals threatening primary challenges for manchin and sinema. majority whip dirk durbin disagrees. >> i think it's short-sighted and disappointed in the positions they took but it was entirely within their right to do it in a 50/50 senate. we value every member. >> manchin and sinema enjoy a warmer reception from republican counterparts compared to members of their own party. >> i congratulate both of them for their courage. >> top democrats are trying to prevent political sparks from flaring and to a democratic inferno. >> do you think that that is fair to have that sort of criticism leveled on manchin and sinema internal party. >> i discourage people from making comments about them. and i don't think there is any other -- any upside in democrats criticizing democrats. >> democrats need manchin and sinema if there is any chance to salvage president biden's agenda. democrats now tinkering with break up build back better into pieces, to muscle it through the senate. that approach isn't a solution to one of the biggest hurdles of all, complex senate rules known as budget reconciliation. >> this is a reconciliation bill. so when people say let's divide it up, nah, they don't understand the process. >> there are two challenges for democrats that are trying to find what parts of president biden's agenda are acceptable to manchin and sinema and democrats are trying to make their own agenda resonate with the voters. >> bret: chad pergram on capitol hill. talk about washington and around the world with senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. senator, thank you for being here. >> good evening. >> bret: what did you make of the press conference yesterday overall. >> if i were the president i don't think i would have a two hour press conference again. but, look, let's just focus on the one thing that was the most disturbing that was already covered in your set-up piece. and that was potential signal to the russia that it's okay to take some of ukraine. now, i'm really glad the white house walked that back today. i hope vladimir putin doesn't misunderstand the message. no incursion into ukraine is acceptable. what should would he be doing about it right now? first, we ought to be sending tank, weapons to the ukrainians, helping them learn how to use them and ground-to-air missiles to go after the helicopters that might be a part, obviously, of any iteration incursion as well as being ready to level a sanctions the russians have never experienced before. i think all this needs to be done before the invasion because once they are in there, it's very, very difficult to get them out. >> bret: senator, some people are calling proactively as tee terence measure on russia before they go in. prior to the president's clarification today, obviously a lot of people concerned about yesterday's news conference, but the administration's position has been behind the scenes they don't want to escalate things, not to do something before russia acts. your response to that? >> well, the russians have escalated this. they have created this whole crisis. they are testing us to see whether we will do anything of consequence to keep them from gobbling up part of another sovereign country. that hasn't happened since world war ii. i don't think vladimir putin understands subtly. and i think job number one is to make sure the ukrainians have the tools to inflict severe damage on any russian troops coming in and, second, to threaten to use and use if you have to, the kind of economic sanctions the russians have never been subjected to before. >> bret: i want to turn topics from the news conference. something the president came back to time and time again, and that is what you are for. he specifically mentioned you. take a listen. >> the fundamental question is what's mitch for? mitch has been very clear,. [laughter] , he would do anything to prevent biden from being a success. i have had five republican senators who told me that they agree with whatever i'm talking about i'm going to do, but joe, if i do this, i'm going to be defeated in the primary. >> bret: so, mr. leader, what are you for? [laughter] >> well, my good friend, the president, got it wrong once again. i helped him pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill. i supported in the senate a bill to deal with china and the computer chip shortage. if the president starts acting like a moderate, like he campaigned, we can do business. the reason we have not been speaking recently this year is because he adopted the bernie sanders prescription for america. he did that even though he got no mandate for it, a 50/50 senate and a couple seat majority in the house. and they couldn't get it through. and the reason they couldn't get it through the american people are not for all of this. they thought they were electing a moderate. if the president wants to reinvent himself and come back to the middle, we have things to talk about that we can work on together. >> bret: let's get specific. he said you want to break up build back better and you heard speaker pelosi saying well, there is reconciliation rules and you really can't do that with this big bill, can anything pass, a piece of the build back better legislation? >> look, i don't think the american people are clamoring for any pieces of build back better. they want us to tackle on the problems that they are concerned about. inflation at the top of the list. a wide open border. we have already discussed the threat against ukraine, those are the things the american people are thinking about, the president needs to sync what interested in. voting rights, for example. 94% of the american people think it's easy to vote right now. we had a record turn out last year, the highest turn out since 1900. 120 years ago. nobody is being discriminated against in voting. the voting rights act is still intact, passed in 1965. i actually was there to witness it as a young intern here on capitol hill. they are making this up. why are they doing it? they want a federal takeover of how every election in america is conducted. that is not how this country has been run for over 200 years. it's not what the american people are interested in having them do since 94% of them already think it's easy to vote. >> bret: senator, one of the things the president said, while he pushed back on the characterization that he is a socialist he is not bernie sanders but he likes him. you have known joe biden as a senator, a dear friend, you have said, numerous times for many, many years. is the same joe biden in the white house that you've known for many years? >> well, it's really kind of irrelevant. i mean, you deserve a label based upon what you are advocating. and the president signed up for bernie sanders' agenda, to turn america into a socialist country regardless of what he may have been years ago when he was in the senate. that's what he signed up for. and they have hit a brick wall. the reason they have hit a brick wall they don't have the votes to do it. the american people are not in favor of it. if i were the president i would listen to the american people and i would pivot and try to become the moderate i said i would be and if he does that bret, there are many republicans, including myself, who are willing to talk to him with about making progress for the country like we did on infrastructure and like we did in the senate on the china bill. >> bret: yeah. i want to ask you about your party and do you think that former president donald trump will be a help to you in the midterm elections? >> i think the midterm election almost certainly is going to be a referendum on the party in power. this is an entirely democratic government. democratic president, house, and senate. they are in charge of governing. and these midterm elections are always a report card on the performance of those who are in charge. those who are governing. i think the american people are about to send this administration a pretty big message that they do not approve of all the things that are going wrong. >> bret: as that is happening, you have somebody like senator lindsey graham who is warning that you can't just abandon that side of the party and specifically the former president. just take a listen. >> it's not a warning. he says he wants to be the republican leader. you don't need to kiss donald trump's ass but you have got to have a working relationship with him for us to be successful. the bottom line here is if you don't have a working relationship with president trump as the senate leader or house leader, that hurts us all. >> bret: is he specifically talking about you, senator. your response? >> well i appreciated lindsey graham's tweet last night commenting on my closing speech before we save the senate from the democrats who were trying to break the senate last night. fundamentally changing the institution, appreciate lindsey's support on that and grateful for his leadership on so many different issues and all republicans believe me, of all stripes, will be together voting to send this administration a strong message this november. two questions about former president trump, i noticed didn't talk it about him. going to have him back and appreciate your time. thank you, senator. >> thanks, bret. >> bret: stocks are down today. the dow lost 313. the s&p 500 was off 50. the nasdaq dropped 186. up next, victims of havana syndrome are dismissing the cia's latest assessment of this. plus, we are live from kyiv. where ukrainians are still wondering what to make of president biden's news conference. our worst allergy symptoms including nasal congestion, so you can breathe better. claritin-d. breathe better. 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>> bret: hillary vaughn outside the white house, thank you. speaking of congress, it looks like there was some momentum today for lawmaker efforts to crack down on big tech. >> bret, there was the american innovation and choice online act passed out of senate committee today. this is the first time that a major tech bill like this has advanced to the senate floor. the bill would crack down on tech giants and not let platforms push their own product or bias results unfairly. the white house though has not said if the president will sign it bret? >> bret: okay. thank you, hillary. joining us now to talk about that first is minnesota democratic senator amy klobuchar. she led today's senate hearings on big tech. also the author of the paperback version out "and the issue antitrust is now available. thank you for joining us. >> thanks, bret. >> bret: this is a big deal. it is moving forward. it is with a bill that you did with senator grassley. what is the prospects here even though the white house has not weighed in? >> well, we have an incredibly strong group of authors, people that come from all different ideologies from senator mark warner and dick durbin to lindsey graham and josh hawley and steve daines, cynthia, mazie hirono, dick blumenthal. we assembled this group on a lot of stuff. the thing we have in common is we believe you need to have fair competition. right now you have these major platforms. google has 90% of the search engine market. and we don't success we want them to be successful. what happens with monopolies is they start hurting small guys. they start making it hard and promoting their own product. we heard from companies like spotify and match.com about how apple and google will charge so much on the app. stores and make it really hard for them to compete. they can't even show that they can get less prices on the web. we heard about instances with amazon where they literally rip off products. they copy products of small companies that are advertising on their site like luggage organizers and then the next thing you know it shows up as amazon basic. that's just wrong. and so what this bill does is create those rules of the road to stop that kind of self-referencing behavior and stealing of data. >> bret: you know, from your book, "antitrust" when people ask me as a senator monopolies and antitrust have to do with their lives the answer i give now is the same one i gave back then raked in monopoly money rent on r5eur89dz. everything. antitrust and monopolies have everything to do with our economy. the prices we pay and the way we live. you know, you are going to face a ton of lobbying enforce and money that is pouring into washington to stop this. is it going to get across the finish line? >> i just have faith when i saw 16 senators, we had six people vote against it and we had a spirited debate. and we always look at making changes to a bill. but 16 senators stood up to a multimillion dollars lobbying campaign, 2500 lobbyists. they literally had run ads against the bill. and that was a pretty good moment. and it was bipartisan, across the aisle, the house, david sis lynn any, ken buck have done bipartisan work over there and the time has come. there has literally been no tech competition bill that has passed through the congress since the advent of the internet. and so, it is time to make sure we have an even playing field. adam smith always said he was a big supporter, godfather of capitalism, invisible hand but you always had to watch out for the unbridled power of monopolies. that's what we're doing here. and what i consider a reasonable way. >> well, we wanted to follow this and it is a big deal as a bipartisan piece of legislation that we're following through congress. i want to talk about a couple of other issues. and that is the president's news conference yesterday, a couple of clean-ups and clarifications today and a big one about ukraine and russia. you just returned from ukraine on a caudill, a trip with lawmakers. this is what the ukrainian president tweeted today. we at this point in time remind the great powers that there are no minor incursions and small nations, just that there are no minor casualties and little grief from loss of loved ones, i say this as the president of a great power. did senator -- president biden undermine ukrainian security yesterday? >> i think president biden made very clear and i by the way started the day with senator portman, senator shaheen, senator cramer, many others reporting back to the president. he met with the group for an hour and about what happened. and i think he made it very clear when he clarified his comments that russia is going to pay a heavy price. those were his words for any incursion. and as someone that visited the frontline a while back with senator mccain and senator graham, i was able to see firsthand meet the widows 14,000 people have died in ukraine since this-what we will call an incursion that was a lot more than that invasion of crimea, the invasion of parts of eastern ukraine, and now he is threatening to do more. so while we went as this bipartisan unified group we want to say if you are betting on divides in congress on this, don't bet on that, vladimir putin. because we believe strongly there must be swift and certain sanctions if there is an invasion. we met with slens. we met with the defense minister we assured them as you know that there have been lethal arms coming from from the u.s. and allies to assist them. they are against a pretty brutal force there in russia. go ahead. >> bret: let me ask you just a political question. why do you think president biden's approval numbers are so low? critics of his administration say it's because he is focusing on the wrong things and the american people are expressing that. why do you think it is? >> i think that president biden is a good man. and he came in to office where i don't think anyone would want to do in the middle of a pandemic. and his first goal was to get us through this pandemic. it has not been easy. he got the vaccine out. he worked with congress to help to stabilize the economy and everything from getting our restaurants stabilized to businesses across the country. he then moved to his number one priority, which was infrastructure, worked with the bipartisan group of senators and that bill passed. and now he has other priorities. and i know for one with my constituents, with the pandemic, people have gone through hell. parents are still juggling their laptops on their desk and toddlers on their knees, still their kids are going in and out of school, and that has to change. how that changes and i do sees a we say in duluth the lighthouse on the horizon that we are going to get through this wave. we are going to get to a better place, and then we have to tackle issues that i don't think we talk about enough, workforce shortage, which is a major contributor of problems. getting kids into occupations where we have got openings, making sure we are training workers where we need them in science and technology and manufacturing and construction, and then finally i think we need to do something on immigration reform, bret. you and i have talked about this before in town hall meetings during the presidential campaign. and i think that would make a big difference. >> bret: last thing and a short answer if you could. you don't think that the president has gone too far. >> my last answer was too long? go ahead. >> bret: yeah, just a little. you don't think he has gone too far left with what he has been pitching and you are not concerned that you are going to alienate senators manchin and sinema with progressives kind of going after them with incendiary rhetoric? >> you know, i can't help but go back to the infrastructure. i was there at the bill-signing and he featured senator sinema and thanked senator manchin for his work on that. i think he is ready to work with everyone. and there are a lot of concerns right now and unmet needs, problems out there. not enough child care, including the rural areas. and i remember even the trump administration was talking about that, bret. issues with caring for seniors, the long-term care is still a big elephant in the room. so, i think what the president has said is that he is going to go back and look at this big piece of legislation and see how he can divide it up and get some things done. that's what the american people want, be. >> klobuchar thanks for coming on we will follow your legislation. >> thanks, bret. >> bret: up next, democrats are being accused of hypocrisy over covid-19 and and our panel at the bottom of the hour. ♪ to bare my skin, yeah that's all me. ♪ ♪ nothing and me go hand in hand ♪ ♪ nothing on my skin that's my new plan. ♪ ♪ nothing is everything. ♪ woman: keep your skin clearer with skyrizi. most who achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months had lasting clearance through 1 year. in another study, most people had 90% clearer skin at 3 years. and skyrizi is 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses. ♪ it's my moment so i just gotta say ♪ ♪ nothing is everything. ♪ skyrizi may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, such as fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches, or coughs or if you plan to or recently received a vaccine. ♪ nothing is everything. ♪ woman: talk to your dermatologist about skyrizi. learn how abbvie could help you save. ww's all new personalpoints program is made just for you. you take an assessment, enter your goals, the foods you love and ww builds a plan just for you. i lost 26 pounds and i feel incredible. no two people are alike so no two plans are alike. with ww, i lost 30lbs. this new program changed my life. live the life you love. lose the weight you want. the all new ww personalpoints program. join today for 50% off at ww.com hurry! offer ends january 24th! join today for 50% off at ww.com hurry! offer ends i earn 5% cash back on travel purchased through chase with chase freedom unlimited. i earn 5% on our cabin. hello cashback! hello, kevin hart! earn big time with chase freedom unlimited with no annual fee. how do you cashback? 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>> bret: aishah, thank you. up next, the panel on my interview with senate minority leader mitch mcconnell and senator klobuchar but reaction to yesterday's presidential news conference. first, here is what a couple of our fox afill i can't say around the country are covering tonight wfxt in boston drops case against the massachusetts institute technology professor accused of concealing research ties to china. federal prosecutors say they could no longer meet the proof in chin's trial. this is a live look at new york. one of the big stories there tonight from fox 5 our affiliate ralph lauren unveils team u.s.a. opening ceremony uniforms for next month's olympics in bay i didn't think. the jackets include new warming technology that expands or contracts with temperature changes. women will wear red boots, red fleece pants and navy jackets. the men's uniforms will be mostly white, looking good. that's tonight's live look outside the beltway from "special report." we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ born in the u.s.a. ♪ i was born in the u.s.a. ♪ i was born in the u.s.a. ♪ with a revolutionary, rollerball design. because with the right pain reliever... life opens up. aleve it... and see what's possible. i didn't know my genetic report could tell me i was prone to harmful blood clots. i travel a ton, so this info was kind of life changing. maybe even lifesaving. ♪do you know what the future holds?♪ ♪ >> do you think a green light with what has effectively been offered or put on the table here for putin? >> not at all. we will not in any way accept further use of military force against ukraine. >> they will be met with severe and coordinated economic response that i have discussed in detail with our allies. >> bret: well, that clean up that we talked about yesterday on the show after that statement about russia and ukraine continued today biden read statement in front of reporters. let's start there. bring in our panel harold ford jr. former tennessee congressman ceo of empowerment and inclusion capitol. mollie hemingway. and radio host hugh hewitt. mollie, your thoughts on the fallout from yesterday? >> well, it was interesting in mitch mcconnell's interview tonight that he wanted to talk about the russia and ukraine dispute. the answer in response no your question or challenge to him to say what is he for, president biden yesterday said mitch mcconnell should say what he is for and not just what he is against. it's a challenge but it also seems like an opportunity and to only express a desire to arm ukrainians to manage their border dispute seems like a missed opportunity. republican voters are looking for republicans to not just be not democrats. but to have bold agenda items, a bold plan for what to do. they are very worried about the direction of the country. and mitch mcconnell keeps whipping on this and that's why you are starting to see opposition to him become an issue in senate primaries throughout the country but also among establishment politicians like lindsey graham more in line and in sync with republican voters if he wants to lead the party going forward. interesting response. >> bret: harold, i guess the pushback to that from republicans is we don't control the agenda currently. we say all the time what we are for, a stronger border, lower taxes, lower regulation, fighting crime, and he mentioned inflation tonight. what should they be saying? >> far be it -- first, thanks for having me on. far be it for me to try to give political policy advice what the republicans should and should not do. i will take leader mcconnell at his word. mollie said i'm for something and joe biden that i remember is a moderate. one who can be worked with. i think the president, last night, his presentation could have been more coherent. he could have made a better theory of the case not only with regard to russia, and i'm glad he cleaned it up this morning but even his domestic agenda. i mean, the character of our country and the character of america is build and defined by overcoming challenge. this is not unusual. his numbers are down. they can rise again but only, i think, if he focuses on the four or five things americans want him onto inflation task force. what are we doing to unplug the supply chain. what are you doing to give us a clear and coherent message about covid. make our streets safer. you have to make a statement about crime and d.a.s and mayors including this mayor here in new york. my mayor, what he is attempting to do. and you can't be a majority leader of a senate committee chairman. i was glad to hear the president say he wants to be president. he understands the value of that and the that jane king jess city and the power of that if he is able a to do those things and reach out to not only mitch mcconnell but even joe manchin and kyrsten sinema and find ways to come together, amy klobuchar of the world. i was pleased to see her this evening, then maybe can you get something done. but, short of that those numbers will remain where they're and the president will continue to swim up stream. >> bret: hugh? >> i'm always impressed with the leader, bret. methodical, on message, mitch mcconnell. he wrote in his memoir five years ago the long game you can start too late but you can never start too early. and tonight you heard him start early on the fall election. inflation and the southern border. inflation and the open southern border and drilling down on, of course, minor incursion. he probably also knows about the new poll this morning, the nbc poll that when asked are you a supporter of the republican party or a supporter of donald trump? 56 percent said the g.o.p., 36 percent said donald trump. now, he avoided twice. you pressed him twice on the former president. he is not looking for a fight with mar-a-lago but neither is he going to yield his leadership position and he had two big wins last night. big enough wins that lindsey graham who had thrown a couple of darts at him earlier in the week was praising him on twitter last night. so good week for the leader. good message to you. >> we have methodical. >> bret: mollie, the former president is going to be on sean hannity's show tonight. i don't know whether he will be asked about all of this in that exchange. but obviously it's a big part of the g.o.p. going forward into 2022 and '24. >> well, the g.o.p. is slated to make really big wins in november. but it does best when it's united. and so it's important that the party be united and not try to, you know, sow division between different members. but also to be up to speed with what's appealing to the voter which is policies and willingness to fight on behalf of americans. expect to see going forward. >> abbreviated panel, had two senators, sometimes they like to talk a little bit. thank you. when we come back, an unusual welcome home. ♪ with directv stream i can get live tv and on demand anywhere. look, serena williams... matrix... serena... matrix... serena... matrix... ♪ ♪ ♪ get your tv together with the best of live and on demand. introducing directv stream. mass general brigham. when you need some of the brightest minds in medicine, this is the only healthcare system in the country with five nationally ranked hospitals, including two world-renowned academic medical centers, in boston, where biotech innovates daily and our doctors teach at harvard medical school, and where the physicians doing the world-changing research are the ones providing care. there's only one mass general brigham. real cowboys get customized car insurance with liberty mutual, so we only pay for what we need. -hey tex, -wooo. can someone else get a turn? yeah, hang on, i'm about to break my own record. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ your shipping manager left to “find themself.” leaving you lost. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire if you think you have dupuytren's contracture, there's a simple test you can take—from anywhere. try to lay your hand flat against a surface. if you can't, you may have dupuytren's contracture. talk to a hand specialist about your options, including nonsurgical treatments. ♪ >> bret: finally tonight a warm welcome caught on cameras, you are looking at jim, co-founder of the or fan wildlife center in otisville, new york, coming hoping from work and greeted by a pair of his loving bears, the center prides itself on nurturing and returning animals to a life in the wild a bear story gone shockingly unreported by "the five." they should step up their game they usually have a lot of bear stories on that show. tomorrow on "special report," an afghan combat interpreter arrives at his new home here in the u.s. we will bring you that plus the friday lightning round with the panel. winners and losers. we have it all for you. thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. that's it for this "special report," fair, balanced and still unafraid. "fox news primetime" hosted by pete hegseth starts right now. >> pete: you are not one of them, you know. thank you, bret. appreciate it. ♪ all right, good evening, america. it's 7:00 p.m. on the east coast and 6:00 p.m. in god's country which means it's time for "fox news primetime." i'm pete hegseth. today we witnessed a political clean-up effort unseen in american history. the aftermath of say the deep water horizon oil spill, metaphorically speaking by the way, pails in comparison to what happened this morning in terms of political